We explain things to Katima and the others after reaching the alfar village, and head home.
Reina and Graham are already back, but from the looks of things, they didn’t bring anyone with them.
“Ceres!”
“Ah, Erie!”
“Wah!?”
The moment Erie touches down and speaks, Ceres rushes forward and hugs her.
The momentum is such that they fall, but Ceres is too emotional to let that bother her.
“I’m glad you’re safe! I’m so glad!”
“Of course I am! Who do you think I am!?”
“But… But…”
“Ah, geez… Sorry for worrying you.”
Erie rubs Ceres’ back gently, as if soothing a worrywart big sister.
That’s nice. But then I look to the side.
Cara looks unhappy, or troubled, as she looks at Edinburgh, and Reina and the others.
Reina and Merlin look a bit wary, and Edinburgh a bit curious.
Those stares carry a strange pressure, and Cara is sweating a little from the forehead too.
It’s strange. Both are being reunited with their peers, so how come their reactions are the opposite?
“Ha, hahaha. Cara Marguerite has returned”
“…”
“…”
The silence lingers, as Edinburgh looks at Reina and Merlin, and then her eyes widen when she realizes something.
“Ah, are you talking to me?”
“Of course! Who else would I be talking to!?”
“Sorry, my tempo is a little slow because I lost my memory.”
Says Edinburgh without much emotion in her voice, as she slowly approaches Cara.
“W-what?”
Cara looks cautious, but Edinburgh hugs her like she’s copying Ceres.
“Fueh!?”
“You were scared, right? This will make you relax, so give into it.”
“Fuah!? Fue!? Fuoh!?”
Cara’s expression is changing like crazy.
It looks like she can’t even use words at this point.
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you no matter what happens.”
“…”
I think she’s panicking because of this inexplicable turn of events, and Cara’s face turns red as the rest of her body is completely immobile.
It looks pretty cool, even to a guy like me…
◇ ◇ ◇
We can’t stand outside forever, so we go inside to tell each other what we know.
Erie and Cara were together, and got caught by Miss Sheryl, and there were no humans in the divine beast people’s village.
While the others play with Snow and we exchange information, Reina and I also discuss our results and what to do next.
“It’s only Arc and Seti left.”
“Yes. We’ve gone through every place in order, but…”
The divine beast people’s village, the alfar village, and the ancient dragons’ place.
We’re done checking north of where we live, other than Wil’s castle. But she’s there repairing it right now, and we haven’t heard from her.
She knew when we wandered into the island, so surely she’d know if they were there. And since I asked Tiltue to go tell her just in case, we’ve got our bases covered.
“Wilhelmina didn’t come back. I hope she isn’t thinking anything weird…”
“Hahaha… I’m sure it will be fine.”
She likes her pranks, but she wouldn’t do something that could kill someone. If someone ends up there, I’m sure she’d help them.
Although she might laugh at them being attacked by monsters before she does…
“Let’s look over here tomorrow.”
I’m pointing to the place in the forest where we went yesterday, and where the high elves and great spirits live.
There’s a big lake back there, and the coast further south.
“…There was nothing there before.”
“It’s because there’s a barrier.”
That’s the odd feeling I got then.
It shouldn’t be hard to blow it away like the darkness prison, but I don’t want to pick a fight, so…
“Miss Sheryl said they’ll welcome us if we bring Snow.”
“I see…”
Reina peeks at Snow, who’s playing. She’s probably worried that it might be dangerous.
Snow is a great spirit, so she’s close to the top when it comes to raw power on this island, but still…
I guess that doesn’t matter to her mother.
“It’s fine. I’ll protect Snow from anything that might happen.”
“…Yes.”
We’re already shoulder to shoulder as we look at the map, but she gets closer.
I think she wants to be pampered a bit, and puts her head on my shoulder.
“…”
“…”
We don’t say anything for a while. It’s like no one else is here.
“…”
They’re all staring, including Snow.
And Reina doesn’t realize it.
W-what do I do…
Ceres’ face is red, and she looks happy, while Erie and Cara look kind of exasperated.
Merlin seems troubled, and Edinburgh… Looks oddly gentle. It’s like a motherly smile.
What’s going on? I call out to them in turn, and they go outside.
I guess they’re being considerate, but by the time Reina realizes what’s going on, no one else is here, and her face gets as red as her hair when she realizes why.
If this happened before, she would pull away out of embarrassment, but now she’s getting even closer.
Reina is being surprisingly forward, so I figure I might as well put my arm around her.
I can hear the gentle wind outside, as time slowly passes.
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Normally one would say “It’s about time!”
But… honestly, these two should have sorted out their feelings months ago!
I mean, it seems like that to us, but in universe, hasn’t it only been a few weeks since they arrived and therefore met?