...
Pulling the driver along to escape from Dextrous Bailey's place, Lucian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If he couldn't leave today, he'd have to get drunk again in the afternoon and evening.
"Driver bro, are you sober now?"
"Sober, sir. Don't worry, if we drink, we don't drive; if we drive, we don't drink."
Lucian: "..."
"Sorry, sir, slip of the tongue."
...
Soon, Lucian arrived at the final stop—Tokai Teio's house.
"Ding dong—ding dong—"
"Hm?" Lucian checked the door plate, confirming he hadn't gone to the wrong place, but after pressing the doorbell for so long, no one came to open the door.
"Could it be that Teio isn't home today?"
Lucian hadn't notified her before coming, so it was normal for Tokai Teio and her family to be out playing.
Since that was the case, he could only leave first; after all, they could meet again after the New Year.
Lucian turned to leave, and just at that moment, the door opened. "Who is it?"
Tokai Teio's hair wasn't tied up; she rubbed her eyes and poked her head out, her voice a bit hoarse. "Trainer!?"
She blinked her eyes in disbelief several times, confirming she wasn't seeing wrong.
What was going on? Had the dream from yesterday come true? Or was she still not awake from her dream?
"Teio, it's almost noon already. You wouldn't have just woken up now, would you?" Lucian looked at Tokai Teio's messy hair and shook his head with a smile.
"I already ate lunch... None of that matters. Trainer, why are you here?"
"Just passing by to see you. It's not far, so I came to pay a New Year's visit."
"'You'?" Tokai Teio frowned.
So Trainer didn't come specifically just to see her?
"Yeah, these past few days I also visited Suzuka, Rice-chan, Bailey, and them."
"So I'm the fourth one."
Tokai Teio muttered with her head down, and Lucian happened to hear it.
Lucian corrected her: "Not the fourth, you're the last one."
Someone had taken another step on the path to courting death, but was completely unaware of it.
"The last one? That seems even worse than 'fourth'..." Tokai Teio murmured to herself with her head down, not knowing what she was thinking.
"Because you four live close by, so I only came to your places; I didn't go to the others." Lucian finished speaking on his own, and the crisis was temporarily averted.
"So I really am the fourth one." Tokai Teio's mood improved a bit.
"Yeah, Teio, aren't you going to invite me in?"
"Oh~ right right right, Trainer, come in quickly." Tokai Teio stepped aside, revealing the somewhat dimly lit interior. "Please come in."
"Thanks."
Lucian nodded and walked in, looking around.
Tokai Teio's house had very high ceilings.
The first floor was the living room, with a somewhat European retro decorative style.
There was very little furniture, and the living room was so vast that it felt overly empty.
The house was very quiet; a wall clock ticked away, making "tick tock" sounds.
The windows on all four sides were tightly covered by gold-trimmed curtains, letting in no light at all.
Perhaps because of this, Lucian felt it was somewhat dim.
"Teio, where's your family?"
"They went out for a walk."
Her parents had called Tokai Teio to go out with them this morning, but she wanted to stay in bed today.
But she never expected that by staying in bed, she would end up waiting for Lucian. It was like heaven was helping her? Destiny in the unseen.
"Trainer, you should have said you were coming. What if I had gone out too?"
"Then I wouldn't bother you. We can still meet after the New Year, right?" Hearing that Tokai Teio's parents weren't home, Lucian wasn't so reserved anymore and directly sat on the sofa. "Turn on the light, Teio. Don't you feel like the room is a bit dark?"
"It's fine."
Tokai Teio turned on the light, and the uncomfortable dimness in Lucian's heart dissipated along with it, but it felt even emptier now.
"You could go for a run yourself during the holiday. Look at you, sleeping until your hair is all messy."
"Will Trainer help me comb my hair?"
"Sure, go get the comb."
"Okay, Trainer, wait for me a bit."
...
Tokai Teio hurriedly ran back to her room.
The hairbrush was right there on the vanity, very conspicuous.
But she dragged a box out from under the bed, not knowing what she was rummaging for, only the clinking sounds of metal objects colliding came out.
Her long hair obscured the light in the room, and under the strong contrast of light and shadow, Tokai Teio's expression looked even more eerie than the living room before.
"Wait... what the hell am I doing!?" Tokai Teio slapped her own face, and her hands stopped moving.
Her family would come back later, and Trainer had also made plans with everyone to go to Dragon Country for a trip...
This timing was completely bad.
Tokai Teio calmed down, pushed the box back under the bed, and only then walked to the vanity, absentmindedly picking up the hairbrush.
...
Lucian looked at Tokai Teio coming down from upstairs. "Teio, why did it take so long?"
"Ah, couldn't find the hairbrush, so it took a lot of time." Tokai Teio smiled playfully, then handed the hairbrush to Lucian. "Sorry for making Trainer wait~"
"You comb your hair every day, and you can still misplace the hairbrush?" Lucian patted the sofa spot next to him. "Sit here."
"Okay, heave-ho~" Tokai Teio obediently sat with her legs tucked under her.
Lucian carefully started combing Tokai Teio's hair. "Did you get any red envelopes for New Year's?"
"Yes!"
"How much was the biggest one? Share some with me."
"No way I'm telling Trainer. Trainer should give me a red envelope instead."
For Tokai Teio, the biggest red envelope wasn't money, but Lucian's visit today.
But why did it have to be at this time? Meeting the Trainer she most wanted to keep when there was no opportunity.
"What did you say? I can't hear~" Lucian smiled. "This part of your hair is tangled. If it hurts, tell me."
"Mm." Tokai Teio hummed a little tune.
Trainer was just this gentle. She really wanted to monopolize this gentleness all for herself.
Ways ways ways ways ways ways ways ways... Was there any other way?
"I'll style your hair for you, like Symboli Rudolf's."
"Okay~"
"By the way, Teio, is there some entertainment venue in your basement? I just saw that the floor over there has gaps on all four sides."
Tokai Teio was stunned for a moment. "Oh, that's the wine cellar. Oh Tousan likes to brew his own wine."
"So that's how it is."
Tokai Teio lightly "mm"ed, was silent for a long time, then suddenly asked: "Trainer, don't you love drinking a lot? Want to... take a look?"
...