The next day.
Shirou, brushing his teeth in the bathroom, looked at Ikki, who had already finished getting ready, with a questioning gaze. "I remember you were chatting with your sister for a long time last night, weren't you?"
"Why are you up so early today?"
Hearing Shirou's question, Ikki slowly replied, "Just to avoid making Shizuku wait impatiently!"
"Is that so?" Looking at Ikki's calm demeanor, Shirou felt an odd sense of unease.
He felt somewhat restless. Then, remembering something, he quickly looked at his Divine Blessing. Seeing Loki's blessing flickering continuously on it, Shirou instantly understood. This guy, as expected, had something up his sleeve. He was secretly plotting something unsavory.
Thinking this, Shirou couldn't help but smile. "Playing
games with me, huh? I'd like to see how capable you are!"
"So, are you ready?"
"Almost, almost."
"Alright, once you're ready, we can meet up and then go for breakfast!"
"Just a moment!" Changing into casual clothes and getting ready, Shirou followed Ikki out. He didn't care about Ikki's little tricks at all. However, Ikki's brazenness only lasted for a short while. After everyone gathered, Shirou instantly backed down.
Before him, Stella, dressed incredibly beautifully, smiled at him and said, "Good morning, Shirou!"
"Good morning, Stella, your beauty today surpasses all others!"
"This must have been designed by Alice, right?" Shirou said with a smile, then looked towards Arisu Nagi, though his gaze this time was full of danger.
"You traitor!" Shirou silently conveyed to Arisu Nagi with his eyes.
"I can't help it!" Facing Shirou's reproach, Arisu Nagi shrugged and replied with his eyes. At this moment, Shirou understood that Stella was about to lay her cards on the table. Facing this situation, Shirou was quite helpless. He had sensed Stella's feelings for him in his daily life. But he couldn't reciprocate them now. He was currently constantly traveling to various worlds to improve his strength. Each world presented different dangers. He might accidentally die somewhere; he was mentally prepared for all of this. Precisely because of this, he couldn't reciprocate her feelings.
At the same time, he was a person from another world, and this place was not his ultimate destination. No matter how long he stayed here, he would eventually have to leave. But Stella's goal of becoming stronger was precisely to protect her own country. If such feelings were to form, she would undoubtedly suffer greatly afterward.
Furthermore, the most important thing was that in the DanMachi world, there were others waiting for him. Ais, Riveria, Lefiya. He hadn't yet untangled the karmic ties he had left in other worlds, so how could he possibly get involved with anyone else? Therefore, he couldn't reciprocate Stella's feelings at this time.
________________________________________
After meeting up with Ayase, Shirou and the group of six went to a breakfast diner. After the meal, led by Arisu, who had prepared beforehand, they walked towards the indoor swimming pool at the sports complex near the school.
On the way, Ikki continuously chatted with Ayase, creating a private space for Shirou and Stella. After all, Stella had previously told him that Ayase had ill intentions towards Shirou and asked him to keep her occupied. Thus, he could only continuously discuss various martial arts-related knowledge with Ayase.
Behind the two of them were Shizuku and Arisu Nagi, good friends. The two chatted about various makeup products while intentionally and unintentionally blocking the space between Ayase and the last two, preventing her from impulsively rushing over.
The ones trailing at the very back were Shirou and Stella. Normally, the two should have been somewhat silent, with nothing to say to each other. However, the situation at the back was completely different from everyone's expectations. Shirou was continuously narrating various cooking methods, the heating and ingredients of various dishes, and so on. This made Stella, who was initially shy and didn't know what to say, now completely absorbed in thoughts of green onions, ginger, garlic, salt, and other seasonings. Her entire mind was hazy from listening.
Although Stella herself could cook, her skill level was nowhere near Shirou's. Many simple problems in Shirou's eyes were incredibly complicated in hers. Just listening to the theory alone was headache-inducing. At this moment, she had completely fallen into Shirou's trap. She was now unable to steer the conversation back to romance, to the point that the atmosphere between them gradually became filled with the aroma of everyday life.
This scene utterly depressed Stella's teammates ahead. A perfectly good romantic atmosphere just disappeared like that? "You're useless, Stella!"
Before long, everyone arrived at the sports complex. After a period of preparation, everyone gradually emerged from the changing rooms in their swimsuits.
Looking at the three beautiful girls (not including Arisu) in their swimsuits, the two gentlemen (not including Arisu) on the side couldn't help but have their eyes light up. What a feast for the eyes!
"How do I look, Brother? Does my swimsuit look good?"
"Of course it does! As expected of Shizuku!" Hearing Shirou's compliment, Shizuku laughed happily. Just then, Arisu Nagi suddenly darted in front of Ikki and said, "Ikki, what do you think of my swimsuit?"
Looking at Arisu Nagi, who was acting incredibly coquettish, Ikki immediately kicked him into the water.
"Get lost!"
"That's right, that's right!" Shirou, seeing this, also shouted loudly. After all, this guy was truly a bit disgusting!
After some splashing around, everyone gradually calmed down. Ikki began to teach Ayase methods of training, while the others gradually dispersed. Thus, Shirou and Stella, through various 'coincidences', eventually found themselves together.
After some playtime, the two sat by the pool and started chatting. "Speaking of which, I haven't asked for your opinion yet, Shirou. Do you think my swimsuit looks good?"
"Of course, it looks great!" Looking at the beautiful Stella beside him, Shirou praised directly, "Stella today is as beautiful as ever, just like everyday Stella!"
"Is... is that so!" Hearing the direct compliment, Stella couldn't help but blush again. Just as she was too shy to say anything, Shirou suddenly gasped.
"Hmph, are those two really that straightforward?"
Following Shirou's gaze, Stella then saw Ikki and Shizuku embracing and kissing. Watching this scene, Stella's heart began to pound rapidly. She really wanted to kiss Shirou like that.
With that thought, Stella mustered her courage and looked at Shirou, shyly saying, "There's something I want to tell you, Shirou!"
"Tell me, I'm listening!"
"I want to be, with Shirou, like, Ikki and Shizuku, like... siblings."
"You can!"
"Huh?" Stella, who hadn't finished her confession, looked at Shirou, who agreed instantly, and asked in surprise,
"Really?"
"Of course!"
"That's great, then Shirou and I are..."
"Siblings!"
"Having a sister like Stella would also be a wonderful experience!"
"Huh??? "
Stella stared blankly ahead, not knowing what to say.
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--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter