Did You Forget to Charge?

She had finally finished.

Hoshino didn't feel there was anything worth noting. The only thing she remembered was that Exusiai had a rather pleasant voice—one she wouldn't tire of even after listening for a long time.

She looked ahead.

Stars glittered in Exusiai's eyes, and she was full of spirit.

That was the look of someone who had found what they loved, someone who regarded something as the romance in their heart and cherished it deeply.

Honestly, it was rather enviable.

Hoshino sighed. The more Exusiai talked, the more excited she became, occasionally touching her gun. Then, in one moment, her gaze fell on Hoshino, and she realized that the longing had long since left the shrine maiden's body. Neither she nor her gun held any appeal for the shrine maiden anymore.

"Was I a little too excited?"

She scratched her head sheepishly.

"After all, these are a specialty of us Laterano citizens. Outsiders don't know how to use them, nor do they have the chance to. I really was being too self-absorbed."

Hoshino felt a little embarrassed too. She hadn't wanted it to be this way, but after unlocking it, she truly lost interest in guns.

She rather wanted to try on the Sky Ranger armor.

Exusiai rubbed her slightly damp hair and slung her gun over herself.

Hoshino had already achieved her goal and was worrying about how to send Exusiai away. Seeing her like this, she knew that Exusiai was preparing to leave.

A horn sounded from beyond the mountain.

Exusiai stood and waved goodbye to Hoshino. The latter nodded, silently permitting her to leave.

As she departed, she couldn't help looking back twice. The shrine maiden sat kneeling in the Tenshukaku, which was open at both front and back, holding a cup of tea in her hands. A breeze drifted through the hall, carrying her soft long hair with it. Person and scenery blended together into a beautiful picture.

Exusiai frowned.

She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but Hoshino seemed lonely. Yet as far as she knew, Yae Shrine was clearly a lively place.

It seemed that none of the visitors who donated money and offered incense at the shrine could climb this peak. The bustle below and the stillness above were entirely different worlds.

Exusiai stretched, every bone in her body trembling pleasantly.

She had decided!

Whenever Penguin Logistics wasn't busy in the future, she would definitely come to the back mountain of Yae Shrine to soak in the hot springs.

She headed down the mountain. Texas sat inside the car, her expression as cold as ever. Seeing Exusiai's still-damp hair, she couldn't help frowning slightly.

"What did you do at the shrine?"

"Soaked in the hot springs!"

Exusiai answered excitedly. Texas gripped the steering wheel tighter, and her mood seemed a little unsettled.

"Ah—"

Watching Exusiai leap in through the window, she asked again:

"Soaked in the hot springs... then did you... charge her?"

"?"

Why would she charge her?

Texas saw her confusion. There was nothing more to say. She suddenly felt a little guilty herself, as though she were the sinful one for asking that question, and unconsciously increased the car's speed considerably.

Exusiai was even more confused. The pressure from the high speed pinned her tightly against the seat, leaving her unable even to open her mouth.

You're speeding, Texas!

There clearly wasn't an emergency, so why was she driving so fast??

Ch'en had left the Lungmen Guard Department with both hands wrapped in bandages, yet returned completely unscathed. Once the bandages were removed, her palms were smooth as jade, like those of a newborn baby.

Her face was a little dark, though.

Hoshiguma held Sir Ch'en's hands and carefully rubbed them, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Let go!"

Ch'en shouted, though she didn't dare raise her voice too much.

"It's working hours. What kind of behavior is this? What will it do to my personal image?"

"Alright, alright."

Hoshiguma backed down and quickly let go. They were in public, after all. Ch'en looked left and right, then pulled Hoshiguma into her office.

The door slowly swung shut with a creak.

"What exactly happened?" Hoshiguma finally got to ask. "You were gone for only a few hours, yet the injuries on your hands healed completely. I remember you went to Yae Shrine to ask about something, right? Did something happen?"

"I received the shrine maiden's blessing."

Ch'en coughed and recounted what had happened to her at Yae Shrine.

That queen surrounded by purple lightning had been accompanied by roaring wind and thunder with every wave of her hand. Ch'en had gone empty-handed, and before her, she hadn't even been able to summon the courage to move. She had lost consciousness after being struck by lightning without even exchanging blows. It had been truly humiliating.

She emphasized the strength of the Lightning Empress.

Of course, Sir Ch'en had instinctively concealed a few things.

For example, the shrine maiden's thighs really were soft, really were comfortable to rest on, and really did smell nice enough to help one sleep.

She was too embarrassed to say it.

Hoshiguma looked at her superior, whose face had suddenly turned a little red, unable to figure out what had happened.

"What do you think?"

Sir Ch'en coughed and forcibly dragged the subject back into serious territory. "That shrine maiden is keeping a severely ill Originium patient at the shrine. She seems somewhat dangerous. The mysterious hooded person we encountered when we all deployed that day was that lightning queen."

"I'm not surprised."

Hoshiguma couldn't help pondering it. "But when you mentioned that shrine maiden, you didn't seem nearly as angry as before. What happened?"

And your assignment took much longer than usual.

Could something have happened?

On the surface, Sir Ch'en had been "won over" by Hoshino's lap, but there was actually a deeper reason.

She simply felt that anyone capable of accepting the Infected, no matter how cunning they appeared on the outside, must possess an idiotically kind heart deep down. Of course, she wasn't approving of that behavior. Sir Ch'en merely felt... someone capable of doing such a thing probably wasn't much of a threat.

As long as she wasn't a terrorist, there was no problem.

Such a grown woman, with lightning as such a distinctive trait—if she had ever acted anywhere before, Ch'en should have heard something about her.

"You seem to think highly of that person."

Hoshiguma reminded her, "Try not to let your feelings exceed the limits a superintendent should have toward a suspect."

"You're not qualified to lecture me, are you?"

Sir Ch'en frowned. "By the way, didn't you recently take in a new subordinate? You were more invested in bringing Rope in than anyone else. How is she doing at work?"

"Not bad."

Hoshiguma nodded. "We exchange intelligence twice a week. She's quite capable, but her handwriting is a little ugly. I'm tempted to drag her back and make her take calligraphy lessons."

"..."

She really worried herself sick over her subordinate.

Sir Ch'en frowned deeply, gently stroking her cheek with her right hand. She closed her eyes, then opened them again.

"Hoshiguma..."

"Yes?"

"Do we have any allies who specialize in researching the Infected? Preferably someone at the forefront of the times, someone who can uncover the background of that lightning queen."

After thinking for a moment, Hoshiguma looked up and asked in confusion:

"Wouldn't you know that better than I do?"