Chapter 109: Girls in Distress / She Who Could Not Be Protected (2/2)
And when he did so, he realized something.
Something very dull and laughable that made him want to be knocked down.
「…Haha.」
Snorting, he lifted a smile of self-depreciation onto his face.
「What’s wrong, eh Husband?」
「No, I just thought that I really am an idiot.」
「What do you mean, Taiyou-chan?」
「For having pointless pride, you know.」
「…I see.」
Kohaku made an understanding face after a moment. Gazing at each other briefly, Taiyou felt that her eyes that had endured many years could see through everything.
――Maybe I really should have realized that.
――No, Kohaku-san, you did nothing wrong. Bad things only came about because of my pride.
――The pride of a main provider may very well be a necessary thing.
――If the main provider were of a higher caliber.
They gave that exchange in an instant just by exchanging their gaze. That’s all it took to convey the information both to the sender and the receiver. Feeling that way about it, both Taiyou and Kohaku were satisfied.
Or at least they were, but someone who didn’t understand was nearby.
「Eh? Kohaku-tan, you got all that?」
「Yeah, even I have to do some soul-searching.」
「It’s my fault for not properly separating the objective and the method. There’s no blame on you, Kohaku-san.」
「Then how about declaring this a draw? We each take care from now on.」
「Agreed.」
Taiyou and Kohaku nodded to each other when saying that. And Hera had a gibberish look on her face as usual.
「I really don’t understand what Taiyou-chan or Kohaku-tan are saying.」
「Yeah?」
「But Taiyou-chan looks happy, so I won’t complain.」
「You’re amazing in your own way.」
「Well of course, as I am here for Taiyou-chan’s benefit.」
A highly versatile phrase. Thinking that, Taiyou laughed, and the other two women lifted the corners of their mouths up into smiles, laughing.
After the three of them had laughed at each other for some time, Kohaku called out to Pochi in the car.
「Pochi dear, get out of the car.」
「Okay!」
Pochi obediently answered her call, opened the door, and got out from the car. She walked to where Kohaku was.
It all happened in an instant.
In under a split second; in an amount of time faster than the human sense could pursue. This was made possible by tagging along with Shirokiyami――getting accumulated to bloodlust.
「Kohaku-san!」
Sensing the impending danger quicker than anyone else, Taiyou yelled loudly and stepped in front of the girls to protect them.
Zudododododododo――
The sound of gunfire echoing, and something aimed at Taiyou, flying toward him in succession. Those things hit his body, which ignored the laws of physics, sending them powerlessly to the ground.
The lead bullets fell trickling onto the earth.
「W-What is it?」
In response to the quick turn of events, Kohaku’s voice sounded out, losing her composure for once. On the other side of things, Taiyou was also taken aback, but with the Long-Distance Nullification skill and the experience from fighting with Shirokiyami, he was comparatively calmer.
「Please don’t move, Kohaku-san. You’ll be safe if you stick behind me.」
「…Alright.」
He could sense someone taking a deep breath behind him. Being as amazing as she always was, Kohaku had swiftly recovered and was attempting to regain a sense of composure.
That was soon shaken by yet another grand-scale impact. Something exploded in front of them. Not an impact, but a flash-emitting explosion.
Flash・Bang!
「Kuh!」
Momentarily disoriented, Taiyou looked back and hugged Kohaku closely so as to protect her. That way, he could protect her no matter what happened. He made various predictions, simulating how to deal with them in his head. But no matter how much time passed, nothing came their way. Still embracing Kohaku, sight gradually returned.
「「「Taiyou-san!」」」
「Natsuno-kun!」
Overhearing the racket, the sister trio and Aoba emerged from the shop, protected by Shirokiyami.
「Taiyou-chan! Pochi-chan isn’t here.」
「What!」
Hearing Hera’s words, all present were in astonishment.