As Otto boarded the aircraft and departed, the Brilliant Covenant once again turned toward Schicksal headquarters, gradually disappearing into the distance.
Kallen watched the scene in silence, deep in thought.
That ship never showed up in the ga...
Only then did Kiana belatedly realize what had happened.
"Uh... did we just get played?"
Hiko let out a sigh. "What else would you call it?"
Theresa was already stomping around in frustration. "Damn it! Grandpa, you jerk!"
"But..." Theresa looked over with a pitiful little expression.
"And he was right." Kallen reached out gently, her gaze soft as she stroked Theresa's head.
Theresa froze instantly. Then her cheeks slowly reddened, caught sowhere between embarrassnt and happiness.
Kallen really didn't hold any hostility toward her anymore.
"He could've just sent soone else to do this," Kallen murmured, looking at the distant battleship with an unreadable expression. "But he didn't."
"Kallen..." Yae Sakura quietly took her hand.
"Let's head back."
"Yeah..." Kallen nodded softly.
After that, everyone returned to the Valkyrie dorms. Over the next day or so, things played out almost exactly like the previous loop. Together with Kallen, they visited Sapphire City and bought all sorts of daily necessities.
At this rate, Kallen was honestly starting to wonder...
Would the dorm eventually end up completely filled with her stuff while everyone else ran out of space?
And making them relive this emotional damage every seven days...
Wasn't that a little cruel?
Kallen fell into deep contemplation. But before long, she no longer had the luxury of thinking about things like that.
Because Yae Sakura had begun helping her slowly piece together mories from five hundred years ago.
"The sky was just as clear that day."
Sitting on the balcony, Sakura held Kallen's hand and spoke with quiet sincerity.
"I found you by the river outside Yae Village. You were soaked through and unconscious."
"And then?" Kallen tilted her head slightly, curiosity shining in her eyes.
"And then..." Sakura's lips curved upward faintly, as though she'd recalled a mory so precious it still lingered warmly in her heart.
"I carried you back to the shrine. You had a terrible fever. I brewed dicine for you, but you couldn't wake up to drink it, so... I had to use the oldest thod there is."
Kallen blinked, still looking innocent and curious on the outside—but inside, she was absolutely losing it.
Yes. This is it. Keep going.
"What thod?"
Sakura didn't answer right away. She simply looked at Kallen, her eyes filled with nostalgia and tenderness.
Here it cos~
Kallen knew exactly what was about to happen, but she still put on an adorably clueless act.
Behind them, Hiko and the others looked busy with their own things—playing gas, drinking, reading, but in reality, every single one of them had their ears perked up, shalessly eavesdropping on the conversation happening out on the balcony.
"Like this..." Sakura gently cupped Kallen's face.
Before Kallen could even pretend to react, Sakura leaned down and kissed her.
—!!!
Kallen's eyes flew wide open.
The living room instantly fell dead silent.
Kiana's ga controller smacked onto the floor with a loud clatter. i dropped the cookbook she was holding. Hiko nearly spat out her drink.
And Theresa...
Her face flushed just as red as Kallen's in an instant.
Because before, Raiden Ei had used the exact sa thod to feed her warm water mouth-to-mouth.
"Mmph—"
The mont the mory resurfaced, Theresa imdiately covered her burning cheeks and curled herself deeper into the couch.
Thankfully, nobody was paying attention to her right now.
"Young love..." Hiko chuckled.
But after only a second, the smile faded. Then she abruptly took another large swig of alcohol, looking thoroughly unwilling to accept reality.
"Y-You people at Schicksal..." Sin stamred. "Do... do you all play this hard?"
Out on the balcony—
Sakura slowly pulled away from Kallen and lightly licked her lips. Looking at Kallen's bright-red, completely stunned expression, she smiled gently.
"That's how I fed you dicine five hundred years ago."
Kallen opened her mouth as if she wanted to say sothing, but her brain had already fully crashed.
"You made that exact sa face back then too." Sakura looked at her fondly. "All dazed and silly. It was adorable."
Heh... hehe...
Kallen took a deep breath, trying desperately to calm herself down.
But no matter what she did, it was impossible.
"S-So... it really happened like that before?"
"Mhm."
Seeing the certainty in Sakura's eyes, Kallen's face turned even redder. She had no idea what to say anymore.
After that, Sakura continued telling her stories from five hundred years ago.
How they fought side by side.
How they made promises beneath the sakura tree.
How she taught Kallen to use chopsticks.
How they gathered mushrooms and dicinal herbs together in the forest outside the village.
In the gas and manga, those monts only took up a tiny portion of the story, but in reality, that stretch of ti had been long and full of mories. For example, it was during that period that they t Raiden i's ancestor, Hokushin i.
Kallen listened quietly, nodding from ti to ti and occasionally asking questions.
She realized that lately, she'd started loving these stories more and more—the stories the Valkyries told her about herself.
It gave her a strange sense of imrsion.
As though she really was the character she'd transford into, and that she truly had shared those thrilling experiences with them long ago.
And when night finally ca...
"Haa..."
Kallen stood beneath the shower, letting the warm water cascade down her body.
Taking a bath really was one of life's greatest pleasures...
Especially when she could look in the mirror and admire what she looked like now.
Glancing at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, Kallen couldn't help feeling a little restless.
Co to think of it, she'd never really taken the ti to properly look at her transford body before.
Was life just too fulfilling lately?
Well, since the thought had crossed her mind now... she might as well enjoy it a little.
The mont that idea appeared, excitent bubbled up inside her.
Her hand slid to her collarbone, about to slowly trace downward—
Knock knock.
The bathroom door was suddenly tapped from outside.
"Kallen." Sakura's gentle voice ca through the door.
"Sakura? What is it?" Kallen froze mid-motion, guiltily pulling her hands away from herself like she'd just been caught doing sothing embarrassing. Her heart skipped a beat as she turned toward the door.
"May I co in?" Sakura asked calmly from outside, in the sa casual tone soone might use to ask whether you'd eaten dinner yet.
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