Ayaka had imagined all sorts of scenarios for when she would reunite with Naoki. Maybe on the street, or after struggling to find him, or perhaps through Zelretch's intervention.
But the current situation was a bit beyond her expectations.
Falling straight out of a dimensional rift and landing right into his arms… what kind of coincidence was that? At the very least, Ayaka didn't think she'd be lucky enough for something like that to happen to her.
Yet, it was happening now. Seeing his face so close to hers after two years, Ayaka felt her breathing slow slightly.
"Ayaka? Why did you suddenly… no, this might be a fake."
Recalling the fake Arthur from earlier, Naoki, initially shocked by Ayaka's sudden appearance, quickly released his hold on her and stepped back a few paces.
And because Naoki let go, Ayaka, who had been floating in the air in his embrace, fell straight to the ground with a thud.
"Ouch—! Naoki, what are you doing?!"
"The real one?"
"Huh? What do you mean real… oww…" Holding her backside and sitting up from the ground, Ayaka's face paled slightly as she brushed off her skirt. Falling from half a meter up, she felt like her backside no longer belonged to her, as if it had split into four.
She had finally reunited with the man in front of her, but before she could even savor the joy of their meeting, he'd dropped her to the ground and even suspected her of being a fake…
"A fake?"
Suddenly remembering the earlier incident, Ayaka quickly glanced at the now-vanished dimensional rift, then looked at Naoki warily, just as he was doing to her. "Could it be… you're a fake Naoki?"
"Huh?" Naoki frowned. "You're saying that, so does that mean you're the real Ayaka?"
"Then are you the real Naoki?"
"…"
"…"
They stared at each other for a long time, as if trying to peer into each other's souls. After observing Ayaka multiple times, Naoki finally looked away first. "It seems you're real… If you were a fake, then Tatari would be too good at mimicking."
"I'm curious how you determined whether I'm real or fake."
"From various details and a few cheap tricks."
The main reason was the restoration of his sensory abilities. Earlier, Naoki's senses had been continuously obstructed, unable to function properly. But now, for some reason, they had recovered. Through his senses, Naoki could confirm that the Ayaka before him was indeed the Ayaka he knew.
Hearing Naoki's words, Ayaka's brow furrowed slightly. "Then how do you prove you're the real Naoki?"
"What do you think I should do to prove it?"
Since there had been an earlier instance of someone disguising themselves as a person he knew, there was no reason for him to lower his guard toward a sudden acquaintance. Who knew if this was another disguise by that person?
Considering his opponent was a Dead Apostle, an Ancestor with the ability to impersonate others, and the location being Misaki City—Naoki could roughly guess who he was facing this time.
One of the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, Tatari, also known as Night of Wallachia.
(I just defeated the Einnashe Forest, and not long after resting, I'm facing another Ancestor… Do I have a physique that attracts Ancestors? Or is my weird trouble-magnet physique really proving itself?)
Though Naoki often joked about being prone to trouble, the sheer frequency of these incidents genuinely surprised him. It should be noted that over the past two years, things hadn't happened this often.
Hearing Naoki's words, Ayaka paused for a moment, then sighed in resignation. "Unfortunately, I can't provide a definitive way to prove you're the real Naoki. But… you do seem completely different from the fake sister I met earlier. I'll assume you're real for now."
"Fake sister? You met Rei, Ayaka?"
"Yeah… ouch, ouch, ouch…"
Perhaps because she was now fairly certain the person before her wasn't likely a fake, Ayaka's wariness lessened slightly. And as it did, the pain in her backside immediately made her wince.
"Still hurts?"
"A bit… huh? What are you doing? Why are you carrying me?"
"I'll heal it."
Carrying Ayaka to a long bench in the park, Naoki sat down and placed her on his lap. He gently placed his hand on her skirt. A blue glow of water shimmered, and the burning pain Ayaka felt quickly subsided.
"It should be fine now, right?"
"Yeah… thanks."
"After all, I'm the one who dropped you. I have to take responsibility."
If Rei found out later that he had dropped her sister to the ground and didn't heal her, who knows what kind of treatment he'd face!
At that point, Naoki might really end up in the hospital—in every sense of the word.
Meanwhile, Ayaka, now lying on Naoki's lap, felt incredibly embarrassed, her heart racing!
(This, this, this… this guy is definitely Naoki! Only he would do something like this in public… hmm, my skirt feels a bit wet. Is this the Water Fairy Healing Magecraft?)
She hoped her skirt and the underwear beneath didn't get ruined. She was in a parallel world now, with no spare clothes on hand.
No, more than that…
(He's so close!)
This wasn't the first time Ayaka had physical contact with Naoki. Years ago, when they lived together, there were several instances of contact. Especially during battles, when Ayaka was still weak, Naoki often protected her.
But they hadn't seen each other in two years. Physical contact like this hadn't happened since they left Tokyo—when you don't do something for a long time and then do it again, all sorts of discomfort arise. Ayaka was in that exact situation now.
Her heart was pounding. The scent of Naoki's body, so close to her, even made her feel short of breath.
"I… I'm fine now!"
As if trying to escape him, Ayaka suddenly got up from Naoki's lap and sat beside him. Her head lowered deeply. Through the strands of her hair, her flushed cheeks were visible.
Seeing Ayaka's sudden action, Naoki blinked in slight confusion. "That fast? I thought you'd need more time to recover. But good if you're okay. If anything feels off, keep telling me."
"I know."
"Then, shall we talk about the important stuff? Ayaka, why did you suddenly show up here?"