Sister Skadi, I Have a Girlfriend: Chapter 33

A familiar, slightly gentle, and nostalgic voice rang out. Lemuen turned back, only to see a hooded figure standing behind her, with a red-haired Liberi standing beside them.

"You're back?"

"After all these years, it's hard not to feel a bit homesick. I didn't expect to run into you at the post office."

Mostima smiled, not bothering to remove her hat despite the sweltering heat. She was a Fallen, and revealing her true form in the city so brazenly would only cause chaos.

"A letter from Xiao Le."

"I figured as much. It's just that your expression is quite interesting. What did she write?"

Exusiai had been raised under the watchful eyes of Lemuen and the others; even Mostima could be considered her senior. The relationship between them was excellent.

"Xiao Le found a boyfriend."

Lemuen covered her mouth as she laughed, her eyes brimming with joy and a playful glint. Seeing the skeptical, world-weary expressions on Mostima and their good friend Fiammetta, she felt immense delight.

If they were worried, they might as well take some leave and head to Lungmen to properly vet this prospective brother-in-law and see what kind of person he was.

Right, they would have to bring Mostima along; Xiao Le would surely want to show off in front of her.

"Eek... why do I feel a chill down my spine?"

Removing Mizuki's hat and wrapping his head in a dry towel, Exusiai rubbed it vigorously. She came back to her senses and couldn't help but pinch her boyfriend's soft cheeks.

"You two are such idiots. It wouldn't have killed you to buy an umbrella at a supermarket. You just had to end up soaking wet."

The rain was heavy today. Mizuki's umbrella couldn't cover both of them, and since they both kept tilting it toward the other, they ended up getting drenched, turning into drowned rats.

"Besides, taking a taxi back wouldn't have cost much. Honestly... lift your arms."

Exusiai complained, but her hands never stopped drying Mizuki off. In truth, Mizuki could have done it himself, but she insisted on showing off her feminine side at a time like this. After all, seeing Texas and Mizuki return under the same umbrella earlier, it was hard for her not to feel nervous.

"I just didn't expect it, and I actually quite like the feeling of being wet."

"If that's the case, wouldn't soaking in a bathtub be better? You really are something."

Taking off Mizuki's clothes, Exusiai dried his hair and then lightly bit his ear to express her annoyance.

"The bathtub is too small. Hmm, how about we find some time to go to the seaside?"

"The seaside... come to think of it, should we settle down in Siesta or Dossoles in the future?"

Siesta and Dossoles were famous summer tourist cities, and for Mizuki, an Aegir, he would surely love them.

"I thought we were going to settle in Laterano? Besides, I remember the housing prices there aren't cheap."

As a Sankta, Exusiai had advantages when buying property in her hometown. Or rather, Laterano protected its own in every way.

"Oh, it's no problem. Our salaries aren't low, after all."

That wasn't wrong. Although Penguin Logistics' work was just delivery, the danger was extremely high, and the rewards were equally high.

Exusiai gently wrapped her arms around Mizuki's neck, pressing against him from behind. She was only wearing a shirt, and Mizuki could clearly feel the soft yet elastic sensation against his back. He subconsciously rubbed his cheek against hers.

"I've saved quite a bit from working these years. By the end of this year at the latest, we can have a home of our own."

When she said these things, Exusiai lost all of her usual boisterousness. Her voice was low and gentle, like a breeze brushing against Mizuki's ear. Mizuki could clearly feel her body temperature rising.

He didn't feel shy, just a bit guilty. Exusiai's savings were all earned by her own hard work; given her personality, it must have taken her a long time to accumulate that money.

"Don't overthink it."

Exusiai hugged her lover's neck tighter, burying her face in his hair.

"From now on, we are one and the same, so don't think about those things."

From accepting each other to becoming inseparable—Mizuki listened to Exusiai's breathing and nodded slightly.

However, he felt he had to put in the effort himself, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to live with it in his own heart.

Chapter 67: Everyone Wants to Steal a Bite of Mizuki, Right?

The night was deep. Kal'tsit returned to her hotel room without turning on the lights, instead walking to the balcony, guided by the light filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The rain fell incessantly, yet there was not a single clap of thunder. The rain washed the air clean, giving it a fresh and damp feeling.

"This rain..."

It shouldn't be like this, Kal'tsit thought. She had noticed something wrong with this rain the moment she arrived. The entire rain cloud seemed to be hovering over Lungmen, with no intention of drifting away.

But the reports from the Rhodes Island Landship indicated that Lungmen should have had strong winds during this period; how could the rain keep falling?

"Mon3tr!"

Kal'tsit hadn't even finished her sentence before the monster hidden within her spine sensed the approaching danger. It erupted from her exposed spine, its sharp, sickle-like limbs clashing with the opponent.

With a "clang," sparks illuminated the entire room in an instant. Kal'tsit frowned; in the dim light, she could only see that the opponent was wearing a mask that was half-crying and half-laughing.

"Mr. K?"

Hearing Kal'tsit recognize him, Mr. K didn't seem surprised at all.

"I didn't expect the famous Ms. Kal'tsit to know me. It is truly my honor."

"You secretly usurped the Cat Gang to strike at Mizuki—is this the will of the Columbia military?"

Kal'tsit knew Mr. K; this wasn't hard to understand. Although they were strangers, many members of the Cat Gang had seen him. After the Cat Gang leader died and the gang collapsed, Wei Yenwu had naturally sent people to interrogate the members about who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Because Kal'tsit also knew about the Demons of northern Terra, she was qualified to know of Mr. K's existence. She always felt that this Mr. K would eventually come looking for her.

"Lungmen walks the border between Ursus and Great Yan, but it is, after all, a city-state of Great Yan. Columbia doesn't want to make things too ugly. That old man... he was just given a little sample, yet he actually thought he could achieve immortality. Heh, surely no one in this world is more qualified to speak on that subject than Ms. Kal'tsit, right?"

Kal'tsit's pupils constricted instinctively. Mr. K actually knew her origins?

Since arriving in Lungmen, Kal'tsit felt she had been surprised more times than ever before. First, she met Mizuki, then Laurentina, and now this Mr. K—it was as if they had all just popped out of the rocks.

Mr. K blocked M3's claws with his right hand. That hand had completely mutated into a similarly sharp claw, but strangely, Kal'tsit saw mechanical parts within it.

"Columbia has researched to this extent?"

"No, no, you misunderstand, Ms. Kal'tsit." Mr. K politely denied her guess. "I am merely in a cooperative relationship with Columbia. Those short-sighted mortals only see life extension and war."

The two stood in a stalemate, their words guarding against each other's movements. Mr. K knew his assassination attempt had failed; the people Wei Yenwu arranged would arrive soon. He had only been testing the waters. Kal'tsit's reaction was sharp; she must have been on guard against him at all times. Was it instinct?

"They miscalculated the power of Izumik. And you, too—forgive my bluntness, but letting the current Mizuki come into contact with the Doctor is not a good idea."

"You even know the Doctor?"

Now, Kal'tsit's frown deepened. This wasn't right. How could she not know someone who knew the Doctor in this world? She had screened everyone and still couldn't figure out who Mr. K was.

"I know many people. Actually, you know me too, but revealing my mask now would make the whole story quite dull."

Mr. K voluntarily retreated. M3 chose to shield Kal'tsit behind it, its hideous appearance enough to stop a child from crying.

"Let us meet again in the future, oh ignorant lady."

As he spoke, the patterns on Mr. K's mask lit up. Kal'tsit immediately realized what he was about to do, and M3 decisively stood in front of her.

With a "boom," the entire hotel shook violently. The sound was so loud that even Mizuki, far away at Penguin Logistics, could hear it. He looked toward that direction with some confusion.

The moment the explosion occurred, Mizuki felt something—a feeling of extreme disgust.

He could perceive the movement of water; he could feel every pedestrian on the street holding an umbrella. The explosion just now had evaporated quite a bit of moisture.

"Hmm..."

Perhaps sensing Mizuki's dissatisfaction, his tentacles crawled out from under the bed, gently placing themselves on Mizuki's head to rub it in comfort, then feeding him a potato chip.

"Thanks."

Although he could command these tentacles with ease, Mizuki was more used to treating them as friends. Sensing his displeasure, the tentacles gestured for a while, the general meaning being that they would help Mizuki settle this matter.

"Ah, is that so..."

Before Mizuki could finish, all the tentacles disappeared from the room. Mizuki didn't even know where they had gone.

"Would that be a bad thing?"

Mizuki sighed helplessly and continued playing his game. Although he had bought many games, he hadn't played many yet. He had even curiously bought Sand Song, only to realize halfway through that he had bought the wrong one.

He didn't know why, but the Seaborn Brood was exceptionally enthusiastic today, hoping Mizuki would play more fighting games. Mizuki was, of course, happy to oblige, and he proceeded to brutally crush a player with the ID "Beat Char Siu Cat" for three rounds. The opponent refused to accept defeat and sent another friend request, asking Mizuki to spar a few more times.

[gameover, youwin]

Another easy victory. For Mizuki, these didn't even count as a warm-up. Meanwhile, in the Lungmen Guard Department dormitory, Ch'en looked at the [youlose] on her screen and fell into deep self-doubt. This was absolutely not right. She, Ch'en, was at least the runner-up of the Lungmen Fighting Game Tournament; how could she be taken down so easily?

"Who on earth is this 'izumikun'? No, where did this little hater come from?"

Ch'en couldn't think of any such expert she had seen in Lungmen before. The key was that the opponent even sent a near-provocative message: "Big sister, you don't have to go easy on me." Damn it, did she want to go easy? She had been hung up and beaten by the opponent!

[I'm not going easy anymore, I'm going to sleep!]

"Sigh, going to sleep already? Being an adult is really hard; there's hardly any time to play games."

Mizuki sighed softly. Although he should be an adult, he certainly looked like a youth on the outside, as did Exusiai.

However, Lungmen was full of experts. Yesterday, Mizuki had raced against a player called "Lungmen Speed Legend" and won by a narrow margin. Although he didn't know who that big sister was just now, even her warm-up phase had piqued his interest. If she got serious, she would definitely be a strong opponent!

But Mizuki was then matched with a player called "Lungmen Underworld Heiress." Seeing that the opponent even had the championship trophy icon, Mizuki immediately became serious. This was a formidable enemy! Time to get serious!

And so, that night, several members of House Lin heard their young mistress wailing and slamming the table in a rage, which lasted for a full three hours.

"Find this 'izumikun' for me! I don't accept this! If you have the guts, fight me in real life!"

"Sleeping? You want to run after winning? Keep going! I don't believe you can beat me without taking damage!"

Listening to this irritable voice, the guards stationed in the courtyard couldn't help but look at the room with the lights on on the second floor.

"What do you think is wrong with the young mistress?"

"Who knows."

The girls at Penguin Logistics certainly didn't know that their mascot-cum-nanny had caused a huge stir for them, offending the one person in Lungmen you absolutely shouldn't provoke.

Skadi had just finished her bath and was preparing to find Mizuki to dry her hair. Laurentina followed, while Ho'olheyak was busy in the kitchen, doing who knows what.

Sora looked curiously at Exusiai, who was sitting on the sofa. She had already washed up, and according to her usual personality, she would have gone straight to Mizuki. It wasn't that they were overly clingy, but they just liked sticking together to play games and chat.

But she seemed to be looking through something. Sora leaned over curiously and found it was about the housing market trends in Dossoles and Siesta.

Limited by the Originium dust in the atmosphere, Terra's existing communication methods couldn't cover the entire continent, and information flow wasn't fast. So, the "latest" housing prices Exusiai was looking at were already a month old.

"Are you planning to buy a house?"

"Yeah, but just buying it for now. I probably won't consider moving in until a dozen years later."

A dozen years was Exusiai's estimate. She still loved life at Penguin Logistics, but after marrying Mizuki in the future, she would definitely have to tone things down a bit, especially once there were children.

The housing prices in Siesta and Dossoles didn't make Exusiai shake her head in disbelief, but she didn't know about the educational standards there. She had to consider the child's future; leaving them to be raised wild in her hometown of Laterano was definitely out of the question. She herself was the result of being raised wild by her parents.

"A dozen years later... I guess we'll all be retired by then. I'll see where you and Mizuki live and come join the fun."

As an idol, Sora knew that her profession was mostly a youth-based career. Besides, they had known each other for so long, and their relationship was more than just good. She wouldn't be able to bear it if they separated in the future. Anyway, she had no attachments, so moving with Exusiai would be fine.

"Sure, you're welcome anytime. I reckon Croissant will be running a small shop by then."

"Then I'll be the leader of the square dance group. As for Texas... a security guard?"

Listening to the noise in the living room, Texas turned on the shower, letting the warm water wash away the foam on her body. She couldn't help but reach out to touch her back.

All the scars of the past had vanished. That day, Mizuki had protected her without regard for his own safety, and then there was what happened today. Texas admitted that she felt guilty toward Exusiai, because she had fallen for her best friend's boyfriend.

Even though she had become a drowned rat on the way back, Texas still wished that the journey back could have been longer. She liked that feeling.

"Achoo!"

Well, she didn't like catching a cold. Being in the rain for so long, with her tail and hair all wet, it seemed normal to catch a cold.

But Mizuki didn't seem to have any issues. Texas felt that he actually quite liked the rain, or rather, he liked the feeling of being surrounded by water.

It wasn't that Texas hadn't seen Aegirs before, but seeing someone as special as Skadi and Mizuki was a first. Ordinary Aegirs couldn't breathe and live in water so easily.

"Mizuki..."

Murmuring the name of the person she liked, who was also her best friend's boyfriend, she looked at herself in the mirror. Texas's ears twitched slightly. She reached out to pinch them, but there was no electric sensation.

Exusiai and the others had also curiously touched her ears and even her tail. After all, they were close, and they were all girls, so they didn't mind much. But when they touched her, Texas just felt uncomfortable.

Only when Mizuki placed his hand on her ears did Texas not know how to describe the feeling. It was more comfortable than eating ice cream on a hot day; it was a bit addictive.

She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if Mizuki touched her tail.

She would probably show an expression completely different from her usual self. If she hadn't been persistent enough to endure it today, it probably wouldn't have been just a simple blush.

"Hoo..."