"Petra, don't be distracted in the middle of the fight."

In the forest where the giant was ambushed somewhere, Chu Xuan, who had eliminated the last giant, let go of Petra, who had just been held in his arms, and reprimanded her in a serious tone.

However, in a long battle, only a pervert like Chu Xuan could do it, so he didn't blame Petra too much as an ordinary person.

"Ah...... Yes, I'm sorry! ”

With an apologetic smile, Petra lowered her head and looked up at Chu Xuan, and admitted her mistake to Chu Xuan a little shyly.

Because it was already winter, her face was blown red by the cold wind in the forest, like a ripe apple with a lovely face.

"That's it for today's mission, wrap up the team."

Chu Xuan didn't care about Petra's eyes, which seemed to be a little too bright and moist, and after nodding to her, he turned around and gave the order to the other members of the "Chu Xuan Squad" to close the team.

"Ah......hh It's finally over!

Tomorrow is the New Year, but we still have a mission this morning, we knew that this would not be an elite team member, and now everyone else has already bought the materials for the feast in the market! ”

Sasha, who had a much longer ponytail, stretched out her waist greatly after putting away the half-edged blade, highlighting her breasts, which were unusually well developed because of adequate nutrition, and complained very dissatisfied.

"That's what you said this time last year."

Although she no longer had an expression that seemed to be unhappy with anything, but she was still like Chu Xuan, the ice and snow beauty Ani who had been wearing a poker face, walked past Sasha expressionlessly, and said to her in a cold voice that was very in line with this season.

"Oops...... I already regretted it last year, but I can't leave Chu Xuan anymore.

――What is that, 'If you want to capture a woman's stomach, you must first capture a woman's heart'?

Well...... It always feels like this sentence is a bit weird. ”

"Because you say it's upside down, you foodie don't know what that means!

Anyway, you're 18 years old, do you dare to have something else in addition to your appetite?

Do you really get all the nutrients you take up to your breasts, sow? ”

The tall, lanky freckled woman Ymir stared at Sasha's bulging boobs with contempt and envy, and sarcastically mocked her, but Sasha was accustomed to resisting only the poisonous attack of "meagrely" with her cheekiness.

"Ahaha...... Anyway, Chu Xuan also said that being able to eat means that he is healthy, as long as the fat content in his body is still within the normal range, and there are no other abnormalities in his body, he doesn't need to care. ”

"Tsk! That's the only thing you remember very clearly! ”

Facing Sasha, who showed her shiny white teeth and raised her thumbs up, Ymir complained hatefully, and then Christa immediately came over to reassure her and Sasha:

"Don't stumble over this little thing, let's go back to dinner and buy the ingredients for dinner."

If you don't hurry, the good stuff may have already been sold out. ”

"Ahh Then let's hurry back and stop complaining here. ”

Hearing this, Sasha's face immediately changed drastically, and she hurriedly urged the others.

"Hey! You're the only one complaining! ”

Ymir yelled at Sasha in a huff, but the cheeky foodie turned a deaf ear and ran away from the horses tied under the tree.

However, Ymir wasn't really angry, she was just trying to have some fun with herself in the boring days that were too peaceful.

Ever since the outer gates of the Torrost District were re-blocked, they had not encountered anything "new" except for the discovery of an ape-giant throwing stones in the distance between the Walls of Rossi and Maria.

This peaceful passage has passed for more than a year, and it looks like it will continue for a few more years until the undiscovered giants and armored giants reappear.

That night, Chu Xuan's team enjoyed a sumptuous dinner together in the station exclusively occupied by their team to welcome the New Year.

After the meal, Chu Xuan temporarily left the restaurant, which was still full of laughter and laughter, and met Mikasa, who was looking up at the bright moon, in the silent atrium.

After Allen's death, Mikasa became the most silent person in Chu Xuan's team...... No, she was the most silent person in the first place.

But anyway, after Allen's death, the other girls in Chu Xuan's team felt that Mikasa seemed to be very different from before.

It's just that a few months after Allen has passed away, Mikasa's silence has begun to become natural, and it no longer makes people feel worried, and it can be regarded as returning to "normal", so Hrista and the others did not deliberately create any joyful atmosphere around Mikasa to make her happy, but let go of all worries and began to get along with her normally.

- In Chu Xuan's team, Ani, who finally returned to everyone's side, is also different, but her surname is still so cold, and Chu Xuan has always had an expressionless poker face, so the rest of them have a lot of experience in getting along with taciturn partners.

"What's the matter with calling me out?"

After catching Chu Xuan's figure from the corner of his eye, Mikasa naturally turned his head and asked him in a calm and gentle voice.

Although Mikasa was not like Herlista, Sasha, and Petra, who unconsciously smiled when she saw Chu Xuan, her expression was not like Ymir, but like a glass of warm water on the table, calm with a faint warmth.

And the temperature of her glass of water ...... It seems to be a little taller than Ani.

"It's New Year, and I want to give you a gift."

Chu Xuan didn't talk nonsense, but directly explained the reason and took out something in his arms.

Maybe she didn't expect that a cold man like Chu Xuan, who seemed to be made of steel, would give her a New Year's gift, Mikasa's eyes couldn't help but widen and froze for a while.

Chu Xuan, who had reflective glasses, walked out of the shadows of the cloister, unfolded the New Year's gift in his arms, which was not even packaged, and wrapped it around Mikasa's neck without saying a word.

The warmth of the human body temperature made Mikasa's pores stand up, and she couldn't help but shiver before she lowered her head and picked up the warm woolen fabric with both hands.

No matter how closely she looked at it, it was just a very ordinary pale yellow long scarf, perhaps because there was still Chu Xuan's body temperature on it, which made this pale yellow also seem warm.

"It's like...... The sun is ...... like that."

Mikasa muttered subconsciously, then folded his hands as if to keep the warm sunlight in place, and pressed the end of his scarf to his chest.

The warmth around her sensitive neck kept converging in her heart, where something seemed to feel the warmth of the spring sun, and then quietly broke out of her shell.

In a trance, Mikasa seemed to see the figure who had once wrapped a red scarf around her, but then this shadow gradually became clear, and turned into Chu Xuan, who was reflected in his glasses.

“……”

Rarely, Mikasa looked away, and a hint of blush appeared on her fair face—but maybe it was just because of the cold.

She didn't know what she should say at this time, but she didn't know why, but her heart didn't feel flustered at all, but was much more stable than usual.

Chu Xuan pushed down his reflective glasses expressionlessly, and then looked away like Mikasa, and said to the air in a boring voice that was as smooth and uninhibited as ever:

"You've been ...... lately Want a scarf, right? ”

"Hmmm......"

A faint voice came from the cold wind, and then the two silent men stood shoulder to shoulder, quietly admiring the bright moon hanging high in the night sky.

This winter, when the girls around her start to put on scarves, Mikasa's eyes often stop at the scarf stalls and even on the necks of others, but she doesn't buy a scarf for herself.

Because for Mikasa, a "scarf" is ......

It needs to be warmly bound by someone else to surround her. (To be continued.) )