It was noon on a bright spring day. A park just outside the center of Lumiose City was filled with a languid vitality. Warm sunlight shone on the freshly sprouted light-green leaves, and whenever the wind blew, pink cherry blossom petals scattered like snow. The laughter of families and couples could be heard from a distance.

Beneath the shade of a large sycamore tree, untouched by the clamor, a girl stood as if nailed to the spot with an old handcart. Hex maniac. She was staring blankly down at the cooler bag on her handcart. On the side of the cooler bag, ‘Hearty Milk’ was written in crooked handwriting.

'I haven't sold a single bottle today either.' She saw it on the internet. <Do this and you’re 100% guaranteed to make a friend!> One of the methods was

'to sell useful items to people and strike up a conversation.' But Hex maniac couldn’t bring herself to speak to the laughing people passing by. For her, it was an incredibly difficult spell.

As a child, looking curious, tried to approach her, the child’s mother grabbed their arm with a look of disgust and hurriedly moved away. As if used to such things, she simply lowered her gaze.

"...Hehe." An unplaceable emotion forced its way up her throat and came out as a strange laugh. As if to change her mood, she opened the lid of the cooler bag.

Pshhhh— A white chill billowed out from inside like smoke. Dozens of neatly arranged milk bottles were visible. They were glass bottles with handwritten ‘Hearty Milk’ labels. She took out the bottle at the very front and meticulously wiped it with a handkerchief. Then, suddenly, she noticed an unfamiliar shadow cast at her feet.

'...Eh.' She didn’t have the courage to lift her head. Her heart began to pound violently. Through her messy, overgrown dark purple bangs, she could see the tips of the other person’s shoes. Someone had stopped right in front of her handcart. It had always been people who treated her like she was invisible and avoided her. This was the first time anyone had faced her head-on from such a close distance.

Silence stretched on. A minute, or maybe ten, seemed to pass. Unable to bear the awkwardness, she was just about to quietly pull her handcart away and flee. No, I can’t do that. If I run away here, I’ll never make a friend in my life. With trembling hands, she tightly gripped the side of her black dress. And in a voice so small it was almost inaudible, she barely managed to squeeze out the words.

"W-Would you l-like to buy some Hearty Milk?"

It wasn’t the air of a dark, damp basement. There was no familiar smell of mold, no stickiness of cobwebs. Instead, what pricked her nose was the scent of freshly laundered sheets and a somewhat sweet air freshener.

When she came to her senses, Hex maniac was sitting blankly on a fluffy carpet.

'Where am I?' A strange scene filled her wandering purple eyes. An overly spacious room. A huge bed on one side looked so fluffy that throwing yourself on it would feel like sinking into a cloud. On the other side were what appeared to be the latest game consoles and a large TV, and next to them, a silver refrigerator stood, looking heavy as if it were full.

There were no windows. The door, which seemed to be the only exit, remained firmly shut, not budging no matter how much she turned the handle.

In a situation that would normally cause panic, Hex maniac’s mind was filled with other thoughts.

'A magical barrier? An abduction by another species? Or... a transfer to another world?' Zzzt— Her thoughts were interrupted as her gaze turned to the source of the sound. The large, powered-off TV screen glitched with noise before white letters appeared.

[Until the two of you become

'friends,' you cannot leave this room.]

"Friends?" A mumble escaped her lips. As she repeated the word over and over, Hex maniac’s cheeks slowly began to blush. A chance had finally come for her, who had always been alone. An ancient ritual from her grimoires, one that arranges a fateful meeting, must have been activated.

'T-This is a god-given opportunity!' Forcing her pounding heart to calm down, she shot to her feet. This wasn’t the time to be lost in sentiment. She couldn’t miss this chance. She sat down in the middle of the room and picked up a permanent marker that was lying next to the game consoles.

'Yes, I had a secret spell prepared for a time like this. An ancient magic circle to bind friendship and destiny! Just like in the book!' Shk, shk-shk— With unhesitating movements, she began to draw a complex pattern and runes on the carpet. It was a little crooked, but the effort she put in was second to none. A few minutes later, a rather plausible-looking magic circle was complete. Hex maniac wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled with satisfaction.

Hehe, it’s perfect. The power of this magic circle is absolute. All that’s left is the final step of the ritual.

She carefully sat in the center of the magic circle, then turned her head towards the other person who had been quietly watching the whole spectacle from a corner of the room. Her voice trembled slightly from the tension.

"Um... Are you ready to become our friends now?"

A quiet Lumiose City night. It was just past midnight. The cold night air brushed against her cheeks, making her instinctively shrink. Tugging at the collar of her loose beige trench coat, Hex maniac looked around. The mouth of the alley, untouched by the streetlight, was submerged in darkness. The silence of the deserted residential area was so awkward that she swallowed hard.

'A post I saw on an internet forum…

"Wear this outfit and walk around your favorite place three times at midnight, and you are guaranteed to make a friend." It must be true.’

Remembering her attire, Hex maniac clutched the hem of her coat tightly. Hidden beneath the trench coat was a black latex micro bikini, its sensation of clinging to her skin uncannily vivid. With every step, her enormous breasts, barely covered by a scrap of fabric, swayed heavily, asserting their presence. The long latex gloves and thigh-high socks, not hidden by the coat, reflected the dim streetlight, giving off a shiny presence.

Her face flushed with embarrassment, but if she could just make a friend, this was nothing. She was already on her second lap. Just one more lap, and the friend she so desperately longed for would appear before her.

'If... I make a friend... there's so much I want to do together. Like a pilgrimage to psychic spots, or a Ouija board... hehe...' She couldn’t suppress the corners of her mouth from turning up at the mere thought. A disturbing laugh echoed quietly in the darkness.

"Hehe... hehehe..." She looked at the small handcart she had brought with her. On top of it, a cooler bag with ‘Hearty Milk’ written on it sat obediently. It was the first gift for the new friend she was about to make. They would surely be happy.

It was just as she completed her third and final lap. Hex maniac stopped in front of the old park bench, the designated meeting spot. Holding her breath, she scanned her surroundings, but all she could see was the faint moonlight pouring through the bare tree branches.

'...They're not here?' A wave of disappointment washed over her, and her shoulders were about to slump.

Then, within the circle of light cast by a streetlight, she saw someone standing.

Her heart leaped into her throat. They really appeared! She unknowingly took a step back. Even though her wish had come true, her entire body stiffened at the sight of a stranger. How should I talk to them? What should I say? Her mind went blank.

At that moment, another internet post flashed through her mind.

"A gift is the first key to opening someone's heart. Offer them what you treasure most." Her most treasured thing. Without hesitation, she reached for the cooler bag on her handcart. She took out a cool milk bottle and held it tightly in her arms. Then, she squeezed out every last bit of her courage. Forcing her trembling legs to move, she approached the figure.

"U-um... Excuse me!" Her voice came out quivering like a goat’s bleat.

"T-this is... Hearty Milk... W-would you... would you like to try some? B-because I... I w-want to be... friends..."

The damp chill of an autumn morning drifted through the corridors of the old mansion. Faint sunlight squeezed through a tear in the curtains, making dust motes that looked a hundred years old sparkle in the air. The room was in disarray, piled high with occult books of unknown origin, strangely shaped dolls, and tools of unknown purpose.

At the center of this chaos, on a creaky old leather sofa, Hex maniac was engulfed in a sense of fulfillment she had never felt before in her life.

'Hehe... a friend...' Her entire body was pressed against the person sitting next to her. From head to toe, she clung like a sticky rice cake, craving their warmth. It was only a few hours ago that she first learned that a person’s warmth could be so comforting and pleasant.

Hex maniac buried her face in their shoulder and inhaled greedily. Into her own world, which had only been filled with the smell of dust and old paper, a completely different, unfamiliar scent was mixing in. This was the scent of a

'friend.' She sniffed over and over, as if trying to etch the fragrance deep into her lungs.

Sniff… sniff… Her messy, dark purple hair spilled over the other’s clothes. As she pressed her body closer, the massive flesh of her breasts was pleasantly squished between their arm and side. Even through the tight purple dress and black turtleneck, the overwhelming volume and soft texture were fully conveyed.

'Warm... soft...' squish… Like a cat marking its territory, Occult Mania gently rubbed her cheek and chest against them. It was an action she couldn’t control herself. Once she recognized them as a

'friend,' every sensation derived from them became a source of pleasure. The heat rising from their connected skin, the rhythmic rise and fall of their body, every single breath that filled the quiet space—it all intoxicated her.

A strange laugh escaped her lips, unable to contain her joy.

"Hehe... hehehe..." Her lightly flushed cheeks, her mysterious purple eyes with their concentric ring patterns, were hazily unfocused. She squirmed, pressing her body even more tightly against theirs. It wasn’t intentional, but every time she moved, her enormous breasts rubbed languidly against their arm, creating a strange friction. The unfamiliar sensation sent a tingle down her spine.

She slowly lifted her head and looked up at them. The eyes beneath her heavy dark circles curved into thin crescents of satisfaction.

"Um... friend..." Her voice was low and husky. Hex maniac hesitated for a moment, then carefully placed her hand over theirs, which rested on her thigh. Her pale, cool fingers, which had never seen the sun, intertwined with their warmth.

"Are you... thirsty...? Want to drink... my milk?"