NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

Was it polite of you to suddenly kick the door open like that?

Faced with the seemingly ordinary question from the venomous snake, the wary jackal instinctively shifted its rear, trying to create distance from its teammates, while mumbling its argument:

"My mouth is like this, isn't it?" (But I used to be like that too.)

"Hmm~~ That's right~ It was like this before..."

After listening to the jackal's explanation, the girl nodded solemnly. Then, her voice gradually faded away.

"But before..."

suddenly!

Like a dormant volcano erupting without warning, or a calm sea about to be hit by a storm.

Overwhelmed with grief and rage, the venomous snake could no longer contain its fury. Like a coiled serpent poised to strike, it suddenly lunged forward, stretching out its hands to grab the jackal's neck.

Then, the girl kept shaking the glutton's head, while the glutton tried his best to swallow the roasted meat he was chewing.

"You idiot! You owe me my man—!"

"Well--!"

"Give me back my man—!!!"

……

……

Tonight, Viper needs to handle the aftermath at the hotel, so he didn't go home.

Tonight, the lieutenant had a rare moment of leisure, so he didn't go home.

With the thought of Anise and Marian still lurking in the hotel, Phoenix, unsure of how to spend the night, decided rather shrewdly to just find a place to stay.

Tomorrow, as long as I can make it to tomorrow.

His first wife, who can both control the harem and be absolutely loyal to him, should arrive soon.

So where should I stay for the night?

Walking down the street, Lieutenant Phoenix, who had forgotten to ask the snake for his money, suddenly had an answer pop into his head after a moment's thought, one that even surprised himself.

He could ask Sakura for a guest room.

After all, the young lady broke his leg a few days ago, didn't she?

I think finding a place to stay for the night shouldn't be a problem.

Surely such a large gathering for Qingming Festival wouldn't be unable to spare even a single guest room.

Chapter 218 You're Awake!

Late at night, an off-road jeep traversed several roads and finally came to a slow stop at the gate of a retro-style mansion.

As I stepped out of the car, I was greeted by Sakura's personal maid, Hosokawa Rinka.

The woman, dressed in a Japanese kimono and with a blank expression, had been waiting there for a long time. She bowed slightly and greeted the approaching guest politely as is customary. Then, without saying a word, she led the lieutenant to the study where his master worked.

Clearly, this did not meet Phoenix's expectations of staying overnight.

……

"Lieutenant, what brings you here so late at night?"

In the study, which seemed to be bathed in the glow of dusk, Sakura put down the work she was doing, stood up gracefully, clasped her hands in front of her, and spoke candidly to the man before her about her inner doubts.

The long-standing intrigue and deception made it difficult for the young lady to believe someone's request for lodging.

On the other side, after hearing Sakura's earnest question, Phoenix immediately understood her intentions and could only blink awkwardly before replying:

"Well... I meant exactly what it said, nothing more. Um... it should be nothing to you, right?"

Cherry blossoms:"……"

Looking at the burns on the lieutenant's face, the young lady could hardly believe that the person who called her in the middle of the night really just wanted to find a place to sleep.

"I understand."

Helplessly, he closed his eyes, only to hear the girl calmly give a message into the communication channel.

"Rinka, take the guest to the guest room."

"Yes."

laugh--

The soundproof door to the study was opened, and the shameless lieutenant walked out of the room with an open and honest air, touching the bridge of his nose under Hosokawa Rinka's seemingly indifferent but actually disgusted gaze.

"Ahem, please lead the way, Miss Hosokawa."

"Please follow me, guest."

The maid bowed respectfully again, then turned and walked towards the west side of the mansion...

……

Tap-tap-tap-tap

Stepping onto the real wooden floor, Phoenix followed Rinka through several corridors, admiring the poetic Eastern-style landscaping along the way, before finally arriving at their guest room in the west wing.

The guest rooms are not large, but they are beautifully and uniquely decorated.

The faint woody incense in the air calmed people down and even stirred up Phoenix's mental fatigue.

Compared to hotels like Atlantis that emphasize luxury and fantasy, men naturally prefer these elegant and understated private rooms with a unique charm.

"Please let me know if you need anything later."

Seeing that the lieutenant was completely satisfied, Rinka, whose service was quite professional, consciously left the private room, leaving the guest plenty of time alone.

And what about Phoenix?

Because he hadn't been able to shower for the past few days, the unscrupulous man, overcome with fatigue, brazenly crawled into bed, sent Anise and Marianne a message saying "I have something to do tonight," and immediately went to sleep.

……

Nothing happened all night,

In Sakura's mansion, Phoenix had no need to worry about assassination attempts, nor did he have to consider whether Anick or Farin would wake him up halfway through.

Therefore, the lieutenant, who is used to light sleep, does not mind lowering his vigilance and letting his brain enter a state of deep sleep.

Of course, dreamless deep sleep is limited. A normal person's sleep cycle should consist of alternating deep and light sleep. When entering the light sleep stage, people have a chance to enter a dream state.

This is a physiological mechanism, and Phoenix is ​​no exception.

So, on this night, in the lieutenant's rare dream, he and his beloved Mihara lived a shameless and delusional life.

Unfortunately, a dream is just a dream, and there must always be a moment when you wake up.

However, to the man's surprise, the moment he groggily opened his eyes, two pretty faces that shouldn't have been there came into view.

"You're awake? Commander~"

"Commander, are you sleeping well at someone else's house?"

Phoenix: "..."

Nightmare

It must be a nightmare!

Even though I already told Anise and Marian, how did these two girls find the Sakura Mansion?

Most importantly, Sakura actually let them in?!

Unable to face reality, the lieutenant slowly closed his eyelids, trying to erase the terrifying scene he had just witnessed by taking a nap.

It's fine,

It must be because I've been too busy these past few days and have undergone extensive prosthetic transplantation that I'm experiencing this rare dream within a dream.

It's fine,

If I just get some more sleep, the nightmare will definitely be over.

……

Several tens of minutes later, the person who had just finished their nap opened their eyes again...

"You're awake? Commander~"

"Commander, are you sleeping well at someone else's house?"

Phoenix: "..."

This time, Anise and Marian didn't give the lieutenant a chance to escape. Kneeling on either side of the man, they bent down further, their heads almost touching.

"Is this what the Commander meant by 'something's up tonight'?"

Gollum—