Ordinary Is Best
"Ah, he's awake!"
When Ai passed by and saw Ash sitting on the bed, blankly staring at his palm, she immediately ran off excitedly to call the others.
But someone reacted even faster than she did. The moment she heard Ash had regained consciousness, a black shadow flew straight into his arms.
"Urgh—"
Caught off guard by the heavy blow to his chest, Ash nearly spat out last night's dinner. Once he finally caught his breath, he looked down and saw the red bow bobbing atop her head.
"Princess, you're certainly enthusiastic."
Regina wrapped both arms around him, buried her face in his chest, and rubbed against him over and over. Like a sloth, she refused to let go no matter what.
"Whose fault do you think that is?!"
Reluctantly lifting her head to face Ash, the mistiness in the little Princess's eyes seemed to speak of all the grievance in her heart.
"Before this, Ash went crazy picking fights with Mana and the others, and you even attacked me! Then, after you finally turned back, you went and did something so stupid!"
"Honestly! You said you would be my Rider. I absolutely won't allow you to leave me so easily again!"
I'm the embodiment of selfishness. I don't ever want to lose someone important again!
"Okay, okay." Ash kneaded Regina's soft golden hair with his large hand. This time, she only trembled slightly and did not dodge away. "I promise you, it won't happen again."
"I'm immortal. I won't die that easily."
"Don't go calling yourself immortal. You nearly scared us to death earlier." Rikka appeared by the doorway and spoke irritably. "You suddenly collapsed right after finally coming back. If Arisu hadn't noticed you were still breathing, we would've thought... Honestly, Ash, you're such a