CHAPTER 70: HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL, INTERLUDE

October 31st. The night before the Paradisus Legion mission commenced.

Although the following day was no doubt the beginning of what would be a job of survival, vigor, and various emotions, tonight remained a night of glorious festivities that kept the worries of both Liohime and Shihon at bay, even if it was just for a while.

After all...

"It’s Halloween!!!" Shihon shouted out in joy, as she entered the Polar Town Fair with her Master, wearing a simple leafy dress that covered most of her upper body while Liohime’s face was painted into a dark shade of green with markings of fake stitches by the mouth and eyes to resemble a zombie while wearing a formal suit.

He exhaled with pride, as many passers-by admired the duo.

"Not bad, not bad," he whispered to her. "It seems like the ’Hide in Plain Sight’ strategy worked out after all with your choice."

He lightly tapped the top of her head that was near her exposed horns, as Shihon’s Halloween dress was, well...a Magical Beast Girl with a gorgeous dress adorned with flowers and leaves.

Although she was trying to hide her nervousness, her heart rate couldn’t help but quicken as many people who passed her merely thought that her horns were of a prop material.

"T-This is insane, Master," she whispered back, "but it seems like it is indeed working!"

"Heh heh, of course. Now let’s-"

"Well, well, well, if it isn’t my two greatest rivals," a child-like voice interrupted, and both Liohime and Shihon stared ahead, not seeing the person whose voice matched the intruder.

"Down here, dimwits."

"Huh?"

They looked down, gazing at the eleven year old with clown makeup and a bright red colored nose.

--Billy Milly held his hands akimbo and scoffed at them both.

"So, we will meet again."

Ugh, this edgelord again.

Liohime and Shihon exchanged glances, blinked, and then looked down at him again before roaring with laughter.

"W-What the!? Hey, why are you two laughing!? Aren’t you admired by my good locks and my swagger!?"

Swagger? Is this kid eleven, or a hundred years old? Anyway...

"You look so fucking hilarious," remarked Shihon, wiping a tear off of her left eye. "Just look at you with your cute widdle clown face. Awww!"

"Grrrr, you fuckass-"

Ignoring his seething face, Shihon’s focus was broken as she spotted a lone woman by a takoyaki stall and decided to head over to her side, leaving Liohime alone with Billy.

"Well, I’m glad to see that you’re at least having fun, kid," Liohime mentioned, patting the kid’s head, but the annoyance of Billy heightened even more as he quickly bit into his hand without mercy.

Crunch.

"GYAAHHH!!!"

"Stop babying me, dickhead!! Yeah, I’m having fun, so what!!?"

"Y-You didn’t have to bite me like a dog with rabies to prove it, man!"

"....I’m listening to your advice."

"Huh?"

Liohime tilted his head for a second on hearing that, but the memory of their last talk together quickly settled back in his mind, and he smiled.

"Right."

"I’m focusing on having fun, and thankfully, my friends haven’t left my side yet. So....hk. F-Fuck you, actually! I’m not thanking you for shit!! Just know that I listened!"

Eh, I’ll take that as gratitude, Liohime concluded and tried to pat him on the head once again.

Crunch.

"GYAHHHH!!!"

Meanwhile, Shihon had another seemingly coincidental meet up with Margaret, the cosplayer who she had saved, and they both ate together by the food stall as they talked.

"I like your outfit, Margie!"

"T-Thank you! It was a bit of a hassle to get, but I enjoyed wearing this nurse costume a lot so far. It’s a bit tight, though...as for you, well, you’ve certainly gone bold, haven’t you?"

Shihon merely shrugged as Margaret realized that she had openly shown her beast horns to the public as fake head piece props.

Then, she leaned forward and whispered in a hushed tone, "How are things with...you know?"

"O-Oh, Derrick?" she questioned faintly. "He’s still being healed up, but in the next few days, he should be back to full health. Even then, he might take more time to wake up, but we’ll see."

"I-I see..."

"Everything will be alright," Margaret reassured her with a warm smile. I’ll make sure to do whatever I can if necessary, because you saved me, after all."

".....Thanks, Margie."

***

After about an hour, the grand fireworks display would soon be launched, and Shihon, along with her Master had isolated themselves from the public eye as they stood close to the car park, leaning against the guardrails of a balcony.

"Master."

"Hm? What’s up?"

"I had a weird dream."

"Huh?"

Without warning, Shihon had broken the silence between them with that sentence, and before he could respond, she continued.

"I don’t exactly know what it truly was, or what caused it, but I can say for sure that my gut is telling me that we’d be better off not going to the Paradisus Legion."

Liohime blinked and faced ahead of him, while Shihon’s eyes fell downward.

"I-I know that is is the worst time to say this, Master, and I know that no matter what I say, you’ve pretty much given your word, but-"

"I love you."

"...Huh?"

She froze.

Then, she looked straight at him with an expressionless face.

"What....did you just-"

"I said that I love you. Didn’t you hear me?"

"-hk, wait, no, you’re.....I-I’m sorry, huh?"

She stammered, and her heart pounded within her chest as the first whirring sound in the distance crackled into a booming sound, and light sparkled in the night sky, illuminating the area with a beautiful green and yellow glow.

She had surely heard wrong, which is what she thought, but Liohime had quickly dismissed that notion as he repeated his sentence with a slightly reddened face, and her face quickly heated up as her eyes widened in shock.

"I love you, and I trust you completely," he continued. "I won’t make any more mistakes when it comes to relying on you. That’s why, I can’t run away from this mission. I wanna prove myself to everyone who has put faith in me to get the job done, but I also wanna do my best for you....because, like I said, I love you, and I trust you, Shihon."

She held her breath as the warmth in her heart continued to spark, while the fireworks kept on booming in the distance amidst the cheers of spectators nearby.

"With you by my side, I’m confident that we’ll successfully complete that mission," Liohime declared, softly and gently holding her hands with his.

Their gazes never parted from each other, and Liohime continued, "So, will you lend me your strength for this mission before we leave Polar Town for good and start a new life together?"

The conviction displayed in his face never wavered, and Shihon could only smile.

"Heh, that sounds like a serious proposal there, Master. Are you planning to wife me up after the mission? If so, I won’t decline."

An even more intense blush flashed across his face and he averted his eyes, facing the fireworks in the sky. "D-Don’t say it like that! You know what I meant-"

A warm feeling was placed on his lips.

It was only for a second, just a tiny peck.

But it was enough to make his heart flutter as Shihon kissed him.

"W-Wha..."

"Let’s continue to rely on each other then, Master. I’ll protect you with my life, I swear it."

Shihon grinned confidently and then turned to enjoy the rest of the lightshow, keeping her grip on his hand, while Liohime nervously followed her line of sight.

"Yeah, I’m counting on it."

--This night would be one of the last few nights where they would be able to look calmly at the illuminated sky...

...As one hundred and twenty-seven days remain.

***

Margaret Hibert had returned home, and at once, she retreated into her locked basement where that man had been resting for weeks.

Expecting nothing much, she unlocked the door and twisted the doorknob as she headed inside-

-And the cold barrel of a gun was immediately held against her forehead.

Huh?

Before she could even realize, the actions of a reality that was deemed impossible in her mind was set into motion.

"WAIT-"

"-Her name is ’Shihon’."

Click.

{TO BE CONTINUED, ARC 4.}