Chirp Chirp Chirp

The chirping of the crickets echoed throughout the whole forest, giving life to the dull and silent night. And as the forest slept, the stars smiled down upon it. It was a peaceful night.

Alright... This place should be good...

After traveling for about ten minutes or so, we finally found a quiet place, far away from the hideout. It was near a cliff, fully exposed from the sky with only a few trees and boulders around.

「So, what did you want to talk about?」Yuna

「Yuna, how are you feeling right now?」Grey

「Oh... So it's about that...」Yuna

「Sorry to ask so suddenly.」Grey

「No, it's fine. I know I have to talk about it anyways. I just did not expect it to be so soon... Ah! Why don't we take a seat first? It's tiring to talk while standing after all...」Yuna

「Sure...」Grey

Following Yuna's suggestion, we searched the surrounding for a place where we can sit comfortably as we talk. Luckily, there was a large smooth boulder nearby.

「Ah～ This is much better.」Yuna

Yuna said with a refreshed voice as she slowly sat down on top of the boulder.

Looking closely at her now, she looks calm and composed, but I wonder how she really feels...

「You know, when I was still living in the village, I was really happy. Having a loving family, playing with friends, talking with the other villagers... I thought life was perfect, that there was nothing more I needed...」Yuna

Yuna recalled her past with a bittersweet smile and her eyes filled with sorrow.

「That's why, when that day happened, my mind collapsed. It was as if everything I had experienced was just a lie. As if... life was playing me. I wanted to disappear so I could run away from the pain... It was a dark era of my life and I almost passed the point of no return. Thankfully, you were there for me... I'm still grateful to you for that and I will always be.」Yuna

「You don't need to worry about that.」Grey

That time, I only did it for my self-satisfaction, since I knew my heart would be haunted by guilt if she died. I feel ashamed being thanked for my selfish actions.

「Haha... that's really like you.」Yuna

Hm?

Yuna mumbled something in a low voice but because of the rustling of the leaves, I wasn't able to hear it clearly.

「You know, when I asked you to train me, all that was on my mind was revenge. But as time passed, the anger in my heart calmed down. Actually, there were times I wanted to forget what happened and move on in life...

But when we came across another one of those incidents, what resurfaced was not anger but fear... fear that I will lose everything again, fear that I will be alone again, fear that I will be swallowed by darkness again...

Truthfully, when we were raiding the hideout, I was extremely anxious. Thankfully, Vanessa-neechan was there to cheer me up. Because of her, I forgot all about my anxiousness and was able to focus my mind on the battle.

When I left you alone to face that creature, even though I knew that you could beat that creature, I still can't keep myself from worrying that something might go wrong. That's why when I detected that the creature had died, I was really relieved. And right now, I'm really really happy that everything is over. Now, I can finally move on from this gloomy chapter of life.」Yuna

Without voicing out anything, I listened to Yuna expressing everything she had felt all this time. And with each and every word that comes out of her mouth, contains the emotions she had always wanted to convey.

「Ah, I never noticed until now, but the stars sure are beautiful.」Yuna

Yuna said as she tried to change the topic.

I'm really happy that Yuna is honest with her feelings, it's just that...

「You don't need to hold back, you know.」Grey

「Huh? What do you mean?」Yuna

「Haah... You're so stubborn... Even if your voice is calm, your tears begs to differ.」Grey

All this time Yuna was expressing her feelings, tears have been flowing down her face. She might not have noticed it herself, but for me, it was clear as day that she was crying.

「Ah, sorry for showing you such an ungracefー」Yuna

Yuna tried to wipe away her tears but I stopped her before she could.

「Listen! Didn't I say you don't have to hold back? If you want to cry, then cry until your tears dry up! Let it all out, your fears, anxiousness, uneasiness, whatever those maybe! And if you want a shoulder to cry on, you can cry on mine! That's why... you can cry until you're satisfied, okay?」Grey

「Hic... Hic... Uuu.... Uwaaa..... Waaaaa.....」Yuna

After convincing Yuna to not hold back her tears, she cried her eyes out until she fell asleep.

Having no other choice, I prepared a tent with a futon and pillows inside for Yuna and I to sleep in. And somehow, one way or another, Yuna ended up using my arms as pillows. Well, I'll just let her sleep peacefully, it's not like my arms will go numb anyways.

Well... good nai～ght.

【【Yuna's Perspective】】

Mmnnnn.... Yawnnn～

When I opened my eyes, I was greeted with a ceiling and walls made out thick cloth, with metal poles supporting them.

Hm? Am I perhaps in a tent?

When I figured where I was, my head was filled with confusion as to how I came to sleep here. But it was soon answered when I turned my head to my right.

Grey...? Oh, so it was Grey who brought me here. It's been a while since I saw his sleeping facー

... Eh? Ehh? Eehhhhh!?

Why am I sleeping besides Grey!? On top of that, why am I using his arm as a pillow!! Just what happeneー No, let's think about it calmly before panicking. Yes, caaalmly.

In order to process what happened yesterday, I slowly walked out of the tent, trying to not wake Grey up, in order to take in fresh air.

First of all, what happened yesterday? From what I remember, after we raided the hideout, Grey took me here to talk about my feelings. After that Grey told me to not hold back my tears which caused me to cry my eyes out whilst resting on Grey's... shoul... der...

After remembering what happened yesterday, my face became hot and became as red as a tomato.

Nevermind... let's... not think about it anymore...

【【Grey's Perspective】】

As the morning sun rose, the gentle rays from the sun seeped through the tent and gently caressed my sleeping face.

Yaaawnn～

Is it morning already...?

As I stretched my arms to greet the new day, I noticed that Yuna wasn't by my side anymore. I also noticed that there was a crackling sound outside the tent.

Hm? Is that Yuna?

I slowly stepped outside of the tent and looked for the source of the sound. And just in front of the tent was a familiar figure sitting by a campfire.

Seems like my suspicion was right.

「Oh, Grey, you're awake.」Yuna

「Yeah, good morning.」Grey

「Un, good morning.」Yuna

「You're up early, as usual. I should really learn from you.」Grey

「Haha, not really. It just became a habit of mine, and... it would be embarrassing if you see my sleeping face.」Yuna

「Hm?」Grey

「Nothing!」Yuna

Yuna's words were clear at first, but when she was on the latter part, her voice was so low, I couldn't hear it clearly. The only thing I knew was that she was embarrassed by it, that's why I didn't ask any further.

「Um, Grey, I apologize for showing you an unsightly face yesterday.」Yuna

「Ah, don't worry about it.」Grey

Actually, I was really happy that Yuna relied on me yesterday. I honestly wish she would rely more on me. But before that, I should probably ask her something I forgot to ask about yesterday.

「Yuna, what are you going to do from now on?」Grey

「Hm? What do you mean?」Yuna

「You know, since the perpetrator of your home village's destruction has now been destroyed, you must have some plans from now onwards.」Grey

Although I would personally like Yuna to stay with me, I wouldn't be able to do anything if she wanted to do something for herself, and wants to part ways with me.

「Isn't that obvious? Of course, I'll be continuing my journey with you. We're partners after all!」Yuna

Yuna declared boisterously.

Haha, looks like all my worries are for naught. Sometimes, I forget that Yuna is like a shounen protagonist. Of course, her answer would be like that. But even though she's like that, I'm still happy that she wants to stay with me.

「Or is it that you wish me to part ways with you?」Yuna

「Of course not. Why would I?」Grey

「Hehe, then I'll be in your care once again.」Yuna

「Yeah, same to you, partner.」Grey

After that, Yuna and I had breakfast together and then departed shortly after. Currently, we are about 190 kilometers away from Galderia, if we jog, we should be back in less than an hour.

「Grey, I have a question.」Yuna

While we were traveling back to Galderia, Yuna suddenly said something out of the blue.

「What is it?」Grey

「Why were Kurt-sama and Vanessa-neechan addressing Aria-san and Kris-san with "sama"? Are Aria-san and Kris-san nobility?」Yuna

Ahh... So it was about that. Rather, isn't it stranger that you're addressing Vanessa-sama with "neechan".

I should probably explain it to Yuna before she goes into trouble for speaking too bluntly again. Yep, it's probably for the best.

In Merusia, there is one rule that will remain true wherever you go in the world, and that rule is "The strong shall triumph". That's why the world agreed to give those B-rank and above non-hereditary peerage ranks.

Although it may seem that it is just a way to appease the high-rankers and make things convenient for them, it also serves to stop nobility from doing something stupid to them and endangering their subjects.

About three-hundred years ago, a king once held a discussion with someone of disaster class. But when the Disaster-ranker refused the king's orders, the king started insulting him saying that he is just a commoner and that he should obey his king. As one would have guessed, the Disaster-ranker was enraged and ended up destroying that king's kingdom.

In order to stop that from happening again, the system was built. B-rankers were given the peerage rank "Count", A-rankers as "Marquis", S-rankers as "Duke", Calamity-rankers as "King", Disaster-rankers as "Emperor", and Catastrophe-rankers as "Overlords".

These ranks are not country-specific so they work anywhere in the world. Though it could be said that the ranks are just decorations. The real reason why this system works is because of the nobility and royalty's fear of that incident happening again.

Up to this date, this system is still active. But in order to have this rank, one should prove their strength first, either by joining the army, ranking up as an adventurer, or simply just getting your true rank evaluated. Though the last one requires the consent of the royal family so that case is rather rare.

After explaining that to Yuna while running, she quickly understood it. As expected of Yuna, she really learns things quickly.

A few more minutes passed and we finally arrived back in Galderia, it was about 8 in the morning when we were about to enter the gates. And as usual, we were greeted by Dale-san as soon as he saw us.

Hmm... Is it just me or is Dale-san always stationed in the Gate we use... Nah, it must be just my imagination.

After passing the gate, we immediately headed back to the Rabbit's Den and as usual, Helen-san was at the counter accommodating the customers.

「Oh, Grey! Yuna-chan! Welcome back! Did everything go well in your quests?」Helen

「Yeah, but before that, Helen-san, could I borrow the kitchen again?」Grey

「Hm? You're going to cook again?」Helen

「Yeah, I promised Yuna to cook her curry once we finish the quest.」Grey

「Hee～.」Helen

A broad grin surfaced on Helen-san's face as soon as she heard those words come out from my mouth.

Somehow, I have a bad feeling about this.

「Isn't it nice Yuna-cha～n, having someone cook for you after a hard day's work? Isn't Grey just sweet?」Helen

I freaking knew it!

「Ah... Erm...」Yuna

And Yuna's already troubled over how to respond over it!

「Come on Yuna-chan, you can't have Grey do all the hard work. Ah, I know, you should reward Grey with a kiss!」Helen

「Hey, Helen-san!」Grey

「K-K-K-Kiss!?」Yuna

「Yuna, don't listen to her!」Grey

「Ah, come on, how are you two going to get married at this rate?」Helen

「Helen-san, please stop!」Grey

「Marriage....」Yuna

「Yuna, snap out of it!」Grey

For twenty minutes straight, Helen-san teased me and Yuna. Because of it, Yuna's mind had long stopped responding.

「Hahaha, sorry, I had too much fun. I'll go call my dad now.」Helen

Helen-san, you vile demoness!

After Helen-san left, Yuna started recovering from Helen-san's attacks, but she was still beet red.

Although Helen-san put me through hell, I'm still thankful I was able to see another side of Yuna because of her.

「Oh, bocchan, you want to cook curry again?」Gerd

「Ah, yes, but that's if you'll allow me.」Grey

「Hahaha, of course I'll allow you. Ah, why don't we cook it together?」Gerd

「Then, I'll take you up on that.」Grey

「Hahaha, then what are you waiting for?」Gerd

Gerd-san and I then did our best to cook many dishes for our lunch. By the time we finished, it was already past 10 in the morning. And though it was still early, we had lunch together with Ger-san's family.

But while having lunch, I was thinking over why Yuna always had those kinds of reactions whenever she gets teased over me. But after some time thinking, I just put it off as a normal reaction for girls.

Yeah, it's dangerous to assume after all. But if ever so slightly, that wasn't the case, I wouldn't know how to respond about it.

Haah... I should really stop thinking about these things and just enjoy my meal. I don't even know what I feel for Yuna.

CHAPTER 25 END