38◇Guide, Falling (Revised)

Kousuke immediately made it so that Shiro’s wound was “never there” with the power of ‘White’.

“[White [Su]] – Hey, Shiro, are you okay……?!”

“Uh…… uhm.”

She opened her eyes slightly and met Kousuke’s.

“…… Kuro?”

“Yeah”

Letting out a sigh of relief, he raises her upper body

As their faces were close to each other, their eyes naturally met.

“…..Kono-…..”

“Huh? What is it?”

“….-BAKAYAROOOOOO!!!”  (TL: Kono Baka Yaro = You stupid fool)

She stated it clearly.

She headbutted Kousuke without any hesitation.

The shock was so great that Kousuke felt like his head was about to be torn to shreds, so he turned toward the ceiling.

“-! What the hell?! I’m bleeding from this… I’m bleeding from my nose!”

“I don’t know anymore, Baka!”

“I was able to beat the ‘Hero of Dawn’ without a scratch, but now you’ve injured me! Ah, wouldn’t you have been able to beat him even without my help? Is this how you treat your savior!?”

“I told you not to come, didn’t I?! Kuro could have died!”

Kousuke’s anger instantly faded when he saw Shiro crying.

She would hate to see Kousuke’s death more than her own.

“You’re the …… fool. There isn’t a single person in the [Shizukutei of Life] who could abandon you and live on happily. The same is true for me.”

Shiro buries her face in Kousuke’s chest.

“……What happened to that guy?”

“I killed him.”

“Because of me, Kuro, you became a murderer…… I don’t want you to be a murderer…I don’t like that…”

“It’s not your fault. I hated him from the start. He was a trashy scum.

“But ……! The reason you fought him was for my sake, wasn’t it?!”

…… Apparently, Ryke told her about everything.

“What are you saying? “Don’t fight for my sake?” Aren’t you a little too self-conscious?”

“Stop screwing around like that! That’s Kuro’s bad habit!”

I got pissed off.

It’s exhausting to face everything so seriously.

Relaxing in moderation is a necessary part of leading a good life.

But apparently this is not the case.

“Well, what about you then?”

“Wha- What do you mean?”

“You’re calling yourself a guide and a caretaker. “Visitors should be happy” is something like a catchphrase for you but… but were you, yourself, ever happy? Ryke trampled on your mother’s good intentions and left her to die.”

“But does that mean that Kuro had to murder him?”

“Yeah. There’s someone who has to be killed. If you let him live, he will have his revenge. I’m certain of that. And then someone might die because of me. Someone else could die because of my naivety, you know? I can’t have that. I don’t want to lose anyone I care about to a stupid mistake ever again.”

“….But…you finally came to this world, Kuro…you have- you should have become happy in it…”

“Don’t give up on me like that. I’m going to become happy. I’m already happy, to begin with.”

He put his hand on Shiro’s shoulder, raised her, and looked into her eyes.

“…I was planning to die…

…Because I hated myself…

…But you stopped me…

…I wouldn’t be here right now if it hadn’t been for you…

…I’ve met a lot of people…

…I’ve had some really nice encounters with people…

…I tried to remember what it feels like to be happy…

…Now I can remember what it means to be happy…

…My life, which was meant to end in vengeance, was collected and pieced together by you…

… I don’t think even God could do it…

…You’re important to me, Shiro.

If you are the person who makes visitors happy, I will be the one to make you happy.

In my second life, I want to walk alongside you.

I want to be together with you in this world.

I did what I had to do to make that happen.

And even though it was a bad thing, it was necessary.

And I don’t regret it.

I’m just happy that you’re safe.”

At those words, Shiro’s face crumpled with tears spilling out.

“……..Baka.”

Their faces came close together, and this time, instead of a headbutt, their lips touched each other.

Kousuke realized his mistake there.

Even though he was lusting after Shiro’s lips, now he could only taste blood.

……Nosebleed, I should have fixed that before I did it.

It’s also incredibly embarrassing to think that the lines I just said were also with a bloody nose…

Still, I won’t stop.

For ten seconds, or maybe even longer, he enjoyed kissing her, but Shiro eventually pulled away.

As if she’s not used to it, she lost track of the timing of her breathing and started to cough cutely.

It was ridiculously endearing.

“Normally, you can breathe in through your nose, you know?”

“Oh shut up! I know that! I know, but that’s in normal cases!”

“Okay then, one more time.”

As Kousuke approached, Shiro yelled out.

“You really don’t understand what an atmosphere is, Kuro……! And even the kisses taste like blood!”

“Well as far as that goes, it’s a hundred percent your fault, right? It’s a tragedy that your headbutt brought about, isn’t it?”

“…… Hey, what are you doing?”

Kousuke was rubbing Shiro’s tits.

“No, because I’ve never touched them before, and now this Ryke guy rubbed them.”

“So?”

“…… This is like, overriding ownership?”

“It’s not like I was his, but then again, it’s not like I’m yours either, Kuro.”

“…………N- No way…”

“Don’t look so desperate, baka.”

Chuckling, Shiro lifted the edge of her apron and wiped Kousuke’s mouth and nose.

“If you’re going to do it again, wipe off the blood properly.’”

Shiro was so cute, Kousuke could barely handle it.

“Can I take your clothes off?”

“I don’t want my first night to be in a dungeon.”

“…… It’s going to be a special night.”

“You mean a ‘special mistake’! Just no! You can get those things right in bed at …….”

“Then I’ll do just that.”

“N- No no, I didn’t give you the ‘OK’! We’ve only met for a week and I’m not a cheap woman!”

“You’re a virgin after all.”

“Shut up! Kuro is probably not a virgin anyway! Oh, I wish it were new for both of us!”

Kousuke counters Shiro, who shouts out in desperation, with a calm voice.

“When you die, all the damage to your body will get healed before you reincarnate, right? In other words, my body is brand new. Meaning I’m a virgin.”

“Stop with the not-so-funny visitors’ jokes!”

Shiro eventually laughs as she blurts that out, saying something about it not being funny.

“Hey, Kuro. Can I call you Kousuke? It’s just for the two of us, you know?”

“Well, I now have a lame new name: Cross Kuronos – Nanolancelot.”

“Similarly, I also have the name: White Howitt – Tia Igraine.”

“First time I heard about it”

“I usually go with Shiro after all”

“Rather that that, tell me your real name. I want to know.”

“…… Kako.”

“Huh? Kako? You mean Kako from ‘The Future and Past’?”

“No! Shirohara Sakako [Shirohara Kako]! …Lame! I don’t like it because it’s lame!”

“Eh? You’re Japanese? Even though you have silver hair?”

“I mean, that wasn’t unusual in the Japan that I came from.”

“That Japan sounds like a real eyesore.”

“It’s weirder if it’s all black! And it feels gloomy!”

“You’re right. There was also such a thing back in my world. Besides, it was definitely darker… without you, that is.”

Shiro’s face turned bright red.

“Kako, Kako, huh. But if you don’t like it, should I call you Shiro?”

“Yeah, I like it that way. I will call you Kousuke, though.”

“That’s okay. If you don’t call me that every once in a while, I feel like I will completely forget about it.”

Shiro smiled softly at those words.

“Thank you for coming to save me, Kousuke.”

“I’ll come and get you even if the evil gods come and kidnap you.”

“What’s that” is what she said with a wry smile, now approaching his face from the other side.

Naturally, Kousuke did not refuse it.

They embraced each other for a while.

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