The park staff lead Philip and Natsume towards the nearest tent. They entered the tent and Philip saw boxes upon boxes with an empty space in the middle
At the middle, there was a long object that was being illuminated by the light. The park staff picked up the object and lent it to Philip
The object is tightly wrapped in a white cloth and tied with a rope. Philip received it and felt a familiar sensation on his hand
"What is this?"
Philip asked
"It's an Oriental Sword that was passed down for two thousand years. It was owned by the owner of this amusement park and he wanted to make the sword the mysterious prize in the rigged Strength Tester machine"
"So, it is rigged after all?"
Natsume pointed out
"Yes, it was made that way so that the chosen one would get the sword"
Philip smiled upon the explanation of the park staff. He wouldn't shy away from a sword and gladly take another one, especially since that the Primordial Fission disappeared from his hands
He wondered what happened to the sword and the Stigma of the Sword on his right palm
"Alright, thank you"
Philip thanked the park staff
"No, thank you"
The park staff thanked Philip instead
Philip and Natsume then left the tent and went out with the wrapped sword around Philip's arms
The people looked at Philip with interest and what he was holding. They then ignored it as they knew they will never find anything about it because they mocked Philip earlier
Philip gave a smug smirk at them and then quickly left the vicinity
The park staff then left the tent and watch Philip's back as he left
"Finally, I have been unbound from my destiny. My sword has been passed to the new generation. I can retire now"
The park staff smiled as he walked back to the Strength Tester machine, only to be shocked beyond belief because the bell rang with a loud bang
The park staff looked at the person that won the mystery prize. The person carried the large hammer across her shoulders like it was nothing, despite her size
It was a little girl with a black hair, styled into braids and twin tail. She also wore a headband with horns
The little girl wore an exaggerated outfit of a short blouse that almost reveals her belly and a shorts. She also wore two black bands each on her wrist and a choker pendant
The little girl's eyes are violet in color and she has a small fang on the right side of her upper teeth that was showing as she cackled and laughed loudly
"Nyahahahaha! Where's my mysterious prize now?"
The little girl asked with a loud voice. The park manager went to her with slow and wary steps. He was afraid and worried because there is no way that a little girl was able to hit the bell with her size. She must be someone powerful
"I'm sorry, my esteemed guest"
The park staff greeted the little girl with respect to avoid potential problems
"The mystery prize has been claimed recently. I'm afraid I have nothing to give you"
The park staff bowed sincerely towards the little girl. The little girl frowned and looked at the park staff with calm eyes
"Very well then! I'll be going on then! Have a great day!"
The little girl then marched with small steps towards the direction where Philip and Natsume were going
The park staff then sighed in relief after the little girl passed him
'Who is she?!'
The park staff asked himself after feeling the immense pressure coming from her. He then went back to his station and organized the Strength Tester machine
The man, who won the life-sized teddy bear earlier, also looked towards where the little girl was going. He narrowed his eyes and thought deeply as he gently guided his little sister away from the vicinity
~~~
"What are you going to do with that sword?"
Natsume asked Philip as they walked towards their next destination
"I'm going to use it as replacement for the wooden sword"
"What happened to the wooden sword?"
"It broke"
"Ah, I see..."
Natsume's mind trailed off as she saw an attraction at the far distance
"Hey Philip, can we go there?"
Natsume pointed at the attraction. Philip's eyes widened and became whitewashed after seeing it. He also rolled his eyes and silently sighed
"Okay sure"
Several seconds, they've arrived at the attraction. It was a Love Tunnel with a lover's boat and a working river. Several couples lined up here and waited. The atmosphere was lovely and romantic
Philip already knew that Natsume has fallen in love, so he let Natsume take him here. He thought to himself that if Natsume were to ever confess to him, he would tell her his true feeling with honesty
After a few minutes, it was finally their turn to enter the love tunnel. Natsume was blushing this entire time and she was embarrassed to initiate a conversation with Philip
They sat down on the boat and Philip rowed with the provided paddles. He rowed inside the tunnel and the curtains closed
Philip silently and calmy rowed through the river as music played in the background. The music has a lovely tone and a romantic vibe, fitting for the sweet atmosphere
It was quiet for several minutes as they go along the river. There are pink everywhere, hearts and glitters, and surprisingly, pink mist. Natsume was very shy and only looked down as her bangs covered her face since Philip is sitting in front of her while facing each other
"So..."
Philip started to talk, only for Natsume to raise her head and look at Philip with her red face
Philip looked at Natsume and found it cute
"Don't be nervous or something, it's just the two of us"
Philip tried to comfort Natsume but it gave the opposite effect. Natsume blushed even further and she breathed deeply
Philip then looked at Natsume with worried eyes. He could tell by reading her body language that she is nearing her limit
Natsume was debating whether to confess to Philip or not. In the end, she decided to risk it
"Philip..."
Natsume took all of her power to say Philip's name
"Natsume?"
Philip replied with the suitable answer. He was having a little bit of fun while making the atmosphere lighter
"D-d-d-d-do you like me?!"
Natsume asked with fluster the moment that directional lights were aimed at the boat
"Of course I like you"
Philip replied
"Really?"
"Yes, really"
Philip's demeanor lessened and became calm. He didn't like where this development is going too much, he was just not prepared
He thought to himself that he would be a lucky man for Natsume to become his lover, but he rejected the idea, for now. He doesn't want to engage in romantic relationships yet since he currently has issues and his mind is broken, especially that he has no heart
He doesn't want to hurt any women
If push comes to shove, he would gently reject Natsume because he's still not ready. It might be selfish of him to think that but that's what Philip wants, to live freely and alone
"Then, do you like me?"
Philip asked back. Natsume's face became red
"Yes"
Natsume nodded slightly while hiding her face. She then lifted her head and looked straight at Philip's eyes. She was confused at what his eyes were showing
"Natsume..."
"Yes?"
"Are you confessing your love to me?"
"Yes"
Natsume courageously replied
"I won't be the best man for you"
Philip tried to make Natsume change her mind
"It's alright, I believe in you"
"We just met and didn't get to know each other"
"We will get to know more of each other"
"I'm too broken and I don't deserve you"
"I'll fix you and love you with all of my heart"
Philip's face crumpled feom sadness and pain while Natsume became calm for some reason as her heart was pounding. She stopped thinking and she let her heart take over
This time, the position have been switched, Philip was the one who's struggling while Natsume was confident
"I have no heart, I won't be able to reciprocate your love"
"I believe in you"
"Love is blind and you're going blind"
"It's better to be blind than not following your heart"
"I actually have no heart"
"I will fix it for you"
"No, really, my heart is destroyed"
"That doesn't matter, what's important is that I can love you and you will know it"
"You have become blind"
Natsume's calm expression started to waver as she slightly lowered her head. She is suddenly having a realization and her heart started to itch
"Natsume..."
"Yes?"
"I'm not ready for a romantic relationship... I don't want to hurt you one day when were together"
Natsume was silent
"I'm not rejecting you. If I have found myself and fixed myself... You can try again"
Natsume's eyes widened. An idea popped in her head
"Then, let me love you! Even if it's one sided! I will love you with my whole heart!"
Natsume stood up and raised her voice at Philip passionately. Philip's face crumpled even further from pain
"Natsume, as I have told you-"
"C'mon! Please say yes! I will never disappoint you! Don't leave me alone!"
Just then, sparks sparked around Natsume's arms, fingers, and neck. Then, a flame ignite in those parts and crawled around her body. The flame did not burn anything and just emitted light
"Natsume... What happened to you?"
Natsume snapped out of it and realized that she went to far. Flame also grew from her chest and crawled throughout her body
Philip watched the flame with interest and sadness. The flames has a different nature and it only appeared when Natsume's emotions are in critical point
Natsume focused and guided the crawling flames towards her right hand and made a slowly burning ball of fire that looks contained in a glass sphere. She then closed her hand and the flame disappeared. She then sat back down with a face full of sadness
"I'm sorry"
Natsume apologized
"It's alright... So, you also have a dark past, huh?"
"Yes, it's about my father, I and my sister's father. She never loved us back and ignored us all the time"
Philip was surprised that Natsume casually revealed her past like that. This means that he has a clue as to how he could fix Natsume's problem, maybe even Natsuki's problem, to progress in the plane of Future Vision
"That's a bad father"
"Yes he is"
"Where is he now? Did he leave you?"
Philip asked the most blunt questions
"Kinda..."
Philip raised his eyebrow at Natsume's vague answer
"He's already dead... Along with our mother"
Philip furrowed his eyebrows on Natsumes revelation. If their problem lies on their father, then how would he fix their problems?
"They were burned alive..."
Philip became shocked and he widened his eyes from surprise. He thought the Natsume burned them alive
"Natsuki lost control of her ability and instantly burned the house, along with a few neighboring houses in a 100 meter radius"
Philip was shocked once again as he became sad by the sad past the sisters have
"That's why I'm sorry that I went too far in trying to get your love"
Natsume lowered her head and teared up. She covered her face as to cover her tears from Philip
Philip stopped rowing and switched seats next to Natsume. He then put his hand on Natsume's head and patted it
"It's okay, everything's going to be fine. You're still young so you have plenty of time to think about it"
Philip forgot how to properly comfort someone when they are hurting but this is the best that he could do. At least the thought is in there
"Besides, you're father deserved it, didn't he? Also, it's not your or Natsuki's fault. It was unintentional and out of control. I'm sorry for your mother though"
Natsume calmed down after Philip tried to comfort her. She lifted her head and wiped her tears. She then looked at Philip to her right
Philip, however, took a quick glimpse in the plane of Future Vision to see if another gold circle has appeared. Unfortunately, there is none. Philip thought that comforting Natsume will do it but he initially had doubts
"Thank you"
Natsume thanked Philip
"No problem! So, what was that ability of yours? I actually never knew it"
"It's nothing special, it's called the Flame Crawler ability. It's the weakest flame ability because it only slowly crawl like a worm and it doesn't burn anything"
"I see... Then how about Natsuki?"
"Hers is Burst Flare ability. It burns and destroys everything in its path and reduces them to ashes"
"I see, that's why your sister lost control of it when she used it?"
"Yeah, she still couldn't control it now"
"..."
Philip nodded, he thinks that he just got a clue at Natsuki's problem. Her problem doesn't lie on her family but her own ability. She needs to be able to fully control her own ability and not let it get loose
He still has no idea on Natsume's problem though. Maybe it lies on her ability as well because it is so worthless. Maybe the items that Justine gifted them will help
Philip brainstormed and set up a plan in his mind on how to deal with the problems of the sisters
But little did Philip know, those aren't the problems that Philip needs to fix. The true problem will be revealed after he fixes their current problems
"What are you looking at?"
Philip noticed Natsume's gaze
"So, there's no chance for me?"
"I mean..."
"That's not a no!"
Philip was surprised as he didn't have something to say. He then sighed and replied
"Do whatever you want. Don't complain if I couldn't reciprocate your feelings"
"Yay!"
Natsume smiled brightly and gave Philip a kiss on the cheek
Of course, Philip was surprised and pulled his head after it already happened
"There's more where that came from!"
Philip's face crumpled from embarrassment and sadness. He immediately stood up and returned to rowing the both
"Hehe! You're cute when you're embarrassed!"
"Stop it"
Philip said while furrowing his eyebrows, he looked angry but not really. He resumed rowing the boat and they were nearing the middle part of the tunnel
It was then that they heard weird noises. Philip eyes widened as shivers went through his body. It was the same for Natsume as she shivered
As they went down the river, the noises became more clear. It was moaning of men and women inside covered boxes. The river had the main path and branching paths that lead to different boxes in the area
It was a path for when couples are about to get it on and the boxes are provided. They just need to row to a box and start their intimate actions, in other word, sex
The moans echoed throughout the area and reverberated in Philip and Natsume's ears
Philip rowed faster that white lines crawled on his arms. Natsume, however, was unmoving and only had her head lowered as her face is bright red while her hands is on her knees
Naturally, Philip will get erect but he decided to ignore it since it would be rude to Natsume. He quickly rowed that big waves almost formed behind them
The boat zipped past through the love tunnel and they reached the end in no time
They quickly parked in the docking boat and immediately left
Both of their faces were red as Philip's face looked angry and Natsume has an embarrassed look on her face. They were bretahing heavily as if they just went on a marathon
The people that saw them leave the love tunnel thought that it was cute and giggled
"How it feels to be young again"
"They should die!"
"Normies"
"Cute!"
Different people had different reaction. Philip then grabbed Natsume's arms and gently pulled her and ran. They ran towards the Ferris Wheel while still being embarrassed. The scene earlier were still stuck in their heads
It was then that a foot that belonged to someone stomped on the ground as Philip and Natsume were running away. The foot had slippers on and it seems like the foot belonged to a little girl
The little girl then showed a smirk as her small fang on the right side of her upper teeth