Yuugo and the other students from the Luminous Academy reached the village at the foot of the Yum-yum mountain a few hours after leaving the academy.
They left after midday, and reached the mountain hours later, before sunset.
They would be staying in that village that night, where they would check what they would be carrying, and decide which group would go to which shack. This was all according to plan.
There were no large facilities in this small village, like a hotel or a ryokan, so they split into groups and stayed in private homes willing to host them.
Melt and the hated Yuugo formed a group, but still had to stay in different places.
And then, it was night. Yuugo was given a small room for one person, and spoke to the old lady that owned the house where he was staying while rubbing her shoulders.
The wrinkled old lady seemed to like having a nice young person like Yuugo around, and the conversation was lively.
“You’re such a nice boy…! Treating an old woman so well, what a nice boy…!”
“Of course, you are giving me a place to sleep and a meal! And I was a grandma’s boy too.”
Yuugo thought back to his nostalgic days as a child.
His grandparents bought them henshin items from heroes all the time, and he would show them his henshin poses. As he thought back to his early childhood, he became a little sad.
How was his family back in his original world? Surely his parents and grandparents were sad about his death.
Even though he did it to save lives, he felt bad about dying and leaving behind his beloved family. And as he thought about this, the door opened, and Melt came in.
“Yoo-hoo! Are you free, Yuugo? How about we go take a walk and chat?”
“Hey Melt. Sorry, I’m…”
Yuugo was about to reject Melt’s offer because he was rubbing the old lady’s shoulders, when the old lady interrupted him by standing up.
She smiled brightly at him, and thanked Yuugo while encouraging him to go out with Melt.
“Thanks. That’s enough for me, so go outside with the girl. I’ll get the bath ready in the meantime.”
“I see… Then I’ll do that. Let’s go, Melt.”
“Yes!”
Melt said with a small happy smile, and left.
Yuugo put on his shoes before going after her, and the old woman spoke to him while nodding several times.
“Being young sure is nice…! Good luck!”
“Ah…? Hum, thanks…?”
Yuugo left, while thinking that the old lady seemed to be misunderstanding things.
He met up with Melt again, as the old lady continued to cheer him on as she saw him off, and they walked through the quiet village while feeling the chilly night air.
“Ah… It’s a nice night.”
“It sure is. I get to sleep inside a house and have a bath for the first time in a while!”
“Hahaha, that’s right! You sleep outside and always take showers, right? I guess it’s lucky for you then!”
“Well, even aside from that, I’m glad to be talking to you like this.”
“Eh…!?”
Melt looked surprised as she heard Yuugo say that all of a sudden.
The moon shined brightly, and Melt could not help but read too much into Yuugo words, thanks to that quiet romantic setting. But that train of thought was quickly derailed.
“Talking to a friend at night like this is like I’m on a field trip! It’s exciting like, adolescence switch, on!”
“Ah, that’s what you mean…”
Melt smiled awkwardly at the realization that Yuugo was simply happy to be chatting with a friend, and there was no deeper meaning.
At the same time, she thought to herself that he was alone with someone who had actually kissed him before, so it was a little weird that he was not more conscious of that… But as she held that complaint towards Yuugo in her heart, he spoke to her again.
“Tell me more about yourself, Melt. Like about your family, and dreams for the future!”
“Eh? Me? Why?”
“What do you mean why… Because I want to know more about my friend. I wish I could talk more about myself too, but you know I’m right in the middle of an amnesia… It’s going to be one sided, but I’d be happy if you told me about yourself.”
Melt smiled, as Yuugo spoke with a somewhat embarrassed smile on his face.
She did not really understand just how exactly Yuugo saw her, but… At the very least, she was happy that much like her, Yuugo was trying to shorten the distance between them. And so, she nodded and spoke.
“Yes, sure! What do you want to hear? Just so you know, my three sizes and weight are off limits! Your favorability isn’t high enough for you to hear that yet!”
“Haha, I’m not that insensitive. Let’s see… Then how about you tell me how you lived before you came to the Luminous Academy?”
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I love brief moment of respite like this despite knowing what kind of troublesome crap that will befall them soon. This part reminds me of that scene in KR Blade where Kenzaki and Tachibana just talk things out in the night, but since it’s Melt & Yugo, it has romantic undertone on Melt’s part.