Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu
"I wasn't defeated, I was just careless."
The minotaur boy really wanted to say this. Yet, saying this out loud wouldn't have any effect except for making him seem like a sore loser. He would become nothing more than a joke in the dog-head girl's eyes.
His opponent was far stronger than expected. He could only admit this.
"Your technique was truly astonishing. May I ask how you learned it, Mister knight leader?" the dog-head girl inquired Seiji.
The minotaur boy really wanted to know the answer to this as well. However…
"I apologize, I don't wish to answer."
Well, she already expected that he wouldn't answer.
"With such power, you're even more suited for joining us than I originally thought…" The dog-head girl paused for a moment. "No, honestly, it's me personally that wants you to join us."
"Why's that?"
"Because I want you." She suddenly switched to speaking in a seductive tone.
Seiji and Mika were both astonished by this sudden tone.
"I wish to become companions with someone who possesses such a strong power like yourself. I'd also be more than happy to develop our relationship in an intimate manner." The dog-head girl chuckled. "Although it may sound like bragging, I'm actually quite beautiful, along with being skilled at cooking, singing, and dancing. I believe I count as an excellent girl… why don't you consider it, Mister knight?"
Seiji and Mika were both rendered speechless.
The minotaur boy harrumphed coldly.
"Is there something you wanted to say, minotaur boy?" The dog-head girl looked toward him.
He merely chuckled coldly.
"Everything I said was the honest truth. Stop acting strange and spoiling the atmosphere."
The minotaur boy chuckled coldly yet again.
"I just helped you out. Even if you don't accept my help, please at least maintain the most basic amount of etiquette. Otherwise, I'll be teaching you the consequences of angering a lady." The dog-head girl's voice suddenly became cold.
The minotaur boy sank into silence before he turned his head away.
After having suppressed the interference, the dog-head girl turned again to the handsome boy across from her.
"Allow me to note that I've never had a boyfriend before and that I'm actually a virgin," she said in a seductive tone. "Not only that, I'm personally interested in cosplaying. If my future boyfriend is sexually interested in cosplay, I'd be more than happy to indulge."
Seiji revealed a rather subtle expression upon hearing this female stranger wearing a dog mask saying such a thing to him.
Mika's expression was identical to Seiji's. She wanted to say something but had no idea what to say right now.
The scene fell silent for a moment.
"Miss dog-head girl… thank you for your kind intentions," Seiji finally responded. "I believe that you are as you described yourself, a wonderful girl… but I truly don't wish to haphazardly join an organization that I don't know very much about."
"I understand your concerns, but there's actually not that much to worry about. Joining us will be highly beneficial for you. I can definitely promise this."
"…Sorry, I'd still like to maintain my resolve."
The dog-head girl tilted her head slightly.
"How regrettable… I truly wished for you to become my companion or a candidate for being my boyfriend," she said in a tone that sounded like she truly regretted this.
"I'm honored," Seiji responded politely.
The dog-head girl chuckled once.
Then, she lifted her head towards the water in the sky.
Seiji also looked towards that direction and saw that the large school of red-gilled white fish was approaching!
"It's time to send the two of you off, then. Please remember to keep our secret, my dear two knights."
The dog-head girl took out a black object and held it in her hand.
Seiji was unable to see clearly what that object was. He only saw that this object gradually started glowing red. The redness soon intensified to a blinding degree.
The dog-head girl tossed this glowing object down onto the ground, where it flashed and formed into a bright red circle with many streaks of light swirling inside it, as if it was a whirlpool.
"You can leave this place simply by stepping on this. Please hurry."
Seiji glanced over at Mika before he prepared himself and stepped on the circle.
His vision instantly became bright red as everything around him spun. He could hear faint sounds as his consciousness became hazy… and then everything suddenly became clear again.
He immediately discovered that he was by the river, at the same location where he entered the Inner World from.
He really did exit the Inner World!
Right after that, there was a red flash and the silver-haired girl appeared right next to him in midair.
Mika had come out as well.
"Seiji… we're back?"
"Yeah, we've returned to reality… the world has gone back to normal," Seiji smiled.
Mika smiled as well. She was quite glad that the two of them had made it back together safely.
"You were hit so many times just now… are you alright?"
"It's fine, it only hurt a little. I only need to use some basic healing magic on myself."
"Those two individuals… just who were they?"
"They're members of an incredibly powerful mysterious organization… I think."
Seiji explained about the Soul World faction to Mika.
"Those two people were quite strange. But, I didn't feel like they were evil."
"I think so as well. Still, we've only met them once… no, we didn't even see their real faces, so it's difficult to say."
Several seconds of silence passed.
"Were you moved by what that dog-head girl said earlier?" Mika asked him while looking right into his eyes.
"Of course not," Seiji decisively denied it. "It would be strange if I was moved by the words of a female stranger who wore an animal mask covering her face!"
"She had an excellent figure… perhaps she's a super beauty once you take off that mask."
"Even if she's as beautiful as a goddess, it's meaningless without being able to see. Besides, even if she is a real beauty, I wouldn't have joined her side."
"Who knows for sure?"
"Of course I know for sure," Seiji said while looking back into her eyes. "That's because there's already a super beauty right next to me."
Mika was thrown onto cloud nine by this.
Her face immediately started blushing from such a direct attack.
That wasn't all.
Seiji reached out and grabbed her hand.
"This time… it's wonderful that you're alright," he said sincerely.
"Seiji…" Mika currently wasn't only blushing red, her heart felt incredibly warm and sweet as well.
"Let's return home, Mika." Seiji gently smiled.
"Yeah…" The silver-haired girl displayed an incredibly blissful smile.
Only, she suddenly realized the current form she was in.
"How am I supposed to return home looking like this?"
"Er…" Seiji finally realized this problem as well.
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"Do you need to take a rest?"
The dog-head girl asked the minotaur boy after they dealt with the large school of fish monsters that attacked them.
"No need," the minotaur boy replied.
"Don't force yourself. I bet you're feeling quite unwell right now. We have plenty of time for you to take a rest."
"I said I don't need to."
"Sometimes, a man acting forceful will make a woman like him. Sometimes, it's the opposite. And right now, you're the latter."
"I don't care what you think of me."
"Don't say it like I care about what you think. What I like are men that are just like the 'knight leader' from earlier."
The minotaur boy fell silent.
"Don't think that I was lying. Although I wasn't being completely serious with him just now, I didn't lie, either." The dog-head girl lifted her hand and removed her mask in order to catch a breath of fresh air, exposing her jet-black hair and incredibly beautiful appearance.
Her face was one that countless people on Sakura Island recognized.
Seiji and Mika would have recognized her as well if they saw who she really was. They would have definitely been astonished.
"He possessed such power, was so handsome, and had a nice personality as well… I think we'd get along excellently," the black-haired beautiful girl spoke in a much gentler tone from earlier.
This was her true voice. Her earlier words had been disguised by a voice changer in the mask.
"You're really too casual."
"Not at all. I'm a lady." The girl's mouth arced upward. "Although he rejected me, I won't give up on him so easily."
"…Just what do you intend to do?" The minotaur boy looked at her.
"First, get to know him, and begin by being friends… I don't care even if he has a girlfriend already."
"You're willing to become his mistress?" The minotaur boy's tone of voice changed.
"I said that I'm going to begin by being friends. I'm not going to think right now about what will happen in the future. If he can successfully conquer me, then I'd be willing to become his mistress." The black-haired beautiful girl chuckled lightly.
The minotaur boy fell silent.
If the fact that this girl before him was willing to even potentially become someone's mistress would surely become headline news in Sakura Island if it was known.
That was because this girl was Miyuki Sakuraku, the national idol of Sakura Island!