Chris quickly left the dormitory after choosing her clothes.
Even though she had woken up early in the morning, she had wasted too much time choosing her outfit.
'If this was going to happen, I should have just chosen a dress from the start.'
Still, thankfully, she wasn't late.
Chris arrived at the plaza, their meeting spot, with slightly hurried movements.
She reached the large old tree that symbolized the place.
She stopped.
And Chris, with the meeting spot right in front of her, stopped walking.
"..."
Emil, who had arrived first, was sitting on the bench in front of the old tree.
He was reading a book to pass the time while waiting.
'Now that I think about it, he was always close with books…'
Chris, who had recently only been sparring with Emil with wooden swords, suddenly remembered that Emil was the top student in their first year.
He was the one who had been beaten by her with a wooden sword all this time.
But Emil, outside of the training grounds, was someone who had reached the pinnacle of their year in the field of 'study'.
As she suddenly realized that fact, Chris felt a strange awkwardness toward Emil.
"..."
His image, which she had simply seen as a clumsy novice,
had changed slightly.
'There's nothing strange, right…?'
Perhaps that was why.
Before approaching Emil, Chris checked her appearance one more time by looking at her reflection in a nearby window.
A flowy dress with matching shoes and accessories.
'Why does it look strange…'
Chris frowned at her reflection.
Indeed, she was a woman better suited for armor and a sword.
For a moment, she worried that Emil might laugh at her in such an outfit.
"Ugh…"
But she couldn't retreat.
She had already reached the battlefield, and the trumpet was about to sound.
"E-Emil…"
"Ah, you're here?"
Chris appeared before Emil, looking nervous.
She fidgeted with the hem of her dress, habitually frowning and blushing.
And she avoided his eyes, which were difficult to meet.
"..."
Emil stared blankly at Chris for a moment.
'What is it? Why isn't he saying anything? I-It is strange after all…'
*Clench.*
At Emil's lack of reaction, Chris felt embarrassment and a strange sadness.
She considered closing her eyes tightly and fleeing for several seconds.
"You're pretty. So you usually dress like this."
"...Huh?"
Emil, who had been silent all along, said that.
Chris then opened her eyes and stared blankly at Emil.
Emil's expression, which she had been too afraid to see, was shyly smiling.
"...A-Aren't I strange?"
"Hm? Not at all. Haha, of course, I was surprised because it's different from Chris's usual image."
"Ugh…"
"But it suits you well. You're really pretty, you know?"
"..."
*Thump, thump.*
'Something is definitely strange…'
Just a few minutes ago, she had heard the same compliment from Edric on her way here.
Edric had also praised her greatly, saying she looked pretty in this outfit.
*Thump, thump.*
It was different from with Edric.
At the compliment of being pretty.
"..."
Chris blushed deeply and lowered her head.
But it wasn't unpleasant.
No, rather, an inexplicable joy welled up within her, almost too much to handle.
"Shall we go?"
"...Mm-hmm."
Despite Chris's appearance, Emil casually escorted her.
Afterward, the two began walking side-by-side through the city center.
'I was surprised…. I thought she'd come in a casual outfit like last time.'
Emil, walking alongside Chris, glanced at her.
Perhaps because of the feminine dress, she seemed calmer than usual.
The compliment Emil had given a moment ago wasn't just empty words to charm her.
He was genuinely surprised and truly thought she was beautiful.
He had never seen her like this, even in the 4th timeline where he had pursued Chris.
'In the 4th timeline… she wore pants.'
The date he had just before successfully pursuing Chris in the 4th timeline.
And the dates they had as lovers after he succeeded in pursuing her.
In all those moments, Chris never wore a skirt.
Of course, Emil hadn't thought it strange.
Because even when Chris wore pants, her athletic physique was well-defined, and he found that beautiful too.
'But a dress… it's truly remarkable.'
Something different in this timeline must have had an influence.
Emil judged it so.
What, then, had influenced it?
Him becoming the top student of the year?
The way she became his disciple through a bet?
Or was it simply that…
'The Chris from the previous timeline simply wasn't as serious about me?'
Emil, recalling the possibilities, felt a fresh wave of bitterness.
"What's wrong…?"
"Huh?"
Chris, walking beside Emil, cautiously asked him that.
'Her senses are really sharp.'
Chris's five senses, honed on the battlefield, had probably noticed Emil's change.
"No, I just got a little nervous, I guess."
"..."
Emil smiled lightly and glossed over it.
'Emil is nervous too…'
Chris felt a strange joy at Emil's lie.
Being nervous meant…
In other words, he was conscious of her.
Being conscious meant…
'…Does he see me as a woman?'
*Thump, thump.*
It was a date that hadn't even properly begun, but.
Chris felt her heart pounding just from walking with Emil.
***
The date.
Chris's meeting with Emil, which she had defined as a date, proceeded smoothly.
First, they had a light meal at a nice restaurant Emil had recommended.
'Delicious…'
Chris chewed her food, her eyes wide with surprise.
Though she usually wasn't very interested in the taste of food,
for some reason, this meal felt very special.
Perhaps it was because the person she was eating with was special.
Chris watched Emil, who was chatting happily, and thought so.
"Huh? The bill?"
"I already paid. So you can just go."
"Oh…?"
Emil had already paid for the meal she thought she was going to pay for.
'Then why did he make that bet…'
Chris fell into thought, watching Emil walk casually ahead.
If she wasn't paying, why had he called her out on the weekend as the wish from their bet?
"..."
Chris, pondering the reason, softly blushed and lowered her head.
After finishing their meal, the two then visited a newly opened toy store nearby.
It was a shop filled with novel devices that moved primarily with clockwork and and magic.
"Amazing, this jelly really sparkles."
Of course, Chris had long since grown too old to play with dolls or toys.
Still, it was enjoyable to look at the strange and interesting items.
"Wouldn't this be good for marking paths if we took it to a dungeon?"
"…To think that way, that's quite something."
Her feminine aspects, which she had forgotten during her mercenary life, began to emerge little by little.
Chris, who was always rough and sharp, spent her time joyfully today, like an innocent girl.
After that, the two walked through the city center for a while before visiting a temple.
It was a temple built a very long time ago, with ancient architectural styles giving off a mysterious atmosphere.
Although it was a temple, surprisingly, there were many outsiders.
It was probably one of the city's famous attractions.
"It's huge."
"They say it was built a thousand years ago."
Chris now felt more joy than nervousness.
Since she had always been engrossed only in swords and training, the enjoyment felt doubly intense.
After touring the temple exploration course for outsiders,
to conclude, the two spent some time praying in the chapel.
*Glance.*
Chris, who had been sitting with her head bowed, softly opened her eyes and looked at Emil beside her.
'What kind of prayer is he offering?'
Throughout the day, spending time with him, Chris focused only on Emil.
Forgetting everything about her adoptive mother, about training, about her family, and about her past,
she had only thought about Emil and enjoyed her time with him.
Chris found that time incredibly satisfying.
A sense of fulfillment she had never felt before.
Once she tasted that fulfillment, she began to crave this time to an irreversible degree.
That's why she became curious about everything concerning Emil.
'…What does he think of me?'
Her questions started with those about herself and Emil, and then…
'…What does Sierra think?'
And someone else who wasn't there.
'…He seemed somehow familiar with dates… Has he met many women?'
Along with jealousy, she also had questions about someone she had never met.
Chris, who had simply been watching Emil instead of praying at the time she should have been,
"Are you done?"
"Oh, oh…! Yes."
She was startled by Emil's sudden action of opening his eyes and meeting hers, and she lowered her head.
It felt as if her true feelings had been exposed.
But Emil simply smiled naturally and led Chris out of the temple.
"What did you pray for…?"
Chris walked beside Emil and cautiously asked one of the questions she had.
The one question she could at least ask.
Emil then rested his chin in thought for a moment, then.
"Just… that I could achieve my goal."
He told her the approximate content of his prayer.
'...What could his goal be?'
Chris couldn't resolve her doubts with his vague answer; instead, another question simply arose.
'…Is it the same goal… as mine?'
Even so, Chris held a faint sense of expectation.
Her own goal.
It was something she had clearly felt during today's date.
Chris liked Emil.
She definitely saw him as a man, and.
Spending time with him, she found their time together to be incredibly sweet and addictive.
"..."
"Shall we head back now?"
"...Mm-hmm."
To the extent that it was truly a shame to have to part ways now.
Having already tasted it once, she couldn't pretend not to know it now.
Because of that, Chris began to crave it deeply.
"N-Next time…"
"Hm?"
"...Next time, I'll treat you. To a meal."
"..."
Holding a possessive desire for Emil, that soon became her goal.
And just like that.
The happy time with someone she liked, a course meal called a date, which she had tasted for the first time,
came to an end, leaving only regret.
***
"What could it be…?"
On the way back to the dormitory, Chris and Emil exuded a fresh and warm atmosphere.
A pink-haired girl stood behind them, staring blankly at the two.
"Seriously, what is it…?"
With the sunset at her back, she watched the two with empty eyes.
Why were those two together?
Who was that woman?
…What was their relationship?
"Who are you… you…"
The spot next to that man, a spot she might have occupied.
The nameless woman who was in the spot she had so desperately wanted and begged for.
Mari's lips, which had been quietly watching her, let out a *crunch*.
It was the sound of her biting her lip.
And after that sound.
A small trickle of blood flowed from Mari's mouth.
As if she were weeping.