Chapter 56: The Ritual of Stars
The appearance of Mana.
Successfully brought an end to the commotion in the cabin.
Fortunately, no one passed by the open door at that moment.
Otherwise, the rumor that “Nagi is a carnivorous pervert” would soon spread throughout the whole school before everyone boarded Nanase Island the next day.
Of course, it would be accompanied by additional information stating, “Sakuki is a pervert who barged into a girl’s room alone.”
Thanks to Mana’s intervention, Nagi quickly regained her composure and calmness.
Thus, under Nagi’s strong insistence, she dragged Mana out of the room and conveniently closed the door behind her.
Over her sexy and daring bikini, she put on a sports jacket to cover her significantly exposed upper body.
However, the pair of voluptuous, straight legs extending from underneath the jacket still looked exceptionally enticing.
But Nagi couldn’t care less about that right now.
Rather, she wanted to praise herself internally for being able to act so rationally in that instant.
The reason Nagi pulled Mana into the hallway was out of empathy as a “female.”
Letting Sakuki return to his room in that state would be akin to public execution.
So she gave Sakuki a chance for solitude and personal time…
As for side dishes, after just experiencing such a tantalizing scene, surely Sakuki wouldn’t be lacking in that regard? He should be able to handle it right away?
After all, she was wearing—
Nagi subtly tugged at her jacket collar, peeking at the scene inside.
The fabric wrapping around her generous curves was both fashionable and sexy.
However, for a middle school student, it was indeed too bold.
“Why am I wearing a bikini in my room? And alone with Sakuki?”
Although Nagi had regained her previous memories, she couldn’t help but think to herself.
Waking up just before taking a step onto the adult stage with Sakuki could be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
But conversely, a mountain of things awaited her resolution.
The first major challenge in front of Nagi was to explain to Mana why things happened this way—
Someone once said that supernatural beings are good things.
Because one can mindlessly push the blame onto “it.”
So Nagi’s answer was: “It’s all due to a curse.”
Since the people around her believed that a curse had caused her amnesia, why not just act as if the curse really existed?
A perfect excuse~
Otherwise, she would have to clarify to Mana that “she is not the type to suddenly attack boys.”
Just as Nagi was feeling pleased with herself internally, she forgot about one very important thing.
If she acknowledged the existence of the curse, she would have to accept that list.
In the presence of lingering starlight still at work.
Nagi was careless.
…
To prevent the teacher from suddenly coming to check on them, Mana and Nagi had Sakuki leave first.
The reflection on this matter would be held later that night when everyone had free time on the cruise.
From Mana’s perspective, she already had a rough guess in her mind about what she had just witnessed.
It was likely that the reserved Nagi wanted to change into a bikini in her room for Sakuki to see.
Only after Nagi lost her memory did Mana come to understand that this child was actually quite reserved.
A boy and girl alone in a room, especially under such a seductive and ambiguous atmosphere.
Two adolescents, if not careful, might lose control…
From an outsider’s viewpoint, that was the complete picture.
As for why Sakuki ended up in Nagi’s room, that was indeed a mystery.
Although Nagi explained it as “Sakuki got lost,” could someone really get so lost that they ended up at the door of a girl they cared about? He wasn’t the protagonist of a romantic comedy.
Since Nagi mentioned there was a “curse” at work, it might be worth hypothesizing that the curse had an effect that caused “couples” to have unexpected mishaps?
Mana quietly made a mental note of this information.
In the cabin.
Mana looked at Nagi, who had just come out of the bathroom; she had changed back into a white sports outfit after taking off the bikini.
Nagi was anxiously stealing glances at her, seemingly worried that she would lecture her about what had happened earlier.
But in truth, Mana hadn’t taken that incident to heart.
What Mana cared about was whether Nagi had encountered that ominous shadow.
So when she confirmed that Nagi was alright, she breathed a secret sigh of relief and tried to play dumb to ease the atmosphere.
At the same time, Mana made a firm resolution in her heart.
Before this luxurious cruise ship docked, she absolutely could not leave Nagi’s side.
On this ship, she was the only one capable of combating the supernatural presence.
The image of the woman riding atop Nagi in the basement flashed through Mana’s mind.
This made her clench her fist tightly.
This time, she would not stand by and do nothing; she would definitely protect Nagi.
Though she felt sorry for Sakuki for not being able to leave him a chance to be alone with Nagi, she believed that as long as she told him the truth, he would understand her actions.
…
…
The shadow arrived on the deck of the cruise ship.
As the “Dream of the Sea” slowly departed from Aoyama City, the surroundings fell silent, as if enveloped in endless darkness.
But the lights on the ship shone brightly, and soft glows spilled from every corner of the deck and cabin, illuminating the entire cruiser like a floating palace.
It seemed to herald that a beautiful night was just beginning.
The shadow, with its back to the light behind it, looked up at the sky.
In the night sky, the stars twinkled like jewels on the pitch-black canvas.
One red star emitted a faint glow.
It symbolized that the “ritual” was about to begin.
Once that star was colored by its “master,” the stars would descend again.
But at this stage, the offerings were still insufficient to restore the “master’s” full power.
Even with all the hunters and fantasy creatures from Kawano City as sacrifices, it was still lacking.
“Nanase Island.”
If the “Sea God Festival” could utilize the people closely related to the master on this island as offerings, it would undoubtedly lead to the success of the ritual.
The shadow’s body swayed in the sea breeze.
It needn’t be so low-key.
Yet, having encountered that esteemed fantasy creature in Kawano City, it had to exercise caution.
Although that being let it go for some unknown reason in the end, it could only blend into the crowd, sneaking toward Nanase Island in an inconspicuous manner.
“This time, the ritual must succeed.” The shadow stretched its amorphous arms toward the stars.
“May the stars be with you.”
…
…
In Scandinavia, a desolate land.
Alice led the group behind her to the old site of the Stars Association.
It was a church, standing alone in this remote city, almost completely covered by years of ice and snow.
The dilapidated outer walls were eroded by the cold winds, and the originally vibrant paint had long faded, leaving only the weathered gray and white stones exposed.
Most of the stained glass windows were shattered, and the remaining fragments reflected dull colors in the faint light.
From its appearance, one could vaguely discern that the colorful glass shards depicted a starry sky.
Next to the purple star at the very top, countless red stars were scattered.
Through the broken windows, Alice could faintly see the deserted and silent interior.
As if time had frozen here.
Those who remained were once members of the Stars Association.
Now most of them had lost their powers and ambitions.
They were recognized as non-threatening beings.
But when Alice saw this church with her own eyes, her intuition told her something was amiss.
According to the information, there should still be some former Stars Association members residing here.
But for them, this church, akin to a holy place, was exceedingly desolate.
Those who remained were undoubtedly devout believers; otherwise, they would have long since left the decaying city.
And this church, which seemed to be deliberately shown to others, aroused Alice’s suspicions.
—Had the Stars Association really abandoned their plan?
The cold wind howled, stirring up snowflakes from every corner of the city.
In some neglected corner, heavy snow suddenly fell to the ground.
Revealing a silver “crossed wing.”
