Haruto glanced at the white Bragi dress.
He had to admit, the craftsmanship of that era was exquisite, and the quality was outstanding.
However, after wandering around Chiba for so long, searching for directions and even sitting on the ground in alleys, Violet's once-pristine white dress had accumulated quite a bit of dust.
Thinking about Violet's general physique, Haruto realized there wasn't any suitable clothing for her at home.
The girls' clothes were all on the smaller side, as Nao and the others were still growing.
As for the only one who had fully developed—Tohru—her clothing was merely an illusion created by her dragon scales.
With that in mind, Haruto retrieved a set of Shizuka's clothes from his Divine Authority Space.
The two had roughly similar body types, so the clothes should fit Violet just right.
Haruto knocked on the bathroom door and called out,
"Violet, I brought you some clo—"
Before he could finish speaking, he heard the sound of rapid footsteps inside. The next moment, the bathroom door was pulled open.
Violet stood at attention and saluted Haruto, responding in a loud and clear voice,
"Present!"
Haruto: !!!
For a moment, Yazuki was utterly dumbfounded.
Why was this girl so straightforward?!
Why on earth would she rush out of the bath just to report in?!
And—Violet's figure…
Wait, so if a Western girl has golden hair, does that mean…?
While his thoughts were racing, in reality, only a split second had passed.
Haruto quickly shut the bathroom door. He couldn't keep looking, if he did, things might spiral out of control.
Speaking to Violet behind the closed door, Haruto sighed helplessly,
"There's no need to report in! And when you're taking a bath, you shouldn't run around without clothes! Men and women are different, where's your sense of shame? Nao, why didn't you stop her?!"
Inside the bathroom, Nao was just as stunned.
She had only looked away for a second, and Violet had already rushed out. Wait, did that mean Haruto had seen everything just now?!
Nao's face turned bright red.
She quickly ran over, locked the bathroom door, and pulled Violet back inside.
Nao wanted to scold Violet, but when she turned to look at her, she was surprised to see that Violet's pale cheeks were now as red as if she had applied rouge.
This was unusual.
Up until now, Violet had always been emotionless, like a doll without feelings.
But now, her expression was incredibly clear.
Seeing this, Nao swallowed back her words.
It seemed that Violet had already realized the issue.
Meanwhile, Violet's mind was in complete disarray.
Out of sheer habit—or rather, muscle memory—she had responded immediately when called.
But the moment she opened the door and saw Haruto…
A surge of overwhelming emotion welled up inside her, something she hadn't felt in countless years.
And, deep down, Violet instinctively felt that it wasn't just "shame."
It was the fact that it was Haruto who had seen her that evoked such strong emotions. Unknowingly, this young man had already become someone special to her. She had heard people talk about something called "love" between men and women before…
---------
After the bath, outside the bathroom, Violet received her new clothes. After changing, she was led to her room by Annie.
In a moment of distraction, she glanced back and saw Haruto getting scolded.
Their gazes met, and Haruto gave her an embarrassed smile.
"Come on, come on! Stop looking at him! He's a bad guy!" Annie huffed, dragging Violet along, completely disregarding that she had just asked Haruto to take better care of her.
Well, girls' emotions were always unpredictable.
Violet blinked blankly, looking a little dazed.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Nao crossed her arms and looked Haruto up and down.
"Spill it, big brother. Did you do that on purpose? Did you take advantage of Violet's personality to peek at a young girl's body?"
Haruto felt utterly wronged.
If he really wanted to see, he could just activate X-ray vision.
But still, it was a nice view…
The Next Morning
At dawn, Haruto took Violet to the Foundation's site.
"Our organization is called the SCP Foundation. It's a group dedicated to protecting humanity," Haruto explained as they walked.
Hearing this, Violet instantly tensed, as if she were ready for battle at any moment.
Seeing this, Haruto quickly shook his head.
"It's just a job—you're not going to war, and you don't have to obey orders. You can do it out of a noble ideal to protect humanity… or just to earn some money for shopping. If you don't like it, you can quit at any time. No one will force you, you have the right to choose for yourself."
"Violet, you are a person, not a tool or a weapon. Understand?"
Saying this, Haruto gently ruffled Violet's golden hair with a hint of affection.
Hearing Haruto's words, Violet's tense body gradually relaxed.
Seeing this, Haruto also let out a sigh of relief.
If Violet had just started to recover, only to become a weaponized doll again because of joining the Foundation...
Just thinking about it was heartbreaking!
"I'm with Haruto, and everyone here is part of the Foundation. No need to be nervous. You can even slack off from time to time."
Nao smiled as she spoke.
Hearing this, Violet relaxed even more.
That's just how people are; facing unfamiliar places can be terrifying, but having companions makes it much easier.
Upon arriving at the Foundation's site, Haruto arranged a learning schedule for Violet.
She first needed to catch up on modern knowledge and the Foundation's behavioral guidelines.
Technically speaking, Violet was supposed to stay within the site during this period.
However, considering her personality, Haruto decided that after her studies each day, she could return to the apartment.
After all, the site was quite close to their apartment.
Violet went off to study.
At that moment, Nao leaned in curiously and asked,
"Once she finishes her studies, are you planning to assign her to the Mobile Task Force?"
Haruto shook his head.
Violet had extraordinary combat talent.
However, he didn't intend to let her join the Mobile Task Force, nor did he plan to place her in the combat division at all.
Of course, this wasn't just because of her personality.
More importantly, Haruto had a special job in mind for Violet.
Seeing that Haruto only shook his head without explaining, Nao decided not to press further.
Instead, she changed the subject.
"The first phase of the 'Eye of God Project' is entering its final stage."
Based on the reality-warping abilities of the Little Witch (SCP-239), the 'Eye of God Project' had begun in Mondstadt.
Naturally, the concluding act would be the Stormterror incident. The core of this event was to create a 'god' using the Little Witch's abilities.
Hearing this, Haruto nodded.
"I'll personally oversee the operation when it begins."
The Foundation was well-prepared, and the plan to create a 'god' was nearly foolproof—Haruto was just going to observe.
Nao nodded in agreement.
After reminding her to ensure Violet made it back to the apartment safely, Haruto left the site.
Time to hunt down a fallen angel!
It just so happened to be the weekend, and Gabriel was definitely holed up at home.
He walked to the door of the neighboring apartment.
At that moment, another girl happened to approach.
She had short purple-black hair, adorned with a cute hair clip, and was dressed adorably. One look and you could tell she was the type of well-behaved girl.
She, too, noticed Haruto standing in front of Gabriel's door.
"Ah, Haruto-kun! Are you here to see Gabriel as well?"
The girl greeted him.
Haruto quickly ran through his memories.
Then, he recalled—the girl in front of him was a classmate from Sobu High and also an important character in Gabriel's storyline...
A demon?
Vignette April Tsukinose.
"Hello, Vignette-san," Haruto responded.
The girl named Vignette looked a little surprised.
"Wow, Haruto-kun actually knows my name?"
After all, Haruto had spent two semesters as an exchange student, meaning he had barely attended classes at Sobu High.
And in that limited time, he was either locked in intellectual battles with Yukino or getting cozy with Megumi.
Although they were classmates, Vignette had never spoken to Haruto before.
Haruto was well-known, so of course, Vignette knew his name. But the fact that Haruto knew hers? That was unexpected.
Haruto waved it off.
"It would be rude not to remember a classmate's name, wouldn't it?"
(Megumi Kato: Excuse me? You don't just forget names—you forget entire people!)
"That aside, Vignette, you're here to see Gabriel too? Did she do something unforgivable again?"
Hearing this, Vignette instinctively shook her head—then hesitantly nodded.
"I had a 9 AM appointment with Gabriel to go shopping, but she never showed up."
Haruto glanced at his phone.
It was already 1 PM.
His lips twitched slightly.
"Don't tell me you've been waiting this whole time?"
Vignette, a little embarrassed, nodded.