Looking at the rapier at her neck, Illustrious swallowed, feeling a bit cowardly, and said, "I agree to be a swordsman and save the world with you, okay? Hurry up and take your big sword away from me."
Upon hearing Illustrious agree to her request, Asuna was delighted. She took the rapier away, threw it into the air, and the rapier in mid-air turned into blue light and vanished.
"What kind of plan do you have regarding saving the world?" Illustrious asked Asuna. Saving the world wasn't an easy task; there had to be a concrete plan, right?
Asuna explained in detail: "My plan is like this: killing monsters can make us stronger. We'll kill monsters first to increase our strength, and after we get stronger, we'll investigate the mastermind. If the mastermind isn't strong, we'll just finish them off."
"If the mastermind is very strong, then we'll execute a tactical retreat, go kill more monsters, and after we become stronger than the mastermind, we'll go finish them off."
"This plan is very brainless, but simple and brutal. I like it." Illustrious didn't like schemes and plots; if it could be solved with force, she would solve it with force.
By evening, Asuna's mother, Kijo Kizuki, returned. The road back was not peaceful because there were monsters everywhere. Fortunately, Setagaya Ward was a residential area for the wealthy, and once the government discovered monsters appearing there, they immediately sent the Self-Defense Force to eliminate them.
Monsters were afraid to go to that place because the Self-Defense Force had strong firepower, so they kept fleeing to civilian residential areas, which caused great suffering for the civilians living there.
"Asuna! I'm home!" Kijo Kizuki called out.
Hearing her mother's voice in the dining room, Asuna ran out to greet her. "Mom, you're back! Where are Dad and Brother?"
Kijo Kizuki explained: "Many monsters appeared at the company. Although the Self-Defense Force eliminated the monsters, many problems arose at the company that need to be handled, causing your dad and your brother to be extremely busy. They said they would eat and sleep at the company, and they probably won't be back for a week, so you don't need to wait for them."
Asuna understood: "Oh! Is that so! Then I know."
"Where is Auntie Oda?" Kijo Kizuki asked.
Asuna replied: "She went back. She said her son was injured by a monster, so she took leave and went back early today. However, she prepared dinner before she left."
"So that's it! No wonder I didn't see her. Don't run around these few days. There are many monsters outside now, and it's very unsafe. Don't run around if there's nothing important, you hear me?" Kijo Kizuki said in a commanding tone.
"Oh! I hear you." Asuna nodded and said.
Asuna and her mother came to the dining room together. After arriving, Asuna's mother discovered a strange Silver-Haired Girl at the dining table. "Is this your friend?"
"Yes! She is a friend I haven't known for long, and she is also my savior. When I was shopping this afternoon, a wild boar monster tried to ram me. Fortunately, she was there and saved my life, otherwise I would have been dead." Asuna introduced her to her mother.
Kijo Kizuki bowed to Illustrious and thanked her: "Thank you for saving my daughter. My name is Kijo Kizuki. May I ask how to address you?"
Illustrious immediately performed a kneeling bow to Kijo Kizuki and said, "Hello, Auntie. I am your daughter's girlfriend. I will be living here from now on. I am not very talented, so please treat me well."
"Asuna, what is going on! Didn't I say you couldn't date before entering university? How did you start dating? Dating is one thing, but you're actually dating a girl? Are you trying to piss me off?" Kijo Kizuki scolded Asuna with a cold face.
Illustrious looked up excitedly and said, 'No! Auntie, I'm serious. Please don't separate us, and I beg you to bless us, because we love each other dearly.'
Asuna quickly crouched down, covering Illustrious's mouth, and said, 'Ah! Mom! She's just joking—she loves to joke around. What she meant was a female friend. And because there are many monsters outside today, I've decided to let her stay overnight. I hope you'll approve, Mom.'
'So it was just a joke! No problem at all—not just one night, she can stay as long as she likes.' Asuna's mother then added with a hint of concern, 'Do your parents know you're staying here? If you're hiding it from them, I wouldn't dare let you stay.'
'My parents passed away in a car accident a long time ago, and I have no other relatives. Now I live alone in an apartment.' Illustrious said with a sad expression.
'Poor child, I'm sorry. I asked something I shouldn't have.' Kijo Kizuki's gaze softened as she looked at Illustrious.
'It's okay, Auntie. You didn't mean it, so I don't blame you.' Illustrious said magnanimously.
'What a strong and polite child. Asuna, you've made a good friend.' Kijo Kizuki said with great satisfaction.
After the three of them finished dinner, Asuna took Illustrious to her room. Due to Illustrious staying over, and her suggestion that two people sharing a room would allow them to watch out for each other in case monsters invaded, Illustrious and Asuna would be staying in the same room tonight. Illustrious proposed taking a bath together, but Asuna refused and went to bathe first.
Before leaving to bathe, Asuna warned Illustrious not to peek, threatening that if she dared to peek, she would pierce Illustrious's peeking eyes with her rapier.
'Don't worry, I absolutely won't peek.' Illustrious patted her chest and guaranteed.
'Good, that's for the best!' Leaving the room, Asuna headed to the bathroom with her pajamas.
As soon as Asuna left, Illustrious stealthily followed her, tossing aside her earlier promise not to peek.
'This isn't peeking. How can a scholar call it peeking? This is called observing.'
Seeing Asuna enter the bathroom and close the door, Illustrious immediately went to the bathroom door. Originally planning to open it just a crack for a peek—ahem, observation—she found that Asuna had locked it. Illustrious muttered quietly, 'I'm a proper gentleman, so Asuna, why lock the door?'
Her face filled with displeasure, Illustrious was quite angry but not discouraged. She was determined to see Asuna's body—even the Buddha himself couldn't stop her. That's what she said.
'There should be a window in the bathroom. I'll check from outside.' Illustrious immediately ran outside.
Outside, after walking dozens of steps and turning a few corners, she finally saw the bathroom window.
The bathroom window was a bit high, but it couldn't stump Illustrious because there was a tree not far from the window.
Illustrious decided to climb the tree like a monkey. After climbing a few meters, she accidentally lost her grip and fell, landing hard enough to make her butt ache terribly. Clinging tightly to the trunk, she inched her way upward. 'A little hardship can't stop me. My heart is as hard as steel, as solid as a rock, as brilliant as a diamond. The revolution isn't over yet—how can I give up so easily?'
Finally reaching a branch near the window, Illustrious stopped moving forward as the branch began to sway more the closer she got. A strong gust of wind made the branch sway violently, scaring Illustrious half to death.
It was four meters high—falling wouldn't be a joke. She immediately froze, afraid that moving too much would make her fall.
Thankfully, heaven blessed her, and she managed to hold on without falling. 'I didn't fall, which means heaven approves of my observation. Otherwise, I would've fallen long ago. Humans are beings of desire—those without desire aren't fit to be human. So my observation isn't wrong.'
Thinking this, Illustrious turned her gaze into the bathroom and saw Asuna. 'Why hasn't she taken off her clothes yet? Girls are so slow. Usually, I take mine off in seconds.'
What followed excited Illustrious, as the next scenes were all high-intensity and not suitable for children.
Without blinking, Illustrious was afraid of missing even a second.
In the bathroom, Asuna took off her clothes, placed her pajamas on the bathroom shelf, and put her removed clothes into a laundry basket.
Standing under the showerhead, she let the water run over her for a moment before sitting on a small bath stool nearby. She applied shower gel, creating a thick lather of bubbles all over her body.
Watching the entire scene from outside the window, Illustrious was thrilled. Asuna's figure looked quite impressive—curvy in all the right places, with a slender waist and graceful posture, making it impossible to look away once you saw her. 'Oh wow! Amazing. I really wish I could be the shower gel on Asuna's body, so I could touch her.'
After applying the shower gel, Asuna stood up and turned on the showerhead. A stream of water quickly rinsed the bubbles off her body, and in no time, they flowed down the drain, leaving Asuna clean.
Holding onto the branch and watching from outside the window, Illustrious swallowed hard. 'The night is beautiful, the breeze is gentle—admiring the flowers, the moon, and Asuna.'
Asuna walked to the bathtub and slowly submerged her entire body into the warm water. The comfortable temperature made her let out a soft sigh: 'Ah～ so relaxing!'
'Heavens! That sound is utterly enchanting, completely intoxicating.' Illustrious said with excitement.
Perhaps heaven disapproved of Illustrious's actions, as a crow suddenly appeared before her. The crow usually loved to perch on that branch, waiting for her mate. Every night, she would sing a song, and her mate would appear beside her. But tonight, Illustrious had ruined it.
This angered the crow, who cawed a few times at Illustrious, trying to drive her away. 'Caw! Caw! Caw!...'
'Shoo! Shoo! Don't disturb me enjoying the beautiful view, or I'll roast and eat you!' Illustrious waved her right hand, trying to scare the crow away while holding onto the branch with her left.
Seeing Illustrious wave her hand, the crow quickly flew off. Illustrious turned her attention back to Asuna. 'Nice, nice, nice! These curves—I love it, I love it!'
Seeing that Illustrious still hadn't left, the crow returned to bother her again. This time, the crow wasn't as gentle—it landed on Illustrious's waist and left a dropping.
Just as Illustrious was thoroughly enjoying the view from outside the window, she felt a weight on her waist. Turning her head, she saw that the damn crow hadn't left and had landed on her waist. That was bad enough, but it had also left droppings there. How outrageous!
'Damn it, you stupid crow! You're looking for trouble. Watch me slap you to death!' Illustrious swung her hand hard toward the crow.
'Slap!'
The moment Illustrious swung her hand down fiercely, the crow agilely flapped its wings and flew away. Illustrious's right hand missed the crow but landed squarely on the droppings on her waist, leaving a soft, muddy substance clinging to her fair, slender hand.
Holding her hand up to her eyes, Illustrious felt a wave of nausea, almost vomiting up her dinner. She shook her hand but accidentally smeared it on her face.
Her snow-white skin was now stained with bird droppings. Feeling the mess on her face, Illustrious grew even more disgusted. She tried to wipe it off with her right hand but forgot it was also covered in droppings. Using a dirty hand to clean naturally made things worse. After wiping a few times, she realized her mistake and stopped, as it only made the mess bigger.
'Caw! Caw! Caw!...' The crow cawed from above, mocking Illustrious's foolishness.
'Very well, very well. You've successfully caught my attention.' Illustrious now hated that damn crow with a passion. In her heart, she had already sentenced the crow to death, swearing to kill it.
Illustrious pretended to focus on Asuna, knowing the crow would disturb her again. When it did, she would definitely catch it.
Seeing Illustrious still daring to stay there, the crow grew furious. It flew straight toward Illustrious's head, intending to peck at it with its beak.
However, just as it came within half a foot of Illustrious, Illustrious's right hand snatched the crow out of the air. And then—
—Illustrious fell from the tree.
'Thud!'
'Hmm? What was that sound outside? Could it be a thief?' Asuna reached for her phone on the bathtub shelf, ready to call the police.
'Meow, meow, meow...!' Just as Asuna was about to call the police, Illustrious, who had fallen into the grass, quickly let out a few cat-like meows.
'Oh! It was just a cat. You scared me.' Asuna sighed in relief.
'Caw!' The crow in Illustrious's hand let out a cry, but Illustrious promptly clamped its beak shut.
'Huh? That didn't sound like a cat...' Asuna tilted her head in confusion.
'Meow, meow, meow...!' Illustrious hurriedly let out a few more convincing meows.
Asuna placed her phone back on the bathtub shelf. 'I must have misheard. That's definitely a cat. But I don't remember having a cat at home... Could it be a stray that wandered in?'
Holding the crow, Illustrious left the area and went to the yard. First, she clamped the crow between her legs to wash her hands and face. Then, she picked up the crow again, gathered a pile of leaves, lit them with a lighter, set up a makeshift grill, killed the crow, plucked its feathers, and skewered it through with a stick.
'Crackle, crackle...'
Over the grill, Illustrious continuously turned the crow's body. A savory aroma wafted from it, making her mouth water.
Once the crow was nearly done roasting, Illustrious began to eat it. 'This damn crow might have been annoying, but its meat is quite tasty. Don't worry—I'll make sure to eat every bit of your dead body. Rest in peace!'
After eating the crow, Illustrious clapped her hands and entered the room.
Asuna had just finished bathing and walked out of the bathroom, only to see Illustrious covered in filth.
"What did you go off to do! How did you get so dirty! You're covered in leaves and mud stains."
Illustrious explained, "Actually, it's like this: I just found a giant ape monster in the yard. As soon as it saw me, it wanted to hit me with a club. But after a bit of a fight, I won, though I ended up getting my body covered in filth."
"Alright! Go take a bath! Tonight, you can wear my clothes for now."
Asuna handed a set of pajamas to Illustrious.
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