To love a sword

Chapter 44: Heavy Snow Part 2

Beta read by Shigiya, Paragon of Awesomeness and FabledLife

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-Sainan, Yuuki Household-

In Yui's eyes, this right here was a true battlefield.

There were far more people at this Christmas party than she ever expected. Several of them were people she knew from school, while the rest she had never met before. Furthermore, they all clearly had a close relationship with Emiya!

Feeling overwhelmed by the overall atmosphere, the girl decided to retreat somewhere a bit less chaotic and thus went outside to the backyard garden. Taking a seat on the porch, Yui let out a deep sigh and tried to calm down.

"This was a mistake... I should just go back home after... an hour should be long enough."

If she were to leave right now, then it would send the wrong message and have Emiya misunderstand her. How could the girl even explain to him that she came here under the expectation of it just being a small party where it was going to be his family, the alien princesses, and herself, with perhaps two or three other people joining them?

"Planning to go home so soon? That's a bad idea, you'll miss out on so much."

"Ah!"

Startled by the voice coming from beside her, Yui looked to the side and realized that she had completely missed this person who'd sat down right beside her! Looking over at them, the first thing she saw was dark blonde hair, along with the girl it was attached to, sucking on a lollipop.

"R-Risa?"

"Yep, surprised to see me, Yui?" she replied with a mischievous tone. Unlike her school uniform, the dark-haired girl was used to seeing, Yui's schoolmate now wore something more casual yet quite provocative. A simple tank top that exposed her midriff and some short jean shorts, which left her legs bare from ankle to mid-thigh. Before she could even shout at how shameless Risa looked, another thought filled Yui's mind, and she decided to switch tracks.

"Aren't you cold?"

It was well into the winter season, and the temperature continued to drop every passing day.

"Eh? You didn't notice? Lala added a device of hers to the house that regulates the temperature in the backyard so that it stays warm enough to still be comfortable, no matter what you wear. That's why it's not freezing out here."

Now that she mentioned it, Yui did take notice of how different the temperature outside was compared to when she'd been coming over with Momo.

'She really is quite amazing to be able to make such things. And I can barely keep those idiot perverts at school under control even on my best days.'

The difference between them was just not fair, even aside from this little tidbit. One just happened to be an alien princess who they recently discovered was part of a royal family that controlled basically the entire galaxy. As for herself... Well, she was as normal a girl as they came.

"Are you suddenly thinking that it's unfair how amazing Lala is and how you can't compete with her?" Risa asked with a soft, knowing smile, those words stunning Yui, who felt goosebumps spread across her skin as she immediately backed away from the girl. "Yep, your reaction just confirmed it."

"Y-You tricked me!"

Risa shrugged. "Hey now, you're the one who is easy to read. Your expression alone says everything. And don't worry, I won't blab to anyone. I recognize that look all too well; I see it every time I look in the mirror," she paused and cringed at herself a bit. "Shit, that sounded more corny, and then I wanted it to. Let me take that back and come up with something less cheesy."