“Rub rub rub rub~ Scratch scratch scratch scratch~”
“Ah, no, don’t scratch my chin! I’m not a cat…”
“Scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch~”
“It tickles! Ugh, meow…”
Milora made strange noises as she was teased, her movements of twisting her body and shrinking her neck really resembled a cat, and a very obedient one at that.
“Ha… If only I could do this forever (referring to petting a cat forever).”
She couldn’t help but sigh sincerely.
“Huh!? Forever like this (referring to the two of them being together forever)??” Milora heard it and completely misunderstood.
“Isn’t that too sudden…”
“Huh? It’s not sudden at all, I’ve thought about it for a long time.”
“For a long time…”
Milora’s face turned completely red, like a cooked lobster.
Being together forever, isn’t that marriage? It’s too sudden! Although the legal marriage age is fourteen, most people get married after eighteen, and Milora is only fifteen!
She thought about this and was about to refute—but the words got stuck in her throat.
Being together forever.
Only by getting married can they be together forever.
But if Milora loses, Torina will have to marry another man.
That kind of thing… No.
Absolutely not! Milora doesn’t want to see Torina marry someone else! It feels very unpleasant! Extremely unpleasant!
Could it be that Torina suddenly saying “forever” is a roundabout way of hinting at her? Hinting that if she doesn’t try harder, they won’t be able to be together forever?
If that’s the case…
“I will do my best.”
“Hmm?”
“I will do my best, do my best, do my best, very best! And then, forever! Definitely—forever!!”
Milora held Torina’s hand very firmly and said loudly, as if she was making an unbreakable sacred vow.
“Uh, oh, thank you…?”
“Watch me!!!”
Milora, with her poor language organization skills, said a lot of impassioned words, then left with a heroic spirit, leaving Torina lying alone on the bed, muttering in confusion:
“My pillow~~~”
———————
The next day, the labyrinth opened again.
The labyrinth will open a total of three times, and now is the second chance.
Those who didn’t get a rune the first time will try twice as hard, and those who did will further deepen their resonance with the rune in the labyrinth’s environment, as opportunities like this don’t come often.
If they don’t find a suitable rune the second time, it will be really difficult.
Even if they luckily find one the third time, they might not have the chance to deepen the resonance.
So Milora was fully focused.
At this point, she felt relieved instead.
Now she wasn’t “wanting to succeed,” but “must succeed.”
“You’re even more motivated today than yesterday,” Patty teased.
“Today I will break the chains of fate, my fate is mine to control, not the heavens!”
“…You often say some incomprehensible strange things.”
“It’s not incomprehensible, this is—hmm?”
As she was speaking, she was suddenly attracted by a man passing by not far away.
He was a tall, well-mannered young man, wearing a luxurious leather jacket, with golden-red curly hair tied in a single ponytail, and a very handsome face.
What attracted Milora was not his handsomeness, but a mysterious sense of déjà vu.
Why does this guy look a bit like Anna-veil? But the gender doesn’t match… He should be some young talent from her family, like a brother or cousin?
At the same time, the handsome guy with golden-red hair—
(Tsk, I accidentally ran into them, they didn’t recognize me, right?)
[Your disguise is perfect, they will only think you’re a male member of your family.]
(Alright…)
Her face was disguised with potions and makeup to look like a handsome guy, her hairstyle changed, her body disguised as a male figure with the highest level of illusion magic, even touching the body directly would be hard to tell the truth, and she even padded a small cucumber in the crotch to simulate a bulge, foolproof.
[It’s about to start, get in position quickly! Once in the labyrinth, just follow my instructions!]
“You’re so annoying…”
[Once the battle festival starts, you must beat Torina Deville hard! And make Milora Sistema cry in public!]
“I don’t need to beat Torina, do I? You talk as if you have some personal grudge against them.”
[Don’t overthink it, just go!]
————————
Just like yesterday’s process, Morai gave the order, and the labyrinth opened for the second time.
Anna-veil was teleported to a place similar to last time, still surrounded by annoying cold mist, with the silhouettes of monsters faintly visible in the fog.
[I’m already analyzing the location with the most abundant rune power, just follow what I say!]
“Alright.”
This time Anna-veil wasn’t very resistant to the system’s guidance, as it proved to be indeed powerful, who wouldn’t want to save some trouble?
[Now the Star Rune is already yours, Milora Sistema will never have it! You just have to wait to taste victory!]
([Hmph! Milora, I’ll make you regret it!!]
On the other side—
Milora, just like last time, plunged into the labyrinth, teleported to a different starting position than last time, near the center.
This time she didn’t rush to the northwest corner like last time, but sat cross-legged first, using the method Torina taught to sense the “whispers of the world.”
Maybe she really has no fate with the Star Rune, but she must try again, as for other runes? If she really can’t get the Star Rune, getting another one wouldn’t be a total loss.
For example—
Ice ❄️
In this cold and frozen place, concepts like “ice,”
“snow,” “cold,” and “stagnation” are particularly clear.
Fire, in contrast to the cold, the external low temperature actually increases one’s perception and desire for warmth.
Speaking of the Star ⭐️
The thick fog obscures the sky, and it’s daytime, so you can’t see the stars, but what if you consider the ground beneath your feet as part of the stars?
Try to feel it.
Try to communicate.
Listen to the ancient whispers of the stars…
…
…
…
“I can’t feel anything!!!”
After several hours, Milora still had nothing, she was really anxious now, the Star Rune might really be completely out of her reach, she was already considering how to cover Torina’s escape—
—I want to be your only academy idol, so you have to belong only to me, okay?—
At this moment, she seemed to hear a voice in a trance.
A girl’s voice, tearful and heavy in content.
(What’s going on…?)
She stood up, looked around, and didn’t find the source of the voice, but the voice was getting closer.
—No one has ever called my Junna-chan pure, and I won’t let anyone call her that—
Still a girl’s voice, but it seemed to be a different person.
—Today’s Little Te is not my opponent—
—It’s really difficult for me, go, Nagisa—
—Would you like to form a band with me for life?—
Various voices surrounded Milora, leaving her full of questions.
What are these mysteriously heavy lines about?
Did she sense some strange rune?
