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That voice sounded oddly familiar.
Bokue Keikain was about to remark this to himself, but before the thought fully surfaced, a certain furious blonde girl burst into the apartment like a storm, practically roaring at the top of her lungs.
"Bokue, where are you? I'm here to arrest you on charges of corrupting minors!"
Uh…
A drop of sweat slowly slid down Bokue's forehead. Leaning casually against the doorframe, he watched silently as Asagi Aiba angrily charged into the living room. She circled around once without noticing anyone, and only upon turning around did she spot Bokue standing right next to the door with the young Sword Shaman at his side.
"Ah! I knew you were here!"
"…Asagi?"
Bokue's mouth opened slightly, staring at the blonde girl who looked significantly different from the version he'd stored in his memory.
How should he put this? Everything about this was extremely sudden.
It felt exactly like graduating, becoming a corporate drone for over a decade, utterly numb from the endless daily grind, only to casually sit down in a tavern after work on a random Friday—and suddenly noticing that the person next to him was his closest childhood buddy, the same one he used to roll around in the mud and cause chaos with years ago. All those distant memories would instantly flood back.
It was incredibly coincidental, and completely unexpected.
"Looks like I'll have to skip that lunch appointment after all," Bokue sighed softly, rubbing his temples helplessly.
"Yukina, I'll leave it to you to build neighborly ties with Miss Akatsuki. I need to step out for a bit."
"Eh?"
Before Yukina Himeragi could fully process what was happening, Bokue gestured with his chin toward the furious blonde "big sister" who'd just stormed inside.
"Come on, Asagi. Let's talk somewhere else."
"…Mm!"
After a moment of silence, the blonde girl gave a firm nod.
Thus, Bokue Keikain and Asagi Aiba left the apartment together.
❁❁❁❁
The scene shifted as the elevator slowly descended, the two childhood friends standing side-by-side, facing the heavy metallic elevator doors in awkward silence.
Bokue was the first to break the quiet atmosphere:
"So, Asagi, why are you here anyway?"
"Hah?"
The moment he spoke, the blonde girl shot back incredulously:
"What do you mean, 'Why am I here'? My home is on Itogami Island! Any problem with that?"
"Oh, is it?"
"Of! Course! It! Is!"
Asagi punctuated each word clearly, then turned her head away, pouting.
"Though, of course, you wouldn't know that. After all, ten years ago you ran off without saying a word—you wouldn't even know where I ended up moving."
"Ah, actually, I meant—how exactly did you find me here?"
"That… well… what else could it be?"
After a brief hesitation, she seemed to remember some strong justification, quickly regaining her confidence.
"Listen here—I'm currently employed at the Itogami Island Management Corporation, responsible for monitoring any unusual situations across this entire artificial island. You thought your shady little act of cohabitating with a middle-schooler could escape my notice?"
"Cohabitating?"
"That's right! I clearly saw the two of you standing downstairs, waiting together for a moving company's truck. What else could that mean?"
Asagi narrowed her eyes skeptically.
"Let me make this perfectly clear upfront—engaging in illicit relations with minors is a crime. And now that it's been caught on surveillance cameras, don't think for a second I'll look the other way! This isn't up to me!"
"Illicit relations…? Hold on a minute."
Bokue glanced at her incredulously.
"Leaving aside exactly how you jumped to that particular conclusion, first off, I'm also still a minor. Secondly, I have absolutely no plans whatsoever to live together with Miss Himeragi."
"…Oh? Really?"
Asagi froze.
Even though she'd sounded confident seconds ago, her voice now became significantly weaker after hearing Bokue's explanation.
Could she have misunderstood something? But she definitely saw them standing together downstairs waiting for the movers. Under normal circumstances, why would they both be waiting in front of the same apartment building for a moving company to arrive and move into the same apartment?
"Just what were you even thinking…"
Bokue shook his head helplessly.
"It's only Miss Himeragi who's moving in. I don't live on Itogami Island. Besides, she's a Sword Shaman sent by the Lion King Organization. She's here because her group is cooperating with the Keikain Clan on a certain task."
"Cooperation…?"
Listening carefully, Asagi began to understand what had happened. Clearly, she'd misunderstood the situation. Even though it wasn't totally unreasonable for her to have made that assumption, she indeed wronged Bokue.
"Wait… the Lion King Organization even reached out to the Keikain Clan for cooperation? Did something major happen on Itogami Island?"
"Nothing yet, just a possibility."
Bokue patiently explained:
"But now that I'm here, that possibility no longer exists."
"Ugh…!"
As soon as he said that, it seemed to trigger something from deep in Asagi's memories. A sudden wave of dizziness hit her, making her sway abruptly. She nearly stumbled backward—only managing to remain upright because Bokue immediately reached out and supported her.
"Hey, careful there."
"I…"
Asagi remained frozen, still leaning back, her slender waist supported gently by Bokue's firm arm. Under the elevator's overhead light, memories resurfaced in her mind clearly:
[Please, Bokue… Save my mom! We've already been to so many big hospitals, and they couldn't help her. But you…you'll definitely have a solution! I'm begging you, this is the biggest request of my life!]
[I know. That's why I'm here. Don't worry; leave everything to me. Auntie will definitely be fine.]
Still just as lightly as always, carrying all expectations effortlessly—no matter how enormous the challenge, to him it was nothing more than a feather's weight.
"Sorry…I ran straight here without having lunch. I guess my blood sugar dropped a bit."
Asagi straightened herself up awkwardly, looking away and trying to make her tone sound casual:
"So…where are you staying now?"
"I've been living in Tokyo until now. Just returned to Kyoto a couple of days ago for summer vacation. This morning, I came to Itogami Island."
Bokue paused slightly, then added:
"If nothing unexpected happens, I'll probably return home to Kyoto tonight."
"Is that so…"
Asagi felt warmth spreading across her cheeks and did her best to keep her voice steady and casual.
"You haven't had lunch yet, right? How about coming to my place for a meal? It's been a while."
"Sure. By the way, how's Auntie doing lately?"
"Oh, she's doing great," Asagi replied quickly. "She went out shopping with some friends this morning. Probably won't be back until the evening."
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