Skadi, I Have a Girlfriend

"I understand."

While Croissant and Sora, and even Texas, were frustrated by Exusiai's lack of initiative, Mizuki took the initiative and held out his hand.

"Hey, what are you..."

"If we hold hands, we won't get separated so easily, right?"

Mizuki's smile was sweet. How could he not have noticed what Exusiai was thinking? The back of his hand had been brushed against countless times just now. He didn't know why, but since Exusiai couldn't bring herself to do it, he would simply reach out first.

"Ah... right, that's true."

Exusiai nodded and took Mizuki's hand. It was soft, the same feeling as before. As someone who used to conduct physics explosions at school, Exusiai couldn't think of any fitting adjective. It was just... comfortable.

The two walked side by side. After hesitating for a moment, Exusiai still didn't let go. This time, she wasn't embarrassed anymore. Compared to pressing right against each other while reading comics last night, this was nothing.

"That's wonderful, sob... Mizuki, you're amazing!"

Croissant was almost crying. It felt like watching her own child grow up. It hadn't been easy—thank goodness Mizuki made the first move.

Muelsyse Drinks Two Cups

"Whew... Seriously, did it have to be so violent?"

At an aquarium somewhere in Kazimierz, Muelsyse took a sip of coffee and watched the beautiful fish sway through the water. Two colorful fish swam by together. When they saw Muelsyse, they couldn't help stopping and staring at her, even blowing bubbles.

Though she couldn't understand fish language, Muelsyse somehow felt they were saying, "Look, why is a girl visiting the aquarium alone?" "Exactly, exactly."

"Tch. Excuse me."

Muelsyse snapped her fingers, and an aquarium guide walked over. He didn't dare neglect this distinguished guest of unknown origins.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Miss Muelsyse?"

"Those two fish. Separate them into different tanks."

Muelsyse had originally wanted to put those two fish directly on her dining table, but she reluctantly decided to show them mercy. As for the scavengers in the mental hospital? Heh. Even if Skadi hadn't torn the place apart, Muelsyse would have ended their lives once she determined they had no further use.

It wasn't because she was particularly cruel or heartless. Those scavengers had dared to lay hands on Mizuki. Mizuki had mercifully spared their lives, leaving their minds trapped in madness. Muelsyse coldly took their lives, but she also ended their suffering.

Her spoon stirred the coffee. There was another cup of coffee across from Muelsyse, and someone should have been sitting there, just as before.

That person would tell her about the little things from his travels—pitching a tent in the wilderness and watching torrential rain pour down; resting amid mountain wilds and watching the first ray of dawn break through the morning mist.

Or wearing headphones, listening to soothing music, strolling beneath the afterglow of the setting sun, leaving behind shadows of footprints.

Those were days worth remembering forever. Though Mizuki was not of the same race as her, Muelsyse could feel their similarity. It was a kind of loneliness, and that loneliness made them both hope they would never be lonely again.

She still remembered the day when she had curiously asked Mizuki why he wanted to go north. For an Aegir, the north was too cold. It was not a good place.

Yet Mizuki had only said that he heard a call.

"A call... If only you could hear my call. Where exactly are you now?"

Muelsyse spoke, but no one answered. Her love, which had lasted only half a month, had come to a standstill. Yet that love continued to ferment, making her want more and more to find Mizuki.

"Seriously, I can only drink two cups by myself."

Muelsyse's voice echoed through the quiet aquarium. Elsewhere, in a café on Lungmen's commercial street, Exusiai rested her chin and cheek on her left hand while stirring her coffee with a spoon in her right.

Watching Mizuki swiftly and elegantly sweep through the enormous pile of food on the table, a question couldn't help arising in Exusiai's heart. If she really married Mizuki in the future, would the biggest household expense be food?

And if they had children, given the Sankta's special traits, the child would definitely be an Aegir. Then whether it was a boy or girl, if its appetite took after its father's, that would be even more terrifying.

"We've bought pretty much everything, right?"

Exusiai looked at the list. The biggest expense today had been the clothes custom-made for Mizuki. Penguin Logistics' work was dangerous, so the clothes she bought him couldn't merely be for appearance. Aside from everyday outfits, they also needed specially made clothes with exceptional toughness and defense.

Beyond that, the most important thing was Mizuki's weapon. That was the hardest problem to solve.

Mizuki wanted his weapon to be an umbrella, but umbrellas themselves seemed fairly fragile. Exusiai had visited several black-market workshops, yet none had the nerve to take the job. They could only deal with it later.

For now, Mizuki was only a driver and didn't need to fight on the front lines. Exusiai was confident she could protect him.

Besides, Mizuki's earlier performance made it clear that his combat ability wasn't as weak as he looked. Once he could perfectly control his power, he would in turn become an important fighting force for Penguin Logistics.

"Eat a little more, then we'll head back."

"Okay. Aren't you eating, A-Neng?"

Exusiai had no idea how Mizuki could speak so clearly and fluently with his mouth stuffed full of food, but she merely shook her head.

"I can't eat anymore. My appetite isn't that big."

At least, it wasn't big compared to Mizuki's. Exusiai pinched her stomach. Even without deliberately exercising, her daily work still kept her from gaining weight.

Of course, not gaining weight was a good thing. Yet whenever the girls went bathing together, Exusiai was always a little helpless. Her size and Croissant's were really nothing worth showing off. What if Mizuki liked women with really great figures?

"A-Neng."

"Hmm?"

Lifting her head from her thoughts, Exusiai saw Mizuki's slender finger brush across her cheek. His index finger wiped the cream from the corner of her mouth, then went into his own mouth before he casually sat back down.

That counted as an indirect kiss. Exusiai felt a little shy, but then she remembered that she and Mizuki had already kissed before. This was nothing by comparison, and she immediately accepted it.

Croissant and Sora seemed to have gone crazy from shipping them. The auntie smiles on their faces never stopped. Texas drank her coffee, occasionally glancing toward Mizuki and Exusiai's table.

If they randomly pulled over a passerby right now, pointed at Exusiai and Mizuki over there, and said they were a couple, the passerby would probably only scratch their head and say, "Isn't that obvious at a glance?"

Mizuki's arrival was bound to change something. Texas had sensed it long ago, but she hadn't expected it to happen so quickly. Exusiai finally getting into a relationship was something worth celebrating across the world. It was enough reason to pop champagne.

But Texas felt that something was off. Anyone could see that Exusiai was interested in Mizuki, and she was at least very proactive. But while Mizuki had taken the initiative too, it gave people the feeling that... what he did seemed perfectly natural to him, not because he liked Exusiai in the romantic sense.

"What's wrong, Texas?"

"Nothing. Maybe it's just my imagination."

Texas shook her head. Mizuki and Exusiai had already finished eating. Aside from furniture and appliances that would be delivered, they would definitely need to carry small things like toothbrushes themselves. They would probably have to spend quite a while tidying up the room tonight.

But did Mizuki truly have romantic feelings for Exusiai?

This Is a Confession, Right?!

"So, have you come up with an explanation for me?"

In a brightly lit room, Emperor swirled a glass of red wine, his gaze beneath his sunglasses fixed on the metal-made human before him.

"Tin Man, he's now an employee of my Penguin Logistics. I need an explanation."

"How did I not know about this?"

Tin Man lit a cigarette and held it in his mouth. His entire body was mechanical; it merely wore an appearance more acceptable to the public.

"If you knew everything, would Columbia still need to do such disgusting things?" Emperor downed the red wine in one gulp. "I'm curious—wouldn't that smoke rust the metal parts in your lungs?"

"No. I can't taste it either."

"Then why are you smoking that stuff?"

Emperor acted entirely like he owned the place, crossing his legs with an arrogant look. Paired with his short little legs, though, he looked ridiculous no matter how one looked at him.

"Doing this makes me look more like a human. At least, most Columbians find this appearance easier to accept."

Columbia was a country where technology developed at high speed and changed with each passing day. Tin Man's appearance could be explained as an exoskeleton.

"So then, Emperor, did you come here to demand an explanation?"

Tin Man crushed out his cigarette. He had indeed considered what might happen if the matter was exposed—for example, Emperor storming in here in a rage and fighting him. But Emperor clearly knew some things that Tin Man did not.

All these factors meant Emperor had appeared here not because Tin Man had embarrassed Penguin Logistics, but because the Melnade Foundation's actions had greatly displeased him.

"I'm only here to let you know that he's under my protection."

Emperor's attitude could not merely be called a little arrogant. It was utterly overbearing. This was the Melnade Foundation's headquarters, and nowhere in all of Columbia was safer than this place.

But Emperor was that kind of person—no, that kind of penguin. Even if someone tied him up with rope and hung him over a volcano's crater, he would still curse out their entire family.

"Emperor, you and I both know his identity. Why are you protecting him?"

"Heh, that's why I say you Melnade people are all useless."

Emperor spat disdainfully. Though the Melnade Foundation had always secretly maintained Columbia's balance, its vision was too narrow and its methods too extreme. Sooner or later, it would bring about its own destruction.

"I can't be bothered to waste more words on you. Where's what I want?"

"Ho'olheyak."

Tin Man frowned slightly and clapped his hands. A woman with long gray hair walked out carrying a box. She looked both like a Liberi and like a Phidia.

She placed the box on the table and opened it, revealing a broken transparent umbrella.

"Is."

As Emperor spoke, the thing on the table instantly vanished. Yet Ho'olheyak had not noticed when it disappeared.

"You can have it, but I have one condition."

"Say it."

"Let Ho'olheyak join Penguin Logistics. We need to know his information at all times."

The cigar in Tin Man's hand snapped cleanly in half the moment he finished speaking. Emperor had somehow appeared on the table, pointing a paper-like gun made of cardboard and glue at Tin Man's head.

"Don't provoke me, tin can. I don't mind taking you apart."

"This is the President's intention."

After saying that unhurriedly, Tin Man watched Emperor put away his weapon in displeasure. He knew who the other party would seek next.

"That damned guy, always making trouble." Cursing as he put away his weapon, Emperor vanished from Tin Man and Ho'olheyak's sight with a slightly comical waddle.

"My dear superior, weren't you afraid he would really attack?"

Ho'olheyak was somewhat surprised. She had not seen Emperor's movements at all just now. If Emperor had truly intended to attack, she would not have had time to react.

"Don't worry. He may be hot-tempered, but he isn't that lawless."

Tin Man tossed the broken cigarette onto the table. Looking at this subordinate who constantly radiated a darkly scheming and seductive air, anyone who treated Ho'olheyak as an ordinary woman would be making a fatal mistake.

"Pack your things. It's time for you to go to Lungmen."

"Lungmen?"

"The military's cargo was lost there. Heh, some people inside Melnade are getting restless too."

A trace of complicated emotion flashed through Ho'olheyak's eyes. She knew that her superior was truly angry. Melnade was the force behind Columbia, serving only the President, yet now it had been infiltrated by the military. It seemed an internal purge would be unavoidable.

It was precisely because of the secret conflict between the military and the Melnade Foundation that a string of explosions had occurred in Lungmen during that period. They had been forced to choose Penguin Logistics to transport that special cargo, and through a twist of fate, they awakened the sleeping Mizuki.

Yet there was one thing Tin Man found even harder to understand. In the Melnade Foundation's initial report, that cargo had merely been a frozen heart, slightly larger than a fist.

Elsewhere, unaware of all this, Mizuki and Exusiai were still strolling through the streets. They had already bought everything they needed, so now they were simply picking up snacks and wandering around.

Lungmen was huge. As a trade bridge between Great Yan and Ursus, the city's prosperity was obvious. Of course, it also had less pleasant places, but at least for now, Exusiai was fully enjoying her time with Mizuki. She had never imagined that shopping could feel so leisurely and happy.

"Big brother, big sister, would you like to buy a bouquet of flowers?"

As they walked, a cute little girl approached holding several flowers. The weather was a little hot, so she had specially put on a straw hat.

"Sure."

Cute children were always welcome, and Mizuki couldn't bear to let such a little girl stand in the sun. But when he looked, the girl was only selling roses.

"We'll take them all."

Exusiai didn't hesitate. She directly bought every flower. They weren't expensive anyway.

"Really? Thank you so much! Big sister and big brother are such good people~"

The little girl was delighted. Mizuki couldn't help smiling and rubbing her head, making the little girl blush. This big brother was so handsome and pretty.

"I wish big brother and big sister a hundred years of happiness and a blissful marriage!"

After taking the money and handing all the flowers to Mizuki, the girl remembered the blessing those three big sisters had told her to say earlier. Though she didn't know why those three sisters had wanted her to say it, it was a good thing either way.

"This girl..."

With so many people around, hearing something like that said directly made steam seem to rise from Exusiai's head. Even Mizuki could feel her grip on his hand tighten.

But she wasn't angry. She was only embarrassed.

There seemed to be no point in continuing to shop. Thinking that, Exusiai was about to tell Mizuki they should go back when she saw him hold the flowers out before her.

"Just as I thought."