Chapter 2: Ciel, the Planet of Leisure and Recreation

The planet of leisure and recreation, Ciel, was roughly two and a half hours away from Earth with Iris’s spaceship warp. We arrived at a planet twinkling with neon lights so bright that they could be seen from space.

“Ciel is an artificial planet created for leisure and recreation. It’s famous throughout the Galactic Federation.”

“Artificial... You mean it’s man-made?”

“Yup. It started off as a small colony, but the large-scale casinos they opened became a big hit. It took off from there, growing in size until it met the Galactic Federation’s requirements to be named a planet.”

Earth had different definitions for planets, moons, and such, so I guess the Galactic Federation had a similar system. Maybe they couldn’t call it a planet until it hit some kind of benchmark.

“Wait, if ‘leisure and recreation’ means things like casinos... I’m still a minor, you know?”

“Oh, don’t worry. We’re heading for the all-ages theme park. Only adults are allowed inside the Midnight Area with the casinos and stuff.”

“Huh...”

Apparently, after Ciel’s initial start as a big casino hotspot, they rebranded themselves as a bigger vacation destination with a wide range of activities for all ages. It seemed I was worried about nothing.

“But if you reeeally want, then I guess I can prepare myself for a night at the more adult part of the park...”

“Nope! Let’s go to the regular one! Right now! Boy, am I looking forward to the roller-coasters and Ferris wheel!”

I averted my eyes from Iris’s fading blush and saddened gaze, raising my voice with exaggerated enthusiasm. I even started to stretch my limbs to show how eager I was to get to it.

“Rekka, you look really dumb right now.”

I wasn’t even discouraged by the scornful words of the girl from the future.

In the middle of all this, Iris’s spaceship began its descent towards Ciel.

▽

“Whoaaa...”

When we landed, I let out a dumb noise as I looked up at the sky in awe.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

There was a giant roller-coaster weaving through the air. No, ‘giant’ didn’t even begin to describe it. The track for it spiraled freely overhead and looked almost like a spider’s nest from a distance. It was made of a transparent material that cast almost no shadow at all, making the coaster practically look like it was flying. It was truly a sight to behold.

There were other spires that stretched up into the sky and a triple Ferris wheel, as well as fireworks and colored smoke from all kinds of performances. The skies of Ciel were constantly bustling. It might have been an artificial planet, but all the groomed vegetation made it look nice and kept the air feeling clean. It seemed like a lot of thought had gone into designing this place.

“It sure lives up to its name as a planet of leisure and recreation...”

“Right?”

Iris grinned happily to see me so impressed. Then she took my hand.

“So let’s get going immediately!”

“H-Hang on a second! I know it’s kinda late to say it now, but... you know we have school today, right?”

“Who cares about the opening ceremony? There aren’t any classes afterward.”

“Well, true, but...”

“Or is it because...” At my grumbling, Iris’s eyes suddenly welled up with tears. “You... don’t like being with me?”

“Huh?”

The tears glistened in her eyes, threatening to spill over at any second.

“No. I mean, it’s not like that...”

“Really? Then we’re gonna spend the whole day together!”

“Wait, wha...?”

“Yay! It’s a d-a-t-e!”

Her eyes were dry in an instant, making my eyes spin at how quickly she did a complete one-eighty.

“I wonder if this gullible part of you also contributed to the War of All...” R said with a sigh as Iris dragged me into the theme park by the hand.

▽

After getting our day passes to the park, Iris and I began touring the attractions. Honestly, I was already used to missing school because of my bloodline, and I had never been a really serious student like Satsuki, so I got over the skipping class thing pretty quickly. As long as I was here, I figured I might as well enjoy myself. But...

“The problem now is...”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Rekka?”

Iris tilted her head in confusion at my muttering. The problem... was that she was too close.

“Iris, why are we linking arms?”

“Because we have to act lovey-dovey all day today! We have to flirt, and we have to do it right!” Iris replied gleefully, wrapping her arm tighter around mine.

There shouldn’t be a need to act like a couple here, what with Rachelle being on a different planet and all... No, the real problem was the way her chest was squishing up against me every time she squeezed my arm.

“Come on, let’s ride that first!”

“S-Sure... Wait, what is that?”

“A free fall ride. Earth has these, too, no?”

Sure. Plenty of amusement parks had thrill rides that would basically just take you up high and drop you. The only thing that worried me was just how tall this one was... You couldn’t see the top of the tower from the bottom.

“This free fall ride is supposed to be an entire minute drop all the way from the atmosphere to the ground! Amazing, right?!”

“Hang on, hang on, hang on! That’s amazing all right, but how is that even possible?!”

“It’s fine! Don’t worry! The air in the atmosphere is cold, but the seats are heated and stuff.”

“The cold isn’t what I’m worried about; I can handle that much! I wanna know if it’s safe or not!”

“They have all the proper safety measures in place, and there haven’t been any accidents yet.”

“Yet?!”

That made it sound like they were just waiting for one to happen!

“Let’s go!”

“W-Wait!”

In the end... I didn’t die.

“...”

“Rekka? You okay?”

Iris was worriedly watching over me as I slumped onto a bench like a wet noodle. I had jumped off the back of Behemoth and even off a building before... And this was worse than all of it. Who knew free-falling faster than the natural pull of gravity was so freaking scary? Why was I having all these near-death experiences outside of fights with Demon Kings and legendary monsters, anyway? Whatever. Now that I had actually survived with all my limbs intact, I could say with a lot more confidence that safety measures in space were top-notch.

“I guess you’re not really the thrill ride type... Sorry, Rekka.”

“It’s not exactly a type thing... Wh-Whatever, I’ve rested enough. Let’s go. Where to next?”

Iris looked like she felt really bad about the whole thing, so I got to my still-wobbly feet and feigned optimism.

“Are you really okay?”

“I’m totally fine, I tell you.”

“Okay. If you say so. Then let’s hit the next ride!”

Despite what she said, Iris must have decided to go easy on me. The next ride she picked was a pleasure cruise.

“Hm? There seem to be several lines for this ride. Are you sure we should be in this one?”

“There are several different tours you can take around Ciel. We’re in line for tour A.”

“Just how big is this theme park if it has multiple tours?”

“The theme park takes up over a third of the planet, so... If you added it all up, it’s probably about the size of an ocean.”

That was indeed impressive. Theme parks in space were apparently just on a totally different scale.

The next ship arrived as we were talking, and we walked across the ramp to board the pleasure cruise.

“Ooh, that breeze feels great!”

I stepped out on the deck to get some air and caught a nice, cool breeze instantly. It ruffled my clothes and hair without being harsh. The ship itself was incredibly stable, too. It made for a smooth ride where it hardly felt like we were on the water at all.

“Look, Rekka! There’s a flower garden on the opposite shore!”

“Huh, where...? Oh, you’re right!”

The shore across from us was overflowing with blooming flowers. Of course, none of them were from Earth. They all came in a wide variety of shapes and colors, but there was nothing I recognized.

“Oh, look at that one! It’s shaped like a penguirabbit!” Iris shouted as she pointed to a section of the garden.

There seemed to be a designated area with flowers modeled after all kinds of animals. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell which one Iris was saying looked like a penguirabbit.

“Where is it?”

“That one over there! See? Doesn’t it look like that stuffed animal I have on my spaceship?”

Iris pulled me closer by the arm as she excitedly tried to point it out to me. And... there was that squishing sensation again. It was wonderful... I mean, wonderfully distracting. I couldn’t concentrate on the penguirabbit flower at all.

“Rekka? What’s wrong?” she asked inquisitively when she realized I’d frozen stiff.

“N-N-Nothing!”

Iris was always way too defenseless about things like these. She was probably the one who made my heart pound the hardest when I was with her.

“Oh, that’s right! Rekka, are you hungry?”

“Come to think of it, yeah, I think I am.”

I’d had some juice aboard her ship on the way over, but the last thing I’d really eaten was breakfast. It’d been a good solid three hours since we’d taken off from Earth, so it was creeping up on lunchtime, and I was starting to get a little peckish.

“There’s a food court on this ship, too. Let’s check it out.”

“Sure, let’s go... But you’ll be paying for me again, Iris.”

There was no way a mere Earthling like me had their hands on any space currency usable in the Greater Galactic Federation. I was always relying on Iris at times like these, just like when we went to Berano before.

“There’s no need to worry about that. I’m the one who brought you here, after all.”

“Let me pay you back when we get back to Earth.”

“Really? Then can we go on a date when we go back?”

“Huh? Oh, um, sure.”

Pulled by the arm, I followed Iris down the stairs towards the food court. It was lined with fancy-looking eateries, quite unlike the food courts you’d expect to find in shopping malls and big department stores that usually only had fast food.

“What would you like, Rekka?”

“Hmm... I don’t really know anything about space cuisine. I’ll go with whatever you want, Iris.”

“Okay! Then... I want to go there!” she exclaimed, pointing to a nearby place.

We entered and took a seat at a table by the window.

“May I take your order?” asked the waiter.

“A polypole pasta for me. What about you, Rekka?”

“Um... I’ll have this crossworm meat sandwich.”

“What?”

“...What?”

“Oh, no, pardon me, sir. It’s just the first time I’ve had anyone order that. I’ll have your food out in just a moment.”

“U-Um...”

The waiter left our table in a flurry, seemingly embarrassed.

“So... what did I just order?”

The waiter’s reaction made me extremely curious. But as promised, not long after, our food was brought out to us. The meat on my sandwich looked perfectly normal to me, but... what kind of meat was it, exactly? If they served it here, it had to be edible... Maybe I was just better off not knowing.

“Hmm... Tastes pretty normal to me. It’s nice.”

“That’s good.”

“How’s yours?”

“Mine’s good, too. Want to try?” Iris asked, twirling some of her pasta around her fork. “Say ‘ah!’”

My heart skipped a beat when she said that with such a bright smile. I guess... I had no choice but to go along.

“A-Ah...”

“Here!”

Something with a texture similar to octopus entered my mouth alongside the pasta, but I was far too embarrassed to be focusing on the taste. My face was probably as red as an octopus right now...

“Rekka, look out the window.”

“Hm?”

Iris directed my attention to the window, where I could see a huge waterfall up ahead.

“Wow, it’s like Niagara Falls... Not that I’ve ever seen the real thing before.”

This whole planet was supposed to be man-made, right? Space really was incredible.

“Do we go under that?”

“Nope. We climb it.”

“...Huh?”

“It’s like those animals on Earth... What are they called again? Carp? We’re going to climb the waterfall like they do.”

“No way! This is a ship!”

I take it all back. Space was just plain out of this world.

“Wait a minute, wouldn’t the ship just tip vertically if it climbed the waterfall...?”

“There’s a gravitational device at work, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Okay, then what happens when we reach the top?”

“We’ll come back down, of course.”

“How?”

“The top of the waterfall is like a slide, so we’ll slide our way down from there. It feels great from the deck!”

So the pleasure cruise basically turned into a water ride.

“Let’s hurry up and eat so we can get to the deck in time!”

“All right.”

Faced with Iris’s bright smile again, I had no choice but to nod along. She’d seemed especially happy since we arrived on Ciel. And seeing her so happy made me happy, too. At her urging, I stuffed my cheeks with my sandwich as fast as I could.

▽

After that, we went on a handful of other attractions like the aforementioned super roller-coaster that ran on a transparent track, as well as a horse(?) ride with some kind of six-legged creature.

“What do you wanna go on next?”

“Hmm... I think I’m getting a bit tired. Maybe something relaxing for the next one would be nice,” I requested.

“Then let’s ride the Ferris wheel in the Night Area!” Iris replied, still beaming.

“Huh? Isn’t the Night Area where the casinos and stuff are?”

“That’s the Midnight Area. The Night Area is in the north part of the park. It’s under a giant dome so it perpetually appears to be night there. The Ferris wheel inside is illuminated with a bunch of lights, making it a popular date spot for lovers.”

“Hmm, so it’s always night... Wait, lovers?!”

Hearing the L-word out of the blue like that nearly made my heart jump out of my chest.

“Come on, hurry up!”

Iris led the way while humming happily from her fixed position at my right arm, which she had been clinging to all day. I really didn’t want to do anything to ruin her good mood, so I went along with her at her pace and tried to calm my racing heart.

▽

Once we passed through the gate, we were met with the sight of a lovely night sky overhead. The Night Area was aptly named. Whereas the sky outside had been filled with color and fun from the rest of the park, the inside of the dome was plastered with artificial stars like a planetarium. Quiet background music was playing ambiently throughout the dome. Furthermore, everything on the ground was illuminated with beautiful lights that matched the overhead view. It had a totally different feel to it than the rest of the park. It seemed they’d kept this calm, quiet space and the thrill rides outside separated for a reason.

“Wow, lookie here. This sure sets the mood compared to before.”

“...”

“If the Day Area you were in until now was like sweet curry, and the Midnight Area with the casinos is like spicy curry, then I guess this place is kinda like the mild curry in between, huh?”

While I wanted to comment on her use of curry as an example, I thought R pretty much hit the nail on the head. The Night Area was something between the super mature and childishly lighthearted parts of the park.

As proof of that, there were couples just about everywhere I looked. A lot of them were older than us, but there were also some kids who looked to be about our age or younger. Iris and I blended right in, making it hard to pick us out of the crowd at a distance.

“Heehee...”

Even though nothing in particular had happened, Iris giggled shyly and drew closer when our eyes met. We had been running around the Day Area all this time to hit the rides we wanted, but the second we stepped into the Night Area, things seemed to slow down. We both began walking a little slower, taking our time to enjoy the stroll. Really, I was just following Iris’s lead, and it was thanks to her that we were able to blend in just fine. Otherwise, I probably would have felt too awkward and would have just wanted to run away.

Iris and I soon arrived at the massive Ferris wheel that was apparently hugely popular with couples and got in line. When our turn came, we got into the gondola. Thankfully, there were no crazy gimmicks on the Ferris wheel. Other than the fact that the gondola didn’t sway or creak at all, it was hardly any different from a Ferris wheel on Earth.

“Wow! Look, Rekka. It’s so pretty.”

“Yeah, it really is.”

The meticulously planned lights down below illuminated a beautiful picture like a painting. It harmonized with the black sky overhead, making an exquisite display of darkness and light. Yet despite the spectacular scenery before me... I fidgeted nervously in the cramped gondola, acutely aware of how close I was to Iris. For some reason, I had been extremely conscious of her presence all day.

“Earth to Rekka? Aren’t you acting a little too nervous?”

“P-Put a sock in it, R...”

“Oh, no, your retort has no power... Ah!” R clapped her hands together in realization. “Come to think of it, isn’t this your first proper date? You were being controlled by Rosalind’s charm when you went out with her, and the date with Hibiki was more of an undercover investigation.”

“Th-This is technically to save Rachelle, you know...”

“That’s funny, considering you left her in the dust. I seem to recall you pointing that out to Iris, too.”

I hated to admit it, but R was right. This was the first time I was out with no other purpose than just being on a date. Was that why my heart was beating so fast...?

“Hey, Rekka...”

“Y-Yeah...?”

My heart nearly stopped when I heard Iris say my name, but I tried to reply as calmly as possible.

“Do you... have anyone you like?”

“Excuse me?!”

I couldn’t contain myself that time, and started violently enough that I banged my head against the gondola window.

“Ow, ow...”

“You okay? Is there a bump?”

“No, I’m fine, but... Why the sudden question?”

“Huh?! Oh... I was, um, just wondering?”

She didn’t sound too convinced of her own answer, and she sat there fanning herself with her hand nervously.

“W-Well? How about it? Is there anyone you like?” she asked again, looking at me with expectant eyes.

Uh... How was I supposed to answer that?

“I am also extremely interested in the answer to this question.”

Great, now R was staring at me, too. What was I supposed to say when I suddenly got put on the spot about who I liked...?

“I don’t think so... Not yet.”

“No? Even though you have so many girls around you?” Iris questioned me further with a half-relieved, half-disappointed expression.

“Well, there are actually a lot of misunderstandings surrounding that topic, but... It’s not a decision I can make lightly...”

“You worded your own pathetic traits very nicely there.”

Why don’t you take a hike outside the gondola, R?

“I see...”

Iris fell silent at my answer, looking slightly downcast. She stayed like that until we reached the peak of the Ferris wheel, where I finally spoke up out of worry.

“...Iris?”

When I called her name, she flinched a little in surprise and looked up at me. Her expression was serious, like she’d just made some kind of resolution... Or so I was thinking as she got up from her seat across from me and moved to the free seat right next to me. Our shoulders were close enough to touch. I could feel her body heat like this, and it all made my heart beat faster.

“Rekka...”

“Y-Yeah...?”

Iris tilted her head faintly, peering up at me from a slightly lower angle.

“You don’t have... anyone you like right now... right?”

“That’s right...”

“Then... it’s okay, right...?”

What is? Just as I was about to ask, Iris placed a hand against my thigh and leaned in towards me. Her cheeks were so red that they looked like they’d be hot to the touch, but in comparison... I really thought my chest was about to burst.

“It’s okay, right?”

“Wh-What’s... okay...?”

“You still haven’t decided who you like yet, right?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Then... I’ll be the one to take your f-f-first...!”

Iris stumbled over her words as she spoke, and just as she was about to finish her sentence...

Clunk!

The gondola, which had hardly budged up until now thanks to its superior space engineering, suddenly shook violently.

“Kyah!”

“Wah!”

Iris clung to me in surprise, making me yell for a different reason. But wait, what had just happened?

Clunk, clunk...

The shaking continued, though it was much less severe than before... Hm? It almost sounded like someone was walking on the roof of the gondola. Sure enough, with a creak, the gondola door was then pried open.

“Oh, Rekkaaa...”

“R-Rosalind?”

The unexpected appearance of an unexpected player made all my gears grind to a halt. The aura radiating off of Rosalind’s entire body was terrifying. The grim reaper? No, a vampire.

“At last, I’ve found you.”

“H-How did you follow us all the way into space...?”

“We borrowed the spaceship of that scientist girl.”

Shirley, huh? Come to think of it, she did have her own spaceship. Did that mean she was here on Ciel, too?

“Rekka!”

“Rekka! We finally caught up!”

Next appeared Satsuki and Rachelle. They were flying through the air with magic and wings, respectively.

“Now you’ve gone and done it, little girl,” said Rosalind, eyeing Iris.

“Ugh! Why did you all have to interrupt us now?! We had such a good mood going, too!”

“As if we’d let you get away with that, you fool!”

“I won’t let you get a head start!”

“Haaaaahh... Such good love energy...”

Everyone noisily clambered into the gondola through the open door, and Rachelle looked like she was trembling with excitement. She was totally a fallen angel, wasn’t she? No one should enjoy people fighting that much. Since the angel was apparently going to be useless, I tried to stop the girls myself, but...

“Silence!”

“You stay out of this!”

“Keep quiet, Rekka!”

It apparently wasn’t my place. I was at a genuine loss wondering what I should do, when...

“Urgh, what a pain! Hmph!”

Rosalind hit the upper limit of her anger and transformed into a huge group of bats.

“Wha?! Wai—”

“I can’t see!”

In no time at all, the gondola was filled with darkness and screeching animal sounds. And amidst it all, I suddenly felt like I was floating...

“Huh?”

Just like that, my body was carried away against my will at an alarming speed.

“Huuuuh?!”

I still hadn’t completely gotten my head around what was going on, but it seemed I’d been lifted out of the gondola by a swarm of bats.

“Rosalind?! Are you trying to steal the lead, too...?! Who do you think got us here?!”

“Hey! Give Rekka back!”

I could hear Satsuki and Iris’s angry shouting over the bats screeching and flapping their wings. What was Rosalind trying to do? Where was she taking me? The bats eventually descended towards the ground, where Rosalind resumed her original form. In place of the bats that had been carrying me, I was now in Rosalind’s arms.

“R-Rosalind, please let me down.”

“I refuse!”

Easy to say when you’re not the one being carried bridal style! Ignoring my earnest request, Rosalind ran through the park carrying me.

“Where are you going?”

“We’re going on our date next, obviously.”

“Huh?”

“Good grief, I can’t believe you’d be so entranced by that girl that you’d dare leave me behind. You’re always inciting these feelings of jealousy within me...! Argh! Just remembering it pisses me off! I’m not letting you go back to Earth for a while!”

“H-Huuuh?!”

She seemed to work herself up into a rage halfway through that, but had I done anything wrong? I was pretty sure the only thing I’d done today was get dragged left to right by the girls...

“Hold it right there!”

It sounded like Iris had caught up to us.

“Tch! Persistent girl!”

“You’re not one to talk!”

She had a point there...

“If you two don’t cut it out right now, I’m going to show you what I can do!”

Satsuki had caught up with her flight magic, as well. I could tell she was boiling with rage even from afar.

“Hey, shouldn’t you stop this, Rosalind? They seem really mad.”

“Ha! What they think is irrelevant. If they interrupt my date with you, I’ll just have to beat them down myself!”

W-Was it just me, or did she sound a little too serious just now? A chilling shiver suddenly ran down my spine.

Just then, something caught Rosalind’s attention from another direction. She clicked her tongue before taking off with a great leap... with me still in her arms. I tried to follow Rosalind’s gaze with my eyes and spotted something the size of a table tennis ball sailing in an arc through the air. It burst upon impact with the ground, releasing crackling bolts of lightning that snaked this way and that.

“Uwah! Why is there lightning on the ground?!”

Lightning was meant to be in the sky, right? No, this part of the park was covered with a dome, so there shouldn’t be lightning here at all.

“What a shame. You evaded it.”

“...Hmph. Shirley, was it?”

Appearing from the shadow of one of the rides was my blue-haired scientist neighbor, Shirley. So, she’d come to Ciel after all.

“W-Wait a minute! That lightning just now was your doing, Shirley?!”

“It’s an electromagnetic binding trap. Small and conveniently portable.”

“That’s not what I’m asking! That’s dangerous!”

“Don’t worry. It’ll only make you a liiittle numb.”

She flashed a cold smile. It was kind of terrifying. But one way or another, it looked like she was joining the fight to try and snatch me from Rosalind, too. Satsuki, Iris, and Rachelle weren’t too far behind.

“Jeez! Why did you all have to get in the way of my date with Rekka?!” Iris stamped her foot in frustration, shattering the pavers in the sidewalk.

“And who exactly said you could run off with him?” Flames of wrath burned deep within Satsuki’s disgusted eyes.

“You lot believe you can best me, a vampire?” Despite being surrounded on three sides, Rosalind provoked them boldly.

“Oh? But I haven’t shown you all my wonderful devices yet.” Right now, Shirley looked as cunning and calculating as she had the day she’d tried to destroy Estashion.

And with that, the girls fell into a silent stalemate as they glared at each other.

“Ah! Aaah, yes!”

Rachelle’s eyes were practically spinning in circles. She was thrilled, but there was cold sweat pouring down my back. Because right now... it sure felt like this might be the most dangerous place in the whole universe. The situation was hopeless enough for such thoughts to pass through my head.

“Well, well, Rekka. What are you gonna do now?”

R’s mocking words felt harsher than usual. Even if I wanted to, was there anything I could do?

Rachelle had stopped reeling from her love energy deficiency and had become much more lively, so her story seemed to be resolving itself well... Granted, it was at the cost of my own personal situation worsening by the minute. It seemed my life was only going to get more risky the more heroines I saved. What was I to do? It certainly didn’t help that Rosalind was still carrying me like a princess.

“Argh!”

The first one to break the tension and make a move was Iris, as expected. She used her superior physical abilities to close the distance between her and Rosalind in the blink of an eye and tried to grab me.

“Not so fast!”

“Dwah!”

Rosalind evaded Iris’s extended hand by taking a huge leap to the side, putting more distance between them.

“Heavenly wind, ancient wind, return what rightfully belongs back to dust.” Just then, Satsuki’s wind magic blew through in a violent gust.

“Like I’d fall for the same trick twice!” Rosalind roared, extending her sharp nails instantly and slashing through the wind.

Satsuki sounded surprised at this development, but that wouldn’t be the end of it. All of a sudden, something exploded beneath us. I was thrown to the side, rolling along the ground a few times.

“Shirley! Aren’t you using toys that are a little too dangerous?!”

“I didn’t bring any of the really dangerous items. That just now was only a small subterranean landmine with all the proper safety measures in place.”

“Just so you know, the moment you said ‘landmine,’ any and all talk of safety was out the window!”

“It merely aims to disrupt the opponent’s sense of balance with a little shock... But I’ll be careful next time. Now stand. You’re coming with me,” Shirley said, reaching her hand out towards me.

She was smiling, but it was just as cold and creepy as ever! I thought she’d mellowed out a fair bit after coming to Earth... It had been a while since I’d seen her merciless side. The aura she was exuding told me she wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I went to take her hand, when...

“I won’t let you!”

Satsuki flew in, grabbed my extended hand forcefully, and whisked me away into the sky.

“S-Satsuki! I’m going to fall!”

“You’re flying with magic, so it’s all right!”

“Just put me down!”

“There’s no time for that!”

Satsuki cut the conversation short there, her voice audibly seething with rage. She tried to fly out of the Night Area to get away from the others as quickly as possible.

“You know, having the heroines fight over you like this... It’s almost like a little preview of the War of All.”

Not the best time for bad jokes, R!

“Um, Satsuki, why don’t we just calm down a little? Rachelle needs to be present to gather any love energy, so...”

“What?! Are you saying you want to go on a date with Rachelle, too, Rekka?!”

“Huh? No, no one said anything like that...”

“But you went on a date with Iris, right? Just the two of you!”

“Th-That was because she forced me to...”

“That’s so unfair! You’re showing too much favoritism towards Iris, Rekka!”

Favoritism? Why was Satsuki so worked up about this?

“I... I wanted to...”

Her face bright red, Satsuki was trying to tell me something when my vision suddenly went black.

Skree, skree, skree!

“Whoa! Rosalind’s bats?!”

It didn’t seem like Rosalind had any intention of giving up yet, either.

“Ugh!”

Satsuki started to fly in a zig-zag pattern through the park in an attempt to lose the bats on our tail. Of course, Rosalind wasn’t the only one in pursuit. Iris was jumping from attraction to attraction, and the shoes Shirley was wearing allowed her to float above the ground, gliding at a smooth speed as she chased us. As we fled, we entered an area of the park I hadn’t seen before.

“Hold it right there! This is a film set! It’s off limits to the general public!”

“Huh? Kyah!”

“Wah!”

Satsuki reacted to the word “off-limits” by stopping midair, causing her to lose balance.

“Thanks!”

“Ah!”

Iris took that opportunity to grab me.

“Welcome back, Rekka. You must have been lonely without me, right?”

“I honestly don’t feel like I was gone that long...”

Considering how she’d been chasing me the entire time, it didn’t feel like we’d actually been separated at all. But no matter. I had to put a stop to this horseplay. I’d start by scolding the instigator, Iris, then apologize to everyone else... Yes, good plan.

“Hey, Iris.”

“Kyah!”

Just as I tried to start talking down Iris, the pole she was standing on snapped in half from a blow by Rosalind’s wolf arm. She toppled over, taking me with her... And wow, we were way up in the air.

“When did we get so far up?!”

“While you were lost in thought, Rekka,” R answered nonchalantly.

But this was no joking matter!

“Kuh!”

“Rekka?!”

On the spur of the moment, I grabbed Iris and turned so that I was below her. Based on the glimpse I’d gotten from above, there was some kind of tent below us...

Smash!

“Uwah!”

“Kyah!”

“Ubwaaaaah!”

We crashed through the roof in a tangle of tent parts, but luckily managed to avoid any major injuries. Apparently, the tent had acted as a cushion and had broken our fall.

“Iris, are you all... right?!”

“Ah!”

My first thought was for Iris’s safety, but I quickly came to the realization that there was something soft pressing against my face. Yup. When the shock of the fall finally wore off, it was plain as day. My head was perfectly wedged between her breasts.

“I-I-Iris! S-Sorry! It wasn’t on purpose!”

“Ah... Don’t try to talk there...” Iris protested in a weaker voice than usual, prompting my mouth to snap shut.

And there I remained frozen, unsure of what to do next.

“Aaaaah!”

The other three caught up in no time, each with an unbelievable expression on their face.

“What do you think you’re doing, Rekka?!”

“Aargh! Move it already, Iris!”

Satsuki screamed at me and Rosalind forcefully pulled Iris off of me.

“Good grief, this girl! Just how far will you go before you’ve had enough?!”

“Hmph! All I’m doing is acting true to my feelings. Unlike some people who are still stubbornly in denial.”

“Hey! Just who are you referring to?!” Satsuki demanded.

“Well, from my point of view, all three of you tried to get a head start on everyone else... Now, what do we do from here?” asked Shirley.

They say it takes two to tango, but I have no idea what the four of them turned this into. Girls will be girls... I guess?

“Hahh... Good grief.”

“I don’t think you have the right to be saying that, Rekka.”

Shut up. Let me blow off some stress somehow. I’d been jerked around by these girls all day.

“Yes, aaah! That’s it!”

Rachelle circled us, her body writhing... Her movements should have been erotic, but for some reason, they didn’t feel that way at all. Was it because she was that stupid? Honestly, everything I’d been through today was her fault, including falling into this tent. I was pretty stunned I wasn’t any worse for wear on that, actually.

“Uuurghh...”

“Hm?”

Just now... Was that sound coming from below me?

“Aaaaah!”

Not a moment later, a high-pitched scream from an unfamiliar third party pierced all our eardrums. When I turned towards the source, I saw a strangely tired-looking girl—she was short, but she seemed to be older than me—frozen in a pose not unlike Munch’s The Scream.

“Whaaat do you think you’re doing to my staff tent?!”

Staff tent? I suddenly had a bad feeling about this. I fearfully peeled back the edge of the collapsed tent I was sitting on to see what was below me... and spied a rugged, aging man wearing a rather cool outfit. Looking a bit squashed, he was weakly twitching.