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“I’m so sorry!”
“N-No, it’s fine… It was just a bit unexpected.”

After some coughing, the bite of chocolate finally dislodged itself from Kou’s throat and she was able to heave a few deep breaths. Meanwhile the physiotherapist lady kept apologizing profusely for that, and only calmed down when Kou told her she was alright.

“I actually play Destiny Unchain Online too, my name there is Jade, I usually just craft stuff.”

Kou looked at the lady’s nameplate and saw that she was called Shimazaki Hisui. Hisui also meant jade, so calling her in-game character Jade made perfect sense. But that name also rang a bell for Kou.

Player-made equipment would always show the name of the maker amongst its stats, and Kou had seen it on…

“Wait…are you Ryunosuke’s acquaintance who made those clothes for us during the tournament..?”
“Yes, that was me! That was so funny though, I have this friend I usually play with, and her husband just shows up one day out of nowhere and throws a bunch of random materials at me and goes: I don’t care what you do, just make five sets of clothes with this!”

She quickly related her own experience that time, laughing loudly as she recalled that day.

…Hm?

There was something in that story that caught Kou’s attention for a bit, but Hisui continued talking so quickly that there was no time for Kou to think about it. Then again, there was something more importantly to discuss there.

“Um, actually… I’d really like it if you could keep the whole thing about me being Crim a secret…”
“Of course, I wouldn’t tell anyone. That would count as breaching a patient’s privacy after all.”

She said that while resting a hand on top of Kou’s head, trying to comfort her, but soon after she took a more serious look.

“…I feel like anyone would be able to tell at first sight though.”
“Th-That’s true…it’s all this color too…”
“Ah, true. There’s that too. That’s not what I meant though?”

The lady began combing through Kou’s hair with her fingers as she looked a bit concerned. Seeing that, Kou simply tilted her head and wondered what she could be referring to.

“…Mm yeah, I’m sorry but you really shouldn’t be doing that while people are watching, think of it as advice from an adult, alright?”
“…???”

Kou became even more confused as the lady covered her mouth and looked away as she said that.

“Anyway…I was meaning to ask, is your guild open to recruiting new members?”
“Huh? I mean, I guess…we’ve started to feel a bit shorthanded lately.”
“I see, then could I join you? The guild I used to be in fell apart a while back, so me and my nurse friend have been left on our own for a while.”

Saying that, the lady did her best to convince Kou. And as she thought about it…

“I swear those dudes just wanted to hookup and they played right into the palm of that guild crasher egirl…”

Kou could only give a dry laugh as she watched Hisui muttering that, her eyes looking blank.

“Oh, I’m sorry, what am I saying in front of a patient… Ahem, anyway, I can work with weapons and armor, and also make some simple potions. To be honest, I’ve picked up a lot of other miscellaneous skills over time too, so what do you think?!”
“Ah…sure…”

As Hisui continued doing her best to be accepted, Kou felt cornered and nodded out of instinct.

“O-Okay then… I’ll be waiting for you at Valhalant later tonight.”
“Thank you! Oh yeah, before I forget, that nurse friend I mentioned will also come along with me, so if you want you can also let her in!”

Saying that, Hisui hugged Kou tightly out of enthusiasm.

For Hisui she was simply hugging a young girl so she probably did not think much of it, but Kou on the other hand…she could clearly feel something soft across Hisui’s uniform, while also smelling the particular scent of antiseptic solutions used in hospitals, permeated into Hisui’s clothes, combined with the sweet fragrance of a more mature lady, all of which was quickly overloading Kou’s senses.

That resulted in Kou’s face quickly reddening while feeling lightheaded, and when Hisui finally noticed that she hurried to let go and apologized profusely again.

After that, they just continued to talk about the game, as both were gamers and liked to talk about it, which made time fly incredibly quickly, and when the nurse came to bring Kou back to her room, she was almost disappointed she had to go.

◇◇◇

“I see. I was wondering what had happened when you suddenly told us we’d be meeting a new member.”
“I guess it’s always possible to meet people in the strangest of places, huh.”

Everyone gathered in the Neutral Interaction City Valhalant to welcome their new comrade. Frey and Freya were walking with Crim between them, who commented on their current situation.

“You said the new person is a blacksmith, right?!”
“Thy enthusiasm is evident, Hinagiku.”
“Mhm, it’s because maintaining my weapon will become a lot easier this way.”

Crim smiled as she watched the young girl skip and hop as she walked, showing she was in a good mood.

Katanas do need a lot of work to keep them in shape after all.

Hinagiku had learned some blacksmithing abilities to maintain her weapons, but they were not enough to work on more powerful katanas, so lately she had been forced to visit the city more frequently to find someone who could work on them for her.

But knowing that she would soon have someone nearby to do it for her made her really happy.

“So where are we meeting her…”
“Hmm, it should be on the way to that brand name cafe on the third floor.”
“Ah, that one.”

Most fancy cafes were on the fourth floor, but there was one famous for serving not-so-light dishes for a cafe, located on the third floor amongst all the fast food chains.

Next to the cafe’s entrance, they spotted a blue haired cat Warbeast girl, wearing alchemist robes, who was having a friendly chat with an armed lady who had long red hair combed straight.

“…Mommy?!”
“”””…Huh?””””

Everyone froze and let out a shocked voice hearing Lycoris’ sudden exclamation. Before they could recover, Lycoris had dashed forward at full speed and jumped at the red haired lady.

“Hello, I’m glad to see you’re having fun.”
“Does that mean you’re the new member joining our guild then?”
“Mhm, but actually I’m only joining to supervise her and make sure that she doesn’t cause any trouble.”

Everyone’s hearts melted at the sight of that familial reunion, all except for one who seemed overcome with gloom as he approached Jade. It was Ryunosuke.

“Hey, Jade, what are you playing at this time…”
“Hm? I wonder what you could be talking about, hmm?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know… Why are you dragging my wife to come invade my space?!”

While Ryunosuke seemed completely fed up with her, Jade just giggled teasingly and feigned ignorance. Crim began to feel worried seeing how desperate Ryunosuke had gotten, so she silently approached Lycoris to whisper something.

“Say, Lycoris, are your parents on bad terms..?”
“Hm? Not at all… Though daddy is the kind of person who prefers to be immersed in his hobbies without anyone bothering him…”

Hearing Lycoris’ slightly nervous response, Crim let out an audible Ahh as she understood.

Crim had grown up together with two childhood friends, and they had always done everything together so she could not imagine having a hobby on her own. But if the twins had not been there, she probably would also hesitate to play games with people she knew in real life.

“Sooo, Crim, was it? I’d appreciate it if I could also join your guild.”

Crim was quickly pulled back from her thoughts when the red haired lady spoke to her, holding her large poleaxe out as a way to give a better impression. That suggested she was also a frontliner, which was one area that Lua Cheia was still sorely lacking. So they had no reason to turn her away.

“Ah, yes, we’d love to have you… Also, have we ever met outside?”
“We passed by each other a bunch of times in the hospital, but that’s it.”

That confirmed Crim’s suspicion.

Jade’s, or rather Hisui’s nurse friend, was also someone working in the same hospital. In other words, Lycoris’ mother and Ryunosuke’s wife was working in the same hospital where Kou had spent the last few months.

It really is a small world, huh.

That was the first thing that came into Crim’s mind now.