Chapter 294

Chapter 294: Wall

Translator: Reflet
Editor: ryunakama

He heard the sound of rustling clothing .

Reluctant to part with the leaving warmth and ruminating upon the lingering fragrance, Taiyou looked up at the sky from where he lay on the trailer .

There were no clouds, no stars, not even the moon- this was the unique sky of the city .

He stared straight at it .

「What are you thinking about?」

「World peace . 」

「You’ve gotta be kidding me . 」

Akiha giggled .

「Men just think about world peace at times like this . We question why war hasn’t ended yet . Things like that . I’m sure girls would find it strange . 」

「You mean that so-called ‘Sage Time’?」

「Basically . Then it progresses to Ninja Time, Confucianist Time, and Servant Time . 」

「Ahaha, the hell’s that? Then, is there also a Doctor’s Time?」

「That would be before doing it . Doctor play . 」

「Well when I was a kid, I played doctor with Aoba . 」

Akiha said, resting her body on Taiyou’s chest .

It was the kind of pose that she’d make in her own room, resting her upper body on a cushion .

She sort of expected more of an arm pillow, but figured that this could work just as well .

「Playing Doctor, eh? I bet if you said that to Kohaku-san, she’d be overjoyed . 」

「She likes that sort of thing?」

「I’d say she’s pretty close to you . 」

「Whaaat, but I’d rather play Geisha . 」

「Never mind, you’re exactly the same . 」

「Whaaat, but why?」

Pillow talk .

Their conversation didn’t consist of sweet nothings, but instead had a fun atmosphere .

That was probably highly affected by her personality .

「Heeey, do I still feel far off?」

「Yup . 」

「Still?」

「Yeah, still . 」

「Whaaat, really though?」

With the elbow that she was using to lean on him, she rubbed it against his chest . Rather than being that of male and female, their skinship was closer to that of friends or family .

「What to do…Still wanna mess me up?」

「Not at the moment, as I’m thinking of how to make the world peaceful . 」

「Ahaha, looks like I was saved by world peace . 」

「That might just be the case . 」

Taiyou moved his arm around Akiha’s head, pushing her body closer to his in a hug .

「Come to think of it, what’s up with those wings?」

「Wings?」

「The wings that came out of your shoulders when you hit that wall earlier . They were like an angel’s, all white and shiny . 」

「…」

Taiyou furrowed his brow .

He himself had not noticed anything like that at the time .

And why would it happen at a time like that?

Taiyou thought to himself, getting up .

Separating himself from Akiha’s body, he urged those wings to emerge .

Wings sprouted out from his shoulders, resembling an angel’s set, illuminating the area with white light .

「You weren’t kidding…」

「Yeah yeah this this, I didn’t know you had angelic wings like this!」

「I sure can . Right now…up to five . 」

「Fantastic! But why five? Where did such a half-assed number come from?」

「The number of brides . 」

「Eh?」

「I only have so many wings as the amount of brides . That’s the gist . 」

Taiyou said, looking at Akiha . Illuminated by the white light, Akiha looked prettier than before .

「Kotone, Suzune, Kazane . 」

He said, bending one finger .

「Kohaku-san, Aoba, Youran . 」

He said, bending three fingers .

And gazing at Akiha, he bent one more .

「You . 」

「Me too?」

「Are you against it?」

「No, but I just have mixed feelings…」

「Incidentally…」

Taiyou said, hugging Akiha closer .

His wings immediately were extinguished .

「When a bride is nearby, my wings can form, but directly touching them makes them vanish . Which means that those wings earlier were my wings, and also yours . 」

「…」

「…」

A brief silence drifted over them in their embrace .

Akiha revolved her arm over to his shoulders and spoke .

She spoke softly as the mountain returned to darkness .

「But am I still far away?」

The tone of her voice had dropped .

「Eh?」

「You just said earlier that thing was mine . But am I still far away to you?」

「Well…」

「What must I do to help you feel me closer? Do I truly need to let you mess me up? Will that help you feel me closer?」

「Akiha…」

「I still like Aoba as of this moment . I still do . 」

「Eh?」

「So am I far to you? As long as I like Aoba, am I–」

「No!」

Taiyou let out a loud voice, cutting across what she was saying .

That wasn’t what he was getting at . That had nothing to do with it .

In order to convey that not through words, but through his feelings, he embraced her more firmly .

「I’d never feel distance because of something like that . 」

「Then why? What should I do?」

She spoke with firm emphasis . The cheery pillow talk from earlier felt like a lie .

What sort of face was she making right now, as she spoke in this manner?

He felt like there was pressure in his chest .

「I don’t know, but now I feel like it also might not be so bad to feel like you’re far away . 」

「What are you even saying?」
「Kotone, Suzune, Kazane, Kohaku-san, Aoba, Youran . There are a variety of girls around me, and they’re all different types of girls . When I’m with more than one of them versus when I’m alone with each of them, I have a different way I interact with–well not quite…」

He took a breath, changing his words .

「I love them in different ways . Of course physically, but also inwardly . For example, the way that I interact with Kohaku-san and the way that I interact with Youran are fundamentally the opposite, so I adapt . 」

「…」

「So I think I’ll find a different way to interact with you too . In that sense, feeling like you’re far off…even feeling like there’s a thin wall between us that I’m trying to hit, that might just be the treat I get to experience when I’m with you, I think . 」

「…」

「So…what I’m trying to say is that if anything, the distance between that wall feels lovely . 」

「…Comfort? Empathy?」

「I swear that I mean exactly what I say . 」

「And you just expect me to accept that?」

「If you can’t, then let’s go together to find something that you will . If I’m with you, it might just be that more fun to go looking for a way to knock that wall down . 」

「And you seriously feel that way?」

「I sure do . 」

He put power into his arm in order to convey his feelings to her as he hugged her .

「Won’t you enjoy life with that wall? Together with me?」

「Together?」

「Together . 」

After a pause, he spoke full of feeling .

「Always . 」