The clock hands passed silently.
The brim of the hat embroidered with "Dio" hung lower than usual, able to cover the complex emotions in his eyes. Diego's fingertips hooked onto the decorative buckle on his clothes, looking somewhat stiff.
"Sorry..."
"Alright, the game ends here. As expected, I, Dio, acted very well!"
Diego clapped his hands to stop, his tone returning to its usual lightheartedness: "You weren't scared by me, were you? That was practically a textbook reaction just now. Still very informative."
Dinosaurs possess dynamic vision that no other creature can compare to.
Under the influence of Scary Monsters, even in his normal state, Diego's dynamic vision reached a terrifying level. It could only be described as that of a veteran fisherman paying attention to the rise and fall of the float on the water surface.
Just now, that proud dynamic vision had clearly seen every instant of Kitagawa Marin's expression changing.
The forced smile gradually cracked bit by bit. The temperature in her eyes gradually cooled. Her pinkish-purple eyes gradually lost their luster.
Diego thought to himself that this test ended here.
He had lost. He completely couldn't bring himself to go through with it.
"Ah~~~" Subsequently, Diego yawned, lowered his head to glance at the time on his watch, and rubbed his stomach. "Roar, it's so late already. I feel like my stomach is about to go flat from hunger. How about we go eat Italian food later? I know a restaurant with particularly good taste. The owner is Italian. I wonder if he'll get angry if I order a pineapple pizza."
Kitagawa Marin didn't look up. She was silent for a good while before replying: "Liar..."
"It's true. My stomach has already started protesting. It's as natural as a newborn bird opening its mouth to ask its mother for food." Diego answered playfully.
"Not that."
As soon as her words fell, Kitagawa Marin walked closer step by step. Both hands grabbed Diego's collar. She stood on tiptoes and pulled forward with force.
Thud!
"Hey hey, that hurts."
Diego didn't resist. He let Kitagawa Marin press him down beneath her and smiled awkwardly.
Kitagawa Marin held Diego down and slowly opened her red lips, asking in a low voice: "Dio-kun, you were testing me just now, right?"
"...No need to take it so seriously. That really was just a game." Gazing at the hair strands so close, Diego remained motionless and waved his hand to explain. "I am, after all, the type who acts immediately once I have an idea. I suddenly felt like playing. That's all."
"Has anyone ever told you, Dio-kun, that you're not very good at lying?" Kitagawa Marin's eyes were dim, her voice low. "To be honest, sometimes I can't understand what Dio-kun is thinking. For those abnormal behaviors, I just want to treat them normally, thinking that maybe after a good sleep, the next day Dio-kun will return to that heartless and lungless appearance..."
"But..."
Dio-kun didn't recover...
Kitagawa Marin's words stopped. In her mind, she involuntarily recalled the scene on Christmas day when Diego had been lost in thought over the forget-me-not.
"Thinking about it this way, during the Christmas gift exchange, Dio-kun's reaction was indeed very strange."
Kitagawa Marin supported herself with both hands on Diego's chest, kneeling on his waist, and spoke again.
"After receiving the forget-me-not bouquet, he just kept staring blankly. There wasn't even the slightest movement."
"This state probably lasted for about five minutes. When Dio-kun moved again, perhaps others didn't notice, but I saw it very clearly. The corners of your eyes were red, you know."
"As if you had been crying..."
Kitagawa Marin silently examined him—not only Diego, but also her own heart.
I have to ask clearly.
I have to communicate properly.
But now, the rare chance for the two of them to be alone wasn't the long-awaited home date. Instead, it had turned into a "broken jar, broken fall" style confession.
Do I really have the qualifications to ask these things?
All this time, I, who had turned a blind eye to the abnormalities on Dio-kun—do I really have the right to ask?
If only I could continue avoiding it. Dio-kun would always appear with a smile...
I also want to go. Dio-kun's hometown, the incredible magic world...
I can't think like that!
Kitagawa Marin, pull yourself together!
Smack!
Thus, Diego inexplicably saw Kitagawa Marin slap both of her own cheeks with her hands at the same time. The force was so great that red marks could faintly be seen through.
"Can I... do something for Dio-kun?" Kitagawa Marin tilted her head slightly, revealing a faint smile. "Before Dio-kun leaves, leave behind even a little bit of beautiful memories."
By the way, from just now, it seems like I touched something similar to a magical girl's magic wand.
"I don't really mind... It's just that before having this heavy conversation, could you get off kono Dio first."
"No matter what, I am also a male with normal physiological needs. Having a pure, cute girl who I have a good impression of sitting on me and forcing me to suppress this physiological impulse is really too much."
Diego pouted. He understood what Kitagawa Marin was saying.
But compared to that, there was something more important right now—endure!
But facing such a tempting scene, how could he possibly hold it down? There was no reason not to taste the meat that had reached his mouth.
Kitagawa Marin subconsciously reached out her hand.
!!!
"Uh... Can we change the occasion before touching?"
"Ah... Ang... Aaaah..."
|ʘᗝʘ|
Hearing this, Kitagawa Marin seemed to understand what that was. Her cheeks quickly flushed red. Her whole body stiffened, becoming as rigid as a zombie. Then, as if losing control, she quickly stood up with a limp, collapsed onto the sofa beside them, lowered her head and didn't dare to make eye contact with Diego.
This can't be... What did I just do...
The atmosphere turned somewhat awkward.
To ease the atmosphere, Diego stood up as if nothing had happened. One hand rested on the back of his neck and rubbed it. He turned around to the snack rack, took a box of chocolate sticks, opened the packaging, took out one chocolate stick and put it in his mouth. Then he handed the box containing the chocolate sticks in front of Kitagawa Marin and asked: "Want some?"
Kitagawa Marin shook her head and refused.
"You actually don't want any?" Diego quickly chewed and swallowed the chocolate stick in his mouth, scratched his cheek and said in distress, "Then hold the other end of the chocolate stick. Just do me a favor."
Kitagawa Marin was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly placed her hand on it.
Subsequently, Diego snapped it upward.
Crack!
"Oh my~~ The divination result shows that if we go out for a walk now, something good will happen." Diego snapped his fingers and tilted his head toward the direction of the door.
Kitagawa Marin's tone was hesitant: "Why do you say that...?"
"This is divination. It's calculated based on the feeling of breaking something..." Diego's wrist moved as he stuffed the snack box of chocolate sticks into Kitagawa Marin's small bag.
"Divination... This kind of thing isn't accurate, right?"
"But my, Dio's, divination is very accurate. Because in the past I often broke the ribs of demons to listen to the sound of bones breaking, to judge my own condition and decide the next plan."
Diego grinned, grabbed Kitagawa Marin's wrist, and pulled her up from the sofa with a tone that brooked no refusal: "Let's go!"
"...Okay!"
Gazing at that familiar side profile, Kitagawa Marin nodded heavily.
The two arrived at a lakeside and stopped at a pavilion not far away.
Although it was late, the night was already deep.
The moonlight wasn't very bright. One could only vaguely see the small boat in the center of the lake.
Here the lights were brilliant. The clear and deep lake surface reflected the noisy crowd and the lights of the snack street in the distance.
The gentle and free late breeze, the willow branches swaying in the wind, the squirrel couple running past holding food, and Diego and Kitagawa Marin sitting by the lake.
Whoosh!
A football flew straight over, breaking this peaceful atmosphere.
It was caught by Diego without even turning his head.
Seeing this, Kitagawa Marin tucked the long hair by her ear and couldn't help but let out a sigh: "Divination. As expected, it's not accurate..."
"You can't say that. Fortune and misfortune go hand in hand. This isn't necessarily a bad thing." Diego lowered his eyes and chuckled softly. His gaze moved toward the back. "Look…"
"That——!" ×3
Following the sound, several small bicycles were parked by the roadside. Three little girls ran over nervously. Judging by their appearance, they were probably in the first or second grade of elementary school.
"We're really very sorry. Big brother, you weren't injured, right?!" The leading little girl bowed deeply. Her voice could be heard trembling slightly. "We were playing catch over there just now and accidentally threw it a bit off..."
"It's all your fault. Where exactly were you planning to throw the ball?"
"Clearly the one who didn't catch the ball is you who's wrong!"
The other two little girls started arguing.
But soon, under the leading little girl's intimidating gaze, the two quickly lowered their heads and quieted down.
"Mm hm. We really didn't do it on purpose. We didn't mean to hit big brother you——" The little girl on the left loudly agreed. When her gaze moved to Diego's face, the words she was saying suddenly stopped. She then exclaimed in surprise, "...Big brother, you're so handsome!"
"Really handsome? Let me see, let me see!"
Hearing her companion's words, the little girl on the right who had been keeping her head down curiously lifted her head to look, and another exclamation followed: "It's true! That big sister is also so pretty! I want to grow up to be like that in the future!"
"Haha, you two will grow up to be even prettier than me in the future." Kitagawa Marin patted the three little girls' heads.
"Shut up. You two, apologize properly right now!"
The leading little girl extended her hand and pressed down the heads of her two companions on either side that had been lifted up.
"Sorry!" ×3
Diego looked at Kitagawa Marin. His eyes held a smile, as if asking, Does this count as something good?
Kitagawa Marin returned a smile, silently agreeing with Diego's point of view in a wordless manner.
After all, polite and cute little children always easily win favor, right?
Diego had no intention of making things difficult for them. He handed the ball in front of the leading little girl and said softly to comfort her: "Lift your heads. I forgive you. Take the ball back. Remember not to play catch games like this in places with people at night."
"Okay——!" ×3
"Thank you big brother, thank you big sister!"
"Big brother, how did you grow so tall?"
"Are you two a couple?"
"..."
The three little ones chattered and chatted with Diego.
Couple...
Kitagawa Marin carefully and secretly observed Diego's reaction. Diego's expression remained normal as he replied to the children's questions with ease.
That's right. After all, he's Dio-kun. It's normal for him to not care about this kind of question at all.
But even if he felt a little shy because of this question, that would be nice too...
"...The secret to growing tall is to eat well and not waste food. My mother once taught me not to let food fall to the ground." A trace of reminiscence flashed in Diego's eyes. His elbow rested on the back of the chair as he leaned back. After tidying his hair, he spoke again. "As for the relationship between the two of us..."
As soon as these words came out, Kitagawa Marin inexplicably felt nervous and couldn't help but look forward to what Diego would say next.
Diego tilted his head, looked at Kitagawa Marin, hesitated for a moment, then took her hand. Seeing that she didn't resist, he put the Cosmic Stone ring on her.
"...It's like this. I like her."
"Eh... Ki..." Kitagawa Marin was stunned for a moment. Her heartbeat seemed to have stopped for an instant, then immediately began beating heavily again.
The little girls were clearly very interested in this kind of topic and surrounded Diego asking nonstop.
"Like?!!!"
"How enviable!"
"Big brother, what do you like about big sister?"
Diego smiled gently and replied: "Because she's very pretty."
"Nothing else? Like personality or something. In the TV dramas my mom usually watches, the male lead always says he likes personality, inner qualities and such."
"But big sister really is very good-looking, and very fashionable too!"
"That's right, that's right. Her manicure is also very pretty!"
"Hmph hmph. I won't tell you this. As compensation, I'll tell you a secret. Pretty big sisters usually have delicious things hidden on them. Next time remember to search carefully."
Diego raised his index finger in front of his lips, signaling them to quiet down. At the same time, he took out that box of chocolate sticks from Kitagawa Marin's bag and distributed them to the little girls to eat.
"Alright. I have a date with this big sister. Take this football. It's time to go home." Diego stood up and sent the three little ones back to their small bicycles.
"Okay, thank you big brother big sister!"
"This way, this way. Let's go!"
"You two must have fun, okay? Bye bye!"
The three little ones waved goodbye to the two.
After the little girls left, Diego returned to the small pavilion again. Perhaps feeling hot, he took off his jacket and casually draped it over the backrest, revealing the silver cross pendant that had always been hidden on his chest.
At this moment, Kitagawa Marin stroked the Cosmic Stone ring and asked softly: "Dio-kun..., what you said just now, was it true?"
"Hmm?" Diego's eyes held a smile as he gazed at Kitagawa Marin.
Kitagawa Marin's voice grew lower and lower: "That I'm very pretty and stuff..."
"That..." Accompanied by the late breeze brushing past his ears, Diego supported his chin and gave a definite answer. "Although I'm used to lies, what I said just now was serious."
"I like you too! I like Dio-kun so much I can't stand it!! Wuwuwu, you scared me to death. I thought Dio-kun was going to draw a clear line with me and say some other heavy things to me..." Kitagawa Marin wrapped both arms around Diego's neck and hugged him.
Her almond-shaped eyes suddenly widened, sparkling with fragmented light. The corners of her mouth uncontrollably curved into a crescent moon.
That was a smile mixed with panic and joy that even she herself hadn't noticed.
Diego patted her back, soothing her emotions.
There was no need for too many complicated explanations. Diego only needed to listen attentively to the unease in the girl's heart that he had caused.
Regarding whether he would leave this world, Diego now had a better answer in his heart. For now, this was fine.
It wasn't particularly good, nor particularly bad.
...
"Beneath the heavens, the stars shine~♪"
"Ascend the Path of Theresa~♪"
"That is the Secret Emperor~♪"
In the quiet valley, an ethereal singing voice echoed.
A terrifying ice statue hundreds of meters tall stood beneath the night sky. Its powerful magical reaction actively dispersed the surrounding monsters.
Beneath the ice statue, several tents were erected, along with a campfire.
Mabel's singing stopped here.
Stark, holding dry firewood, asked curiously: "Master, what does the song you just sang mean?"
"I don't know. Dio taught it to me. He said it was a nursery rhyme he heard his mother sing when he was little." Mabel shook her head, indicating she didn't know either.
"I seem to have some impression. Mabel, this is the song Dio sang in Beastfall Land, right?" Frieren pinched her chin and recalled carefully.
"Mm... It's been too long. I don't remember."
The aroma of food wafted around. Before long, Mabel's stomach soon let out a protest.
She then looked at Alicia and complained, "Alicia, little Fern, I'm hungry~~"
Fern nodded: "Please wait patiently for a moment, Mabel-sama."
"Alright, alright. Food will be ready soon." Alicia responded like she was coaxing a child.
Sein fell into thought and muttered: "But the content described in this song is very similar to the world-ending omens recorded in the Goddess's Stele..."