Now this—this was a point where Mei and her were quite similar.
As for Vill-V, with her multitude of hobbies, even though she too was a researcher, her outgoing and lively nature made her seem rather out of place alongside them.
How exactly Klein and Mobius sparked something in that lab remained a mystery to everyone.
Out of all of them, Durandal and Connie were probably the most pleased.
The former, because of the memories she carried from before crossing over.
After all, that little animation, [Mobius's Lab], had left her and many other "Captains" with a lingering sense of regret back in the day.
Now, getting to see the two of them safe and sound, showing a bit of affection, Durandal couldn't help but feel she deserved some credit for it.
Connie's reasoning, on the other hand, was simple and downright pragmatic.
From now on, she could not only enjoy the "sweet moments" of Durandal and Elysia, but also Klein and Mobius's. And in the future, when Mei eventually joined the Schicksal organization, she'd get to see Mei and Kevyn's as well.
Truly, choosing to 'join the team with resources in hand' back then was the smartest decision she'd ever made in her life.
As for Ato and Blanca…
Well, they were sweet too, but Connie always felt something was just a tiny bit missing. Strange, since she wasn't even into girls.
So, what exactly was going on here?
It wasn't until 9 PM that the barbecue finally came to an end, simply because they ran out of food.
Since they hadn't been eating non-stop—taking breaks to chat and enjoy the night view—no one felt overly stuffed despite the amount consumed. After all, it hadn't all been devoured in one short sitting.
Once the waitstaff from the inn had collected their tips and come to clear the remnants, the members of Schicksal headed out onto the street.
Outside the inn's entrance, a sizable assortment of fireworks was already set up and ready.
There were two main kinds.
One type was ground-based display fireworks. You'd place them on the ground, light them, and they'd shoot up from their base, bursting in the air to form various flower patterns or little animal shapes.
The other kind were hand-held sparklers, also called fairy wands. Once lit, you could wave them around, and they'd instantly shower sparks, dazzling like miniature firework displays.
The Schicksal group arranged the ground-based fireworks along the street. This being a tourist area, the surrounding buildings had special fire prevention measures, so setting off fireworks wasn't prohibited here.
After setting them up, Emile used a lit incense stick to ignite the fuse of the nearest firework.
"Bang!"
He quickly darted back into the crowd as the firework shot up with a loud crack, blossoming into a colorful flower in the sky.
The commotion naturally drew the attention of other tourists nearby.
People emerged from their inns and shops, looking up at the dazzling display. At the same time, the laughter of nearly twenty young people gathered around the fireworks reached their ears.
Some of the older onlookers wore expressions of contentment, while those around the same age boldly approached, joining in the fun with the Schicksal crew.
Among the crowd, those originally from Fire Moth were the most astonished.
Back in their Fire Moth days, when had they ever experienced such harmonious moments with ordinary people?
Their interactions with civilians had only occurred either during Honkai disasters or when facing complaints.
During Honkai incidents, ordinary people's faces were filled only with terror and the relief of having survived.
When dealing with complaints, their expressions held only fear and distaste for Fire Moth.
A scene like this was something they had truly never dared to imagine.
Those within Fire Moth knew all too well that whether the organization ultimately won or lost, it could never truly be one that benefited the majority of humanity.
But here and now, within Schicksal, they were gradually realizing that besides being warriors, they were also part of the vast multitude of ordinary people.
They weren't protecting some separate world of civilians, but fellow humans with whom they could share laughter and tears.
The fear of the Honkai might still linger, but their sense of duty and mission no longer felt hollow.
In this moment, the words of Schicksal's creed surfaced in their minds—to fight for all that is beautiful in the world.
This beauty—they could finally feel it and had found the courage to fight for it!
Durandal certainly hadn't expected that an utterly ordinary group trip could also serve to instill the organization's culture.
Once the ground fireworks were finished, everyone took a sparkler in hand. Once lit, the showering sparks illuminated each person standing nearby.
Durandal held a sparkler too, but no firework, however brilliant, could match the beauty of the beloved figure illuminated by its light across from her.
Without hesitation, Durandal dropped her sparkler, letting its flame die out in the snow on the street.
She walked up to Elysia, whose eyes sparkled like stars. Elysia seemed to sense something too, tossing her own sparkler aside.
While everyone else was distracted, the two slipped back into Room 8 at Mimizuya.
Durandal slid the door shut with some urgency and locked it.
Before she could even turn around, Elysia's body, still warm from the earlier activities, pressed tightly against her back.
Durandal reacted instantly. Turning, she guided Elysia back against the door, a flurry of kisses descending like a net, trapping her within.
The hot puffs of their hurried breaths washed over each other's faces and bodies. It took a good while before they managed to calm down somewhat, leaning against each other.
Soon, however, Elysia gave Durandal a little push.
"What's wrong?"
The burning sensation that had engulfed her earlier had been tempered by their kisses, but Durandal's throat was now dry. Her voice sounded different than usual—less firm, laced with a soft tenderness.
"Don't you smell it? We're both covered in the scent of barbecue and fireworks."
With Elysia's reminder, Durandal sniffed the air like a dog. Sure enough, the smoky aroma of the grill and the distinct smell of gunpowder from the fireworks still clung to them.
"So, how about we go soak in the hot spring together~?"
Leading Durandal into the changing room at the back, this time they didn't bother fetching swimsuits. After stripping off their smoke-scented outer clothes, they simply wrapped themselves in yukata robes and made their way to the hot spring in the rear courtyard.
Since they were the only ones there, upon reaching the spring's edge, Elysia offered a shy smile. She untied her robe, tossed it casually onto a nearby wooden rack, and stepped into the steaming water first.
Seeing this, Durandal didn't fuss either. Shedding her own robe, she joined Elysia in the water.
Even though they had been intimate while showering together the previous night, being completely unclothed together in the hot spring still brought a flutter of shyness.
--+--