The door slammed shut again.
It would've been better if Sake Ninja Mai hadn't put on such a show — but she and her partner deliberately shut the door in a rush, as if to confirm that something truly ambiguous had happened between the two inside.
"..."
Shirou couldn't help but smile bitterly. He carefully helped Nono back onto the bed, and through this little farce, he gained an even deeper understanding of Sake Ninja Mai's schemes to push Nono onto his "thief ship."
"Thank you."
Nono clearly wasn't the shy type. She openly let Shirou adjust her limp body and tuck her under the blanket. Her lively eyes simply stared at his red hair, lost in thought — almost as if she could read flowers blooming from it.
Actually, when Sake Ninja Mai had burst in just now, the sound gave Nono an odd sense of déjà vu. It reminded her of the "Ninja Master" who had once helped her.
But on closer inspection, she noticed clear differences. (Mai: Voice changing techniques — a professional ninja's essential skill!)
She remembered now: the Ninja Master had already bid her farewell.
Nono realized her current situation: the Chen family was in the past, her identity as the Chen heiress had vanished. The Ninja Master had refused to take her in, so she should have ended up utterly alone.
But now… she'd been saved by the Zhou family — and the Zhou family wasn't some charity. They must have seen some kind of value in her…
Nono felt tired at heart.
The power struggles of these families reminded her of the rivalries she'd seen among her siblings. Back then, before she understood the Chen family's true nature, she too had been intoxicated by the lavish, harmonious atmosphere, everyone vying for her favor.
She later understood: it was all a facade created by her father. Everyone just wanted her friendship — as his beloved daughter — to get closer to power.
She'd grown tired of that scene.
Was she now stepping into another whirlpool?
Looking at Shirou, she noticed his dark-red hair again. That rare color stunned her.
Even in the vast Chen family, none of her siblings shared a hair color like his.
With no emotional anchor in her heart, Nono instinctively sought more points of similarity.
"Say… are you very popular in the Zhou family?"
Shirou nodded. Yes, his magical instruction and strength made that natural.
But was Nono finally showing interest in the Zhou family she would soon stay with? A good sign.
"Does the Zhou family head value you the most too?"
"…At the moment, I suppose no one else." Shirou thought, Wah-hime is just short of eating me alive.
"Then… have you ever thought of leaving?"
"Eh?"
Shirou looked at her in surprise. She still stared at his hair, occasionally meeting his eyes, as if craving the right answer.
Truthfully, he had thought about leaving someday — he just hadn't found the right opportunity to bring it up. But why was she asking this now?
"I really do want…"
Smack! Nono's pale little hand suddenly regained strength, grabbing his hand tightly before he could pick up another piece of cake.
Crumbs fell lightly from their hands and landed on the sheets.
Nono's eyes shone, as though she'd finally found a kindred spirit and refused to let go.
Her hand clutched his… more crumbs scattered.
"Good choice — don't let that family head's sweet words fool you!" she said earnestly, like someone who'd been through it.
"Uh…?" Was she talking about that arranged marriage stuff? Of course he wasn't agreeing to that!
But her thoughts kept bouncing around. Shirou really couldn't follow what was going on in this little shrine maiden's mind.
— —
Poke poke.
Mai felt a little hand poking her waist as she kept peeking through the crack of the door.
Poke poke.
Tch! Mai's mouth twitched and she reluctantly turned around.
Zero was expressionless, poking her waist repeatedly, as if to say: Enough already. Stop peeking.
"Just a little longer! Let me watch just a little longer!" Mai whispered giddily. "Our little hero and shrine maiden are progressing so well!"
She had timed her entrance earlier precisely because she'd been watching the whole time, helping foster the right atmosphere.
Zero just held a finger to her lips: Shh! Then tugged at Mai's tactical suit, signaling her to stop.
"Wow! Three-face, guess what scene I just saw — you'd never guess — they held hands! Amazing, our hero is already conquering her heart with his unseen charms!"
But this really had nothing to do with her, so why was she so excited?
Zero, never one for gossip, said nothing.
Instead she furrowed her brow, then yanked Mai aside. The latter almost stumbled.
"Hey hey, what gives?!"
Zero pointed at the door.
Mai rubbed her side and looked up — only to see Shirou standing there silently, watching them.
Oh crap… mercy, young hero! Mai froze, feeling like she'd been caught red-handed.
Luckily, Shirou wasn't angry. Instead, he held two boxes of neatly packed cakes.
The sweet aroma wafted through the air.
"Want some?"
Both girls nodded meekly.
— —
The emergency negotiations between the Clock Tower and the Chinese houses — a moment that could go down in hybrid history — finally ended.
In the end, Dean Angra didn't agree to disband the Clock Tower's Chinese branch.
But he did agree to suspend all its personnel pending investigation.
The official reason given was "gross dereliction of duty in the recent dragon incident."
As for shutting down the prep classes and admissions office, Angra stalled for time, arguing it would disrupt too many students.
He won a compromise: during a transition period, students' decisions would be voluntary.
He thought, With the Tower's resources and prestige, students will still choose us.
By now relaxed, Angra boarded his beloved Gulfstream jet. As he waved to Frost not to see him off, he still felt an uneasy premonition — as if worse was yet to come.
— —
"How amusing. Did the Zhou family invite just us? Haha, the Clock Tower's missed a new era."
Sir Snowdon of Britain's Westminster smiled under his black Panama hat. His tidy mustache and cane completed his early-20th-century gentleman look.
He had come representing Westminster, bearing a letter of introduction from Wah-hime.
He already understood the Chinese plan: this magical system would drive the Tower's influence out of China, then be traded to Westminster and the Solomon Templar, shaking up Europe.
Snowdon thought it through: they couldn't refuse. Otherwise, their rivals would seize the opportunity.
"Please, this way. Wah-hime is on her way back; feel free to look around," said Zhou Yuxuan.
Snowdon followed him through what seemed a dead-end — until Zhou walked a pattern based on the Bagua, and the walls melted away.
Ahead lay bustling courtyards, clan disciples leaping across rooftops, reciting spells, spitting fire.
Snowdon marveled: even their "Mystic Codes" and workshops were steeped in Chinese culture. If he could take this system back to Westminster…
When Zhou mentioned he'd meet the magician who'd designed it all, Snowdon nodded eagerly.
Later, he was led to a guest room to await Wah-hime. But to his surprise, another man arrived first — tall, armored, blond, looking every inch a medieval crusader.
Sir Campraux, Grandmaster of the Solomon Templar.
Snowdon sneered, "Well well, fancy meeting you here."
Campraux's armored chair scraped loudly as he sat opposite. "Heretic," he muttered.
Snowdon only smiled. "Watch your tone. Or you might bring disaster on yourself."
Then he casually dropped, "By the way, I've already discussed importing the system and setting up an academy at Big Ben. Everything's ready."
He looked at Campraux's darkened face and added slyly:
"Don't tell me… you didn't even prepare anything?"
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]