….

By the time they arrived, it was well past midnight, and even the small light source from before had vanished. Lyn felt Rhys grab hold of her waist and hold her up. A deep sigh escaped his lips, "Let"s find an inn. Do not complain. There are many traps along this path."

"Okay.." Lyn buried her face in his arms, "Goodnight."

"Oi, don"t fall asleep."

Lyn laughed, "I"m joking."

"Don"t mess around with me when it"s dark. Do you know what I can do to you? Or are you just feigning ignorance?"

What he can do to her.. Lyn recalled what happened earlier and became frantic. "Wait, uh…"

It was a long battle, at least for her before they finally reached an inn. Rhys seemed to pause and scan the surroundings before they headed down the slopes. From the looks of things, there doesn"t seem to be any other inns in the area. Finding another place this late at night, too, seemed somewhat troublesome. While picking the first thing they see isn"t exactly wise either. It"s better than nothing.

"Aaah, I"m short of cash."

Her eyes widened when they approached the door. This voice?

"It"s only 5mi."

"Uhhh, let"s see.."

Rhys recognized the voice too. It seemed like, and they quickly headed inside. Sure enough, there was Kazuya. Her eyes brightened when she saw him. She quickly scrambled free from Rhys and ran over. Kazuya, who was fumbling at his pockets, turned at that moment and caught her.

Kazuya laughed, "The red thread?"

Soft laughter pa.s.sed her lips as she heard those words — what a foolish person. "Silly," she trailed off. "You didn"t bring any money?"

"Uh, I ran out."

"Why?"

"I bought you a present."

Lyn blinked, surprised before she laughed. She turned to the mister on the counter, "He can stay with us, cancel his room. Do you have a room for three people?"

"Make that two. I"ll stay on my own." Rhys called out. "I don"t want to be a third wheel."

Ah…

After they settled the payment, the three of them headed to the dining room. Surprisingly it was still lively, "Eating this late will hurt your stomach." Lyn pointed out.

Kazuya laughed, "Mmm. But I didn"t eat dinner; you can get a drink if you want."

"You didn"t eat dinner?"

"Yeah, I was working until 11. Only finished up just recently."

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"Mmm, I"ll eat now."

The three of them found a table in the corner and ordered some food. Lyn peeked over at Kazuya. Whenever they meet again after so long, it truly feels mysterious. Kazuya looked over at her and brushed back a strand of stray hair from her face, and she blushed. "So red like a tomato."

"That"s insulting, take it back."

Kazuya only laughed in return. Geez, he"s always messing around and teasing her like this. But his smile is the brightest she has ever seen. Eventually, the waitress came back with food. She kept putting more and more dishes, and Lyn realized why.

"Kazuya, I"m not hungry!"

"But I want to watch you eat."

What on earth is that supposed to mean? Geez, Lyn looked down at the food. She doesn"t want to waste it, she picked up the chicken using a fork and was about to bite it when Rhys bent down and ate it.

"Yeah, it"s tasty. You should eat."

T—t-!! Ah, wait Kazuya? She looked over, but he was his usual smiling self.

"See, even Rhys thinks so."

"It"s annoying when she can"t get a read on him." It"s not like she expected much but, even so once in a while, it would be nice to hear what he is thinking. "Kazuya, why are you in this area too?"

"Your brother told me to deal with what happens in this town, while he handles the next one. If we split our forces, those people shouldn"t be able to get the jump on us," he explained. "The problem is, if we draw too much attention, it will alert the enemy."

"So.."

"That"s why we split into groups of five."

Lyn nodded, "Kazuya, where"s your group?"

"Staying elsewhere. It felt like somebody was following me, so I came here alone."

Rhys frowned, "Lyn shouldn"t stay with you, then."

Lyn, however, immediately interjected, "Then even more so the reason why I should stay with you." It looked like Rhys wanted to scold her, but for some reason, he refrained from doing so.

…..

Lyn peeked over at Kazuya, who was sending some messages out using his messenger crystal. Is he going to do that all night? The sun will come up in a few hours; he should get some rest.

"Kazuya, I"m sleepy."

Kazuya sent her an apologetic look, and "Sorry, my Lyn, am I disturbing you?"

"A little, close the lights."

He did so and made his way over. Noticing the terminal was still on, she extended her hand out and took it from him. Kazuya sweat fell, "Lyn.."

"No more work, you have to rest!"

It looked like Kazuya wanted to argue with her but eventually laid down beside her. Lyn snuggled into his chest, and Kazuya wrapped his arms around her. "Well, this is very nice. Better than working."

"Right?"

Kazuya gently kissed her forehead. "Are you lonely again? I really am very sorry. But after that talk we had on our goals, I feel more motivated than ever."

"The same goes for me, that"s why I"m here."

"It seems like we have the same thing in mind. But Lyn, please be careful."

"Careful?" Lyn repeated.

"Yeah, even though your family is handling the situation well. Many are not taking your existence in a positive light."

"That"s normal."

Kazuya shook his head, "Some of the extremists have shown up, so I"m worried."

"Already?"

"That"s right, that"s why you have to be careful. I can"t be around to protect you all the time."

Isn"t this where he is supposed to say he will protect her no matter what? Then again, Kazuya is only telling the truth. Lyn felt Kazuya"s lips on hers and laughs, "Your lips are warm."

"Yeah, you feel freezing."

"I"m not used to the long carriage. I think I left the window open."

"And Rhys didn"t notice? Geez."

How could he notice when he was sick? But if she says that, then Kazuya would worry. "I"m fine, Kazuya."

"Whenever you say your fine, I worry more about you. Hey Lyn, you don"t have to act strong around me. I know it"s hard for you to rely on me since I"m not around a lot. But if you ever need me, I"ll come flying."

"Even when you have work?" Lyn asked doubtfully.

"Even when I have work."