Philippines, Manila. Shun boarded the flight from Singapore to the Philippines and, after several hours, finally arrived at the place where his dream began.
"So this is where you saw me, Ana?" Shun rubbed his chin, looking at the site of the original incident.
The idea was to have Shun revisit the scene in hopes of jogging his memories, so the two of them had come straight here after getting off the plane.
Ana figured that since this was the place where she had hit Shun and where his amnesia began he ought to have some memory of it.
"Please don't bring that up again…" Ana said helplessly. She really hadn't done it on purpose who would have thought someone would be out there in the middle of the night? And her car's headlights were shining brightly too.
So… could Shun have actually come here intending to commit suicide? Thinking about it that way, Ana suddenly felt it might be possible. Although Shun had seemed very optimistic these past few days, allowing glimpses of his original personality to show through.
But wasn't it true that the more optimistic someone appeared, the more extreme they became once they despaired? A case of things reaching an extreme and reversing.
The more Ana thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. She nudged Shun with her elbow and asked,
"Are you really sure you have no impression of this place at all?"
Shun thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Really, nothing at all. By the way, I should be from Shenzhou, right? So why would I come all the way to Southeast Asia? If only we could check my entry records… Ana, is there any way you could look up my identity?"
Logically speaking, although Schicksal only had a cooperative relationship with Shenzhou not a subordinate one like with the Philippines with Ana's status as an A-rank Valkyrie and her Schariac background, investigating a single person should be simple.
But doing so would require contacting that government, which would inevitably draw attention. And Ana absolutely did not want Shun exposed to anyone else's sight that would be far too dangerous.
So until now, Ana still had no idea who Shun really was. (Even if she had checked, she probably wouldn't have found anything anyway.)
"It's not that simple you have no idea how much trouble you are." Everything still had to prioritize Shun's safety. His Stigmata absolutely could not be exposed carelessly.
With the trail gone cold and no other leads, Ana had no choice but to bring Shun back to her home. Although Ana usually lived at the Snow Lotus Squad's base together with her comrades, she absolutely could not bring Shun there.
"So this… is your home, Ana?" Shun surveyed the three-story villa with a small courtyard in front of him, committing its appearance firmly to memory before following Ana into the yard.
Shun's quiet mutter didn't escape Ana's ears. She turned back to explain,
"Home? No, this house is one I only recently rented. Normally I live at the Snow Lotus Squad base with the rest of the team."
Speaking of which, she had only rented this place online after deciding that Shun should avoid contact with the other squad members and that his identity needed to be kept hidden.
"So you don't usually come back here, Ana?"
"How could I? Do you think I'd feel at ease leaving you here all alone? Do you even know how to cook? If I left you by yourself here, you'd starve to death." Fortunately, Valkyries didn't have strict fixed office hours only mandatory deployment for missions so there weren't really set "on-duty" times beyond that.
Ana could handle her daily check-in requirements and then return immediately, so she didn't have to worry too much. But doing that every day would still attract attention from the captain and others, so she was still weighing how to balance her time.
"I see… Sorry, Ana. I'll definitely learn to be independent as soon as possible." Speaking of which, he felt quite ashamed. He was supposed to be an adult, yet now he had to rely on Ana for everything.
Ich wünschte, du könntest mehr auf mich zählen. (I actually wish you could rely on me a bit more.) Ana whispered softly in German. Since Shun seemed to only understand Chinese, she wasn't worried about him overhearing her true feelings.
"Hm? Did you say something, Ana?" Shun tilted his head in confusion. Unlike a certain Ellie next door, Shun genuinely didn't understand a single word of German.
"Nothing. Let's go inside. This place hasn't been lived in for a long time we'll probably need to do some cleaning. Perfect timing; I'll teach you how to do housework." Ana quickly brushed off the topic, picked up the luggage, and headed into the house.
"Hey! Ana, wait for me!" If Shun weren't so preoccupied right now, he definitely would have noticed something off about Ana.
"As expected." The moment she pushed open the door, Ana saw through the light streaming in from outside that the entire house was covered in a thick layer of dust.
"Good thing I bought cleaning supplies in advance." Then, turning to Shun behind her, Ana said, "From now on, just follow my instructions. You still have a lot to learn, got it?"
Shun: No objections here.
Nearly four hours later thanks to Ana taking the lead and Shun assisting the thick dust covering the villa had completely disappeared. The whole house wasn't exactly brand new, but it was at least presentable.
The only downside was that it still lacked a sense of warmth. Many pieces of furniture were still missing. But for the first day, as long as it was livable, that was enough no need to set the bar too high.
Shun naturally had no complaints. Ana, who had fought on far worse battlefields, wasn't the type of sheltered young lady who fussed over such things. As long as there was a place to lie down, she could sleep.
"Phew, that should about do it." Ana surveyed the now-clean house and nodded in satisfaction.
"Here, Ana wipe your sweat." Shun thoughtfully handed her a towel.
"No need. This amount of exercise is less than half of normal training I didn't even break a sweat." What Ana said was true. If cleaning made her tired, then Schicksal might as well shut down.
"Next, let's choose rooms." The villa had seven bedrooms, one of which was a study. The largest one took up almost the entire third floor; most of the others were on the second.
"This is your house, Ana, so naturally you should take the biggest room," Shun suggested.
Ana shook her head. "No, I'm not used to such a big room. Something medium-sized is better. You choose first." She looked at Shun.
Shun had no particular preference and casually pointed to a room on the second floor, claiming it as his. Ana immediately chose the one right next to it without hesitation.
Seeing Shun's expression, Ana quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand I just think it's better to be close so I can take care of you more easily." This textbook tsundere line landed on Shun like hitting cotton he had no particular reaction. This wasn't some youthful romance comedy.
Ich will nicht näher zu dir wohnen. (It's not like I want to live closer to you or anything.)
"? Ana, what exactly are you saying?"
"Nothing just a bit of my hometown language."
Note: Should I change the title to "Ana Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian"