Countless Kido spells shot toward him, but the girl appeared before Asano Kiyoshi even before her voice reached him.
By the time Asano Kiyoshi heard that anxious cry, Nel was already standing in front of him.
Several attacks struck Nel directly in her fair back, the terrifying force of the Kido making fresh blood spill from the corner of her lips.
She staggered, her body swaying unsteadily, yet she still braced herself against her blade and stood before Asano Kiyoshi.
Her lake-green hair fluttered in the wind, carrying a trace of cold air along with the beautiful smile on her face. She struggled to part her lips and smiled at Asano Kiyoshi.
"Th-thank goodness... I-I finally made it."
Her gold-green eyes were filled only with the image of that boy.
She did not care about the wound on her back, nor did she care whether she would survive.
From beginning to end, her eyes never left him.
Like a knight, she would protect the one she cherished even at the cost of her life.
Asano Kiyoshi looked at the girl before him, at the ground dyed red with blood, at her strangely alluring lips stained crimson, at the dust clumped together by coagulated blood...
He looked into those gold-green eyes, at himself reflected within them.
For a moment, Asano Kiyoshi felt as though countless needles had ruthlessly pierced his heart.
His chest felt tight, his throat hurt terribly. He wanted to say something, but when the words reached his throat, all that remained was a dreamlike murmur.
He did not know why the girl treasured him so much. He had done nothing for her.
Just a month of meals, a month of stories, a month of guidance, a month of mending clothes, a month of playing around, a month of...