Lanling's eyes widened as he heard Haruki's dragging tone, and the image of Ruki as a boy seemed to overlap with the man before him. The urge to rush over and hug him almost overwhelmed his reasoning.
Internally, he was thankful for his ghostly form, knowing he wouldn't have been able to hide his flustered state otherwise. He couldn't let himself get swept away in speculation and take everything as truth. He needed facts.
Yet, despite his defensive stance, his heart quietly bloomed with happiness.
"T-That— I— Damn it...! I'm sorry..."
Haruki hastily covered his mouth, realizing what he had done. In his panic, he didn't notice Lanling subtly covering his lips with a hand for a moment before clearing his throat to regain his composure.
"It's fine. We should keep going."
Lanling said this very naturally, causing Haruki to sigh in relief. He nodded seriously, his worry for his nephew returning as he felt they had arrived at their destination.
