The girl in the white silk dress sat on the reef, idly kicking at the water as if bored out of her mind.
The silky dress was already splashed wet by the seawater, and through it one could faintly make out the girl's fair skin and lovely contours.
No barrier had been raised.
No ability had been used to mask her location.
She looked, for all the world, like an ordinary human girl with no powers at all.
There in the darkness, the girl-her dress and her skin both excessively pale-stood out somewhat against the pitch-black surface of the sea.
And yet... no one could notice this place.
Soga Yura's mental domain.
The research vessel's survey instruments.
The mobile base's lookout systems.
Without exception... their gazes swept across the reef where the girl sat, yet never lingered, as though noticing nothing out of the ordinary.
Just like... the battle between Su Yuzu and Feng Ke back then.
Before the fighting began, neither Su Yuzu nor Feng Ke had noticed anything amiss.
Not until after the battle between Su Yuzu and Feng Ke had started-
The erosion domain Feng Ke unfurled smeared the whole world in a black-and-red filter, and not even Su Yuzu was spared.
But only... only that girl standing at the street corner stayed a dazzling white.
Only then had Su Yuzu become aware of her existence.
It had been the same at the Investigation Bureau police station, too.
Not until the girl's figure had vanished from the police station did the Superintendent in charge of the investigation notice that the girl was missing.
And even... after pulling up the surveillance footage, no one could tell how the girl had walked out so openly, so brazenly.
All they knew was that, before leaving, the girl had flashed a big smile straight at the surveillance camera.
"Yuzu~" She gazed toward the research vessel.
In those clear eyes was mirrored... the figures of the girls leaving the research vessel, heading back to the base.
*
They decided to leave the research vessel.
Although the ship had plenty of space to house the girls, the mobile base was still a bit safer.
This time, Unohana Chiyo followed the girls back to the base district. Tsukiyomi Fuya, meanwhile, decided-with a touch of regret...-to remain aboard the research vessel and monitor conditions out in the sea.
They couldn't afford to concentrate all their combat strength in one place.
The mermaids' feint-and-strike tactic just now had put Tsukiyomi Fuya on guard.
If a Fourth Sequence mermaid had appeared among the school that attacked the research vessel just now, then... the outcome would surely have been catastrophic.
But... it was hard to say, really.
After all, if Tsukiyomi Fuya had chosen to stay aboard the research vessel, what if that hypothetical Fourth Sequence mermaid had gone to attack Little Yuzu and the others instead?
One could only say that before absolute force, any choice or scheme seemed rather powerless.
Just like this very moment.
Faced with the threat of the Seventh Sequence "Seat of Evil," even Tsukiyomi Fuya felt a powerlessness from the bottom of her heart.
That feeling... was like a peacock that had just fanned its tail before a cute girl, only to notice another peacock-far more resplendent and immense than itself-slowly shifting its posture, as though preparing to spread its own plumage.
After carefully urging Senior Tsukiyomi Fuya not to stay up late anymore, Su Yuzu bid Tsukiyomi Fuya a temporary goodbye.
Soga Yura clung tightly to Su Yuzu's arm as the girls returned to the base district.
Along the way, the little rabbit wanted to wrap herself around Yuzu-senpai's arm too.
But... she took one look at Senior Sakura's stance, at the way she walked with that uneven, unsteady gait. After the ahoge on her forehead gave a little wobble, the little rabbit could only trail along beside Ms. Unohana, aggrieved, bringing up the very rear of the group.
The little rabbit glanced back at the inky-black sea.
Beneath the seemingly calm surface, undercurrents seemed to surge.
But then she went hopping and skipping right along behind Su Yuzu.
Following behind her senpai wasn't so bad~
Riding the night breeze, she could just catch that sweet, crisp, fresh fragrance on her senpai, in among the strands of her senpai's hair.
The little rabbit's gaze rested entirely on Su Yuzu, only now and then glancing idly around.
By chance she seemed to catch a glimpse of... a girl in a white dress standing on the reef, her little head tilted up, gazing toward them.
The little rabbit shivered, then quickened her pace to keep up with Su Yuzu.
She'd seen wrong... she must have seen wrong.
The little rabbit half thought she'd witnessed some urban legend-
a little girl swept away by the tide and drowned, now lingering at the edge of the waves, hoping to find a scapegoat to take her place or something.
Back inside the base.
Su Yuzu was tidying up her bedding.
Last night she'd slept over at Senior Tsukiyomi Fuya's place, so the bedding was basically untouched.
Ms. Unohana seemed to have already straightened it once for her.
But most of her luggage was in Su Yuzu's Material Inventory, so... for a pleasant night's sleep, some things still needed swapping out and rearranging.
And then-
Under Soga Yura's intensely mortified gaze.
Su Yuzu drew out of her Material Inventory that Yuzu body pillow she'd heavily modified-the one that looked more like a doll than a body pillow.
The little rabbit's eyes went wide.
Th-th-th-this... what kind of amazing, handy thing is that?
The little rabbit was already weighing the possibility of contacting her household's maids to have a custom copy made.
But... it would be best to just beg one straight off her senpai.
After all, a custom copy wouldn't be steeped in her senpai's scent.
The clock ticked steadily toward midnight. Su Yuzu watched Sakura Mai, who had just come back from washing up and now stood bent over, arranging bedding beside Su Yuzu's capsule room.
Oh my, oh my... she'd nearly forgotten.
A great enemy loomed!
How could she waste a single chance to grow stronger?
Su Yuzu swiped open the [Operator Development] panel and looked at Sakura Mai on it-her excitement value redlining-as she nervously laid out the bedding, sneaking the occasional glance in Su Yuzu's direction.
[Ding-]
[Development: Sakura Mai Favorability +1.]
Her Favorability still held fast, anchored to a dead stop at [99 (Doting)].
Even Soga Yura's Favorability had been stuck for a good while, so naturally Sakura Mai's Favorability couldn't break through easily either.
The only Operator whose Favorability had crossed a hundred for Su Yuzu right now was her loyal dog, Kujou Katora, and that was it.
Thud-
Su Yuzu caught sight of Sakura Mai right next door, her head knocking down against the bedding.
The Knight Princess girl's whole body seemed to be trembling. Su Yuzu looked at the Knight Princess's chibi avatar, its hands clenched tight around the bedding.
"Sister Mai~"
"What's wrong?" Su Yuzu put on-no... simply wore a look of concern.
The little rabbit and Soga Yura, who had just finished tidying their own bedding, turned their gazes over as well.
Jealous as they both were, they... still cared about Sakura Mai.
Su Yuzu thought back to that vicious little smile of Sister Mai's from that morning...
[Your Sister Yuzu, you know~~~
[She holds quite the grudge.]
"No... nothing..." Hearing the girl's footsteps approaching from behind, Sakura Mai was about to say she was fine.
[Ding-]
[Development: Sakura Mai Favorability +1.]
"No... eek..." Those emerald eyes were nearly hollow, opened wide.
The Knight Princess's right hand clamped down hard over her own mouth.
Todaka Matsusa, her shoulders trembling.
There was... nothing left to be afraid of anymore.
____
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