CHAPTER 42: THE START OF THE TRIPLE DATE.

Once everything was in place and the plan had been set into stone, Kentaro returned to the hotel and to his room, flopping face-first onto the bed with a muffled groan. His pillow caught most of the sound, but the stress in his body screamed louder.

"This was bad. No, this was catastrophic." He thought to himself

One date was survivable. Barely. He’d done that before; Serica by herself was enough to get him stressed a ton.

But now?

It wasn’t just one Alberline, there were two, and one of them he had only just met recently, so he had no idea what to expect.

Three girls. One clueless guy. And zero good options and a whole lot that could go wrong very quickly.

The only person he really knew kind of was Kira. Sure, he knew her; she was cold and overly tactical, but somewhere under all the attitude was a warm core. She’d shown that much to him.

She wasn’t scary... exactly.

"AH but Yura!" Kentaro cried out

Yura was a wildcard.

Sweet. Calm. Gentle from what he had learned so far. But if she ever found out he was seeing two other girls on the same day?

He honestly wasn’t sure what would happen.

Would she cry?

Disappear?

Drop-kick him into the sun? Detonate the island with a smile?

He didn’t know and he really didn’t want to find out.

His head sank deeper into the pillow, groaning again. "I’m so dead! Please have everything go smoothly."

Eventually, after a while, exhaustion took over. Sleep crept in slowly and wrapped around him like a weighted blanket of denial.

Meanwhile...

Deep in the forest, far from the resort, a ruined underground base thawed from its icy tomb. Its blast-blasted walls were barely standing, and the shattered remains of old Spire tech littered the ground like forgotten bones.

Most of the personnel had been frozen, scattered, or wiped out in the collapse. But somehow, someone had survived.

Kestrel.

He emerged from a collapsed chamber, bruised, bloody, limping, but alive. A torn oxygen mask dangled around his neck, and his hands trembled as he keyed a signal through his cracked headset.

"Mr. Reiden, sir..." he rasped. "I... apologise for the previous failure.

Please, allow me to continue the retrieval."

There was static.

Then a smooth, amused voice filtered through his ear.

"Well, well. Kestrel, alive after all. What a surprise."

Kestrel’s eyes widened. He knew that voice wasn’t Reiden’s.

Kestrel’s eyes narrowed. "...Mrs Cain?" His voice was more disappointed than excited

"Yes," she replied curtly. "But don’t worry. I’ll let Reiden know about your... little

plan. So carry on and make sure to be successful this time, don’t want you getting fired..."

The line was cut.

Kestrel spat through gritted teeth. "Damn that woman. How dare she talk to me like that? It wasn’t my fault that Ice-Breaker’s corruption turned out this way; a heads-up would have been appreciated!"

His breath rattled. His fingers twitched. But his eyes burned with purpose.

"No matter. I’ll succeed. I have to. I’ll finish what we started. I’ll take back the Ice-Breaker." His voice had confidence behind it, but deep down inside he wasn’t sure if this was going to work.

He limped deeper into the forest, toward the supply cache.

His mission wasn’t over.

Not yet...

*

"Pssst. Hey, Ken-boy."

Kentaro’s eyes cracked open.

A broad shadow loomed above him. Ripped arms. Brown hair. Smug grin.

"Oh God," he muttered, "Shogo?"

Shogo squatted next to his bed, hands clasped like a priest mid-sermon.

"Indeed, it is I, Sir Shogo," he whispered with theatrical flair. "Here to rouse you, oh drowsy prince, and escort you to your morning doom. It’s 8 A.M. Time to don your armor for the first date of your life!"

Kentaro groaned, covering his eyes. "Can’t Tenka just... buzz my room like a normal person?"

"Ah," Shogo said, nodding solemnly, "She could’ve. But you see, last night I was, how do I put this, violently ejected from the common bathroom.

Apparently, Commander-sama doesn’t appreciate when I try to shower at the same time as her."

He grinned as if reminiscing about a honeymoon.

"Ohhh, but if only she’d kicked me harder..."

"Okay, stop!" Kentaro said, sitting up, face half-disgusted, half-resigned. "You seriously crashed in my room?"

"Yup! Right on the floor next to you." Shogo gave a thumbs-up. "But don’t worry, I’m not into guys. You’re safe."

Kentaro just stared at him with worry.

"...I feel so reassured."

Shogo patted his shoulder like a therapist pretending to listen. "Take your five minutes, lover boy. But don’t take ten. Because if you’re late, Serica’s going to cry, Kira will start looking for patterns in your behaviour, and Yura? She might go full apocalypse mode."

Kentaro dropped back onto the bed and groaned again.

"This is really going to be the most stressful day of my life", Kentaro muttered to himself.

After dragging Kentaro out of bed, Shogo finally made his chaotic exit, mumbling something about needing to "restock his snacks" back on the ship.

Kentaro sighed, rubbing his face as he stood. His head was still foggy, and his stomach felt like it had been replaced with a blender.

Across the room, Tengen opened his eyes and began getting up. He got dressed pretty quickly, tying his shoes as if it were just another Tuesday.

"Yo, bro," he grinned. "I got all the details from Tenka last night. I swear on my life and on my honour as a man, this mission’s gonna be a success."

Kentaro smiled faintly, not sure how convincing Tengen sounded. "I’m counting on your distraction skills."

"Bro, you have no idea how distracting I can be," Tengen replied, punching his own palm like a man ready to improvise several crimes.

"The irony..." Kentaro thought to himself.

The two stepped into the hallway.

Then a voice crackled in Kentaro’s ear.

"Ken, you there?"

Kentaro leaned against the wall and muttered, "Shogo?"

"Yep. I’m your lead operator today. Tenka’s still buried in Yura’s registration forms and political clearances, so she’s dumped command to me."

There was chewing...

loud chewing...

"Also, Haruka says hi."

"Great..." Kentaro groaned. Anyone could tell by his tone that he had officially lost all hope for this mission.

"Right," Tengen said, turning down the hall. "I’ll head off to Kira’s area to keep her busy, no doubt she’s gonna start to look for you after a while. While I stall her, you slide into Serica’s room, which is room 86, the furthest end of the hotel."

"Got it," Kentaro nodded, nerves setting in like a cold sweat.

He made his way down the long, quiet corridor. Every step closer to Room 86 made his heartbeat louder in his ears. This was really happening. A full-blown, one-on-one date with Serica. Not some random outing. Not a team event. Just them.

They’d hung out before... but this was different. This was real.

He stopped in front of the door. The gold numbers glinted under the hallway light: Room 86.

Kentaro took a deep breath, composing himself so he doesn’t flunk out in the first minute.

Then.

Knock. Knock.

Almost instantly, the door swung open.

Serica stood there, beaming like he was a prize she’d just won. Her long, dark hair was loose today, falling over her shoulders. She wore a soft, cream-colored top and denim shorts. The sunlight behind her seemed to glow just for her.

"Oh my gosh! You’re here!" she shouted, practically leaping into his arms.

Kentaro caught her, a little stunned, but smiling all the same. "Whoa, you’re really excited for this, huh?"

Serica nodded eagerly, already grabbing her bag and then carefully locking the door behind her.

As they started walking down the hall, Kentaro heard something buzz in his ear.

"Mmmph, Okay, bro. She’s walking now, don’t forget to compliment her outfit!"

Shogo’s voice came through.

Muffled by food...

"Shogo," Kentaro hissed, "can you stop chewing in my ear?"

"Sorry, sorry. Haruka made these fried dumplings. Unreal. Focus up. Compliment her. Go."

Kentaro groaned as if he had any room to talk about ’focusing up.’ Serica had gotten a little ahead, humming to herself.

"Serica!" he called after her.

She turned, blinking. "Hm? Why aren’t you walking, Ken?"

He didn’t answer that.

Instead, he smiled, nervous but genuine. "You... look really cute, that outfit looks great."

Serica froze.

Her face turned the exact shade of a strawberry milkshake. She spun back around quickly, clearly flustered. "U-Um-Yes! T-Thank you, Kentaro. L-Let’s... g-go now!"

Kentaro froze for a second as he watched her walk away and then chuckled to himself as he found her reaction really cute.

Shogo, through the earpiece, gave a muffled thumbs-up. "That’s my boy."

Serica walked with a skip in her step, humming like she didn’t have a care in the world. Every few seconds, she’d spin on one heel to look back and flash Kentaro the kind of smile that could knock satellites out of orbit.

Kentaro, meanwhile, looked like he was walking into a hostage negotiation.

His eyes darted to every hallway. Every mirror. Every reflective spoon. Praying there was no Kira or Yura around each corner.

"I still don’t know if Tengen’s actually distracting her," he muttered, keeping his voice low.

A crackle buzzed in his earpiece.

"Ken. Chill. If Kira’s on the loose, you’ll be the first to know," Shogo whispered, mouth full of something loud and crunchy.

"You’re literally chewing into my ear."

"Correction: I’m multitasking. Commanding this op and enjoying some breakfast shrimp chips. The true sign of a veteran."

Kentaro groaned.

"C’mon, Kentaro!" Serica called from ahead. "We’ll miss the good machines!"

He twitched.

"S-Serica, hey! Indoor voice, please. There are other guests-" he whispered, hurrying up and gently guiding her forward.

Their destination: the arcades on the far side of the island, deep inside the resort’s recreation zone. Just far enough from the hotel... and hopefully far enough from Kira and Yura...

*

Tengen crouched behind a hallway corner near Room 14, staring intently at a door that hadn’t opened yet. From inside, he could hear faint rustling, muffled grumbling, drawer slams, maybe some death-metal playing through a phone speaker at 2x speed.

"Good," he whispered. "Still prepping. She’s not out yet."

He pressed two fingers to his comm.

"Target K is still inside. I repeat, Kira’s still in the nest. Operation Delay-The stale goddess is green-lit."

There was no reply, just the soft hum of tension.

Tengen smirked.

"All right... Let’s stall a war goddess with nothing but my words and my dazzling charm. What could possibly go wrong?"

*

In a ruined building far from the resort, where cracked walls bore scars of old conflict and the air was thick with cold decay, a door creaked open into the dark.

Kestrel was planning something.

His steps were silent as he navigated the place where it all started, the abandoned building.

But he wasn’t here to reminisce.

Not this time.

He pulled a small drone from his pack, letting it rise like a silent hawk into the rafters. Screens lit up on his portable console, one after another. Thermal. Motion. Pulse tracking.

"Agent Kestrel reporting in," he muttered. "Target zone secured. Commencing Phase Two. Deploying cameras."

He opened a second case, sleek, steel-lined, glowing faint blue.

Inside? A cylindrical device filled with swirling liquid.

Corruption Serum – Gen I.

Kestrel grinned, sharp and unstable.

"I know you’re out there, little Ice-Breaker and you will be mine..."

His fingers traced the edge of the drone’s live feed, stopping on a recent blur of motion.

"...and when I find you, I’ll break more than your mind. I’ll break that bond you treasure so much. That boy won’t save you this time."

He grinned an evil Grin, laughing quietly to himself as he now walked back in the direction of the hotel.

This time, he promised himself.

He wouldn’t fail.