Chapter 25: A Real Man

Wakaba heard her words and instantly became furious, her hair standing on end. Combined with the large swath of flesh sliced from her left cheek and the blood streaming down, she looked particularly ghastly and terrifying.

Mai, who was usually optimistic, cheerful, and righteous, frowned slightly. The long-haired, well-behaved beauty looked on with wariness in her eyes. Ruka, the sweet and adorable doll-faced girl, retreated two steps in fear.

"Brother Shimizu, what are you doing?" she stammered, sounding weak and helpless. "Ruka was just telling the truth, and I was only suggesting—"

"Are you insulting me!" Wakaba roared, interrupting her. Her chest heaved with anger, and the six bloody holes in her body leaked fresh blood due to her emotional agitation.

Mai stood before Ruka, magic surging around her. She glared at Wakaba with hostility and said coldly, "I warn you—"

"As a man of honor, how could I have the face to claim a share after such a major blunder!" After roaring these righteous words, Wakaba stared at Ruka, her expression immediately turning remorseful. "I had intended from the start to give my share to you, Ruka-chan, as compensation!"

The words Mai had been about to say were forced back down her throat, leaving her feeling incredibly frustrated.

Wakaba walked past her to Ruka and pulled a stack of mud-stained Fuyuan notes from her pocket. There were about fifty thousand in total, all earned through the grueling jobs she had been taking on lately.

She shoved the money into Ruka's hands, her face full of regret and guilt. "Ruka, I'm sorry. Even though the others didn't see it, I know that because of my mistakes, you nearly lost your life several times. This is compensation for you; I hope you can forgive me!"

After saying this, she gave Ruka one last look of guilt, then turned and staggered away.

Chiyo and Ruka watched this scene, and although they were stunned for a moment, they did not grow suspicious. It matched the behavior of the boys they encountered in reality—doing anything to please girls, acting just as base as monkeys. However, their eyes couldn't help but linger on the fifty thousand Fuyuan in Ruka's hands. One had to realize that the average monthly salary for an ordinary worker in Setagawa City was only a little over four thousand. Fifty thousand was a significant sum!

Ruka looked at the money in her hands and was overjoyed. With a wide smile, she tucked the cash into the small pouch tied to her waist, which she used to carry her makeup supplies.

"Alright, sisters, let's distribute the core crystal now!" Ruka said happily.

Mai walked to the head of the giant insect without a word and threw several punches with all her might. The air whistled as the insect's toughest armor shattered with a loud crack.

Splash!

A massive amount of pitch-black blood poured out, as if a water vat had been smashed open.

Once the blood had drained, a pitch-black, glowing core crystal was revealed.

Seeing the crystal, the three women’s eyes lit up instantly! They had all absorbed core crystals before, some more than once, and naturally knew how much a single crystal could enhance their magic. Moreover, this crystal was several times larger than any they had obtained previously! It was hard to imagine just how terrifying their strength would become after absorbing it.

"According to the agreement, we divide it into three parts, one for each," Mai said.

"Wait, Sister Mai, you're mistaken," Ruka corrected her. "Shimizu-kun just said he was giving his share to me, so it should be divided into halves—half for me, and the other half for you and Sister Chiyo to split."

As soon as these words were out, Mai frowned and immediately retorted, "Ruka-chan, you already have fifty thousand Fuyuan; how can you still demand half the core crystal?"

Without waiting for Ruka to refute, she continued, "I think it should be divided based on individual contribution. It was my final punch that took down the filth beast; I contributed the most! Therefore, I should get the largest share—let's say half—and you and Chiyo can split the remaining half."

"I have no objection to dividing by contribution," Chiyo, the long-haired, well-behaved girl, nodded. "But shouldn't contribution be measured by how many tentacles each person severed? I severed twice as many as you, Mai, so I should get half, and the two of you can split the rest."

Ruka immediately grew anxious. "Hey! If we're dividing by contribution, it’s clear that Shimizu-kun took the most attacks from the filth beast in the front. He should have received the most, and he gave his share to me as compensation. So, I should get three-quarters, and you two can split the remaining quarter!"

"Who was it that said just a moment ago that Shimizu-kun should get less because he made so many mistakes?" Chiyo, the long-haired girl, shot her a sharp, unceremonious look. "Besides, your wind blades are so weak they can't even break the beast's shell; this battle had nothing to do with you! Also, you should put that fifty thousand Fuyuan into the pot to be divided. I nearly lost my life because of Shimizu Yu too, and I forgot to ask him for compensation!"

"Ruka, Chiyo has a point," Mai said. "I also forgot to ask Shimizu Yu for compensation."

"Sister Mai, what are you doing? We’re on the same team! Why aren't you siding with me instead of an outsider?" Ruka pointed at Chiyo, complaining to Mai in dissatisfaction.

"Who’s on your team? I've only teamed up with you once before," Mai said, seemingly recalling something unpleasant. "Last time, you also attacked from a safe distance, leaving me to face the filth beast alone, and in the end, the crystal was still split evenly. I endured it for the sake of our friendship, but I never expected you to think it was a matter of course!"

"Sister Mai, how can you say that? If it weren't for me, you would have died last time!" Ruka shouted loudly.

"Isn't it because of you that I almost died!"

"How can you turn black into white!"

"I am stating the plain facts!"

The two women became increasingly agitated, and the air began to crackle with gunpowder.

"Fine, Kumada Mai. Since you're so selfish, we are finished!" Ruka finished speaking, magic surging around her body. Her form turned into a blurred arrow as she lunged toward the giant insect's head, clearly intending to snatch the core crystal.

Mai noticed this and, with a bang, exploded magic beneath her feet, propelling herself toward Ruka to intercept her. But she missed.

"So fast!" she felt a chill in her heart. She never expected that while Ruka's attacks were so weak, her speed would be this terrifying! It was significantly faster than any of them! If she had used that speed to draw the giant insect's aggro in the front, she could have done it with ease, without ending up in the heavily wounded state Wakaba was in.

At this moment, Ruka was less than a meter from the core crystal. She stared at the massive object, already fantasizing about how powerful she would become after absorbing it.

But just as she was about to grab the crystal, a sharp blade erupted from the muddy ground in front of the insect's head, slashing toward her. It was Chiyo's clawed scythe.

Ruka’s expression turned to horror. She remembered that Chiyo had been five meters away, the farthest from the insect's head, and hadn't moved when she charged forward. She had assumed the girl was stunned by her speed and had given up, knowing she couldn't catch her. She hadn't expected her to be waiting right here.

At this point, it was too late to stop or change direction.

*Slish!*

She tried to twist her body, but the sharp blade still sliced open half of her abdomen.

Blood poured out in a rush, and a large portion of her intestines spilled into mid-air, smelling foul and pungent, steaming with heat. With a thud, she slammed onto the giant insect's head, her upper and lower body folding as she slid into the mud, her mouth full of blood, gasping for her final breaths.

The clawed scythe that had nearly cut Ruka in half retracted into the ground and returned to Chiyo, five meters away. Her scythe was not actually half a meter long; it consisted of several segments totaling five meters in length. She had extended it underground, silently maneuvering it to the insect's head, waiting for Ruka to crash into the blade. The result was exactly as she had anticipated.

"Ruka, Ruka, are you okay! Don't scare me!" Mai ran to Ruka, squatted down, and looked at the tragically disfigured, sweet-faced girl. In a panic, she tried to piece her upper and lower body back together, but after doing so, she realized she had missed the intestines that had spilled out in mid-air. She turned around to scramble after them, dropping them from her hands several times, until finally, she had to drag them over like a fire hose...

While she was doing this, Chiyo walked up to the shattered head of the giant insect, grabbed the core crystal, and pulled it out with a forceful tug.