Editing Leviathan:Volume 2 Chapter 5 (section)

===Part 4===

"Ooooooooh! I can't believe I made such a major blunder..."

"Not really, I think it's exactly the kind of blunder you'd make."

"S-Stop twisting the knife in the wound! You're supposed to console others gently in times like these!"

The depressed Orihime was sitting on the lawn in a corner of the sports ground, hugging her knees to her chest.

She sounded energetic enough when she replied to Hal who was sitting next to her. However, getting seen naked seemed to have dealt quite a severe blow to her. Orihime kept her head down the whole time.

The time was approaching 10pm. Everyone had taken a bath and gotten changed.

All that remained was getting some rest, but Orihime was still sitting in depression on the school grounds.

As the prime culprit, Hal could not go to sleep first, so he came over to check out her condition. As a side note, he had already asked Hazumi to go to bed since they had to rise early the next morning.

"B-But I couldn't help it. I jumped in surprise when I heard that Hazumi had gone through that ritual."

"She really worked hard for Minadzuki's revival."

"Y-Yes, I would think so. She is a very good girl after all. However, that painful ritual was quite an ordeal even for me, combined with the fact that you're such a pervert, Haruga-kun, it must have been rough for her..."

"Umm, I do count as a gentleman of sorts, you know?"

"Gentleman, I'll give you that, but an impostor gentleman who openly confessed to being a closet..."

"Oh my, that's indeed true."

"You were also staring at me continuously in the bath without averting your gaze the slightest."

"Sorry, because it was too sudden, I totally didn't know what to do."

"Ooooooooh. Haruga-kun, you pervert and king of lust. You should smash your head against tofu and simply die&mdash;Wait, that sounds too pitiful, so just get a head bump!"

"Sure, I can do something of that level any time. After all, I saw something really awesome."

"Q-Quit saying it was awesome or something!"

Orihime would apparently speak childishly when overwhelmed by embarrassment.

Hugging her legs with her face pressed against her lap, she refused to look in his direction. Hal felt his heart skip a beat. The flustered Orihime was so adorable&mdash;He could not help but think that even though it was rude.

Meanwhile, Orihime finally lifted her head in front of the disconcerted Hal.

"Ooh, f-forget it. This is part of the price for Minadzuki's revival... I've decided to think of it that way. Getting my entire body ogled by Haruga-kun's lecherous gaze was a necessary sacrifice!"

"Ahhh, yes. Back there, I was really treated to an extremely wonderful&mdash;"

"I told you to stop saying that! R-Right, listen here."

Finally recovering, Orihime asked him:

"Do you think... there's any chance for victory tomorrow?"

"Probably not."

"Hold on, Haruga-kun."

"No, it's just that the more I think about it calmly, the less I feel that there's a chance of victory. I even considered simply running away from the battle, but if we did that, he'll definitely become furious."

Pavel Galad's personality was very easy to grasp.

Hal said with certainty, "Flying into a terrible rage, he'll rampage violently all over Japan... I really don't want to imagine how much destruction he'll cause."

"Indeed... Having caused such a terrible tragedy, Haruga-kun, would you start wandering the burning streets, overwhelmed by a guilty conscience?"

"Although I confess to being thick-skinned enough, I might actually consider suicide."

"In the end, all we can do is fight. Not just you, Haruga-kun, but also us, the witches&mdash;including Hazumi and Asya-san."

Hal and Orihime exchanged nods then smiled faintly with wryness in unison.

Pessimism would not help the situation at all, so all they could do was smile. After smiling, they would sigh helplessly and continue to struggle relentlessly with all their strength.

"Compared to fleeing without a fight, attempting a battle but failing is much more acceptable."

"Losing is only natural, while a draw or better outcome would be profit. There's no choice but to confront the enemy with that kind of mindset."

After listening to Orihime's description, Hal could not help but feel intrigued.

Among those involved in resisting dragons, there were many who styled themselves as villains, and Orihime was gradually picking up the same vibes. Perhaps Hal and Asya were guilty as her source of influence.

"After learning about elite dragons recently, I've had this kind of feeling... If a full-scale war were to break out, we humans would probably lose utterly to the dragons, right?"

"Yeah. That's why humanity grudgingly accepted the unequal treaty and even offered tribute under the name of relief supplies."

"In that case, Haruga-kun, having obtained a legendary weapon, you have no choice but to become the hero. Asya-san and I can serve as your comrades, you know?"

"A hero's tiny group is not enough to oppose the demon king's forces. We need an army at least."

After saying that, Hal stared intently at the classmate who was sitting next to him.

Then he scratched his head. He originally wanted to say something but could not. Hesitating, he was unable to muster the resolve.

"What's the matter, Haruga-kun? You're showing a solemn expression all of a sudden."

"Nothing much, I'm just feeling how wonderful it is that you survived, safe and sound... Back when you were missing, I was so depressed that I even surprised myself."

"Y-You, Haruga-kun? Stop lying."

"Do I look like I'm lying? Besides, I failed to keep my promise, the one about trying my hardest to handle things appropriately."

"Didn't you handle it very well? You definitely came running to save me. And today, you worked hard too to resist that silver dragon."

"But had I used that ability sooner, Juujouji, you'd&mdash;"

"Stop there and avoid the hypotheticals, okay? Since we're both novices, all we need is to help each other and discuss things together. Just like when we were watching a movie."

"Help each other eh..."

"Yes."

"Then Juujouji, can I ask you for a favor?"

Hal tried to put on a poker face as much as possible, staring straight into Orihime's eyes while he spoke.

"I want you. Will you give everything of yours to me?"

"Ehhhh?"

For the next minute or two, Orihime reacted unexpectedly.

Her entire body was completely frozen. Her gaze wandered left and right. Her mouth gaped open, unable to answer. Then staring intently, she gazed at Hal's face, her prim and proper face tense from surprise and loss of composure.

To think Orihime could act this flustered, how unexpected.

"S-So, Haruga-kun, were you serious just now?"

"Of course."

"But you've already got Asya-san. T-This is too sudden. I've never thought about this sort of thing in my entire life!"

Finishing with a torrent of words, Orihime then added hastily:

"However, it's not like I dislike you, Haruga-kun!"

"I think Asya is irrelevant to this. It's this sudden because we're out of time. I'm really sorry about that. Well then, even if you've never thought about it, I hope you can start thinking immediately. Also&mdash;"

After responding to every point raised by Orihime, Hal finally nodded.

"I'm really happy to hear that you don't dislike me."

"H-How could I possibly dislike you?"

This time, Orihime blushed and looked down as though evading Hal's gaze.

"Although we haven't been acquainted for long, we have experienced so much together already. And I'd consider our personalities quite compatible, don't you agree? H-However, it's still too fast no matter what!"

"It's definitely fast, but I still hope for an immediate answer. Otherwise, we won't make it in time."

"I-Is it because we might die in the battle tomorrow...?"

"Rather, I should say that we won't make it in time for the battle itself. But if I can't entrust power to your Akuro-Ou, chances of dying will be very high, so I guess you could put it that way."

"Eh... Akuro-Ou?"

"Yeah. A vassal covenant."

"!?"

In that instant, Orihime stared wide-eyed, then hung her head helplessly.

"I-I thought you were confessing for sure..."

"Uh, why?"

"B-B-B-Because you said that sort of thing suddenly, I couldn't help but interpret it in that direction."

"Since I directly plagiarized the invitation method previously suggested by Hinokagutsuchi after all, I thought you'd notice."

"I totally didn't notice your obscure foreshadowing!"

Orihime suddenly felt drained of energy, possibly due to finding liberation from nervousness.

"My goodness... Don't scare me. Since you clearly said ''that'' in the past, this really surprised me. I thought my heart would jump out of my chest."

"I said what?"

"You said I'd be 'a girl who is very troublesome to get into a relationship with.'"

"Oh I see, that comment, but I think I'm in the wrong now."

"W-What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing much. Many things did happen after that, so even someone like me has started to feel your charm. Or rather, I've come to realize that I was blind."

"M-My charm?"

"Yeah. Although there are still some troublesome aspects, I think that if you and I were to enter that kind of relationship, many awesome things will probably happen."

"<nowiki>~~~~~~</nowiki>. S-Stop saying such weird things. This is totally unlike you, Haruga-kun!"

A sports ground at night, the ruins of a middle school inside a wasteland.

Sitting side by side on the lawn, the two of them started looking up at the sky at some point in time.

The waning moon was shining with white light while the starry sky stretched infinitely. Since there was no artificial lighting inside this wasteland of a dragon concession territory, the stars were astoundingly beautiful. But having visited places all over the globe, Hal had seen equally beautiful starry skies so many times that he was tired of them.

Although by this point, there was absolutely no sense of novelty, the stars tonight felt surprisingly dazzling.

Was it because Juujouji Orihime was beside him? Hal inadvertently looked to the side and happened to meet Orihime's gaze.

Her face was a bit red, possibly feeling embarrassed about her loss of composure earlier. Classmate. Comrade. She had called the two of them friends and said that all they needed to do was help each other.

A smile was blooming naturally on her face. Whether Hal or her, the two of them laughed together.

In that very instant, Hal felt as though Orihime had opened her heart to him.

"Juujouji...?"

"Haruga-kun...?"

The two of them called each other's name and gazed at each other. Right now, she was feeling the same thing.

Certain of this, Hal extended his right hand. Orihime extended her left hand in response. With their hands overlapping, their hearts also came together&mdash;

"Although I don't know how far I can go... Are you willing to follow me?"

"Although I don't know how far I can follow you... I intend to fight alongside you to the very end, Haruga-kun. I will devote all effort in my attempt."

After their verbal promise, the Rune of the Bow immediately appeared in the center of Hal's right palm.

The same symbol also surfaced on the back of Orihime's left hand. The vassal covenant was established.

"Only after trying it... did I realize it was this simple."

"Because too much happened, in the end, we didn't figure out what was actually the success factor."

"Y-Yeah."

The two of them released their hands. With that, they had accomplished what they needed to do that night.

Hurrying to sleep and saving up energy was probably what they should be doing next. However, neither of them wanted to stand up. Somehow, they felt a little reluctant to part.

"B-By the way, Haruga-kun, going out with me... Is it really okay with you?"

"Sure. There's no point in lying about this sort of thing, Juujouji, but you wouldn't say yes, would you? After all, you described this sort of thing as impossible before."

"Did I...?"

Saying that, Hal placed his left hand on the grass.

But spontaneously, Orihime also placed her left hand next to his hand. Just by moving one or two centimeters closers, the pair's hands would touch again.

This sense of distance made Hal feel embarrassed yet happy at the same time.

Oddly enough, for some unknown reason, Hal was certain that Orihime was feeling the same way&mdash;


In the shadows of the school building, out of Hal and Orihime's sight, Shirasaka Hazumi pressed her hand on her unsettled chest, trying to calm herself. It was because she had accidentally witnessed the scene of her cousin establishing a covenant with Hal.

It was not on purpose. She had come looking for them because she could not sleep.

Sensing that Orihime and Hal seemed to be in a world of their own, Hazumi hastily hid.

The rapid beating in her chest finally calmed down. Committing herself to some kind of decision, Hazumi looked up then nodded firmly.