Tenku asked Kaede to dig the ground using her abilities after the girl killed the last goblin. He wanted to bury the monsters' corpses, fearing soone would find them and cause panic. Tenku didn't want that to happen because it would disrupt his vacation in the Arashiyama bamboo grove.
After Tenku and Kaede buried the goblins' corpses, they returned to Setsuka and the others. Kaede had contacted her best friend and asked for their location. But in the middle of the way, Kaede suddenly asked Tenku to slow down because she wanted to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Arashiyama bamboo grove in winter.
On top of that, Kaede had also told him that Setsuka would be waiting for the two, so they did not need to rush. Of course, that was just an excuse for her to be alone with Tenku and spend more ti with him.
Tenku quickly agreed to Kaede's request and didn't question it. Although he only had romantic feelings for Setsuka and Wang Ruyue, he couldn't treat Kaede differently from the two girls because they ca to that place for holidays together and deserved the sa pleasure.
The two walked hand in hand, but neither of them spoke. On the one hand, Tenku didn't know what to talk to her about. On the other hand, Kaede was too nervous and couldn't get anything out of her mouth. After walking for quite a while, Tenku sighed and decided to speak first. He wanted to destroy the awkward atmosphere between them.
"By the way, when was the last ti you visited this place?" Tenku looked at Kaede and asked. He wanted to start a chat with her so the two wouldn't just fall silent on their way back to Setsuka and the others. Tenku felt uncomfortable with that kind of situation.
"Ah, the last ti I ca here was two years ago. But this is my first ti visiting the Arashiyama bamboo grove in winter. So I can see the beautiful scenery of the bamboo trees painted white with snow." Kirika answered reflexively after she heard Tenku's voice.
"Did you co to this place together with your family?" Tenku asked another question.
"Yes, I ca here with my father, mother, and brother." Kaede replied with a smile on her face. She looks happy as she reminisces about her vacation with her family in the past.
"You have an older brother?" Tenku raised his eyebrows after he heard her words. This was the first ti he had heard that Kaede had an older brother. Setsuka and Kohana had talked about her several tis but never ntioned her family.
"I have an older brother who doesn't live in Japan with us. He chose to study at a well-known university abroad." Kaede's face clouded over after she rembered about that. She rarely had contact with her brother since he studied abroad. It was difficult for Kaede to reach him because her brother was very busy, and they could only communicate if the other party called her first.
"Is that so? Then how about the scenery in the Arashiyama bamboo forest in other seasons?" Tenku quickly changed the subject of their conversation after noticing the change in expression on Kaede's face. He regretted bringing up the matter and making the girl sad.
Kaede quickly regained her composure after hearing Tenku's question. She wasn't stupid and knew he had purposely diverted their topic after seeing her sour mood. Kaede was happy but also felt guilty that she had ruined their mont. Therefore, she had to give a good reply to correct her mistake.
"Hmm... I thought this place would still be beautiful regardless of the season we ca here. The Arashiyama bamboo grove has a different appeal in each season. So I can't decide which one is better. But I feel that the scenery in this place will be more beautiful if we co together with a lover or soone precious to us. We can think of it as a romantic getaway." Kaede said shyly and blushed.
"Yeah, this place is really good for a date." Tenku agreed with Kaede. He tried to think positively and not misunderstand the girl's words and expressions.
"Aren't we like lovers on a date now?" Kaede stuck out her little tongue and smiled sweetly. Tenku was srized when he saw the sight but quickly regained his senses.
"Please don't joke with . If your boyfriend finds out, he will be jealous. I don't want that to happen because the problem with Chizen isn't over yet. So I don't want to get into trouble with other guys." Tenku smiled bitterly.
"I don't have a boyfriend, and I've never dated any guy until now." Kaede pouted in response to his words. She felt disappointed because Tenku thought that her words were a joke. But Kaede couldn't bla him entirely because she did say it seriously to lessen her embarrassnt.
"Huh? Are you serious? I can understand that Setsuka doesn't have a boyfriend because she has a cold deanor, making the opposite sex dare not interact with her. But aren't there any male students at school trying to get close to you?
I'm sure many n will like your beautiful appearance and gentle temperant." Tenku was a little surprised after hearing Kaede's answer. He didn't expect a girl as beautiful and delicate as she didn't have a lover.
Kaede's face was red up to her ears because of Tenku's blatant complint. She pretended to look the other way to hide her embarrassnt.
"I'm serious. I've never had a boyfriend or dated a guy until now." Kaede replied in a low voice. But then she shifted her eyes back to Tenku after she rembered sothing.
"I was once close to a boy in middle school. At that ti, I was a first-year student and still didn't understand the relationship between n and won. Then a male student from my class kept talking to . At first, I thought he wanted to get close to Setsuka through as an interdiary.
I feel that Setsuka is much prettier than , and that's what I hear from the students around . But my relationship with Setsuka in middle school wasn't as close as now. So I'm So I intend to refuse his request if it's related to Setsuka. " Kaede said nostalgically.
She showed such an expression not because she rembered the boy but when trying to get close to Setsuka. Kaede had to actively talk to her so she could open her heart and want to be friends with her.
"Then did the boy say his purpose to you? Did he ask for your help to get close to Setsuka?" Tenku asked. He was slightly curious about Kaede's story since it concerned Setsuka.
"No. It turned out that my guess was wrong. He's not trying to get close to Setsuka but . After knowing that, I felt a little happy, and our relationship improved. But it was far from dating because I didn't want to be in a romantic relationship with anyone while I was in middle school. Most importantly, I have no special feelings for him.
But he didn't give up and said he would try to make fall in love. I kept silent and decided not to respond to his words. Even though I don't love him, I don't hate him. So I was confused about how to answer his statent." Kaede sighed and said helplessly.
"What happened next?" Tenku urged Kaede to continue with her words.
"Our relationship has beco even closer as the years have passed. But I suddenly lost news of him after we graduated from middle school. I don't know what happened to him. I tried to get news about him from his friends, and I found out that he had left Tokyo because his family had to move to another city.
I was shocked and asked where he moved. Unfortunately, none of his friends know about it. So he left before the feelings in my heart flowered." Kaede spoke with a sad face. She showed such a reaction not because she liked the boy but because she had lost her best friend, just like she had lost her brother.
But then Kaede thought about it again after she rembered that boy. She couldn't fall in love with him after they had been together for three years. He has pursued her aggressively and has also confessed his feelings to her. But Kaede couldn't have romantic feelings for him and couldn't think of him as more than a friend.
Surprisingly, Kaede can easily fall in love with soone she has only known briefly. On top of that, he is her junior in high school and is also the boy her best friend loves. Kaede didn't understand why she could have such feelings for Tenku.
She felt that it had sothing to do with the storybooks and novels she had read since elentary school and that it had influenced her thoughts. In other words, Kaede yearns for a male figure like the main character, and Tenku fulfills all her criteria. Then she glanced at Tenku and found that the other party was looking at her aningfully.
"Ah! He and I were just friends till we graduated middle school and nothing more! I also never harbored special feelings for him! So please don't think anything weird!!" Kaede explained in a panic because she thought that Tenku had misunderstood her.
"I understand." Tenku replied in surprise because she didn't expect Kaede to overreact and raise her voice. Fortunately, there were no other visitors near them.
After that, their atmosphere beca awkward again, and Tenku lted it for the second ti. They kept chatting along the way, and Kaede beca actively talking to Tenku. This made their relationship closer than before. Although it couldn't be compared to Setsuka and Wang Ruyue, Kaede was already satisfied with the result.
Not long after, Tenku and Kaede arrived at Setsuka's location. Wang Ruyue and the others quickly noticed their presence as they walked over. The three girls looked at them suspiciously after feeling sothing had changed in Tenku and Kaede's relationship. But they didn't think about it any further because they were more curious about the goblin that Tenku had found.
"How are the goblins? Have you killed it?" Kirika looked at Tenku and asked.
"We have killed that monster. But we didn't expect to find a bigger problem." Kaede answered.
"A bigger problem?" Setsuka and the others looked at Kaede in confusion.
Kaede asked Tenku for permission to explain the matter, and the other party nodded. Afterward, Kaede told them what they did after coming to the goblin's location and what they found in the monster's hideout.
"What!?" Setsuka and the two girls were shocked and looked at them in disbelief.
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