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"Why does it feel like we're parting ways forever? It's not like I haven't returned to Soul Society before; it's just that I'll be staying there longer this time."
Aozaki Reiji slowly approached Harribel, gently placed his hand on her head, and tenderly stroked her hair with a hint of affection.
"If you miss me, you can use Kido or a Hell Butterfly to tell me! As long as I hear your call, no matter when or where, I will appear by your side!"
Harribel slowly lowered her head, burying her face deep into her high collar, standing still like a statue.
"I am not a child. Compared to me, Loly and Menoly need more comfort."
"I have never seen any of you as naive children. Even Loly and Menoly, though they appear small and cute, are actually several times my age."
Aozaki Reiji gazed at Harribel's shifting, evasive emerald eyes and shrugged helplessly.
"If we're talking about comfort, shouldn't they, being older, be comforting me instead?!"
"Do you need me to wake them up? They should be stirring now," Harribel said softly. "As Adjuchas-class Arrancar, they shouldn't be so fragile."
Aozaki Reiji sighed helplessly:
"Sometimes, I really wish I could cut open your little head and see what's inside!"
This woman was usually seen by everyone as an intelligent, shrewd, and cool queen. Otherwise, how could she command respect and become the central figure that many Arrancar relied on?
Yet, at certain crucial moments, she would reveal a touch of adorable naivete.
Is it a lack of affection? Or does emotion truly lower one's IQ?
Such a huge contrast is simply too adorable; it's enough to make one utterly smitten!
Could it be that she's trying to use this cute method to make him melt, and then naturally take the Hōgyoku from his hands?
"So, do you need to see? If one can activate Arrancar in time, perhaps one wouldn't die."
Harribel frowned slightly and responded softly.
Oh, well, perhaps this lady is just an utter steel-straight woman.
Aozaki Reiji quickly waved his hands, anxiously refusing:
"No, don't say such terrifying things so nonchalantly! Besides, you've always hated meaningless sacrifices, so how can you speak so lightly of dying?"
"My life already belongs to Lord Reiji. I am deeply indebted to Lord Reiji for saving my life, and it is truly difficult to repay even a fraction of it. As long as it is for Lord Reiji, even sacrificing my life is not a meaningless sacrifice!"
Harribel's tone was as firm as iron, and her gaze was resolute.
"Alright, alright, I see your intentions, but you still need to cherish your own life," Aozaki Reiji said softly, his voice calm and gentle.
Harribel listened quietly, a complex emotion welling up in her heart.
"However, since you said your life belongs to me, then I'm telling you to cherish it. From now on, you no longer have the right to abandon your own life."
Reiji's gaze was like a torch, fixed directly on Harribel.
Harribel felt a scorching sensation rush up from her heart, as if she had drunk a strong wine in winter, burning her throat and chest. A warm feeling permeated her entire body, making her forget everything, wanting only to open her mouth and pour out the words from the depths of her heart.
"I understand. My life belongs only to Lord Reiji. It no longer belongs to me, and I have no right to control it. Whenever and wherever, I will live well, following closely by your side, until eternity… eternity…"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Harribel was filled with regret.
She didn't understand why she had suddenly been so impulsive and said such a thing.
Lord Reiji was a Shinigami destined to stand above the heavens, and she, she was merely an Arrancar transformed from a Hollow, like a beast in the eyes of Shinigami.
To speak of following by his side until eternity… it was truly ridiculous!
"Then it's settled." Aozaki Reiji quickened his pace, grabbing her shoulders. "By my side, until eternity!"
Harribel looked at Aozaki Reiji, then lowered her head.
"…I will not break my promise."
"Mm-hmm, after all, you are a noble knight recognized even by your enemies," Aozaki Reiji said. "Every word, every single letter you said, I've kept in my heart. Even if you wanted to go back on it now, I wouldn't agree."
Harribel sighed, "Actually, sometimes I don't know what you're thinking. Your thoughts… how should I put it? They're hard for people to understand."
"Where else could I go if I don't stay by your side? Oh, right, why did you allow me to become a companion? Your strength is already so immense, yet you still keep useless people like me by your side?"
"It's because I need you!"
"Why? I still want to know the reason."
"Because… loneliness." Aozaki Reiji shrugged.
"Loneliness? A strong person like you feels lonely?" Harribel found it a bit hard to understand.
Strong individuals in Hueco Mundo never lacked followers. She didn't know the situation in Soul Society, but strong people should be respected everywhere, right?
"No jokes, I'm not afraid of you laughing, but when I first came to this world, I often felt lonely. I don't know if you can understand, but I just felt out of place. Sometimes I even felt afraid of this world."
Aozaki Reiji said, "But it's much better now. More and more companions like you are by my side, and I'm gradually not so afraid anymore. This world doesn't seem so scary either…"
"Afraid?" Harribel recalled her nearly thousand years of life and nodded. "Sometimes, yes, I was afraid, perhaps because the place I was in was too high…"
"What?" Aozaki Reiji asked.
Harribel scratched her head, "When I first became a Vasto Lorde, before I met Sung-Sun and the others, whether it was an Adjuchas or an ordinary intelligent Menos Grande, their first reaction upon seeing me was fear. At that time, I often felt that I was a different existence from them."
"Later, I realized that it wasn't that our lives themselves were different, but rather that our positions were different."
"Perhaps it's the same for you. Your talent is exceptional, and your position is too high compared to others, so much so that you already stand in a different world from them."
"Not different lives, but different positions—that's truly remarkable! You see things much more clearly than I do."
Aozaki Reiji looked up at the sky, unconsciously thinking of that familiar small face, and murmured:
"Only, those words sound so familiar. I seem to have evaluated a certain man in such a way before?"
Aozaki Reiji nodded earnestly, "Congratulations, my queen… you are now a philosopher."
"There you go again," Harribel said calmly, the skin hidden beneath her mask beginning to flush, unnoticed by anyone.
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