Kurumi! You Can't!!

"The information you wanted is right here." Ratziel unfolded its display and, under Nia's control, floated steadily over to Qian Huanyue.

"That's a huge help, Nia!"

Nia Honjo planted her hands on her hips, lifting her chin slightly with a hint of pride on her face, her nose practically pointing at the sky. "Hehe, after all, it's an incredibly convenient search engine."

"That's amazing!" Qian Huanyue exclaimed with perfect cooperation.

"My, that certainly is true." Kurumi Tokisaki, who had appeared in the living room at some point, leaned against the doorframe. Covering half her face lightly with one hand, she let out a deliberately regretful sigh, her heterochromatic eyes peering at Qian Huanyue through her fingers.

"In Huanyue-chan's heart, Miss Nia's Angel and my Zafkiel are worlds apart when it comes to convenience."

Her tone was clearly teasing, yet her face unmistakably carried a subtle, half-genuine, half-playful jealousy at having been outdone.

"Huh?"

Qian Huanyue's eyes widened slightly, seemingly surprised and confused by Kurumi's words.

Looking at Kurumi pretending to be hurt,

she clung to Kurumi's arm in a coquettish manner.

"Why would you think that?" Qian Huanyue drew out the last syllable. "Without Kurumi-chan, I might have ended up sleeping in space."

"But when someone went into action, she didn't ask me to come along. Instead, she went looking for several past, not particularly reliable 'me's."

Her voice carried a faint note of grievance before she abruptly changed the subject.

"And in the end, she got her back pierced by some poor little thing."

"Eek...!" Hearing her dark history exposed so bluntly, Qian Huanyue felt as though a boomerang had struck her squarely in the back.

Her whole body stiffened, and an embarrassed blush instantly spread across her face.

"...Ugh, leave me a little dignity, Sansa." Qian Huanyue looked utterly pitiful.

She simply threw herself in front of Kurumi, burying her burning face in Kurumi's shoulder. Her muffled voice came through. "I'll definitely ask Sansa next time."

Seeing the silver-haired Spirit bury herself away, Kurumi finally couldn't hold back a soft laugh. She raised a hand and rubbed Qian Huanyue's hair.

"My, that's more like it."

"Then, Sansa, where are the Four Heavenly Kings? I feel like I haven't seen them in a long time."

When Qian Huanyue brought up her dark-history selves again, Kurumi's smile became more fake than genuine.

"My~"

The hand that had been stroking Qian Huanyue's hair stopped as well, her fingertips loosely twining a strand of silver hair.

"Huanyue-chan... cares quite a lot about the past 'me's, doesn't she?" Her voice remained sweet, yet somehow carried a trace of chill.

"Do you find 'us' more interesting than I am now? Or do you miss that little experience of getting your back pierced together with 'them'?"

That was right. Qian Huanyue's question had been completely deliberate.

She knew the answer and had asked anyway, just to see how Kurumi would react.

Perhaps she was getting revenge for the slight embarrassment of having her dark history mercilessly exposed just now, or perhaps the tiny prankster instinct in her bones was acting up.

Watching the situation unfold, Nia Honjo decided it would be best not to get involved and began silently edging away.

She quietly retreated into her room.

This is bad, this is bad.

I didn't hear anything!! Please, you two, don't let the sparks reach me!!

Facing Kurumi's "kind" gaze, the mischief on Qian Huanyue's face gradually gave way to a trace of guilt as she struggled to maintain a composed expression.

"Um... I'm just curious... Sansa is away from home for quite a long time usually, and they're pretty cute too..."

That statement was no different from pouring oil on the fire.

"My~ So, in Huanyue-chan's heart, 'they' are that cute... It seems I need to seriously reconsider how to make Huanyue-chan understand more clearly who, between the 'me' of now and the past 'me's, is more... worthy of her 'attention.'"

"They're... they're all important?"

Qian Huanyue uttered the standard line of a scummy woman in a television drama.

The moment the words left her mouth, the air seemed to freeze completely.

"Heh..."

"My, my... 'They're all important'?" She repeated the words, her smile beautiful yet chilling to the bone. "Huanyue-chan really is... greedy."

She leaned forward slightly and moved close to Qian Huanyue's ear. Warm breath brushed over her sensitive ear, but the words she spoke made Qian Huanyue's entire body stiffen.

"It seems the strawberry cakes, puddings, and gaming equipment someone has been looking forward to may have to say goodbye to someone for the next month."

...Huh... huhhhh?!!!

Games were fine; to Huanyue, they were really only something to pass the time.

But having her sweets cut off—

That would be painful.

Qian Huanyue proved through her actions that one should never casually provoke the person who held the household's lifeline.

Otherwise, the consequences would be dire.