***
Hu Tao leaned closer to Yomite, trying to get the perfect angle so that her lips were aligned with his.
"Hurry up and kiss me already..." she whispered into his ear.
The sensation of her warm breath against his ear sent shivers down his spine. He was sure he could feel something hardening inside his pants again...it seemed that there would be another emergency pause during their journey...
Just as he was about to lean forward to receive her kiss, she quickly moved her face away from him, giggling, "It's a prank~! You fell for it~!" She slapped his shoulder lightly afterward.
"Uh...Huh?" Yomite blinked. "Okay, I guess?"
He just wanted to kiss her though...
"Silly Assistant, you were so expectant...how cute!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Remind me to throw you off the cliff later."
"Heheh~"
This was something he'd noticed lately, Hu Tao's approach towards pranks was starting to lean more into a teasing attitude.
She was getting better...
Perhaps in the future, she would turn into someone like Lisa, and would eventually take the lead instead of him.
He would have to be prepared for that and reign her in before she grew too wild.
'I have the perfect item in mind for that kind of situation, but I don't need to use it yet.'
Suddenly, a chill ran up his spine.
He turned around and noticed a young disatisfied girl, gazing up at him.
"Barbs...Please...for the love of Venti, don't sneak up on me..."
He was used to Hu Tao's antics of jumpscares, but when someone else did it...he still jumped.
"That's not fair...I want to be carried as well! Is Hu Tao privileged somehow?" Barbara complained as she approached them.
"Nein! It is I! Prinzessin Der Verurteilung who shall reign atop his shoulders, just as well as in his arms of freedom! As the prophecy foretold!"
Fischl also came to join them, with expectant eyes.
Being carried like a princess by her prince was something she would never decline, but a piggyback ride, while embarrassing, was still acceptable enough for her taste.
The girls were bored in the back and came to check out what was happening in the front, only to see Hu Tao sitting on Yomite's back.
"Grrr! Don't intrude on my precious time!"
Hu Tao growled like a little puppy afraid of losing its owner.
She grabbed both of her twintails with her hands and attempted to wrap them around his neck, as if to form a leash of some sort...
"What is this move? Is your plan to choke me to death? I would rather not die like this after coming so far."
"No, no! I simply subjugated the ride for myself! You belong to me only now!"
"Subjugated...considering my skin color is darker than yours, that's a good insult, I like it."
"I've tamed him now! Now, Horsie! Hiyah! Hiiyaaha! My cute little Assistant is only mine!"
Hu Tao proudly raised her arms up, mocking the girls around her after gaining a horse for herself.
"Gaze upon that wretched audacity! Ptui! Cease thy wretchedness! Get down from meine fated and loved! Someone, seize her! Oz! Ozvaldo von Hrafnavins! Come forth!"
The air around Fischl started crackling with purple electricity.
A weird series of words saying ***Menacing*** appeared above her head.
"Yeah, no that's a fourth wall break... that's definitely JoJo..." Yomite muttered.
A purple raven soon manifested, glanced at the situation and rolled its eyes, as if thinking, 'Not this again...'
With a sad look, he apologized to his mistress, and gave a deep bow towards Yomite's direction.
"I'm sorry, mein Fräulein, this servant of yours just woke up from a deep slumber, and I already see this conflict has no point. I pray for your success." With that, the summoned night raven disappeared into thin air, as if he'd never been there in the first place...
"Hey! Oz! Ozvaldo! How can he just leave! This was the perfect opportunity and you wasted it...*cough* *cough*...What this Prinzessin meant...was that one of these everlasting days, Oz shall feel this Prinzessin's wrath! This treacherous behavior won't go unpunished!" Fischl appeared to be very upset about the current state of affairs.
Yomite turned to the girls and sighed, "Sorry ladies. It appears I'm Hu Tao's for today. This seat's taken. I'll make it up to you later."
"Wha—?! But come on! Yum-Yum! Your hands are still empty, you know! You could still carry or touch one of us! Barbara protested.
"Barbara...have some decency please...leave Party Leader alone. He needs some rest too. We can't just bother him at all occasions. He never has time for himself...he must be so tired..."
'Ah, Lumine what are you, an angel? I think she might actually be.' Yomite thought to himself.
Lumine was a reserved and shy type of woman. She rarely spoke and usually kept her mouth shut in most situations. Though, when she did speak, she always had a kind and thoughtful opinion to offer.
An absolute gem, a kindhearted angel, though she did get mischievous every once in a while.
She would be the perfect mother for a child, he could tell. Her gentle personality and pure heart would make any child feel safe and secure.
While he was daydreaming and lost in his thoughts, Lumine lowered her voice and continued, "Not to mention, we've already decided we will be taking turns to be with him...and today is Hu Tao's day..." She tried to reason with the two of them, but they continued to whine.
"I know it's her day...I just can't control myself...Lumine, you're acting as if you didn't want to be carried by him either," Barbara said. "I mean, look at how he's carrying Walnut, isn't he just the sweetest man alive? Who else would do something like this?"
"Indeed, thou cannot possibly believe what thou art saying, now can thou?"
"Y-Yes...you're not wrong...I'm...also slightly bit envious of Hu Tao..." Lumine muttered.
