Chapter 1357: Camping Under the Starry Sky ⑧

After we finished bathing, Isis-san and I exited the bathhouse and sat down in small chairs in front of the open-air fire-styled heater set up in front of the tent.

Then, I took out a mini stove-like Magic Tool, prepared a small pot and poured the instant soup sold by Kuro’s company into it to heat it up.

……Well, the instant soup had been warm from the beginning, so heating it up was more for the atmosphere……

And then, after a little while, I put some soup in a mug and handed it to Isis-san.

[Here you go.]

[……Thank you…… Kuromueina sure…… thinks of a lot…… of interesting things.]

[That’s right. Coming up with that idea certainly was, but I think it’s also great that she can actually bring that idea to reality.]

Drinking a little bit of soup from my mug, I look up at the starry sky. This is something I wanted to do, or rather, there was this part of me that admired the image of drinking soup from a mug while looking up at the starry sky.

When I glanced next to me, Isis-san was holding her mug with both hands, and when she noticed me, she gave me a lovely smile. Unnn, what a happy sight.

Just like that, we continued to chat over a mug of soup.

[……Heehhh, then Eul is close with Spica-san?]

[……Unnn…… They seem to get along well…… and they’re always together…… just as how Iris is often with Polaris.]

[Fumu. By the way, what about Sirius-san and Rasal-san?]

[……Those two…… fight a lot…… but I think…… they get along.]

[I guess it’s something like the more they fight, the closer they get?]

[……Unnn…… They acknowledge each other’s good points…… but it seems like…… they can’t be honest with themselves.]

[I see.]

I suppose their relationship might be similar to that between Chronois-san and Ein-san. They are rivals and sometimes quarrel, but they know each other better than anyone else and somehow get along with each other.

Even so, Isis-san’s place really became lively in no time. I felt like the time when Iris-san became her subordinate was quite recent, but as if they were drawn to each other, I get this impression that her subordinates have gathered one after another.

In addition, her subordinates seem to have good compatibility with each other, as it seems that everyone is basically getting along well with each other, making Isis-san very happy.

[How should I say this…… It’s just my hunch, but it seems like from here on out, Isis-san’s subordinates will continue to increase and your camp will become quite lively.]

[……I wonder…… I’d be happy…… if that were to happen.]

[Speaking of which, you’ve created a flower garden recently?]

[……Unnn…… It’s a Blue Crystal Flower garden…… It’s so beautiful…… and I’d like Kaito…… to come and see it.]

[I would love to see it. Blue Crystal Flowers have left a deep impression on me too, so I’m looking forward to seeing them.]

Blue Crystal Flowers don’t usually grow in clusters, and it seemed like they don’t have any pattern with where and how they grow, but being the Spirits of the Blue Crystal Flower, it seems like Spica-san is able to make Blue Crystal Flowers bloom at will, and with that, they had created a large flower garden.

The sight of Blue Crystal Flowers blooming all over the place was very beautiful, and looking at it from the public standpoint, wouldn’t you consider that a rare place?

Eventually, that Blue Crystal Flower garden may become a tourist attraction in the Land of Death. No, by the time that happens, that place may not be called the Land of Death anymore, ending up being called by a different name.

[For various reasons, I’m looking forward to the future.]

[……Unnn…… I never thought…… there will come a day…… when I would look forward to the future…… until I met Kaito.]

[I guess that has to be because of your magic power of death?]

[……I’ve never given up hope……. but looking forward to the time…… I gained control of my magic power of death…… haven’t crossed my mind…… I was always anxious about the future…… and only dark thoughts…… came to my mind.]

After speaking that much, Isis-san pauses, turns to me and softly smiles before continuing.

[……However…… I met Kaito…… fell in love with you…… and now…… I’m looking forward to the future…… our future…… Just thinking about it…… naturally brings a smile to my lips…… and all of this…… is thanks to Kaito.]

[It’s because you yourself didn’t give up hope, Isis-san.]

[……Even so…… the one who held the hand…… of the me who didn’t give up hope…… was you, Kaito…… Thank you.]

A past where she had nothing but anxiety about the future in mind. Looking back, when I first met her, she was somewhat downcast and even if there was a glimmer of hope in her heart, she looked as if she had almost given up.

And even after we got to know each other, Isis-san often had this anxious expression on her face, perhaps because of her past, but every time we spent time together, she seemed to smile more and became even brighter than before.

I felt that the way Isis-san stopped looking down and talking about how she was looking forward to the future with a smile on her face…… was the most Isis-san-like of it all.

? ? ? : [I wonder what Serious-senpai melted into though…… Hmm, it has a cream-like appearance.]

Makina : [……Let’s see? Ahh, it tastes like custard cream.]

? ? ? : [……The heck is with you, putting something like that in your mouth…… Look, even though I’m your best friend, I think you’ve got some screws loose in your head……]