Even though it's summer, Acheron and Vera, who usually like wearing long sleeves and long pants, were at this moment unusually wearing swimsuits, with large areas of snow-white skin and long, slender legs exposed.
What shocked Emiya the most was Vera. The little bean sprout from before had already grown to a height of 1.6 meters.
These two peerless beauties, one tall and one small, slid straight into the hot spring under Emiya's dumbstruck gaze.
The private hot spring in the room was less than three meters in diameter, and removing the corners made it even smaller. At this moment, Emiya could even feel the warm breath exhaled by Acheron.
The stimulation was too much to bear. In order not to get so excited he'd drop dead on the spot, and also to hide a certain abnormal part of his body, Emiya hurriedly drew back his legs that had been stretched straight out.
But in the process he happened to touch Acheron, and the silky-smooth feeling of her skin transmitted over. Emiya felt like his head was about to explode.
"Lord Emiya, I'll wipe your nosebleed for you." Vera, being considerate, took the towel from her head, wanting to wipe Emiya, but she scared him so much that he flew into the corner as if escaping for his life.
"What exactly are you two trying to do? This could kill a man, in every possible sense!" Emiya turned his back on them, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Hmph, it's just soaking in a hot spring, it's not like we're not wearing clothes!" Acheron's face was crimson, her lips bitten, showing a disdainful expression.
"Didn't expect that you, who usually looks like a proper gentleman, actually have so many filthy thoughts inside!"
"I damn well am a proper gentleman, not some sainted monk! Did you come here on purpose just to drive me insane?!"
"Lady Acheron has something in her heart she wants to tell Lord Emiya." Vera gently pushed Acheron forward.
"Lady Acheron, do you want me to step aside?"
"No, no! You stay here!" Acheron quickly grabbed Vera. It was just too embarrassing, without Vera to back her up, Acheron felt she absolutely wouldn't be able to do it.
"Emiya, turn around."
"There are bathrobes by the side of the room, put one on first before talking!"
"I already put one on, I'm sitting by the edge. Hurry and turn around to talk, I'm a little cold."
Acheron casually brushed her loose hair back behind her ear, hugged her knees tightly, and looked at Emiya. Her face was full of anger and shyness. "You bastard, don't let your eyes wander around! I'm shy too!"
"Mm, go ahead." Emiya tilted his head high, staring at the starry sky.
"Bow your head down! Who talks to people like this!" Acheron bit her lip, her face bright red, and released a spark of electricity that jolted Emiya's whole body.
"What exactly do you want from me? You're the one who won't let me look, and the one who wants me to look too!" Emiya was getting fired up too.
"Emiya, thank you."
"Huh?" The topic shifted so fast that Emiya's brain couldn't keep up. What was going on here?
"If I hadn't met you, I'd probably have already been lost to nothingness by now!"
Acheron didn't need Emiya's reply and continued on her own, "It was you who let me savor the sweetness of food, who let me experience the joys of ordinary people. You're also the first one who's ever cherished me wholeheartedly."
"Wait a second."
"Emiya, I..."
"I said wait a second, let me speak first!" Emiya forcefully cut Acheron off. He couldn't allow her to say those three words, otherwise he really wouldn't be able to hold himself back.
To say he didn't feel anything for Acheron would be a lie. From the very first moment he saw her standing atop a mountain of corpses and sea of blood, Emiya had branded her into his heart.
But now wasn't the time. If they rashly advanced their relationship, it would create a weakness. Their enemies were already far too strong.
If those enemies seized upon such a weakness, it might be impossible for them to ever rise again.
At least until the annihilation of the Void Star God, Emiya and Acheron could only remain comrades-in-arms.
"Acheron, you know far too little about me. The road ahead for us is still long. I want you to observe more. When we both have the strength to make our own choices, I will respond to your feelings."
"Why wait? I'm very sure of my own feelings! Or are you worried that in the future you won't be able to stop yourself from changing your heart?!" Acheron jumped into the hot spring, tightly seizing Emiya and demanding.
"Acheron, I believe you. You have to believe me too."
For the first time, Emiya didn't avoid it. He stretched out his hands and pulled Acheron into his embrace. "I promise you, even in life or death, even if the world ends, we will be each other's final destination."
"Mm!" Acheron wrapped her arms tightly around Emiya's neck, her heart pounding wildly. But still, she gathered her courage and gave him a soft, light peck on the cheek.
Already in an agitated state, Emiya's body temperature shot up from the stimulation. His breathing quickened, and he almost lost control to his instincts, until Acheron's faint voice instantly snapped him awake.
"Emiya, there seems to be something poking me inside your clothes..."
"Pffft! Where the hell did you two dig up such a pair of pure, innocent boy and girl?!" Vera, squatting behind the door watching the whole scene, couldn't hold back and sprayed out a mouthful of soda water, angrily crushing the bottle into pieces.
———
After this day, Acheron's heart finally settled completely, and her behavior became even bolder.
Not only did she happily pick up aluminum cans in the streets and alleys every day, she often hijacked time meant for group outings, dragging Emiya and Vera along to be scavengers with her.
As spring turned to summer again, after all of Emiya and Acheron's hard work, the family's savings finally became plentiful.
Emiya deliberately took a long vacation and brought everyone along to visit Acheron's favorite blogger, You Pi.
In the country of Azure Star, with its vaster and richer lands, and under the guidance of You Pi, an experienced scavenger veteran, Acheron's smile never once faded each day.
They went together to rummage through supermarket dumpsters, pick vegetables and fruit at the market, catch oysters and lobsters at the seashore, and eat hotpot cheese at the foot of Mount Beis.
They thought life would just continue on so leisurely, but Emiya's bad karma from doing shady things arrived ahead of schedule.
That day, Emiya received a welfare mission called "staged accident scam." He only needed to time it right, run under a car's wheel, lie down, then put on an acting performance to extort 100,000 yen in cash.
One staged accident mission gave 20 base task points, plus one-thousandth of the extorted amount. The cash was calculated according to the yen exchange rate, with a max limit of 100,000 yen.
Base points plus the bonus came to a total of 120 mission points, equivalent to working two jobs every day for thirty days straight. You could say this staged accident mission was a must-do fat deal.
Emiya's strong physique gave him a natural advantage, he could let a car actually run over him, then howl in agony begging for help. So far, his success rate was 100%.
The only pitfall was that the mission required showing his face, and Emiya's face was far too recognizable. To avoid being identified, every time he did the job, Emiya had to travel to a distant city, and he also had to seek out foreigners whenever possible.
As usual, after arriving at the predetermined city, Emiya went straight to squat outside a luxury auction house.
Most people here drove luxury cars and were loaded with cash. To them, 100,000 yen wasn't even pocket money, making extortion both easier and guilt-free.
By sheer coincidence, Kafka had seen this auction online. She was attending to bid on a master's exquisite luxury coat.
With her striking looks and aura, she was quickly chosen by Emiya as a big fat sheep to target.
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