Chihiro changed the newly bought sheets of the bed, straightened up the wrinkles, and nodded.

The dirt stood out until now, and the sheets that they utilized with the excuse that it is better than sleeping directly on the bed are now new, and the beautiful pure white cloth looked dazzling.

The blanket is also new now. It is still rough for winter, but it is worlds apart from the flimsy blanket of before that was pretty much just a scrap of cloth.

The bed itself is a pipe bed. There were visible rusted parts, and it is old to the point that there’s no springs, but it is hidden by the sheets, so there’s no need to worry about it.

“I thought it was all over with the raid of Tsuyoshi, but…to think it would turn out like this.” (Chihiro)

A base where only Lanpeach can fight.

She was thinking about somehow bringing back the people that escaped while it was still winter to increase their forces, and yet, it turned into an unexpected result.

Chihiro was doubting that maybe yesterday was all a dream.

But it is not a dream, it is reality.

Lanpeach saved Chihiro with his life and wiped out Tsuyoshi and his group with overwhelming force.

It was a merciless response.

He killed his former comrades without even heeding their pleading. Chihiro herself also felt no pity towards the deaths of her former comrades.

They not only stole the money and things of the base, they took Chihiro hostage, and tried to steal the base, so not only was there no pity, she even felt they got what they deserved.

Chihiro thought Lanpeach was someone with no blood or tears with that cruel way of dealing with things, but he saved Chihiro, and has saved the children with his generous pocket money. Prepared a place to live in, granted them food, and moved them away from danger.

You can see a cold side and a kind side to him, but they are so extreme. She couldn’t see any middle point, so she couldn’t understand the personality of Lanpeach.

What she could understand was that Lanpeach is clearly different from before.

“Which one is the true Lan…? Also, what organization has Lan gotten connected with? Just what happened to Lan?” (Chihiro)

There’s no end to her questions. As for what was the trigger…

“That strange potion? No, that’s not it. That basement was there a long time ago. It had so much dust collected, it didn’t look like anyone had come there for a long time. Also, the shelves were placed there randomly.” (Chihiro)

Lanpeach changed at the time when he drank the potion that was inside a basement peeking from the floor of an old abandoned building nearby.

The potion was covered in dust, but it seemed to be completely airtight, so the contents seemed to be fine.

What’s unbelievable is that Lanpeach misunderstood it for booze or something and drank it.

She remembered that soon after, he looked like his head hurt and didn’t look well. But he would simply become stronger if he got a strange power.

You can’t obtain stuff like Artificial Spirits.

The conclusion was that she really doesn’t know.

Even so, the current Lanpeach is far better than the past one.

The past Lanpeach would torment the weak, monopolize the cash, and think of his comrades as sacrificial pawns.

As for the test of Yuuma, the past Lanpeach would have beaten him up till death’s door, and thrown him away.

The friends Yuuma brought would have either starved to death or frozen to death. They would have turned into corpses you would find often in the slums.

“Blanket~, blanket~, warm warm warm blanket~.”

He at the very least wouldn’t protect children -is what she thought as she looked with a smile at the little girl singing with glee, sitting on the bed and wrapping herself up with the blanket.

It is the child that has grown attached to Lanpeach and calls him papa.

The past Lanpeach wouldn’t have given her the light of the day. He would have kicked her and chased her out. The small, young, and weak child, Koume.

“Papa-shan’s blanket is warm, Chihiro-neetan. So coshi~.” (Koume)

“Kyu kyu.”

Koume was so happy about being wrapped up in the blanket of Papa-shan and sang a song. She is practicing to sing it for Papa-shan.

She has also brought a Rabbit-chan with her.

She swayed her body and sang together with the Rabbit-chan sitting by her side.

“Am I good at shinging~, Chihiro-neetan?” (Koume)

“I am sure Papa will be happy. Also, you can call me Chihiro-mama.” (Chihiro)

“Mama?” (Koume)

“That’s right, mama. Chihiro-mama. If Lan is your papa, I am your mama.” (Chihiro)

Chihiro was finding any moment to deepen her relationship with Lanpeach.

If Koume calls Lanpeach papa when there’s people around, and Chihiro as mama, the people around will think that’s the kind of relationship they have.

Lanpeach will become stronger from here on and earn money. There’s no way the women around would leave him be when that happens.

There’s no way for Chihiro to win when she is just a girl with no special skills. And so, she was scheming to make it look like they are in a romantic relationship.

Chihiro gently patted Koume’s head.

Koume stared at Chihiro, mumbled ‘Mama-shan’, went fumumu, and said bluntly…

“Chihiro-neetan ish not mama. Mama-shan has big breashts! Uhm, boing boing?” (Koume)

Children are cruel sometimes. She tilted her head and honestly told Chihiro her weak point.

“I have to investigate who was the one who taught you that condition…” (Chihiro)

Chihiro sighed, thinking ‘it seems like it won’t be possible to use Koume’…

“Gymnastics to increase bust size… No, there’s also the option of asking Lan to help me do gymnastics to make them bigger…” (Chihiro)

Chihiro thought of a new plan without losing drive, and did a suppressed laugh.

She couldn’t afford having the position of Lanpeach’s lover be taken. He is an important subject to earn money from here on after all.

Chihiro came to a conclusion with calculating demeanor.

That’s all there is to it. She can’t afford to separate from Lanpeach for the sake of a good lifestyle.

“Chihiro-neetan, your cheeks are red~. Right, Rabbit-tan?” (Koume)

“Kyu kyu.”

Chihiro faced away at the innocent words of Koume.

“It is because Lan earns money. That’s…that’s right… That’s how it is…” (Chihiro)

Chihiro mumbled this, not telling anyone in particular, as she covered her face as if hiding her cheeks.

◇◇

The Lanpeach Complex is currently under maintenance.

The Taraworkers are currently working without rest, and the electric cables and water system are being repaired. That goes for the cracks of the building walls as well, and even the holes are being closed. The run-down building is returning swiftly to its former splendid appearance to the point that it wouldn’t be strange for that to happen after winter is over.

What’s being prioritized in the repairs are the room of Lanpeach and the upper floors where the children of the team are living.

Humans are dependent on their environment.

Just a few days ago, they were living in a place full of trash and covered in dirt, and yet, the moment the walls were being repaired and things were getting cleaner, they began to catch sight of the dirtiness.

Especially the big room where they live. If it is going to become the place where they will sleep in their new beds, if it is the place where they are going to be living safely from here on, they will be even more conscious about it.

Yuuma and his group were also within those. Once the pieces of rubble began to stand out as the floor got cleaner and their clothes got cleaner, they suddenly began to get bothered by dirty spots and began to clean.

But there wasn’t anyone who was making a displeased face. Everyone was happily throwing the rubble outside and talking gleefully while working.

If they were in the nursery, they would have been reprimanded by the teacher for talking, but right now they are free. They also get proper food.

Even when working and feeling hungry, there’s food awaiting them to fill up their stomachs.

It is no longer cold rice and soup that was practically like water that wasn’t warmed up because the electricity bill would be too expensive.

Gadokurie lunch is synthetic food, but it is waiting for them to be eaten.

“There’s no rubble anymore? Nothing of monetary value either, right?”

“Yeah, this is all I guess.”

Yuuma and the others finished cleaning up the rubble and took a breather.

They were sweating a bit and wiped themselves up with towels to not catch a cold.

“Ooi, lunch is ready~. Cleaning groups come as well, come~.”

A friend of theirs came with lunch warmed with hot water.

Yuuma and the others raised their voices, saying ‘I am hungry’ and gathered in front of their friend. They grabbed their lunches and opened the lid.

Steam came out and the tasty smell tickled their noses. Their cheeks loosened unconsciously.

“Kyu kyu~.”

The rabbits that were sleeping at the corner noticed the scent of food and gathered with cute cries.

Their pure white fur is fluffy and their noses were twitching which was cute. They are big rabbits, but no one is bothered by it.

“W-Want to eat lunch as well? Want to eat this carrot?”

“Kyu kyu.”

They have never thought about giving food to animals until now. They had no leeway.

They would scavenge for food scraps and would gather in back alleys to not get attacked, and would sleep while trembling.

But now there’s a whole lot of food and it is also safe.

They have the leeway to give food to the rabbits, so everyone felt that this alone already gave a palpable feeling of happiness.

“Is it true that these rabbits defeated the enemies?”

“Isn’t it a lie? No one saw them fight.”

One of the girls finished eating her lunch and stared at the rabbit that sat by her side.

A boy brought the spoon to his mouth and answered ‘there’s no way that’s a rabbit’.

“Right, they are this cute after all. Also, they are really warm.”

“Kyu kyu?”

The girl hugged the fluffy rabbit and rubbed her cheeks on it. The rabbit tilted its head, wondering what was going on here, and twitched its nose.

Everyone has been sleeping close to each other to endure the cold of winter.

Even when buying new futons, the cold of a snowy winter is rough, but when they tried to sleep together with the rabbits that were wandering around, their fur was really warm, and they managed to sleep in a comfortable temperature.

“Let’s sleep together today as well, Rabbit-chan.”

“Kyu.”

The rabbit made a face as if it didn’t understand anything going on and everyone’s faces loosened up.

“What should my shnack be today~? This one I guesh~.”

Koume entered the room after having finished eating first, put her hand inside the cardboard box that’s placed at a corner that has [Treasures of Koume] written on it, and brought out a small bag that has candies inside.

It is the candies that were given to everyone the other day.

Koume chose a big pack of candy sets, and Lanpeach gifted that to everyone.

Some are using them to exchange with the other residents of the slums. Some ate them all in one go before they were stolen. The self-proclaimed daughter of Lanpeach was eating them bit by bit.

She has never eaten sweets, so she was super happy here. She was holding an egg bolo.

“Want to eat too, Rabbit-tan?” (Koume)

“Kyu kyu!”

The rabbit following behind Koume smelled the egg bolo that Koume had on the palm of her hand and ate it.

“So Rabbit-chan eats egg bolo too~.”

Everyone’s cheeks loosened at the cute eating—

“What’s that kyu kyu-usa?! Usa will become this girl’s pet-usa!”

“I want that too-usa. Switch-usa yo.”

“I knew for sure this girl would give me sweets. I simply had the discerning eye-usa! I won’t fork over the egg bolo! Hey, don’t pull my whiskers-usa yo!”

The rabbits that should have been by their side crowded onto the rabbit that got egg bolo from Koume, and began to have an unsightly fight.

They began to pull their ears and tail, betraying their cute appearance.

“Eeh~, you could talk.”

“Speaking of which, I think I heard them talk yesterday as well…”

They made dry laughs, thinking how they were deceived by their ‘kyu kyu’.

“I also still have sweets.”

“Ah, I actually still have some.”

“Let’s eat! Uhm, this is chocolate, I guess?”

“Let’s have a snack time.”

“Kyu kyu.”

“No, acting that part is already pushing it at this point.”

Everyone began to eat snacks after seeing that chaotic sight.

They all smiled as if the dry ground in their hearts had obtained water and happiness had budded.

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