Chapter 83 Volume 4 Chapter 16: The Girl’s Afternoon Tea (Part 3)
Miku’s home was located not far from Rindouji Girls’ Academy.
Back when Tianqi Sanluo came to Tenguu City, the place she appeared at was roughly between Rindouji Girls’ Academy and Izayoi Miku’s residence.
It was a Western-style mansion distinguished by its pure white walls and deep blue roof. The carefully maintained courtyard was filled with colorful blooming flowers, elegant and enchanting, giving people the illusion of stepping into another world.
For a moment, Miss Itsuka Shiori felt a little dazed.
It was hard to imagine what those girls felt when they first stepped inside this place.
“...This place really is quite beautiful; of course, if it were turned into ruins, it would be even more beautiful.”
Sidling up next to Shiori, whose eyes were slightly glazed from taking in the scenery, Tianqi Sanluo whispered.
“!!”
Shiori was startled by this extremely in-character line, but was immediately noticed by Izayoi Miku standing beside her.
As a result, Shiori received a gentle smile from Miku. Probably all the girls who had come here before had the exact same reaction.
By comparison, when Tianqi Sanluo first came here, although she was impressed by the decorations, she found them far too pretentious. It’s a house— as long as people can live in it, what’s with all this fancy nonsense?
Not to mention, the first time she came here, she was on high alert, worried that this Spirit might attack her.
In the end… well, Izayoi Miku did “lay hands” on her.
If she had gone any further, Sanluo could’ve thrown her out and filed charges under *forcible molestation and insult**.
---
At last, Shiori had arrived here to accompany Izayoi Miku for afternoon tea.
Inside this fairy-tale-like mansion, sitting alone on the sofa in the parlor, Shiori felt uneasy and unsure of what to do.
Although technically Shiori had invited Miku out for tea, it ultimately turned into *Shiori accepting Miku’s invitation to visit her home.*
Well… to be honest, he *should’ve* realized that the moment Miku said those words earlier.
“Everything is going smoothly— though things going *too* smoothly is making me nervous.”
“That’s fine— so far Tianqi Sanluo hasn’t caused trouble, and Izayoi Miku’s affection is steadily increasing at a pretty good rate. Everything is heading in the right direction, isn’t it?”
“I hope so… but, Kotori, aren’t you forgetting… Tianqi-san, she…”
Shiori hadn’t finished her sentence when Tianqi Sanluo, taking advantage of Miku’s momentary distraction, plucked the earpiece from Shiori’s ear, gently crushed it, and then used the power of the Demon King **Shura Trial** to destroy every trace of the remains.
“.....”
With the communication cut off, the air aboard the airship *Fraxinus* fell into an eerie silence.
The tiny commander, Itsuka Kotori, flushed red. Almost every date ended with Tianqi Sanluo destroying another earpiece— it was basically the same as getting slapped in the face each time. The commander’s dignity was in tatters.
Of course, she had no intention of risking an open conflict with Tianqi Sanluo. If things escalated, it would become much more than just a matter of losing face.
“...Kotori, I think you should really start paying attention to how you deal with Tianqi Sanluo.”
Seeing Kotori’s awkwardness, analyst Murasame Reine made a timely suggestion.
“Reine, I know, but this…”
“*Ratatoskr*’s budget can handle losing a few earpieces. But the real problem is what this symbolizes— Tianqi Sanluo’s lack of trust in us. Even if you hadn’t said anything offensive just now, she would still find an excuse to destroy Shiori’s earpiece later during the date.”
As expected of Murasame Reine— her analysis was clear and logically sound.
“In that case, that’s why I—”
“Kotori, don’t lose your rationality just because Tianqi Sanluo is involved.”
It was obvious Kotori was still hung up on the fact that during the previous park date, Tianqi Sanluo had repeatedly disrupted the process and even tried to kill Itsuka Shidou. Just hearing her name was enough to make Kotori lose calm judgment.
“As she herself said— she just wants entertainment. Enough entertainment. Based on that alone, I believe she won’t actually harm Shiori for now; that’s enough. As for whether she’ll interfere with the Spirit sealing… last time, if Tianqi Sanluo truly didn’t want Shidou to seal you, not even Tokisaki Kurumi could’ve stopped her.”
“......”
“So then— Tianqi Sanluo already doesn’t trust us enough. If we can’t show her basic respect in our words, then— I have every reason to believe that sooner or later, we’ll end up in a direct confrontation with her, becoming mortal enemies. Is that what you want, Kotori?”
After Reine’s reasoning, Kotori took a deep breath and regained composure.
“Fine, I understand. In any case, Shidou’s strategy absolutely requires *Fraxinus*’s remote support. Even if we have to spend more on earpieces, we must keep going. As for choosing my words… I’ll try my best.”
---
On Shiori’s side, she wasn’t even surprised her earpiece had been destroyed again.
It wasn’t the first time anyway.
More importantly, she was focused on the date with Izayoi Miku.
“Oh my, oh my.”
With a cheerful tone, Miku set the tray she held onto the table.
Then she poured black tea into the elegant, expensive-looking teacups— one cup for each person.
“I’m terribly sorry— even though I was the one who invited you, I’ve ended up troubling you like this…”
“Not at all. I recently bought some top-grade tea leaves, and I really wanted to share them with someone. And besides— being able to enjoy this afternoon tea time with Shiori and Tianqi-san is the greatest gift of all, you know?”
“A-ah, I see…”
“How’s your hand?”
“Eh? Ah… ah, it’s fine now.”
“Fufufu, that’s good.”
While speaking, Miku sat down in the chair across from Shiori, opened her small mouth, and took a sip of tea.
Influenced by her, Shiori said a quiet “I’ll partake,” then raised her cup to her lips.
As soon as the tea entered her mouth, the rich aroma spread instantly, rising through her nasal passage before finally drifting outward.
“Wow…”
Miku seemed very pleased with Shiori’s reaction. After letting out a few happy giggles, she also took another sip.
By contrast, Tianqi Sanluo was much more “rough.” She simply picked up her teacup and downed the entire thing in one go.
“Uh, Tianqi-san, tea isn’t supposed to be drunk like that…”
After confirming Miku’s expression, Shiori leaned close and whispered in Sanluo’s ear.
If Kotori found out about this, she would probably scream at this pig-headed meddling fool again.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Whatever this is, as long as it’s drinkable, that’s good enough. Drinks, no matter the flavor, exist to hydrate the body. When someone is thirsty enough, they’ll even drink their own urine— why bother with all this etiquette?”
Sanluo gave him a sideways glare.
Typical— he clearly had never lived through those harsh years. Someone like him should be thrown into a similar environment. Maybe Siberia to plant potatoes.
“It’s fine, Shiori-chan. Don’t worry about her; Tianqi-san is just like this.”
Izayoi Miku didn’t get angry. Instead, she smiled and poured Sanluo another cup of tea.
When she first met her, Miku had been shocked by Sanluo’s crude behavior as well. But she had plenty of patience for girls— especially uniquely characteristic girls like Sanluo.
“Mm… alright…”
“My, my, Shiori-chan really is adorable. And Tianqi-san, you too— don’t speak to Shiori-chan in such a scary tone.”
“Oh?”
Sanluo’s eyes shifted subtly.
This woman… just because I’m indulging her for entertainment, she really thinks she can lecture me now?
Still, now was not the right time to fall out with Izayoi Miku.
“...Alright. I understand, Miss Miku.”
Following Miku’s earlier example, she took a small sip of tea, set the cup down, and extended her right hand toward Shiori.
“Well then, our adorable Miss Shiori— let’s get along from now on, shall we?”
Meaning: I’ll give you thirty seconds to say your last words and the privilege of leaving a complete corpse, if necessary.
“Y-yes… okay…”
Cute, adorable Miss Shiori took Tianqi Sanluo’s right hand. For a moment, it almost looked like a harmonious scene.
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