Heroic Spirit: I, Shinji, have tried my best.

In the bathroom...or rather, in a cave.

The sound of rushing water broke the tranquility of the environment. Shinji soaked in the water comfortably, with his hands behind his head, enjoying this hard-earned quiet time.

Usually at this time, Hubie would run over and stick to him unreasonably, but today was a little different, because this time there was a third party...

“…Why are you here!?”

Hubie pouted and glared at the girl in front of her who had intruded into her and Shinji's world of two. Her displeasure could be seen on her face.

The mechanical girl on the opposite side could naturally see this, but she was unable to identify things through her heart and could not understand this inexplicable hostility.

"My mission is to keep a close eye on the actions of [Individual] Shinji, so naturally I have to act together with you... Although Ashe doesn't understand why he doesn't just use the [Self-cleaning Program], but chooses this inefficient cleaning method..."

The girl who was given the name Ashe not long ago scooped up a handful of water in confusion, looking at her beautiful face reflected in the water, but her heart was deathly silent.

She was curious as to why Shubi could visibly show happiness when he was with Shinji, but she felt nothing when she did the same thing.

[Heart]...it really is a very magical thing...

"…whispering sound!"

Looking at the empty shell of the other party, Hubie immediately lost the idea of ​​defending herself, because even the other party herself did not realize that there was anything wrong with her behavior, so no matter how much she said, it would be useless. She could only smack her lips in dissatisfaction...

"Pfft hahaha!"

Shinji looked at Shubi's resentful look and burst into laughter, which made the girl even more unhappy...

[Sure enough, she shouldn’t have rescued these guys in the first place…]

"...?"

Ashe looked at Shuvi, then at Shinji who was laughing for some reason, and tilted her head in confusion... It seemed that these Ex-Machinas liked to use this action to express their confusion.

Is this what the science experts mean by looking at things from a different angle?

The three of them occupied three corners like this, and they remained like this until the three of them left together. This wonderful time for Hubie was thus broken...

At night, Shinji and Shubi were lying on the same pillow. Shubi threw all the complaints she had accumulated throughout the day to Shinji, but the other party didn't seem to understand her anger and just kept laughing.

As for the owner she mentioned, he had been severely warned before that unless something unexpected happened, he could not enter this room while sleeping...

"… Nai~ Shinji, can we throw Ashe away?"

"Hahaha, there's no need to go to that extent. After all, wasn't it like this when you first started?"

"But…"

"Okay...don't worry! I know you're worried that she will affect the relationship between us."

"But Hubie, you have to know that you are a very special person in my heart!"

"special?"

"Yes... It feels like a development game. I have been trying to help you find your so-called heart. During this period, we have had quite a lot of contact, and in the end, it really did bear fruit..."

"So you have to believe that you are special, and you can't be replaced by another Ex-Machina."

"Shinji... is what you said true?"

"of course it's true!"

Hubie quietly lay on Shinji's chest, listening to the other party's promise without hesitation, and his heart suddenly felt warm... Suddenly, Hubie, as if he thought of something, suddenly raised his head and looked at Shinji with shining eyes:

"Is Hubie old enough to be Shinji's wife now?"

"Yes, it is."

"Then can we..."

"Ah... that one you're talking about..."

Shinji chuckled and looked at Shubi with an ambiguous look. This time he did not say no, because this was a natural outcome...

The light in Hubie's eyes became even brighter.

"Then let's get started without further delay!"

……

After a while, the rustling sounds in the room gradually stopped, and with a faint exclamation, everything returned to silence...

After the battle, Shinji lay down contentedly and prepared to rest, while Hyugi, who was standing beside him, was still excited and stared at Shinji with his big eyes:

"Shinji...are you satisfied?"

“…Thanks for the treat!”

"So is Hubie's simulation appropriate?"

"Well... this is actually a little too tight..."

Shinji scratched his head, feeling that this kind of thing always had an inexplicable sense of immorality... Obviously, Xubi was much older than him...

"Eh!? Still not enough?"

Hearing what Shinji said, Hubie immediately became distressed. Her body proportions were obviously based on normal human proportions, so why was it not working?

Just as the two were preparing to go to bed, there was a sudden noise at the door, and then...

"boom!"

The fragile wooden door was kicked to pieces by a pair of long legs in black over-the-knee socks. Ashe walked in slowly with a cold look on her face, facing the stunned gazes of the two people on the bed.

"..."

"..."

The three of them stared at each other, and the scene suddenly became quiet. If someone who didn't know better saw it, they would think that the real owner came here to catch someone having an affair...

"…I said…why did you suddenly come in…"

Shinji was shirtless, covering his head and looking at Ashe speechlessly. This weird scene really gave him a headache.

"Didn't I remember saying that you don't have to follow me when I go to bed at night?"

"No... I found the enemy. This is considered a special situation in Ashe's identification system. I need to report it to Shinji immediately."

"What!? There are enemies!"

Upon hearing this, Shinji and Shubi immediately straightened their expressions and their faces darkened:

[The plan is already very comprehensive, who on earth would attack them at this time...]

However, before the two of them could get dressed and get out of bed, a figure tied up with ropes was thrown by Ashe in the middle of the room.

"Don't worry, I've already caught her."

When saying this, Ashe raised her head slightly, with an expression that said, "Praise me quickly."

After Shinji and Shubi saw the man on the ground, their expressions became indescribable again...

“Woooooo! Woooooooooooooooo!!!”

I saw a creature on the ground with cloth stuffed in its mouth, its wings tied up along with its hands and feet, leaving only a small heart-shaped tail flapping anxiously on the ground...

This familiar scene, this familiar person...who else could it be but Lilith?

"…I……"

Shinji wanted to talk but stopped himself. The words were right on the tip of his tongue but he just didn't know how to say it. There were too many loopholes for him to even find a breakthrough for a while.

Ashe saw Shinji's expression and thought that he hadn't understood, so she recounted what had just happened in detail:

"I found some strange footprints left by the enemy in the base, and then I looked for traces to determine the possibility that a [blood-sucking species] had sneaked in, but since I couldn't be sure, I didn't bother you..."

"Then I set up a hidden trigger signal near your room and waited for the enemy to show up. Sure enough, a trigger signal was received soon after."

"In order to prevent the enemy from realizing the danger and escaping, I can only temporarily break the rule you said [Don't go near Shinji's room at night]..."

Ashe glanced coldly at the struggling figure on the ground. As a Mecha commander, her experience made her very disdainful of this clumsy infiltration.

"Then I found her sneaking around the door of your room, so I arrested her."

"..."

"..."

“…Woo woo!”

"Snapped!"

Shinji slapped his forehead, and was so speechless that he almost lost the ability to speak. However, Hubie, who was standing next to him, got out of bed sensibly, put on a coat, and went to untie the idiot on the ground. He also briefly explained to Ashe that the other party was one of their own.

“…Huh! I’m finally alive… wuwu…”

"Ah! That woman! That damn woman almost beat the shit out of me... I was so close to being beaten to death by her with a cannon!"

After Lilith was untied, she crawled to Shinji in grief, and for a moment she kept telling him about her experiences as if she had found someone to lean on.

Shinji was having a headache right now and was in no mood to listen to her nonsense, so he interrupted her and asked her directly why she was at the door of his room.

The vampire girl froze for a moment after hearing this, then put on a cute expression, tapped her head lightly with her fist, and playfully stuck out her tongue in an attempt to get away with it:

“…Actually, I asked about the taste of the food, hehe!”

"..."

"hey-hey!"

"Strange strength..."

"Eh? What did you say..."

"boom!!!"