Ash deftly gathered Sword Maiden's long hair together. He didn't dislike the task. Though he didn't have a hair fetish, Sword Maiden's long hair was as smooth as silk, and there was an inexplicable pleasure in tying it up for her. The nape of her neck, exposed once her hair was gathered, was beautiful too. First, he used the hair in front to tie a small ponytail with an opening left in it, then threaded the large ponytail through that opening. That way, her hairline wouldn't be pulled tight, and the big ponytail in back wouldn't droop because the small ponytail propped it up.
"Nothing will change," Sonia suddenly said. "I'll still hate you, but I still won't want to leave you."
Ash froze, then finished tying up her hair.
Sonia turned to look at him and asked in a statement-like tone, "Even though you apologized, you still won't change, right?"
"Yes." Ash almost had to force the word out.
"Then let's just stay like this," Sonia said softly. "This is all we can do." "No."
"Hm?"
"We can't stay like this." Ash spoke each word clearly. "Anyone in this world can hate me, but only you—I will never allow it... This is the one price I can't bear."
Sonia stared blankly at him. Her lips trembled slightly, and she bit her lower lip, looking utterly wronged. "It's not like this is my fault..."
"I'm not blaming you." Ash immediately said, "Now isn't the time to assign responsibility. Solving the problem is what matters!"
"How did you become so unreasonable?" Sonia was so angry she felt like her stomach was burning through, yet she also wanted to laugh a little. "This is obviously entirely your responsibility!"
Just then, something stirred in her heart: Wait, this way Ash is thinking—why does