"Big brother, big sister, where are you from?"
"Tinkle, tinkle~"
In April, Kyushu was bright and beautiful with spring. Last night's fierce wind and torrential rain seed like an illusion, left behind on the collapsed, narrow and long path outside the village.
The muddy country road was dotted with puddles. On both sides, the lush green leaves of the cedar forest drooped low, and a gentle breeze swayed the wind chis hanging under the eaves.
The vibrancy of the early morning thrived within it all.
Aoi Ka pulled along the highly reserved little boy, Kazuya, whose lips were pressed tightly together. She skipped happily between the puddles on the muddy path, even finding the leisure to toss a question back at the two "adults" following them.
"Have you ever heard of Linn?"
"Nope! We've only heard of Osaka and Tokyo. Kazuya's mom and dad went to work in Osaka, and my dad works in Tokyo."
Aoi Ka tapped her chin, turning her head to look at Yan Huan in confusion.
"Is Linn... sowhere in Sakura Country?"
"No, it's overseas to the south. A very, very long way from here."
Yan Huan smiled faintly. With his long legs, he naturally had no need to hop over mud puddles like a child navigating an obstacle course.
He simply turned his head, looking at An Le, who was walking quite slowly, and could not help but ask in confusion,
"An Le, you didn't hurt your legs last night, did you?"
"Eh? N-no, I didn't. It's just that these clothes are a little hard to walk in..."
An Le froze for a mont before quickly explaining.
Yan Huan glanced at her relatively lightweight shrine maiden outfit, thinking to himself that the skirt wasn't even that long, so it shouldn't be causing such an issue.
In fact, Yan Huan's guess was correct.
The shrine maiden attire in Kamizato Village was not as luxurious and cumberso as those in big cities. Furthermore, An Le was not wearing wooden clogs, so there was no reason for her to be walking this slowly.
The real reason was this: she had already lost all feeling in her legs.
Although she could still control her movents, the floating sensation of her feet not seeming to touch the ground was very disorienting, making it difficult to manipulate her soles and control her center of gravity.
That was why An Le had been walking so slowly the entire way.
Ever since the battle last night, the area of sensation that had been devoured from her body had only expanded. Her entire four limbs were now completely numb.
"Do you want to hold my hand while we walk?"
Though he did not press for more details, Yan Huan still stopped in his tracks and looked back at An Le.
Hearing this, An Le's slightly flushed face grew a bit pinker, but she still nodded, gently reaching out to grip Yan Huan's clothes.
Just like they used to do when they were children.
"..."
Feeling the slight weight tugging at his clothes, Yan Huan paused slightly.
"Hurry, big brother, big sister! We're almost there! The place where we can catch fish!"
He turned to look at the two little brats sprinting ahead and called out, "Coming right now."
They were on their way to catch fish.
Naturally, Yan Huan had an ulterior motive for bringing An Le out.
Right now, there weren't many Modifier Hosts around. He needed to seize this opportunity to try and resolve An Le's current problems.
The hints pointed to the past, which ant he could perfectly utilize this outing with the two children to have a proper heart-to-heart talk with An Le.
Firstly, the gas these two children played were quite similar to how he and An Le entertained themselves as kids back in the South Ward, sharing a similar charm.
Secondly, with the children present, they would not be entirely alone, and An Le certainly wouldn't use her Modifier on two kids.
Thirdly, going out to play could relax their moods, allowing An Le to quickly break away from the tense standoff of battling the other Hosts from before.
"Splash, splash~"
They had reached their destination: a small stream.
Sunlight in the forest was never whole; it had to be sliced into fragnts by the lush green canopy before it was allowed to filter through.
By the scattered morning light, Yan Huan caught glimpses of small fish darting about in the crystal-clear waters.
"Ta-da!"
Aoi Ka pulled an old little dip net from her clothes, sowhat similar to the ones used for catching goldfish.
Then, she squatted by the edge of the stream, her bright and sparkling eyes scanning up and down at everything in the water.
Waterweeds, pebbles...
And, of course, the most important thing—fish!
Seeing the two of them squatting by the stream, Yan Huan could not help but rest his chin in his hand and ask,
"Can you actually catch anything with that?"
When he and An Le were kids in the South Ward, they used harpoons to spear fish.
Back then, gang fights were a frequent occurrence in the South Ward. In the mornings, injured people would be dragged away, and even the bloodstains would be washed clean.
But he and An Le could still occasionally find weapon fragnts by the roadside, which they would tie to wooden sticks to make makeshift harpoons.
Thinking back on it now, however, it seed their childhood vibe was the one that was completely off...
"We totally can! This is a fishing net my dad bought when he took Mom and
to see the fireworks in Tokyo. It's magical!"
Holding the net that looked like it had been used for ages, Aoi Ka stared intently into the stream, seemingly waiting by the stump for a hare.
On the other hand, the little boy, Kazuya, looked at Yan Huan and An Le, asking with concern,
"Big brother, big sister, do you want to play too?"
"We'll watch you guys play first and learn a bit."
Yan Huan smiled faintly as he replied.
"Okay then..."
Once the two children lowered their heads to focus entirely on catching fish, Yan Huan finally turned back to look at An Le beside him.
Feeling Yan Huan's gaze, An Le's slightly flushed face grew a bit redder.
Catching from the corner of her eye that she was still gripping the back of his shirt, she hurriedly let go.
Before Yan Huan could find the right words to slowly segue into the topic...
An Le looked at her numb hands and suddenly asked Yan Huan for confirmation with a hint of worry,
"Little Huan, about the final day of the school trip... You... you still rember, right?"
Hearing this, the expression on Yan Huan's face could not help but freeze slightly.
He cast a glance at the anxious An Le and let out a helpless smile.
Just how deeply was she fixated on this matter...
If he were to run away, she would probably turn completely to the dark side for real.
"Of course I rember. I haven't forgotten a single thing."
"T-that's good then..."
Hearing Yan Huan's guarantee for the umpteenth ti, the unease on An Le's face finally dissipated a little, replaced by a shy smile.
It seed that at this mont, only by constantly hearing his reassurances could her faltering heart barely maintain its support.
Seeing her act like this, Yan Huan pondered for a mont before asking,
"But, that's for the final day of the school trip, right? Because of what happened with Sakuramiya earlier, this whole trip has felt like an epic pilgrimage... What about now, in this village? Or when we head to Tokyo later, is there anything you want to do for fun?"
"I... I don't know either..."
The question stumped An Le entirely, leaving her speechless for a long ti.
She pursed her lips. Worried that her response might ruin the mood, she quickly forced a smile and tacked on,
"When the ti cos and we et back up with Vice President Sakuramiya, she should have so recomnded spots, right? After all, she's from Sakura Country and she's so amazing, she's bound to know..."
"I couldn't tell you actually had such a good impression of Sakuramiya..."
Back at the academy, let alone the other Hosts, the regular Outer Campus and Inner Court Students did not have a particularly favorable view of Sakuramiya Hitomi.
"Mm."
An Le nodded, but countless images surfaced in her mind.
The scene of Sakuramiya Hitomi and Little Huan standing together during the opening speeches for the sports festival and the Club War...
The scene of being able to spend ti with Little Huan in the Student Council Office through daily companionship, and going out for team building with other friends...
The scene of using her own power to help Little Huan in so many ways, and chatting with him on Plane...
And the scene from earlier, when the two of them were standing together at the Sakuramiya family estate.
Thinking about all of this, An Le was slow to catch on, but she belatedly realized...
It was the bitter taste of a feeling called "envy."
She was, in truth, very envious of Sakuramiya Hitomi.
On the surface, however, she did not let it show. Instead, she averted her eyes and explained,
"Because... because Vice President Sakuramiya is very amazing.
"Back when Little Huan was campaigning for Student Council President, Vice President Sakuramiya secretly helped you canvass for votes among the Inner Court Students...
"She has wealth and power, and she's beautiful. All the Inner Court Students have to give her so face..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan stared straight into An Le's face and suddenly asked,
"What about you, An Le? That campaign website was made by you, wasn't it? You poured a ton of effort into that site. Are you saying you aren't amazing?"
"Eh?"
An Le's eyes widened. She whipped her head around to stare at Yan Huan in utter astonishnt, completely baffled as to how he knew.
Even when she was doing promotion for the website, she had secretly used alt accounts to drop links into various major group chats and forums.
In the entire school, absolutely no one knew that the website was her doing.
"H-how did Little Huan..."
"I should be the one asking why, shouldn't I? Since you did all that, why didn't you ever tell ?"
Yan Huan looked at An Le, even more puzzled than she was,
"And it's not just . You haven't told a single soul. Otherwise, everyone in the Student Council wouldn't still be completely in the dark about it by the second sester..."
An Le pursed her lips and explained softly,
"Because... because I was worried that if everyone knew I was the one who made it, it would actually... negatively impact Little Huan's campaign...
"Besides, compared to the things Vice President Sakuramiya and Classmate Yatsuhashi did, it was nothing. It didn't bring in that many votes... So..."
Vice President Sakuramiya only had to say a single word to the Inner Court Students to pull in vastly more votes than all of her own efforts combined.
anwhile, she could only resort to these under-the-table thods, having to sneak around just to post website links. Therefore...
However, keeping quiet would have been one thing, but explaining it actually pushed Yan Huan past his breaking point.
His eyes widened, and he blurted out without thinking,
"Are you an idiot?"
"I-I'm sorry..."
As soon as she heard Yan Huan call her an idiot, An Le thought he was upset. Her expression instantly grew incredibly tense.
Although she didn't know why she was being an idiot, An Le didn't want him to be unhappy, so she obediently apologized.
"..."
Seeing the cautious way she looked at him, Yan Huan choked on his own breath,
"I'm really... forget it. I'm the real idiot here."
"Little Huan, you're not an idiot... I... I am."
"..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan looked at An Le and gently reached out his hand.
He hadn't originally intended to pat her head. He just wanted to pat her shoulder and say, "We both are."
But he didn't expect that the mont she saw him raise his hand, she would instantly and obediently squeeze her eyes shut...
Like a rabbit waiting for its fate, letting him do as he pleased.
This left Yan Huan's hand hovering awkwardly in mid-air, unsure of where to land.
After much hesitation, he simply patted An Le on the shoulder.
However, An Le acted as if she hadn't felt a thing, keeping her eyes firmly shut, which made Yan Huan pause in surprise.
Seriously, was she that nervous?
"An Le?"
"Eh... eh?"
Hearing Yan Huan speak, An Le imdiately opened her eyes.
Looking sideways, she finally realized that Yan Huan's hand was resting on her numb shoulder.
She instantly tensed up even more, terrified that Yan Huan might notice sothing was wrong. Stepping back, she whispered,
"S-sorry..."
"What is there to apologize for?"
Yan Huan sighed, explaining patiently,
"You know what, An Le? So things aren't just about the results... And besides, that website of yours really helped
out a lot."
"R-really...?"
"Mm."
Yan Huan hadn't even said anything else yet; a simple, straightforward "Mm" was enough to instantly leave An Le rooted to the spot.
She stared blankly at Yan Huan, but for so unknown reason, a sudden warmth blood in her heart, so much so that she felt the urge to cry.
Still, she fought it back with all her might, refusing to let the tears fall.
In the next second, she instead looked at Yan Huan and began to laugh foolishly,
"That's good then, Little Huan..."
That utterly naive, goofy smile actually made Yan Huan feel unprecedentedly embarrassed.
He exhaled a breath, but from the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed that the stream bank was entirely empty. There was no sign or sound of the two kids who had been catching fish.
"Wait, where are Aoi Ka and Kazuya?"
Taken aback, Yan Huan hurriedly started looking around.
After scanning the area, he finally spotted two sneaky and suspicious little brats sticking their butts out among the bushes a short distance away.
"Weren't you two catching fish? What are you squatting over there for?"
Speechless, Yan Huan walked over. But the mont he spoke, Aoi Ka whipped her head around and hastily shushed him with a finger to her lips.
Kazuya, his small face bright red, pursed his lips and tugged at Aoi Ka's sleeve, whispering,
"L-let's go..."
"Aw, no way! It's only just started over there."
Started?
Started what?
Yan Huan and An Le exchanged a glance. Both took a step forward, leaning against the edge of the bushes to peer in the direction the kids were watching.
What they saw at the bottom of the slope not far away was a middle-aged man and woman leaning against a tree, panting heavily as they engaged in certain unntionable acts,
"Haa... Ah... Oura, you're getting more and more impatient... To drag
out to this deserted wilderness... If... Ah... you devil..."
"Well, the village is about to hold a festival. Everyone is running around busy, not even resting at night. When else would I get the chance?"
"And you? Instead of helping out, you spend all your energy on ... Ah... slow... slow down..."
One look, and Yan Huan's face instantly darkened.
He turned his head to glance at An Le, only to see her looking down with her usual calm expression. She showed no reaction whatsoever; if anything, she seed faintly bored.
"...An Le?"
It wasn't until Yan Huan dumbly called her na that a vivid pink abruptly blossod across her previously placid face. Overwheld with shyness, she instantly averted her gaze and squeezed out a dry comnt,
"T-this is way too embarrassing..."
"..."
anwhile, Aoi Ka in front of them was still watching with great relish, even providing comntary as she watched,
"That auntie is Mrs. Morita from the village. Her husband passed away a long ti ago. I knew it! My mom always said there was sothing going on between them!"
Beside her, Kazuya was watching with a face entirely flushed red. He asked quietly,
"Then, will Mrs. Morita marry Uncle Oura?"
"Of course not! Uncle Oura already has a wife. He's just having an affair right now."
"Eh? Eh... T-they aren't marrying to beco a couple... but... but they're still doing this sort of thing?"
"Hmm... doing this doesn't necessarily an they're a couple."
Kazuya sneaked a peek at Aoi Ka, unable to stop himself from asking,
"Then what makes people a couple?"
"I don't know either. Maybe there's sothing even more important... Hehe, maybe the big brother and big sister know!"
Are all kids nowadays this wild?
Staring at Aoi Ka, who had just asked that question with a face full of absolute innocence, the corners of Yan Huan's mouth stiffened slightly.
Beside him, however, An Le seed to have her breath completely stolen by that question, to the point where her body froze solid.
It was as if that simple remark from Aoi Ka had caused so invisible shackle binding An Le to suddenly manifest into reality...
"Dad, Mom, I had a nightmare. Can I sleep with you tonight...?"
Little An Le, rubbing her eyes and feeling sowhat frightened, pushed open the door to her parents' bedroom and spoke in a soft and sweet voice.
Inside the room, however, she only saw her mother riding on top of her father, doing who-knew-what.
But the primal, wild aura radiating from the scene delivered a massive shock to An Le, leaving her standing there utterly dumbfounded.
The mont they heard their daughter speak, the two parents on the bed were also struck completely dumb.
One scrambled for the blanket, while the other scrambled for clothes.
"Ah! Ah! An... Be a good girl, An Le. You... you go out first. Mom will co keep you company in a bit..."
"Yeah... Haha, Dad and Mom are just exercising. You... you head back to your room first, okay?"
An Le stared blankly at her mom and dad on the bed. Although she didn't know why, she obediently nodded and turned to head back to her room.
Lying in bed, she couldn't fall asleep for a long ti. Her mind kept replaying everything she had just seen.
Even though she couldn't understand it, she felt thoroughly spooked.
And so, her original fear of the nightmare shifted into a fear of what she had just witnessed.
She was terrified, feeling as though her mom was screaming and trying to eat her dad.
Mom...
Actually did sothing like that to Dad...
Her little face paled. She quickly buried herself under the bedding, terrified that sothing bad was going to happen.
"Creak~"
It was a long ti before her bedroom door gently opened, and her mother's voice drifted in from the doorway,
"Little An Le, are you asleep?"
An Le's body trembled slightly. Too scared to even twitch, she rely peeked out stealthily through the gap in the bedding.
She then saw her mother, her face still carrying a rosy flush, wearing a clean set of pajamas and her hair tied up, looking kind and approachable. Seeing her mother return to her familiar appearance, the fear in An Le's heart finally ebbed away a little.
"What's wrong? Still can't sleep?"
An Le cautiously poked her head out, erging from her bedding cave to look at her kindly-faced mother sitting on the edge of the bed.
Her mother smiled faintly and asked gently,
"What kind of nightmare did you have?"
"...Mom, what were you and Dad doing just now?"
"W-well, about that..."
This question instantly turned the expression on An Le's mother's face utterly awkward. For a mont, she had no idea how to explain it.
However, looking at her daughter, who was staring directly at her, she knew one thing:
Though her daughter usually seed soft and sweet, she was actually incredibly serious and stubborn.
If she didn't explain it clearly, An Le wouldn't say anything, but she would keep the matter locked in her heart, burying it deeper and deeper...
And so, An Le's mother sighed and had no choice but to say,
"You see, the reason Mom and Dad are Mom and Dad... is because we have you, right?"
"Mm."
"So, that ans Mom and Dad are a couple, right?"
"Mm."
"What Mom and Dad were doing earlier... is sothing only a couple can do."
"A couple..."
"That's right, a couple."
"So, only by doing that kind of thing can Mom and Dad beco a couple, and beco Mom and Dad?"
An Le's mother's face reddened slightly, but she still nodded patiently,
"That's right."
"I see..."
Hearing her mother's patient explanation, little An Le finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, you should be able to get so good sleep now, right?"
"Mm."
With that, An Le was finally no longer afraid, lying down on her side in the bed.
"Good girl. Mom will stay right here with you. Get so good sleep."
"Okay, Mom..."
An Le closed her eyes and quickly drifted off into a deep sleep.
However, an unknown amount of ti later, her little mouth mumbled unconsciously, like an echo of the dreams within her mind...
"C-couple..."
By the bed, An Le's yawning mother could not help but chuckle helplessly upon hearing her daughter's adorable voice. She stroked her head and whispered,
"That's right...
"A couple~"
"An Le?"
"Eh?"
Right in front of her, Little Huan's voice suddenly rang out, pulling An Le up as if from a freezing pool of water.
Her small face went pale. She had just intended to move her feet but completely forgot that her legs were currently senseless, causing her to abruptly stagger.
Fortunately, Yan Huan imdiately reached out and caught her by the arm.
"Rustle... rustle..."
But in doing so, they brushed against the bushes, producing a rustling sound.
"Who's there?!"
This instantly ruined the fun of the man and woman below. The middle-aged man snapped his head up at the sound. He didn't see Yan Huan and An Le, but rather spotted Aoi Ka and Kazuya, who had sneakily poked their heads out.
"Ahhhhh!!"
The mont she saw there were witnesses up the slope, Mrs. Morita started shrieking. The man beside her pointed up in utter exasperation, cursing wildly,
"Damn it, you two little brats! Get the hell down here!"
"Oh no! Kazuya, run!"
Aoi Ka imdiately realized things had gone horribly wrong. Yanking Kazuya along, she turned tail and fled.
As she ran, she even glanced toward Yan Huan and the others, whispering fiercely,
"Big brother, big sister, run!"
Yan Huan was completely speechless. To co up the mountain to catch fish, only to end up getting chased by an adulterous couple.
Talk about a slice of life.
"Let's go, An Le!"
Yan Huan let go of An Le's arm, planning to escape alongside her.
But he didn't realize that An Le's current state was severely compromised, and her four limbs had absolutely no feeling.
The mont he let her go, An Le, whose mind was completely blank, subconsciously turned to run.
But her ankle gave way with a light twist, causing her to instantly crash into the ground.
The crushed gravel on the ground scraped against her palm, instantly slicing open a gash.
Yet An Le showed absolutely no reaction. It wasn't until she tried to stand up that she noticed the red on her hand.
"..."
"An Le! Are you alright?"
Seeing this, Yan Huan's face imdiately fell. He rushed over, taking a quick look at the small cut on her hand.
"I... I'm fine..."
Only then did An Le completely snap back to her senses. She hurriedly shook her head and tried to stand up.
Yan Huan glanced at the shoe she had lost in the fall and her exposed, dirtied tabi sock. Having no other choice, he crouched down in front of her,
"Co on, I'll carry you back."
"O-okay. Sorry for the trouble, Little Huan..."
"It's nothing."
Yan Huan said it was nothing, but once An Le was on his back, he realized sothing was terribly wrong.
"Squish~"
Because, it was simply far too strange.
There was sothing pressing right against his back, and the sensation was exceptionally distinct.
That was...
Yan Huan swallowed a mouthful of saliva, not daring to make any guesses, and simply said,
"Hold on tight, An Le."
"Mm."
An Le nodded and held tightly onto Yan Huan.
Yan Huan imdiately exerted his strength and launched into a mad sprint all the way down the mountain.
The journey down was not a smooth one.
Suffice it to say, with every up-and-down bump, the objects against his back were anything but restful.
And let us not forget, beneath An Le's shrine maiden outfit, she was completely bare...
The unrestrained water balloons were like wild horses broken free of their reins, galloping back and forth across the plains of Yan Huan's back.
"Nnh..."
Not to ntion Yan Huan being unable to hold back, even An Le seed to have realized this. Her face flushed pink, and a faint whimper inevitably slipped from her throat.
It seed to be because she was extrely sensitive.
‘Don't... don't make a sound, An Le.’
‘Otherwise, my Fertility Attribute Points aren't going to be able to hold back.’
Yan Huan's forehead began to lightly sweat. It wasn't from fatigue; it was from the heat.
Those two little brats had long since vanished without a trace, but thankfully, Yan Huan still rembered the way back.
Along the way, An Le pursed her lips, clinging tightly to Yan Huan's warm body heat.
In this mont, pressed against his warm body temperature, An Le seed to completely forget the senseless, freezing cold of her own limbs, feeling deeply at peace.
"Bong~"
Right when she felt deeply at peace, she suddenly caught sight of a temple standing by the roadside from the corner of her eye.
The rhythmic knocking of a wooden fish drifted over, and the faint scent of Buddhist incense wafted into her nose. This made An Le pause slightly and look toward the temple.
The main doors of the temple were wide open. Within the golden light, a faint pink aura resembling lotus flowers swirled about.
Inside, An Le could vaguely make out the statue of a Bodhisattva with its hands pressed together in prayer.
The Bodhisattva statue had a compassionate face, its gaze seemingly looking down from the high heavens above...
Was this temple here when we ca up?
An Le wondered. Unfortunately, Yan Huan was running so incredibly fast that it only took a few seconds for them to blow past the temple, continuing straight ahead.
An Le turned her head back around. Without overthinking it, she simply continued to hold tightly onto Yan Huan.
"Thud, thud, thud"
It didn't take long for Yan Huan to run back to the entrance of the shrine, carrying An Le, whose face was bright red and whose eyes were glistening with moisture.
At the entrance, Grandma Shendai was currently scolding the two little brats. It was unclear if she had already found out about the scandalous affair they had stumbled upon earlier.
"Grandma Shendai!"
"Oh my, you're back... These two little rascals, honestly... Little girl, are you alright?"
"I'm fine..."
Panting slightly, An Le shook her head and looked at the elderly woman.
"Grandma, you can just call
An Le."
"Alright... Oh my goodness, look at your hand! You scraped it so badly in a fall! Quick, put her down, I'll go get the dicine..."
Grandma Shendai had no idea that An Le's hand was completely devoid of sensation, and that her current panting was entirely due to the highly inappropriate oppai contact.
But this was fine, too. At least it saved An Le the trouble of explaining.
Yan Huan was also quite exhausted, mostly because the sheer effort of enduring had worn him out.
Seeing they had arrived, he hastily set An Le down.
"We're really sorry, big brother, big sister. We got you chased the whole way... But they don't know you were there! They only know we saw them..."
Off to the side, Aoi Ka walked over apologetically and bowed to Yan Huan and An Le.
In reality, it was because An Le had suddenly rembered sothing and, in her daze, made a sound that exposed them.
But Yan Huan felt this could serve as a good lesson for the two kids.
Don't go peeping on things you have no business looking at.
It's a quick way to get into trouble.
"I'm sorry, big brother, big sister. I'll treat you to lollipops..."
Beside her, Kazuya pulled two foil-wrapped candies out of his pocket and handed them to Yan Huan and An Le.
Yan Huan glanced at his now completely empty pocket and asked,
"If we eat them, what are you two going to eat?"
"Umm... we just won't eat any!"
Yan Huan couldn't help but laugh softly. He handed the candies back to the two of them,
"Forget it, you two eat them. Here."
Aoi Ka glanced at the candy Yan Huan offered back. Her eyes darted around in thought before she only accepted one piece.
"It's fine! Kazuya and I will share one! You two share the other one, big brother and big sister!"
"Eh?"
Yan Huan and An Le froze. Even Kazuya's face turned bright red.
"Y-you can eat it. I won't eat."
"No, no way! We're sharing one!"
"The big brother and big sister are a couple, so they can share one. We aren't, so we can't share..."
Aoi Ka paused slightly, and a faint blush crept onto her face,
"Well, when we grow up, won't we be a couple anyway? So... it's fine if we share one now..."
Hearing their mistaken assumptions, Yan Huan was slightly taken aback.
He was just about to explain the misunderstanding when he turned his head and caught sight of An Le beside him. Her face was flushed, but her lips were turned up in a rare, faint smile. She seed genuinely happy.
For so reason, the words of explanation never managed to leave his lips.
"Co, co, co. I've brought you so dicine..."
Grandma Shendai approached holding cotton swabs, bandages, and iodine. Looking at An Le's bleeding right hand, she couldn't help but gasp in shock,
"Bear with it for a mont. The cut isn't huge, but it will sting a bit."
"Mm."
An Le nodded, watching the iodine-soaked cotton swab circle over her hand.
"Does it hurt?"
Yan Huan's concerned voice drifted over, making An Le belatedly realize she needed to put on an act.
"Sss... It's not too bad, Little Huan..."
She gasped in cold air, speaking as if she were genuinely feeling the pain.
"Almost done, almost done."
Grandma Shendai wrapped the bandages around An Le's hand layer by layer. Once finished, she looked at her kindly,
"You need to be more careful. The mountains are nothing like the city. The roads are full of potholes. It wouldn't be good to slip and fall again, understand?"
Listening to Grandma Shendai's affectionate words, An Le blinked and squeezed her bandage-wrapped hand.
Seeing her pause in a daze, Grandma Shendai questioned closely,
"Did you hear , An Le? You have to be more careful."
"Ah, o-okay..."
An Le nodded, quickly offering her reply.
Hearing her promise, Grandma Shendai smiled and nodded before getting up to attend to her own chores,
"Alright, alright, don't go running around anymore. Everyone in the village is busy right now. If you have so free ti, tutor these two with their howork."
"We already finished our howork!"
"Then stay inside the shrine and watch TV! No more running wild!"
"Darn it!"
An Le stared blankly at the two children as they bickered with the grandmother, acting coy all the while.
Beside her was Yan Huan, watching her with concern,
"How is it? Still hurting?"
"N-no, it doesn't hurt anymore, Little Huan..."
"That's good."
In the distance lay the peaceful, tranquil, and picturesque village.
For so reason, a long-lost sense of calm and comfort suddenly blood within An Le's heart...
A kind of peacefulness and ordinary life that she truly, deeply loved.
"..."
An Le blinked. Before she even had ti to properly savor that feeling, she suddenly rembered what had happened earlier.
"By the way, Grandma..."
"What is it?"
Grandma Shendai turned her head back around. An Le then proceeded to describe the temple she had seen on their way back.
"Grandma, was there always a temple in the village?"
"A temple?"
Hearing this, Grandma Shendai glanced at the two children next to her, a look of confusion on her face.
"Yeah... Right by the side of the road we took up the mountain earlier, there was a dium-sized temple... I think I saw a Bodhisattva statue enshrined inside it..."
However, upon hearing her words, the expressions of everyone present only grew more bewildered.
It wasn't just Grandma Shendai, Aoi Ka, and Kazuya; even Yan Huan furrowed his brows.
"But there are absolutely no temples in the village. Did you perhaps see wrong and mistake soone's house for a temple?"
"Eh?"
An Le froze in shock, looking at Yan Huan beside her.
Shaking his head, Yan Huan chewed over everything she had just said and asked in confusion,
"An Le, when we ca down just now, there was nothing at all by the side of the road."
"..."
Hearing this, An Le pursed her lips and began to mull it over in her mind.
Yet, no matter how she tried to recall it, she was utterly convinced that everything she had seen was real.
Could it be...
Her expression shifted slightly, twisting into an awkward smile,
"I suppose I must have seen wrong because I was injured earlier and we had people chasing us... Thinking about it carefully, it was probably just a villager's house."
With her explaining it away like that, Grandma Shendai and the others simply nodded. Not overthinking the matter, they rely told her to get so good rest.
Yan Huan, however, carefully studied An Le's shy smile, instantly seeing right through her lie.
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