Dania: Do I Have to Play Badminton Too?

Before they knew it, the weekend had arrived again.

For Xiao Ling and the others, aside from Dania's catgirl incident, the week had been a dull, repetitive routine of going back and forth between the same two places.

At ten in the morning, inside a badminton court.

The badminton court had been built only a few years ago. Though it wasn't large, it had become a rare spot for badminton enthusiasts to gather.

Ordinarily, everyone played their own games, but today was a little different.

Inside the badminton court, both the boys and the girls sat to one side, watching the five most dazzling beautiful girls on the court.

And the badminton match between them, which could only be described as World War II.

"Take this!" The shuttlecock Lynae hit traced a graceful arc through the air with a whoosh.

"I've got it~!" Aemeath took quick little steps and sent the shuttlecock precisely back with a smack.

"Senior! It's all yours!"

"Okay!"

Sigrika leaped lightly like a bird. Though she was still a little inexperienced, she struck a fairly intimidating smash with a bang.

"Not a chance!" Chisa calmly anticipated the shuttlecock's trajectory, stepped forward, and returned the smash. The shuttlecock flew gracefully over the net with a whoosh.

The badminton enthusiasts watching all felt their palms start to sweat.

These four beautiful girls looked slender and delicate, yet the way they played badminton was completely at odds with their appearance. From the sound of their strikes alone, the spectators could tell this was a match they had no hope of joining, yet the girls managed to keep the rally going back and forth.

"Should I even be here?" Dania stared blankly at the four girls playing badminton before her and couldn't help asking herself.

It was the weekend. Wasn't this the time to stay home and sleep in?

They had settled on coming to the badminton court over dinner yesterday. The first reason was Little Ai and Lynae's badminton match; second, they had grown thoroughly bored with their routine of going back and forth between the same two places and needed an outing to refresh themselves.

Xiao Ling and Cartethyia hadn't come along. They had their own business to attend to, and they were keeping it a complete secret from the girls, so they had to excuse themselves.

Dania had originally chosen to stay home alone and get some sleep, while also playing through the story of Wuthering Waves version 2.5. After all, she was quite curious about the tangled love and hate between Rover and the Fractsidus Overseer, the only one willing to talk to her.

But she couldn't withstand Sigrika blinking those big, pitiful eyes at her and ended up agreeing to come along.

There was no way I could refuse...

With nothing else to do, Dania watched the match for a while before browsing on her phone. Suddenly, a message popped up.

Lupa: [Abby says hello.jpg]

Lupa: Xiao Ya, Xiao Ya!

Lupa: [Image]

Lupa: The sunshine is lovely today. It's perfect weather for a run.

Lupa: What are you doing, Xiao Ya?

The photo showed a sunlit running track. Just looking at it made Dania feel a little hot.

Was this weather really suitable for running?

Dania: [Image]

Dania: I'm watching other people play badminton.

Lupa: [Surprised.jpg]

Lupa: Are these all your friends, Xiao Ya?

Dania: Yeah, we live together.

Lupa: I'm so jealous~ Hope you all have fun!

Lupa: Oh, by the way, I heard my partner seems to have signed up for the men's 3,000-meter race at the sports meet.

Lupa: What a shame. I'd have liked to race my partner if I had the chance, but the men's and women's track events are separate...

Lupa: Ah, never mind, never mind. I'm off to train! Bye!

Lupa: [Abby says hello.jpg]

Dania: Mm-hmm, good luck with your training.

After waiting a while without another reply from Lupa, Dania began to process the information she had just shared.

Ling actually volunteered for such a difficult event? Hadn't he always been indifferent to these activities before?

Three thousand meters... Just thinking about it scared Dania.

Running one thousand meters in this weather would make her feel like she was evaporating, yet Hajiling was going to run three thousand? Was he really that brave?

As she was lost in thought, the sound of sneakers against the floor approached her.

"Yaya, want to give it a try?" Lynae asked with a smile, one hand on her hip as she held out her badminton racket to Dania. "It's a lot of fun."

"Can I say no?" Snapped out of her thoughts by the sudden invitation, Dania blinked obediently, attempting to launch a cuteness offensive.

"Nope, dear Yaya, you haven't been getting much exercise lately, have you?" Sigrika was quite concerned about her best friend's health. "If all you do is eat without exercising, you'll gain weight!"

Dania: Would you believe I haven't actually gained any weight at all?

"I really can't, Xixi. I've never even learned how to play badminton. I'd definitely be terrible at it..."

"You can learn now~ Sigrika and Chisa learned on the spot too, and they're playing pretty well already~"

Dania was startled. She looked toward the voice and saw that Aemeath, who had just spoken up to persuade her, and Chisa were also looking at her with expectant smiles.

Do I have to play badminton too? Dania thought helplessly.

Dania escaped from the badminton court.

The air conditioning inside the court was comfortable, but she felt that if she stayed there any longer, sooner or later they'd drag her into playing a couple of games whether she knew how or not.

There was no helping it. This peach would rather suffer the heat than exercise.

She used buying water for the others as an excuse to escape their expectant gazes safely, and couldn't help breathing a quiet sigh of relief.

As it happened, there was a convenience store not far away, with a string of English letters written on it in conspicuous blue type-

LAWSON.

Having settled on her next destination, Dania opened her umbrella and hurried toward the nearby convenience store with quick little steps.

It was so hot outside. She wanted to get inside and enjoy the air conditioning~

Iuno sat at the convenience store counter, bored out of her mind as she flipped through a novel.

If Xiao Ling had seen this, he would surely have been surprised that the Maiden of Revelation from Septimont would one day work behind a convenience store counter.

She had traded her distinctive Maiden of Revelation outfit for a sky-blue store uniform and a short white skirt, with a white buttoned vest over it. Her two blue, gradient-colored ponytails were neatly tied with white hair ties, and a tie was fastened tidily at her collar, bringing out her youthful innocence and charm.

"This is so boring..."

For Iuno, working at the convenience store counter was more like experiencing everyday life. She could also observe all sorts of people in this world, though she herself wasn't fond of this kind of desk job.

Lately, though, the weather had been hot, and most people chose to stay home. Delivery services were well developed now, so anyone who wanted drinks or snacks only had to place an order. As a result, delivery workers were the people Iuno saw most often. Sometimes she thought they really had it hard, running errands for others in temperatures above thirty degrees.

The store's owner, however, was a kind middle-aged man. He had placed a freezer of bottled mineral water at the entrance especially for delivery workers, and had specifically told Iuno that if they refused it, she could secretly slip them some when they weren't looking.

Iuno had been here for a little over a month now, and she was quite satisfied with her life. This world was peaceful and tranquil, and its pace had helped her slow down as well.

"Clatter."

The automatic sliding door suddenly sounded, bringing Iuno out of her boredom. At a glance, she saw Dania folding her umbrella and entering the store.

After watching her for a while, Iuno returned her attention to the novel she hadn't finished.

"Lynae wants sparkling water, Aemeath wants milk..." Dania counted on her fingers, muttering to herself.

She passed a clerk with long reddish-orange hair who was arranging a shelf, then headed straight for the chilled drinks section.

After placing everyone's drinks, including her own, into the basket she carried, one bottle at a time, Dania went to the food section and picked up a few bags of chips and two boxes of Pocky.

After comfortably enjoying the convenience store's air conditioning for a while, Dania went to the counter to pay.

"Sorry for the trouble," she said softly, handing the contents of her basket to Iuno at the counter.

"No trouble at all. I'll take care of it."

Iuno closed her book and stood up. Smiling, she brushed back a ponytail that had fallen in front of her and efficiently began ringing up Dania's purchases.

"You can scan here to pay."

Dania took out her payment code and scanned it with a beep, then left carrying the snacks and drinks she had bought.

Only after Dania left did the reddish-orange-haired clerk come over to Iuno.

Her outfit was similar to Iuno's, except that she wore no vest, had on a high-waisted mermaid skirt, and had sunglasses perched on her head.

"If I hadn't sensed that all-too-familiar aura for myself, I really couldn't have imagined that this harmless-looking girl would have anything to do with a Lament," Augusta said softly.

"Those people from the Fractsidus treat human lives like grass. An organization that could think up a way to combine humans and Tacet Discords wouldn't surprise me no matter what earth-shattering thing it did," Iuno remarked bluntly.

"Let's leave that topic aside for now. Do you think Dania is trustworthy?" Augusta asked Iuno.

"I'll have to get to know her better before I can judge whether she's trustworthy, but at least I can tell she's also quite satisfied with her current life." Iuno didn't answer directly, only sharing what she had observed. "I'm very good at reading people. I can tell at a glance whether the happiness in her eyes is an act."

"Being able to live here in peace as an ordinary girl is naturally far happier than being a useful pawn in the Fractsidus's hands," Augusta said with a smile.

Their impression of Dania was based on Lupa and Cartethyia's descriptions; this was their first time meeting her in person.

"Speaking of which, didn't Cartethyia come with her?"

"No, she's with Blank. They said they were preparing a birthday surprise for Dania." As Iuno spoke, she waved her phone to show Augusta that she had already contacted them.

"That does sound like something the Hero King would do."

"Hmph, I'd say it's more his sentimental, wandering-lover side showing itself."

"But a birthday surprise..." Iuno touched her lips thoughtfully. "Augusta, do you think we should prepare something?"

"We could, but shouldn't we tell him?"

"That's where you're wrong, Augusta. A surprise is a surprise because it's unpredictable. If Blank already knew everything beforehand, wouldn't that defeat the purpose?"

"Good point, but we don't even know what that girl likes. How are we supposed to prepare a surprise for her?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, isn't Cartethyia close to Blank and Dania? We can just ask her when the time comes."