gentle and affectionate

Chapter 13.

Open your eyes, the window is full of cherry blossoms.

Waking up with tenderness and nostalgia like this, it was already high in the sun.I slept so deeply last night that I stayed there for a while before realizing I was lying relaxed on my side.The quilt was tightly covered, and after sleeping all night, it was almost flat, as if it had just been covered.I struggled to sit up, but the tea on the bedside table was still not completely cooled.

Probably freshly poured this morning.

I don’t know what was soaked in the water, it showed a little brownish yellow color, and I didn’t like the slightly bitter taste, but it was very refreshing after drinking it, so I couldn’t help drinking a few more sips.The tea slid down the slightly dry throat, and there was a faint fragrance when swallowed slowly.

Difficult but gentle, just like last night...

I froze.

last night……

Holding the teacup in one hand, I stared back at the soft bed.Last night, it seemed that I was wrapped in such a warm embrace until I fell asleep and never left. However, I, who was always a light sleeper, slept very peacefully, and I haven't slept so well for a long time.

I put my arms around myself, as if someone had hugged me like this before.

—Did you dream about him?The warmth of embracing each other in the severe winter of Farelia; but those arms seemed stronger than the ones in memory, and the hug was stronger than that...

Could it be... black steel?

But how is that possible, he hates me before it's too late.

Thinking of this makes me feel a little lost.While pressing my painful temples, I tried hard to remember.I only remember going out with Heigan, going to the bar, fighting with ghosts... Then I hurt my foot, so when I came back, I was carried by Heigan, and then I saw Sakura and Xiaolang, and then I was with Xiaoying and Xiaolang Drink with Mokona, pretend to be a cat with Sakura, and then...

There's no after that……

So how the hell did I get back? ?

……

I changed my clothes, leaned on the railing and went downstairs bitterly.With dizziness and foot injuries, walking up the stairs was so exhilarating, and when I finally moved down from the upstairs, I realized that there were already many people in the store, and Sakura was running around alone, very busy.

Mo Ke Na greeted me, I reluctantly replied, and then had to spread myself on the counter.

Sad.

What the hell happened.

The double blow of body and spirit made me almost want to turn myself into a puddle of mud. I always felt that there was a voice in my head. Mokona said that I was hungover, and I ran to the side as if I was prepared to hangover medicine.But Sakura, who was also drunk, was in good spirits, which could be described as vigorous.

Mokona also asked me if I was thirsty with concern, because in the past when Yuko was hungover, she would be so thirsty the next day.But I didn’t feel anything, except for the thirst I felt when I woke up normally, I didn’t feel too uncomfortable. Mokona stared at me for a while, then ran to the side to secretly laugh, his round body trembled of.

I touched my face, is it funny?

After Sakura entertained the guests, she brought out a square tray from the kitchen inside.Open the lid, there are actually a lot of small dishes inside, all kinds of green, red, white and green side dishes, soup, and a small bowl of rice.

This……

"This is made of black steel!" Mo Kena laughed enough, and ran back excitedly, "I often eat this at Yuko's place, I didn't expect the black dog to make it~"

On the point of being nicknamed Black Steel, Mokona is quite my true biography, and I can't help being a little funny; Sakura said that there are not many guests, and she is still busy, so she told me that she could rest for a while.So I sat down and stared blankly at the pile of dishes.

The simple side dishes look quite delicate. I don't know if it's the Japanese cuisine itself, or the people who make it are really meticulous.

what did he do?

Imagining the scene of that tall man wearing an apron cooking in the kitchen, I somehow feel a little hot in my cheeks.He quickly shook his head to get rid of this strange thought, raised his hand, and found that there were western food forks and spoons on the left hand side of the tray in an unharmonious manner.

I laughed out loud.

Is this a joke that I can't use chopsticks?

The man who seems to be big and thick is actually so careful that he even takes care of my left-hander.I was a little moved and tried to taste a sip...

——Is this actually sour? !

——What is that green one?It's so spicy? !

……

It was only later that I found out that whether it was the kudzu tea for relieving hangovers in the morning or the medicines for relieving hangovers later, Heigang bought them on purpose when he went out early in the morning; and the western-style tableware on the left was also made by his right-handed person. put on.

Too bad I didn't know it then.

So until it was completely dark at night, and until the shop was closed, I couldn't remember what happened last night, and I couldn't figure out Heigang's attitude towards me.

And when he and the pup came back, I was struggling behind the counter wiping dishes.

"You guys are back... Mr. Little Wolf?!"

Sakura's original welcome turned into an exclamation. I heard the sound and looked towards the door. I saw Xiaolang was soaked and his clothes were torn in many places.

"Have you encountered ghosts again?" It's not possible in broad daylight.

The little wolf denied it and went to the back room to change clothes.

I understand.

This has to start from last night.At that time, Xiao Ying and I sat on the sofa and had a good time. Maybe Xiao Lang felt that he couldn’t get in his hands, so he sat outside with Hei Gang, and talked about fighting ghosts over and over again. I don’t remember the specifics. Clearly, all in all, I want to ask Hei Gang to teach him swordsmanship.

Don't ask me why I remember this incident... I spent a lot of brain cells and spent a whole day recalling what happened last night. The core content is that I don't remember a little bit of it. about the same.

Could it be that nothing happened?

So did I walk back by myself?

……

Closer to home, looking at Xiaolang like this, both of them are holding swords, ten dozen of them are pulled by Heigang for special training, and according to the distribution of these wounds... [-]% of them are Heigang who is practicing his balance, after all The coyotes can't see with his right eye; and if the left and right strength is uneven, using a weapon is simply exposing a weakness.

Hei Gang sat down on the high stool in front of the bar, glanced at me, and said nothing.

Really, look at me, do I have flowers on my face?

I got to know about it here, but Sakura was really panicked, watching Xiaolang close the door all the time, with a worried look on her face.Because my foot was injured, it was inconvenient for me to walk more, so I handed the wound medicine I had prepared to Xiaoying and asked her to help Xiaolang get in.Xiao Ying Fangfang went without saying much, and Mo Ke Na followed, leaving only Hei Gang and me in front of the bar.

The two of us watched Sakura leave again, and then each lowered our heads, each with our own thoughts.

……

I had a headache because of the hangover, so I took a break at noon, my mind cleared up a lot, my head didn't hurt anymore, and I lay down in front of the oven all afternoon.And this afternoon, after thinking about it, I felt that I was so drunk yesterday that it might be difficult to walk back to the room by myself, not to mention that when I woke up this morning, I lay on my side (mostly I usually sleep on my stomach), and the quilt It was still neatly like that, and there was still poured water; but when I returned to the room at noon, I found that the water in the kettle was half full.

——What about the other half of the jug?

Xiao Sakura was as drunk as I was yesterday, and even if Xiaolang wasn't drunk, he probably wouldn't be sober enough to send me back to my room and finish this series of tasks in an orderly manner. just...

While wiping the cup, I secretly glanced at Heigan.He lowered his head and didn't know what he was thinking, and his sword eyebrows frowned habitually.

If it were him...

"Is that an injury caused by sword training?"

Master Hei can't be expected to speak by himself, I casually found a reason to speak, and he raised his head and looked me up and down.

"Aren't you drunk?"

I choked.I can't tell him that it was the last bit of my conscious consciousness, and it took me a long time to remember even this bit of consciousness, just to recall what happened last night... I said haha, tentatively asks:

"Aha, I was still a little conscious at that time."

He looked at me again, narrower than the previous one, making me feel a little hairy, his eyes obviously said "I don't believe it".

Don't believe me... Can I still pretend to be drunk?

"real."

"..."

He looked at me like an idiot, then fell silent again.

I originally wanted to start the conversation in this way, even if I made indirect remarks, I should be able to hear something from his mouth.I thought that if Master Hei, who always loves to complain, took care of me last night, he should be full of resentment, but I didn't expect him to have no other reaction other than watching me more carefully than usual. A faint layer of dark circles appeared under the eyes, as if he didn't sleep well last night.

Am I... really that troublesome?

But he just looked at me and blinked, then turned his face away, as if he had done something wrong.

……

I felt a chill down my spine for no reason.

——What's the situation?

If he really took care of me, no matter if he apologized or thanked me, then I should be the one to blame, but what is he doing like this?

I looked down at my flat chest, as if I didn't have anything to take advantage of...

……

And I just want to know if he really hates me.

What happened last night—I'm not obsessed with the question itself, but I have to.I wondered if it was he who sent me steadily back to the room, wondered if that embrace was really there, wondered...

If he did all that, does it mean that maybe he doesn't hate me very much?

……

However, he didn't want to say it, so that's all.

There was the sound of Sakura and Xiaolang talking in the room. The girl's voice sounded worried, so I changed the subject and talked about Heigan teaching Xiaolang swordsmanship.

"It seems that he has been a very strict teacher from the first day!"

"...That brat hopes so."

He replied lightly.I don’t know if it’s my own psychological effect, but I think Heigang is also a little strange today. He doesn’t take the initiative to speak, but he doesn’t answer my questions, and answers every sentence very seriously; his gaze also seems very strange. His eyes are so fine that it makes you hairy, and sometimes he doesn't even look at you.

I paused, thinking that maybe my psychology was at work, so I suppressed the unnaturalness, brought him a plate of refreshments, and said:

"But, maybe it's better to be faster," I was a little absent-minded, "Miss Zhiye said, 'Because all the ghosts in Yingdu Kingdom are aliens, so ghost hunters will not hurt the people, and they are very beautiful in appearance." Easy to tell '...does this mean..."

I see the same light in his eyes.

"Ghosts were created on purpose?"

That afternoon, all the things I was entangled with were last night, but drunkenness was only one of them, and the other was our business——I and Hei Gang found out from "Sorrel" last night intelligence.

He blinked and motioned for me to continue.

"If that's the case, then the ghosts in this country... are like 'hunting targets' being monitored and managed, and if this is the case, then the doubt that the city hall can grasp the movements of the ghosts can be explained .”

"Ah."

"Besides, the behavior of ghosts is very strange recently, this..." Is it natural?Or artificial?

"Is it related to the new species of ghost?" He sneered.

"Perhaps... it will have something to do with Sakura's feathers."

I whispered, not intending to let the two children in the house hear me for the time being.Everything in this country is strange, just like I was voluntarily drunk yesterday, but it does not mean that I am really unsuspecting - I am not drunk for a thousand drinks.But that powerful force has changed this. If I want to resist, I may try my best, but I am not sure about the source of that force.

Or rather, that power came from all directions.

……

I fell into deep thought, and when I realized it again, Heigan was silently looking at me.When the latter saw me looking at him, he looked away as if he had been caught, and then put the last piece of cake into his mouth.

Eat so fast.

"Is today's taste good?"

"Ah...not bad," he looked at the empty plate, then handed me the empty cup, "it smells like tea."

"Well, this one is called 'Matcha'," I poured him another cup, "it's not very sweet, I just made it after thinking about it."

Thinking...you might like it.

Regardless of whether it is him or not, it can be regarded as a thank you for last night, or... an apology is also fine.

Even if you hate me, we are still companions.

He looked at me twice more, until I felt uncomfortable, then lowered his eyes and said in a low voice.

"not bad."

"..."

"...how are your feet?"

"Uh...you can walk slower." I replied subconsciously.

"Well," he didn't look at me this time, but turned around and looked out the window. In the night, pink cherry blossoms fell and spread all over the floor, "you and the princess should not go to places where there are few people. .”

He stood up, leaving me alone in a daze.

"Call me after dinner."

It was obviously a very cold tone, but what happened last night that made me tangled up for a day suddenly became unimportant. In fact, I obviously never expected anything, but I still felt relieved from the bottom of my heart. Moved by people's belief.

I think maybe he really doesn't hate me that much.