Return of the Fallen Volume 12 Chapter 38
As everyone ate their fill, laughter filled this back garden. Talk of good times and past adventures were passed around back and forth. The mood was oh-so-sweet and comfortable. At first, Lana’s family members were putting on fake pleasantries but as the mood became more and more pleasant, they gradually let their guards down unintentionally. With this, they felt a connection with Kazuki as if he were an old family friend.
The food, the stories, and the jokes, for a moment they had actually forgotten the dangers around them and found some semblance of peace.
Selda smiled, she was enchanted by Kauzki’s charm and she couldn’t help but be curious.
“Sir Borus, you mentioned you have siblings but you never mentioned whether or not there was a woman in your life. Surely a man such as yourself has someone waiting for your return.”
Kazuki’s expression sank.
“There was someone, two someones actually but…things did not work out.”
Selda realized she may have touched upon a sensitive spot and tried to apologize.
“I…Forgive me. I pried when one should not.”
“No, you’ve done nothing wrong. The atmosphere was nice and I ruined it and brought down the mood.”
“No no, Sir Borus it was I. You just seem like quite the catch so it was impossible for me to…I should stop. My mouth seems to run when it comes to love and things like that.”
“Thank you but again, this is not on you. You just reminded me of something from my past. Sometimes when I look back, I feel saddened but I know they would not want me to be this way. I don’t mind such questions really.”
Kazuki wasn’t lying. After experiencing Chaotic space, and being trapped inside, he thought he’d never return. Sitting around this family, having a delicious meal with them. He as well got comfortable with them. They reminded him of his own family and how happy they all were at one point. Maybe this was why he became sentimental at this moment. The look on his face was both sad and yet somehow warm.
Selda could see he really did care about these women and she felt her motherly instincts kick in. She revered and admired Kazuki but at this moment she could only see someone who was lost and alone.
“Those two, they must have been precious to you?”
Kazuki nodded.
“I would give up everything to see them again.”
Selda felt a sting in her chest. She knew that type of love and longing oh so well. Were something to happen to her family, were she to be separated or tragedy to strike, she would dive into all of the Realms of Hell just for the possibility of bringing them back to her embrace.
Lana scooted close to Kazuki with bright eyes and asked in a curious voice.
“Mister, what were they like?”
Kazuki couldn’t help but smile when thinking about the two. It had been a long time since he did that. Every time before whenever he thought of time, he could only see the despair and vanishing to nothingness. he was reminded of their tragic end more so than the way they lit up his life. Kazuki pat Lana’s head with a teasing smile.
“Should I tell you I wonder?”
Lana asked again and even Verain chimed in.
“I would like to know as well. What type of Goddesses could stake a claim to the heart of an expert such as yourself?”
Kazuki thought for but a moment.
“One was angry a good deal of time but it was her passion in that anger that told me there was something sweet and vulnerable underneath her exterior. The other was so smart, patient, and kind. The two would fight against the world for me and I would do the same for them without a second thought. There’s something…Extraordinarily special in that. It’s hard to describe. Someone that will have your back no matter what and loves you to the depth of their soul. Some people will never have that in their life but for me, I was incredibly lucky. I actually had two people like that in my life. Even now, it feels as if it were all a dream. A dream that I did not deserve…”
Kazuki went on to tell a few stories about Nunully and Asuna and how much they meant to him. In the end, Lana, Sofie, and Selda were all crying.
Kazuki never said what happened to them and tried to keep things light but there were still tears.
Verian and Mashu did not know what to say to that and could only try and comfort their loved ones.
“Mister, that was so beautiful and so sad. How come you’re not crying?”
Everyone thought Lana’s words were too much and Verian grew angry at his foolish daughter.
“Lana, that’s inappropriate. Apologize!”
Lana didn’t understand what she did wrong and she just cried more and more.
“No, it’s fine Verian. She doesn’t know. From the outside looking in it may seem cold but truth is, I no longer have any tears left. Everything I had…dried up long ago.”
Lana cried even harder hearing this. Kazuki sighed inwardly. She was still a young child, no older than 6. Though she was extremely knowledgeable from what he saw of her memories, she was still not quite ready for these things.
“Little one you do not have to cry. It’s already been a long time.”
Lana shook her head through all of the tears.
“No Mister. Someone has to cry. If you can’t do it, then I’ll do it for you.”
Kazuki felt that but he didn’t let it show. Instead, he smiled sweetly at Lana.
“Thank you little one. I appreciate your feelings for a stranger like me.”
“Mister is not a stranger. We already became friends remember?”
“Yes, your right.”
Lana continued to cry and her mother scooped her up and held her in her arms. She rocked her gently back and forth and after barely a minute, her tears stopped and she cried no more. Her rhythmic breathing soon followed as she fell asleep in Selda’s embrace.
Selda chuckled lightly as she wiped the wet tears from her daughter’s face along with a bit of barbeque sauce at the edge of her mouth.
“My daughter is a sweet one. Sometimes she feels too much and becomes overwhelmed. My precious little gem.”
Sofie jumped over and landed in Selda’s lap. She sniffed Lana before licking her face a few times. With a tiny whimper, she curled up into a little fur ball in Selda’s lap and went to sleep as if to join Lana in her dreams.
Kazuki’s mind switched and he asked innocently enough.
“What about you two? How did you come together, and end up in this city?”
Kazuki already knew as they had told Lana and he had seen all of her memories. This question was just one to naturally lead to another. After they shared their story, Kazuki looked at both of their hands but only saw their storage rings.
“Where I’m from, when one gets engaged with the person they love, usually they exchange something. Back on my world, it would be a ring. Traveling from place to place these archaic customs change from place to place. In one place the couple exchanges weapons, in another world, they give one another a special type of flower. I don’t see any rings besides your storage rings on your hand so I guess it’s not that. The only special thing I saw either of you have was that strange crystal earlier. Is that what couples to be exchanged in this world?”
Kauzki’s question was innocent or rather it would be to any normal outsider but the crystal he spoke of was in fact the one Selda had used earlier when the observer seemed ready to attack.
Kazuki knew that gem was different and it had something to do with the hidden watcher but he could not just bring it up without causing an incident. The way he brought it up on this occasion was fairly smooth. Yes, it drew the attention of the guards but it was only the guards. The last time he came off as suspicious, nearly the entire city became focused on him.
The guards watched not just him but Selda, Verian, and Mashu with extreme focus as if they were waiting for a slip-up of some kind.
Selda, Mashu, and Verian were silent and they all became nervous. Verian laughed and scratched the back of his head.
“Oh, that…No no no. You have it wrong. Around here, when a couple exchange things with one another it’s usually a vow, a promise. To us Gods, there are very few objects that could make our hearts beat with thrill or get us excited. Instead, we pour our love and thoughts into a promise to one another. That Gem you speak of us nothing more than a rock. Commonly found near a certain lake outside the city.”
Verian tried to wave the matter away when Kauzki pushed on.
“Oh, it’s just an ordinary rock you say. Strange, I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed one like it before. If you don’t mind…Could I see it?”
Comment (0)