Come to think of it.

I still don’t know what answer it was that he gave me that night.

Avner said he was attacked, but by who? Maybe that was why I couldn’t remember anything?

I remember Cain telling me that once my erosion value hits rock bottom, a portion of my memory would be wiped out.

If it happens repeatedly, I’ll eventually forget everything about this mysterious world of demons and angels. I suppose it isn’t all that bad, considering how it doesn’t affect crucial memories like how Avner still hasn’t come online on his TinyArmies account!

Has he seriously given up on the game or what?

No, no. I’m being distracted.

What answer did Avner give me that night?

Assuming that he tried to protect me from that unknown threat..

Would the threat be an angel then? Or a demon? Which would be more likely? If I was hurt.. I suppose it was a demon?

No, no.

What I need is information about the answer he gave me.

He protected me.. which means he cared for me?

Then his actions..

It didn’t feel like any big changes had happened. He is somewhat closer though..

Ugh.. Avner, what did you tell me.. can’t you drop me a hint..?

Or maybe I just never took up the hint?

What if that night..

He.. lied? What if he was the one who.. erased my memories?

He was lying, I was sure he was lying when he said he didn’t know the person who attacked him.

“Pu’er, is there anything wrong?”

“E-Eh um.. not really.”

“Just do your best on the upcoming exam. I’m sure you’ll do alright.”

“Thank you, mom.”

We were having an evening meal at a grill bar. Etched into the table was an in-built mini griller. You could practically smell the aroma of meat bursting from within each slice of bacon. The mushrooms and corn too. I can’t wait for them to cook. The butter they gave us gave the meat a nice golden gloss.

“How’s the hot pot? I think it’s time to drop in the ingredients.”

“It should be hot enough.”

Mom and aei aren’t arguing today. Their superficial miasma gauge was moderate-low, which is a good sign. Though, I’ve come to realize how the miasma gauge alone isn’t an indicator for whether or not one is prone to getting mad or sad. There are other factors at play.

“Pu’er, here.”

“Thank you aei!”

Bacon! Mushrooms! Now all I need is some pepper and soy sauce.

Nom. It’s delicious.

I took the tongs and arranged a few more pieces of meat, crab sticks, bacon and mushrooms on the griller. The crispy sound of sizzling was music to my ears, I just didn’t like how the volatile oil burnt my hands.

“Soup.”

“Thanks mom!”

I began digging into my meal. I split my rice with aei because I wanted to eat more of the meat and vegetables. Reduce those carbs!

Wrap the bacon and some rice inside the leafy green, sprinkle a little bit of seaweed flakes and cricket seasoning.

I brought it to my mouth and–

Crunch.

Amazing!

Foodgasm at its finest, not that I’m squirming in that disgusting manner okay?!

Still though..

What was Avner’s answer that night? I’m really curious.

Should I ask him again? But what if the answer.. isn’t what I expected? Maybe.. he doesn’t..

No. I don’t know it yet. I shouldn’t come to random conclusions..

But wasn’t I just assuming he said yes to my confession?

The waiter robot came with our drinks. Mom paid by tapping her card on the scanner.

[Thank you, please enjoy your meal.]

I ordered avocado milk.

“Pu’er, let’s have a heart to heart talk here shall we?”

“Hm? About what?”

Aei gave me a grin, question marks began appearing in my mind.

“That boy.”

“Boy?”

“His name is Avner, was it?”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“I did some digging around and found something interesting about him.”

What?! Since when?

I never left any clues did I? What did I do?! I never said anything, did I..

“What nonsense. That’s the person who’s exam result had a big jump, right?”

O-Oh.. so that was it.

“No, not that. I mean hirs feelings for him.”

Aei?! How did you know?! I never told anyone!

“Oh, is it? Oh?! Is that the reason his grades went up?”

“Who knows. Pu’er has been thinking about him all this time, just look at how xe’s spacing out all the time.”

“That time.. oh. He was the one who brought hir back last time wasn’t he?”

Right, that night! Avner was the one who accompanied me.. Oh no!!

They were able to infer it from that.. and previously I also talked to them a lot about Avner.. ugh..

Someone save me..

“What did you do that night, Pu’er?”

“I-I don’t remember. All I know is that I..”

I don’t know what happened that night.

“You’re still young Pu’er, it’s not the right time to find a boyfriend.”

“Can’t we at least support her puppy love? You had yours too, didn’t you?”

“That’s the past.. uwe..”

Aei was pulling on mom’s cheeks.

“Stwop that, it’s embarrassing.”

“Pu’er, do you best alright?”

“U-Uh.. yes..”

I didn’t expect this answer.

“But don’t be too down if it doesn’t work out. There are plenty more fish out in the sea.”

That stings..

Everyone knows that there are plenty of fishes out at sea. It’s not advice you should give to someone who’s already locked onto one.

“But you never know, it might just work out right?” Aei said.

“Mine didn’t. Yours?”

“You were my first.”

“Oh, right, how could I have forgotten.”

“Hahahaha..”

“Eat up Pu’er, don’t think about it too much. If he likes you, he’ll wait for you, even after you grow up.”

I nodded.

That’s true. I’m only in my third year of high school. There’s still the fourth and fifth year. And then college.

I wonder where Avner will go then? Will my parents allow me to go to the same place?

With my chopsticks in hand, I pushed the mushroom into my mouth.

Ak.. this tastes funky.

===

I was pretty replete after the meal. Despite the chill of winter, the food in my stomach was warming my entire body.

Haah..

“That was nice, wasn’t it?”

“We’ll come again someday, what do you think Pu’er?”

“Definitely. It’s so good..”

“Let’s just hope the quality of the food doesn’t drop.”

Mom nodded and aei’s words.

We walked to the train station and made our way to the platform.

There’s still some time before the next one arrives, 5 minutes, from the notification. It seems we just missed the previous train.

“Lily, can you check to see if there are any interesting updates on my SNS?”

[You have receive..]

I browsed through the latest posts from the people I follow from various channels. Among them were blogs that I keep up with often. I sometimes wonder how these people get to this point. They always say the beginning is the most difficult. It’s when you write for years without getting any attention from anyone.

Avner was concerned about creating a following through his art wasn’t he? Then, perhaps this blog can help. I copied the link and pasted it into his chat.

The train soon came. With the flow of people on both sides, aei, mom and I got on after much struggle. I made sure not to trip in between the gap between the train and platform.

The doors shut, the train began moving. I looked around. It sure is busy today.

Eh?

A guy in a hood was looking at me.

On top of him that is.. a red crown.

H-He’s a demon. A demon.

He narrowed his eyes, and I began to quiver.

What now? What now?

He looked like he was in pain, holding onto his arm.. did he get injured?

Stay calm and ignore him. Don’t involve myself in this, curiosity kills the Pu’er. I still don’t know how to fight.

He looked away.. ah, he’s trying to avoid me too. I looked around again. It seems he’s the only demon here.

I tried to avoid eye contact with him until the train had reached the next station.

Then I peeked.. he was gone.

I heaved a sigh of relief. That was scary.

The rest of the trip proceeded without a hitch. We got back home.

After taking a bath I went upstairs and began typing for my blog today. I’ll talk about strangers.. and how we should be careful, I guess?

No, that’s too odd. How about being a good chap and not being an oddball on the train by ogling an elf or girl? Let’s go with that, a little bit of humor for my readers.

[“Thanks.”]

O-Oh..

[“You’re welcome!”]

Avner read the blog I sent him.

[“{/LINK}, {/LINK}”]

Huh?

[“Have a look at these two. They’re more specific to blogs.”]

[“I will, thank you.”]

Haha.. was my worry unfounded?

You know.. maybe I don’t need to know what happened that night after all..

We still have many years to go before we can even begin to think about marriage anyways.

[Now that you know, please don’t lose focus and write your blog!]

“Aiy, aiy Lily!”

Thank you Avner, now I’ve got the motivation to push through today’s grind!

===

dotturndot: Different parents show different reactions to knowing their kids have someone they like. Some just ignore it as if nothing abnormal, others would try to support the relationship, then you have those that become busibodies, etc. There’s no template or fixed reaction.

I remember telling my parents I had a crush in the past (I don’t have one anymore of course), and hell, it was damn embarrassing.