Skadi, I Have a Girlfriend

"Hmm?"

Hearing the sound of water coming from the bathroom, Muelsyse instinctively looked over. Lemuen was stunned too. Mostima, why were you and Mizuki hiding in there so quietly? What were you doing?

"Mostima is using the bathroom."

Texas remained perfectly composed, a chocolate stick between her lips, looking completely unconcerned. Muelsyse quickly dismissed her suspicions, but she had no intention of leaving, because she already knew Mizuki had never left this place.

But judging by Texas's expression, he probably wasn't hiding in the bathroom?

"Come to think of it, Ms. Muelsyse met Mizuki by chance in Sami? He said he was leaving, but didn't say where he was going?"

"He did tell me that he didn't know where he should go either. He only felt as though some voice was calling to him. He said it was deep within the snowfields."

Although she called herself Mizuki's ex-girlfriend, Muelsyse's status was somewhat questionable. Mizuki himself had never agreed to it. When she realized he intended to leave, Muelsyse had simply forced the issue.

"He only stayed because he wanted to accompany me in finding my people. He even said he'd give me an answer once he returned. Who knew he'd come back with amnesia? If I didn't have some connections in Columbia, I wouldn't even have known he was in Lungmen. And now, he's found himself a new lover."

As she spoke, tears seemed to gather in the corners of Muelsyse's eyes, as if she might burst into tears the next second. But Lemuen and Texas weren't falling for that act. Even the softhearted Sora chose to turn away.

"You can't blame Mizuki for that. After he lost his memories, he didn't remember anything. Penguin Logistics took him in. He didn't even know his own name, so how could he remember you? Besides, someone as outstanding as Ms. Muelsyse surely doesn't lack admirers."

Texas nodded. Everything Lemuen said had one purpose: straighten out the relationship between Muelsyse and Mizuki, then cut it off!

If Mizuki hadn't lost his memories and was still dating her little sister, Lemuen would have made Exusiai break up with him without hesitation. A man like that wasn't worth it. But this was such a dramatic situation that it wasn't really anyone's fault. Mizuki had indeed treated Exusiai well, and he got along with Lemuen too.

Lemuen liked this brother-in-law very much. Besides, she doubted anyone other than Mizuki would be willing to put up with Exusiai. For the sake of her sister's lifelong happiness, Lemuen was duty-bound!

"Mostima!"

Just as Muelsyse was about to retort, Fiammetta ran down from upstairs and rushed to the bathroom door, knocking on it with all her strength.

"Mostima! Get your ass out here! Come out!"

"What is it?"

Calling toward the door, Mostima looked at the disheveled Mizuki in her arms. Suddenly, she found it rather thrilling to hold and bully the man her good sister liked through nothing more than a door.

"Quit talking! Let me in!"

"I'm taking a bath. Wait until I'm done, then it'll be your turn."

"You're bathing my *******!"

Seeing how furious Fiammetta was, Muelsyse and Lemuen suddenly had a bad feeling.

Surely it wasn't what they were thinking, right?

Mizuki, Who Would Always Reach Out a Hand to Doctor

Perhaps because she had been cheated on too many times, Exusiai's instincts were terrifyingly accurate now. The moment she heard Mostima and Mizuki were alone in the bathroom, combined with Fiammetta saying that the two of them had known Mizuki for a long time, Exusiai immediately realized something.

That wasn't right. If they had known each other for so long, how could Mostima possibly have no feelings for Mizuki? Exusiai knew very well that Mostima liked boys like Mizuki. They were simply far too rare.

In truth, Exusiai's guess wasn't entirely wrong, though it wasn't entirely accurate either. Mizuki's friendship with Fiammetta and the others had only lasted a month, and Mostima wasn't someone who fell for people so easily. She was indeed interested in Mizuki, because the ancient presence dwelling within her staff had once said that Mizuki was special.

That specialness had drawn Mostima's attention. Back then, the two sides hadn't liked each other much, yet Mizuki was the only one who discriminated against no one. In his eyes, there was no distinction between superior and inferior races. Mostima had chatted with him quite a lot, while Fiammetta liked playing games with him and complaining to him about all the trouble Mostima caused.

However, the real breakthrough in their relationship dated back to one dinner. Ines and W both thought the other was interested in Mizuki, so they drugged each other's bowls. But they mixed up the bowls and poured everything into Mostima's dinner box instead.

So Mostima had actually gotten a taste long ago. Now, she was merely easing the itch of several months' longing.

Mostima had always found teasing Mizuki very entertaining. Mizuki might be devious, but he didn't love teasing people as much as Lemuen did. His offense and defense were simply a little too high.

"Mostima! You fucking—"

Seeing that she couldn't knock the door open, Fiammetta was so anxious she was nearly ready to draw her gun. Who cared that Muelsyse was right there?

But before Fiammetta could blow the door open, Mostima opened it herself and poked her head out at her good sister.

"What are you doing? I'm only taking a bath. Is this really necessary?"

"Cut the crap... where's Mizuki?"

Fiammetta lowered her voice to keep Muelsyse from hearing. She glanced inside but didn't see Mizuki anywhere.

"How would I know? He ran off by himself."

"Ran off?"

"Yeah. Do you see Mizuki in here? Besides, why are you so nervous? He's Xiao Le's boyfriend, not yours."

Mostima wore a teasing, amused expression. She found Fiammetta's nervous reaction very interesting.

"Shut up. Tch..."

After taking a careful look, Fiammetta confirmed that Mizuki really wasn't inside. She couldn't say anything else, so she put away her gun and left.

"What happened, Fia?"

Lemuen was curious about what Mostima and Fiammetta had been talking about. Since Mostima had Fallen, she could no longer share Mostima's emotions. But after knowing her for so many years, of course she knew Mostima was hiding something from her.

"Don't call me that!"

Fiammetta was already in a bad mood, and now she felt even worse. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure out where Mizuki had gone. Had he really run away?

"It's nothing. Mostima just took something of mine."

"Oh..."

Muelsyse smiled with her eyes. She had more or less guessed it. Mizuki had probably been hiding in the bathroom just now, but why had this Miss Fiammetta been so nervous?

Closing the door, Mostima gently stretched out her hand. The staff resting in the corner gave a soft chime, and Mizuki fell from the ceiling, landing neatly in Mostima's arms.

"Time manipulation?"

Mizuki almost immediately realized what Mostima's power was. She had thrown him upward, then used her staff to extend the time it took for him to fall. What should have been a single second of falling might have been stretched into an hour. Fiammetta had been too anxious to notice the ceiling.

"It's a useful ability, isn't it?"

Mostima kissed Mizuki on the cheek and smiled like a fox who had gotten away with a scheme. But she hadn't done anything. She was merely teasing him.

"It is useful. No, wait, you know me?"

"I do. We've known each other for over half a year. I remember it was in the wilderness of Kazimierz. Back then, you were following Hoederer's group around as their cook."

"Hoederer?"

"And Ines and W. You were captured back then, and I was the one who saved you. Though they treated you pretty well too."

Slightly twisting the truth about the past, Mostima gently patted Mizuki's shoulder. She wasn't in a hurry to make a move. It wouldn't have been appropriate anyway.

"Then... can you tell me about what happened before? And also, um... you wouldn't possibly..."

Remembering what Mostima had said earlier, Mizuki instinctively felt tense.

"Don't worry. I was only teasing you."

Mostima held Mizuki and sat down on the bathroom floor. She had only been fooling him in the first place, so there was no need to keep lying.

"That's good..."

"After all, I had just passed my dangerous period when we did it that time."

"Huh?!"

Mizuki immediately became alert and stared at Mostima in disbelief. She waved a hand.

"This time, I'm not lying. Though if you want to, it's not impossible. Today is my unsafe period."

Seeing Mostima's half-smiling expression, Mizuki hurriedly shook his head. This woman was terrifying. How had he known her in the past?

"All right, all right. I won't force you to do anything. You're Xiao Le's boyfriend now, after all. But that Ms. Muelsyse outside is really troublesome too."

Mostima wasn't someone who failed to understand the situation. Teasing Mizuki was one thing; there was no need to make it real now, nor would it be appropriate. But as long as Muelsyse didn't leave, some matters would be difficult to handle.

"Why won't you let me go out and see her?"

"Do you want to see her?"

"Yes. Facing it is better than running away. If the old me really loved her, then after she spent so long searching for me, I can't leave her without even an answer."

Mizuki had never intended to run away. The same went for Exusiai. It was only that Mostima and Fiammetta were worried they would fight, or that Mizuki would be caught in the middle and have too hard a time.

"That does sound like something you'd say. But now isn't the time. Have you found Doctor?"

"Doctor?"

Hearing that title, Mizuki raised his head and met Mostima's eyes, his gaze full of confusion.

"You said you wanted to find Doctor from the very first time we met. The reason you stayed around Ines and the others was because they knew Doctor."

"I don't remember any of it. But I think... I should still find Doctor."

Mizuki shook his head. Tomorrow, he would be leaving for Chernobog. Doctor was there. Mizuki's amnesia, his leaving Skadi's side without permission—everything needed an answer.

Yet as Mizuki and Mostima talked, they failed to notice the third person listening in. Or perhaps Mizuki simply didn't care too much.

"It's getting late. Since Mizuki can't see me, I'll visit again another day."

Muelsyse waved her hand. Of course, no one was stupid; they all understood what that meant. However, Muelsyse's reason for judging that Mizuki was home wasn't Fiammetta's behavior just now. It was because she had noticed Mizuki's umbrella still hanging on the wall.

After hesitating briefly, she removed a black teru teru bozu from her bag and hung it on Mizuki's umbrella, making a matching pair with the original one.

"Then I'll take my leave first."

Muelsyse smiled and left with her suitcase. Lemuen also dropped her earlier fake smile.

Exusiai and Fiammetta came pounding down from upstairs, then pushed open the bathroom door. Mizuki and Mostima were sitting on the floor as though they had just finished talking about something. Mizuki looked thoughtful, but thankfully, they were still fully clothed. There was also none of that familiar scent Exusiai knew in the air, which truly made her breathe a sigh of relief.

"Xiao Le, Mostima said she had already..."

"I heard."

Exusiai rubbed her temples, the weight in her heart finally lifting. She reached out, pulled Mizuki to his feet, and took him outside. Suddenly, she felt that Mostima and Mizuki absolutely could not be left alone together.

"That Ms. Muelsyse saw through us after all."

"There was no need to hide it, Sis. I'm not stealing or robbing anything. Why should I be afraid of her? We just need to explain things clearly."

Sitting down with Mizuki, Exusiai hooked one arm around his neck while holding Lemuen's hand with the other.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to win. What if someone steals away the only person willing to take you?"

"I'm not afraid. No one but you would fight me over things. You even stole my lollipops when we were kids."

"Who told you to put chili oil in my candy?"

Lemuen reached out and pinched Exusiai's cheek. The sisters looked at each other and laughed, then Lemuen turned to Mizuki.

"Sorry for taking matters into my own hands. But I think you should prepare yourselves first. Meeting too suddenly could cause some problems."

"Mm."

Mizuki answered softly, then looked toward his umbrella. For some reason, he felt something was strange. He got up, took the umbrella down, and looked at the two identical black teru teru bozu. He touched them lightly and discovered that one of them was wet.

It was water, and living water at that. But Mizuki didn't pay much attention to it. He only noticed that the two dolls were completely identical. Not only in craftsmanship, but even the stitching marks and damaged spots were exactly the same. It was like looking into a mirror.

A mirror... right, a mirror. Mizuki had looked into one before. No, that hadn't seemed to be a mirror either. It was... the surface of ice.

"Mizuki!"

Seeing her boyfriend suddenly collapse, Exusiai hurried over to support him. But Mizuki had already fainted, though he still tightly clutched the water-soaked teru teru bozu in his hand.

"Take him to the room."

Even after she had walked some distance away from Penguin Logistics, Muelsyse still nodded in satisfaction as she listened to the sound reaching her ears.

[Muelsyse, if you find me in the future, return this teru teru bozu to me.]

Remembering the note Mizuki had left behind back then, Muelsyse raised her head to look at the dark clouds above. She liked Lungmen's atmosphere now—the moist air, the water everywhere. She still remembered that she had first fallen for Mizuki because of the ocean-like aura around him.

"You can't forget me."

A flash of white light streaked through the clouds, followed by a rumbling clap of thunder. The torrential rain came without warning, drenching many people to the bone. Yet Muelsyse didn't care at all and couldn't be bothered to open her umbrella, letting the rain strike her body without wetting her clothes.

Of course she knew Mizuki had forgotten her. But as a water spirit, how could she possibly not love the sea?

"Doctor, spacing out again?"

A gentle, clear voice pulled Doctor's wandering consciousness back. Looking at the well-behaved and adorable boy before them, Doctor couldn't help reaching out and poking his soft cap.

"Sorry. I was thinking about something."

"Can you tell me what you were thinking about? I can give you my hat."