The distant sky was slowly being dyed a gorgeous purplish-red by the night that seeped in at dusk, and the sun's afterglow gradually vanished below the horizon, leaving behind only the faintest trace of light.
The Imperial Capital University's survey ship was moored at the dock near the base.
Everyone was fully armed, and no one had disembarked.
The ocean after dusk was always dangerous—and always something special.
Ever since Saint Michael's holy radiance had been severed, this stretch of sea in Tokyo Bay had gone a very, very long time without that eerie white fog rolling in.
There were always fishermen who wanted to put out to sea under cover of night.
After all... only at night could they use lamps to draw in large schools of fish.
Or danger.
Yet to this very day.
The fishermen who went out to fish had never met with any accident, but the Investigation Bureau's survey ships that went out to investigate seemed to vanish forever into the sea, never to be seen again.
This stretch of sea was still dangerous.
Tsukiyomi Fuya wanted to moor by the shore at night to observe the conditions out in the sea.
However... at the moment, the atmosphere inside the cabin still felt rather awkward.
Sakura Mai, who was clearly the wronged party... and who even now still felt her legs go a little weak at the base, wore an apologetic expression as she looked at Soga Yura.
Soga Yura, on the other hand, was brimming with wariness, like a mother hen guarding her chick, sitting in Su Yuzu's lap with all four limbs wrapped tightly around Su Yuzu.
She glared at Sakura Mai with a gaze that was both wary and aggrieved.
Ms. Unohana had originally meant to soothe Soga Yura—Little Yuzu and Director Sakura were both girls, so surely nothing much could come of it.
But... this only made Soga Yura cling all the tighter, and the tips of Soga Yura's ears even seemed to grow a little hot.
H-how could nothing come of it?
Yuzu... Yuzu had a whole belly full of wicked schemes.
No, that wasn't right either—
This time, Yuzu was the victim.
Sakura Mai, meanwhile, had been forced to sit in the spot farthest from Yuzu, breathing in the faint citrus fragrance that lingered in the air and... on her own body, and lowered her head, sinking into thought.
Getting past Soga Yura seemed to be even harder than she'd imagined.
She tapped rapid-fire at her phone, reporting the situation to Mother, all while pondering... how to persuade Soga Yura.
[Honored Mother... I want to marry Sister Yuzu.]
[Yes, yes, go for it!] On the other end of the phone, Sakura Renxin's reply was even more approving than Sakura Mai had imagined, without the slightest hesitation.
[I'm serious.] Sakura Mai seriously doubted whether she'd picked the wrong person to report to.
Perhaps it would have been a little better to report the situation to Father.
[Speaking seriously...]
[I think the odds of you marrying Little Yuzu are lower than the odds of you being married off to Little Yuzu.] The worldly-wise Sakura Renxin could, surprisingly, see the essence of things more clearly. [If it were me... I'd surely be able to, just like the way I stole your old man away back in the day——]
[—come out on top from among a whole flock of pretty girls and even boys, and while your 'old man' was still clueless, claim him all for myself.]
[But, Mai...]
Sakura Renxin recalled how her own little Mai visibly hesitated and grew nervous in front of Little Yuzu.
[You won't be able to handle Little Yuzu.]
Sakura Mai gave the situation serious thought.
And then dismissed it.
She knew that besides Soga Yura, there were many, many other girls who depended on Yuzu—some even more so than Soga Yura.
Sakura Mai glanced at Soga Yura, glanced at Saotome Yukina, and then... glanced once more at Ms. Unohana, thinking back on that girl named Sakai Miho, as well as that Superintendent from the Investigation Bureau.
[I only want to take responsibility for Sister Yuzu.]
On the other end of the phone, Sakura Renxin suddenly caught a subtle... ominous whiff of something.
[Honored Mother... do you know how I should persuade Yura?] Sakura Mai pondered with some distress.
Soga Yura was, after all, her most important friend and closest confidante.
Though... she had actually gone and snatched away the one Soga Yura had her eye on, so it was no wonder Soga Yura looked at her with that aggrieved, wary gaze.
But Sakura Mai still hoped she could earn Soga Yura's blessing.
[Isn't that easy? Just turn the raw rice into cooked rice and be done with it.] That was exactly how Sakura Renxin had plucked away the pearl of the Tennōji family back in the day.
[It's already cooked.]
[...] After Sakura Mai sent her reply, the phone's chat window seemed to have been struck with a freeze-frame.
Time seemed to stand still.
And then—
Ring, ring, ring, ring——!
Sakura Mai's phone rang outright.
A call was coming in, and the name on the caller ID was... [Father].
Sakura Mai gave a flustered jump; the Knight Princess's usual little scheming streak and composure seemed to have been completely wiped away at such a critical moment.
She looked at the anxious Soga Yura, then glanced at Yuzu, who was gazing right at her...
In the end, she still didn't answer the call.
On the chat screen, messages began popping up rapid-fire, one after another, the window buzzing.
Looking at the lines of text scrolling across the screen, Sakura Mai suddenly sensed Sakura Renxin's worry for her.
[Was it really you who cooked the rice, and not you who got cooked?]
[Could it be that little Mai is just like that blockhead of your Tennōji family—looks all soft and submissive and easy to bully, but is actually unexpectedly domineering...]
[...]
[When you're out on a mission, remember to take good care of Little Yuzu.]
[Remember to look after Little Yuzu well—let her drink plenty of water to soothe her throat.]
[And you young people, remember to practice some restraint; when you're getting down to business, remember to check whether there are any cameras around...]
Sakura Mai's face went blank as she abruptly turned off the screen.
She stared at her own face reflected in the phone screen that had gone black once more.
Forget it... to have actually counted on that person for advice was truly an unreliable notion.
"Let's go over tonight's mission instead."
Tsukiyomi Fuya watched the atmosphere among the girls suddenly turn a little strange, and lowered her eyes to glance at the Yuzu in Soga Yura's arms... no, rather, the Yuzu who was holding Soga Yura.
"Tonight we'll extinguish the lights and moor by the sea."
"Then we'll deploy the armored survey equipment to investigate the conditions in the sea."
"At midnight... we'll send out a light-fishing boat to serve as bait." Tsukiyomi Fuya had originally planned to let the girls get some training on the fishing boat—with her own and Unohana Chiyo's protection, nothing should have gone wrong.
But... she glanced at Yuzu and Sakura Mai in the aftermath of their 'great battle,' hesitated a moment, and said, "For this fishing-boat crew... let's have the teachers take the role for now."
"You all rest up well."
"I'm fine!" "It's no problem!" Su Yuzu and Sakura Mai raised their hands almost simultaneously.
The little rabbit, sitting obediently beside Unohana Chiyo, looked at the lively, energetic Yuzu-senpai and at Senior Sakura, who—though she seemed fine on the surface—was clearly a little shaky even in the way she raised her hand.
The little rabbit's ahoge gave a wobble.
The one who got eaten... was it really Yuzu-senpai?
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