Chapter 141: Old Tan Xue Nai

That battle had been exceptionally brutal for Ephnel, who was synchronizing for the first time.

Many people died, and Ephnel was seriously injured before she managed to deal with the Erosion Organism.

As Ephnel sat in the ruins, wiping away her tears in a sorry state, it was Futaba Eri who was the first to arrive, covering Ephnel with her clothes and calling for rescue.

At the same time, Ephnel’s gender at that time, as well as her identity, were exposed.

A lot happened after that.

Futaba Eri came to her and offered to take care of the injured Ephnel, but she refused.

In the end, Ephnel voluntarily left the university, devoted herself entirely to her work as an Agent, and completely cut off all contact with her former classmates.

At that time, Ephnel had almost erased everything related to “Yanase Naoto.”

Since then, Ephnel had never seen Futaba Eri again.

Ephnel didn’t harbor any particular feelings for Futaba Eri.

She was just surprised to see Futaba Eri, who lived in the southern district, here, and the encounter had simply reminded her of her regrettable and brief university days.

But the expression that this faint sentiment revealed, when seen through Yukina’s eyes, immediately took on a different meaning.

“You don’t know if you can be considered friends?”

Yukina repeated Ephnel’s words sourly, and another scene immediately unfolded in her mind—Ephnel and Futaba Eri once had a tragic past. More than friends, but not yet lovers. A budding romance that had to be cut short as they went their separate ways. A fluttering heart that came to nothing. Today, they met again after a long separation, their gazes crossing the sea of people but never truly meeting again, a thousand words turning into a single soft sigh.

—Although it was a very simple romance novel plot, it seemed so similar to Naoko’s current appearance.

Yukina clutched the corner of her clothes tightly, the sourness reaching the bottom of her heart.

She took a deep breath and spoke in a leisurely tone.

“Naoko…”

“Hm?”

Suddenly realizing that Yukina’s tone was a bit off, Ephnel looked up, only to see her gaze filled with deep resentment.

Yukina stared at her with an inexplicable intensity, her cheeks puffed out, looking just like… a pufferfish?

Although she had never seen one in person, Ephnel had seen that type of fish in some books.

Even though it felt strange, it was also strangely cute.

Maybe she could find one if they ever went to an aquarium.

But the current situation didn’t seem to allow Ephnel to recall the specific characteristics of a pufferfish in detail.

Her dear sister, Yukina, seemed a little unhappy.

Her eyebrows were raised, and she suddenly brought her face extremely close, their noses almost touching, and said loudly, “That nurse from before, and this girl too! Just how many girls have you been hitting on in the time I didn’t know about!?”

“Eh?”

Ephnel was stunned.

What was this? Hitting on? What girls? How come she didn’t know about it herself?

Then, looking at Yukina’s jealous expression, she was dazed for a moment before she finally understood.

“Wait, n-no! It’s not what you think, Yukina! Let me explain…”

“I’m not listening, you idiot! Idiot sister!”

Yukina tilted her head up and to the side, huffing indignantly.

Ephnel didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and quickly tried to explain.

But explaining now, what was the difference from making an excuse after the fact?

Of course, Yukina wouldn’t accept it so easily.

Only the female driver glanced strangely at the two sisters in the rearview mirror, her face full of bewilderment.

“Youth, it’s really something…”

The little incident in the taxi had long since passed.

The two sisters returned to their residential complex, and then to their home.

“It’s still more comfortable at home…”

“Alright, go and sit down.”

Returning home after a long time, before Ephnel could even take in the familiar and warm atmosphere, she was half-pushed onto the sofa.

Yukina took out the medicine box from the suitcase and placed it on the coffee table.

“Sis, you sit here and rest. I’ll go do the laundry, and since no one has been home for a few days, I’ll tidy up a bit.”

She gently placed a kiss on the corner of Ephnel’s lips.

“Mm…”

Ephnel smiled, looking back at Yukina.

Their conversation made Yukina inexplicably think of a “husband returning home from work, and a wife taking care of the house,” and she unconsciously averted her gaze.

“It’s okay. Naoko has always done these things. Let me do it today.”

Ephnel hadn’t recovered to the point where she could move freely.

Although her body had recovered a little, it was only to a “barely-able-to-manage” extent.

On the car ride back from the hospital, Ephnel had gradually started to feel the pain in her wounds again.

Yukina had probably noticed her unconsciously clutching her wounds, which was why she had told her to rest as soon as they got back.

So Yukina took over the housework.

She pushed open the windows, turned on the ventilation fan, and began to tidy up the home that had been empty for a few days.

Ephnel watched in silence and sighed.

After being away for a few days, the house seemed a little deserted.

She didn’t know if it was because her parents had left, or because the temperature had gradually dropped.

After autumn set in, a simple rain shower could bring a sharp drop in temperature of more than ten degrees.

The day before she was hospitalized, it still felt like summer, but when she was discharged, she already needed to add a jacket.

Even though the sun was still shining outside, it didn’t feel warm at all.

Time passed so quickly, Ephnel couldn’t help but feel a little emotional, as if she had just taken a nap in the hospital and had a dream.

After waking up from the dream, she had to return to reality.

Just then, her phone suddenly rang.

Ephnel picked it up suspiciously, glanced at the caller ID, and saw that it was a call from Masaki Hinaki.

She pursed her lips slightly and pressed the answer button.

“This is Ephnel.”

It took Yukina a while to give the house a simple cleaning.

After airing out for a bit, the home, which had been empty for a few days, felt a little more lively and warm.

Yukina washed the cups, started to heat some water, then went to the suitcase and began to organize it.

The suitcase was still stuffed with clothes from the hospital.

Most of them were clean and dry, but some hadn’t had time to dry yet.

These were the undergarments Ephnel had changed out of after her dressing change this morning, filled with the unique smell of medicine from the hospital.

Taking advantage of the bright sun outside, Yukina took out the clean clothes from the suitcase, folded them neatly, and put them away.

She took the unwashed clothes to the balcony.

There were two washing machines, one large and one small.

One was for washing jackets and other clothes, and the other was specifically for underwear, with a disinfection and warm water function, as well as a special detergent for undergarments.

After doing this, she ran to the kitchen.

She opened the refrigerator door and began to take out some vegetables that were no longer fresh and threw them in the trash.

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