Flo And Annise's Situation

――Meanwhile, at the same time Sid was locked in a deadly struggle with Sobra in a Shadow battle.

――In the Royal Capital.

“Hah, hah… Miss Annise, I’m so sorry I’m late!”

“No, no—it’s five minutes before the meeting time, and I just got here too, so don’t worry about it~”

A circular plaza with a fountain set in the center.

The one who ran into the plaza, a landmark beloved by the capital’s citizens as a meeting spot, was The Seventh Stigmata of the Knights of the Stigmata—Florence Cuticle—Flo.

Waving cheerfully at Flo was her colleague, The Sixth Stigmata—Annise Redby.

Even though she’d reportedly been waiting an hour before the agreed time, she wore a bright, fresh smile.

“Seriously, Flo, your plain clothes are way too cute!”

“R-really…? I usually wear the church-issued clothes even on my days off, so I don’t really know…”

Flo’s outfit—a pure white dress cinched at the waist with a belt—emphasized her neatness and delicate frame.

――Slurp.

Annise, who liked younger girls (a lolicon) and was a full-on lesbian, wiped the drool at her mouth with a chop of her hand, at assassin-like speed.

The hand-chop was absurdly fast.

Flo didn’t notice Annise’s drool.

As for why the two of them were meeting like this in plain clothes――

“Thanks so much for coming out with me today. I was really looking forward to hanging out with you, Flo.”

――Their days off happened to coincide, and it was Annise who invited Flo out to play.

Flo had once turned down Annise’s invitation because she was planning to visit the orphanage.

Feeling guilty about that, Flo accepted Annise’s proposal.

Incidentally, playful Annise was interpreting the outing completely as a date.

“So first let’s go eat. I know a place with delicious pancakes.”

Annise took Flo’s arm and left the plaza.

As they walked the capital’s streets, matching Flo’s small steps, Annise noticed Flo nervously poking at her hair as if she was worried about it.

“By the way, did you braid your hair today?”

“Y-yes… um, I don’t have much experience hanging out with people on days off… I don’t really know about fashion… I tried to copy a hairstyle that Lady Sheena once braided for me—how is it?”

“(Ugh… so cute…)”

Flo looked up at Annise with an upward glance.

Today’s Flo wasn’t in her usual straight hair; she had taken sections from each side, braided them, and tied them together at the back of her head.

“It’s fine—it suits you ridiculously well.”

“G-glad to hear it. Actually, it didn’t go smoothly at first, and that’s why I was late.”

“I’m just happy you dressed up to meet me.”

Annise, who usually flitted from sister to sister, offered Flo the same kind of reassurance she gave them.

But every one of those words to Flo came from her true feelings.

“Miss Annise, your plain clothes are cool and lovely too, I think.”

“Really? Ahh, hearing that from you, Flo, makes me happy~”

Annise’s outfit was a white blouse with a black vest over it, paired with riding trousers.

“(Dressing like this really gets the girls, huh~)”

Combined with her androgynous features, she looked like a handsome woman in men’s attire.

“By the way, I recently heard that Flo lives with Senior Sheena, right?”

“Yes. I lost my mother when I was two, and since then Lady Sheena has raised me up to this point.”

“That’s surprising~. I can’t picture that strict senior taking care of baby Flo at all.”

“Heh. Not at all. Lady Sheena is kind and she’s very good at cooking.”

“No way~. I only remember Senior Sheena scolding me.”

Even beauty-loving Annise felt uneasy around Sheena.

At the very least, she couldn’t imagine Sheena tying up Flo’s hair for her.

“(Well, I do like seeing those cool-type beauties being allowed to go wild by someone younger in bed and getting all disheveled like a kitten.)”

After that chit-chat, the two arrived at their destination.

A stylish cafe whose signature dish was pancakes.

The exterior was stone, but the inside had a warm, log-cabin feel, and a waitress guided them to their table.

“I-I’ve never been to a place like this… I don’t know what to order…”

“Don’t worry. At times like this, the standard vanilla cream is my recommendation.”

Annise, practiced at this, called the waitress and placed the order for Flo, who was flustered.

The chic, girl-appealing interior—Annise often used this place when she was flirting with sisters, so she moved through it as if she knew it by heart.

She also liked that sugary pastries, heavy on butter and sugar, were priced beyond the easy reach of low-ranking sisters’ pay, so it was unlikely she’d bump into another sister there during a date.

It was all thanks to the high pay of the Knights of the Stigmata, whose salaries were at the bishop-class level.

“Wow, it looks so delicious…!”

Soon the ordered pancakes arrived.

Flo offered a prayer before the meal, then put a pancake into her small mouth with a “mogu mogu”—a munching sound that practically begged to be written.

Annise found that sight adorable.

“(Ah, damn, it’s unfair how cute she is no matter what she does…)”

Annise, with her signature line, “Flo, want to try a bite of my pancake?”, casually offered a bite of her chocolate-sauce pancake and accepted a bite of Flo’s vanilla-cream pancake in return—executing the “aahn & indirect kiss” tactic as she thoroughly enjoyed her date with the beautiful girl.