Accompanied by Rose, Faf, Mew, and Fen, I headed to Ouboro Academy.
Outside the school gates, I caught sight of Lumine from behind.
"Lumine!"
When I called out, she turned around immediately. A flicker of relief crossed her face the moment our eyes met, but it instantly melted into a scowl as she looked away.
I stepped closer.
"Good morning."
"Morning..." she muttered back in a voice so faint it seemed ready to vanish.
With a wry smile, I turned and made my way toward the entrance. Lumine trailed silently behind me.
"Good morning, Lumine-chan," Rose chimed in, falling into step beside her.
"Good morning, Lady Rose."
Lumine turned toward her with a polite little bow, offering a timid reply. Rose stood there trembling with delight for a moment before throwing her arms around Lumine in an embrace.
"Mmm, I knew it—you really are the cutest, Lumine-chan!"
With that, she began rubbing her cheek against Lumine's.
Good grief. It was the exact same way she treated Mew and Faf. Rose’s perverse true colors seemed to leak out whenever her guard was down. She truly suffered from the tragic affliction of losing all sense of reason the moment she laid eyes on anything adorable. In that sense, she was cut from the very same cloth as the Goddess Coalition; she had grown terribly close with them lately, and it seemed they were already welcoming her into their fold.
"..."
Lumine hung her head, blushing beet red, though she didn't seem genuinely repulsed. If she truly hated it, she wouldn't have hesitated to slap whoever was doing it right across the face.
Even so, I couldn't bear to stand by and watch my childhood friend—someone who was practically a little sister to me—fall prey to this pervert's clutches.
"We're in public! Knock it off already!"
"Gwah!"
I grabbed the back of Rose's collar and yanked her away from Lumine, eliciting a bizarre squawk entirely unfitting of a princess.
"Kai, aren't you being a bit unnecessarily cruel to me lately?"
Ignoring the half-lidded, reproachful glare she shot my way, I pressed on.
"Stop spouting nonsense and get to class!"
As I urged Rose and Lumine forward, Fen leaped from atop my head onto Lumine's.
"Fen-chan!"
As Lumine let out a delighted squeal, Mew and Faf each took one of her hands.
"Lumine-oneechan, let's go!"
"Let us make haste!"
The two of them began tugging her along eagerly.
"Okay!"
Smiling brightly in response, Lumine looked just like the gentle girl from our past, completely shedding the feisty mask she had worn so stubbornly for so long.