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In the blink of an eye, the clock struck 6 o'clock the next morning.
Inside the quiet hotel suite, gentle early summer sunlight filtered faintly through the curtains. As usual, Xenovia opened her eyes before the alarm even rang.
As the Church's ace Holy Sword wielder, it was rare for her to sleep until the alarm went off.
Usually, it was so. Today, even more so.
A faint exhaustion lingered after yesterday's battle.
The sudden collapse of her faith had kept her restless the entire night. Her mind hovered between sleep and wakefulness—every time she was about to fall asleep, thoughts of confessing her intention to leave the Church to Irina resurfaced, instantly chasing away any sleepiness.
Even though she'd evasively thought last night, "I'll leave tomorrow's worries to tomorrow," now she had already become that "tomorrow" version of herself, yet she still couldn't find a suitable way to bring up the topic.
Seriously, how was she supposed to even mention something like this...
"Haa~"
Covering her mouth, Xenovia softly yawned to dispel the lingering drowsiness. Turning her head, she glanced at the other bed in the room.
Unsurprisingly, her partner was still deep in dreamland, her arms and legs sprawled all over outside the blankets, sleeping soundly without a care.
She wasn't sure whether to praise her partner for being carefree enough to sleep peacefully after everything that had happened yesterday or to admire her sleep quality so strong that even anxiety couldn't interrupt her slumber.
Feeling slightly envious, Xenovia silently sighed, got out of bed, slipped into hotel slippers, and walked over to the other bed, gently nudging the sleeping girl.
"Irina, wake up. It's already morning, and we'll need to catch our flight soon."
"Mm... Just five more minutes..."
The orange-haired girl, her hair scattered around the pillow, simply murmured something unintelligible, turned over, and continued sleeping deeply.
?
Xenovia felt slightly puzzled.
They'd been partners for many years, often sharing accommodations when on missions. Their routines had always been synchronized, including yesterday when they'd gone to bed around the same time. It shouldn't have been difficult for Irina to get up.
What was going on here?
With a helpless expression, Xenovia leaned forward, grabbed a corner of Irina's blanket, and gave it a small tug.
"If you don't get up now, you're going to miss the flight."
"—Eeeek!"
Just like being woken abruptly by a freezing gust of wind in winter when someone opened the window, Irina let out a startled squeal, eyes snapping wide open as she suddenly sat upright in bed, hugging her shoulders and meeting Xenovia's puzzled gaze with her own widened eyes.
Xenovia blinked in confusion, unable to understand the extreme reaction. She tentatively asked,
"Irina, are you okay?"
"I'm fi—"
Just as Irina began to answer, Xenovia's expression changed to one of confusion. Squinting slightly, she leaned closer to Irina's neck, examining something carefully.
Oh no oh no oh no, she's going to notice!
Irina felt panic surge in her chest. She hadn't forgotten the "evidence" left by Bokue on her neck and collarbone at the park yesterday evening.
To be honest, the reason for her huge reaction earlier was precisely because of this—not because the hotel room's air conditioning was especially cold.
If Xenovia saw them now...
"What's this? Irina, why are there little red marks around your neck? Mosquito bites?"
Just as Irina squeezed her eyes shut nervously, her friend's confused voice reached her ears.
Huh? Mosquito bites?
Irina opened her eyes again and turned her head, only to see Xenovia pointing here and there at the spots around her neck.
"Here, here... and here too. There are marks all over. They look a bit like mosquito bites. But weren't you wearing your combat suit the whole day yesterday? Mosquitoes shouldn't have been able to reach your neck, right?"
Well... technically, they were bite marks—but not from mosquitoes...
Irina suddenly remembered her partner was even more oblivious than herself regarding certain things. Xenovia probably didn't even know such a thing as "hickeys" existed.
Relieved and surprised, Irina hesitated a moment before replying,
"A-ah, they're not mosquito bites. Maybe I had some allergic reaction to something I ate yesterday."
"Allergic reaction?"
Xenovia appeared even more puzzled, as she didn't know Irina was allergic to anything.
Realizing she could almost steer clear of suspicion, Irina hurriedly added,
"It's probably nothing to worry about. I don't feel uncomfortable at all, so it must not be serious. It'll likely disappear in a couple of days."
"Is... that so?"
Xenovia didn't dwell on it. Since Irina said so, it probably wasn't important.
"Then I'll go wash up first. You should change your clothes too; we should leave soon."
"Alright!"
Irina made an OK sign, about to get off the bed, but the moment her toes touched the floor, she inhaled sharply and winced.
Xenovia, who had just reached the bathroom door, paused and glanced back with a concerned look.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit sore. Maybe I walked too much last night, haha... hahaha..."
A Holy Sword wielder who could slay Devils would feel sore legs from just walking around?
The doubts piled up within Xenovia, giving her a feeling something wasn't right with Irina today... but she decided to let it go, focusing instead on how she would bring up her own issue later.
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A taxi from the hotel pulled up slowly at Tokyo's Haneda Airport entrance.
The door opened, and Irina, seated closer to the airport side, stepped out first.
She stood outside holding onto the open door, smiling at Xenovia inside the vehicle.
"Let's go, Xenovia."
"Mm..."
The blue-haired girl's expression remained as cool and indifferent as ever—which was helpful, as her poker face masked much of her internal conflict.
Yet perhaps neither of them had realized that ever since waking up, neither had used the term "we" anymore.
Carrying their own thoughts and hesitations, the two girls walked into the airport lobby, passed security checks, and entered the waiting area.
Though the boarding gate was directly ahead, their footsteps grew increasingly slower.
Eventually, Irina and Xenovia simultaneously stopped right in front of the boarding gate.
A second later, standing side-by-side, they simultaneously realized something. Turning towards each other, their eyes met, both full of the same confusion.
—Why had they stopped moving forward?
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