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Two weeks passed since Lua Cheia gained two new members.

In the real world, Kou’s rehabilitation was progressing smoothly. Her regrown body, which initially felt feeble and powerless, had regained enough strength to allow her to perform most daily tasks independently.

She also no longer required a wheelchair to reach the rehabilitation room.

However, this also meant she no longer received assistance with tasks such as bathing. With her mind still predominantly that of a developing high school boy, her new soft and sensitive body posed challenges, leaving her uncertain about how to properly care for it.

In the game, they had won their second ranked battle.

Lycoris had just gained a Composite Skill, so Sara made her debut in a ranked match in her stead, and she had meshed well enough with the rest of the members in the fight.

At one point she felt a bit overwhelmed, as the opposing team identified her as the weak link in Lua Cheia’s team, but the rest of the members were able to cover for her, as they had gained plenty of experience through raid battles. They had also gained a new worker to improve their equipment, so overall Lua Cheia was becoming more powerful.

As far as the matter with Da’at Criferd went, they were trying to find more information together with the Nord Glacier and Lan Canglong guilds, but so far their search had been futile.

So instead Crim focused on strengthening her land, and improving the lifestyle of the people living in Nebel, like increasing the available farming land to give them more leeway with supplies.

She also went out to the neighboring area of the Howling Ogre Ridge to befriend and form an alliance with the inhabitants there, which were all ogres. Since it was only an alliance, she did not have the authority to give them specific orders, but they promised to help to the best of their ability if something happened. She also built terraces on the valley around the river running through there, improving their farms and increasing their food production.

At the same time, their good treatment of Da’at Seyfert and her friends had made an earth spirit look at Crim’s guild favorably.

So one day, while they were expanding the farms they discovered a new Skill in the guild’s stats, called Earth Spirit’s Blessing, which buffed their land to increase food production by 1.2 times.

Thanks to that unexpected aid, Lua Cheia’s improvements to their land progressed smoothly.

For now, everything was peaceful inside the game, but in real life…

“Hijiri, you don’t need to dry my hair, I can do that myself.”

Kou had finished her rehabilitation routine and taken a bath to wash the sweat away, but when she arrived at her room, she was forced to sit on the bed by Hijiri, who then took a comb and blow dryer and began working on Kou’s hair.

“Nope, I just know you’ll do it carelessly and randomly. And if you do that your hair will become a tangled mess like a tumbleweed, and neither of us wants that, right?”
“Ugh…”

Kou could only groan.

Hijiri had not come to visit a few days prior, and that day Kou dried her hair randomly like Hijiri had just said, which led to a huge mess the next day. She still did not understand why using the blow dryer in a different way had caused such a big difference in results, but she could not deny Hijiri’s claims, and could only protest in silence.

Though having her childhood friend drying her hair was giving Kou an embarrassing and awkward time, so she really wanted to get away somehow. Then again, Hijiri seemed to be having a really good time with Kou’s long hair, humming to herself as she continued applying the blow dryer.

“Maybe it’s better if I cut-”
“No chance. Do you know how many years it takes to grow hair this long?”
“…I feel like you’re just saying that because you want to play with my hair, aren’t you?”
“…………No?”
“Then what was that long pause?”

Hijiri was clearly hiding something, which made Kou raise her voice even more.

“Anyway, I still can’t believe how annoying it is to be a girl, I have to wash my body, hair, and even dry my hair in a different way…”

Kou resigned herself to have someone else comb her hair, but continued complaining.

Her petite fair skinned body, which looked rather frail, required a lot of daily maintenance, which was overwhelming Kou. Not to mention all the things she could not do anymore.

If she got annoyed and tried to scrub her body harder like she did as a boy, her skin would instantly turn red and bruised. The first time she took a bath on her own she was so nervous that she shut her eyes to not see her naked body, and just scrubbed herself in the same rough way she would as a boy, and ended up causing a huge mess.

She had suffered too much after that, and so she had to force herself through the embarrassment.

“Ahahah…sometimes I get jealous of Subaru too. We’re twins, but somehow he has a way easier time taking care of himself…”

Hijiri just smiled with empathy hearing Kou complain about all the new things she had to watch out for, and how they had made her baths take a lot longer.

Hijiri continued complaining about how Subaru would just scrub all willy-nilly while showering, would not use any hair products, and so on, likely having no restraint as she was talking about her twin brother.

They continued talking about that when…

“Oh… I see you two are getting along nicely.”
“Ah, dad?!”

As the last light of the summer sun faded, a knock echoed on the door, heralding the arrival of one more visitor. Kou’s father, Sora, entered the room, bearing a large carrying case.

“Hello, Kou. I see you’ve been recovering nicely. Also, thank you Hijiri for taking the trouble of watching after Kou.”
“Don’t mention it, I’m doing it because I want to!”
“I can imagine…”

Hijiri was done drying Kou’s hair, and looked really happy as she tied her hair into braids, while Kou just sat on the bed looking resigned to her fate. It took some time for things to calm down in the room after that.

“Go outside..? Like…to the city?”
“Will Kou be alright outside?”

Kou and Hijiri were caught off guard by Sora’s suggestion about going shopping the next day, together with Kou and the twins.

“Yes. I’ve been told that she’s progressed enough to be able to walk on her own for a while, so it should be alright. I’ve already asked for permission to take her out, and tomorrow is a Sunday so it should be a good time to practice being outside.”

Kou had spent a lot of time in a dimmed room with all the windows blocked, so she did have a desire to go outside already, but…

“…I’ll go looking like this?”
“Yes. There’s only one week left before you’ll be discharged from the hospital and you’ll start attending school in person, so it’s better if you get used to being seen.”
“Ahh, I can imagine Kou will attract a lot of attention after all.”

Kou groaned with discomfort hearing that, she could also tell that everyone in the city would turn to look at her, considering how much her white features stood out.

“I don’t really have any clothes to wear outside though…”
“Don’t worry, that’s already been taken care of. Your mother also entrusted me with anti-UV sunscreen for you.”

Kou tried to find a way to avoid going outside, but Sora began taking various sets of clothes from the carrying case, as well as anti-UV sunscreen tubes, which had no labels so they were likely not commercial products.

“Amari picked them herself, so I’m sure they’ll work in whichever way…but Hijiri, would you mind coordinating Kou’s outfit?”
“Of course, you can count on me, Uncle Sora!”
“Wait, dad?!”

Kou really felt like she had been thrown into a lion’s den by her father, so she tried to protest, but Hijiri was already rummaging through the clothes, muttering to herself “What would look good, what would look cute…” and her eyes glittery with excitement. They had been friends for long enough that Kou knew there was nothing she could do to stop Hijiri once she was like that.

With no option left, Kou resigned herself to her fate, and let Hijiri test and match the colors of the clothes. But then she noticed something.

“Wait, I can’t see any pants, are they all skirts..?”

She could only see dresses and skirts, and not a single type of pants.

“Of course. Your school uniform requires a skirt, so just think of it as practice for that. Good luck.”
“Eughhh…”

Sora said that nonchalantly, but Kou scowled and groaned in disgust, repulsed by the idea…