Chapter 184

However, this was completely beyond Novia's comprehension; he simply put his spare change into the Offering Box to signify that he had completed his worship.

Through the opening, Ritsuka watched as the faint sunlight illuminated Novia's earnest profile, making him appear almost dreamlike.

"... Um, Novia, are you here in Tokyo for tourism?"

"Right."

Novia nodded in response to the girl's confusion.

"I see..."

Ritsuka sighed inwardly. She had thought that her extensive knowledge of the various steps of the shrine visit would amaze this person, but she hadn't expected him to be completely clueless. However, the girl did not give up on the trip because of this, and continued to do it despite the tediousness.

The final step, just like Novia's, was to put the change into the Offering Box. The girl then solemnly clasped her hands together, her mind blank, unsure of what she was supposed to pray for. When she bent down to look at Novia again, she said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Would you like to... sit there for a while?"

She pointed to a corner of the Shrine and asked Novia, "There's a small tea pavilion there, big enough for two people to fit in."

It was only then that Novia came to her senses and realized that the Shrine was not completely isolated by walls. It was just that due to years of neglect, weeds and dense foliage had blocked the sunlight, making the surrounding area dark and difficult to spot at first glance.

"Can."

Novia walked over and sat down without hesitation, and perhaps because of his decisiveness, the girl naturally sat down next to him.

The two sat side by side in a dimly lit teahouse, so close they could almost touch each other's hands.

Ritsuka Fujimaru felt as if her heart was steaming, a very strange feeling that completely overwhelmed her, and the girl herself couldn't understand this feeling at all.

Novia does care about Ritsuka Fujimaru, after all, she is the 'last Master of mankind', someone with the potential to be Savior.

"Oh right, didn't you bring that Dove with you?"

"Hmm... it's strange, really. It was limping when it left, but it flew away while I was worshipping."

"That's really strange. He's clearly limping; he shouldn't be able to fly."

"Indeed, it can only be attributed to... luck?"

"Yes, that's really good luck; you didn't fall into the sea."

Ritsuka Fujimaru felt that Novia wasn't interested in her and wasn't nervous when she spoke, which calmed the girl down, and she naturally blurted out her thoughts.

"Huh? What does that mean?"

Novia turned to look at Ritsuka Fujimaru beside her, somewhat puzzled.

Is there any connection between Dove taking flight and it falling into the sea?

"Oh, I'm so sorry..."

The thought that slipped out left Ritsuka completely bewildered, but she felt she couldn't very well say that it was something she had just imagined.

This probably doesn't leave a good impression.

So she told a little white lie out of embarrassment:

"This is a local legend; it says that if Dove like this lands in the sea, something very bad will happen to it..."

"I see."

Although Novia didn't care whether the legend was true or false, he felt that there was something subtly about it.

After that, neither of them spoke again, but the atmosphere between the man and woman wasn't an awkward silence. At least Ritsuka Fujimaru didn't feel awkward; in fact, she found the silence quite comfortable.

Wow! Look over there!

Ritsuka Fujimaru suddenly looked up and pointed to a certain spot in the sky.

Novia looked up at the sky; it was already close to Twilight, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that night would fall soon.

Even so, some faint stars can be seen at such times.

That's Orion, isn't it?

Novia didn't rely on her own abilities; she simply deduced it from her memories. After all, if she were to use the abilities of the Sun UO, she could probably make all the constellations appear at the same time.

"Yeah."

Ritsuka looked up at Novia's blue eyes gazing at the starry sky, and a whimsical thought popped into her mind: how romantic it would be if their entire field of vision was filled with the sky.

So she immediately took off her coat, walked out of the tea pavilion, and spread it out on the ground covered with fallen leaves.

"How about we lie down here and take a look?"

Aren't you cold?

"Fine."

After giving Novia a brief answer to her question, the girl lay back beside the open coat.

"Logically, this should be left to the boys."

Novia walked up to Ritsuka and looked down at her.

"It's alright, after all, I was the one who invited you--"

Please forgive my intrusion upon our first meeting.

Although that's what Ritsuka Fujimaru said, no matter how you look at it, if they really just linger like that for a while, they'll probably catch a cold when they get back.

In an instant, Novia took off her coat and threw herself on the ground, then wrapped Ritsuka Fujimaru in her own coat, while she herself lay down on her coat that was lying on the ground.

"Well... okay then."

Seeing that she was already wrapped up, Ritsuka could only accept it.

Since things have already come to this, there's no need to say anything more.

"It used to be so rare to see stars in Tokyo."

Is that so?

"Yeah. I've always lived around Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku Ward, and I can hardly see any stars at night, just endless neon lights. I only see a lot of stars when my family takes me on trips, like in Hokkaido, where the stars seem to have been scattered all over the sky."

"Speaking of which, when I was in the Middle East, there were often many stars at night."

"Really? You're from the Middle East? I remember there's some kind of religious sect there, do you perhaps follow one?"

Come to think of it, Ritsuka felt that although she had only met Novia for the first time, Novia seemed to know her very well.

"No, I only worked there for two years, so some things left a deep impression on me."

"It seems pretty chaotic over there. I've heard that murder is quite common there..."

"Yes."

Novia, however, made no hesitation in addressing this and had no intention of concealing it.

"Haha..." Ritsuka chuckled awkwardly twice, then continued, "Although I don't know much about constellations, I still really like stars."

"I like both stars and constellations."

"Oh, is that Rigel Orion?"

Is that Hercules?

The girl's questions were quite enthusiastic, but Novia answered them based on her own memories.

The sound of Leaf rustling in the wind, the occasional chirping of unknown insects, and the faint, insignificant noises of visitors drifting from afar.

Ritsuka Fujimaru felt that even her sense of time had become blurry, and she felt an unparalleled sense of ease throughout her body.

After a long while, the girl subconsciously checked her phone and realized it was past 10 p. m.

She clearly promised her parents she would be home before nine o'clock...

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I have to go back now."

Although she had a very pleasant time with Novia, Ritsuka didn't want her parents to worry. She had promised to be back by nine o'clock and should keep that promise. Even though her parents didn't call, they just sent her a text message saying that the key was under the flower bed by the door and to come back early.

"Okay, sure." Novia didn't try to stop her. "It feels really warm to be with you, Fujimaru, and to chat like this."

"Eh..."

The girl, who was getting up to leave, suddenly stopped and let out a small gasp of surprise.

This is because what Novia said sounded like something someone had said about something that had a significant impact on the girl's life.

That was in March, before Ritsuka Fujimaru became High School, before her new life began.

Next door to the Fujimaru Family lived an elderly woman who had lived alone for a long time and had no contact with the Fujimaru Family.

In the last week before the old man was about to enjoy his remaining years, Fujimaru spent several hours with him each day for various small reasons.

This was an old man who had lived through war. Although he remarried after the war, his wife and children eventually separated from him, and he had lived alone for twenty years. It would not be surprising if he harbored resentment, but this old man had no complaints and remained peaceful until the end of his life.

Sitting on the veranda watching the cherry blossoms, the old man couldn't help but sigh softly, "My life is really good."

At this point, Fujimaru liked the old man's character, and therefore felt both doubt and Wrath towards the old man's lament.

The girl asked somewhat angrily, "... You were all alone in the end, and you didn't get anything in return at all..."

"Of course, there have been sad and upsetting things. But looking back, the first things that come to mind are mostly trivial matters."

The old man spoke without words, conveying the true value of a peaceful life like this.

"And my life isn't lonely. Because I can still chat with you like this, Fujimaru."

Queen of Heaven, the old man passed away.

Although Ritsuka Fujimaru did not shed tears, she learned what a 'good' thing is for humans.

After all, there are predecessors who lived wonderful lives even without receiving any reward. In order not to bring shame upon these people, we must also strive to live our lives to the fullest.

These were the girl's thoughts.

Basically, everyone's life is not easy. The time spent so far, the hardships along the way, are ultimately beyond redemption.

For elderly people who die alone, there are no 'glorious praises' or 'success' to offset their hard work and achievements; all they have left in the last days of their lives is a few days spent talking with the neighborhood children.

But in Ritsuka Fujimaru's eyes, the old man's profile, after these few days, looked so happy and beautiful. He seemed like someone who had no more worries and whose life was Satya Yuga. It's not that such a life is necessarily beautiful.

Rather, it is the human heart that, regardless of what kind of life one lives, can confront that life in this way—that is the truly beautiful thing.

Ritsuka understood this.

Back to the present, facing Novia's thoughts, Ritsuka Fujimaru took a breath and couldn't help but softly say:

"What? Novia, why are you talking like an old woman?"

"Perhaps I really am quite old, but my appearance hasn't changed."

"So, Novia, you're a demon—"

"Someone's here."

Just as the two were talking, they heard footsteps crunching on fallen leaves on the path of the dilapidated Shrine.

"They must be Shrine guards..."

"Hmm, let me go out and talk to him. After all, this is within his job scope; I just need to explain it to him properly."

Novia could use Magecraft to make the guards 'ignore' him and Ritsuka Fujimaru, but Novia didn't intend to show this ability to Ritsuka, who hadn't yet become involved in the mystery, and he was quite confident in his eloquence.

However, just as Novia was about to leave, Ritsuka Fujimaru suddenly grabbed his hand, and with her other hand scooped up two coats spread on the ground, rushing straight into the dense bushes. Since Novia didn't forcefully resist the girl's pull, she smoothly led him away...

But that force is really too much! Could a normal human really exert that much force?

Although she hadn't taken any precautions, Novia was still surprised by Ritsuka's strength.

"Who's there?" The noise naturally attracted the attention of the guards who were there for training. "Halt!"

However, by the time the guards spoke up and arrived, the two had already disappeared into the crowd.

The orange-haired girl held Novia's hand tightly as they raced through the overgrown, barely passable path. At the end of the bushes lay the stalls that had already been packed up. It was already ten o'clock, and most of the vendors had left, but the crowds near Tenmangu were still endless.

The two walked through the vendors and back onto the street, at which point Ritsuka Fujimaru finally let go of Novia's hand.

"Sorry, uh, I held your hand without your permission, Novia."

Upon hearing this, Novia burst into laughter, his loud laughter echoing down the road.

"Let's call it even, after all, I just touched your hand, so we're even."

"Yes, but I still need to apologize."

"What are you apologizing for this time?"