Chapter 66. Neighbor (2)

There was clearly no sign of anyone around.

But suddenly, an attack came out of the darkness.

Whoosh-!

If Yurui hadn't thought, "What if this pervert has some ulterior motive?"

If she hadn't been prepared with the thought, "Who knows what he might do!" she might have been caught off guard by this perfect ambush.

"Damn!"

I knew it, you cursed pervert!

Yurui, who was attacked first, cursed the pervert.

Indeed, he had some ulterior motive, she thought.

But soon, she sensed something strange.

"…A spear?"

The pervert's weapon was clearly a thin sword.

But now, what was aiming at her was a spear blade.

"Huh?"

It even felt strangely familiar.

And then.

"Huh?"

Whoosh-.

The attack that persistently targeted her legs.

Yurui, feeling a strong sense of déjà vu, spun in the air and landed on the ground.

Meanwhile, the spear blade was retracted into the darkness on the other side of the cave.

Yurui tilted her head toward the darkness.

"…Tessa-senpai?"

"……?!"

At her muttering, there was a slight disturbance in the darkness.

Soon, the sound of flint striking was heard.

Sss- Sss-!

Whoosh-.

Light appeared inside the cave.

And there stood Tessa, just as Yurui had expected.

Surprised by her appearance with a spear and a torch, Yurui asked.

"Tessa-senpai, what are you doing here?"

On the other hand, Tessa, who seemed surprised by Yurui's appearance, widened her eyes and replied.

"Isn't it inappropriate for an uninvited guest to ask the homeowner that?"

"Huh?"

Yurui was confused by her response.

"Homeowner? You're the owner here, Tessa-senpai?"

"That Tessa… sigh, never mind. Yes, this is my place."

"Since when?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well… if not… depending on when it is, the situation might get a little… no, quite a bit strange."

"……?"

"I know the one living here is a weird pervert."

"…Götz Löwen?"

"I don't know his name, but he has purple hair, is from the 48th batch, and is a huge womanizer…."

"If it's a purple-haired, 48th batch, ultimate pervert trash, it must be Götz Löwen."

…You didn't call him ultimate pervert trash, did you?

Seeing Tessa's reaction, which seemed to confirm Götz Löwen, Yurui clicked her tongue.

'Seems like he was right.'

Just saying 'pervert' made his name pop up immediately, so he must have been the highest-ranked pervert in this cradle, known to everyone.

Meanwhile, Tessa sent a look as if to ask why Yurui was bringing up the pervert in this situation.

Yurui shrugged and replied.

"The last time I came here, the pervert was living here."

"There's no way. I've been living here since the beginning of this year. And your story doesn't make sense. The last time? I haven't left this place since the 50th batch entered."

"January 1st."

"……?"

"I came here on January 1st."

"…What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whether you believe me or not is your choice, but I definitely came here that day."

Yurui's story made Tessa's brow furrow.

A slightly conflicted look.

It seemed she had some idea, and she asked with a faint sigh.

"Was there someone else with you and that pervert on the day you mentioned?"

"Ooh? You believe me?"

"…When I returned from sharpening my blade, my hideout was in a mess. There were signs of a fight everywhere, and the wooden door I made was smashed."

Yurui flinched at the mention of the smashed door but quickly composed herself and nodded.

"Yes, there was one more person."

"Was it a woman?"

"…How did you know?"

Yurui's kind explanation made Tessa's brow furrow even more.

Her spear swept a corner of the cave.

A strange piece of cloth was caught.

"Bringing a woman into someone else's place… how dirty."

She said this with annoyance and threw the piece of cloth caught on her spear outside the cave.

'Huh?'

Seeing the cloth fly past her, Yurui understood everything.

How Tessa knew there was another female intruder.

And the secret behind the astonishing speed at which the woman changed clothes during the sword exchange between Yurui and Götz!

'How did she manage to change so quickly… she wasn't wearing any underwear!'

While Yurui was dumbfounded, Tessa said sternly.

"Let me make it clear, I have nothing to do with that pervert trash. The strange situation you mentioned… we're not living together or anything like that."

"I didn't say anything, did I?"

"Someone lived here until last year, and it was probably Götz Löwen."

"I didn't say anything…."

"He just used this place while I was away."

"…Are you even listening to me?"

"Pervert trash. Ultimate pervert!"

"……."

Yurui blinked at Tessa, who was making excuses that weren't really excuses.

'This person really hates Götz, doesn't she?'

At that moment, a thought crossed Yurui's mind.

'Huh? If I play this right…'

A glint appeared in Yurui's eyes.

She played along.

"Of course, right? Wow, what kind of brain structure would make someone bring a woman into an empty house? Don't you think?"

"That person probably doesn't have a normal brain structure."

"Despicable and dirty bastard!"

"I don't know if he's despicable, but he's definitely dirty."

"Ha… Using this unclean space where that dirty guy rolled around with a woman… wouldn't that be a bit…?"

"It doesn't matter to me."

Her firm voice, without a second of hesitation, slightly surprised Yurui.

'What? That wasn't part of my plan.'

Yurui hid her true feelings and quickly continued.

"But what if that pervert comes back and does something bad to you, Tessa-senpai?"

"There's no way."

"Huh?"

"Götz Löwen-senpai might be a womanizer, but he's not trashy enough to force himself on a woman who doesn't want it. He's actually very gentlemanly towards women."

"……."

"His problem is that he doesn't refuse any woman who comes to him. Apart from that, he's not a bad person."

"…I can't tell if you're saying he's bad or not."

Bad or not.

Yurui grumbled, and Tessa sighed.

"I know why you're saying this to me."

"……?"

"You probably want me to leave this place. But I have no intention of leaving."

Yurui's shoulders slightly flinched, and Tessa didn't miss it.

"You haven't found a place to stay yet, have you?"

"…You're pretty perceptive, aren't you?"

Yurui scratched her cheek.

Since the other party had already figured everything out, there was no point in playing games.

She decided to give up cleanly and look for another place to stay.

Just as she was about to turn around.

"Follow me."

"Huh?"

Leaving those words, Tessa threw herself out of the cave with the torch.

Yurui, who was momentarily stunned, quickly regained her composure and followed Tessa.

Thud-!

Tessa, who was running along the walls of the dark fissure, had clearly done this many times before.

The inside of the fissure was steeper than expected, so it would have been difficult for a first-timer.

But she moved without hesitation, clearly familiar with the terrain.

Yurui carefully observed where Tessa stepped and followed closely.

At some point, Tessa's figure disappeared from sight.

Soon, Yurui realized why she had disappeared.

'Cave?'

Tessa had disappeared because she entered a cave.

Following her inside, Yurui was slightly surprised.

'Not bad?'

No, it was more than not bad.

The second cave, located a short distance from Tessa's, was slightly smaller but had a small cave attached to it that could be used as a storage room.

While Yurui was looking around the cave, Tessa approached.

"If you haven't decided on a place to stay, you can use this one."

"Here? Why isn't Tessa-senpai using it?"

"I prefer a place closer to the surface. I don't have enough belongings to use two places simultaneously."

"Hmm…."

Yurui crossed her arms.

Her eyes, looking at Tessa, became slightly sleepy.

Her narrowed gaze clearly read, 'Why are you suddenly being nice to me?'

Tessa, who couldn't miss this, said again.

"…Follow me."

Tessa left the cave without another word.

This time, Yurui didn't hesitate and followed her.

Tessa led Yurui to a third cave.

The most secluded cave in terms of location.

But it was the widest cave she had seen so far.

About twice the size of Tessa's living quarters.

Seeing this cave, Yurui was certain.

'Sure enough… these aren't natural caves.'

From Tessa's living quarters.

To the caves she introduced to Yurui.

All of these were artificially created terrains.

Moreover, the paths leading to and from the caves were clearly well-trodden, as if someone had been using them for a long time.

Just like how a path forms in a forest when people walk it repeatedly.

While a newcomer might not notice, the original inhabitants could use it without any inconvenience.

While Yurui was scanning the surroundings, Tessa pulled a rope on the cave wall.

Then.

Click-.

With a sound, the cave lit up instantly.

Yurui, seeing the object that lit the cave, laughed in disbelief.

"Did you embed these luminescent stones, senpai?"

"No way. They were already here."

"…Do luminescent stones just roll around here?"

Luminescent stones embedded densely in a shabby cave, not to mention the circular arena.

'They weren't made in the cradle, and if they were here when Tessa-senpai arrived…'

It must have been the luminescent stones left behind by the previous occupants.

And the easiest way to obtain such a number of luminescent stones was…

'No doubt, they were taken from the circular arena.'

Whatever the case, Yurui thought of the best method as theft.

'Whoever they are, I commend their efforts, senpai!'

Thanks to the efforts of some unknown seniors, there were over a dozen luminescent stones.

The cave was as bright as daytime.

Yurui looked around the cave.

It was just a wide cave, nothing special.

So she couldn't help but be curious.

"So, why did you bring me here?"

At her question, Tessa looked at Yurui.

"…I have a favor to ask."

This favor was probably the reason she was being nice to Yurui today.

"Favor? What kind?"

"……."

For some reason, she couldn't answer immediately.

Tessa, who had been confident and proud until now, looked hesitant.

After a long pause, she finally spoke.

"I want to… spar with you."

That was the answer she had been hesitating to give for a long time.

Yurui tilted her head.

"Spar? Fight? With me?"

Yurui crossed her arms.

'So, there was a reason for bringing me here.'

The cave was twice as wide as the others.

Moreover, it was as bright as daytime.

It was the perfect place for sparring.

'Sparring with Tessa.'

Honestly, it wasn't a bad idea.

She had already seen Tessa's formidable skills once.

Moreover, Yurui didn't have much sparring experience, so sparring with Tessa would definitely be helpful.

Furthermore, if she considered the favor she had received today, one sparring session would be a fair deal.

'Well, just one sparring session…'

Yurui was willing to grant Tessa's request.

Until she heard the next part.

"Once a week for the next year… spar with me."

Yurui's face immediately fell.

"Isn't that a bit too much for just finding me a place to stay?"

"……."

Tessa couldn't respond to Yurui's comment.

She knew her request was a bit unreasonable.

That's why it was hard for her to even start the conversation.

"Ha…."

Tessa's sigh was filled with many emotions.

Finally, she made a decision and said.

"10,000 points."

"……?"

"I'll give you 10,000 points for each sparring session."

Tessa looked slightly anxious.

10,000 points.

It was certainly a large amount for a new batch member who had just entered the cradle.

And this was the best condition Tessa could offer.

If this was rejected, she didn't know what else she could offer to get the other party to agree.

But Tessa's worries were completely unnecessary.

As soon as she finished speaking, Yurui's waist bent 90 degrees.

At the same time, a loud, clear voice rang out.

"Please take care of me from now on, senpai!"

"…Huh?"

Tessa, surprised by the sudden change in attitude, was left speechless.

Yurui, grinning, rubbed her hands together.

"Shall we start today, senpai?"

"Th…."

"Once a week? No, seven times a week… or ten times a week, no problem! Use me whenever you want!"

"……."

"Ah, but I only accept payment in advance! In that sense… when will the first payment be?"

Seeing Yurui excitedly talking, Tessa's head nodded involuntarily.

She felt she was starting to understand what kind of person this kid in front of her was.