Mizuki ran off. She ran to her home and stopped only when she had reached it.
She was panting heavily. And was in deep thoughts. About what she heard. How much of it made sense. But what was bothering her the most would be her feelings.
She was angry. She was angry with him. She could not explain it.
She only met him three months ago. She didn't even know who he was.
And yet, her heart ached. It ached and it wasn't clear why. Her mind was in turmoil.
She didn't enter the house even though she was standing at the doorstep.
But then she took a deep breath.
"I have to calm down." She told herself.
And after fixing her clothes, she entered.
It was almost evening but she wasn't particularly late or anything.
She introduced the trio to her family and explained the reason.
They happily took them in. And it was decided that the room next to Mizuki's would be used as their bedroom.
After eating dinner and preparing their beds they were chatting with Mizuki.
"So I would like to know how you met him." (M)
"You say that, but it isn't like there's much to talk about." Aisha was in a tough spot as Mizuki was looking at her with a serious face.
"How about we begin from the beginning!!!" Leah proposed.
"That might be it. Actually, you may think that we all met him together but it was not that. Leah and I met him first and then we took Aisha." Belle said.
"Ohh. So you two met him first. How did you met?" Mizuki shifted her attention to them.
"I still remember that day. It was about four years ago. In our world, magic is common. We use magic and monsters are also present. You know about those, right?"
Belle asked for confirmation. It would take a while if she had to explain everything. But being the honors student, Mizuki had done her share of studying.
So she gave a nod impression that she knew.
"We three are adventurers. And we are a team too. So, we two were on a quest to defeat some monsters. On another note, Aisha was bellyaching so we left her at home."
Belle grinned looking at Aisha as she said that.
Aisha's face turned red and she was ranting.
It seemed to Mizuki that they are as close as sisters and Aisha is the oldest there who was often teased by her younger sisters.
"Then, we completed our quest but we felt something odd. The area we were in was a forest and yet a specific area was clean. A plain grassland. And no monsters were in that area. So we decided to investigate that."
Belle paused. Leah gulped. The situation was tense and Mizuki's tension was high.
"We hid behind a thicket and waited. For a moment, we thought that something monstrous would be behind it. But it wasn't. Our eyes were split open when we saw that. A huge hole appeared. It was on the ground and from there rose a figure. A figure of a man. He came out and the hole disappeared. He then laid down on the grass and was kind of dozing off." (B)
Belle was doing her best to describe it. But was difficult.
"We were speechless for a moment. We saw something unbelievable happen but our mind wasn't accepting it. You don't know how magic works, do you?" Belle threw that question at Mizuki.
"Ahhh….. I don't know. We just have knowledge that you have magic. But how that happens and what it does os out of my understanding." Mizuki answered.
"Then, I will take over for this." Saying this Leah entered the conversation.
"You see, magic is basically a power. It exists everywhere and inside every living and magical being. But the ability to control or sense it is different and varies from person to person." Leah stopped．
Belle was taking a break and for Aisha, she seemed to have nodded off.
But Mizuki was too busy, listening to Leah.
"And the elements are a key. Which element can you use depends on your aptitude. If you don't have it then you would have a hard time. Luckily I can control four elements perfectly. But what I saw and Belle said was impossible was the hole. For a hole of that size and for it to be deep enough to stand on it, it would take a ridiculous amount of magic power." Leah made an irritated expression as she said that.
"To sum it up, you are saying that he was someone outside of the norm?" (M)
"Not just outside, he broke our common sense to pieces. He was better at magic than the great sage, stronger than the strongest warriors of our country and he beat the top adventurers like they were flies. He was the incarnation of ridiculous strength." (L)
"But how did you guys fare?" (L)
"Well, after we found him there he forcibly teleported us. But we went back to him with Aisha in tow. And he invited us. What was more incredible was that he made a home, underground. And everything was protected by magic." (L)
"What can I say? He seems weird. By every kind of sense, he is weird." (M)
"And things escalated and we became partners. Teammates and his disciples. The sword that Belle carries is made by him. It is a special sword. And he changed my outlook of magic. So we became fairly powerful and rose to the top. But after a year he disappeared. He was nowhere to be found. So we came here as the kingdom's representatives."
Leah concluded but Mizuki was even more confused. Because, she couldn't get a clear picture. His actions were all over the place and made no sense to her.
"I must wait until tomorrow." She said to herself.
They went to sleep as it had been a long day. But the next day would be filled with action.
The next morning was the start of summer vacation. But Momoko would still be going to office. So Mizuki wanted to go on.
However, she was caught by the three girls. They said that they wanted a tour of the area.
Mizuki tried to shake them off. But they wouldn't let her go.
So reluctantly, Mizuki had to take all of them.
"I have some work. So if you don't mind, can you wait here?" She told them after they left the house.
But they wouldn't let go. So she took them and kept walking towards the station.
Along the way, she found Momoko. She was walking to the station as always.
But she saw Akatsuki. Coming from a different direction than his house with a huge flower bouquet.
"Ms. Momoko, can I have a bit of your time?" He politely asked Momoko.
"Yes." She stopped and responded.
"It's happening." Mizuki's tension was high. And those three also watched with Mizuki.
"It is something I wanted to say for quite some time now. But it took me six months to gather the courage. Ms. Momoko, I love you." He said that and held out the bouquet to her.
Momoko was shocked to hear such a sudden love confession. But she was confused. So she took that bouquet with a zoned out look.
Akatsuki looked at her. And realizing her confusion he spoke.
"I know that you are confused. You are probably thinking, why? But the truth is that you don't need to give it much thought. I love you. And I told you about it. Just think of it as something like admiration. You can throw away the flowers and forget about the whole thing."
Akatsuki said all those words with straight face. And then left.
He came abruptly and left abruptly. Too unpredictable.
Momoko still hadn't recovered. And Akatsuki was already gone.
Mizuki and the girls came out of the corner.
They approached Momoko.
"Momoko….." Mizuki called her out.
"Hyyyyaaaa." A weird sounding voice came out of her. She was startled for being called out from behind.
"Why are you standing here?" Mizuki didn't ask about that. She first tried to get answer.
"Ahh. Oh that's right. I have to go. Or I will be late." Momoko said.
"I think so too. Also, who gave you that bouquet or are you going to give it to someone?" (Mi)
"No. You can have it" (Mo)
She handed the bouquet to her and left.
But she was still shaky as she didn't even notice Aisha's group.
"This flower bouquet is outrageous. All the flowers are beautiful." Looking at the bouquet, Leah said that.
"Is anything special about this?" (Mi)
"Yeah. These flowers will not wither away. They are protected by magic. So it will not lose its beauty. Much more like an immortal flower. He really does outrageous stuff." Leah said that with a gentle tone as if recalling the old days.
"Ok. So I will hold onto these for now. But his actions are too unpredictable." Mizuki held her head and sighed.
Mizuki and the gang went back. And they spent all day talking.
In the afternoon, they decided to take a light walk around the area.
When they were outside the house, they saw Akatsuki leaving too.
But he looked at them and waved at them.
Then he went near them.
"I was thinking of talking to you? So how about now? I'll be going on a trip. So how about we get the small stuff out of the way?" Akatsuki said with a smile.
"Eeehhhh…" They all let out a baffled voice.
"You look certainly happy. Anything good happened to you?" Mizuki asked this in order to confirm her suspicions.
She heard his confession. And now he's in a great mood.
"Yeah. Feels like a burden has been removed from my chest. So I will celebrate it." (A)
"Are you going alone?" Aisha asked.
"No. My dad and my friend will be with me. It's a boys trip. No girls allowed. We are going for 6 nights and 7 days trip to Hawaii." Akatsuki happily said.
"Umm…..about your talk, can I come with you guys?" Mizuki asked this.
"I don't mind." Akatsuki answered.
And those three didn't object either.
And so they went to a family restaurant about 30 minutes away from their home.