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“~~♪”

The high pitched humming voice of a girl echoed in the Mitsuki household’s bathroom.
The source of that delighted humming…Kou who had just finished washing her hair and scrubbing her body, checked the water with her toes to make sure it was the right temperature before letting her whole body sink into the water.

“Haahhhhh…”

Soon, she felt like all her mental and physical fatigue was being sucked out into the warm water, a relaxed breath escaping her lips.

*…Even though I never really thought much of baths in the past.*

Maybe it was the result of all the recent changes in her body, as she found herself strangely looking forward to being in the bath. That mystery too was soon washed away by the bliss of warm water.

Her mind went blank for a moment as she just felt the warm water covering her body…and then something caught her eye.
That place that at first could best be described as a surfboard, had developed a pair of girly lumps, though they were still on the smaller side.

“Hm…did they randomly grow again..?”

She mumbled wearily, poking at them as she felt like they had become softer too.

It was not enough to require a readjustment in her measurements…but the B size underwear she had to get during the summer break was starting to feel tight too.

Her overall figure was also becoming more feminine, despite her short frame.
Those changes also meant that certain parts of her body had gained some volume as well, with her buttocks and thighs feeling rounder and making her waist stand out a bit more.

“…Wait, did I gain weight? I’m not getting fat, am I?”

She muttered while pinching her soft and squishy belly, getting slightly worried.
This was not the first time she had felt that way, and there was one time she got too worried and consulted with Hijiri, who replied, “You’re not fat at all~ Why would you think that?” her lips turned into a smile, but with murderous eyes. Just thinking back to that time made Kou shudder.

“Ahhh, I have to stop, worrying about these things won’t do anything!”

She reclined back on the bathtub and put an end to those thoughts.
As she emptied her mind, she let her body rock in the water, and then…came sleepiness.
The comforting warmth all around her seemed to be draining out her fatigue and replacing it with sleepiness, and her mind slowly gave in.

*…Ah, I think I might fall asleep*

…

*”Sister, it’ll be 9pm in five minutes!”*
“…?!”

Kou hopped on her feet, splashing water everywhere as soon as she heard Rouge’s worried voice.

*…I can’t believe I actually fell asleep?!*

She hurried out of the lukewarm water, and since she barely had any time to get dry…she did something she usually never did out of care for her skin and hair…using magic to absorb all the moisture clinging to her and pouring it back into the bath through her hand.

There was no time to put on pajamas, so she just quickly wore her underwear and a camisole before running to her room and lunging on her bed while activating her NLD to dive in.

…There were only two minutes remaining before the arranged time.
She was relieved that she had made it on time while jumping straight into Destiny Unchain Online.

◇◇◇

“I’m sorry, I was delayed!”

Her guest Haru, as well as Frey and Freya were already there in the garden of Castle Seyfert, sharing some tea.
Crim rushed to take a seat, and Adonis poured her a cup of tea as well.

“Hello Crim, did you have a nice nap in the bath?”
“Urk-”

Freya instantly knew why Crim had taken so long.
There was nothing Crim could say in return, so she just stammered for a moment.

“Wait, seriously? You’ll end up drowning if you keep being careless like that. I’m guessing Rouge woke you up? Good job Rouge.”
“Eheheh…”

Frey was not amused either, reprimanding Crim while praising Rouge for helping avoid a tragedy. Rouge appeared pleased to be praised by Frey, and Crim just grumbled, either out of frustration or jealousy.

“You should take a proper rest if you’re tired, you know? You’ve been busy with one event after another recently after all.”
“I…I’ll be careful…”

Haru also looked concerned for Crim, who had been constantly busy since the school festival, and Crim decided to keep that in mind.

“Well… Moving on.”

After a quick cough, Crim changed topics to the reason for their meeting.

“So I’ve gotten a reply from Shao. The guilds part of the Blueline Republic can join at their discretion, and his guild Lan Canglong will help us.”

His guild had many members capable of attacking from range, so with his help and the NPC elven archers, they would be able to manage.

“…In exchange for a favor.”
“…Are you sure it’s a good idea to be indebted to someone like him?”
“Well…I didn’t really have much of a choice.”

And Crim did not think Shao was the kind of person to demand something unfair in return.
Even if he did not want to admit it, he would just come up with some excuse like, “A momentary gain is not worth a major hit to my reputation.”

When Rouge was done clearing the table, Crim signaled at her to come sit on her lap before continuing.

“Nord Glacier’s Northern Empire also seems pretty enthusiastic about joining us. It seems their ruler’s behavior reflects all their desires…”

There had been a recent survey amongst those who decided to join the northern side, and the most common response for the reason behind their decision was, “I’ll have the most chances to fight bosses.”

By now, Crim felt it was safe to assume everyone in Nord Glacier’s Northern Empire were a bunch of combat freaks, and they would never turn down the chance of being the first participating in a new Legion Raid.

“So overall, we shouldn’t be lacking in strength, and we only have a lack for numbers. Now we just have to figure out how to find more participants.”

Then again, the raid was located in essentially the most remote location possible.

According to the official data, the first server where Crim and the rest played had around half a million registered accounts, and the peak number of players online at once during the summer break was a fifth of that.

But only around the top 2% of players would have the means to travel all the way there, meaning they could only pick from a pool of around two thousand players.

Crim continued to ponder about that, even if she could not help but break a smile as she took a macaron and hand-fed it to Rouge on her lap, who happily accepted it while blushing.

“Actually, I have a really good idea about that, Crim.”
“Frey? Somehow, I don’t think anything good can come from those words, but what is it?”

Crim looked with suspicion to her childhood friend, but allowed him to speak his mind.

“Just try to think back to R’lyeh. What riled up the highest number of players?”
“Frey, don’t…”
“Yes… It was cuteness!”

Everyone threw gelid stares at him as he proudly announced that.
Sadly, there was no one who could contradict him either. The reason why so many players joined them in R’lyeh was because of *cute* individuals, including the one currently sitting on Crim’s lap.

“…With Belial, there was Rouge, and with Cthulhu, ’twas Lulu, ever a fair damsel in distress to be rescued. Thus, for thy plan to bear fruit, we must needs find an icon, an idol to stir the hearts of the players. Yet tell me… where might we find such a person?”

In response, Frey pushed back his glasses and stood up, acting like a magnanimous entity looking down on them, and with a wicked grin he spoke…

“But we already have one…and you know how everyone likes them…right? *The staple elven princess?*”
“‘Tis not mine fault if thou end up getting shanked at this rate.”

Seeing the depths of depravity her childhood friend was willing to go to, Crim covered Rouge’s ears while retorting back.

***

#Afterword:#
Q: Why was there a whole bathroom scene all of a sudden?
A: The last chapter ended with Kou heading to the bathroom, so I was possessed by an irresistible temptation. And I don’t regret it.
She’s just worried because her body feels softer compared to when she was a boy, but if anything, Kou should be trying to gain some weight instead.