Skadi, I Have a Girlfriend

Exusiai looked at Sora in confusion, but after thinking it over, she felt it was unlikely. Last night, she had only known about Texas, and she did not think Sora and Mizuki had had any chance to develop feelings for each other.

However, she had forgotten that she and Mizuki had not exactly shared any deep feelings before doing that either.

Because of certain agreements, Laurentina and Specter could take turns appearing. When Specter took control of the body, the way she looked at Mizuki held a little grievance beneath her devotion, because when she got up in the middle of the night, she had not been able to find him.

All that could be said was that Mizuki understood her. Unfortunately, he had not expected that after avoiding Specter, he would instead be pinned down by Sora. He was still very curious how Sora had managed to hold out for five whole hours. Were Cautus all this brave?

"Exusiai, want to come with me?"

"Heh... Go by yourself. I have a boyfriend."

"********"

Croissant suddenly burst into a stream of elegant hometown dialect from her mouth. Damn it, having a boyfriend was such a big deal? This old lady... Fuck, Croissant suddenly remembered that she was not exactly in a good position to find someone either.

"Mizuki, what are you thinking about?"

Seeing that Croissant and Exusiai were about to begin a war over food, Texas quickly changed the subject. Seeing Mizuki bite his chopsticks without saying a word, she became curious about what he was thinking.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that, in a while, I'll be going to Chernobog with the people accompanying Rhodes Island."

"Because of that Doctor?"

"Yeah."

In truth, Mizuki was thinking about how to come clean to Exusiai about Sora and Texas, as well as Ho'olheyak. Even though Exusiai already knew a great deal, Mizuki still hoped to tell her himself.

But because he brought it up, everyone remembered that there was still such a matter. Mizuki had integrated so quickly that they had nearly forgotten his origins were still a complete mystery.

That female Doctor from Rhodes Island might know Mizuki's identity, but Skadi did not remember Mizuki ever mentioning any of this to her. They did not know much about the Doctor either. They only knew that the Doctor was a very important person in Rhodes Island, and that Penguin Logistics had signed a cooperation agreement with Rhodes Island this time for the sake of that unnamed female Doctor.

In order to rescue the Doctor more effectively, Penguin Logistics had decided to send Mizuki to assist Rhodes Island in saving her. Since it was a classified operation, fewer people would be better. Chernobog was, after all, a city-state of Ursus, and no one wanted it to escalate into a diplomatic issue.

"Mizuki and Skadi, plus Specter. That should be enough, right?"

"Definitely enough."

Texas had absolutely no doubts about Mizuki's combat strength. In every battle so far, Mizuki had treated things with an extremely casual attitude. Even if he did not know just how strong he was, he was already somewhat stronger than Specter.

"I'll be fine."

Seeing the concern in Exusiai's eyes, Mizuki took the initiative to rub his face against his lover's cheek, giving her a smile to reassure her.

"I'm not worried something will happen to you. I heard that Doctor is a woman. Don't let her steal you away."

Hearing that, every girl present aside from Croissant awkwardly looked away. It felt as though Exusiai was making a veiled accusation.

"Xiao Le, do you really have that little confidence in yourself?"

"Yeah. My figure isn't as good as Ho'olheyak's, Specter's, or Skadi's. I'm not as sweet as Sora, and I don't have Texas's poise either."

"What about me?"

Croissant pointed at herself. Only then did Exusiai remember there was still this croissant person. After giving it some thought, she said,

"I'm only a little better than Croissant."

"That's enough! You can't insult people like that!"

Completely ignoring Croissant's complaints, Exusiai secretly pinched Mizuki's waist beneath the table to express her dissatisfaction.

Other than Skadi and Specter, who proudly lifted their heads, the other three girls who had been named all scratched their heads awkwardly. Then they realized something and looked at each other, feeling like they might have some common ground.

It was like how Ho'olheyak and Sora both knew Texas had secretly gotten some, while Texas guessed that Ho'olheyak intended to sneak some but did not know Sora had already had her fill. Sora, meanwhile, did not know Ho'olheyak was also suspected of sneaking some. This chain of suspicion was rather complicated.

After the meal, Croissant, who consciously felt she could no longer survive in this household, chose to carry her luggage out and set up a street stall. Mizuki and Exusiai were responsible for clearing the dishes. Exusiai only noticed that Texas walked a little unnaturally, completely failing to notice that Sora nearly fell while walking. Fortunately, Mizuki had his tentacles support her.

Skadi and Specter went upstairs for an afternoon nap. This was Mizuki's idea, as well as a small agreement Skadi and Exusiai had reached. At noon, Exusiai would have time alone with Mizuki, while in the afternoon, Skadi could have some private time with her beloved little brother.

Ho'olheyak, meanwhile, went out. No one knew what she was doing, though she was probably passing along intelligence. Her identity as a Melnade Foundation agent had never been much of a secret. She had exposed it herself before.

After clearing the dishes, Exusiai pinned Mizuki down on the sofa. Her light-blue hat fell to the floor, and then she did nothing but bury herself against Mizuki's chest, staring at him without saying a word.

"Um..."

"Mizuki, what do you think of Texas?"

After a period of silence, Exusiai spoke. Yet there was grievance in her eyes when she said it, as though a thin mist had risen in them.

Tears swirled in her eyes. Mizuki naturally understood what she was thinking. His gentle smile faded, and he simply reached out to wipe away the tears that might fall.

"She's not as good as A-Neng."

"I know that, but... she likes you. Probably because you risked your life to save hers before."

"But I never thought of her that way."

"But she does."

Exusiai held herself back from crying. She felt this was not worth crying over. The last time she had cried was when she saw her sister lying unconscious in a hospital bed.

"What kind of situation is this? Can't you stop being so good? Do you have to make so many people like you?"

"But if I weren't good, A-Neng, you wouldn't want me anymore."

That did seem to make sense. Mizuki wiped Exusiai's tears clean. She was a strong girl to begin with; she just felt terribly wronged for a moment.

First, her sister had refused to acknowledge her as a sister-in-law. Now her best friend had set her sights on her boyfriend. What was all this? What would happen next? It could not be that her sister Lemuen and Mostima would come to steal him too, could it?

"Then promise me something."

"What is it?"

"If one day you can only marry one person, it has to be me!"

"It will only ever be you."

Mizuki nodded sincerely. He was not saying that merely to make Exusiai happy. It was a genuine promise.

"And Texas, actually, last night..."

"I know. I didn't fall asleep last night."

The atmosphere suddenly turned icy. Seeing Exusiai's blank expression, Mizuki scratched his head awkwardly. He had originally intended not to reveal Sora's matter yet, but he also felt it was inappropriate to hide it from his girlfriend.

"Later, I was worried Laurentina might come too, so I went to sleep in the living room. Then... Sora might have just happened to be, you know, in the mood."

"So that's why she was making eyes at you earlier?"

Exusiai's voice gradually turned cold, and the halo above her head dimmed considerably. She suddenly realized that Sora's behavior this morning had been strange too.

Her appearance, like she was about to fall, scared Mizuki a little. He hurriedly kissed her to soothe her, then rubbed her head and nuzzled her cheek.

"Tsk..."

Exusiai could not help clenching her fists. She suddenly had the urge to tie Texas and Sora to bombs and send them into the sky as fireworks, but she could not bear to do it.

Hit Mizuki? She could not bear that even more.

"I'm going to strangle you!"

She grabbed Mizuki by the neck and shook him around. Exusiai did not use much force, mainly because she was worried that if she strangled Mizuki to death, no one would want her afterward, and she would have no way to show off in front of her sisters.

Mizuki also pretended to be half-strangled to death by her, and then the two of them lay on the sofa together.

"Go to my room... No matter what, I'm your girlfriend. I can't lose to anyone else! Texas only lasted half an hour. What a loser."

"But Sora held on for five hours."

Those words successfully stopped Exusiai from carrying Mizuki into her room. She stared at him in shock.

"...How did she survive?"

As a comrade who had once fought alongside Specter for an entire night, Exusiai knew very well how formidable Mizuki's stamina was. Sora had actually held out for five hours, and she could even get out of bed for breakfast this morning? Why had she never realized her sister was this strong?

"So, do you still want to compete?"

"Let's talk about it later. I'm suddenly worried about something now."

"What is it?"

"I'm worried about my sister."

Exusiai looked at Mizuki with mixed feelings, not knowing what to say.

"Lemuen? Haven't you always had a good relationship with her? And we were even planning to bring her home with us someday."

"But the problem is that you're too good at attracting women. I'm afraid my sister and Mostima might set their sights on you."

"What's there to be afraid of? I don't like you just because you're pretty."

"Are you saying I'm ugly?"

Exusiai raised an eyebrow slightly. Mizuki hurriedly shook his head. He did not know where Exusiai had learned this from.

"A-Neng is the most..."

"Hmm?"

"Darling is very beautiful!"

"That's more like it. Still, worrying about this is useless. Hmm, how about we get our marriage certificate next month, then find a good time to see my sister?"

Just in case, Exusiai still felt it would be safer this way. Mizuki did not object either.

"By the way, Sora and Texas have both been taken by you—ah, no, they both took you down. What about Croissant?"

"No."

"Then we won't bring her to the next party."

Next Time, Don't Bring Skadi to the Party Either

"Mizuki, I'll be counting on you from now on."

Beneath the dim sky, waves battered the shore. Mizuki moved through the sea without regard for anything else, using his tentacles to bind the Doctor to his back so that the Doctor would not fall into the water.

His sharp, resilient tentacles mercilessly sliced apart every Seaborn that dared stand in his way. Mizuki's mind was filled with questions and commands from the entire Seaborn Brood.

They did not understand why this fellow kin would show hostility toward them, but Ishar-mla wanted to keep that human. The Brood acted according to her command and regarded Mizuki as an enemy.

Facing the interrogation sent by the entire Brood, Mizuki felt immense pressure. How could an individual within a collective resist the will of that collective? Mizuki did not know, but he regarded the Doctor as more important than his own life.

This was not a bond that friendship, family, or love could explain. Whatever it was, he only wanted the Doctor to live.

Many people imagined the Doctor as an omnipotent "god," or a superhuman comparable to a machine. They were wrong. The Doctor was ultimately only human. Though not ordinary, he was still human. He had too much pain he could not speak of, too much sorrow he could not pour out.

Mizuki knew all of this. He had seen the Doctor cry with his own eyes and heard his helpless wails. He also knew that this person would be devastated by his departure. How could the strength of an individual possibly accomplish so many things as one wished? But it did not matter. As long as the Doctor survived, that was enough.

After countless Seaborn tore away more than half his tentacles, after enduring pain that felt like being cut in half an unknown number of times, the battered Mizuki finally brought the Doctor to the shore. He tried not to look too grotesque, though the consciousness of the Brood was constantly trying to seize control of his thoughts.

Mizuki had never cared about humanity's fate, but he cared about the Doctor. He knew the Doctor would never willingly watch humanity perish, so he was willing to oppose the entire Seaborn Brood, the will of countless hundreds of millions of Seaborn, just to bring the Doctor here. And this was as far as he could bring him.

"Doctor, go back first. Amiya and everyone must be very worried about you."

Mizuki embraced the Doctor one last time. The Doctor realized something, but before he could react, Mizuki had already let go.

"Mizuki, no, what are you doing?"

The Doctor's voice sounded strange. There was a male voice in it, and a female voice as well. Mizuki seemed to see two, three, even more Doctors standing before him. They had different looks in their eyes, but Mizuki wore the same smile for all of them.

"I'm going to stop them. Don't worry, I'm Seaborn too. They won't make things difficult for me. I'll return to your side very soon."

"And besides, Doctor, haven't you already modified me a little? I'm very strong now."

Mizuki smiled and waved. The Doctor fell silent, then turned and walked toward the agreed meeting place.

Watching the Doctor leave, Mizuki was immensely grateful that the Doctor had believed his words.

The Doctor walked toward land, while Mizuki turned toward the sea. They walked away from each other, yet their hearts had never been closer.