Himeko quickly brushed aside the question, crossed her legs, popped open a can of beer she had just brought out, and took a long, noisy gulp before speaking:
“Ah!
This is what keeps me going…
The kid’s fine.
She’s still wary, but at least she finally opened her mouth to eat.
If you all treat her kindly over the next few days, she should be alright.”
“That’s good to hear!”
Raiden Mei patted her chest.
Her increasingly full figure stretched the loose, casual white blouse taut, causing it to tremble slightly.
Kiana couldn’t help but drool at the sight.
“Slurp!
No, no, not the time for that!
Ahem!
Anyway, I’m glad she’s okay.
For Mei’s sake, I’ll overlook our earlier quarrel.
Don’t worry, we’ll get along with her just fine, Auntie Hime…”
“Hm (ー`´ー)?”
“Sister Himeko!!!”
“Hmph!
I’ve told you to call me Himeko-sensei!
And you’re the one I’m most worried about, you airhead who acts without thinking.
You’d better mean what you say, or I’ll be holding this failed exam against you too!”
Himeko rapped Kiana on the head with a loud thwack, sounding a bit like tapping a hollow wooden fish.
Kiana immediately clutched her head, rubbing the swelling bump, and whined pitifully:
“Don’t always call me stupid!
I know I messed up this time, but it’s not entirely my fault.
Who knew that slippery little eel would be so hard to catch?
I tried my best!”
“Couldn’t catch a regular person, lost her during the chase, stumbled onto her by accident and got disarmed, then brawled for half an hour, almost died, and only survived because she took pity on you…”
“She’s stronger than me!
How is that a regular person?
And say what you mean!
Don’t just list everything that happened, you stinky Bronya!”
“Ah, Bronya doesn’t want to be rude, but she suggests that Kiana start from the basics again, beginning with orientation training.”
Bronya sighed and looked at Kiana with a flat, unimpressed gaze.
Kiana’s forehead bulged with veins.
She thrashed and lunged forward, but was thankfully caught and held back by Raiden Mei.
Amid the roughhousing, Himeko finished her beer, weighed the empty can in her hand, and tossed it behind her.
Clang!
The empty aluminum can bounced off Angel’s forehead with a distinct thud.
Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya looked up to see a girl with golden hair spread across the floor, lying on the railing at the top of the stairs, her clear, crystalline purple eyes fixed motionlessly on them.
Himeko tilted her head back and lazily gazed up at Angel.
“If you want to listen, just come down.
No one’s going to grab you.
What are you hiding up there for, little one?”
Angel: “(๑ˍ)…”
Angel picked up the can that had just hit her, thought for a moment, and aimed it at Kiana’s forehead.
Whoosh!
Clang!
Then, the golden-haired little head quickly disappeared back behind the railing, followed by the sound of a door slamming shut.
“Ow!”
It was only then that Kiana, who had just toppled backward off the sofa onto the floor, let out a delayed yelp.
“That little brat!!!”
Kiana sprang up with a kip-up, crushed the can flat, and stormed toward the stairs while rubbing her reddened forehead.
Raiden Mei quickly grabbed Kiana’s hand, and Bronya wrapped her arms around Kiana’s waist.
“Kiana, calm down!
She’s just new here and doesn’t know us yet.
Please forgive her this once!”
“Mei-sis is right.
Dummy Kiana runs into things all the time anyway.
Don’t make a big deal out of this.”
“What did you say, Bronya!?”
Just as the scene was descending into chaos again, Himeko spread her arms wide across the back of the sofa, stretched lazily, her proud curves rising even more prominently, and shook her head with a smile.
“That little one sure knows how to hold a grudge.”
…
Revenge for that beating.
Hell yeah!
x30
All the Angels were cheering.
The ones in the theater were already high-fiving each other in celebration.
After the celebration, the twenty-nine Angels in the theater sat in a row.
The weight that had been pressing down on all of them for days had finally been lifted, and they felt much more relaxed.
“Great.
Now that we’ve joined the St.
Freya camp, as long as we keep a low profile and stay far away from Otto, we can live in peace.”
“Yeah, yeah.
I don’t want to think that far ahead right now.
These past few days have been way too stressful.”
“We do need to reflect on one thing.
We almost turned those bodies into clones right in front of Kiana.
From now on, we have to be extremely careful whenever we use anything related to our authority.
We absolutely cannot be exposed!”
“Hiss…
you’re right.
That would have been a disaster!”
The Angels patted their still-developing, modest chests in fright.
Then, the original Angel, still in her bathrobe, made a complicated expression.
“Speaking of which, how long are we going to stay naked like this?
Sure, we’re all rare super-beautiful girls, but this scene…
looks like we’re about to start one of those parties.”
“Then share your clothes with us?”
“No way!
There’s only one outfit, and it can’t be split.
Besides, I’m not going to be that shameless, even if we’re all the same person!”
“…Honestly, if you weren’t also me, I’d strip you bare and spank your butt right now!”
The surrounding Angels cracked their knuckles menacingly.
The original Angel chuckled awkwardly and lowered her head, not daring to provoke them further.
They were all her, and no one knew better than Angel just how vindictive they could be.
“No choice then.
Since we’re mostly safe now, let’s start the backup save-point plan tonight.
First, one of us goes out.
The first target is a clothing factory or somewhere similar.
We need to get enough clothes for everyone!”
“Agreed!”
“+1!”
A chorus of Angels raised their little hands excitedly, then eagerly discussed the action plan for the backup save points.
…
At dinner, Angel followed behind Himeko, clutching the hem of her jacket as they made their way to the living room.
Because the girl was so slender and petite, she was easily overlooked if one wasn’t paying attention—a little tail completely hidden behind Himeko.
“Alright, alright, we’re here!
I didn’t realize you were this shy before.”
“I’m not shy.
But right now, my instincts tell me you’re the only one I can trust to be a good person.”
Angel looked up, her purple eyes fixed intently on Himeko.
Her expression was still blank, but her trust and dependence were clearly evident.
What else could Himeko do?
Her heart melted.
She took Angel’s small hand in hers and, with a warm, radiant smile, introduced the three students who would also be living with her.
Kiana: “Hey!”
Angel: “Hii~”
Raiden Mei: “Hello!”
Angel: “Hellooo~”
Bronya: “Nice to meet you.”
Angel: “How nice?”
The automatic backtalk was met with silence.
But during the meal, with Kiana leading the charge, the atmosphere soon became lively again.
Angel ate quietly, soaking in the warm and cheerful ambiance.
Let it be noted: the current Angel was a fusion of Angels from two worlds.
She had both mature and childish sides, strength and fragility, optimism and painful, melancholic memories.
In short, this kind of atmosphere brought forth the feelings of loneliness and grief from this world’s Angel, unbidden.
Drip.
A single teardrop fell unnoticed onto the table.
Angel did not realize it.
She mechanically continued stuffing food into her mouth.
But without her noticing, the others had already piled her bowl high with food from their own plates.