"We're here!"

"Finally here. That was rough~ (ﾉﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ"

"Never thought... the Forest Fortress would be in a place like this."

Yue Liuyi wiped the sweat from her brow. After a whole morning’s trek, the girls finally reached their goal.

From the name Forest Fortress, she’d pictured dense woods. What greeted them was bald, rolling hills.

Aside from a few shrubs, the eye met nothing but bare stumps, scars on the earth.

People had already gathered on all sides. Some were adventurers, more were bandits. The sap of a magic tree wasn’t something you found with ordinary means.

Elves of the Elven Forest rarely sold it. The roaming elf tribes beyond treated it like a holy treasure.

If someone had scraped together the amount needed to open the Forest Fortress, odds were they’d used vile methods.

So Dixue didn’t bother with courtesy. Facing the treasure-hunters, she spoke with cool dominance:

"The Forest Fortress is already claimed by the Rangers Lodge. Leave now, and I won’t lay a hand on you."

"R-Rangers Lodge?!"

"Are you kidding? We worked so hard to gather this! Why give it away?"

"What damn Lodge? A bunch of little girls dare yapping here—believe it or not, tonight I’ll make you—"

His tongue was cut mid-slur.

Xiang Xiaoyan appeared at his flank with a pleasant smile.

"A—aaah!!!!"

He screamed, but his mouth could no longer form words.

"When did she show up?"

"Kill that girl! Avenge big bro!"

"Don't rush, grab her first, let the boys— huh?"

The scarred man never finished his filthy grin. He watched his own body drift away.

His head tumbled across the dirt like a kicked ball, gurgling as a fan of blood spattered out.

"Looks like cutting a tongue wasn’t enough to teach you your own stupidity."

The black-haired girl gave her sword a flick. The black blade breathed a twisted, inky flame.

"D-don't be scared. It's only one of her. Get her!"

"Kill her!"

They surged as one, more than twenty bandits, closing on Dawn Goose.

"Night-Shadow Flame Dance."

Swordlight burst around her like midnight petals. A black storm rose and swallowed the pack.

A sea of blood. Shadows of blades. In moments, nothing lived within five meters of the black-haired girl. Dismembered bodies littered the ground. Blood drifted like rain.

Her ink-dark dress didn’t catch a single drop.

She slid the dark sword into its sheath and stood. Xiang Xiaoyan became a black reaper, a chill presence that crawled down spines.

"H-how is that possible?!"

"H-help!"

Those who hadn’t charged broke and ran, tripping and scrambling in panic.

"Well? Anyone else want to mouth off?"

"N-no, ma’am, forgive us. I’m leaving now!"

"We’re going—no... rolling!"

Other teams of adventurers and bandits took one look at the black-haired girl and gave up. The Rainbow Sanctuary was rich, sure. But you had to live to claim it.

Dawn Goose smiled, lifted her long sword with haughty ease, and pointed at Dixue. "Zhi, Liuyi, you see that? Useless Dixue could never pull this off!"

"Xiaoyan! I was going to handle those bandits too. Could you please not ignore orders!?"

Dixue squared her shoulders and stepped to Yue Liuyi’s side.

"Against people like that, this is the way."

"But mind the effect. We have kids in the party. That leaves a bad mark."

"Kids...?"

The black-haired girl froze. A heartbeat ago she’d looked down on the world. Now she stood awkward, at a loss.

Across from her, Ailuna and Ji Wan wore terrified faces.

"Uh... I didn’t notice, ugh... s-sorry—ah! So annoying! So annoying!! Useless Dixue, why bring up such a buzzkill now of all times!!!!"

Flustered? Maybe. But instead of running off to hide under a blanket, the black-haired girl had a “better” way to vent.

"Dixue, it’s been forever since we fought, hasn’t it!?"

"Eh? Xiaoyan, did you take the wrong meds?"

"Shut up. I’m washing away my old loss! Come on, die already!!! o(´^｀)o"

No warning. The black blade drove straight at Dixue, all forward momentum, no joke in it.

"Ugh... that temper is really a pain!"

Dixue didn’t flinch. Facing Xiaoyan, the silver-haired girl skipped the bow. She drew the silver-white longsword at her hip.

Ding—dong!

Steel kissed steel with a clear chime. Each clash sent ripples rolling out, fireworks of wind.

One beat, Dawn Goose stabbed from a wicked angle. The next, the silver-haired girl turned with it and smothered the thrust clean.

Clack-clack!

Black and white braided together, two girls weaving a gorgeous pattern. Light bodies floating, hair streaming like banners, skirts swaying with the breath of the breeze. It was a duel of equals, yet the sight was heartbreakingly beautiful.

That ease of give-and-take felt like the finest dance in the world. Yue Liuyi was lost in it... and forgot to intervene.

"That’s enough, right? Xiaoyan, I’ve kept you company long enough. I want to go back and hug my Little Moon!"

"Hmph!? You... why a rapier? Looking down on me?"

"Eh!? Before, you said using a bow was dirty. Now a longsword means I’m holding back... You’re impossible to please, you know?"

"Ugh... damn it!! I can’t out-talk useless Dixue..."

"Alright, alright. Both of you, stop..."

Maria stepped in at last. The Rangers Lodge lady knew how to break up fights. She knew exactly what these two feared most. "If you don’t stop, you’ll miss lunch. Then everyone’s going hungry!"

"Eh? Little Moon will go hungry!?"

"No cooking...?"

Dixue and Dawn Goose blinked at each other, then lowered their blades.

...

"Boiled radish is the best! \\(^0^)/"

Ailuna swung her flower basket, circling the boiler, and dropped fresh-dug radishes into the rolling pot.

"No catnip. Not happy ￣へ￣"

On the other side, Zaocun sulked. The catfolk girl had searched hard, but her dream catnip stayed hidden.

"We do have dried little fish. Not many, though~"

Zero Wei pulled frozen minnows from her backpack and slipped them into the pot.

"Eh? Dried fish? Zero Wei, you’re the best!"

"Eh!? Th-that... thanks! But first, deal—we split the fish fifty-fifty..."

Yue Liuyi stood beside Dixue, laying out bowls and chopsticks for lunch.

"LittleSnow, are we eating here at noon?"

"Yeah! But also... Little Moon, come with me~"

"Eh? LittleSnow, what is it?"

"Come and see~"

When no one was watching, Dixue quietly tugged Little Moon into a small grove.

The sneaky look made the blue-haired girl tilt her head.

"LittleSnow. Why are we avoiding everyone?"

"Because only when no one’s around is it best to taste Little Moon—"

"Eh!? Taste Little Moon!?"

"Eh...? No, no! I mean, let Little Moon taste a bento. Mm... I definitely wasn’t planning to sneak-feed Little Moon!"

"You already said it..."

Carefully, Dixue took a black box from her pack. Silver butterflies carved on the lid gleamed. It was exquisite.

She opened it. A fragrant breath curled out.

No doubt—Dixue’s homemade bento.

The box wasn’t big, but the food was jewel-pretty. Egg fried rice, sushi rolls, sticky rice balls, baby steaks, sashimi, broccoli, Hami melon. Fruits and greens in bright colors, a little feast.

"La la la~ What do you want first, Little Moon?"

"Eh? You... you made this for me? A-anything is fine..."

Yue Liuyi ducked her head, shy. It was her first time tasting a bento made by a girl’s own hands.

"Okay, sushi first. Ah—Little Moon, open up."

"Mmph...?"

While Yue Liuyi gaped, Dixue tipped a sushi roll to her lips. Crisp nori outside, soft rice within, a tender slice of meat. Delicious.

"Hehe, feeding successful~"

"Mmm... You said you didn’t plan to feed me..."

"Blame it on Little Moon being too cute!"

Dixue clapped softly in front of her chest after each bite, eyes bright with happy satisfaction.

"Right... aren’t you eating, LittleSnow?"

"I’ll eat with everyone later. This is a little private stove for Little Moon. Don’t tell, okay?"

"Eh...? Th-that’s... too embarrassing..."

"It’s fine. You’re still growing. Eat more, you should! That way, when I touch you later, the feel will be even better~"

"Touch... the feel!?"

"Oops, my true feelings slipped out~"

Dixue reached out and happily patted Yue Liuyi on the head.