The kiss caught Wise completely off guard, leaving him frozen for a brief moment. The lingering taste of spicy soup on Soldier 11's lips finally brought him back to his senses.
He regained his composure and turned the situation around, taking her by the waist. With her offering almost no resistance, he slowly showed her how to kiss properly.
[Ding! Target: Soldier 11 has increased her favorability toward the host by 10. Her current favorability is now 90. Additionally, 1000 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 13800]
After a moment, they finally separated. Soldier 11's cheeks burned with a faint flush as she turned her gaze away. Wise's lips were still stained red from the spice, but his eyes remained locked on the girl before him.
A few seconds of silence passed before Soldier 11 spoke.
"Th-this is our secret. As the witness and the one involved… you can't tell anyone, got it?"
A rare hint of girlish shyness softened her face, making her look far less rigid than usual.
"Mm, I'll definitely keep this secret."
Once Wise agreed, Soldier 11 finally allowed the tension to drain from her shoulders. She had acquired this specific tactic from hours spent watching dramas and films.
Pulling it off hadn't been easy, but fortunately, Wise didn't appear annoyed. With the matter settled, Soldier 11 felt her mood lift, a soft hum following her steps as she left.
Her teammates, seeing this, simply assumed it was Soldier 11's happiness after completing her mission.
Meanwhile, Wise stepped into the video store, and the moment he opened the door, Belle was waiting for him.
She rushed over, trying to act like nothing had happened outside, but the sharp, spicy scent immediately hit her nose.
"Cough, cough, cough! W-why is your breath so spicy, Brother? What did you eat? No, no! I need milk!" she said between coughs.
"I think there's still some milk in the fridge. I'll get it for you, but first…"
He grabbed Belle by the waist, and before she could react, kissed her hard, letting her taste the lingering spice on his lips.
She barely had a moment to react before her mouth felt like it was on fire, and she collapsed to the floor, clutching her throat.
Wise saw Belle flailing from the spiciness and immediately rushed to the kitchen to grab some milk. Once Belle caught her breath, she thanked Wise, then gave him that familiar, scrutinizing look.
"Brother, you never eat something this spicy. What's going on?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Would you believe me if I said I wanted to try a new flavor?" he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh? I trust you... but what you wants to try is probably more than just a new flavor, isn't it? Maybe even a new girl?"
Hearing Belle say that, Wise didn't even try to hide it and told her straight what had happened.
Belle listened carefully, a smirk of anticipation crossing her face.
"Just as I suspected, you never truly had pure intentions with pretty girls. You were merely pretending before, so why are you confessing to it now?"
"First, I wasn't pretending before. Second, this is more like Soldier 11 taking the initiative."
"Hiss, that's such a scumbag thing to say. Brother, you should really watch yourself! Every girl you're involved with now is no joke. If one ship sinks, things could get ugly..."
That warning made made Wise shiver slightly. After all, Koleda and Soldier 11 still didn't know about each other's existence.
"Cough, don't worry, I won't let that happen..."
"It better not!"
Belle said nothing more and headed upstairs. Once again, she was the only one at home. Recently, days like this felt especially exhausting.
Wise, meanwhile, went to take a shower. With the Phaethon account gone, there was no way for him to prove who he was to Soldier 11.
But if the account had still been active, he might not have received Soldier 11's commission, and that meant he wouldn't have met her at all.
'Could this count as a blessing in disguise? Forget it, better not dwell on that. I should rest a bit and let today's stress fade away,' he thought, dismissing the idea as he went to sleep.
At the same time, somewhere inside the New Eridu Defense Force Headquarters.
"Yo, Soldier 11's back. Weren't you supposed to finish the handover with the Proxy? How'd you end up out this late?"
When Soldier 11 returned, one of her teammates stepped closer, a hint of concern in their voice.
"I had a bowl of ramen on the way back," she said, trying to keep her tone plain.
Although Soldier 11 responded quickly, her close comrades still caught the brief pause.
From their experience, something unusual must have happened. Otherwise, she would have already prepared several excuses by now.
"Really, just ramen?"
The comment came from the teammate who had previously communicated with Wise, and what she said next quickly caught everyone's attention.
"That Proxy's voice was actually pretty nice. Makes me wonder if his looks match it."
"Wise excels in every way, especially when it comes to his looks. That's as undeniable as his combat ability," Soldier 11 spoke almost without thinking.
The moment she realized what she'd said, it was already too late.
Sure enough, everyone in the squad, even the captain, was looking at her with teasing, knowing smiles.
Soldier 11 tried her best to stay calm, but she couldn't stop the others from already crowding around her.
With nowhere to run, she was bombarded with playful questions. Luckily, she'd prepared herself for this.
So she revealed nothing at all. Seeing that, the others understood there was no point pushing further and could only think long-term, letting her go for now.
That night, lying in her bed, Soldier 11 found herself unable to fall asleep for a long while. She wasn't sure what occupied her thoughts, or rather, who they circled around.
It was truly a sleepless night.
The next day, Wise woke up and, as usual, sent good morning messages to the girls who weren't around. That was when he noticed Nicole's message, fragmented and messy, clearly written in a hurry.
She was clearly overloaded with work. That probably explained why Anby and Nekomata had been showing up less lately.
Thinking about it, Wise didn't push her. He just sent a message telling her to reply when she actually had time.
In the end, it would still count toward settling the debt, and knowing Nicole, she definitely wouldn't forget.
Elsewhere, at the New Eridu Defense Force training ground.
Soldier 11, having just finished her morning training, picked up her phone and saw Wise's message. She couldn't help but smile before replying.
Naturally, that small scene didn't go unnoticed by the companions around her.