PAID

The car came to a stop in front of the academy’s main gate.

"Ahhh—!"

I stretched my arms wide as I stepped out of the car. No matter how comfortable the ride was, sitting in one place for too long made my body ache.

"Alright, we’ve arrived at the academy, so first, let’s take Alice to see Director Rina—"

As I was mentally organizing the tasks ahead of us, a sudden, sharp noise interrupted my thoughts.

Whoosh—

A dark figure was speeding toward me from the direction of the gate at an alarming speed. Instinctively, I tensed, ready to draw my sword, when—

"Huh?"@@novelbin@@

I stopped in my tracks.

The figure was a small girl with blue hair—Ichika.

She leaped like a flying squirrel and latched onto me, burying her face in my chest and nuzzling her head against me.

Sniff, sniff—

"Jin Yoo-ha, Jin Yoo-ha… You smell like my savior…"

Ichika softly bit my neck and shoulder, almost as if scolding me for taking so long to return.

"My body… feels strange…"