Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume13 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 4===

"Hoo~" Shiraho sighed greatly. What a great failure. Today was originally supposed to be a perfect date instead.

"Excuse me... Dear customer, what would you like to order?"

Hearing the question, Shiraho looked up. Oh right. They had decided to take a break after walking for so long. Sovereignty was saving seats while she went to buy milkshakes at a stall.

Shiraho's mind could not think properly. More precisely, her thoughts were focused on one matter. Staring at the menu blankly, Shiraho pointed at the "Super Popular Limited Offering" section and ordered two milkshakes randomly.

Due to the singleminded focus of her thoughts, then while waiting for the milkshakes to be made, Shiraho was still thinking of one thing, of course. Namely, her most beloved, most beloved, most beloved lover.

(Am I going a bit too far...?)

In a rare moment&mdash;she possessed this level of self-awareness, atleast&mdash;Shiraho was beginning to reflect.

A long-awaited date. No matter what, she wanted to spend a full day of happiness together, just the two of them.

Hence, after saying goodbye at one point, she had tried everything she could to stay away from that group of perverted maggots. Neither did she allow them to approach. She had made her mind and committed herself utterly. As soon as they spoke, she interrupted. As soon as gazes met, she blocked them. Then she led Sovereignty away from them.

But after thinking calmly&mdash;

(From that child's perspective... It only feels like someone is stopping him from talking to his friends. Perhaps, maybe&mdash;It's making him unhappy?)

But this absolutely did not imply that her own worth was lower than those girls. Shiraho was confident that she was the unmatched and irreplaceable lover in Sovereignty's eyes. This absolute position was absolutely unshakable. Furthermore, on a completely separate level, although resembling the difference between that between a lover and pets, those people were apparently quite important to Sovereignty as well.

Thinking back now, starting at some point, it seemed like Sovereignty had shown signs of exasperation and displeasure. No, ultimately, it just seemed so, that was all. It was Shiraho's imagination. But... What if it were not&mdash;?

(Slightly... Just slightly accepting the company of those people should be fine, I guess...)

However&mdash;If that really came to pass, Shiraho tried imagining the result.

For example, just when she was about to whisper sweet nothings coming straight from her heart, inane jokes would be heard in surroundings; just when she was embracing Sovereignty, conferring a lover's warmth, someone would pounce at Sovereignty like a puppy or kitten; just when they were gazing into each other's eyes, conveying noble oaths in their gaze, someone would suddenly pop up between them to ask "Hmm? What are you two doing?"&mdash;

"U-Unforgivable...!"

"Eeek! I-I didn't take this long on purpose...!"

"Huh?"

"N-Nothing, sorry for making you wait&mdash;! I'll give you extra for free, so please don't complain to customer service!"

Why was the staff so afraid? All she had done was narrow her eyes viciously, drumming her fingers on the stall's counter, gnashing her teeth while murmuring unforgivable, nothing more.

In any case, since she was getting extra for free, Shiraho gladly accepted it. After paying and picking up the fully loaded cups, Shiraho turned around and walked over to where Sovereignty was waiting.

Not a far distance. Only after a couple steps and she could already see the back of Sovereignty's head while he was sitting on a bench.

However&mdash;Beside him on the same bench, there was a silver-colored head. The perverted man and the rest of the group were also sitting on the bench beside them.

(Again...!)

Biting her lip, Shiraho once again confirmed that her thinking was correct. Offering any slight pity to the enemy and it would bring about her own death. These people were rotten tangerines, Sivash spores, xenomorph eggs. In order to achieve a perfect date for just the two of them, she had no choice but to eliminate them from the root, without mercy, without hesitation, without discretion&mdash;

Making her mind up again, huffing and puffing, she approached the bench from behind with heavy footsteps.

Just at this moment&mdash;she heard Sovereignty's quiet voice.

She overheard accidentally.

"Somehow... It feels too constraining. Constraints, after all... are very painful..."

Shiraho stopped in surprise. Huh? What did he say just now?

Sovereignty had not noticed Shiraho's presence. Sitting on the bench, facing ahead, he then spoke words that made Shiraho's heart stop.

"...I guess there's no choice but to start over."

Sitting beside her, the silver head first glanced at the side of Sovereignty's face before asking:

"B-But, what will the owner say...?"

"I don't care! Yeah, it's the owner's fault after all!"

Sovereignty's tone grew forceful&mdash;

Declaring with such clarity.

(Ahhh, no way, impossible! No, no no! It's wrong!)

Shiraho felt as though her blood was evaporating from her brain, as though the skin of her back had been peeled all at once, as though her heart had stopped, turning into an ice-cold and heavy lump sitting in her chest cavity.

Ahhhh&mdash;This was terror.

Currently, all Shiraho could feel was terror.

"W-Wait, I...!"

Her throat kept panting. How to inhale oxygen? How to exhale carbon dioxide? How to speak? She had forgotten everything completely.

However, in an effort to prevent loss, she forced her frozen legs to move. Towards the bench, she ran and ran. But of course, even her legs had forgotten how to run as well&mdash;

"Kyah...?"

"Eh?"

She tripped right before she reached the bench. Sovereignty looked back. The two milkshakes in her hand flew into midair. "Watch out&mdash;!" Sovereignty instantly pushed Fear away from her side. As Shiraho watched, everything seemed to happen in slow motion as the two milkshakes turned upside, perfectly tracing out a contemptible curve, spilling on top of Sovereignty's head&mdash;

Splash&mdash;!

"..."

"Ah... Ah..."

Speechless. His face was dyed a milky white. No wait, it was an accident, but Shiraho could not speak. Not because the air in her lungs were forced out after falling over. Neither was it because she could not think of what to say. The things she wanted to say were uncountably many.

However&mdash;Sovereignty did not say a word.

Looking down at Shiraho, there were faint glimmers of tears in the corners of his eyes.

This time, Shiraho's heart really did stop beating.

In the next second, Sovereignty suddenly turned around and broke into a run. "Woah, Sovey-chan&mdash;?" Kuroe chased after him but Shiraho could not find any strength in her legs to stand up.

Carved into her mind were Sovereignty's tears, gaze, silence and words.

He found her love too heavy a burden? He felt that they could not continue any further?

Lacking even the strength to support her upper torso with an arm, Shiraho smacked her forehead against the ground.

"H-Hey! Shiraho!?"

Someone ran to her with noisy footsteps, but she had neither the strength nor the energy to sit up.

She really wanted to die. Just kill her. She really wanted to die. Death would be better than anything.

His attitude. An attitude never seen before.

Definitely&mdash;He must hate her now.