Collapse? No, this is just everyday life.

There's no way around it, the child still needs to be comforted, so Xi'er's problem naturally needs to be solved by Xi'er.

Nangong Yu picked up the tray, which contained several glasses of juice and some cut fruit, while holding a large watermelon in her other hand.

The blinding sunlight outside the parasol made Nangong Yu squint, and she felt warm all over.

"Ayu, over here!!"

Alice, who had been watching him closely, quickly spotted Nangong Yu approaching and immediately stood up to wave happily at him.

With both hands occupied, Nangong Yu could only smile and nod in acknowledgment, quickening her pace to reach their side.

"Where's Xi'er?"

Bronya picked up a glass of orange juice, drinking it while looking at Nangong Yu's back with a puzzled expression.

It's somewhat unusual that the little tagalong didn't follow.

"He's currently withdrawn."

"?"

Noticing Nangong Yu's amused expression, Bronya frowned in confusion.

"Don't worry, she just got herself into trouble. I didn't bully her."

Nangong Yu picked up a glass of orange juice and clinked it against Ai Li's glass. Then, he turned his gaze to Ai Li, who was drinking heartily.

"Ah~ So satisfying."

After finishing a glass of juice, Ellie contentedly closed her eyes.

Looking at her slightly larger belly, Nangong Yu felt that there was some fleshiness around her waist.

"What's wrong, Yu? Are you captivated by Alicia's beauty? Hehe, you can praise me anytime~"

With her hands on her hips, Ellie bent down and gave Nangong Yu a cute wink, her face beaming with affection.

Unfortunately, Nangong Yu's gaze was drawn to the fingers that were slightly embedded in the soft flesh of her waist, and she didn't know if she had lost her mind, but she blurted out something without thinking.

"Ellie, have you gained weight?"

"..."

Ellie's smiling expression froze.

"puff!!!"

Kiana was drinking juice when she suddenly spat it out.

Bronya's expression froze for a moment, then she looked on with amusement.

Mei stared wide-eyed at him, opening her mouth as if unsure whether to say something.

Xilin was also silenced by these words, and looked at Nangong Yu with eyes full of pity.

"Hmph, I don't quite understand what Ayu just said."

With a flick of her fingertips, Ellie's subtle gaze held a hint of threat.

As a cute girl weighing 54.8 kg (not rounded up), Ellie would never admit that she has gained weight.

Realizing her slip of the tongue, Nangong Yu quickly smiled apologetically: "No, no, no, that's not what I meant. Sister Aili is so beautiful and pretty, how could she possibly gain weight?"

"Yeah, yeah, Ellie is so cute, how could she get fat? Ah Yu, don't talk nonsense."

Kiana, his good friend, immediately spoke up for him, and Nangong Yu looked at her with gratitude.

"It might just be a slip of the tongue, Ellie, you don't need to take it seriously."

Mei also tried to ease the tension.

"Yeah, yeah, Yu just accidentally blurted out what was on his mind, Sister Aili, please don't take it seriously."

Ellie's expression had been gradually improving, but it immediately darkened again after hearing those words.

Nangong Yu suddenly turned around and saw Bronya behind him, who was secretly laughing.

Bronya, you tricked me!

Unfortunately, before he could even go and cause trouble for Bronya, Ellie's slender hand was already on his shoulder.

"Ah Yu~"

The faint voice coming from beside him made him tense up immediately.

"Sister Aili, I'm here."

"Can you play a game with me?"

"...Can I refuse?"

"Hmm, guess?"

......

More than ten minutes later, Nangong Yu was buried in the sand, with only his head sticking out. Next to him was the large watermelon he had just brought over.

"Left side, left side!!"

"No, no, it's on the right!!"

Ai Li blindfolded herself with a strip of cloth, spun around a few times from twenty meters away, and then walked step by step toward Nangong Yu's direction, holding a long wooden sword that Mei had kindly provided.

Kiana, Sirin, and Bronya stood to the side, happily pointing out the direction for Airi.

As Kiana kept pointing him in the right direction, Nangong Yu sighed silently. He thought she was a good brother, but he had ultimately been misled.

Soon, Ellie gradually approached Nangong Yu, her wooden sword hovering over the skull and watermelon shell.

He struggled to lift his head, but the trembling, towering object blocked his view, preventing him from seeing Ellie's expression.

After a short while, Ellie finally made up her mind.

The wooden sword stood upright above Nangong Yu's head.

Seeing this, he could only sigh helplessly, then closed his eyes and awaited his death.

I don't think Ellie will go too far.

As she was thinking this, a sharp gust of wind reached her ears. Ellie clenched her hands and swung her arms forcefully downwards.

Just as Nangong Yu was waiting for the pain to strike, she suddenly felt something was wrong. It had been so long, why hadn't the injection come off yet?

He opened his eyes in confusion and saw a brown wooden knife just centimeters away from his head. Ellie was looking down at him with a happy smile on her face after successfully playing a prank.

"Boom~"

Their eyes met, and Ellie playfully made an onomatopoeic sound before gently tapping his head with the wooden knife.

"Alright, I didn't hit the watermelon, looks like I lost."

Setting the wooden sword aside, Ellie knelt down on the sand with a heave and bent down to gently clean the few grains of sand off his face.

The sea breeze blew, and his long pink hair brushed against his cheeks, making him feel a little itchy.

Looking at that smiling, serious expression, feeling the fingertips lightly touching his cheek and behind his ear, and hearing the gentle voice belonging to Ai Li in his ear, Nangong Yu's gaze froze, and his heart began to beat faster.

hiccup~

Kiana hadn't eaten anything, but she felt full. Beside her, Bronya's happy smile slowly disappeared, and she watched the scene in complete silence.

The Fifty-Eighth Palm: Journey

Happy times slip through your fingers like sand, and before you know it, the date the group planned to return is fast approaching.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

At sunset, Nangong Yu and Aili walked side by side on the beach.

No one knows how Ellie managed to get Seele and Bronya out of the way and find an opportunity to take him out alone to clear his head.

Turning her head, the soft sunset illuminated the somewhat unhappy expression on Ai Li's face. For a moment, Nangong Yu even thought about staying here with Ai Li, but she quickly suppressed her thoughts and nodded slowly.

"Yes, the plane tickets were prepared before we came, and we've had enough fun this time. There's still a lot to do when we get back."

It has been almost half a month since Ellie arrived, which is quite a long time for relaxation and rest.

The development of Hollow Knight needs to be continued, and we aim to complete it before the end of the year. The CG for Kaleidoscope 4, the most outrageous story in the series, and the girl of sin and punishment, has also been completed by Eromanga-sensei, who has been working tirelessly. He just needs to organize and package it before contacting the sales channels. At that time, there will also be complicated matters such as designing bonus items.

Thinking about it carefully, there's quite a lot to do. I guess I'll be spending every day working once I get back.

"Well, Miss Fairy has been quite content during this time~"

The disappointed expression quickly disappeared, and Ellie soon returned to the fairy-like girl that Nangong Yu knew, who seemed to be happy forever.

"We can't waste such a wonderful time. Come on, Yu, let's run together."

Suddenly, her empty hand was tightly grasped by a cool little hand. Ai Li stood in front, leading Nangong Yu forward.

Slippers lay scattered, feet treading on the fine sand moistened by the tide, letting the splashing seawater paint mottled patterns on the dry beach.

This aimless running seemed to make him forget everything; the air flowing past his ears divided the world, and this space seemed to exist only for him and his Alice, who was holding his hand tightly.

Unfortunately, running on a wet beach is no easy feat, and an accident soon occurred.

Nangong Yu felt her foot slip, and her body weight shifted forward, causing Ai Li, who was being pulled along, to fall to the ground as well, and the two of them rolled together.

"Ah, it hurts."

Nangong Yu, who was pinned underneath, rubbed her lower back. She had been injured by Ai Li when she fell, and she hoped that Ai Li wouldn't ruin their future happiness.

"It's all your fault, Sister Aili! If you hadn't slipped, we wouldn't have fallen!"

Seeing Ai Li lying on top of him, also a little dizzy from the fall, Nangong Yu immediately accused her first, angrily questioning her.

"Waaaaah, Ah Yu, you're actually turning the tables on me!"

Lifting her aching chest, Ellie puffed out her cheeks and glared at him angrily.

"Who saw it? Is there any evidence?"

"you......"

"And it hurts so much when you're pressing on me. Why don't you just stop calling me Pink Fairy and start calling me Pink Piglet instead?"

Since I've already started the trouble, I might as well be bold and go all out!