Nadeshiko’s eyes scrunched up.
Ah, she’s going to cry.
Rindo panicked, but she did not cry. Instead, she whispered in a tiny voice, “I like you.”
Rindo couldn’t hear any other sound for a moment. Had she ever said it so sadly? It didn’t sound like she didn’t want to say it, though.
“I like you. I love you.”
It felt like there was something torturing her inside.
“But I want to grow up.”
“Nadeshiko…”
“I want to be an adult…”
Rindo could tell that Nadeshiko didn’t hate him, but he couldn’t figure out the intention behind her comment.
I don’t get it.
It was incomprehensible.
He could understand a child wanting to grow up, could understand why she would feel ill at ease around adults.
That reaction would be understandable if she had come to dislike him, but she hadn’t. He was confused.
She simply insisted she wanted to grow up.
“Does growing up mean pushing me away?”
“…”
“Does it mean accepting a marriage you don’t want so everyone else will be okay?”
“Yes…”
Finally, she responded.
“Nadeshiko, a real adult doesn’t bear all the weight. They talk with other people to try and find a solution. If there’s anything weighing on your mind and you can’t tell me, you can rely on Ms. Sanekazura or Shirahagi. Just please ask the adults for help.”
“…”
“Can’t we help you?”
Rindo did not understand the cruelty of his words.
Nadeshiko could not confess to the trouble that afflicted her. The closer the person was to her, the less capable she was of admitting she needed something. She wanted to scream.
Is it true that I killed someone?
Is it true that you didn’t want to be my Guard?
Is it true that the Agent of Autumn makes the people they love suffer?
How can I make up for my sin?
How can I stop you from suffering?
What can I do to make you quit being my Guard?
What’s the best way to get the people you love away from you?
Aren’t you really afraid of touching me?
This was what Nadeshiko needed help with, but she could not ask any of those questions to her beloved Guard. It would hurt him. So Nadeshiko forced a smile.
“…You can. You see, I’ve been feeling sick since yesterday. Maybe I have a cold. I don’t want you to catch it, so you should keep your distance.”
“Nadeshiko…”
Rindo could say nothing more to her excuse. He was at a loss for words and had no idea how to get her to treat him like she had before. He could only watch her hang her head with a knot in his chest.
Hanakiri broke the awkward silence with a bark. The sound was harsher than usual. Rindo looked at him.
“What’s wrong, Hanakiri?”
The dog barked at the fence again.
I don’t think it’s another dog out on a walk.
Hanakiri had been raised by the Hazakura sisters, so he never barked needlessly at other animals—not even dogs, birds, or cats. He barked at people, but never in a threatening way.
“…Ah.”
Rindo was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of his phone ringing. He took it out of his pocket.
“Nadeshiko, let me take this.”
She did not respond.
The call was from Raicho, who was currently god knows where, but Rindo felt more at peace when he was away.
He would rather not pick up, but he had a duty.
“Yes, it’s Rindo. Where are you now, Mr. Raicho?”
“Get out of there, now.”
Raicho immediately gave what sounded like a command. The coldness of his words made Rindo’s brain stop for a moment.
“What?”
Raicho kept going without a pause. “There are suspicious cars around there, parking on the street like it’s nothing.”
“…Mr. Raicho?”
“Yeah, this is bad. They’ve got guns. The police guarding the place have noticed, but there aren’t enough of them to take care of this.”
“Where are you watching from?!”
“I’m in a tree. They’re fully armed. Listen, Mr. Azami. Some guys in masks are going to attack you. Pick Lady Nadeshiko up and get ready to run. I’ll back you up while you get back to the building. You all are in the most dangerous spot. Ruri’s phone will go off in five seconds; take that as your sign to run. She knows that’s our emergency signal. She’ll defend you; you just get out of there.”
He didn’t sound like his usual self. There was not a hint of joking in his calm and collected tone.
“If this is a joke…”
“You can kill me if it is. Good luck.”
Rindo put the phone in his pocket as soon as the call ended and looked around.
Everyone was having a snack and talking next to the church. The escorts were still on guard. Raicho had called Rindo in this situation because they were in danger, standing outside the building. Something was coming from the garden side.
Should I trust Raicho?
Then an ear-piercing noise blared.
It sounded like a fire alarm coming from some unknown place.
Rindo looked at the church and saw Ruri holding her phone in shock.
The noise should shock the attackers, too, which would slow them down a bit.
This was the perfect moment to run.
““Enemy attack!!””
Ruri and Rindo both yelled out at the same time.
Rindo’s body moved immediately, even as he was still catching up with the situation. He picked Nadeshiko up and held her against his side, carrying her like a bag.
“Hanakiri, run!”
The guard dog was already running before Rindo even gave the shout.
“Eep!”
A gunshot fired as Nadeshiko shrieked.
“Enemy attack! Protect the Agents!”
“Secure an escape route!”
“Lord Azami! Come over here!”
Tsukihi’s high-pitched voice echoed among the chaos. Yamato responded with gunfire, too.
Rindo looked back for a moment. He saw people climbing up the fence to enter the premises. They wore all-black combat suits and skull face masks, apparently for shock value—like gods of death.
Raicho was right.
Insurgents?!
Rindo wasn’t exactly surprised.
They had been safe, thanks to the collaboration of both sides’ security, but he always feared that there would be a leak, which could lead to an attack at some point.
“…!”
Gunfire sounded from behind again. Rindo heard a scream as someone fell from the top of the fence.
There’s a sniper on our side.
It had to be Raicho. Close-quarters combat was his forte, but he had worked in combat even before being appointed as a Guard—he should know how to use firearms.
The others started moving at the same time Rindo started running. Itecho was already at the front with the escorts, acting as a wall to protect the Agents. He joined the gunfight while shouting instructions to Rosei.
“Rosei! Make an ice wall behind Azami!”
“You don’t gotta tell me…!”
Rosei raised his fan and shook as he opened it.
Ruri took her own fan out, too. The birds she had called to the window a while ago had already joined the fight, but they needed backup.
The two of them began chanting their songs of the seasons in unison.
“Thrust the snow blade into the ground and dye the moon in white.”
“Sway, sway, sway, sway the petals, over the gleaming pastures, in the booming summer.”
“Eternal slumber is the dream of snow, moon, and flowers; solace for the ill.”
“Love, love, love, love breaks, under Tora’s rain, under the summer fireworks, among the firefly traders.”
“Death to Autumn and death in Spring. Give death to all the abominable. And dye your laments in white.”
“Slash, slash, slash, slash through, hatching dragonfly, waiting for autumn.”
“Everything melts to alabaster snow.”
“Sit tight, waiting for autumn.”
And they unleashed their powers in self-defense.
“Chew them up!”
“Shield them!”
Then avian reinforcements appeared in the sky, and stray dogs howled beyond the fence.
A steep wall of ice pierced up through the earth behind Rindo.
“Hold your fire!”
Tsukihi shouted the order. They couldn’t have their allies breaking the wall.
Now they had time to escape—but only from the attackers on the garden. If the enemy launched an assault on the Church of the Living Gods in the middle of the day, then they likely had more in mind.
Protect Nadeshiko!
The cold of Life Coagulation sent goose bumps over Rindo’s skin as the weight of the falling ice wall threw him in the air for a second.
No matter what it takes!
Alarms blared in his head. The utmost priority was taking the gods incarnate somewhere safe. Every muscle of his legs pulled him forward.
He must not let the Autumn in his arms die.