Once the banquet drew to a close, the main guests -Shin and his group- went to their assigned rooms inside the guildhouse . They had one room each, but as expected Yuzuha slipped into Shins room .

I guess I got a little tipsy .

Yuzuha had curled up into a ball on the bed as soon as they entered the room, and Shin left to take a walk in the guildhouse to sober up .

Shin knew Kuchinashi and her guild from before, so he was also familiar with the structure of the guildhouse to a degree . Given his familiarity combined with the map, he wouldnt lose his way .

Even if he bumped into other guild members, his name and face were already well known, so as long as he avoided any places where only guild members were allowed, there wouldnt be any problems .

Hm? This presence is

Following the presence displayed on the map, Shin arrived in a part of the guildhouse resembling a garden .

The square-shaped garden was about 20 mels wide . The walls hid it from the rest of the building, so it was well suited to practicing with weapons and techniques .

It was already well into the night; the moon and stars were shining gently on the gardens grass and flowers .

So it was really you, Tiera .

He had felt her presence already, but as the map showed, there was already someone in the garden .

The moonlight was shining on Tieras silhouette, alone in the darkness of the night . She was looking at the sky, still clad in the priestess clothes she wore at the banquet .

Oh, you didnt change yet? . . Tiera?

Shin called to Tiera, who was still looking up to the sky, a distant look in her eyes, but received no response .

Shin felt something was off, and called her again; Tiera then finally moved .

Slowly, she raised her arms, then opened them wide . As she did this, she lightly spun on her feet .

Afterward, without stopping, she continued dancing, as if she was playing with some invisible creature .

Is this Kagurathe dance offered to the gods?

Priestess robes, a silhouette bathed in the moonlight that felt almost otherworldly, movements apparently lacking any regularity .

Looking at Tieras flowing black hair, Shin was reminded of the Kagura, a dance offered to the gods of Shinto shrines, which he had seen on TV in the past .

That Kagura dance was very slow-paced, but he felt that Tieras dance shared a similar atmosphere . Her expression also suggested that she had fallen into a sort of trance .

.

Without realizing it, Shin had lost track of time, absorbed in Tieras dance .

How much time had passed? As if repeating the first movements in reverse, Tiera lowered her arms while spinning, then stopped completely .

She was looking at the sky again, just like she did when Shin had arrived . Her position and posture were also identical; if Shin had not seen her dance, he would think she had just continued looking at the sky all the while .

If something had changed, it was the moonlight, which seemed to shine on Tiera more brightly than before .

The stars are really beautiful .

Hm? Ohyeah, thats true .

When had she noticed him? Tiera turned towards Shin and talked to him .

Tieras faint smile gave her an almost mystical aura . As if the person Shin was now looking at was someone else .

Shin, did you come to look at the stars too?

No, I just wanted to feel the night breeze a bit . AndI didnt mean to peek, but I saw your dance . Im not going to ask what it was, nor will I talk to anyone about it, so rest easy .

He was a little undecided first, but Shin then opted to tell her the honest truth .

Shin had decided to wait until she said the word before he talked about her circumstances . Thus he told her that he had no intention of inquiring any further .

I see . But, I think that its alright if its you, Shin . It could even be that I called for you .

Tiera walked towards Shin, smiling to tell him that there was nothing to worry about . At the same time, she said something cryptic .

You were calling? Can I ask what that means?

Wait just a little more, please . Or I cant explain well enough .

Tiera extended a hand towards Shins cheeks while speaking . She touched him gently, as if handling something broken .

Tierano, you are

The feeling Shin had of something being off grew larger and larger . What he thought was just his imagination became reality .

With eyes that seemed lost into space, she looked straight towards Shin . He returned the look, trying to grasp what was hidden deep within her eyes .

Her eyes were golden, but also contained hues different from the color yellow . What her slightly transparent pupils reflected was the black-haired man he always saw in the mirror? Not this time .

!?

Not him, someone wrapped in mist, was looking back at him . As he tried to uncover the identity of that mysterious figure, something soft and warm touched Shins lips .

Hnn . . mmh . . nnh

What had touched Shins lips was Tieras . All his focus was concentrated on her eyes, and he hadnt noticed her coming closer and closer .

Her hands, which had been gently caressing his cheeks, were now holding them firmly . A passionate kiss, unthinkable for the usual Tiera, united the two together .

A single teardrop escaped Tieras eyes as they were kissing . Her expression, differently from before, was both earnest and charming .

!!

The sudden event had stopped Shins thought process, but after a few seconds it started again .

Thinking that this could not be allowed to continue, he put his hands on Tieras shoulders and tried to break free .

Hn?

Fortunately, his hands touched Tieras shoulders just as she had pulled back slightly to breathe . That moment, the light of reason returned to Tieras eyes .

She seemed to be completely unaware of what was happening and just stood there, frozen . Before her eyes, however, was a long thread uniting Shin and Tieras lips .

The thread shining in the moonlight was a product of Shins, or Tieras, or both of their saliva .

Ah? W-why . ?

Tiera seemed absolutely confused and would just repeat why? over and over .

If this was daytime, her violently blushing face would be clearly visible .

I-Idid I reallyShin?

She didnt say what she did . Or rather, she couldnt .

Her hands, holding Shins face .

A distance so close they could feel each other breathing .

The thread hanging between their lips .

Adding all of these elements, it was more than clear what had just happened .

Ni .

Tiera, first of all, hear me ou

NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Upon reaching the apex of confusion, Tiera could not hear Shins words and ran away as fast as she could . Just like a veteran ninja, she deftly slipped away from Shin and ran off, totally oblivious of her priestess robes .

Her screams echoing through the guildhouse, Tiera ran through the corridors at a speed that would make the average Chosen One grow pale . In just a few seconds she had turned the corner and disappeared .

What in the

Considering what happened, Shin couldnt just go after her and just stayed behind; for a while, all he could do was just stand there, dumbfounded .

The next morning, Shin took Yuzuha to the breakfast hall, rubbing his still half-closed eyes .

Still sleepy, Yuzuha held onto Shins hand, almost dozing off while they walked .

In the guildhouse, breakfast was served at a specific time; Shins group would eat it alongside the other members .

As he was heading towards the hall, Shin met Filma and Tiera . Filma greeted him as usual, but Tiera turned violently red as soon as she saw Shin and hurried on towards the hall .

. hey, Shin . Something happened to Tiera yesterday, right?

Filma could not fail to notice Tieras crystal clear reaction . She could not let it go either, so she pressed Shin, smiling .

Something happened, yeah you can say that . But I cant wrap my mind around it either . I wanted to ask her about it yesterday, but she ran off before I could .

You did something to make her run away, right? Something so embarrassing that she turned red like that .

Dont say it like Im the bad guy! I dont get whats going on either!

Filmas face was coming closer and closer, but Shin pushed her away .

As it wasnt possible to ask Tiera about what happened, Shin could think of only one person to ask for help . But in that case, he had to explain what happened the night before .

I cant just let this go, thoughId really rather not, but Ill go talk with someone who might know what happened . Ill leave Yuzuha to you .

Shin entrusted Yuzuha to Filma and headed to Schnees room . When he passed in front of the room assigned to Schnee, he had felt her presence inside .

When Shin knocked on the door, Schnee came out right away; she was about to go out too .

Shin? I dont see Yuzuha with you, did something happen?

Theres something I want to ask you about Tiera . Theres still some time until breakfast, will you hear me out?

Something happened, I suppose . Do come in .

Shin followed Schnee inside . The rooms interior was very similar to Shins room, with just the furnitures placement being a little different .

Shin sat on a cushion and told what happened the night before .

About Tieras dance, about her looking like a different person, about the person looking at him from within her eyes . Finally, about the kiss .

so thats what happened

She regained her senses halfway through, though . Looked like she didnt remember what happened, and because of that she ran off before I could ask her anything . I thought you might know something, so

Shin talked while avoiding to look straight in Schnees eyes .

Schnees intimidating aura had vanished on their way back from the dungeon, but her mood didnt seem to have improved much .

I see, I understood the situation . I cannot talk in detail about this if Tiera isnt here too, but I can say that at the very least it isnt something bad . You could say its related to Tieras unique nature .

Well, just by looking at her you can tell that shes not a normal Elf . I imagined she came from a special lineage, or something .

Thats not a wrong way to see it . Let us let Tiera talk about it herself . Of course, the decision to do so or not rests upon her .

Thats all right . Im just relieved that it isnt something dangerous .

Shin drew a sigh of relief . It doesnt look like Tiera was possessed by something, at least .

Together with the relief, Shin felt his stomach rumble, in perfect time for breakfast .

Shall we go get breakfast, then?

Yesbut, before that

Eh? Eh? What?

Shin had turned around to exit the room, but Schnee grabbed his hand and made him turn back towards her .

Shin looked timidly at Schnee, fearing that the time for the explosion of her accumulated stress had come . But Schnees expression seemed to contain something completely different from his predictions .

I cant just let this go without saying anythingdo you think that I wouldnt feel anything after what you just told me?

Aah, er, wellI dont, thats why it was a bit difficult to tell

Even if he knew what he had to do, actually doing it was a different matter altogether .

Curiously enough, Shin clearly understood that Schnee was pouting, from her expressions and her gestures .

Considering what happened with Kotone tooShin, you have too many openings .

I, Im sorry

Shin could not say anything back, except apologies . Schnee never came off so strongly in front of others .

If you really feel sorryp-please hug me .

After a few moments of silence, Schnee opened her arms and spoke .

Ehmis that, enough?

I dont like to be always left out .

Schnee moved her arms up and down a little while talking . That movement was remarkably similar to Yuzuhas ears during the banquet, urging Shin to hurry and pet her .

Feeling embarrassed after making such a clear request, Schnee closed her eyes, but her cheeks had turned bright red .

Shin finally embraced her gently .

Hn

The instant he hugged her, Schnees body twitched . Then, with some hesitation, she wrapped her hands around Shins torso .

The embrace had probably taken away her nervousness, because she started hugging Shin tightly .

A faint, sweet scent reached Shins nostrils . At the same time, a warm, soft sensation spread on his arms and chest .

Its so strangeI feel so peaceful now .

Well, thatsthats good .

Looking at Schnees serene expression, Shin breathed a sigh of relief .

The incident wasnt over yet, however .

Please, hold me tighter .

Schnee looked peaceful at first, but after some time she expressed her desire for Shin to embrace her with more strength .

Shin wasnt sure about how to control his strength, so he hugged her just a little tighter . With Shins current muscle strength, even a little difference should have let her feel a significant difference .

Moremore, please

It wasnt nearly enough for Schnee, though . The tighter he held her, the more she pleaded him to .

Schnee wasnt an average elf either, so using more strength wouldnt hurt her . But it wasnt possible for nothing to have changed .

Because of their tight embrace, the two soft mounds on Schnees chest changed shape, the sensation pressing even more clearly on Shins chest .

In addition, looking at Schnee rubbing her face on his shoulders was robbing Shin of his capacity of rational thinking at alarming speed .

Do it . more .

Shin couldnt look at Schnees face . The words she sultrily whispered to his ears sounded almost like pillow talk .

A warning saying Itll be bad to go any farther than this here! resounded in Shins head . But despite his thoughts, his body wouldnt move .

Schnee .

Shins feelings overcame his reason .

Shins hands caressed Schnees back, and her body responded by trembling slightly, and then-

(You guys, meal time is ending!!)

-Filmas voice resounded in their heads .

!?

The sudden call caused both Shin and Schnee to leap away from each other .

Gwah!?

Shin, who had his back to the door, suffered a spectacularly clean hit on the back of his head . He didnt receive any actual damage, but was struck by a certain self-loathing, wondering what he was even doing .

Im sorry . I got a little, carried away

No, I was the same, I couldnt bring myself to stop

Their mood had gotten over both of them . Shin and Schnee apologized to each other and headed directly to the hall, after telling Filma that they would be there soon .

Ehm, Ms . Schnee? May I ask why we are holding arms?

Let me linger, just a little bit . Ill have to say it because you dont seem to realize itbut there are too many beautiful women around you, Shin . For me, it means never being able to relax, you know?

Its not like Im gathering them or anything

Keep more distance from them then .

Probably because they were alone walking through the corridors, Schnee protested towards Shin while holding his arm .

Thinking that it was pretty daring behavior for Schnee, Shin searched the nearby presences, but found out that, miraculously, there was no one in the path ahead . Schnee had probably verified this before Shin .

Shin could, of course, forcefully break free of her hold . The soft sensation pressed on his arm, however, won over him .

Am, I, clear?

G-Got it

Shin cowered before Schnees pressure . He understood what Schnee was feeling, so he had nothing to object .

Satisfied of Shins answer and nod, Schnee released her hold and walked on . Shin followed her as he wiped his cold sweat .

The breakfast hall was next to the previous nights banquet hall .

When they arrived, they found that the other party members had all already started eating . More than half of their plates contents had already disappeared .

Oh, that was fastI see Schnees in a pretty good mood, did something happen?

Filma talked as they took their seats . The second part was spoken in a whisper to Shin, so that Schnee, sitting on the other side of the table, wouldnt hear .

Well, I asked what I had to . Tiera .

Ah! Yes! W-what is it?

Shin stopped Tiera, who had stood up with food remaining on her plate, before she could slip away .

No matter if she wanted to talk or not, he wanted to tell her about what happened the night before .

Im going to explain clearly about what happened yesterday . Please wait in your room .

Ehm, er, yes, ok, I got it .

Shin watched as Tiera awkwardly left the room, then ate his breakfast .

Filma and the others, who did not know what happened, were puzzled by this exchange, but did not say anything . Tieras behavior was clear proof that something must have happened .