Editing Hagure Yuusha no Aesthetica:Volume 4 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 8===
Kuzuha, who was fooling around with Chikage on Miu, suddenly felt a stranger’s gaze.

Turning around, she noticed that there was a female hiding behind the bushes on the shore, constantly peeping at the three of them bathing.

The girl was none other than the dark elf Riruru. After noticing Kuzuha’s gaze, Riruru hurriedly hid behind the bushes.

However, she quickly stuck her head out again and looked from afar at Chikage.

“…”

“Uh…”

Facing the silent Riruru, Chikage was thinking of strategies in her head. Since they had noticed her presense, it was best not to ignore it. Not to mention that from her appearance that there were some issues, but as she was still wary about Chikage and Kuzuha, she was hesitant to come close.

…She probably came because of Ousawa.

So Kuzuha attempted to tell Miu.

“Ehhh ahhh, Chikage… Uuu…Stop quickly or I’ll get angry…. Ahhhhhhh!”

“Ohohhhh… It’s not impossible to make me stop, but you first have to tell how Akatsuki dotes on you.”

The conversation between the two exuded a pink atmosphere, as if they had not noticed the pair of eyes from the shore.

…What a pain.

Kuzuha was weak against the pair of puppy eyes children have when they are begging for something. However, Kuzuha, while immersed in the hot spring, still slowly headed towards Riruru. The distance between the two had to be just right; if it was too close, Riruru might have ran away in fear. Thus Kuzuha had to take extra care when moving forward and avoid entering the safety area of Riruru.

“!”

Perhaps she calculated wrong. Riruru’s figure immediately disappeared amongst the bushes and escaped into the depths of the forest. Seeing this, Kuzuha could not help but shake her head while having a wry smile on her face. Looks like she wasn’t the material to coax children.

Just when Kuzuha felt helpless and turned around, preparing to head back to Miu and Chikage, the sound of footsteps seemed to suddenly appear from the ground behind her. Looking back, she was surprised to see Riruru sticking her head from the previous bush, looking around. Kuzuha slightly smiled and extended her arms to the shore.

“…Do you want to come together?”

“…”

Not surprisingly, Riruru remained silent, but at least she did not turn around and flee.

After some time, she gently nodded and immediately took off her clothing.

…This child is not tall enough, I’m afraid that she cannot touch the bottom.

The hot spring’s depth was approximately the height of Riruru. So Kuzuha extended her arms and held Riruru from under her armpits, then she hugged her in front of her chest. Riruru’s thin arms also wrapped around Kuzuha’s neck, as if she was showing trust in Kuzuha.

“Are you not afraid…?”

Afraid of Kuzuha or afraid of the hot spring. Kuzuha’s question was ambigious.

“…Yes.”

Although her voice was weak, Riruru did nod. Kuzuha gave a slight smile.

At the time when she was hugging onto Riruru and headed to the direction of Miu and Chikage, Kuzuha could not help but think:

…She is still only a child.

Even the young and immature Riruru was forced to face the threat of war. Through the touch from her arms, it was undoubtedly a child’s life and temperature. Kuzuha recalled the moment when she was summoned to an alternative world, she had lost something similar, and could only watch as the life in her arms disappeared. That experience left scars within Kuzuha’s heart, and perhaps it would not heal through the rest of her life. Doumoto Kuzuha once regretted, but that regret had also made her become stronger, so this time she decided to come forward – 

To protect her friends and protect the people who are important to her friends.

“-Huh?”

Chikage, who was hugging Miu from behind, suddenly became aware of the two people’s existence.

She looked at Kuzuha, then at Riruru, and her face immediately showed a surprised smile.

“I really could not imagine it, class rep also has times when she becomes the big sister.”

“…Yes.”

Doumoto Kuzuha was a student who had skipped grades in JPN Babel. Although she was in the high school division, the students in her class were older than her by a few years. Chikage’s teasing wasn’t unreasonable, so Kuzuha who could not make an excuse could only give a wry smile.

“S…Sa…Save me, class rep! Quickly tell Chikage to stop!”

Miu, who was red to the neck, hurriedly ask for assistance from Kuzuha.

Originally, Kuzuha had wanted to go to the rescue for Miu, but the scene in front her eyes had changed her idea. Each time 
Miu attempted to escape from Chikage’s grasp, a certain huge object would sway around in front of Kuzuha.

That’s right. Miu’s huge and voluptuous boobs pierced through Kuzuha. Although Kuzuha was a young student who had skipped grades, her physical development was already behind by a large amount, and now in front of her was someone showing off her brilliant figure. Miu really had guts. Even if Kuzuha had a good temper, she was extremely annoyed and was angry deep inside.

The truth is cruel, even on a battlefield there are no eternal friends. So Kuzuha whispered into Riruru’s ears and they both faced Miu.

“Uhhh…?”

Facing Miu’s surprised and puzzled look, Riruru responded with her innocent eyes.

“…Princess-sama, is the boob massage by Akatsuki comfortable?”

“Ah…?”

At that moment, Miu did not understand the meaning behind Riruru’s words.

Then they saw Miu’s eyes blink a few times, and her cheeks gradually flushed.

“Waaaa-! What are you doing! Class rep, you shouldn't teach strange stuff to children!”

The quiet hot spring suddenly entered a large commotion.