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Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

The fifth floor, R’lyeh’s Great Magic Library, had a more dignified appearance compared to the previous floors, and since there was hardly any point to PvP there, even the top teams prioritized exploring the place rather than trying to fight others.

The main issue there were the grimoire-like enemies that would fly out of the bookshelves. These enemies were hard to detect before they started moving, and they could link up with each other to unleash devastating magic attacks.

Because of those dangerous enemies, exploration of the fifth floor slowed down considerably.

…And so, two days passed since the last floor was accessed…

◇◇◇

It was the early afternoon in the real world, at S-City’s main train station.

“Ah, there! There they are! Heyyyy, over hereeeee!”

Hijiri had been looking past the ticket gates, searching for someone, until she spotted Hinagiku with her mother Kikyo, as well as Ryunosuke, who was holding Miyuki’s hand. The two pairs had found each other on the train earlier and came out together. Seeing them, Hijiri waved her hand excitedly.

But Hinagiku had seen them even faster, mostly because Kou’s white hair stood out. She ran toward them, her large backpack and sports bag jolting with each step.

The day had come for Hinagiku and Miyuki’s sleepover at the Mitsuki household.

Sora had taken the day off work so he could pick them up in his car and also bring Kou and the rest to meet them at the station. Amari had also taken the day off, but she stayed home to prepare dinner for everyone.

“Well then… Five days might be a pretty long time, but I’ll leave Hinagiku in your care. I’ll drop by again on the day of the fireworks.”
“She’ll be in good hands, Kikyo. I’ll make sure she’s safe and looked after.”

After greeting each other, Kikyo bowed as she said that, and Sora did the same, understanding her feelings as a parent.

“Miyuki, make sure you don’t cause any trouble, okay?”
“Mhm, thank you for bringing me, Papa.”

Ryunosuke had also come with Miyuki, but he looked saddened that he had to leave first, as he had some business with an electronics wholesale store near the station. Miyuki watched her father until he disappeared in the distance, and then finally turned around to face Kou and the rest.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”
“I’m glad to be able to spend these days with you.”

Hinagiku and Miyuki spoke with their usual politeness as they joined the rest, and they all headed to Kou’s home.

“Woahh…”
“What a nice house…”
“Is…is it..?”

As soon as Hinagiku and Miyuki passed through the front door, they looked around in wonder.

“I live up in the mountains, so my house is bigger, but it’s nowhere near as modern as this…”

Hinagiku was looking around in excitement, trotting closer to the smart home AI system, Room Master, and looking at it with curiosity. She talked about all sorts of things. Kou was slightly embarrassed hearing all of that and awkwardly scratched her cheek.

“Hahah, Amari has an obsession with always getting the newest thing. I guess Kou might not realize she’s a bit out of touch since everything has been this way since she was born…”
“I mean, I only know what Hijiri’s house looks like, so…”

Kou began pouting when Sora joined the conversation. But she had a point—the Furuya house was built roughly the same as the Mitsuki one.

“You know, the bathroom is actually pretty big too. It can fit two of us without feeling cramped! And if we take turns washing ourselves, all four of us could enter at the same time. And then we can wash each other’s backs!”
“Ugh…”

Hijiri smiled brightly as she suggested that, but there was something concerning in what she said.

Why are you saying that like you always bathe with Kou?

Everyone’s stares seemed to be asking that, and Kou had to avert her eyes while groaning. If she really had to find an excuse for that, she would say it was only because she needed help getting used to washing her new hair and body. It had only started happening after her transformation anyway.

“You can use this room to sleep.”

Sora was showing them around the house and led them to the guest room, where he covered the sunken kotatsu so the floor was flat, increasing the usable area in the room.

“You two are sleeping over too, right, Hijiri and Subaru?”
“Mhm. Though Subaru is dead set on using the other guest room for some reason.”
“I mean… I’m already in high school too…”

Hijiri sounded disappointed with that decision, while Subaru looked tired of having to explain it, and Kou just glanced at him awkwardly. After that, they took out three futons from the closet, and Kou brought hers from her room as well. Once they lined up all four of them on the floor, they started preparing their beds.

“Somehow this really feels like a school trip.”
“Ah, I was about to say the same!”

They laid out the freshly washed sheets—Hinagiku with deft hands and Miyuki trying to copy her movements—all the while happily chatting.

Once they finished and unpacked their belongings, everyone went down to the living room to take a break and play some games together. Dinner was ready a bit too soon after that, as Amari and Sora called to them from the garden, where they had been preparing something.

There was a scarcely used barbecue hut in a corner of the Mitsuki household’s garden. It was something Sora had built himself during weekends as a hobby—a hut with chairs and a table.

In the center was an unused U-shaped table with compartments for red coals, topped off with grills or steel plates. In the middle of that were all the food items everyone could choose to grill.

“There’s no need to hold back, Hinagiku. Eat everything you want, okay?”
“O-Okay, I’ll do that. Thank you, Hijiri.”
“Hijiri, I think you’re starting to turn into an overly friendly auntie…”

Hijiri was pushing Hinagiku to grill even more meat and vegetables, while Subaru watched with an awkward smile, grilling a thickly cut skirt steak for himself.

“Is Kou going to be alright? I thought she couldn’t handle meat well…” Miyuki asked with a bit of worry, arduously chewing on some beef tongue, which S-City was famous for, cut into small bite-sized pieces.

“Ahaha, I’ll be fine, don’t worry about it. I actually asked for this.”
“I see…”

Seeing how concerned Miyuki was, Kou broke into a smile and patted her head.

“Mhm. I’m planning on getting over it by slowly trying small bits.” Saying that, Kou’s face filled with solemn determination, like she was about to commit seppuku. She picked up… a piece of grilled chicken from her plate.

She threw it into her mouth, quickly chewed, and swallowed.

“…S-See..? Urgh… Once it’s been… drenched in seasoning and sesame seeds… I can somewhat… eat it… and there’s plenty of yakisoba to wash it down too…”
“I-I see… But… still, be careful, okay?”
“Ahahah… Yeah, I know…”

Kou’s face was pale and strained, but she kept insisting she was alright, somehow managing to convince Miyuki not to worry anymore.

But Kou also knew that if she kept doing that, everyone else would not feel comfortable eating. So she raised her voice to announce, “That’s my quota for today,” and happily ate plenty of yakisoba with vegetables.

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