"Hehe..."
"...?"

Yulia entered the room, humming happily.
She seemed incredibly cheerful.
Charlotte tilted her head, confused,
while Yuri bit her lips tightly.

"Yulia, what happened? You seem really happy!"
"Hehe, did it show on the outside?"
"Are you seriously advertising how happy you are? What do you mean...?"
"Is that so? Hehe."
"..."

Did she eat something weird?
Yulia wasn’t the type to show her emotions so openly.
Charlotte began to genuinely worry about her.

"Tada! Look at this!"
"...!?"

Yulia pulled out the contract from behind her.
At first, Charlotte seemed indifferent, but her eyes widened in shock when she read it closely.
What was this!?

"T-This is... this is...!"
"Hehe! You get it now, right?"
"What does this mean? 'Party A to Party B'... huh? I don’t understand any of this from the start."
"Ugh..."

Yulia, who had been puffing up her chest, sighed in disbelief.
She didn’t understand what Charlotte didn’t get...!?

"Party A and Party B refer to the parties of the contract. I’m Party B, and Aslan is Party A."
"Huh? There are more and more words I don’t understand! Just explain it to me, Yulia!"
"The content isn’t complicated. It’s just the same as the promise you made with Aslan. The difference is that I’ve written it down as a contract, leaving it as proof!"
"Wow...!"

Only then did Charlotte realize the real value of the contract,
and Yulia’s shoulders lifted proudly.

Now you understand, right?
How impressive this is!

While Charlotte made a verbal promise that could easily be forgotten,
I’ve documented it, ensuring I can prove it forever!
Though I was a little late, I still made a more careful plan!
Yulia’s confident face seemed to shout out her victory.

"That’s amazing! How did you come up with this idea?"
"Hehe, maybe because I read a lot of books?"
"But won’t this rigid, written contract be forgotten quickly?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Like, with my pinky promise, seal, and signatures, I’ll always remember it. Writing it on paper... you’ll forget it as soon as you turn around."
"...?"

Charlotte shrugged, not understanding,
while Yulia tilted her head, not quite getting what Charlotte meant.
What was she talking about?

"This contract is the proof. Why would I need to remember it? That’s why I write it down—to make sure even if I forget, it still holds."
"But paper doesn’t have emotions in it."
"...What does that mean?"
"The excitement when you made the promise, the fluttering feeling, the joy... Those emotions aren’t in the paper. But they are in the memory."
"...?"
"When making promises like this, you have to use your pinky, seal it, sign it, and even make a copy to make sure it stays in Uncle’s heart for a long time! What’s the point of recalling it from paper after forgetting? The feelings of that moment will be gone, and all you'll remember is that this happened."
"Wh-what...!"

Instead of envying Yulia, Charlotte was becoming more and more proud.
Yulia’s face turned bright red instantly.

'Is remembering more important than anything else?'

It sounded ridiculous.
It was clearly a fallacious argument.
This contract was definitely superior to Charlotte’s childish verbal promise...!
But strangely, a feeling of defeat crept over her, as if she had lost.

In my head, I thought I had won.
But my heart was already shouting that I had lost.
It didn’t make sense, yet somehow, it felt like it made sense!

"Well, I’m not really jealous! But maybe it’s good to have one of these! You were really clever, Yulia!"
"Ughhhhh...!"

Yulia puffed her cheeks in frustration,
while Charlotte just patted Yulia’s head and puffed out her chest with pride.
Why am I not getting the admiration for making a superior contract? Shouldn’t I be the one to be envied!?

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.
So, how could I turn the tables on this?

"Ah! Then if I make a pinky promise, seal it, sign it, copy it, and even coat it, does that mean I win?"
"W-What!? How do you coat it?"
"With both hands, you rub Aslan’s palm and the back of his hand to coat it!"
"S-Such a method...!?"

For the first time, Charlotte’s pupils wavered, and she was clearly rattled.
Yulia, feeling the rush of triumph, almost cheered out loud.

I’m a genius!
By adding one more step to the process, the promise I made with Aslan will be remembered longer than Charlotte’s!
Then, I’ll just go to Aslan right now, make the pinky promise, seal it, sign it, copy it, and add the coating!

"That’s genius! I’d do the same! I should read more books to get smarter! From now on, I’ll read tons of books!"
"Ah..."

As soon as Yulia thought of this,
she froze, suddenly realizing her mistake.

She had lost her sense of reason for a moment and had become even more childish than Charlotte—no, even more childish than that!
When she realized it, a wave of emptiness washed over her.

What? Coating? Rubbing Aslan’s hands?
Yulia, are you out of your mind?
Are you seriously willing to go that far just to win against Charlotte?

'I do want to, though...'

It was a constant dilemma.
Should I take the mental victory,
or should I become even more childish than Charlotte and actually win?

It was truly a tough decision.
But Yulia squeezed her eyes shut and made her decision.

"I don’t want to become that pathetic..."
"Pathetic? What do you mean, Yulia?"
"Never mind..."

Didn’t they say to become a monster to catch a monster...?
I won’t become one of those monsters...
Charlotte is the only pure monster I need.

With tears welling up, Yulia closed the door behind her.
This time, she accepted her defeat.
It was too much to try and match Charlotte’s unshakable optimism.

"Eh? Where are you going, Yuri?"
"I... I have work to do..."
"Suddenly? You never said you had work."
"I forgot... I’ll be back..."
"Okay! Don’t get hurt, and do your best!"

Yuri grabbed the doorknob,
swallowing the bitter taste of frustration, her shoulders slumped.
She left the room, escorted by Charlotte and Yulia.
Even though work wouldn’t begin for hours, she just didn’t feel like staying in that room anymore.

"Ughhh... I’ve lost both of them...!"

After leaving the mansion, Yuri finally burst into frustration.
Even though both liked Aslan Vermont, she had believed there was still a chance as long as she hadn’t expressed it.
But if they already made a marriage promise like this...
Then it was practically over...

"Ughhh!"

Her inexplicable, deep emotions for Aslan only grew stronger,
and the tears didn’t seem to want to stop.

"This operation is a monster eradication mission! The forest ranger was supposed to regularly check the mana levels, but they neglected the task, and we’ve received reports of wild dog monsters infesting the area."
"...!"

In the dark forest, the head of Vermont Security began the briefing.
The new recruits were frozen in place, nervously awaiting what was to come.

Their first real mission.
And it was against monsters.
This was the worst debut mission they could imagine.

"T-Team leader, how many are there?"
"We estimate about 300, but who knows how many wild dogs are roaming such a vast mountain range. It could be two or even three times that number. We won’t be able to leave until we’ve eliminated every monster in the restricted area."
"Eeek...!"
"Don’t worry too much. We’ve got..."

At that moment, whoosh!
Something rushed past the new recruits, creating a strong gust of wind.
The recruits flinched and hunched over, startled.
But the team leader just stood there, sighing as if used to it.

"W-What was that? Was it a monster, team leader?"
"Well, it’s something like a monster... You guys don’t need to worry about it. Even though this is a real combat situation, when you’re in danger, that thing will come charging in to save you. So stay tense, but don’t be overly scared."
"So, that person is...?"
"That’s right. Our ace, no, Vermont Security’s ace. It’s Yuri."

The recruits slowly shook off their fear and looked on with admiration,
and when they looked down from the cliff, a marvelous sight unfolded before their eyes.

"Huaaaaa!!!"
"By the way... does Yuri-senpai always fight like this?"
"I don’t know. What’s going on with her?"

Yuri, shouting a powerful battle cry, descended onto the mass of monsters,
wielding her swords wildly, charging in alone without any support, and ruthlessly cutting down the monsters, getting surrounded in the process.
It was a savage sight.

She didn’t care if she got bitten by a monster, continuing the reckless fight.
She even deliberately used her arm as bait.
Despite her deep injuries, she healed herself instantly and continued to fight without hesitation, leaving the recruits and the team leader speechless.
They had never been taught to fight like that...

"Wasn’t Yuri-senpai supposed to be called a Saint?"
"Stop asking. It’s giving me a headache."

Finally, after slaughtering the hundred-strong pack of wild dogs,
Yuri stood alone atop their corpses.
She was covered in blood, but there wasn’t a scratch on her body.

She looked less like a saint and more like a berserker.
The recruits swallowed nervously,
and the team leader sighed deeply, thinking that Yuri must be going through something difficult lately.

At that moment, Yuri muttered,
"It’s not an official engagement yet... Although the contract seems well-written, its content is vague and childish, so it can’t possibly have legal standing... In the end, it’s just a pretend marriage game, isn’t it...?"

She muttered absentmindedly, staring into the air.

"Engagement... That doesn’t really matter, does it...?"

With bloodshot eyes, Yuri clenched her teeth,
suddenly overwhelmed by a surge of frustration.

"What? An engagement? Why does it even matter? I’ll just do it first...!"

Yuri gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly, her thoughts running wild.