Chapter 31: Smells like another woman!
Although Kirataka maintained a very good schedule during school hours from Monday to Friday, he would still sleep in during the rare weekends.
Well, this is what is called a balance between work and rest.
Only in this way can we alleviate the fatigue caused by the excessive amount of training brought about by the usual use of time rewinding.
Even so, at this time, in the dormitory where Kirataka should have been alone, there was still a faint sound.
A young girl left her room and walked into the corridor.
The girl was wearing a red and white shrine maiden costume. She had delicate and regular features, exposed snow-white shoulders, long legs, and bright blue eyes under her delicate and long eyebrows. Her milky white skin was delicate and clean without any roughness.
Her long cherry-colored hair fell behind her like a waterfall, leaving a faint scent of cherry blossoms wherever it passed.
Her room was on the innermost part of the second floor, so when she passed through the corridor, she also passed by Kirataka's room.
The enhanced senses brought by her physique as a Pseudo-Herrscher allowed her to vaguely hear his calm breathing even through the closed door.
After going downstairs, she came to the living room as usual, pulled out a chair, and sat down, opening the book that she had not finished reading yesterday.
With the chirping of birds and the fragrance of flowers outside the window, it should have been a rather peaceful and tranquil morning.
However, Higokumaru, who had not appeared for a long time, reappeared at this time.
The huge fox seemed to occupy the entire living room, and the flames burning on its black fur seemed to have become even more vigorous than the last time it appeared.
She growled in a low voice:
"woman…"
"What are you doing out here?"
Yae Sakura didn't even raise her head, her eyes still on the book in her hands.
"Do you really intend to stay in this academy forever?"
Higokumaru questioned.
"What's wrong with that?"
The cherry-colored girl responded calmly.
This academy belongs to Schicksal, and it has the same name as the organization that fights against Honkai which her best friend once mentioned.
Through reading books recently, she has come to understand that the Schicksal now is not the same as the Schicksal that Kallen once belonged to.
The old Schicksal was overthrown by the new Schicksal, which had lasted from more than five hundred years ago to the present day.
It should be said that the current Scheme is more in line with her best friend's former ideals and is committed to fighting the Honkai and protecting the world.
In this case, she also took care to stay here and provide some help to the people here.
For her, who feels as if she is in another world after her resurrection, this is her motivation to continue taking action.
"hehe…"
Higokumaru showed a mocking expression and said:
"You only helped that guy deal with the Herrscher once. You don't really think you are a righteous partner, do you?"
"…It is precisely because the past is too painful to look back on that I must continue to atone for my sins."
Yae Sakura replied calmly.
"It's a nice thought, but how long can you avoid me?"
Higokumaru said in a low voice:
"You don't even have the courage to accept my power like the girl who controls thunder and lightning."
"…"
"You are different from her. That girl was able to overcome the will of Honkai, but you can't. You are just a coward who can't get rid of the past."
"...."
As Yae Sakura's expression froze slightly, the pitch-black giant fox was forced to disperse again.
Even though Higokumaru had been silenced by her, she was no longer in the mood to continue reading the book in her hand.
The cherry-colored girl looked up at the clock and stood up.
Let's just prepare breakfast. It's time to wake him up.
At this moment, Yae Sakura's fox ears moved slightly.
——She heard some noise at the entrance, the sound of the door opening.
"...!"
It's not uncommon for people to visit Kirataka's house on weekends.
She is the Herrscher of Thunder with whom Kirataka had fought...a girl named Raiden Mei, who came here every weekend.
However, the girl usually came around noon, but this time, she came so early.
Because she has not yet made her existence known to the public, Yae Sakura would always hide her tracks and scent before Mei came and would just hide in her room to spend the weekend lunchtime.
Anyway, it's better to avoid it now...
With this thought in mind, Yae Sakura quickly rushed up to the second floor and returned to her room without making any sound.
Because time was urgent, she didn't have time to erase her own breath this time.
After Yae Sakura hid, the purple-haired girl came to the living room with ease.
"Huh... it seems I came a little early today..."
She was holding some vegetables bought from the supermarket.
After putting the things in her hand on the kitchen table, Mei pricked up her ears and listened but heard no sound.
It seems that he is still sleeping...
"Well... let's prepare the ingredients first, and then cook when it's almost noon."
The girl turned around, looked at the abundant food on the table, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared to start working.
However, another voice suddenly appeared in Mei's mind and stopped her.
"...Wait a minute, Raiden Mei."
——Since returning from the last battle in Nagazora City, although this stigma-scarred personality has no plans to go out and show up in front of others, the frequency of communication between Mei and her has indeed increased a lot.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
Mei asked curiously in her heart.
The Stigma Personality was silent for a while before speaking in a positive tone:
"…This room smells like another woman."
"Huh?"
Mei was slightly stunned.
She thought for a moment and said:
"Maybe... other students have visited here as well?"
After all, this is a girls' school, so it's not too surprising if girls occasionally come in and out of Kirataka's dormitory.
"Not really. The smell is everywhere, and the scent is still fresh."
The Stigmata personality said with certainty.
Mei guessed randomly: "Kiana is still sleeping in the dormitory, and so is Teacher Himeko. Hmm... could it be the Class Monitor or Bronya?"
In fact, the girls who are close to Kirataka are just these few.
"...They wouldn't wear perfume that smells like this."
The voice in her heart ruthlessly denied all of Mei's guesses.
The air was filled with a light floral scent, a smell that both she and Mei knew well, a fragrance like that of cherry blossoms.
She even doubted whether it was really the smell of perfume.
She paused for a moment and suggested to Mei:
"Anyway, just in case, why don't you go look for it?"
What is meant by "just in case"?
Mei said weakly:
"Isn't it a bad idea to do this? This is Kirataka's dormitory after all..."
"He eats your food every day, so what's wrong with you hanging around his room? Go away."
The stigma personality urged Mei to act.
"Okay, okay..."
Of course, Mei herself actually wanted to know who the owner of this cherry blossom-like fragrance was.
Following the scent of cherry blossoms, she gently climbed the stairs leading to the second floor.
The higher she went, the more she could smell the refreshing floral fragrance.
The dormitory layout of St. Freya Academy is basically the same, so Mei is not too unfamiliar with it.
"It looks like it should be on this floor..."
Mei pondered.
However, just as the girl was about to go deeper, the wooden door next to her suddenly opened.
What came into view was Kirataka with his upper body naked.
He saw the purple-haired girl standing in front of him and was slightly stunned:
"Hmm? Mei?"
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