I found myself atop of Ichirou’s lap while facing him at point blank while trying to get him look at my eyes. He desperately tries to avoid my gaze and because of this weird position, Ichirou ended averting his eyes even more.

As I become aware of it, even I halt my about to throw tantrum at him. Maybe because of adrenaline endlessly flowing inside me, I haven’t noticed it earlier but it was so cold. I am not wearing anything that could help fend myself off from the harsh temperature of the forest at night. The temperature at day can fluctuate to a little warm to misty cold but at night, the temperature drastically drops.

My body shivers as a cold wind brushes off my skin.

“Asagao, are you cold? You must be.”

“Hmph! We’re not done yet. You kept something from me and I demand that you say what you are hiding from me with your own lips.”

I reprimand Ichirou. I heard it earlier from Gria and can confirm with little questions but I want Ichirou to tell me exactly about it. I want to hear his voice saying those words honestly. At this point, I don’t know him anymore. I feel like if he constantly kept secrets from me, I feel like I am going to drift apart from him.

I feel frustrated too that he has secrets with Senya, any kinds of secrets.  It is like he is leaving me out of things that he should be frank and honest with me.

“Please tell me, Ichirou! Please don’t keep secrets from me.”

“That’s a little bit hard…”

I clench my fist as I plead to him like I am a lost child. I don’t know anymore what this swirling negative emotion inside of me. My chest feels so tight and my heart feels so empty and lonely as I think of this things. It’s different from the loneliness that I felt when I am lonely, away from my friends, from the man who accepted me as his own family and from the mother I just met.

It feels unpleasant and bittersweet.

“Before, you're honest and frank with everyone, you’re always diligent and constantly pursuing the justice you firmly believe…but now…you’re…different…”

“I…I could say the same thing to you Asagao! You’re always running around without letting me know! What do you think I feel whenever you do stunt like that! You don’t know how worried I am to you!”

“But this…this secret you are keeping from me…!”

“Asagao…even I want my own privacy…I cannot tell everything to you. I have my own life and you do not control me.”

“That’s…”

I became quiet. My world stops momentarily as Ichirou worded back to me. I cannot refute or say anything. We are equally guilty if he put it that way or less, I am far worse. I don’t know why but I became intrusive of his life, even though I promised to him, that’s not something necessary to be followed for our own on-going lives.

“We are not…some lovers or anything for me to blurt out anything to you.”

He killed it.

It was a question to me why did tears start gushing out from my eyelids.  I am no longer aware of what feeling I have right now. I don’t know…

I don’t know…

“Asagao…?”

“Eh…? W-Why…? You are absolutely right but…why do these tears started appearing?”

It hurts, it’s suffocating and it frustrates me further. At the same time, sadness and coldness circulate in my heart. I feel like spikes and thorns are crawling to my neck as I acknowledge his notion.

He is correct and I am wrong. It is my fault for thinking that this is some kind of fairy tale that my friends and people that I love will be perpetually honest with me.

I tried wiping the tears with the back of my hands but it continued flowing like a waterfall. Ichirou is now staring at me and I felt even more embarrassed and faulty at this point that I cannot help but leave from my place.

I tried to stand up and leave Ichirou alone as I wipe my endless tears…

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“Wait!”

However, I was immediately pulled back by Ichirou as he holds my hand and pushes me against his body as he places his other hand on my back like he is protecting me. My knees fall softly between his thighs and naturally, my body bends over towards him.

I look again at his that looked blurry to me as my eyes still teary. He looks back at me with resolute eyes. His grasp on my hand tightens gently and his body warmth is slowly being transmitted to me. Even with the place shrouded with trees and veil of darkness that only the moonlight illuminates and the chilly air blows, my body felt oddly warms and nice.

“Asagao…if…you want me to be frank with you…then…then…”

“Ichirou…”

“You should better know that…I…kind of…lust for you…despite of how small you are. It’s kind of indecent that I feel bad…”

“I know that…”

“There are times…that I just want to lock you up somewhere safe where you wouldn’t even think of doing something reckless…”

“Yes…”

“You’re just so adorable and cute that I just can’t help myself not to protect you for my own satisfaction…”

“I see…”

“Don’t you have anything to say?”

“Me…?”

“Yes…”

“I…I like the honest Ichirou. I like the diligent and hardworking Ichirou. I like the frantic and embarrassed Ichirou.”

“I am happy that you feel that way for me. I am happy that regardless of how I wanted to treat you, you still ought to trust me.”

“That’s right…we are connected on a spiritual level after all.”

I became oddly satisfied. I immediately buried my face on his chest as I shed more tears. I broke into a grin as I remember everything he said about it.

I didn’t know that…I could feel happy about what he said despite being a previous man. I know that this might be the joy of being a girl and a girl’s longing for the compliment but personally, I feel happy deep inside.

“Asagao…actually…I won’t live long…”

“……”

“You already know that I imitated the godly artifact Excelsior, right?”

“Yeah…”

“The truth is…using Excelsior puts a lot of stress to my fragmented soul. Because of the instability inside of me, the remains of my little soul endures the power that Excelsior in a result of burning it out. In other words, it’s withering now.”

“How…how many times did you use it? How long…are you going to live?”

“I’ve already used it three times. The first one is when we fought a giant devil in the demon continent, the second one is when we fought the three dragons in the underground cavern where we found the lost capital, and the last one is when I used it to heal the pirates that were affected by radiation.”

“And…if you use it one last time…”

“Senya said that…I, without fail, will die if I use it again. For how long I am going to live, I don’t know…I might just…disappear one day.”

My heart has been spiking for a while now. From sadness to happiness and now it was brought down to utter despair. I didn’t look at his face. I only kept my head buried in his chest silently as I also tighten the grip of my hand to his.

If the same thing would happen to Ichirou as what happened to master, then I ought to spend more time with him. I want to engrave every feeling we will share with each other as long as he is around. It would be ideal if we get his soul back but there’s no guarantee of that happening.

This feeling of mine…this feeling that I kept ignoring…I finally realized what it is…

I thought that it won’t happen to me as I am man inside, that I won’t going to feel this way for him, that I won’t want something like this, but, as this time comes…

This moment confirmed it…

I am already…

.

.

.

Since the case is already closed and solved, I, together with Ichirou, Mimi, Gria, Hasu who is now in form of Shouta, and finally, Shouko head towards the mansion.

Ichirou and I returned to the group like nothing happened. We were both smiling and at the same time, a little embarrassed. Once again Shouko and Shouta conveyed their thanks to us. Since they don’t have any other place to stay, I gleefully invited them to the mansion, Gria included.

When I introduced Gria with Ichirou, Ichirou started panicking when he heard that he is Diyu’s father. However, he didn’t mention anything about his feeling for Diyu and so, I am inclined to keep it a secret too.

Mimi is Mimi. I just introduced her as a maid in the mansion. When I was asked by Shouta why she is strong, I just said that she is an abnormal one.

We also heard from Shouta that he is the one killed Kran, the Arcana of Envy but he said that Kran is oddly weak, far from what Ichirou described. He confirmed his death with a stab on the head with his spear. That’s how he got Ichirou’s soul.

We stayed at the wooden house and Shouko and I rested there. The other’s are far simply abnormal for rest, even Mimi.

As the dawn came, we started walking towards the mansion with Mimi’s guidance. Her lead is accurate and used all kinds of safe shortcuts. We didn’t bother running because no one wants to be rough with Shouko’s body. She might be safe now from diseases and such but her stamina as a whole hasn’t returned yet.

Our rests are consist of basking our feet in the river, a little detour for the curious Shouko and I about weird plants inside the forest and constant bickering of Ichirou and Shouta who occasionally and boldly transform to Hasu.

It’s already dusk when we arrive at the mansion from afar, we saw Casablanca and Hibiscus together with Topaz sitting on a bench with swaying heads and sleepy eyes. It seems that they have been waiting for our return. Emby is beside Hibiscus, watching around.

I want to run towards them and give them an open hug when suddenly, from the opposite direction, we saw numerous people too. I thought that it just might be Senya, Fang, and Kel but right now, there are more of them.

We came from the south and they came from the north and the Mansion’s gate is facing east so naturally, we face each other as we got closer.

My eyes suddenly went wide and my heart grew happier.

“Awawawawa!!!”

As I realized who the people are with Senya, I became bright and cheery again. I started running towards them and Ichirou, Shouko, and Shouta realizes who the other one’s with them and confusingly stare at the people they don’t know.

The girl with triangular fox ears dyed with caramel brown color, the same color as her hair and tails, the tails that seem to wag energetically. Her familiar oriental clothes which are heavily modified and her familiar deadpan face. She also runs towards me.

At the same time, besides her is a big boob girl with skimpy top clothes and long skirt. A silver hair that flows like a gentle river and tantalizing yellow eyes seems to sparkle brightly at my sight. Her undefeatable smile beholds to my sight and she also rushes towards me.

As we were about to collide, we hold out arms and…

THUD!

I was brought down by their sheer weight and we rolled several meters on the ground while tangled with each other’s embrace.

“Higan! Alstroe!”

“Asagao, finally, we are complete again!”

“Asagao!! How I miss your scent!~!”

The two rubs their head to my body like they were lost animals that were just found.

I am extremely happy that I started rubbing their heads as they bury their faces to my bosom.

They are back, we are back as the trio. The two people I first started adventuring with…

Alstroemeria and Higanbana…

“I…also misses you two!”

“Shut up, you don’t know how we miss you more than you miss us!”

“Yeah, Asagao! You made more friends without us!”

Yeah…I miss this…

Together with Alstroe and Higan is Fang, Senya, and Kel, but there’s more addition other than these two idiots.

The familiar lethargic eyes and lean build but tall, a man whose features are black hair and eyes but wholesomely, looks so handsome, an arcana magician too, Susanoo. Clinging to his arm is a smaller girl with blazing red hair and crimson eyes with two horns sprouting from her cranium. What’s prominent about her is her abnormally large boobs, nonetheless, she looks adorable.

“Ah, Susanoo!!”

“It is Susanoo!!!”

“Pii?”

Casablanca and Hibiscus spotted Susanoo with the group and rushes energetically towards him. However, other than a hug, the two actually…

“Uhhh!’

“Susanoo!!!”

The two actually tackled him with smiling faces. The girl with him panics as two smaller girl swarms over him.

Oh boy, it seems that this is going to be a happy mess…