Huff...!
At this moment, a gust of cool night wind blew past.
"Guh..." Perhaps feeling cold, Chokata, who was lying on Aoto's back with eyes tightly shut, slightly tightened the arms wrapped around Aoto's neck.
After letting out a small hiccup, Chokata rested his chin on Aoto's right shoulder.
"Mr. Tachibana..."
"Hmm?"
"Today... I'm really grateful to you..."
Chokata's eyes opened to a thin slit.
The corners of his lips curled slightly, and in the drunken, blurry eyes, a spark of joy emerged.
"Without you... I fear our Shiwei Hall would have lost again in today's competition..."
Aoto smiled: "No need for such formal thanks, after all, I'm also a member of Shiwei Hall, striving for its glory is what I ought to do."
"Hehe..." After emitting a somewhat silly laugh, Chokata closed his eyes again and tightened his embrace around Aoto's neck, "If only... every future swordsmanship competition... could be as exhilarating as today..."
—Exhilarating, huh...
