After saying such shameless words — and feeling the baguette receive a double buff — Mumei's delicate body trembled involuntarily.
Fine. Since the girl was being this proactive, Ryuji naturally had to respond.
"Mmh…"
He captured her moist lips in a kiss.
Mumei — who had just been boldly straddling him — struggled weakly for a heartbeat, then, as if surrendering to the heat, wrapped her lotus-like arms around his neck on her own.
Ryuji's hand supported the small, perky butt pressing down on the baguette. Petite, round, springy — perfectly sized for his palm. His long tongue slipped past her lips, chasing her naughty little tongue and tangling with it, stealing her sweet nectar into his mouth.
Mumei's soft chest rose and fell, pressed tightly against his torso. Perhaps after several nights of 'communication,' even her slender waist had learned to sway unconsciously.
Those amber eyes slowly shifted — red light fading — until heart shapes filled them.
"Hah…" Mumei felt like she couldn't breathe and pushed at his chest gently. Only then did their lips part.
"Ayame, you come over too." Ryuji lifted Mumei's small hips, laid her down on the bed, and beckoned Ayame with a curl of his fingers.
Ayame lowered her head shyly and approached in small steps. Ryuji pulled her into his arms and kissed her until she turned dazed and dreamy — eyes full of hearts, just like Mumei.
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
"Hm? Where's Mumei?"
Horobi was about to enter the compartment when she realized the girl who'd been right behind her had vanished. Something felt off, so she didn't go in.
After thinking for a moment, she headed toward Ryuji's compartment instead.
When she reached the first car, she saw Mumei and the woman called Ayame slip into Ryuji's room in a hurry.
Horobi raised an eyebrow and walked over. She glanced left and right — no one was coming — then tilted her head and pressed an ear to the door.
If Mumei saw this from the inside, she'd definitely say: "Yeah, I know this one".
"Mmh… you womanizer… ah, it doesn't feel good at all… mmh…"
Horobi blinked.
That sounded like Mumei's voice.
"Mmh, it's so small… I can't feel anything… ah…"
"W-who told you to go so fast… s-slower…"
"Ah… yamete…"
What were they even saying in there? Why couldn't Horobi understand a single word?
The longer she listened, the hotter her face became, and her 'garden' inexplicably felt like it was about to rain.
Just as she was about to reach down and check why her garden wanted to rain, her misty eyes met two pairs of curious gazes.
After Shino fell asleep, Kajika and Yukina left their compartment with tacit coordination.
Outside, the two looked at each other — then both turned away shyly.
The air grew awkward, but Yukina was the bolder of the two. She was the kind of person who dared step on Ryuji even after he stole her first kiss. She led the way toward the first car, and after hesitating, Kajika jogged after her.
And so, the two caught Horobi plastered against Ryuji's door, her hand slowly creeping downward.
Knock! Knock-Knock!
Someone knocked.
The movement inside the compartment stopped.
When the door opened, Yukina, Kajika, and Horobi saw Ryuji standing there in a 'newborn' state.
But what made them freeze was Mumei clinging to him with all four limbs — also in a 'newborn' state.
Aside from her limbs locked around Ryuji, that baguette — obviously stacked with multiple buffs — had become Mumei's support point, holding up an entire 'garden.' Well… if you ignored the wingless little pink butterfly being firmly suppressed, it really did look like a 'garden pillar' scene.
Seeing the three girls stuck at the doorway, Ryuji decided to help them — in order.
"Um, I'm not—"
Click!
Before Horobi could finish, she was dragged inside, and the door was locked from within.
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
Tonight, Horobi matured a lot.
Her original 'cool older sister' aura began to shift into something more like a 'mature woman' vibe.
At the same time, she learned that she, too, could become a battlefield valkyrie — charging alongside Mumei and the others, fighting head-on against a baguette that had opened cheats.
When Ryuji opened his eyes again, it was already close to noon the next day.
Last night, he'd wielded the multi-buffed baguette and battled five valkyries until around five or six in the morning, finally knocking each of them off their horses, one after another.
After tidying up and letting Mumei and the others go wander around Iwato Station as they pleased, Ryuji stepped outside the train.
By then, the Kōtetsujō had already stopped.
For some reason, Biba's Kokujō had been left outside the station too.
Kenshō seemed to be speaking with a group of officials.
"Yes, Lord Yomogawa. This is an order from the Shōgun. There's nothing I can do."
After speaking, Lord Maeda — glasses perched on his nose — invited Kenshō and the others to his residence to discuss matters.
On the other side, Ikoma, Kurusu, and the others had gathered.
"You said there are Kabane inside the Kokujō? Are you sure?" Kurusu asked Ikoma seriously.
Ikoma: "Yes. And not just one or two — there are over a hundred."
Sukari: "So leaving it behind really was lucky for us."
Kurusu: "We must inform the lord. We can't trust Biba Amatori."
By this point, they were already on guard against him.
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
"Lord Maeda, thank you for arranging a route for us to reach Kongōkaku." Kenshō sat facing Maeda in a hall.
"The shogunate serving the people is only right."
Kenshō: "By the way, why wasn't Lord Biba's Kokujō allowed in? Is there some reason?"
A bushi named Batan interjected, "Lord Maeda doesn't know. Biba and the Shōgun had a dispute."
Maeda: "He stopped caring about that long ago. Otherwise, why would he have fought for the shogunate against the Kabane for ten years?"
Kenshō fell into thought after listening to the master-and-servant exchange.
Just then, the wooden door slid open, and Biba stood outside with a single subordinate.
"Nice to meet you. I am the Commander-in-Chief of the Hunters, Biba Amatori."
"Ah, it's a great honor. At last we meet the hero of liberation. Please, have a seat." Maeda smiled as he invited him in.
However, the instant Biba stepped into the hall, a Steam Gun was leveled at him.
Sahari moved in front of Biba at once, eyes narrowed, glaring warily at Batan.
"Stop it, Batan. Lord Biba came to talk." Maeda said immediately.
But his words had no effect.
Batan kept the gun raised, "Negotiations can be done down the barrel too."
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
Inside the Kokujō, parked outside Iwato Station.
"It's about time."
At the station's west gate—
Rumble!!
"What's going on? Why is the drawbridge moving?"
"Who authorized it?!"
Bzzz! Bzzz!
In the distance, motorcycles kicked up dust as they raced toward the west gate. Each rider had a blood-stained cloth sack tied to their bike.
As the bikes drew closer, the people stared in horror at the dark swarm behind them.
"It's Kabane! They led the Kabane here!"
"Quick — raise the drawbridge!"
But it was too late.
The blue-haired rider in the lead — Uryū — fired a shot and snapped the drawbridge chains.
One motorcycle after another surged into Iwato Station with a horde of Kabane at their backs, and the station's western side fell into chaos in an instant.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
"What's happening?!"
"Why are there Kabane—"
Startled, Batan's gun lowered unconsciously.
Biba seized the opening.
With a flick of his wrist, a small knife appeared in his hand. While everyone's attention was dragged outward by the alarms, he drove the blade into Batan's neck.
"Sir Batan!" Another bushi in the hall surged to his feet, drawing a katana.
But before the man could reach Biba, Sahari exploded into motion.
A baton strike knocked the katana aside. A kick slammed the samurai to the floor, and a follow-up blow finished him.
Sahari backflipped to evade another bushi's attack. The moment he landed, he drew a dagger and buried it in the man's back.
"Urgh…"
After killing Batan, Biba didn't pause.
He rushed Maeda and clamped a hand around his throat.
Kenshō immediately rose, drawing his katana, confronting Biba alongside the guards at his side.
"Lord Yomogawa… I advise you not to act rashly. Otherwise…"
Biba snatched up a fallen katana and, with a single slash, ended Maeda's life.
Kenshō stared at him grimly, "What do you want?"
"Heh heh. You don't need to know that." Biba gripped the katana and advanced one slow step at a time, "You only need to give me the key to the Kōtetsujō."
✦✦✦
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want 20 chapters ahead of this novel for just $1, as well as smut chapters ($2) or spicy images ($5) or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations (free or starting at $1.5): MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)