The competition ended. After securing a one-year supply of hamburgers for two, Anby came to Wise, her face beaming with excitement. Though her expression remained neutral, her demeanor clearly showed her immense happiness.
"Wise, this... let's go eat together later."
"Yeah, of course," Wise replied, looking at the two prize cards in Anby's hand. They were vouchers for free hamburgers at the sponsoring restaurant. Others might not realize it, but with Anby... he just hoped she wouldn't eat the restaurant into bankruptcy.
That probably wasn't possible, right? Then, a thought struck Wise, and he asked the girl in front of him, "By the way, Anby, why didn't you finish those last few hamburgers? There was still time left."
He recalled seeing Anby on stage, reluctantly putting down a hamburger with several minutes still on the clock, right after she learned she had won.
"Because the internet said you shouldn't eat too much before that."
"Huh? Before what?" Wise was confused by her deadpan response. He then watched as she pointed to a nearby establishment and continued.
"The part where you sleep with me... mmmph!"
Anby's words were cut short as Wise clamped a hand over her mouth. Saying something like that in public was just too... well, Wise already knew what she was referring to. As for the establishment she was pointing at... wait a minute, why did it look so familiar?
Looking at the sign for the 'Couples' Hotel' in the distance, Wise felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
Seeing Wise lost in thought, Anby pulled his hand away from her mouth and continued, "Mhm, that's the last place we're supposed to go."
Hearing this, Wise immediately remembered where he had seen it before. He gave the adorably clueless Anby a strange look.
"Anby, can I ask where you learned about going to a place like that?" It could be a coincidence, but he was certain Ellen had said something very similar. Different people, same place, same line.
"It was from a post online," Anby answered without any intention of hiding it. She took out her phone and showed him the post directly.
The source appeared to be a newly registered account asking for advice on the proper steps for a date. But that wasn't the main point. The point was that in the comment section below, Wise saw not only Belle's account, but also Corin's, Rina's, and even Nekomata's and Ellen's.
Just as Wise was wondering who would be bored enough to post something like this, Fairy's voice suddenly chimed in.
"Master, my apologies. I was the one who posted that to solicit opinions. I forgot to delete it afterward."
Hearing this, Wise was speechless. Great. So everyone is working from the same script, is that it?
But at this point, the plan had to continue. He was somehow managing to juggle six girls so far. As long as nothing else went wrong...
Unfortunately, something did go wrong. Not long after Wise left Anby, he received an urgent alert from Fairy.
Target Anby had left her original location in Area 14 and was heading towards Area 12.
Wise's heart leaped into his throat. He had no idea why Anby would suddenly move towards his current location, but if she saw him with Ellen, it would be game over. He hastily said goodbye to Ellen and started running towards Belle's location. But halfway there, a sudden voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Wise, I didn't expect to see you here."
Hearing the voice, Wise stiffly turned his head. He saw the white-haired girl, No. 11, looking surprised in the distance, accompanied by a few other girls.
"Y-yeah, I'm just here with my sister, checking out the Carnival..." Wise knew he couldn't possibly say he was alone. She would definitely invite him to join them. He was already juggling six dates; adding another would be impossible to handle!
"I see. I'm here with my teammates, too. If you don't mind, would you and your sister like to join..."
"Sorry, Belle is a bit shy around new people. And she really wanted to just enjoy the day by herself today. Maybe next time," Wise's firm refusal clearly disappointed No. 11. She had hoped to use this as an opportunity for them all to get acquainted.
But after his explanation, Wise said he was worried about keeping Belle waiting and quickly departed.
After Wise left, one of No. 11's companions came over and patted her on the shoulder. "That was close, No. 11. I thought you were about to leave us all in the dust and get a boyfriend. Looks like you're not quite there yet."
Hearing this, No. 11 frowned slightly, seemingly displeased, but she replied without hesitation, "It's not what you think. Besides, Wise is just here with his sister." She didn't elaborate further. The fact that she and Wise had kissed was their secret, not to be shared.
"Alright, alright, stop teasing No. 11. Where should we go next?" another girl asked, munching on a hamburger she had bought from a nearby stall. It was delicious. No wonder they had held an eating contest there earlier. It was a shame they had arrived after it ended.
"Hmm... are you guys still hungry? If not, how about we check out that place over there? I think it's some kind of machinery exhibition."
"A machinery exhibition? I'm already sick of studying military machinery. I'd rather go check out the game area over there."
As the girls were talking, Anby, who had arrived in Area 12 for some unknown reason, seemed to have spotted something.
"Hey, Lynn, Mona, what do you think 'Little Fish's' boyfriend is up to? Why isn't he back yet? Should we pretend to run into her and ask?"
"Ruby, are you an idiot? If we go over and ask now, wouldn't that just make 'Little Fish' feel awkward?"
"Lynn's right. We should just keep watching."
"What are you guys doing?" a cool, clear voice suddenly asked from behind them.
"We're obviously tailing 'Little Fish' and her boyfriend on their date," Ruby replied absentmindedly, her attention completely focused on the area around Ellen through a pair of binoculars.
Mona and Lynn instantly whipped their heads around to look. Then, Ruby finally tore her eyes away from the binoculars and turned to face the person who had asked the question. It was a beautiful, white-haired girl with a blank expression—Anby.
"Who-who are you? No, wait, we weren't really following anyone, we were just..."
"I'm not talking about that. I just want to ask, this 'Little Fish' you mentioned, Ellen... what's her boyfriend's name?"
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