7 p.m the clock indicated Subaru and Hotaru were right on time for tonight's dinner.
"Hotaru-chan", a 60-year-old lady said as she welcomed them in front of the portal.
."Aunty, how have you been? It has been so long" Hotaru responded
."You mean so long since you have come here, it has only been 2months since we saw each other" "You are right the place remains nostalgic to me, though"
."What about Subaru what do you think of that little village of ours" the uncle asked as he was shaking the young man's hands
."Well, as charming as ever"
."Glad to hear it" he added with a big smile.
The light breeze of the night started making it is way through the village, caressing every plant and water places that it could approach
except for one river that remained silent and untouched. The one that was already occupied by a powerful aura. As instructed that aura wouldn't be disturbed as long as the breeze doesn't catch any kind of interaction with a young lady about him.
."What an appeasing breeze it is" the aunt commented
."I would have loved to feel such freshness while I was taking care of the garden" the uncle jokingly complained as he was eating his rice
."Remember Hotaru, you would pretend to spend hours playing there" the uncle added
."Pretending?" Subaru asked
."Busted, I didn't know that you were aware of that" Hotaru said feeling quite awkward
."How could I have not been aware that you were away playing near that forest with the neighbors' kids" he added
."Yeah, the neighbors" Hotaru responded awkwardly still,
."Not like you stopped when you were a teenager, I even remember seeing you with a young man with white silver hair as I was speaking to one of my old friends" the aunt added,
which made Hotaru feel tense, though the elderly couldn't feel it, too busy recalling the memories of the past, Subaru could clearly see his girlfriend's hands slightly tensing
"A young man? Didn't you recognize him aunty" she responded composed and calm
."Saito's big brother, Saiki, he used to take us with him and his friends collecting insects within the forest. I guess that you saw us the day we were waiting for everybody that day"
. "He kind looked like him" she said as she was trying to remember
."How could anybody remember him, always changing hair color, he is got that foreigner's mentality, so much so that he decided to live outside of Japan, I haven't seen him in a while" the uncle said with enthusiasm "Ah to be young" he sighed
."Remember how I would sneak out of my house and meet you in front of that little shop?" the aunt asked starring all smiley at her husband kind of happy as he was thinking about those sweat memories "Seems like it runs in the family" Subaru responded
."So it seems"
."Cheers, to love"
."To love"
While Subaru and the uncle were smoking in the garden, the aunt and Hotaru were in the kitchen cutting the watermelon that the young couple brought.
"Hotaru is everything alright with your boyfriend?" the aunt asked
."Why the sudden question?" Hotaru asked back as she was placing the triangle pieces on a plate ."Well it seems that you don't want Subaru to know about that young man that you were hanging out with during the summer"
."What?"
."Sweetheart, I know that it wasn't the kid's neighbor, I remember that during that specific summer, Saito was away to peruse his summer courses outside of the country"
."Aunty please, they could hear us" she coldly said, as she strongly gripped the sides of the plate
."Don't worry about that, I asked your uncle to close the doors of the garden so we could discuss a little. Listen I don't want to interfere with your relationship, but I know that keeping secrets from each other's is always a burden in a couple. I almost lost your uncle because of it"
."Aunty what happened between you and uncle is a completely different story from me not telling Subaru about some trivial old friendship that I had with someone" "It might not be trivial to him"
Well at least it didn't feel like that for some eavesdropping spirit
The river spirit felt his heart sink, a wave of betrayal washing over him as if he had been the one rejected. That sense of hurt quickly morphed into anger when he heard Hotaru dismiss her relationship with Gin as trivial. Furious, he moved to storm into the house, but a firm grip held him back.
"Don't take it personally. She might have her reasons," said a tall, blond man with his hair tied at the nape of his neck by a small black scrunchie, smiling calmly.
"And who are you supposed to be? The son of this old couple?" the river spirit retorted, brushing the man's hand away.
The stranger chuckled softly. "Their son? I didn't realize I looked that young. In truth, I'm older than you." As he spoke, he unbuttoned the cuffs of his white shirt, revealing an intricate tattoo on his wrist—an emblem representing the Spirit Forest's royal family. Only those who served the royal household bore this mark, and a wrist tattoo signified service to the prince himself.
"You... you can't be," the river spirit stammered, his eyes narrowing in disbelief.
"Why not, dear Taiga?" the man replied, his voice tinged with amusement. With a graceful bow, he added, "Allow me to introduce myself: Gilbert Abghase, former servant of the Prince of the Spirit Forest."