Chapter 101

So the housework fell to Yukina. She opened the windows, turned on the ventilation fan, and began tidying up the house, which had been uninhabited for several days.

Efnir watched silently and sighed.

I haven't been back for a few days, and the house seems so empty now. I don't know if it's because my parents have left, or if it's just that things have cooled down a bit.

After autumn arrives, even an ordinary rain can bring a rapid drop in temperature of more than ten degrees. Before being admitted to the hospital, the daytime still felt like summer, but by the time I was discharged, I already needed to put on a jacket. Even though the sun was still shining outside the window, it didn't warm me up at all.

Time flies, Efnir couldn't help but sigh, it felt like I'd just woken up from a dream in the hospital.

After waking up from the dream, it's time to return to real life.

Just then, the phone rang.

Efnir picked up her phone suspiciously and glanced at the caller ID; it was a call from Masaki Hina.

She pursed her lips slightly and pressed the answer button.

"This is Efnir."

It took Yukina quite a while to tidy up the house inside and out.

After a few days of no one living in the house, it will feel more lively and warmer after being ventilated a little.

Yukina rinsed the water cup, turned on the hot water, and then went to her suitcase to start unpacking.

The suitcase was also stuffed with clothes that had been dragged back from the hospital.

Most of the clothes inside were clean and had already been washed and dried, but there were some that hadn't been dried yet. These were the underwear that had been changed off this morning after Efnir's dressing change, and they were filled with the distinctive medicinal smell of the hospital.

Taking advantage of the bright sunshine outside, Yukina took out the clean clothes from her suitcase, folded them neatly, and put them away. She took the unwashed clothes to the balcony.

There are two washing machines, one large and one small. One is for washing coats and other clothes, and the other is for washing underwear. It has built-in disinfection and warm water functions, and also has a special detergent for underwear.

After doing all that, she ran to the kitchen.

She opened the refrigerator door and began taking out some vegetables that were no longer fresh and throwing them into the trash can.

142. I don't want you to leave.

A few days ago, her uncle and aunt came back, so Naoko bought a lot of vegetables, other ingredients, and fruits. However, some of these items are very perishable, and they already looked less fresh after a few days.

The garbage bag that had just been put on was quickly half full. Yukina packed the garbage bag up and carried it out the door.

The door had just closed when Naoko's phone rang, the ringtone reaching Yukina's ears from inside the room.

Yukina, holding the trash bag, stopped in her tracks.

"This is Efnir."

Naoko's voice followed, but it was muffled by the door.

With a slight shift in her gaze, Yukina unconsciously softened her movements. She turned back to the door, carrying the trash bag, and carefully pressed herself against it, straining her ears to listen to the sounds coming from the living room.

But she couldn't understand what was going on. The only thing she was sure of was that the call was probably from the organization, because it was Naoko's work number.

Naoko uses a separate phone number for work and for her daily life.

Even their identities are...

As Yukina recalled the "older brother" she had seen in the past, she suddenly realized that Naoko's private number seemed to have been rarely used all along.

The phone she's using now is the Naoko gave her Naoko used to use. So Yukina also saw Naoko's contacts—it might be an exaggeration to say it's "completely empty," but that's the most accurate description. There were only a few call records, mostly from the school and some delivery companies.

Does Naoko not use a cell phone normally? Yukina couldn't help but wonder.

But then Yukina suddenly remembered the girl she had just seen in the taxi, Futaba Erii. The lingering affection in Naoko's eyes Naoko looked at her—was it simply a longing for Naoko's own unfulfilled ideals and life?

Naoko rarely talks about what happened when she dropped out of university, but today she unusually told Yukina some of it.

Although Naoko was only trying to explain her relationship with Futaba Erii, Yukina could still see glimpses of Naoko's life during her university years in her story; Naoko then was still the same Naoko she remembered.

So why is the Naoko know now completely different from the Naoko of that time?

Yukina wasn't stupid; she vaguely guessed some of it— Naoko role of acting agent, her wishes at that time, and her determination. Perhaps it was for her sake that Naoko completely severed ties with the past?

When Yukina returned after taking out the trash, she saw that Efnir had just hung up the phone and was resting her pretty cheek on her left hand, deep in thought.

She keenly sensed a hint of hesitation in Efnir's gaze.

Something must have happened.

"Naoko..."

Before she could ask, Efnir said, "Yukina, Masaki Hina just called. I might have to go to headquarters in the next few days."

Upon hearing that Efnir was going back to her work as an "agent," Yukina felt a sudden tightness in her chest.

She sat down next to Efnir and asked worriedly, "You were just discharged from the hospital... and you're already going back? What happened?"

"No, it's not anything urgent, it's just that I need to be there... I plan to go tomorrow or the day after."

Efnir smiled as she reassured Yukina.

"Masaki Hina and Fushihara Ayaka have formed a special task force, an attempt to emulate the special law enforcement agencies of the Central Province. If possible, I'd like to go and see it."

"Yeah..."

Yukina lowered her gaze.

She didn't care about any working groups or law enforcement agencies; she just wanted Naoko by her side.

"But I don't want Naoko to leave."

After he finished speaking, a brief silence followed.

Then a pair of warm hands touched the corner of her eye.

"I promise you, I won't go anywhere but by your side."

"But I don't want Naoko to leave."

After Yukina finished speaking, she was met with a brief silence from Efnir.

Does the seemingly simple and cold word "leave" carry a deeper meaning here?

Efnir couldn't help but think that way.

Clearly, Yukina wanted a very simple answer from Efnir: just a promise.

Efnir knew it all along, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Some promises become lies and deceptions the moment they are spoken, and Efnir never wanted to deceive Yukina again. Then, "No,"—the words almost escaped her lips, but Efnir swallowed them back down.

"I have a lot of things to do," "This is for us," "If I don't go..." "There's nothing I can do about it"... Efnir has said and heard these words countless times since she first joined the Orderkeepers and became an agent.

This excuse is both a pretext and a way out; it's a way to comfort and deceive oneself, but it's also an undeniable fact.

In other words, this was something that Efnir had always been accustomed to, something that she had always been used to, lying, deceiving Setsuna with the lie of "Yanase Naoto Yukina".

But I've become a bit rusty at that now.

Looking at Yukina's lowered eyelashes, Efnir slowly raised her hand and gently stroked Yukina's face, feeling Yukina's body temperature coming from her palm.

"I promise you, I won't go anywhere but by your side."

"Efnir said softly."

For the first time, she realized that lying was actually quite difficult, especially lying to the person most important to her.

Efnir's words made Yukina raise her head.

She saw the glimmer in Yukina's eyes, and her deep and warm gaze.

"I also love Naoko the most... I want to be by Naoko's side forever..."

Efnir moved closer to Yukina and gently closed her eyes.

Their temperatures gradually drew closer, and Yukina's taste and touch reached their lips.

At this distance, even with their eyes open, they couldn't make out each other's faces clearly through their blurry vision.

Efnir couldn't help but think about certain things.

Having experienced this long-awaited severe injury, Efnir has come to understand that she cannot achieve "Legendary" status with her own power, and that the idea of "protecting forever" is a false proposition.

People will all "leave".

During her nearly two years as an agent, countless people "left" Efnir's side, and Efnir could only watch helplessly, unable to change anything no matter how hard she tried.

Perhaps one day in the future, the person standing here will be Yukina? Efnir, on the other hand, will be the one who "leaves".

The thought of being separated from Yukina made her heart clench with pain, like something was tightly gripping it. But Efnir knew that this kind of ending was more common.

From a very young age, Efnir had already prepared herself for the possibility of dying at any moment. This awareness accompanied her throughout her career as an agent, something she had been certain of from the moment she decided to protect others and safeguard Yukina.

If fighting relentlessly is tantamount to courting death, then Efnir has been marching towards death in order to fulfill a wish she made on a certain day.

In her sadness and pain, she sometimes thought, "What would it be like to just die like this?" Would everything end if she just left? But in the end, she lived on in a daze.

Ultimately, Efnir was unwilling to simply abandon Yukina.

"Naoko..."

Their hot breaths mingled, and a soft touch came from below. Efnir gently fell onto the sofa, her clothes lifted, and a cool, soft touch lingered around her waist before climbing up her soft flesh.

Although it had only been a few days, Efnir had almost gotten used to Yukina's touch.

Her thoughts were gradually replaced by another feeling.

But Yukina didn't go any further. Instead, she supported herself with her hands and leaned down to kiss Efnir in a position that wouldn't touch her wound.

Efnir's body hasn't fully recovered yet, so she can't do much besides kissing Yukina.

The warm breath gradually subsided, and Yukina leaned down and gently embraced Efnir.

Her gaze fell on the fingers of Efnir, which were tightly clasped together, and on the ring finger of Efnir's right hand, where a silver ring glittered.

143. I want to make you smile.

Yukina blinked; she didn't recall Efnir ever wearing a ring.

"Naoko, what is this...?"

"It's Apostle Beacon," Efnir explained. "Masaki Hina gave it to me a few days ago. I've been carrying it with me ever since, and I put it on as soon as I was discharged from the hospital today."

"I see..."

Yukina gently held Efnir's hand and brought her face close to look at it.

The ring had very faint light patterns on it, which looked like some kind of strange script, but from a slightly different angle, they disappeared completely. At first glance, it was just an ordinary silver ring.

Yukina watched quietly, then her gaze suddenly shifted.

"Naoko... I heard that wearing a ring on the right ring finger means you're deeply in love."

"Is that even a thing? I just feel it fits perfectly here..."

"But that's not wrong either."

Yukina gently took Efnir's hand again, gazing absently at Efnir tightly clasped fingers.

She suddenly asked in a low voice:

"Will Naoko marry me when I come of age?"

Her voice was as soft as a feather, stirring ripples in Efnir's heart.

"Meeting."