After successfully getting the last 2 plush and asking for a large bag from a nearby staff, Sigulf and Celina made their way to their final point-of-interest of the game center.

“So, here it is, the photo booth.”

“Quite the fancy one, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Anyways, let’s give it a try.”

Entering the booth together, they are unaware with Chelsea not far behind, who is now barely able to hold herself back.

“That Celina…! Too oblivious! I have to—“

“Wait…!” Alba pulled her. “We’ll get found out!”

“But I have to…!”

“Wouldn’t it make things worse!? What are we supposed to say!?”

“B, but…!”

“C, calm down…! It’s him. He won’t pull something stupid.”

‘Hopefully…’ she thought.

“…you trust him, too?”

“W, well… I’ve trained and fought with him longer than you, remember?”

“That actually makes me a bit sad…” Chelsea slumped her shoulders.

“…what?”

“Well in any case…” she sighed. “I’m still not convinced, but… Let’s just hide in the other booth for now…”

———

Inside, Sigulf and Celina were preoccupied with the booth’s panel.

“I think this setting is good enough.”

“Mm-hm. Then… Ah, Sigulf, you need to smile.”

“L, like this?”

“That looks ridiculously rigid.” Celina giggled.

“Err, how do I—“

“Relax.”

“Ah… Right.”

Her soft pat on his back was more than enough to comfort him.

‘No need to be so stiff. Just enjoy this moment.’

After getting their photo taken multiple times, Celina is happily doing the finishing touch.

“Hmm… Fufu, this looks good.”

“…why are you doodling dog ears on my picture?”

“Eh? Doesn’t it fit you? Fenrir and all…” she explained. “Want to give a try?”

“I guess I’ll pass…”

‘I’m not confident in my artistic skills, anyway…’

“Well, if you say so. So it’s okay with the wolf ears?”

“Err, I think…?”

Celina chuckled again.

“Okay, let’s see… Which frame should we use before we print these…”

However, their faces went slightly red upon looking at the available ones.

“D, don’t you think they look a little too romantic?”

“Try to look at the other pages…!”

“R, right…! Do they have something like Siblings-in-Arms!?’

‘…pretty sure they won’t.’

———

Finally settled on a rather non-descript blue frame, Sigulf and Celina stepped with an awkward silence.

“…Sigulf.”

“…yes?”

“That was more of a… Couple’s activity, wasn’t it?”

“Y, yeah, I guess so…”

“My bad… I didn’t mean to—“

“Eh? Why are you apologizing?”

“You are supposed to have fun today, not to get embarrassed.” She shook her head. “Reward, remember?”

“Ah, that… Well, you don’t have to worry too much about that…”

‘If I knew, I would’ve advised against it in the first place…’

“Anyways, we can’t stay like this all day.” Sigulf continued. “How about we grab lunch to shift gears?”

“Already hungry, aren’t you?”

“…actually, yeah.” He smiled sheepishly.

“Oh, it can’t be helped.” Celina giggled. “Italian?”

“Italian.”

“It’s decided, then. Let’s go.”

Emerging slowly from another booth not long after, Chelsea and Alba carefully peeked at them.

“…now what?” Alba asked.

“We have no choice but to follow them…!”

“The meal’s on you, right?”

Chelsea quickly glared towards the grinning Alba.

———

Inside the restaurant, Sigulf and Celina are enjoying their carbonara pasta. However, he looked a tiny bit wary for some reason.

“What’s the matter?”

“…no, it’s nothing.”

‘Felt like I saw someone familiar… Or maybe I was just imagining things…’

His initial suspicion was actually right, as Chelsea and Alba have tailed them inside, sitting together on the other side of the room.

“He almost found us there…” Alba whispered.

“Good thing he didn't.” Chelsea exhaled in relief. “Now, let’s wait and see…”

Back to Sigulf and Celina’s table, she put down her fork and paused eating.

“Say, Sigulf. Didn’t you say that you wanted to talk more with me?”

“Oh, right…”

“You’ve been awfully quiet.” Celina smiled. “So, what is it?”

“Well…”

‘Lots. Lots of things I wanted to ask, but of course I can’t.’ Sigulf thought. ‘So, let’s go with—‘

“What got you into dueling in the first place?” he asked. “I mean, I know your family is famous for that, but…”

“Ah, so we’re going with that.” She chuckled. “I don’t mind telling, but I don’t know whether you would find it interesting or not…”

“By all means, please.”

“Alright. Well, to be honest, I don’t think there was much pressure from my parents. They said that as long I’m being responsible and serious, then I’m free to choose my path.”

“Hee, I thought it was more like an obligatory, generational thing.”

“It was not. But then again, they did bring me over whenever they have a match.” Celina laughed.

“Well, I guess it’s the normal thing to do.” Sigulf commented. “So that’s what convinced you?”

“I believe so.”

He could see how her eyes began to sparkle, filled with excitement.

“I still remember that one time…” she continued. “How my mother stood proudly in the arena, basking in her glory, looking both so beautiful and majestic… At that time and even now, I think that I want to be like her…! To be the mighty warrior like she is!”

Still with high tension, Celina turned to Sigulf and surprised him.

“Don’t you get the feeling!? Knowing it would be an arduous path, yet we still entranced by it and carried on!?”

It took a second or so for her to return to reality. She went red and backed off from Sigulf while covering her face.

“I, I’m sorry…! I got carried away, I—“

“I, it’s fine.” He tried to reassure her. “You were cute—“

“C, cute?”

“…ah!”

‘Shit, I blurt it out!’

“N, no, no, no! I, I mean..! Please forget it…!”

“R, right! L, let’s move on! So, umm…”

Another awkward silence. From her seat, Chelsea was not amused.

‘…damn, this is not working!’ Sigulf thought.

“Sigulf…?”

“Y, yes?”

“How about you? Was it similar to mine?”

“Ah, right… Duel.”

Sigulf took a deep breath, trying to calm down first.

“Well, something like that. Sometimes, I watch duels on the TV with the other villagers. Then the kids would pretend they are pro duelists. Myself included.”

“Aah, I see.”

Celina smiled, but Sigulf could see she struggled not to say something. Probably she thought it was cute. Nevertheless, he continued.

“Then one day, Master appeared in our village. At first, I was tasked to take care of her. Then the others decided it was probably for the best if she becomes my guardian in return, so…”

“Did… Something happened?”

“Yeah… I heard she got into an accident. The one that cut her career short.”

“My goodness…”

“Her surgery was successful, but apparently the doctor said that the fact she still be able to walk is already a miracle itself, so she was advised against anything that would strain her legs.”

“But that means…!”

“Yeah, she is not allowed to fight anymore.”

“I, I see… I… I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s alright.”

On the other side, Chelsea and especially Alba were quietly listening to his story.

“So, what happened after that? Did you start dueling to honor her?”

“Maybe. Frankly, I don’t really remember myself…” Sigulf laughed wryly. “At first, she was obviously too depressed, so nothing much I can do. In the free time, I would watch old duel videos and try to mimic it, hers included. I was just a kid, so I don’t really know why, but I keep doing them every day. And then…”

“She moved?” Celina asked with her hopes high.

“In both meaning.” He chuckled. “I remembered how one day, she suddenly appeared and said my form was awful. And she would train me properly from that day on.”

“Oh…” she looked somewhat relieved. “But, how about her legs?”

“I was worried about that too. But when we finally sparred at her insistence, I found out the hard way. Turns out she doesn’t even have to move to win!”

“Ah, the skill gap was too big after all…”

“Yeah… She doesn’t want to give up on dueling, after all. I’m guessing she came up with the uber-defensive style so she doesn’t have to move too much. Though, she still ends up have to stop earlier than normal…”

“…it won’t heal that easily, it seems.”

“Unfortunately so. Still, thanks to that, I have to find a way to pierce through her perfect 360 defense. Thus, I end up running around a lot.”

“So that’s where your speed came from!” she realized. “Interesting… So, did you score a hit?”

“Err… No. Even today, I still can’t win against her.”

“Too strong, I see…” Celina gave a bitter laugh.

“Seriously, she is. But…”

Sigulf felt really nostalgic at the memories. She could tell it easily from her face.

“All in all, it was good, and life only got better for us from there. If it wasn’t for her, I’m sure I won’t be here now.”

“I can see why you love her deeply.” Celina smiled.

“…she’s my only family, after all.”

Her smile, however, became a slightly sad one upon the realization.

“…I see. I have a feeling from listening to your story… So that’s why your last name is—”

“Yeah, I was an orphan. I don’t even know who my parents were, so of course I can’t have the proper surname like the others. ‘Hrimgard’ was something she made up.”

“How about your friends? You… Were not bullied, were you?”

“Eh? What makes you think that?”

Celina blinked.

“O, oh, my apologies for assuming… I thought—”

“It’s okay… But… ‘Friends’, huh? I certainly couldn’t call them that.”

“Why is that?”

“Just wasn’t that close with the other kids. I don’t hate them; I don’t think they hate me. But then again, when we play together, I only followed them because I have nothing better to do.”

“And that’s why you didn’t say ‘friend’ when we talked about fighting games.”

“…ah. Yeah, I guess that’s why…”

“But… It’s different now, right?”

Sigulf quickly understood what she getting at, and he smiled with confidence.

“Yeah…! I know I have those whom I could call ‘friends’ now!”

“Ufufu, that’s good to hear.”

Contrasting the two’s pleasant atmosphere, Chelsea and Alba were leaving their table discreetly.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“Eh? Oh, yeah…”

Even though in a hurry, Alba too knows what Sigulf meant.

‘Just a ‘friend’, huh…’