Get up and start to prepare the new base

9th of March

A new day begins after quite an intense night in your new base.

You slowly wake up when you feel a gentle hand poking your shoulder.

Opening your eyes, you see Midori leaning over you, trying to wake you up.

“Mmh... good morning” you mumble with a smile.

“Good morning to you too. I came to call you for breakfast” Midori says warmly, though her cheeks are slightly flushed.

Seeing her embarrassment immediately reminds you that, once again, she found another girl sleeping in your bed.

Said girl suddenly sits up with a yawn, probably awakened by your voices, before stretching lazily.

Marcy rubs one eye while looking at the two of you with the other.

“Morning, lovebirds. Is breakfast ready? ’Cause I’m starving” she says casually.

“Y-yeah, it is” Midori replies, blushing even more at the sight of the completely naked girl acting like this is the most normal thing in the world.

Marcy hops out of bed and stretches again without bothering to cover herself.

“Oh, and thanks for lending me your stud, girl. That was one hell of a night” she says with a grin.

“I-It was nothing...” Midori mumbles, looking away.

Marcy smirks mischievously and wraps an arm around Midori’s waist while she’s distracted.

“Come on, no need to be embarrassed. We’re all part of this little harem now” she teases.

“Y-yeah, but... it’s still a little strange...” Midori admits softly.

“Damn Erik, now I understand why you fell for this babe. She’s adorable” Marcy chuckles.

“I know, but stop teasing her too much. Humans aren’t usually as open about this stuff as musus are” you say.

“Fine, fine. Though before I forget, can ya do that contraceptive spell on me? If I get pregnant from our very first night, dad’s gonna come here personally to break every bone in Erik’s body” Marcy says nonchalantly.

The mental image alone makes you pale slightly.

Midori quickly casts the spell on Marcy before things can get any more awkward.

After Marcy finally stops fooling around, you and her quickly take a shower before heading toward the kitchen.

Inside, Midori, Yellow, and surprisingly Jen are preparing breakfast together..

“I didn’t think you were this good at cooking too, Jen,” Yellow says while arranging plates on the table.

“W-well... I learned when I was younger. Plus I found some old cooking books in this place, so I read them whenever I got bored,” Jen explains while stirring something in a pan.

The others are already sitting at the table waiting for the food.

Marcy keeps glancing at you with an amused smirk while Sig sits beside her, visibly embarrassed about something, maybe she heard you yesterday. Charlie is cheerful as always, while Marine looks strangely exhausted. Leaf acts mostly normal, though she occasionally gives you knowing looks that clearly say I know exactly what happened last night. Amber, meanwhile, is sleeping and meditating while waiting for breakfast. And last is Katy, who seems happy and oblivious as usual.

“Well, good morning everyone” you say as you sit down.

The girls greet you back.

“Are you okay, Marine? You don’t look too well” you ask.

“T-The great Marine is perfectly fine! She definitely didn’t have trouble sleeping last night!” Marine says proudly, though her face is bright red.

“Suuuure,” Leaf replies, sounding completely unconvinced.

“Hehe, you’re so funny, Marine,” Charlie giggles.

“Well, I’d say we spend the next few days cleaning and organizing this place while we wait for our first mission” you suggest.

Most of the girls nod in agreement, but Marcy raises a hand.

“Yeah yeah, boring stuff later. Shouldn’t you try that thing first?” she says with a grin. “You could spar with Sig and test the new weapon.”

“Well... I guess it would be a good experiment. Are you okay with that, Sig?” you ask.

“Y-Yes. It would be an honor to finally cross swords with you, Erik,” Sig answers seriously.

“Then let’s eat first and head outside afterward.”

After breakfast, most of the girls stay behind to continue cleaning the base while you, Marcy, Sig, and Yellow head outside. Yellow insisted on following you in case someone got hurt during the spar.

You reach one of the open grassy areas near the lake.

“Alright then... let’s see what this new weapon can do,” you say as you focus.

You close your eyes and feel the bond between you and Marcy resonate inside your chest. The moment you grasp that connection, magical energy spreads around your arms.

A second later, heavy gauntlets materialize around your fists.

They are thick and metallic-looking, with dark stone-like plates layered over them, yet surprisingly light despite their size. Faint lines of energy pulse across their surface every time you clench your fists.

“Nice. Looks like I gave you some badass gloves” Marcy says proudly.

“So Sig, ready?” you ask.

“I am. And I won’t hold back” she replies while resting a hand on her katana.

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to.”

The two of you take your positions.

Marcy raises her arm dramatically.

“Begin!”

You immediately dash forward and throw a straight punch toward Sig’s chest.

She reacts instantly, dodging the attack with elegant, serpentine movements before trying to slash at your side. You twist your body just in time and block the attack with your gauntlet.

The impact sends vibrations through your arm.

Sig quickly retreats and circles around you with the fluid movements of a trained samurai.

Then she charges again.

Her katana descends in a sharp vertical slash aimed at your shoulder, but you raise both gauntlets and stop the strike head-on.

A loud shockwave bursts outward from the collision, scattering leaves and grass around you.

“So these things can really take a hit...” you mutter.

“They’re made for fighting head-on, just like me” Marcy grins proudly.

Sig narrows her eyes before disappearing into another quick dash.

This time her attacks come rapidly: horizontal slash, thrust, upward cut. Her movements are precise and disciplined, every strike aimed at weak points.

You block the first hit, dodge the second, then answer with a heavy punch.

Sig barely avoids it.

The gauntlet crashes into the ground instead.

A small crater forms beneath your fist.

“Woah...” Yellow whispers nervously.

“So that’s the kind of power these gauntlets have...” Sig says while jumping backward.

You quickly realize the gauntlets aren’t just durable; every properly charged strike releases explosive shockwaves on impact.

Sig rushes in again, using speed to compensate for your raw power.

You exchange another flurry of blows. Her blade dances around your guard while your fists **** her to constantly retreat whenever she blocks.

At one point, your punch collides directly with her katana.

The impact releases a visible burst of **** that throws Sig several meters backward across the grass.

She lands easily by using her tail, panting lightly, but immediately takes her stance again.

“You’re strong...” she admits.

“You’re not exactly easy to hit either,” you answer honestly.

Sig suddenly lowers her posture and grips her katana with both hands.

Then she rushes toward you with incredible speed.

You barely manage to react before a powerful slash cuts across your side. Thankfully the gauntlets absorb most of the damage, though the **** still pushes you back.

You grit your teeth and counterattack immediately.

This time you finally manage to **** Sig backward toward a large tree near the edge of the field.

You pull your fist back, charging magical energy into the gauntlet for one final strike.

But just before the punch lands, you realize the attack would hit far too hard.

At the last second, you shift your aim away from Sig and slam your fist into the tree beside her instead.

The entire tree explodes apart from the impact.

The trunk splits cleanly in half and the upper section goes flying several meters away before crashing to the ground.

“OKAY OKAY STOP!” Yellow suddenly shouts while rushing between you two. “That’s more than enough!”

She looks both worried for your safety and deeply offended on behalf of the destroyed tree.

“Y-Yeah... I think that was enough for a demonstration” Sig says while staring at the remains of the tree in shock.

“Well... these gauntlets are definitely powerful, but controlling their full strength is difficult” you admit.

“Exactly like a Machop,” Marcy says proudly.

After the spar, Yellow heals your minor injuries before heading back to her clinic for the afternoon.

The rest of you return to the building and spend the day cleaning rooms, organizing supplies, and preparing spaces for everyone.

You also notice that Sig seems to respect you even more after your fight.

By evening, most of the usable rooms are finally clean.

Later that night, after dinner, everyone heads to bed exhausted from the long day.

Strangely enough, though, you can’t fall asleep.

Since all the girls are too tired for any nighttime activities, you quietly leave the base and decide to take a walk around the lake.

After wandering for several minutes beneath the moonlight, you suddenly notice something strange in the distance.

Someone is... dancing on the surface of the water.

The sight is mesmerizing.

Curious, you slowly approach while hiding behind a nearby tree.

From there, you finally get a proper look at the mysterious figure.

It’s a musu gracefully dancing across the lake beneath the moonlight. She wears a soft pink bodysuit decorated with star-like patterns that accentuate her curvy figure, and every movement she makes seems almost weightless, as if she’s floating rather than stepping on the water.

But the biggest surprise is not her.

Someone else is sitting on the shore watching the dance.

Yellow.

“Your movements are improving a lot, Clea,” Yellow giggles.

“Thank you, friend Yellow... though I think we have a guest,” the mysterious girl suddenly says.

She stops dancing and turns directly toward the tree you’re hiding behind.

She then turns towards the tree where you are hiding so you decide to come out.

Well... no point hiding anymore.

You step out awkwardly.

“Sorry for interrupting.”

“Ah wait Clea— oh...” Yellow blinks in surprise as the girl calmly approaches instead of disappearing. “You’re not hiding?”

“Sorry for intruding. I’m Erik, a friend of Yellow’s. And I assume your name is Clea?” you ask politely.

“I am. Nice to meet you, Erik. I’m Clea the Clefairy” she says with a smile.

Your eyes widen.

“Wait... Clefairies are actually real?”

“And I’m more surprised that she showed herself to you” Yellow says. “She normally avoids strangers.”

“This man seems interesting though... but maybe I’ve already shown myself enough” Clea giggles. “See you around, destiny guy.”

Before you can ask what she means, she vanishes the moment you blink.

You and Yellow remain silent for a moment.

“So... the rumors about Clefairies were true after all” you finally say.

“Yeah... and sorry for not telling you earlier. Most people would think I’m crazy if I told them my partner is a Clefairy,” Yellow admits shyly.

“So she really is your partner? Then you must be pretty special too.”

Yellow smiles softly.

“We met here when we were children and became friends immediately. But hiding your best friend from everyone for years... it’s a strange feeling.”

“Well, you don’t have to do that anymore.”

“Hehe... you’re right.” She looks toward the lake with a gentle smile. “You know, I think my life is going to become much more interesting by staying with you, Erik.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Yellow giggles.

“Then... should we head back?”

You nod and the two of you walk back toward the base together before eventually parting ways for the night.

As you approach your room, though, you notice something strange.

The door is slightly open, even though you clearly remember closing it.

You slowly push it open and look inside.

Marine is sitting on your bed, waiting for you.