'My magic hasn't fully recovered yet. How about we have our duel tomorrow instead?'
'Of course.'
Kyaru had no intention of believing that Megumi could unleash magic more powerful than her own. Even if she had been found by Jhin near the site of that terrifying explosion, that didn't prove she was the one who'd caused it. If Megumi truly had that kind of power, she'd have been snapped up by another guild long ago — she certainly wouldn't have needed to wait around for Jhin to pick her up.
Out of professional courtesy between mages, Kyaru decided to let the matter drop.
'Alright, alright, you two — no need to keep the atmosphere so tense.' Jhin strolled over with a cheerful grin to smooth things over. Neither Megumi nor Kyaru had any idea just how much entertainment he'd been quietly squeezing out of this whole situation. 'Come on, have some grilled meat with the rest of us.'
Despite all their visible friction, neither of them actually let things get too awkward. For all the apparent hostility in the air, both girls ended up quietly sitting down on either side of Jhin and eating in silence — which left him genuinely puzzled.
What is this, using me as a buffer zone?
Kokkoro smiled and passed a skewer to Jhin. 'Master, this is exactly what I meant by that calming presence I mentioned. It seems even Miss Megumi and Miss Kyaru instinctively feel more at ease by your side.'
'I-it's not that being near him is calming or anything! It's just that Pecorine keeps shoving scalding hot things into my mouth,' Kyaru protested to Kokkoro with a huff. What she failed to notice was that her tail, swaying contentedly behind her, had already given her away completely.
'As much as I hate to admit it, I have to agree with Kokkoro.' Megumi chewed on a piece of deep-forest boar, her gaze raking over Jhin like she was imagining the meat was him. 'With looks that good, it's such a waste that his personality turned out this rotten.'
'Wait a second.' Megumi's eyes darted back and forth between Jhin and Kokkoro, so puzzled she'd even stopped eating the fragrant grilled meat in front of her. 'Why does a spirit like you call him Master?'
'I am Master's dedicated guide,' Kokkoro said, folding her hands reverently over her chest. 'From his birth until his death, I am here to tend carefully to every aspect of his life. That is what it means to be a proper guide.'
'To think that such a thoughtful, devoted spirit would end up serving someone like...' Megumi caught the sharp look Jhin was directing her way and instantly corrected course. '...someone so handsome and so genuinely kind-hearted. How enviable.'
'Why, thank you for the compliment, Megumi.' Jhin looked away and reached over to pat Kokkoro's head with fond affection. 'How many times have I told you — I don't want you to think of yourself as just a dedicated guide. I want you to be family.'
The warmth spilling from Jhin's smile and the gentleness brimming in his sky-blue eyes made the campfire itself seem to burn brighter against the night. Megumi stared at the scene in open disbelief, then rubbed her eyes with both fists, determined to prove she was hallucinating.
That absolute scoundrel — the one with the atrocious personality and zero manners toward ladies — actually had a side this soft???
Megumi had the distinct feeling that some deity had decided to play an enormous joke on the universe by cramming two completely incompatible personalities into a single body: one face for her — petty, mean-spirited, and gleefully malicious — and a completely different one for Kokkoro — tender, considerate, and warm.
Kyaru, who had grown used to the sight during her earlier surveillance, showed no particular reaction. What she hadn't seen before was the personality Jhin showed toward Megumi — back at the bottom of that cliff, she'd had to work very hard not to burst out laughing.
While Megumi sat there in a daze, Pecorine quietly and efficiently polished off every last piece of grilled meat, then leaned back and patted her stomach with a satisfied sigh. 'Ahhh~ I could eat deep-forest boar every single day and never get tired of it.'
'What happened to all my grilled meat?'
'If you don't want Pecorine to eat everything you like,' Jhin informed Megumi and Kyaru with the air of someone imparting important survival wisdom, 'then don't zone out in the middle of a meal. Otherwise, by the time you snap back to reality, it'll look exactly like this.'
'That distinctive herbal, woodland fragrance... it really is deep-forest boar.' Kyaru finished off the last of her skewer without a word. Unlike Megumi, who seemed to live on whatever scraps she could find, Kyaru had eaten well enough as a mage to recognize quality ingredients when she tasted them.
'It's getting late. Let's all wash up and head to bed.'
Jhin clapped his hands, stood up, and fished a capsule out of his pocket. He flung it at the ground, and when the smoke cleared, a beautifully appointed villa stood before them all.
'What kind of magic item is that?!' Megumi's attention locked onto the villa immediately, and she started circling the building with loud, excitable exclamations.
'Think of it as a luxury camping tent. Anyway, let's head inside first — there's a lot in there you probably won't know how to use. I'll leave the tour to you two: Kokkoro, Pecorine.'
'Leave it to me, Master.'
'No problem.'
Pecorine took charge of Kyaru, Kokkoro took charge of Megumi, and the two pairs set off in teams to familiarise the newcomers with the villa and its modern amenities. Jhin slipped away to shower first, and by the time he emerged from the bathroom, the four girls were all gathered in the living room — drinking milk, nibbling on snacks, and chatting in a warm, easy atmosphere.
'The bathroom's free. Who's next?'
'Me, me, me!' Megumi shot to her feet and bolted for the bathroom before anyone else could react. She'd been absolutely dying to experience the legendary magical apparatus where turning left meant hot water and turning right meant cold.
Kokkoro hurried after her. 'Megumi, wait — careful, the floor is slippery! I haven't shown you the shampoo and conditioner yet!'
Jhin stood there, chin in hand, turning something over in his mind.
The bandage on Megumi's right leg — was that an actual injury, or was she just wearing it for fun?
Actually, wait — before that: did the bandage only go up to her ankle, or was her whole foot wrapped?
Now that was a question worth looking into.
He reined in his wandering thoughts and headed back to his room. Producing two sets of brand-new pyjamas from inside, he brought one set out and handed it to Kyaru. 'Here — fresh pyjamas. If you didn't bring anything to change into, you can borrow these for now.'
'Thank you.' Kyaru accepted them with polite grace. In a situation like this, there was no room for tsundere stubbornness — she genuinely hadn't packed any spare clothes, and choosing to be difficult about it would only mean wandering around the villa in her birthday suit.
'Kokkoro, could you bring this set to the bathroom and remind Megumi to change into it?'
'Of course.' '...Jhin, just how many sets of new pyjamas do you actually have?'
Faced with Pecorine's curious stare, Jhin gave her exactly one answer.
'My wardrobe defies your imagination.'
(The actual truth: he'd once accidentally set the quantity to ×10 while shopping online. This was the kind of deeply humiliating information Jhin would take to his grave.)
'What a strange answer. Don't you think, Kyaru?'
'Hm? Oh... yeah, a little.' Kyaru replied absently, her mind elsewhere entirely — running through every possible approach to gathering intelligence. The more she thought about it, the more she decided now was too soon. Prying for information this early would only raise unnecessary suspicion.
Better to wait until the guild is formally established and she'd had some time to settle in. Then she could make her move.
____
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