Just as Void was nonchalantly brushing off the girls clinging to him, a familiar female voice rang out loudly from the back of the group.

"Ah—! It’s already this late! Oh no, class is about to start!"

In an instant, the girls surrounding us regained their senses.

"Ah!"

"Oh crap! My first period is Lili-chan’s practical class!"

"Same here! I can’t afford to be late—let’s go!"

The War Maiden’s elective class was incredibly popular. Most students wanted to take it, and those who failed the lottery draw would walk away disappointed. If she was this popular in school, there was a chance her national popularity was even higher than the Sword Saint’s. Well, beauty versus the beast—it was inevitable.

In reality, Lili’s practical classes had a great reputation among both male and female students. Unlike Blythe, she was likely just a better teacher. There was no comparing her to the brute-force philosophy of Blythe.

…No, that’s me.

The surrounding girls waved as they left.

"See you later, El-chan, Oujin-kun!"

"Let’s play together next time!"

"Aaah, Void-samaaa…!"

Like a receding wave, they disappeared in an instant.

As the cafeteria became noticeably more open, Oujin and I exhaled long sighs in unison. The sweet scent still lingered in the air, and the shrill voices seemed to keep ringing inside my skull.

But now, only the three of us remained in the cafeteria—me, Oujin, and Miku, who had just called out the time earlier.

With a thoroughly exhausted expression, Oujin looked up at Void.

"Sorry… You really saved me, Void. And you too, Orunkaim-san."

Void chuckled darkly. "Heh, you should really come visit Elva. I’ll show you around—you can learn how to handle women in the slums."

"Eh? From who? Aren’t you going to teach me yourself?"

Void responded as if it was the most natural thing in the world. With a straight face.

"In Elva, if you take one step into an alley from the tourist district, you’ll find plenty of women making a living in that line of work. There’s even a guild for them. Most of them are good-natured, though there are a few who’d trick you and squeeze you dry."

"Wh—!? N-no, I… I’m still training… I’m not… that…" Oujin stammered.

Void clapped him on the back.

"Well, don’t worry. Those types usually get kicked out by the slum bosses and the brothel guild."

"T-that’s not really the problem here…" Oujin muttered.

"But yeah, for Eremia, that might still be a bit too—"

Miku suddenly jumped in between me and Void.

"El-tan isn’t allowed~! If he plays around in places like that, he’ll turn into a no-good delinquent like Void~! Besides, El-tan already has me~!"

"Stop hugging me! And don’t—don’t bring your lips so close! What the hell are you trying to do!?"

Flustered, I hastily set down my tray on the table and, as usual, grabbed Miku’s face and pushed her away.

"If someone’s going to steal El-tan away, then I have to claim him first~! Especially before an older woman like Lili-chan~!"

"Lili has nothing to do with this! Stop saying weird things!"

She was just my disciple. Well, right now, I was practically her disciple instead.

Ghh… She’s persistent today. Oh, I see. The usual person who stops her isn’t around yet.

"Just a little! I just want to suck a little bit—!"

"Suck what!? Stop it, that’s terrifying! Hey, Void! Hurry up and help me!"

"Ah—?"

Void looked down at us with an utterly disinterested expression.

Miku glared up at him like an angry cat, as usual.

"What? You planning to get in the way again?"

But surprisingly, Void just yawned and shrugged.

As if to say he couldn’t care less.

"Nah, do what you want. —Sorry, Eremia, but that stray cat’s more than I can handle. Besides, doesn’t seem like she’s gonna eat you or anything. Just let her be for now."

"H-hey…!"

That’s… different from usual.

Miku noticed it too. She looked taken aback, openly suspicious as she questioned Void.

"Huh? You not interfering in my love story with El-tan? That’s rare. You sick? Did you hit your head in the Homunculus battle?"

"Maybe."

The wariness, the hostility Void usually showed toward Miku—it was completely gone. Before, it had always been obvious.

Did something change after the Homunculus battle? Maybe a sense of camaraderie was starting to form?

Miku murmured, still bewildered.

"Hmmm? You’re unusually cooperative today…"

What’s going on? Damn it, Void, you traitor.

I glared up at him with resentment.

"You just got tired of dealing with her, didn’t you!? Wait, did Miku bribe you!? How much!?"

Void smirked. "Heh, pretty fancy word for a kid—'bribe,' huh? —Anyway, let’s just eat already. What the hell did you two even come to the cafeteria for?"

Void turned his back on us and started walking toward the counter.

I shouted after him, full of resentment.

"Don’t change the subject!"

"Hahaha! Caught me, huh? Well, I just realized…

There’s no need."

Miku, Oujin, and I all tilted our heads in confusion.

"What do you mean? I don’t get it at all."

"Me neither—oh! Does this mean I got the ‘please take care of my son’ approval!?"

"Like hell it does!"

Squad One, Team Three. It was a good thing that our party was becoming more peaceful. Better teamwork, smoother coordination.

But. Ah, but.

Something felt off. Maybe it was just intuition, but it was the kind of intuition I had honed on the battlefield. The kind that had saved my life many times. Of course, I’d also had my fair share of false alarms.

Void and Miku. There was some kind of conflict between them. And right now, at this moment, something had changed.

…For the worse.