Chapter 294: Wall (2/2)

「Kohaku-san, Aoba, Youran.」

He said, bending three fingers.

And gazing at Akiha, he bent one more.

「You.」

「Me too?」

「Are you against it?」

「No, but I just have mixed feelings…」

「Incidentally…」

Taiyou said, hugging Akiha closer.

His wings immediately were extinguished.

「When a bride is nearby, my wings can form, but directly touching them makes them vanish. Which means that those wings earlier were my wings, and also yours.」

「…」

「…」

A brief silence drifted over them in their embrace.

Akiha revolved her arm over to his shoulders and spoke.

She spoke softly as the mountain returned to darkness.

「But am I still far away?」

The tone of her voice had dropped.

「Eh?」

「You just said earlier that thing was mine. But am I still far away to you?」

「Well…」

「What must I do to help you feel me closer? Do I truly need to let you mess me up? Will that help you feel me closer?」

「Akiha…」

「I still like Aoba as of this moment. I still do.」

「Eh?」

「So am I far to you? As long as I like Aoba, am I–」

「No!」

Taiyou let out a loud voice, cutting across what she was saying.

That wasn’t what he was getting at. That had nothing to do with it.

In order to convey that not through words, but through his feelings, he embraced her more firmly.

「I’d never feel distance because of something like that.」

「Then why? What should I do?」

She spoke with firm emphasis. The cheery pillow talk from earlier felt like a lie.

What sort of face was she making right now, as she spoke in this manner?

He felt like there was pressure in his chest.

「I don’t know, but now I feel like it also might not be so bad to feel like you’re far away.」

「What are you even saying?」

「Kotone, Suzune, Kazane, Kohaku-san, Aoba, Youran. There are a variety of girls around me, and they’re all different types of girls. When I’m with more than one of them versus when I’m alone with each of them, I have a different way I interact with–well not quite…」

He took a breath, changing his words.

「I love them in different ways. Of course physically, but also inwardly. For example, the way that I interact with Kohaku-san and the way that I interact with Youran are fundamentally the opposite, so I adapt.」

「…」

「So I think I’ll find a different way to interact with you too. In that sense, feeling like you’re far off…even feeling like there’s a thin wall between us that I’m trying to hit, that might just be the treat I get to experience when I’m with you, I think.」

「…」

「So…what I’m trying to say is that if anything, the distance between that wall feels lovely.」

「…Comfort? Empathy?」

「I swear that I mean exactly what I say.」

「And you just expect me to accept that?」

「If you can’t, then let’s go together to find something that you will. If I’m with you, it might just be that more fun to go looking for a way to knock that wall down.」

「And you seriously feel that way?」

「I sure do.」

He put power into his arm in order to convey his feelings to her as he hugged her.

「Won’t you enjoy life with that wall? Together with me?」

「Together?」

「Together.」

After a pause, he spoke full of feeling.

「Always.」