Comet Dragon, breaking into the gravity field

The river in the distance shimmers in the sun, and low houses are scattered across the land.

Recalling what he had seen and heard in the book, Takamatsu Deng slowly filled in the information that Shiina Riki lacked.

In front of the two of them, the monster called "Madara" by Ritsu Naruse naturally noticed their actions.

Naturally, a certain name in their conversation was also captured by it.

Its four short legs didn't affect its movements, but the monster's tone was unpredictable: "Speaking of which, what's your relationship with those two humans behind you?"

"Lovers."

In a voice that only ancient dragons and monsters could hear, Ritsu Narushe spoke out this fact without hesitation...

……

Stopping, Ritsu Narushe stood in front of a stone tablet.

There is no inscription on it, and there is nothing similar to it around.

This is normal.

This is a stone tablet made privately by Ritsu Naruse and several other monsters - otherwise it would be difficult to explain if the deceased's family saw them coming to visit the grave.

Light the incense sticks you brought with you, and then place the flowers you bought in advance on the stone platform.

After doing all this, Ritsu Narose suddenly found that the monster at his feet had disappeared.

Looking back, he saw that the two people who followed him here were considerately keeping a distance from him.

He waved to them, and when they approached, Naruse Ritsu looked at the stone tablet and said slowly, "I lived here for about a month, and the time I spent there was happier than any other time in the past."

"To use a popular term these days, she's probably my 'white moonlight'... To prevent misunderstandings, let me just say there's no 'romantic' relationship between her and me."

Hearing this, Shiina Riki took out the black screen of his mobile phone and took a picture of his face.

Could it be that the jealousy on my face has been seen?!

Unlike Shiina Tateki, who felt embarrassed because his inner desire was exposed, Takamatsu Touma was staring at the incense sticks burning in front of the stone tablet.

As if she understood something from the rough surface of the stone tablet, she looked at Naruse Ritsu and said, "Is it a regret?"

"Yes, this is the first regret I have ever experienced."

After saying this, Ritsu Narose was stunned for a while.

When he came to his senses, he found that Deng and Lixi were already standing quietly under a big tree not far away, and did not disturb him again.

At this moment, the monster that had disappeared reappeared.

Sniffing the still-burning incense sticks, the monster crouched on the soft grass. "I still don't understand why you would bring a human with you."

"It's like a human taking his girlfriend to meet his parents, do you understand?" Glancing at the lazy cat, Ritsu Narose said calmly.

"I don't understand at all."

"I've never seen my parents since I can remember, and unlike my species, there's no so-called tribe that raised me. I'm not close to those of my species—it's more like I've only met them a few times."

As if organizing his thoughts, Naruse Ritsu spoke slowly: "I have spent decades in the human world, trying to understand how this short-lived, physically fragile race could thrive."

"Normally, creatures from other worlds and monsters wouldn't care about such things, but we're all like this because of her."

He stared straight ahead, waiting until the incense stick in front of the tombstone had burned down a quarter. Then he suddenly said, "If I were to choose my own death... I really still want to die quietly beside the one I love, just like she did."

Speaking of a topic that no living creature can avoid, the monster that had been lying motionless finally reacted.

"You actually thought about things that far ahead, meow?"

"It's better than having an empty head and only thinking about eating and drinking every day, right?"

Although he knew clearly that the other party was not talking about him, the big monster who had no ambition and only knew how to eat and drink every day still felt offended.

Falling into silence, it stared at Ritsu Narose with extremely sharp (it thought) eyes.

As if reminded by something, Ritsu Narose took out a prop from his pocket.

"I wrote a song to commemorate this some time ago, and it's already been recorded on this tape." Instead of using a USB drive or other more advanced props, he placed a long-outdated tape in front of the cat demon, "If you don't mind, take it home and listen to it."

Regardless of whether it really "doesn't mind" or not, Naruse Ritsu stood up and said slowly: "Next...please leave me alone for a while."

Without saying anything, the chubby cat on the grass nodded, then bit the tape as if it were a dried fish and slowly swallowed it into its stomach.

It looked up and down at Ritsu Narose again, blinked, and then jumped to the front of Takamatsu Touma and Shiina Riki.

"Hmm~"

Looking closely at these two humans with completely different expressions, the big monster condensed into a cat form was lying on the grass with a sly smile on his face.

"You...want to know more about that guy?"

"what?"

Shiina Riki was stunned.

With the intention of bringing up the dark history of an acquaintance, the monster deliberately controlled the volume so that only the two of them could hear it.

"Mofufu~ If you want to know more, bribe me with red bean paste buns."

"Um, is only konpeito okay?"

Opening the candy jar he brought with him when he left home, Takamatsu Deng asked tentatively.

76.Is there something wrong with them?

According to scientific research, cats cannot taste sweetness like humans can.

But the monsters disguised as cats seem different.

After Takamatsu Deng took out her konpeito as a bribe, Shiina Riki took out the milk chocolate from her bag.

Cat owners should all know that theobromine and caffeine can cause poisoning or even death in cats.

But this is a monster, so it's totally fine.

In short, the two of them took the opportunity to find out some things about Ritsu Narose's past.

After that, Shiina Riki and Takamatsu Touma walked up to Naruse Ritsu and stood in front of the tombstone without any inscriptions to accompany him.

"Although I feel a little sorry for describing it this way, I can't find a more appropriate way to express how I felt at the time."

After talking a lot, which was uncharacteristic of him, Shiina Riki stammered out his common feelings after communicating and verifying with Takamatsu Deng.

"It was like taking us to the grave of our long-dead mother."

"It was already awkward for him to introduce us to the tombstone, but after he finished, Deng took the initiative to go over and say hello to the tombstone... Ah, I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but..."

On the screen, Chihaya Aine's expression gradually changed from "shocked" to "confused", and finally to a blank "dull".

Nagasaki Suyo's expression was similar - and she hadn't put down the teacup in her hand for a long time.

Shiina Riki didn't notice their abnormality.

Now she was sitting on a chair on the balcony of the guest room. She placed the tablet computer in her suitcase on the table and started a video conference that she was forced to hold.

If I had known this, I wouldn't have told them.

His eyes were wandering, and Shiina Riki began to regret his talkative behavior in the chat group.

After the tomb sweeping, the atmosphere felt a bit heavy, but I didn't know how to break the deadlock, so I asked for their opinions in the chat group and accidentally let something slip... Now I have to tell them more details under the pressure of Aine and Suye.

Am I a fool?

Frowning, Shiina Riki felt that thinking about it further would be disrespectful to himself.

Trying not to be surprised by the scene on the screen, she feigned calmness and said, "In summary, this is our itinerary for today in Hitoyoshi City."

"Clang-crack-"

This is the sound of Nagasaki Suyo knocking over the teacup.

“Bang—it hurts!”

There was the sound of Chihaya Aine tumbling off the sofa and her own howling.

"……Um?"

This is Kaname Lenai who joined the video conference at some point.

Seeing the images on the other screens, Shiina Riki finally couldn't hold back his emotions, turned off the microphone and sighed.

When the chaotic scene returned to calm, she saw Chihaya Aine holding the popsicle in her hand and grinding her teeth fiercely, as if venting her unhappiness.

As for Nagasaki Suyo...

"Why didn't you tell me such an important thing earlier!?"

Suddenly became hysterical.

"Ah, well... because the atmosphere at that time was not suitable for me to look down at my phone, so..."

What the hell! Why are you acting like I've done something wrong?

He was a little annoyed, but when he saw the despair and loss on Nagasaki Motoyo's face, as if she had been abandoned by the world, Shiina Riki was not so angry anymore.

No, there is something wrong with Nagasaki Suyo, right?

Wasn't it just that I didn't go to visit the grave with Ritsu Naruse? Why did it turn out like this?

"But we're going to see Naruse-kun's mother!!!"

Wait, why did that pink-haired girl start this too? And the "mother" thing is just an exaggeration and metaphor!

Also, why did you suddenly change into clothes I don't understand? And where did you get that katana in your hand?

Luckily Wildcat doesn't—ah, she exited the video conference...

……

Half an hour later, exhausted Shiina Riki put down the tablet and finally had time to go back to his room to rest.

After all, it was very tiring to rush to Hitoyoshi City early in the morning to climb the mountain and then rush back... Those idiots had no idea how tired she was!

However, when she walked from the balcony to the center of the guest room, she found that there was no one there.

What about people?

When she opened her phone, Shiina Riki noticed the message sent to her by Takamatsu Deng.

Because the video conference seemed very intense, Gao Songdeng didn't want to disturb Li Xi, so he took the initiative to chat with her privately and told her that he had to go out for something.

Ritsu Narose didn't send any messages, probably because she went out with Touma Takamatsu.

Realizing that he was the only one in the guest room, Shiina Riki was enveloped by emptiness and silence.

Lying on the tatami in the room, she was dazed for a while and decided to take advantage of this break to take a bath in the bathroom.

There's no way, the hot spring is still being cleaned at this time.

Really...why should I mess around with these idiots?

Although he knew the answer in his heart, Shiina Riki still curled his lips.

Wearing tight underwear, she walked into the bathroom with mixed feelings, and suddenly saw a "flagpole" standing high above the water.

"……Why are you here?"

Shocked, but not shy - this is how Shiina Riki feels at the moment.

Because she had done that kind of thing before, she is now shy about it...well, she is still a little shy.

"As you can see, I'm taking a bath."

With the back of her head and heels resting on the edge of the bathtub, Ritsu Narose was in a strange posture floating on the water.

"Normal people wouldn't take a bath like this, right?" Now convinced that he wasn't shy at all, Shiina Riki asked calmly.

"Because I was in a somewhat delicate mood, I adopted a posture that I had always been curious about but had never used before."

"The ball is two (three) dead (eight) shrimp..."

With his arms folded across his chest, Shiina Riki finally sighed as if admitting defeat, and walked to the small stool next to him and sat down.

I turned on the shower, and just as the sound of flowing water appeared, the sound of the guest room door opening suddenly rang out.

——"I'll go out first, otherwise it will be very embarrassing later."

A rational speech appeared behind her, but when Shiina Riki turned around, she found that some parts of Naruse Ritsu were not rational at all.