After dinner, Yor didn't linger. She quickly stood up and took her leave.
"Yor-san is a bit... strange," Mashiro remarked, her voice quiet as she broke the silence.
"Strange?" Mahiru blinked, a bit confused. "I actually think Yor-san is pretty great."
'She's so gentle, poised, and incredibly beautiful!'
As Mashiro thought of Yor's curvy yet tall figure, a faint hint of envy flickered in her eyes.
Though her own figure wasn't bad, it seemed somewhat youthful in comparison.
Mashiro shook her head, not offering further explanation.
Instead, she turned her gaze toward Akifumi, her eyes filled with an expectant look.
Akifumi gently patted Mashiro's long, smooth hair, his smile soft and reassuring.
"Everyone has their own secrets," he said calmly.
"Yor-san probably just concealed parts of her identity out of necessity."
"It's not really that strange."
"Oh," Mashiro murmured, nodding thoughtfully.
Her eyes, however, sparkled with happiness, as if a puzzle had just been solved.
"Concealed her identity?" Mahiru looked at Akifumi, puzzled.
"Well..." Akifumi chuckled and explained, "Yor-san is dressed in high-end clothes, but claims she's never been to a big city like Tokyo, right? Doesn't that seem sound a little strange?"
"Eh!" Now that she thought about it, Mahiru recalled that while the outfit was pretty basic, the labels weren't from cheap brands.
She had worn similar clothes a few times for important events when she was younger.
"So why did Miss Yor say that?" Mahiru asked.
"Probably for some reason she couldn't avoid." Akifumi smiled, "As long as we know she's not a bad person, that's all that matters."
"True." Seeing that the girls no longer dwelling on it, Akifumi withdrew his gaze.
'I wonder how Yor's skills are in this world.'
If they're like the original, maybe she could teach me something?
'Though I need to fix my relationship with these girl first!' With a sigh, Akifumi returned to his room to continue working.
Both the beginnings of Guilty Crown and WorldEnd were nearing completion, with their first chapters being written and drawn.
Meanwhile, Madoka Magica and Anohana were also approaching their final chapters.
And Guilty Crown would be published under Mashiro's name…
Even though Guilty Crown wouldn't be credited to Akifumi, as long as Mashiro can improve her story telling, that's all that truly mattered to him!
"Maybe I could find a few trusted apprentices and turn Shueisha into my own company?"
He briefly imagined such a scene, and for some reason, it was strangely exhilarating.
Of course, that was just a fantasy.
After all, he couldn't find that many trustworthy people who would willingly work with him.
———————————————————————
On the other side, Yor returned to her empty room, a sudden, unexpected sense of loneliness washing over her.
The silence of the room felt oddly heavy, as though it was pressing in from all sides.
However, the feeling was brief, almost fleeting.
She pushed it aside with a shake of her head.
"I've made initial contact with the young master," she whispered to herself, her voice steady despite the swirl of thoughts in her mind.
A small, satisfied smile tugged at her lips. It was a step forward, one she had carefully planned, and it gave her a sense of purpose.
Now, her next task was clear—she needed to ensure his safety. But how?
"Speaking of... how should I protect someone?" Her voice faltered slightly as she muttered the question aloud, the words lingering in the air.
Yor paused, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
Her eyes, usually calm and composed, betrayed the uncertainty creeping inside her.
She had never given much thought about how to protect someone.
It was always the other way around—she was the one taking lives, not the one preserving them.
She had become a skilled assassin, well-versed in the art of killing with precision and efficiency.
But this? This was something new, something she wasn't sure she was equipped for.
She closed her eyes, thinking.
'Should I just shadow him? Keep a constant watch over him, no matter where he goes?' She imagined herself lurking in the shadows, always alert, always ready to strike at any threat that might emerge.
But was that enough?
'What if something happened when I'm not around?' She shook her head.
No, she couldn't just hide in the background and wait for danger to come to her.
Protection wasn't about lurking in the shadows—it was about preventing harm from ever reaching him in the first place.
Yor's brow furrowed as she thought harder.
'Should I take him somewhere safe? Make sure no one even knows where he is?'
The idea seemed reasonable, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized how impractical it was.
She couldn't shelter him forever.
There would always be people looking for him.
She couldn't hide him away forever.
A pang of frustration tightened her chest.
'But what then?'
She placed a hand on her forehead, feeling the weight of her doubts.
"I'm good at killing," she admitted quietly to herself, her voice tinged with a bitter edge.
"But protecting someone... that's a different story entirely."
She had been trained for violence, for secrecy, for missions that left no room for mistakes. But this? This was a new kind of challenge.
Her mind raced.
'Maybe... I need to learn more about him.'
Yor stood up, a sense of determination slowly replacing the uncertainty.
I'll find out. I'll protect him by any means necessary. I can't let anything happen to him. That's my job now.
She took a deep breath, her resolve hardening.
She had a new mission, and no matter how unfamiliar the path might be, she would walk it with the same dedication she gave to everything else.
The safety of the young master was now her responsibility, and she wouldn't fail him.