"What are you thinking about?"
The humble Ryn wormed his way over, sticking his head into the gap between Seele's curled-up legs to look at her.
Seele looked at the Ryn who had suddenly appeared in front of her, slapped him across the face, and then pushed his face to pull him out from under her.
"Nothing... I'm not thinking about anything... Just thinking about one thing."
"?"
Ryn and Dark Seele tilted their heads in unison, looking at Seele in confusion.
So, were you thinking or not?
"If you can't figure it out, why not say it out loud? Let me help Seele think it through."
Ryn took out a pair of glasses just like Fu Hua's—useless but very cool—and put them on. Then he picked up a book with blank pages but a very cool cover.
Although these things were really useless, they made him look very cultured.
"Come on, Seele. Voice your doubts, and Mr. Ryn will answer them for you!"
Seele hesitated for a moment, her small hands clutching the bedsheets. She took a deep breath, then looked seriously at Ryn's face and asked:
"Okay. Then, please tell me, Brother Ryn... Am I the third wheel?"
"The third wheel... huh?"
Ryn sat up straight in surprise, then placed his hands on Seele's shoulders and shook his head seriously.
"'Third wheel' is not a nice term. Don't say that next time... Seele, you all can call me a bastard, call me scum, but please don't demean yourselves. The fault is not yours..."
Seele: "0.0"
"This matter... it's a bit of a long story..."
Ryn awkwardly rubbed his face, his gaze drifting elsewhere.
Did he want to explain? Then where should he even begin?
Ryn wouldn't lie, and he wasn't willing to lie about something like this, so he chose to tell the truth.
His eyes met Seele's, and in both their eyes, they could see the reflection of the other.
"On the snowfields of Siberia... I met a young Kiana, and she saved my life.
After that, we wandered together, slept on the streets and in caves together, shared hardships together, and split a single piece of bread...
At that time, in our youth, we made a childish vow, promising to always, always be together.
Kiana and I both thought we were each other's one and only, but unfortunately, birds of a feather flock together...
Kiana, like me, is very fond of women, and has absolutely no resistance to beautiful girls...
Kiana lusted after the cool and sexy senior, Mei, while I lusted after Kika, who was both a loli and a mature woman...
However... when Kiana and Mei interacted, I was usually present...
Mei, whose sexual orientation was normal and hadn't been bent, chose me between the beautiful girl Kiana and the handsome boy me.
They say you should guard against fire, guard against thieves, and guard against your best friend... and what's more, they were all perfect girls like Raiden Mei, Mushoku Kika, and Durandal...
Unfortunately, my will wasn't that strong, because the first half of my life was unfortunate.
My way of thinking was different from my peers, which led to me being ostracized at school everywhere, without a single friend. In the end, I could only entrust my emotions to one hot-blooded manga and anime after another, fantasizing that one day I could be like the protagonist of the story...
But the result was that I became too obsessed with the 2D world and developed a serious case of eighth-grade syndrome... The ostracism from my classmates also turned into bullying...
I couldn't tell if the world was sick, or if I was.
The entire world seemed to be separated from me. Besides my parents who always cared for me, the whole world held no meaning for me.
I would shout about saving the world every day... but it was really just some verbal comfort for myself, to save my own fragile inner world...
A person will be trapped by the things they couldn't have in their youth for their entire life. Besides my parents' love, I have never felt any warmth from the world...
So, as long as Mei and the others showed me even a trace of affection, I was like a pug that had been rewarded by its master, holding up my hands and feet, stripping myself bare, showing them everything, and completely falling for them...
Houraiji Kyuusyou and Tianqi were an accident, but a beautiful one...
In another world, we experienced a story of racing against time, struggling in despair, and ultimately succeeding in saving the world...
The feelings that formed with them, although very strange and unexpected, I do not regret my actions..."
"That's enough, I understand... Brother Ryn, I understand this feeling..."
Seele bit her lip, looking at Ryn with sympathy and sadness, her eyes welling up with tears.
Ryn blinked, his eyes filled with confusion. What do you understand? I haven't even told you the specific details about Houraiji Kyuusyou and Tianqi...
Seele's empathy gave her a strong sense of déjà vu from what Ryn said, as if she had experienced it herself...
It was like when she was at the orphanage, being inexplicably sought out and scolded by Sin Mal every day. Being naturally timid, she was already afraid to talk to others and make friends, and being bullied by Sin Mal made her even more afraid to leave her room, hiding in a small box every day.
But Seele could sense that Sin Mal's intentions were not like that. Perhaps she wanted to attract her attention in this way, but unfortunately, besides fear, she felt nothing...
Only when Big Sis Bronya or Mama Cocolia held her hand and stood in front of her, or when Rozaliya and Liliya dragged Sin Mal away to play with other things, would Seele dare to peek her head out, observe her surroundings, and try to communicate with others.
Seele clasped her hands to her chest, her eyelashes trembling slightly. As if using all her strength, she spoke her inner thoughts.
"Brother Ryn, I'm the same... I also want to make friends... I want to have more cherished friends.
So... so the moment Brother Ryn appeared before me, the moment Brother Ryn took me to see the stars and the moon, and gave me that one-of-a-kind birthday gift...
Seele, actually, just like Brother Ryn, came to see Brother Ryn as an important person in her heart..."
As if afraid Ryn wouldn't believe her, Seele quickly continued.
"It's not just me, my other self is the same!"
Dark Seele: "I'm not, I didn't! This is a complete frame-up!!"
When Dark Seele heard Seele suddenly mention her, she blushed and was about to pop out to interrupt Seele's words.
But now was Seele's time. Dark Seele couldn't take over; at most, she could only dye Seele's eyes red, but nothing else changed.
In the end, Dark Seele could only jump up and down in Seele's heart, punching the air in impotent rage.