Part-1 Ch-09 Ep-03

 “…Why do you always break our promises like that, Mari?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you so quick to push me away… Did I do something wrong…?”

With a trembling voice, Maki finally broke down, tears spilling from her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

Even if she says I did something, I am worried precisely because I have not done anything with the capture targets yet, and it is not as though I want to distance myself from Maki in the first place.

But the fact that things have come to this means that Maki, too, does not want to be separated from me.

I feel sorry for making her cry, but just realizing that alone eases the tightness that had been gripping my chest earlier, if only a little.

“I don’t want to be apart either.”

I don’t want to be apart. To begin with, even if she were to fall in love with one of the capture targets, that would not mean we would suddenly grow distant.

Then why do I keep imagining Maki and myself drifting apart? Maybe it is because I did not want to face it. The idea of Maki changing as she falls in love with someone else. I get up and move to sit beside Maki, who had been seated across from me.

“Maki, if you rub your eyes like that, they’ll turn red.”

I pull her close, gently wrap my arms around her, and lightly pat her back to calm her down.

“I don’t want to be apart either. My world revolves around you, Maki. If you weren’t here, I don’t think I would even exist in this place. That’s how special you are to me.”

That is why I am so afraid. Afraid of the day when Maki will no longer be just my childhood friend. Afraid of the life that would continue even if Maki were no longer by my side.

“…Somehow, I feel like I’ve heard something like that before.”

As I loosen my hold, Maki murmurs softly, as though tracing a distant memory.

“Of course you have. I did say it, back when we were kids. So what do you think you said to me in return?”

At my words, Maki’s eyes widen for some reason, and she freezes in place.

“If I’m a special girl, then Mari-chan is the prince who protects her.”

It was a little embarrassing, now that I think about it. The girl in my arms looks stunned, but it seems her tears have finally stopped.

“Huh… You don’t remember? Or maybe I shouldn’t have said it… This is just between us, our little secret. Well, you probably don’t remember anymore.”

“No, I remember… A secret, huh. So you thought of it as a secret, not a promise…”

“Hm? Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m just saying that I’m really happy.”

In that instant, light returns to Maki’s eyes. She smiles like a small bud gently blooming into a flower. That expression is unexpectedly cute, just like a girl in love.

“Mari-chan.”

“Huh? What is it, all of a sudden?”

“Will you call me Hime-chan again, like you did when we were kids?”

As she says that, she clings tightly to me, acting utterly spoiled. This is a family restaurant, you know. It is pretty crowded, with people all around us, right out in the open. The incident at the Ichinose house last month flashes through my mind. If I refuse her now, she might lose control again.

“H-Hime-chan…”

“Mari-chan.”

“What is this? How long are we going to keep going back and forth like this…”

“Hehe. Then stay by my side from now on too.”

“Alright, alright… I won’t leave you. I promise.”

“Then that means we’ll be together forever. It’s a promise. Protect it with your whole life.”

“That’s heavy.”

“Shut up.”

Her mood has improved dramatically. If anything, her excitement is becoming a little strange. It has been a long time since I last saw Maki smile this brightly. If there were a favorability meter I could see, I am certain that Maki’s affection toward me right now would be extremely high.