Skadi, I Have a Girlfriend Now

"Exusiai's heartbeat is getting faster."

Mizuki closed his eyes and listened to Exusiai's heartbeat, doing nothing else. Having her feelings exposed, Exusiai could not help but gently rest her chin against his head. Now she understood why Mizuki had pressed himself against the left side of her chest—he had been listening to her heartbeat.

But since he had already said it outright, Exusiai could not be bothered pretending anymore.

"Fine, I am angry. Mizuki, you are so sweet and gentle, so why is your sister... kind of unreasonable?"

After all, Laurentina was Mizuki's sister. Exusiai could not directly bring up Laurentina's mental issues. Not that she needed to—anyone could tell. The moment Mizuki left her sight, Laurentina became somewhat agitated. Mizuki was practically her emotional stabilizer.

Still, Laurentina had the beauty of a sleeping princess when she was asleep. She was quiet, completely unlike her usual self. This bar safehouse had three rooms, so Laurentina slept alone.

"I do not know either, but I feel like... Sister has always been like this."

Though he had no memories of the past, Mizuki had an instinctive feeling that his sister had always possessed this personality that did not care much for reason. So he had never thought anything was wrong.

Especially when Specter held him—the familiar feeling was something Mizuki actually liked. It felt nice to have someone he could rely on.

"But I am still upset, and there is nothing I can do..."

Saying uncomfortable things aloud made her feel much better. Exusiai took the initiative to nuzzle against Mizuki.

"Is mine smaller?"

"But it is very comfortable. Mm, I am getting sleepy."

"Then sleep. We have been busy all day too."

Hearing Mizuki say that, Exusiai immediately felt much better. She relaxed her limbs and did not mind letting Mizuki remain in that position in her arms. Anyway, even if Mizuki really wanted to do something, she would at most half-heartedly go along with it.

"Mm, good night, darling."

Mizuki gently kissed Exusiai's collarbone, closed his eyes, and quickly drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Once her tension and displeasure passed, Exusiai also felt mentally exhausted. She put on her eye mask. What had happened today was enough to give her a nightmare, especially the way the Cat Gang leader had transformed at the end. It had been fucking terrifying.

The two slept while holding each other, deeply asleep and utterly unaware of the movement outside the door.

The lock lasted only half a second before being forcibly torn apart by terrifying brute strength. Laurentina pushed the door open and entered. Her steps were light as she approached Mizuki's bed as though dancing an elegant waltz.

Mizuki did not find the halo above Exusiai's head glaring, and because of their position, he was not wearing an eye mask. Using Exusiai's halo as a lightbulb, Laurentina clearly saw Mizuki's sleeping face. For some reason, it was adorable.

She gently lifted the blanket, removed Exusiai's arms and legs from Mizuki, carefully picked Exusiai up, hesitated for a moment, then directly placed her on the floor.

Not throwing Exusiai out the window was her final act of mercy.

She picked up the black undergarment from the bed and lowered her head to compare it to her own. A trace of disdain and mockery flashed through Specter's eyes before she placed a hand on the strap of the nightgown Texas had lent her.

That night, when Exusiai opened her eyes amid a series of strange sounds, gunfire echoed throughout Penguin Logistics.

But because they wore earplugs, Texas and the other two did not hear much. They only found it noisy.

And Skadi? She was still on the road.

"Last night seemed pretty noisy."

Rubbing her head, Croissant walked to the mirror and casually combed her hair.

Even with earplugs, she did not know why, but it had felt as though someone next door had been fighting a war while renovating. It had been noisy enough that Croissant dreamed her wallet had become completely empty.

"My wallet... Oh, I think there was no money in it to begin with."

Croissant suddenly realized why people said dreams reflected reality. Her already bad mood immediately worsened.

Texas and Sora had woken up too. They were all girls, so there was no need to be overly particular. Their pajamas were rather casual, and sometimes they even chose to return to nature.

"Did you guys think it was really noisy last night?"

"It really was. I think I even dreamed about being on a battlefield with Exusiai."

Texas lightly patted her head, got dressed, and walked out. Croissant and Sora took more time getting ready than she did. She preferred going to the bathroom to fix her hair.

As for Sora, she probably did not want Mizuki to see her rabbit ears and tail. She had even made a bet with Croissant about when they would be exposed.

When Texas entered the hallway, she did not know why, but there was a strange scent in the air, like candy. She instinctively assumed Mizuki had made breakfast, but the smell became fainter once she went downstairs.

Mizuki was already up and busy in the kitchen.

For some reason, Mizuki's expression looked strange. Sixty percent happiness mixed with thirty percent confusion and ten percent helplessness, as though something good had happened, but not entirely good.

"Good morning."

After thinking about it, Texas still gave Mizuki a faint smile and greeted him.

"Good morning, Texas. We did not keep you up last night, did we?"

Mizuki smiled back. To be precise, he seemed to have only a few expressions—smiling, or looking slightly helpless—but he smiled more often than not. Combined with those big eyes and gentle personality, he really was easy to like.

"I slept fine... Wait, what happened last night?"

Texas quickly reacted. Mizuki thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"It is hard to explain. I do not really know how to describe it either."

"...I will go take a look!"

Seeing Mizuki's expression, Texas immediately ran upstairs. Just in time, she saw Laurentina, fully dressed, emerge from Mizuki's room while licking something from the corner of her lips.

Noticing Texas's tense expression, Laurentina politely pressed her palms together.

"Praise the Lord. Do you not think the weather is lovely today, Miss Texas?"

Unexpectedly, Laurentina was mentally stable. She had none of yesterday's madness, even though Mizuki was not here.

"Good morning. Um... the three of you slept together last night?"

Texas did not know how to phrase it. She felt she could not even properly put together a single sentence, but fortunately, Laurentina could fully understand what she meant now.

"You misunderstand. We did not sleep last night."

After saying that, Laurentina went downstairs. It looked like she was heading to the kitchen to help Mizuki.

"It is good that you did not sleep together. No, wait, you did not sleep?"

Texas immediately realized just how much information was hidden in Laurentina's words. Without thinking, she shoved the door open, and the sweet candy scent she had smelled before rushed toward her.

Several bullet holes marked the walls and ceiling.

"H-help... Texas... save... me..."

Exusiai's one raised hand trembled for a long while before finally dropping limply.

"Exusiai!!!!!"

It was said that Exusiai had nearly been sent to the hospital that morning. Just kidding. Probably.

Meanwhile, in Lungmen's council chamber, Wei Yenwu looked at the cold Feline woman before him and instinctively felt she was a negotiating partner worthy of respect and attention.

"Miss Kal'tsit, before we begin discussing the matters previously addressed in our letters, I believe there is something both of us care deeply about."

"Governor Wei is referring to the person called Mizuki?"

Kal'tsit set down the report in her hands, her cold brows rising slightly. She had expected Wei Yenwu to mention this matter and this person, but she had not expected him to begin with it.

Compared to the cooperation between Lungmen and Rhodes Island, Mizuki's matter did not seem that important. Though the case was serious in nature, it should have been the Lungmen Guard Department's responsibility.

"Yes. Personally, I feel he is more important than cooperation between Lungmen and Rhodes Island. At the very least, I cannot think of anything Rhodes Island possesses that would be worth Columbia causing such a commotion in my Lungmen territory in the same way he is."

Kal'tsit's cold eyes narrowed slightly, a sign that she was suppressing her inner surprise. She knew very well who controlled Columbia from the shadows. If they had chosen to make trouble in Lungmen, Mizuki's apparent value had to be much greater than Rhodes Island's.

"Unfortunately, I have already reviewed the materials sent by the branch office. The operator credentials may have been forged. I need to personally verify their authenticity. However, there are indeed no records in Rhodes Island's database related to an operator named Mizuki."

Though she did not know what Mizuki had done in Lungmen, it was certainly right to separate Rhodes Island from the matter first. Of course, Kal'tsit would not lie either. Judging from the photograph alone, Mizuki's credentials really were those of a Rhodes Island elite operator.

That was precisely why she was so confused. Every elite operator of Rhodes Island was a companion worthy of entrusting one's life to. Kal'tsit would forever remember every one of their names, whether a thousand years or ten thousand years passed.

Yet the only time she had heard Mizuki's name was from Skadi. She had even signed Skadi, a powerful combatant, at the price of "Rhodes Island will do everything in its power to find Mizuki."

"Of course I know. Rest assured, Mr. Mizuki claims to have lost his memories. I will not attribute his actions or the related trouble to Rhodes Island. However, I believe it is necessary for you to see this."

Wei Yenwu lifted a cup of tea and took a sip. At his side, Ch'en pulled two drawings from a folder and handed them to Kal'tsit.

With only a brief glance, Kal'tsit could not help gripping the armrest of her chair. She was fortunate she had not been drinking tea, or she would have sprayed it out on the spot.

"Governor Wei, what does this mean?"

"It means nothing. There was a minor conflict in Lungmen's slums last night. These are some of the culprits. It seems Miss Kal'tsit knows something about these strange-looking creatures. For some reason, cameras were unable to capture their images either."

What a sly old fox. You are the governor of Lungmen, the legitimate imperial prince of Great Yan. How could you not know what these things are?

Kal'tsit could not help saying that to herself. What she disliked most was dealing with clever people like this, because everyone had to scheme against one another for benefits, and every sentence had to be phrased indirectly.

But because of this, compared to cooperation with Lungmen, Mizuki's matter was indeed more worthy of attention in the long run.

"So when you opened your eyes, you saw her pressing Mizuki underneath her?"

Croissant pointed at Laurentina, who was elegantly and calmly eating breakfast nearby. She now looked like a noble young lady with impeccable manners, or perhaps an exceptionally well-bred nun. No one could tell that she had torn apart a door lock with her bare hands, then changed the LED light above Exusiai's head to green right in front of her.

"Yeah. Like she was riding a motorcycle."

Exusiai glared at Laurentina, then silently moved her stool beside Mizuki and could not help poking his arm.

"How could you sleep that deeply?"

"Urgh..."

Mizuki found it difficult to argue. If Exusiai had not woken up and emptied a magazine at that time, he probably would have kept sleeping. All he remembered was having an incredibly pleasant dream. He had not noticed Laurentina pressing him underneath her at all.

Fortunately, Exusiai's magazine had been loaded with rubber bullets. They hurt a little, but caused no real injuries. As for Laurentina, there was even less to say—she had deliberately provoked Exusiai and stirred up her anger, only for Exusiai to realize she could not beat her.

After realizing they could not settle things through fighting, the way the two decided victory changed.

It changed into something that would not pass review.

Exusiai had already been full of dissatisfaction toward Laurentina, but she could not beat her. On top of that, Mizuki's neurotoxin had filled the air. In her anger, Exusiai agreed immediately, and then...

"Hiss, hold me up. It still hurts."

Exusiai could not help wrapping one arm around Mizuki's arm. If Mizuki had started this, the two of them would have simply broken up. But Mizuki had actually been a victim, which was absurd. More importantly, feelings had developed between them now. Exusiai could only tell herself that Mizuki had not done it on purpose. The key was that he really had not.

As the main culprit, Laurentina showed no self-awareness whatsoever as she ate while watching Mizuki.

What made Exusiai feel the most depressed about this was discovering that she had always overthought things before. That whole drunken one-night stand had been entirely in her imagination. Last night was when she had truly given herself to Mizuki, and she had done it out of spite. What kind of situation was this?!

Depressed. She was extremely depressed. But she could not beat Laurentina, so Exusiai could only poke Mizuki to vent. This time, they were truly tied together and could not be separated.

"You could have shown some restraint. It was my first time, and it hurts so much."

"But... Little Le, you were the one who said you did not want to lose to Sister Laurentina."

Mizuki bit his chopsticks with a wronged expression. Although he had enjoyed himself, he was undeniably a victim. He had never expected that just by sleeping, even his bedroom door would be torn down. Especially later on, he had clearly said he would not agree to any of it.

And who could have expected Laurentina to do something like that? When he later heard that Exusiai and Laurentina were actually going to determine the winner that way, he had been more stunned than anyone.

Texas and the others did not know what to say for a moment. They felt like they were extra baggage, since they no longer belonged to the same world as Exusiai and Mizuki. Yet they could also feel that Exusiai and Mizuki did not treat them as outsiders, casually discussing such a topic without concern. Sora's face had turned completely red.

"Stop talking. You enjoyed yourself the most this time. Hiss... I am still in my dangerous period, and you did not even pay attention."

"I am sorry."

After all, Mizuki had indeed benefited the most, so he let his girlfriend lecture him and vent a little. While cooking earlier, he had been thinking about how to comfort Exusiai. Unexpectedly, although Exusiai was depressed, she was not actually that angry.

The main reason was that Exusiai had chosen to date Mizuki because she believed she had drunkenly and foolishly done something to him while confused. With that prior experience, she found herself surprisingly able to accept this absurd situation.

There were only three things bothering her now. First, she had given herself to him in such a muddleheaded way. Second, Laurentina had stolen her boyfriend. Third, she had lost to Laurentina. They had both been doing this for the first time, so why could this Aegir woman sit there eating breakfast as though nothing had happened after lasting five hours?!

"Say, do you two really not feel embarrassed discussing this in front of us?"

Texas could not stand it anymore. Especially seeing Exusiai pressed against Mizuki, the more she looked, the more annoyed she became. If Exusiai had not still been hurting, she would definitely have kicked that stool right out from under her.

"What is there to be embarrassed about? You are not outsiders. Wait, Mizuki, watch out for Croissant!"

Seemingly remembering something, Exusiai said she did not want to become a horse-faced person. Croissant's brow twitched. Was the personal attack really necessary?

Of course, it was only a joke. Exusiai had faith in her good sisters. How could they possibly be interested in Mizuki? Laurentina was truly an accident.

"But even if Miss Laurentina and Mizuki are not blood-related siblings, is this really okay?"

Sora spotted the key issue. The girls, including Mizuki, all looked toward Laurentina.

"..."

Seeing everyone looking at her, Laurentina elegantly finished the last piece of bread, then looked at Mizuki.