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"Big Brother, we're here~~"
Leo lay completely flat on the damp, mossy ground of the midway plateau, his chest heaving like a broken bellows. He turned his head weakly to see Flandre and the others jogging over through the dense foliage, their faces not even slightly flushed, not a single drop of sweat on their brows, and absolutely not out of breath.
He felt exactly like the exhausted, overweight golden retriever from a funny internet video he'd seen back on Earth—the one that went out for a brisk walk with a high-energy whippet. The golden retriever lay flat on the pavement panting as if about to legally pass out, while the whippet bounced around it, looking like its internal engine hadn't even started warming up yet, not even needing to stick out its tongue.
"Stay away from me! Give me some air!"
Reaching out a trembling, leaden arm to weakly push Flandre's aggressively approaching, curious face aside, Leo looked like a man who was fully prepared to accept death. Fortunately, Ran Yakumo arrived just in time. She gracefully stepped forward and used a soft, golden tail to gently but firmly shoo the hovering vampire away. With maternal care, she crouched down, effortlessly helped the exhausted little man lying on the ground up onto a smooth wooden stool, and quickly brewed a warm bowl of sweet honey water, placing it directly in his shaking hands.
Wuwuwu, Ran really, truly is a woman who could be my wife, Leo thought, tears of sheer gratitude pricking the corners of his eyes.
Just as he lifted the bowl and took a deep, intensely satisfying sip of the soothing honey water, a distinct, heavy plop sounded from the deep pond right behind him. Turning around on his stool, he saw three Flandre clones standing innocently by the rocky edge of the pond. Their small hands were clasped securely behind their backs, and they were all looking up at the blue sky completely nonchalantly, casually kicking loose pebbles into the dirt as if absolutely nothing suspicious had just happened.
Shaking his head, Leo turned back around. He picked up a bright red wild cherry that Ran had carefully washed and popped it into his mouth. The wild cherries of Spring Island were mostly tart and intensely sour, immediately making his mouth water profusely, but the underlying sweetness was so addictive that after eating one, he instinctively wanted another.
Plop!
Another splash echoed from behind. Leo glanced over his shoulder. Two Flandres were now cheerfully playing a rapid, synchronized hand-clapping game on the muddy shore, their innocent, adorable childish voices ringing out over the rushing water, momentarily warming Leo's exhausted, corpse-like body. He smiled fondly, turned back to the table, and rested his chin on his hand, patiently waiting for Ran to finish cooking lunch over the campfire.
"The Rakushiru Ritual is decided! I am the high-level Flandre!"
In the exact millisecond Leo had turned his head away, the two remaining Flandres suddenly, violently changed their innocent clapping motions, whipping the hands they had hidden behind their backs forward into tight fists. Scissors! Rock! Paper! The victorious Flandre, who had thrown 'Rock', didn't hesitate for a microsecond. She directly, brutally lifted the shocked loser by the waist and threw her bodily into the deep pond with a massive splash. By now, the two Flandres who had "mysteriously" gone down into the water earlier were already floating peacefully face-up like otters, being rapidly carried by the strong current straight to the jagged edge of the cliff, and casually falling over the massive waterfall drop.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the waterfall.
"Waka, I was wrong. I promise I won't mention your weight anymore, okay? I swear, if I say it again, then..."
Kagerou Imaizumi knelt miserably on the muddy shore, her wolf ears flattened completely against her head. She glanced around the clearing, desperately thinking about exactly how to creatively reassure the furious mermaid. She vowed to make a dramatic, physically impossible oath right then and there to prove her absolute, undying sincerity.
"...then may a Great Yokai fall from the sky and hit me on the head!"
That should be perfectly fine, right? Kagerou thought logically. All Great Yokai can naturally fly or levitate, and this isolated tropical island absolutely isn't Gensokyo, so there shouldn't be any clumsy Great Yokai inexplicably, accidentally falling from the open sky.
"Really?"
Wakasagihime sank deeper into the cool pool water until it reached her nose, blowing an angry stream of bubbles. She looked up at Kagerou with narrowed, half-believing eyes. In truth, she wasn't actually that deeply angry anymore; she was mostly just intensely annoyed that Kagerou simply couldn't intuitively round numbers properly like a normal boyfriend. 105 pounds rounded down should logically be 100 pounds, and at 100 pounds, just a little bit of sweet, romantic flattery saying 99 pounds would've been perfectly fine! Why did the dense wolf have to be so mathematically, brutally precise?!
"Really, as true as can be." Kagerou nodded frantically, her tail thumping the mud.
"Ouch! Ow! Glug glug!"
Seeing Wakasagihime finally softening and about to float up to the surface for a hug, Kagerou happily lay flat on her stomach on the wet ground, half her upper body leaning dangerously out over the water to show Waka her most sincere, loving face.
Suddenly, she was violently, brutally hit directly on the back of the head and knocked straight into the deep pond by a screaming, high-velocity triple-strike of Flandre clones plummeting down from the waterfall above.
"Wuwuwu! Kagerou Imaizumi, you lied to me! I'm ignoring you forever!"
One Great Yokai falling? Three Great Yokai literally fell at the exact same time! Kagerou had actually lied right to her face! Wakasagihime was profoundly heartbroken, experiencing the kind of deep betrayal that simply couldn't be easily soothed. She slapped her massive tail against the water and dove to the bottom of the pool.
"Waka! Wait!" Kagerou sputtered, thrashing to the surface and spitting out water.
Leo absolutely didn't know anything about the dramatic, eight o'clock soap opera melodrama currently unfolding at the foot of the mountain.
For lunch today at the midway camp, they had rich, honey-grilled fish. The honey was pure, natural wild honey Flandre had stolen from the giant bees, and the thick, meaty fish were fresh lake fish that Ran had effortlessly caught with Kogasa's Iridium fishing rod in the plateau pond.
"Huh? Why are there three extra fish no one's eating?"
Leo looked up curiously from his plate, scanning the peaceful clearing. Chen, Kogasa, Ran, Aya Shameimaru, and Flandre—all were present and accounted for around the campfire. So why were there exactly three perfectly grilled fish left over on the platter?
Never mind, just leave the fish here on the plate under a leaf. Whoever's hungry later can eat it. Leo lay back heavily in the comfortable folding canvas chair, letting out a long, deeply contented sigh as he closed his tired eyes. This pristine, magical place was really, truly perfect for sleeping. The cool, refreshing mountain breeze rustling through the tropical canopy and the gentle, hypnotic babbling of the nearby stream were incredibly soothing.
In his miserable, exhausting past life on Earth, he had never, ever experienced perfect conditions like this—his ears used to be constantly, stressfully full of the grinding hums of server racks and the relentless, anxiety-inducing ticks of the customer service backend queue, enough to permanently raise his blood pressure to dangerous levels.
After neatly cleaning the wooden dishes and packing them into her tail, Ran Yakumo saw Leo resting deeply with his eyes closed. A soft, affectionate smile graced her lips. She also sat down gracefully on a wooden chair, placing her arms gently on the folding table and leaning her upper body forward, slowly closing her own golden eyes. Feeling the natural, vibrant sounds of the living jungle around her, her breathing gradually lightened and synced with the wind. No demanding, chaotic work from Lady Yukari, no annoying, endless economic reports to review... just pure, undisturbed peace.
Seeing both the adults peacefully sleeping, Kogasa Tatara quietly shrank the massive One-Eyed Xiao San umbrella down to the size of a standard parasol and gently tucked its wooden handle securely into the crook of Leo's resting arm. She then leaned her own soft, fumo-sized body comfortably against his warm shoulder, closing her eyes happily in the cool shade cast by the umbrella's canopy.
"Meow?"
In her small, fluffy black cat form, Chen jumped silently onto the wooden table, looking back and forth, carefully choosing between sleeping on Leo or Lady Ran. Leo's side was already fully occupied by the umbrella and Kogasa, so she happily picked Lady Ran.
Tiptoeing delicately over to Ran's resting head, Chen curled herself into a perfect, tight little ball right between the fox ears, closed her eyes, and emitted a deep, rumbling, incredibly soft purr. Dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves and shone directly on her, making her sleek black fur seem to glow with warmth. The fluffy cat ball rose and fell slightly with Ran's steady breathing, painting a perfect picture of serene, inter-species tranquility.
"Tch, how can you all just sleep in the middle of the day at your age? So incredibly lazy."
Though Aya Shameimaru spoke disdainfully, rolling her red eyes, her body honestly betrayed her words. She quickly found a comfortable, thick branch to lean against on the nearest tree trunk, holding her expensive camera securely in her lap to lazily review the stunning landscape photos she had taken that morning, her eyelids growing heavier with each swipe.
As for Flandre... the endlessly restless, energetic vampire quickly grew bored of the quiet camp and ventured deep into the dense woods alone, eagerly continuing her chaotic exploration of Spring Island.
At the foot of the mountain, the three soaking wet, troublemaker Flandre clones apologized completely obediently, bowing their heads and helping a frantic Kagerou respectfully placate the furious Wakasagihime before finally leaving the pool area.
They immediately split up and entered the thick jungle from different angles. The four Flandres shared a terrifying, hive-mind vision; even when geographically separated by miles of dense foliage, they could instantly sense each other's exact physical positions and seamlessly share what they saw in real-time.
"Report: Number One has successfully discovered a dark cave, currently fighting a massive, angry Big Bear for territory."
"Report: Number Two has discovered a strange, overgrown wild structure made of stone, currently aggressively rummaging through the ruins for loot. Should we blow it up with Lævateinn just in case?"
"Report: Number Three has discovered a hidden, damp cave behind a massive waterfall, filled with a massive group of sleeping Bats inside and lots of glowing fruit scattered on the ground. Currently loudly stealing all the Bats' food."
The Flandre Main Body—who had victoriously won the Rakushiru Ritual earlier—was acting as the central command node today. She climbed rapidly and effortlessly up the steep, rocky cliff face toward the absolute mountaintop while telepathically directing the other clones' chaotic explorations, quickly reaching the highest peak.
"Flandre is the absolute first person to conquer this island!"
Standing triumphantly at the highest, windswept point of the mountain, Flandre proudly placed her hands on her hips and gazed out at the breathtaking surrounding scenery, happily sharing the real-time, panoramic view through the network.
The three clones who were currently advancing through the thick, uneven woods below suddenly received the sweeping, dizzying aerial perspective injected directly into their brains and simultaneously stumbled, crashing into a spectacular, flat-ground fall. The internal telepathic channel instantly erupted in furious, chaotic screaming—sudden, massive perspective changes made it incredibly hard to physically adjust your balance; it's too easy to misstep when you're looking from the sky!
Scolded bloody by her own angry clones, Flandre sheepishly turned off the vision-sharing link, sitting down alone on a massive, smooth boulder at the mountaintop to quietly enjoy the view herself.
Right beside her, carved directly into the stone of the peak, was a strange, ancient stone altar intricately etched with faded, glowing patterns of that exact Legendary Fish they had caught yesterday. But that magical lore was definitely Big Brother Leo's boring business. Flandre didn't know or care about puzzles.
From this high vantage point, the two distinct sides of this massive Spring Island mountain had completely, radically different scenery. The side they had landed on and climbed was covered entirely in dense, untamed tropical forests with various wild fruits and ancient crops growing in the shade.
But looking down the other slope, the opposite side of the island was a massive, incredibly flat, fertile green plain leading down to a pristine, white-sand beach. Nestled perfectly in the center of that plain, Flandre even clearly saw the intact, weather-beaten wooden buildings of an abandoned farm cottage.