Muichiro’s eyes widened in shock.
“Don’t tell me you’re… Tashinora Agutsu?”
A faint smile appeared on Tuantuan’s face.
“So you finally recognized me.”
Muichiro looked completely stunned.
“No way…”
Then he immediately turned toward Aria.
“THIS is the same Tashinora Agutsu you used to fight with every single day as a kid?!”
Aria crossed her arms defensively.
“He started most of those fights.”
Tashinora raised an eyebrow calmly.
“You once threw a chair at me.”
“That was self-defense.”
“It was a plastic spoon.”
“Still dangerous.”
Muichiro instantly burst out laughing while Elli quietly smiled in the background.
“So THAT’S why you looked like you’d seen a ghost earlier!”
Aria looked away dramatically.
“I was simply surprised.”
Tashinora smirked faintly.
“You almost forgot me completely, didn’t you?”
Aria immediately pointed at him.
“Excuse me, you disappeared for years!”
“You also never contacted me.”
“You never contacted me either.”
Muichiro sighed while watching them argue like children.
“…And she said he wasn’t important.”
Aria instantly glared at him.
“He’s not important.”
Tashinora calmly added,
“She cried for three days when I left.”
The room became silent.
Muichiro slowly turned toward Aria with the biggest grin imaginable.
“…Oh?”
Aria’s face instantly turned red with embarrassment.
“TASHINORA AGUTSU.”
She grabbed the nearest cushion and threw it directly at him while Muichiro laughed so hard he almost fell onto the couch.
Tashinora raised both his hands innocently.
“Alright, fine.
She didn’t cry.”
Then a teasing smile appeared on his face.
“…She was just extremely emotional.”
Muichiro immediately laughed.
“Yeah, right.
I was wondering how Aria—who has probably never cried in her entire life—could suddenly cry because of someone.”
Aria narrowed her eyes dangerously.
“You both are becoming way too comfortable.”
Then she stood up abruptly.
“Come on.
We’re leaving.”
A little while later, the three of them arrived at a quiet park nearby.
The evening breeze felt cool, and the lights around the pathways glowed softly.
They sat together on a bench, casually talking and joking around.
For a while, everything felt strangely normal.
Then Muichiro suddenly stood up.
“Alright, you two keep talking.”
He stretched lazily before pointing toward a nearby stall.
“I’ll go buy ice cream.”
Aria nodded casually.
“Get mine too.”
“Pay for it yourself.”
“You’re rich too.”
“…Fair point.”
Shaking his head, Muichiro walked away toward the stall.
The moment he disappeared from sight—
The smile on Aria’s face vanished instantly.
The cheerful atmosphere around her completely disappeared.
Tashinora immediately noticed the sudden change.
Aria slowly turned toward him, her expression cold now.
“…Tuantuan.”
Her voice sounded serious for the first time that evening.
“How did you come here?”
Tashinora looked at her quietly for a few seconds before answering softly,
“To come here…”
He lowered his gaze slightly.
“…I took my own life in that world.”
Silence.
Aria froze completely.
Shock filled her eyes instantly.
“…What?”
Tashinora smiled bitterly.
“I had no other way.”
Aria immediately stood up.
“You made a huge mistake.”
Tashinora frowned slightly.
“What did I do wrong?”
Aria clenched her fists tightly.
“You still don’t understand?”
Her voice trembled slightly with frustration.
“This punishment wasn’t for twenty years.”
Then she looked away, her expression darker than before.
“It’s forever.”
Tashinora’s eyes widened slowly.
“…What do you mean?”
Aria laughed bitterly.
“It means I’m never going back.”
The evening wind grew silent around them.
“I have to spend the rest of my life in this world.”
For the first time, fear appeared clearly on Tashinora’s face.
“…Then does that mean…”
His voice became quieter.
“…I can never return there either?”
Then another thought hit him instantly.
“…Miwa…”
He looked down in panic.
“What will happen to Miwa without me?”
Aria’s eyes softened for a brief second, but her expression remained cold.
“Then you should’ve thought about that before coming here.”
Aria took a deep breath before speaking again, her voice calmer now but still serious.
“Listen carefully.”
She looked directly into Tashinora’s eyes.
“No one should ever find out that you and I aren’t originally from this world.”
Tashinora nodded slowly.
“Alright.”
Then a teasing smile appeared on his face.
“But don’t you think I should be the one giving you orders instead?”
Aria immediately crossed her arms.
“No.”
Her expression turned proud instantly.
“Because don’t forget who I actually am.”
Tashinora sighed dramatically.
“Yes, yes.
I know.”
Then he looked at her quietly for a moment before speaking again,
“But honestly… I don’t think even you understand who you truly are.”
Aria frowned slightly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Tashinora leaned back against the bench.
“You don’t even understand the meaning of the word sacrifice.”
His voice softened slightly afterward.
“But it’s fine.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“At least back there, you still pretended to be my protector in front of everyone.”
Aria immediately looked offended.
“Pretended?”
Then she pointed at herself dramatically.
“I was actually protecting you.”
Tashinora laughed softly.
“Yeah, yeah.
Sure.”
Before Aria could continue arguing with him, Muichiro finally returned carrying ice creams in both hands.
“Why do I feel like you two were fighting while I was gone?”
Aria instantly grabbed her ice cream.
“We were having a peaceful conversation.”
Tashinora nodded calmly.
“Very peaceful.”
Muichiro looked unconvinced but decided not to question it further.
Soon, the three of them sat together eating ice cream while casually talking again as if nothing serious had happened earlier.
After some time, they finally headed back home separately.
The next morning—
Aria slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.
Then suddenly, a dangerous smile appeared on her face.
She sat up dramatically and stretched lazily.
“Alright then…”
Her eyes sparkled mischievously.
“Today, Ren and his mother are officially doomed.”
The next morning, Aria lazily walked out of her room while fixing her hair.
For once, she had left her hair completely open, and a simple oversized night suit hung loosely on her.
Meanwhile, Muichiro and Tashinora were sitting on the couch, talking casually.
The moment Aria stepped into the living room—
Both of them suddenly went silent.
They stared at her with strange expressions.
Aria raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
“…Why are you two making those weird faces?”
Muichiro immediately pointed at her.
“You seriously came out wearing your night suit?”
Aria looked down at herself.
“…So?”
Tashinora sighed dramatically.
“Then what reaction were we supposed to give?”
Aria crossed her arms.
“Ohhh, so now you two have a problem with my night suit?”
Both of them instantly looked away.
“Not exactly…” Muichiro muttered.
Aria suddenly smirked mysteriously.
“Fine then.”
She stretched lazily before grinning proudly.
“Tonight I’ll give both of you a surprise at the engagement.”
Muichiro frowned immediately.
“…Whenever you say surprise, bad things happen.”
Tashinora nodded seriously.
“I agree.”
But Aria simply laughed and started walking back toward her room confidently.
As she walked away, the morning breeze from the balcony gently moved through her open hair, making it sway softly behind her.
For a few seconds—
Muichiro and Tashinora simply stared silently.
Then Muichiro blinked.
“…Did Aria suddenly become cool?”
Tashinora looked away immediately.
“…No comment.”…