"Ahem."
Under White Noroi's bewildered, reproachful gaze, Geto finally gave a soft cough.
He suddenly spoke to Riko, who was sobbing in White Noroi's arms.
"Riko, if you don't want to go, then don't."
Perhaps she had been crying too hard to hear him. Riko kept crying for quite a while before she finally realized what Geto had said.
She sniffled a few times, then turned her tearful eyes toward Geto, who was smiling gently at her beside her.
Geto walked slowly up to Riko and spoke in a gentle voice.
"If you don't want to go, you don't have to."
"As for Tengen, Satoru and I will figure something out."
"If you want to go back to your old life, we'll make sure you can."
"If you want to go back, then go."
Geto spoke with a smile, his lips curving softly in reassurance.
His eyes held their usual warmth, as vast and accepting as the sea beneath a clear sky.
He reached out to Riko, a gentle smile on his face.
"Riko."
"We'll take you home."
White Noroi sat alone in the room, utterly baffled.
Just two hours earlier, after Geto told Riko, "I'll take you home," the mood among Gojo and the others had suddenly shifted. They exchanged a few glances, then huddled together and began discussing something in low voices-
Little Fox, who couldn't make heads or tails of what they were doing, was completely lost.
Wait, what happened? Were they abandoning the mission to escort Riko? Why were they taking her back now?
A string of questions echoed through his mind, but unfortunately, no one answered them.
The four of them, especially Geto and Gojo, suddenly seemed very busy, as though they were racing against the clock to handle some emergency.
Gojo quickly arranged