This is not the date I wanted.

"Ah."

Tohka nodded and said while looking at the sky.

"Shidou is still at the airship. I want to wait for him to come back."

"Is this a Husband-Waiting Stone or a Statue of Hachiko..."

Erya couldn't help but complain.

"Hmm? What's that?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm just praising you." Niya shrugged and reminded, "But it's so late now, will Shidou just stay overnight at the airship? After all, it seems that his sister is working late there, and he will be alone when he comes home."

"Hmm... is it really possible?"

"Right, go back and rest quickly. Otherwise, you'll catch a cold if you stay here for too long."

"but……?"

Although she understood what Nia meant, Tohka still seemed a little worried and hesitated without moving away.

"——Hmm?! It's Shidou's scent! He's back!"

Tohka suddenly shouted excitedly.

"It's Hachiko after all..."

After unable to help but complain, Niya followed the direction Tohka pointed, and sure enough, a figure was slowly walking towards him from the other side of the street.

"Shidou! Are you back...? "

For some reason, Tohka's originally joyful voice suddenly dropped in the middle of the song. This made Nia a little confused, but soon she understood the reason.

"Oh? Nia and Tohka? You guys are still awake?"

After seeing the two of them, Meng Yue asked with some surprise.

"Hey, Bili-chan. What's this boy doing..."

Looking at Shidou who was sleeping soundly with Mengyue on his back, Niya asked in confusion.

"Ah, Shidou fell asleep on the bench in the lounge. I carried him back here."

"Meng Yue... Is Shidao okay now?"

Looking at Shidou who was sleeping soundly, Tohka asked worriedly.

"Well, it should be fine. But it seems that because of the nightmares I have been having these days, I probably won't wake up until tomorrow afternoon. Shidou is also very grateful to you."

"Really? That's great."

After hearing Mengyue's answer, Tohka first breathed a sigh of relief, but then became a little lost inexplicably.

(Ah? This atmosphere is...)

Looking at Tohka and then at Mengyue, Niya felt as if he had noticed something unusual.

"By the way, Tohka, why don't you take Shidou back to his room to rest? After all, it's not safe to leave Shidou alone at home."

"Eh? No, that's not necessary. I just came to check on Shidou and will go back to sleep soon. Mengyue, you can take Shidou back."

"...Uh, okay then."

Just like that, Niya and Tohka watched Mengyue go home, and then they also prepared to return to the Elf Apartment.

(Although a man and a woman alone in the same room may make me feel that something inappropriate for children may happen, but after all, it's Bilibili, so nothing should happen.)

While thinking this, Niya glanced at Tohka. At this moment, Tohka was like a puppy that was neglected by its owner, with its head down and listless.

"Ahem - Tohka-chan, are you troubled by something? Do you want to talk to onee-san?"

Erya coughed twice and asked like a caring older sister.

"Eiya..."

Tohka looked at Nia in surprise.

Perhaps because she was really worried, after hesitating for a moment, Tohka started talking.

"This morning, I saw Shidao looked very bad, as if he had a nightmare, so I asked him what happened. But Shidao didn't answer me. I was worried, so I asked Mengyue to check..."

"Haha! I understand."

Erya raised his lips and said with a confident tone,

"That is to say, the boy did not confide his troubles to you, but confessed to Bilijiang directly. This differential treatment made you jealous——"

"--Um?"

Tohka tilted her head in confusion.

"Ji - it's basically impossible. Are you worried about where you are lacking and how you can improve so that you can help the boy?"

"Hmm! You're amazing, Niya! How did you know that?! Do you have super powers?"

"Hahahaha—this is the experience of a member of society."

Tohka's overly pure gaze couldn't help but make Nia feel a little dazzling.

"Please tell me. I also want to help Shang Shidao like Meng Yue."

"Hmm-hmm! I see."

Seeing Tohka's overly serious expression, Nia couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"But... in my opinion, you don't need to be so distressed. The reason why the boy didn't confide his troubles to you is not because he doesn't trust you or thinks you can't be relied on, but because he is afraid that the enemy will use the 'Divine Eclipse Volume' to find out the content of the conversation, so he deliberately concealed it. The boy must have important information that can affect the future of the war, so he didn't tell you out of caution."

"Hmm... is that so?"

"That's it! The reason I can confide in Bilijiang is simply because Bilijiang's physique is immune to the Demon King's abilities."

Erya said with absolute certainty. To be honest, after hearing this analysis, Erya felt like he was almost convinced.

"Um……"

However, although she did not doubt Niya's words, Tohka still looked depressed. It seemed that this answer that could only be attributed to the difference in physical constitution did not convince her.

"Well, if it doesn't matter..." After hesitating for a moment, Erya said, "Maybe Bili-chan really wants to save Kuangsan-chan."

"Eh? I'm willing to help Kurumi."

"Your understanding may be a little different from what I mean, Tohka."

Shaking his head slightly, Erya explained,

"You are willing to help Kuang San because you want to assist the boy, and Bilijiang should be helping Kuang San out of her own will. If the boy gave up halfway, would you still be willing to continue to save her at all costs?"

"I……"

Tohka was speechless for a moment, obviously having never thought about this question.

"Well, after all, I was saved by Bili-chan once, so I can see it clearly. Although she always thinks she is very rational and will not regard others as more important than herself, she is essentially a good person like the boy."

With a smile and a sigh, Niya rubbed Tohka's head.

"Of course, in my opinion, Tohka-chan, you are also a very good kid. However, the boy may think that we are just involved in his wish, so he is unconsciously a little cautious about us."

"……Yeah."

After answering softly, Tohka showed a thoughtful expression.

(Can I also save others like Shidou and Mengyue...)

20 The Past of Shinji and Mio (V)

==============================

On Friday afternoon, bright sunshine shone into the study through the window, falling on the girl's beautiful and quiet profile.

The cool summer breeze blew slowly, the old curtains danced, and the book in the girl's hands flipped rustling in the summer breeze.

Gently pulling her silver hair behind her shoulders, Mio unfolded the covered book and turned back to the previous page.

This is the study room of the Takamiya family. The small, dark room is filled with all kinds of books. The books are of various types. It can basically be regarded as a small library. However, if you look closely, you will find that most of the books have not been opened, let alone read.

Looking at this study, one can imagine that the owner of the study encountered the book in the bookstore and bought it without hesitation, and then because of lack of interest or lack of time, etc., he just left the book here to gather dust.

Perhaps in the eyes of the owner of the study, this is just a useless thing that one would feel tired to read, and would feel a pity to throw away. But for Takamiya Mio, it is a treasure trove that she has been longing for. Thanks to these books, she, who knows nothing, can quickly learn and absorb information and adapt to human society in a short time.

Therefore, Mio spends a large part of her time in this study. For her, Shinshi and Mana even gave the study a thorough cleaning.

But today, what Takamiya Mio was reading was not those obscure books in the study, but a story book with cute illustrations and cover, called a light novel.

The slender index finger slid across the paper, moving between the lines, and finally stopped at a certain position.

——Because of meeting you, my world is full of colors.

——The once noisy rainy day has become so quiet, the scorching sunshine has become so warm, and even in the biting cold winter, there is warmth... With you by my side, everything is so happy.

——With a heart as bright as a gem, I can't help but blurt it out to you.

"……I like you."

With a bit of bewilderment and confusion, Mio recited the lines from the book word by word.

"…………wrong."

After a moment's silence, Mio slowly shook her head, turned back to the beginning of the novel in her hand, and started reading again.

Words are very complex and wonderful things. They may seem ordinary, but the moment they are spoken, they can sometimes bring out emotions that have never been recorded before.

The first time I had this feeling was when I was given the name "Takamiya Mio". When the name came out of my mouth, my empty heart was filled. Every time this name was called, I would feel an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

The second time this feeling appeared was when I said "I like you".

Her heartbeat gradually quickened, her body temperature rose, her cheeks became a little hot, and she felt so lightheaded that she couldn't even stand on the ground. Although these were some signs of illness, Mio didn't feel the slightest bit of anxiety or fear.

I want to experience that feeling again. Mio couldn't help but long for it.

However, unlike the time when she got her name, when Mio said the same words again, she was unable to recreate the feeling she had at that time.

"……I like you."

Was there something wrong with the pronunciation? Mio checked the dictionary.

"……I like you."

No. Mio's expression became somewhat lost and frustrated.

"What exactly is wrong?"

Mio tilted her head in confusion.

According to the book, the feeling derived from this sentence should be called happiness. But no matter how detailed the book explained it, or how happy the characters in the story were, she still couldn't appreciate the feeling at that time.

"It's not enough to just say it... Is there something else missing?"

Speculating like this, Mio put down the book and turned her gaze to the teddy bear doll on the table, which was a gift given to her by Shinji a few days ago.

Holding the doll's arms and raising it to her eye level, Mio said very seriously.

"I like you."

……

"My cheeks are a little hot... I see..."

She let out a long breath, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Although the physical reaction was not as obvious as it was at the time, it was indeed the same kind of emotion.

"Because I watched the puppet talking... I suddenly remembered the real face... In other words... I will only react to 'I like you' when the real one is by my side..."

While analyzing her own heart, Mio felt her face getting hotter and hotter for some reason.

It is clearly the same words, but why are there such huge differences due to different situations?

"…Is there a spell cast upon me…?"

Playing with the teddy bear in her hand, Mio couldn't help but mutter.

However, now that she understood the reason, it would be a waste of time to stay in the study. So Mio got up from the wooden chair, holding the doll, and walked towards Shinji's room.

——Oh, hello Mio…the weather…going out…

On the stairs, I could vaguely hear such a voice coming from Shinshi's room.