"That's a bold guess."
Yuki smiled slightly, looking at Akane, this beautiful yet introverted girl, with some surprise.
"You guessed correctly. Claire is indeed a descendant of a Hero's Bloodline."
"And among those bandits, their leader was a member of the Cult."
"They were committing crimes in this area while also searching for suitable experimental subjects among the descendants of Hero Bloodlines."
Yuki explained softly and calmly.
"I see!"
"Because Claire has been exceptionally strong since childhood, the Cult members deduced she might be a descendant of a Hero's Bloodline!"
"That's why they set a trap to lure her in and kidnap her."
Akane then continued the explanation following Yuki's lead.
"Mhm!"
"I didn't expect you to be quite clever, Akane."
A faint smile appeared on Yuki's lips as he offered a word of praise.
Hearing Yuki's praise, a blush rose to Akane's cheeks.
"Don't underestimate me!"
"I am a high school student, after all!"
"I've seen that kind of plot a lot in novels or comics."
The girl held her head high proudly, as if to say, Don't look down on me.
"Heh, alright then."
Yuki grinned and nodded.
....
After about twenty minutes, Yuki and Akane finally returned inside, each going to their own rooms to rest and sleep.
Back in her room, after cleaning herself up, Akane suddenly remembered she had forgotten to bring spare clothes.
The outfit she wore today, while not dirty and could technically be worn again, the same couldn't be said for her undergarments.
For a moment, she had no choice but to ask the group for help.
[Akane Nishino]: Senpai Saeko Busujima, help me!!
[Saeko Busujima]: Help? Isn't Yuki over there with you? Why would you need me to come save you? (Puzzled)
[Seitenshi]: Yeah, just ask Yuki directly, right?
[Akane Nishino]: It's not that! This help is... is... I forgot to bring any underwear!
[Saeko Busujima]: Oh! So that's it! That's simple. I'll send you some underwear! Don't worry, they're all brand new, never worn!
[Akane Nishino]: Thank you so much, Saeko-senpai!
Akane quickly received a red packet from Saeko Busujima.
After opening it, she found that many pieces of underwear had been added to her chat group item storage.
Not only that, Saeko had thoughtfully included some outerwear as well.
She casually took out one piece and looked at its style, immediately causing a blush to spread across her cheeks.
"Wh... what's this?!"
"Are these... Saeko-senpai's own? This kind of style... it's way too racy!"
She then took out all the remaining pieces and found they were all in similar styles.
Most were lace-trimmed, and some were even of the barely-there, see-through variety.
This kind of adult-style lingerie was something she usually wouldn't even dare to think about.
[Saeko Busujima]: So, Akane-chan, will these be enough for you? Don't worry, they've never been worn; they're brand new!
[Akane Nishino]: Thank you, Saeko-senpai.
In the end, Akane still changed into the lingerie Saeko had sent her.
Wearing this style for the first time gave the girl a very particular feeling.
"Is this the kind of style Yuki-kun likes?"
Lying in bed, Akane pondered this question.
Soon, her pretty face flushed red, and she hurriedly dismissed such thoughts.
The night passed without incident, and soon it was the next day.
After washing up, Yuki left his room.
At that moment, Akane also happened to be up.
"Good morning, Yuki-kun."
"Mhm, good morning, Akane."
After greeting each other, they headed to the dining hall for breakfast.
After breakfast, Yuki planned to start their intended tasks with Akane.
"Big Brother Yuki! Did you come to watch me practice my sword?"
Claire, who had finished breakfast early and was already practicing with her sword in the garden, saw Yuki and Akane come out. She immediately sheathed her sword and ran over, asking with a smile.
"Claire, practicing so early in the morning. You're really diligent!"
Yuki smiled at Claire.
"Mhm, mhm! I'm going to become the Kingdom's strongest Dark Knight!"
"So I have to train hard, aiming to enroll in the Midgar Academy for Dark Knights in the future!"
Hearing the name of this academy, Akane's interest was piqued.
"Academy for Dark Knights? So it's a place to train Dark Knights?"
"Of course! It's the best Dark Knight academy around here!"
"Our Kingdom's strongest Dark Knight, the First Princess Iris, graduated from there!"
Seeing Akane's curious expression, a trace of pride appeared on Claire's face.
Akane didn't pay much attention to Claire. Instead, she was considering whether she should attend this academy to improve her own strength.
"Claire, we need to go out to take care of some business, so we might be apart for a while."
Yuki then informed Claire of their imminent departure.
"Ah!"
"You're leaving already?"
Hearing that Yuki was leaving, an expression of reluctance immediately appeared on Claire's face.
"Mhm, but don't worry. It's only for a little while. We'll be back soon."
A faint smile touched Yuki's lips as he spoke to Claire.
Seeing this, Claire could only accept it, giving a slight nod.
"Then... you must come back early."
Claire's brows were knitted together as she forced a smile and reminded them.
"Mhm."
"We will."
Yuki nodded.
"Goodbye, little Claire. Don't miss your big sister too much!"
Akane said goodbye to Claire with a smile.
However, Claire completely ignored Akane, her gaze still lingering on Yuki with reluctance.
Seeing this, Akane helplessly shrugged.
She really had no way of dealing with this kid from another world.
So she tried her best to restrain herself and not take it personally.
Besides, if it really came to a fight, she probably wouldn't win.
It was truly a sad story for Akane.