🌸🌸🌸
WITH that settled, Luke and the others shift into solemn mode to bid farewell to each other. Kazuya and I stand offside by the wall to give them some space, but the Demon King keeps drinking at the table without a care in the world.
But it breaks my heart to watch Luke thanking his party members for all they’ve shared up to this point. He looks like he could start crying any moment, which makes me feel like I’m about to cry, too.
“Ungh… Nnf!” Actually, I am crying. I can’t stop crying!
“Hey, Sakurako. Aren’t you going a bit overboard?” Kazuya hands me a handkerchief.
“I can’t help it!” I take the handkerchief and wipe my nose with it. This is such a crying matter! I mean, they’re supposed to be a big happy family—Leila, Ganzi, and Molozov, too! How can family split up?!
I can’t stop crying just from watching Luke give Leila one last hug while Ganzi and the others look on sentimentally.
Suddenly, Luke’s gaze meets mine.
“Oh, Sakurako…” He comes over to me. “I’m so sorry. I just asked you to come rejoin us.”
“That’s okay! D-don’t worry about me.”
“Then again, considering how powerful you are, I think Merlin will accept you,” Ganzi pipes up.
Leila’s head snaps up. “Yes, he must! Tell me, Sakurako, would you like to go with Luke?”
“Huh? But I…” This is an unexpected turn of events.
Leila grabs my hand. “Don’t worry. Luke is strong. You won’t hurt him, even if you go all out.”
My eyes go wide.
“You didn’t want to rejoin our party because we’re weak, correct? You thought you might hurt us, so you kept your distance. Am I wrong?”
“Um…” She hit the nail on the head. I was hesitant because I know that if I go on a rampage again, I might hurt her. I didn’t expect her to have picked up on that.
“Sakurako, I’d like you to come, as well,” Luke interjects from beside her, deadly serious. “I’ll show you how I can become even stronger. So I…want you to stay with me.”
What a line! He’s as cool as ever…and I can’t tamp down the spark that’s stirring in my heart.
✦ ✦ ✦
🌸🌸🌸
AFTER I tell Luke that I have to think over his invite to join him and Merlin on their quest to quell the Demon King, everyone splits up. Luke heads to where Merlin is, with a final plea that I come later if I feel like it.
I ponder this with my head on the table. We’re in the room me and Kazuya have booked in a nearby lodging. “What should we do… Maybe we should go with Luke?”
Kazuya is sitting cross-legged on the bed, making something out of mysterious liquids and plants with a super strong smell that are scattered around him. “Okay, say we do. What are we going to do with them?”
“Well, the plan is to seal the Demon King in order to protect people from the threat he poses.”
“What threat? There’s nothing to worry about there.” Kazuya gives a flask containing green liquid a gentle shake.
“Isn’t there?”
It hits me. Oh, yeah. The Demon King is right here! He’s lying on the bed next to Kazuya, snoring, his face red. It’s true; he’s probably not a threat anymore.
A soft pop echoes in the air and a puff of smoke billows from a vial of liquid Kazuya is holding. In a flash, it’s turned from red to green.
“Sweet, all done,” he says.
“Uh, what are you doing, Kazuya?”
“Oh, this? When Ganzi and I were mixing medicines, he showed me how to create chemical explosions to make potions. I guess I have a knack for it, so I’m confident I can come up with something pretty cool.” Kazuya picks up another bottle and pours a mystery powder into it.
“You like fiddly work like this, don’t you?”
“I don’t dislike it.”
“So… what do you think? Um, about going with Merlin and Luke.”
“Merlin sounds interesting. And even though the Demon King doesn’t pose any threat, I want to seal him away as soon as possible, so I’d like to find out how to.”
“What?! You want to join up with Luke and Merlin?!” I would’ve thought Kazuya would be the first to refuse.
In other words, Luke will still be around… Hmm, how am I going to handle that? I might get a little nervous—I think Kazuya notices me swooning, because his eyes narrow immediately. N-no need to glare that hard…
“My answer is that I’d rather not join their party, if possible. I just want to find out from Merlin how to seal the Demon King.” Kazuya puts the vials he’s just filled into his rucksack one by one, then hops off the bed. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Go? Where?”
“I just told you, to Merlin. I only want to know how we seal this guy.” He smiles, satisfied, with a nod toward the Demon King.