"Sin." Seele leaned in slightly, her lips brushing against Sin's ear. The warmth of her breath tickled Sin's earlobe, sending an instant flush across the girl's face.
"Do you have any idea how you look right now? Total loser vibes. You're trying so hard, yet you can't get a single thing right. Such a... pathetic... loser..."
"Waaaaah! No way! You're the loser! You and Bronya are both total losers!!!"
Just as Sin had managed to stop crying, she exploded again, flailing her arms and legs in a frantic tantrum while shrieking insults at Seele.
"Loser! Seele, you're the loser here! You're a giant loser! Waaaaah!!"
Sweet, sweet satisfaction.
Raiden i stood off to the side, watching the scene with a complicated expression. "Um... Seele, don't you think that's a bit..."
"It's fine," Seele replied with a blissful wave of her hand, continuing to ruffle Sin's hair with gusto. "This child just needs a little discipline."
"I don't need discipline from you!"
i glanced at Sin, then back at Seele, feeling like sothing was definitely off. She just couldn't quite put her finger on what.
A few monts later...
Sin had stopped struggling. She stood there quietly, letting Seele ss with her hair. Her teeth were clenched in fury, but she looked utterly defeated.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing. After all, you did put in a lot of effort."
Seele offered a soft word of comfort, which only made Sin let out a muffled groan of frustration. She was powerless to do anything about it.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed nearby, accompanied by Bronya's urgent voice.
"Seele!"
"Hey there. You guys finally made it," Seele said, still petting Sin's head as she turned to greet the approaching group, which included Bronya and Theresa.
As Bronya ran up, her silver-grey eyes widened the mont she spotted the person standing in front of Seele.
"Sin Mal?"
Seele felt the body beneath her palm go stiff. Sin suddenly wrenched herself away from Seele's hand, and this ti, Seele didn't try to hold her down.
"An Anti-Entropy officer..." Theresa muttered warily, her hand already tightening around Judah.
"Bronya, this girl says she knows you," Seele said, her expression turning serious as she looked at Bronya. "Is that true?"
"Yes." Bronya nodded, her gaze lingering on Sin with a complex mix of emotions. "She is with Anti-Entropy. Before... back at the orphanage, she lived with Bronya and Seele."
"You jerk! You're still pretending you don't know ?!" Sin looked up, baring her teeth at Seele in humiliated rage.
"She mistook for the Seele from your world." Seele gave a playful, knowing smirk. "Since you two go back, Bronya, I'll leave her to you."
"Understood."
Bronya nodded and then turned toward Theresa.
"Principal... about Sin..."
"Since she's your forr family, I'll leave her in your care, Bronya," Theresa agreed, her tone turning grave. "But if an Anti-Entropy officer has infiltrated our academy, it ans that earlier..."
Theresa's expression soured as she ground her teeth. "I was lured away on purpose! That commotion over in Nagazora was a deliberate distraction by Anti-Entropy!"
"Only a shorty like you would fall for that!" Sin barked out an insult without a second thought.
One sharp look from Seele, however, and she imdiately shut her mouth.
"You! Who are you calling a shorty?!"
"The one who answered is the one I'm talking to!"
"Hey!"
Just as Theresa was starting to lose her cool, Bronya stepped forward and delivered a swift, no-nonsense chop to the top of Sin's head.
"Ow!" Sin collapsed into a crouch, clutching her head, before suddenly leaping back up and rubbing her backside with a grimace.
"Hmph."
Seele finally let out a satisfied laugh.
A short while later, Theresa and the others had managed to piece together everything that had happened.
"So that's how it is..." Theresa's face darkened. "To think there was an Anti-Entropy spy in the academy. Seele has only been here for a day, and that old fox Cocolia already found out."
"Bronya will not let her take Seele away from Bronya again!"
Bronya's expression turned uncharacteristically dark and intimidating.
"You and Seele were both raised by Mother Cocolia!" Sin shouted at Bronya, her voice thick with anger. "Just because of a few... accidents, you're willing to abandon Mother, and everyone else at the orphanage?!"
"Let's get one thing straight: I am not the Seele you know."
Seele looked down at Sin, her lips curling into a disdainful smile. "Besides, I don't have a single drop of goodwill toward anyone nad Cocolia."
She hadn't forgotten the absolute ss Cocolia had made back in Houkai Gakuen 2—a literal world-ending disaster that dragged everyone into the afterlife.
"You're still acting?!" Sin glared at Seele.
"Seele... she really isn't the Seele of our world." Bronya looked at Seele, her voice calm and steady. "She is... a Seele from another world."
"What kind of nonsense is that?!"
Sin's face was the picture of disbelief. However, as Theresa and the others began to explain the situation in detail, her expression slowly shifted into utter shock.
"How is that possible... another world actually exists? Then... earlier..."
"When we first t, I told you more than once that I didn't know who you were," Seele said, her tone dripping with amusent.
She watched as Sin's face turned bright red again, the flush spreading rapidly.
"Loser~"
"Waaaaah!! You! You're the loser! Loser!!"
Total bliss.
Bronya stood to the side, watching the flustered Sin and the beaming Seele. Her mood suddenly felt a bit heavy.
"So, Sin. Seele belongs to Bronya. She will not be going back to Anti-Entropy with you."
"You... you guys..." Today was officially the greatest defeat of Sin's life. She had lost face, lost her pride, and lost the argunt.
"Bronya."
Theresa sighed, looking at the chaotic scene. "Since this is the case, you and the others will keep Sin under temporary custody. I expect Anti-Entropy will contact us soon to try and negotiate her release."
"She's technically your enemy, isn't she?" Seele looked at Theresa, a bit surprised. "You're actually planning on letting her go back?"
"Of course not freely," Theresa shook her head. "Anti-Entropy needs to take responsibility for their actions. I'll handle the negotiations; you don't need to worry about that."
"Good."
Seele nodded, satisfied.
Sin, however, stared at Seele. Hearing her call her an "enemy" so nonchalantly sent a wave of profound sorrow through her heart.
She really wasn't her Seele.
And just now...
"Wait a second." Seele realized sothing was off. "You said she's under the custody of Bronya and us?"
"Right."
"Does that an she's going to be living with us?!"
"Well... given her status, she's a special case compared to the rest of you. But we'll be taking precautions... for example, implanting tracking chips and a few other things under her skin."
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