"Even though earlier, when we were in front of Mother..."
"...Sister Yuzu still couldn't draw the Sword of Erasure." She let the water from the showerhead stream down her shoulders, splashing along the girl's lovely contours.
Sakura Mai lowered her head, her right hand pressing almost unconsciously against the sword-shaped salt stain on her chest.
"Why..."
"...did you draw it out just now so effortlessly?"
The girl, as though yielding to that rather bewildered heart, yielding to the cursed sword clamoring beneath her breast, asked Yuzu.
The changing room suddenly fell into silence, leaving only the rushing sound of the shower.
Su Yuzu braced herself against the partition of the stall, her eyelid twitching.
[Oh... oh no...]
She had even forgotten that back at the Sakura family home, she hadn't actually drawn the Sword of Erasure.
Just now, under the water, the girl had only harbored a tiny bit of revenge for Sister Mai's scheming behavior, and so she had forcibly used the pretext of drawing the Sword of Erasure to tease Sister Mai just a little.
Only now did Su Yuzu realize the special significance the Sword of Erasure held for the Sakura family.
Being able to draw the Sword of Erasure — didn't that mean she had already become a member of the Sakura family?
Such a thing wasn't necessarily impossible... but at the very least, it couldn't be now.
Su Yuzu was already turning over in her head how to stop Sakura Mai, how to keep Sister Mai from telling Honored Aunt Tennoji and Honored Aunt Sakura about the fact that she could draw the Sword of Erasure.
Only... Su Yuzu didn't know.
In truth, back then at the Sakura family home, from the very moment she reached her hand into the Sword of Erasure world within Sakura Mai's chest and grasped the Sword of Erasure...
Sakura Renxin and Tennoji Jurei had already known — that the girl possessed the qualification to draw the Sword of Erasure.
From that moment on, in the eyes of Sakura Renxin and Tennoji Jurei, Su Yuzu had already had the Sakura family name written upon her.
"Th-this... this..." the girl stammered, unable to get the words out.
"The Sword of Erasure says... she craves your power." Somewhat dazed, Sakura Mai pressed a hand to her own chest, listening to the voice of the cursed sword passed down through generations of the Sakura family, there beneath her breast.
It was very strange—
Even Sakura Mai — who was considered to have inherited the Sakura family bloodline and the Tennoji family's frenzied sword, who among all generations of the Sakura family, apart from that freak Sakura Renxin, had the best aptitude for the Sword of Erasure, whose Operator profile even listed [Talent: Sword of Erasure Intent] —
had, in the past, only ever been able to hear endless malice pouring out of the Sword of Erasure.
[Erasure!!!]
[Extirpation!!!]
[Tyranny!!!]
"..."
But at this moment, Sakura Mai felt that she heard the desire and the plea of the vicious demon sword within her chest.
It wanted... it wanted... Sister Yuzu.
The Yuzu scent from before wasn't enough, not nearly enough.
It wanted to be... grasped by Sister Yuzu.
Restraining the Sword of Erasure's craving, with the scorching sword intent surging beneath her breast, Sakura Mai staggered and braced herself against the partition.
The power of the Sword of Erasure was special.
Like Sakura Mai's radiant brilliance, Soga Yura's formless and colorless nature, Yuzu's blazing heat.
Right now, Sakura Mai only felt that her chest seemed about to catch fire again.
The changing room stalls were made of that frosted-glass paneling, and as Sakura Mai slumped against the partition, Yuzu — who was also bracing against the partition — suddenly went wide-eyed.
"Ma-Ma... Sister Mai!??"
"Are you okay!?"
With a bang, the girl shoved open the stall door.
"Wait, Yuzu, wait!!!"
Sakura Mai still wanted to say something, but the door beside her had already been yanked wide open with a clatter by the girl.
"Sister Mai, you're... okay?"
Su Yuzu looked at Sakura Mai, who was curled up on the floor on her side, hugging her knees.
The girl's soaking-wet hair clung to her back, and those emerald eyes, clear as a limpid lake, held a rare panic and bashfulness. Curled on the floor, Sakura Mai lifted her gaze sideways to steal a glance at Yuzu, then hurriedly, flusteredly lowered it again. "Yu... Yuzu..."
"Go back, quickly."
Su Yuzu looked at Sakura Mai. The girl tilted her head, as if she had figured something out.
She grabbed the bath towel Sakura Mai had hung off to the side, and stepped back one step at a time.
Curling her body, Sakura Mai watched, careful and cautious, the girl's fair, retreating steps — and then, rather regretfully... watched the girl wrap herself in the bath towel.
Bang—
The door swung shut again, then wobbled and drifted open just a crack.
"The lock seems... to have gotten broken by me."
"Ehe~"
Sakura Mai heard the girl's sweet, guileless laughter, and the rustling sounds of the girl changing her clothes.
Slowly rising, Sakura Mai turned to grab a bath towel to wipe off the water, only to find the rack already completely empty.
"Yuzu?"
"Ah... sorry!" The girl had already obediently opened the door a crack and passed the used bath towel back in.
Sakura Mai looked at the girl's little hand, watched as Yuzu pressed her back against the door panel, holding it firmly shut.
"Sister Mai, if you need anything else, you can just tell me," Su Yuzu said very softly, listening to the overly quiet movements behind her.
She didn't go and do anything excessive again.
Nor did she... secretly open the [Operator Development] panel to sneak a peek at Sakura Mai or anything like that.
Su Yuzu simply lowered her head, letting droplets trickle down from her wet strands of hair, dampening her shoulders.
Sakura Mai held the bath towel, and smelled on it — besides the familiar fragrance of banksia rose — an extra hint of the soft, fresh scent of yuzu.
She silently dried the water off her body and, somewhat trembling, got dressed.
An overly scorching breath was exhaled.
The cursed sword, which had only just been soothed, after these several teasings, seemed to begin clamoring all over again.
But Sakura Mai chose to endure.
Her ability was [Sword of Will].
She had suppressed the violent cursed sword countless times before; this time she could too,
no matter what, she surely could as well.
Tap, tap, tap—
Having changed into her skirt, Sakura Mai gently rapped on the partition, gazing at the pretty silhouette the girl had left where she'd leaned against the semi-transparent panel.
"I'm dressed."
Su Yuzu hurriedly moved aside.
Sakura Mai looked at the girl wearing an ingratiating little smile, and all at once she recalled again how, just moments ago... the girl, her face full of worry, had pulled open the door and stood before her with her legs planted apart.
She subconsciously tilted her head away.
And Su Yuzu... was also thinking of Sakura Mai just now, curled on her side on the floor, hugging her knees, shielding the vital places of her body.
The girl's shoulders, arms, and waistline, so full of power, made Su Yuzu want to say it just one more time—
Sister, slay me.
Sakura Mai had already recovered.
The Knight Princess returned to her old brisk and carefree self, as if the earlier bashfulness had been nothing but a passing cloud.
It was precisely because she was so close to Yuzu that she grew all the more bashful instead.
Only... the Knight Princess's ears, still seemingly burning amid her wet strands of hair, and the cursed sword clamoring beneath her breast, were still writing out certain unseen emotions.
Sakura Mai looked at the Yuzu before her. "Let me help you dry your hair, Yuzu. Otherwise, you'll catch a chill easily."
"Ah... okay." Su Yuzu sat down obediently in front of Sakura Mai.
Sakura Mai took hold of the hairdryer, and for one instant, she felt that what she held in her hand... was the blazing, fiercely burning Sword of Erasure.
A woman's voice echoed in her ears.
"Devour her!"
"Devour!"
[Ding—]
[Caught in the Act: Sakura Mai Favorability +1.]
[Favorability Increase Reward obtained: 100% One-Cut-Style Sprue Nippers.]
[Doting: Sakura Mai Favorability +1.]
[Favorability Increase Reward obtained: Canned Yuzu Tea Scent *1.]
[Sakura Mai Favorability: 59 (Favor) → 59 (Favor).]
[…]
Sitting obediently on the sofa, Su Yuzu froze right where she was.
The former she could understand as a divine artifact that Sister Mai, being a model-builder, could never refuse.
But... but...
What the hell was the latter?!
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