---

By early September, the nights started to get a bit cool, but it was still the tail end of summer, so it was hot during the day.

But I didn’t have to sweat buckets trekking to the meeting spot this time. Lapiz said she’d come with a limousine and pick us all up.

While waiting by the roadside, a black limousine soon rolled up towards me. I felt like the design had changed from before.

Did they swap it out? When I opened the door and hopped in, Lapiz was the only one inside.

“You came to pick me up first?”

“Of course! You’re my most, most precious friend, right? How could I make you wait under the blazing sun? Plus, you could get a sunburn!”

Maybe it’s just the two of us, but she said things that she usually wouldn’t say in front of the others.

“So, the others can just wait under the scorching sun?”

I sat beside her, intending to tease a bit, but she clasped her hand over mine and said precisely,

“Yes. I’d rather have you waiting than them.”

Ugh… I wasn’t expecting that kind of response.

Not sure how to reply, I just stared blankly at her and thumped my tail against the seat. Uh, maybe I should just say thanks?

“Th…thanks?”

When I awkwardly replied, Lapiz quickly returned to her usual self and urged the driver to hurry, saying she couldn’t really make me wait.

Well, that hit me hard. She probably didn’t intend to, but getting that back was a bit weird.

Moreover, she usually stutters only when angry or fighting, so for her to speak clearly when not in that state felt extra surprising.

I wonder what this feeling is; it’s a first for me.

It was a disconcerting experience, but not in a bad way. Still, it felt a bit awkward to just brush it off as something friends do.

If someone sturdier than me said that, it’d feel different, but thinking about someone around my size or just a bit bigger saying it…

Hmm, I wonder how that would feel…

“Lapiz, by the way… did you switch cars? This one doesn’t look the same as before, both inside and out.”

I changed the topic to shake off the awkward mood. Maybe she didn’t like the discomfort either, as she straightforwardly bit on the bait.

“Oh, you noticed…? Well, you see… The last one was a bit cramped for nine of us, so…”

So, you’re saying you bought a new car just to pick us up? Seriously?

Even if there might be a valid reason, her casual spending of that much cash for such a silly reason made my head spin.

And I couldn’t help but wonder about her parents’ or grandparents’ spending habits that would let her do that without a second thought.

Then I realized, there was no need to worry about her parents’ or grandparents’ wallets.

As long as humanity doesn’t quit the construction or civil engineering businesses, they’d always be making money.

Plus, her mother was the one who fixed the road that got wrecked because of us last time, so changing a car wouldn’t be a big deal.

Aha, got it.

“Should’ve bought an even better car…?”

Did she take my silence a bit too differently? Lapiz averted her gaze, smiling sheepishly as she said,

“No, that’s not it… I was just impressed that you bought a new car for us.”

There’s no point in pointing out her spending habits, so I showered her with compliments until she puffed up with pride.

…Maybe later, I should just swallow my pride and ask her to lend me about a hundred million without questioning the reason.

That should be enough for the Liberators to focus on our plans without worrying about money for a while…

But somehow, it felt like if I asked Lapiz, she’d think for just a moment before transferring it right away.

I know it’s a terrible thing to do, but I just want to give it a shot.

“Ugh, it’s September, why’s the weather like this?! If Jinhyeon weren’t here, I’d be drenched in sweat before even having fun…!”

As we chatted idly, we somehow arrived near Jinhyeon and Yeonhwa’s house to pick them up.

Then we also picked up Seolhwa, Lucia, Ageha, and Alice, and due to our route, Minho was the last one on board.

Lapiz wasn’t intentionally holding up, but it was quite satisfying.

“Phew, now I can finally breathe…! This weather is just…”

“Hot, huh?”

I spoke to him while subtly covering the air conditioning vent with my tail.

“Yeah. Blanca, can you move your tail? You’re blocking the airflow.”

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to.”

I did mean to, but pretended as if I didn’t and moved my tail out of the way.

I wouldn’t keep this going forever, but I still hadn’t cooled off from my earlier anger towards him.

Of course, I’d eventually need to have a proper chat with him again. I can’t expect much from him, but it’s true he’s in the position of the main character.

Besides, we’ve been in the same boat.

But not now. I still need to cool off more.

I need to make that guy open his wallet when we get to the amusement park. That would lift my mood a bit.

—

“How could this be scary? We’ve fought those monsters, tackled gates, dealt with villains and more…!”

Yeonhwa sat on a slowly climbing roller coaster, making it obvious to anyone that she was terrified.

“Heh, are you scared?”

“N-No way! Absolutely not?! It’s just, feels a little tight being strapped in…!”

After teasing her a bit, she threw out a ridiculous excuse, adamantly denying she was scared at all.

“How about we bet if you scream or not while riding this? If you don’t scream, I’ll buy you cotton candy, but if you do, Minho buys us our next meal.”

“Wait a minute. Why’s my money on the line for your bet?”

Minho, who hadn’t said much until now, chimed in, questioning why his cash was involved.

“You know why, right?”

In response to his complaint, I just turned my face impassively and faced him.

You know why you’re responsible for your own cash.

“…Okay, okay. Alright, Yeonhwa! You can totally do this!”

Minho seemed to get the hint quickly and stopped whining, rooting for Yeonhwa.

But it seemed like he really didn’t want to lose any money.

“Ugh, yes! Of course, I won’t get scared! I’ve flown in the sky, there’s no way I’d be scared of this thing?! No way… no… no…”

Before dropping down, for a brief flat section, Yeonhwa let out her last thoughts like a farewell speech.

“Aaaaahhh!!!!”

And sure enough, right from the first drop, she let out a scream like she was squeezing her lungs out.

From loops to track turns, I wondered when she even had time to breathe with all the screaming.

Only when the ride came to a stop did she finally manage to halt her screams, her face looking like her soul was just about to float away.

From what I saw, she was just too tired to keep screaming at that point.

“Ah~ that was fun~ But speaking of fun, I won, so that means Minho’s buying our next meal!”

It wasn’t that fun, but just the thought of picking Minho’s wallet made me smile.

Ageha, Jinhyeon, and Seolhwa, who could fly, looked like they didn’t care, while those of us who couldn’t still seemed to enjoy it.

Surprisingly, Lapiz was totally unfazed.

As we headed to the restaurant, I asked her if she got scared on the roller coaster, and she replied that considering her grandmother and the stuff we’ve been through, it wasn’t really that scary.

How brave. Or maybe her threshold for fear just got way too high.

“Yeonhwa didn’t seem to handle it well, though.”

“Well, everyone’s different…”

When I subtly poked fun at Yeonhwa, Lapiz defended her, still half out of it, clinging to Jinhyeon.

“That’s true. Anyway, what are you eating, Lapiz?”

“I, I’d like a chili hotdog!”

As soon as food was mentioned, Lapiz’s tail began wagging excitedly, her eyes shining with anticipation.

“Then I’ll have what Lapiz is having.”

“I’ll just have a plain hotdog.”

“…Churros…”

“I’d like a chili hotdog with vanilla ice cream and cola on the side!”

“Just cotton candy is enough…!”

“If you have lemonade, I’ll take that.”

“You remember that well, Minho?”

I flashed a refreshing smile, prompting him to open his wallet. He reluctantly fished out his wallet with a grim expression, repeating clearly what he remembered.

“Blanca isn’t ordering, so she’s not eating… Can I take a look?”

“I’ll decide when I get there! It’s nice to plan ahead, but there’s fun in figuring out what looks tasty when we get there, right?”

Minho glanced skyward as if in surrender after hearing that.

“Okay, let’s go together then. It’d be a pain for me to carry everything by myself anyway…”

I wanted to question why I had to do all this but didn’t dislike him enough to decline his request, so I simply agreed.

Oh, and just so you know, I ordered the most expensive item on the menu.

 

---