Chapter 34 – Yuzu’s Sudden Appearance!

"Save me…?" I tilted my head, my ears flicking slightly in confusion. My gaze drifted downward to the lifeless blonde corpse sprawled on the ground below. The lantern's flickering light cast long shadows over his still form, emphasizing the finality of his fate.

I let out a small, dry chuckle. "You're a bit late for that, Yuzu."

Yuzu shook her head, her long black hair swaying with the motion. Despite the serious atmosphere, there was something almost endearing about the way she did it—like a stubborn child refusing to accept reality. Then, she refocused, her expression sharpening as she turned her attention to Catherine.

"Yuzu will save cute lady Mashiro from her."

The shift in her voice made me tense. Her dark eyes, once soft, suddenly glowed with an ethereal light—a striking, almost otherworldly shade of blue. The air around her seemed to thrum with quiet intensity.

"She is twenty levels higher than Yuzu," Yuzu stated matter-of-factly, her ears twitching as though assessing the situation. "But Yuzu is confident. Yuzu will bring Mashiro home safely."

Catherine raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Oh? Is that so?" Her grip on her staff tightened ever so slightly, the air around her growing heavier.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Yuzu, I think you're misunderstanding something."

Yuzu, however, remained unfazed, her glowing blue eyes locked onto Catherine with unwavering determination. "No misunderstand. Yuzu will protect Mashiro. That witch is dangerous. Mashiro should not be near her."

Catherine let out an exasperated sigh. "Seriously? You barge in, kidnap her, and now you're calling me the dangerous one?" She gave me a sideways glance. "Mashiro, do you know this... overly affectionate fox girl?"

I crossed my arms. "Well… I mean, we just met again, but yes, I do."

Catherine huffed, muttering something under her breath before fixing Yuzu with a glare. "Listen, little fox, I don't have time for whatever bizarre rescue mission you've got in your head. Mashiro is here of her own will."

Yuzu blinked, tilting her head, her ears twitching. "Eh?"

"I chose to be here," I clarified, trying to suppress a laugh at how Yuzu's expression froze in pure confusion. "She's not my captor, Yuzu. She's my—uh, well, I guess 'mentor' would be the right word?"

Hearing my words, Yuzu fell into a deep silence. Her glowing blue eyes studied me carefully, as if searching for something unseen. Before I could react, she moved with startling swiftness, pressing her palm firmly against my forehead.

I squealed in surprise. "H-Hey! What are you—"

She ignored my protests, her hand lingering for a few moments before she sighed, pulling away. Her expression darkened with disappointment as she turned her attention back to Catherine, who was still watching her from below with a wary gaze.

"So… witch do witchy thing and make cute pink Mashiro dumb. So evil…" Yuzu muttered, shaking her head as if scolding a misbehaving child.

Catherine's eyes twitched. "Excuse me?"

But Yuzu wasn't done. With a dramatic sigh, she placed a hand on her hip. "Lady Sumi will be thoroughly disappointed if Yuzu doesn't fix this…"

I couldn't help but chuckle again, this time more out of nostalgia than sheer dumbfounded excitement. Yuzu blinked at me, clearly unsure whether I was broken or just naturally this strange.

Her glowing blue eyes faded back into their deep black hue, and she tilted her head. "Is something wrong?"

"No." I shook my head, still grinning like a bumbling idiot.

Memories flooded my mind—long nights spent playing Luminous Dream, grinding through events, pulling for my favorite characters. Yuzu's quirky way of speaking, Natsumi's airheaded yet adorable conversations, Mashiro's soft and kind voice… It was all so familiar.

There were thirty-five characters in the game, but these three had always been special to me. And now, one of them stood right in front of me, not as a collection of pixels on a screen, but as a living, breathing person. My heart raced.

"Were you sent by Natsumi?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Yuzu nodded. "Yes. Yuzu came because Lady Sumi ordered it." She puffed her chest proudly before continuing, "Lady Sumi said she met a cute fellow fox girl with long white hair with a tint of pink, panicked, and ran away after seeing that bad evil witch."

Below us, Catherine let out an audible groan, rubbing her temple in what I could only assume was growing frustration. She was clearly reaching the end of her patience. "You're still talking about me, aren't you?" she asked, her tone dry and unimpressed.

Yuzu turned her head toward Catherine, her expression completely serious, as if she were stating an undeniable truth. "Yes," she replied without a hint of hesitation. "Bad evil witch."

The sheer conviction in her voice nearly made me burst into laughter, but Catherine wasn't nearly as entertained. I could see the way her shoulders tensed, her fingers gripping her staff a little tighter. It was obvious she was trying her best to keep her composure, though a single twitch of her eye gave away just how done she was with this conversation.

With a long, suffering sigh, she crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head slightly. "Oh, for the love of—what exactly did I do to earn that title?"

Yuzu let out a soft 'hmph' as she placed a hand on her hip, clearly unimpressed with Catherine's question. Her long black hair swayed slightly as she lifted her chin with a pout, her fox ears twitching as if emphasizing her disapproval. "Witch is witch. Witches do trickery things."

Catherine's eye twitched, her expression shifting from irritation to outright disbelief. "Excuse me?" she shot back, incredulous.

I nearly choked, barely stopping myself from laughing at the absurdity of it all. "Wait," I said, raising a hand as if to slow things down. "You actually think Catherine brainwashed me?"

Yuzu nodded without missing a beat. "Yup," she confirmed in the same casual tone one might use when stating that the sky was blue. Then, as if doubling down on her belief, she reached out and gently poked my forehead again, her touch light yet firm. "Very tragic. But do not worry! Yuzu is here now. Yuzu will fix Mashiro." Her eyes gleamed with unwavering determination, as if she had just declared a grand mission to save me from an unthinkable fate.

Meanwhile, Catherine stared at her in sheer exasperation, her patience hanging by a thread. Her grip on her staff tightened for a brief moment before she let out an exaggerated sigh and dramatically threw her hands up in surrender. "Fine. Sure. I'm the bad evil witch. You got me," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"There, there," Elise's voice cut through the tension like a gentle breeze, her words unexpectedly soft. With a sudden motion that broke the intensity of the moment, she walked toward Catherine, her small figure barely reaching up to the taller woman. Elise stood on her tiptoes, carefully placing her hand atop Catherine's witch hat and giving it a comforting pat.

Catherine froze for a moment, her expression caught between surprise and something softer, before she let out an almost inaudible sigh. The tension in her shoulders seemed to ease just a fraction.

"You're so cute, Miss Catherine," Elise added with a soft smile, her eyes warm. Despite the chaos around us, her calm demeanor acted like an anchor, drawing a strange quiet to the scene.

Yuzu, however, looked incredibly pleased with herself. She gave a satisfied nod, as if she had just won an important argument, completely oblivious to Catherine's sarcasm. Watching the two of them interact, I finally gave in and buried my face in my hands, caught between overwhelming exasperation and uncontrollable laughter.

"Still, as I said, I want peace, not trouble," Catherine sighed, her grip tightening on her staff as her gaze flickered to the side. Lisa and Elise were standing there, silent, watching us like they weren't sure whether to intervene or not. "Please, let's settle our differences. There are kids here."

Yuzu didn't seem to care much about Catherine's plea. She shook her head firmly. "Yuzu doesn't accept peace for witches that do witchy stuff that Yuzu doesn't like." She paused, giving me a thoughtful look. "Yuzu like Mashiro, because Mashiro cute. Therefore, Yuzu will fix Mashiro."

The clearing around us was eerily quiet, save for the soft rustling of leaves in the wind. The full moon hung high, casting a pale silvery light across the scene. The broken carriage beside us, the lifeless body of Scheon sprawled on the ground—everything was illuminated in an unsettling way. The flickering lanterns we'd left behind barely lit up the place, casting long, jittery shadows across the trees.

Before I could react to Yuzu's declaration, I felt her hands wrap around mine. I had no time to process it. The next thing I knew, she flung me into the air with an incredible force.

"AAAH!" I screamed as I shot upward, the world blurring around me for what felt like two seconds before I stopped mid-air. A huge blue bubble enveloped me, suspending me in place.

From my floating vantage point, I saw Yuzu descend swiftly, her cloak billowing around her like a shadow. She kept her hands stretched out in front of her, and with a sudden, fluid motion, two knives materialized in her hands, gleaming under the moonlight.

"Yuzu force witch to fix Mashiro!" Yuzu shouted, her battle cry echoing through the night as she prepared for whatever she planned to do next.