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"Ah…"
Only then did Moka Akashiya realize she was still holding Max's hand.
Her pretty face flushed pink.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to!"
She quickly let go, stepping back just a little to put some space between them.
But even then, the distance between them was barely a meter.
What she didn't notice herself was that she didn't really want to step away from him. If anything, she wanted to be closer—even though she wasn't feeling that overwhelming urge to drink his blood right now.
"It's fine, no need to apologize."
Max smiled, then added, "Let's keep walking. I've got a few questions for you."
"Okay, ask away."
Moka gave a tiny nod, her cheeks still faintly red.
That's when it suddenly hit her: Max had been calling her "Moka" this whole time.
She'd lived in the human world for three years now.
She knew how humans treated names—using someone's first name usually meant you were close.
And Max always called her just "Moka." Did that mean…?
She sneaked a glance at him, her heart beating a little quicker.
Instead of feeling annoyed, she actually felt kind of happy about it.
The two of them walked side by side.
Max turned to her and asked,
"Moka, there should be a lot of monsters in this world, right?"
If he hadn't run into Moka, he wouldn't even have been sure monsters existed in this crossover world.
After all, he hadn't met a single one these past few days.
"There should be, yeah…"
Moka sounded uncertain.
Max frowned. "What do you mean, 'should be'?"
Moka hesitated, then said, "I know of a lot of monsters, but they mostly live in the Demon Realm.
I've been in the human world for three years, and I've only run into a few. And the ones I met were… different."
"Different how?"
Max blinked curiously.
"Mm…"
Moka tilted her head, thinking for a moment before answering:
"It's like those monsters were born with a special trait—humans can't see them.
As far as I know, monsters from the Demon Realm don't have that trait. They can be seen by humans.
Like me, for example."
"So yeah, there's a difference."
Max mulled that over.
So there really were monsters who humans couldn't see…
Which meant the monsters Moka had run into were from a completely different worldview.
But what kind of world would that be?
His curiosity stirred, but without direct evidence, even he couldn't say for sure. Too many world settings fit that description.
He decided not to overthink it for now.
Instead, he asked, "By the way, Moka, what exactly is the Demon Realm you mentioned?"
The name alone made it sound like a place where monsters lived.
And Moka's answer confirmed it.
"The Demon Realm is where I lived before coming to the human world. It's also home to many other monsters.
It's sealed off by a powerful barrier, cut off from the human world. Humans can almost never enter."
Almost.
Because under certain conditions, humans could cross the barrier and enter the Demon Realm.
Max chuckled and asked, "So what's it like there? The scenery and all."
"The scenery…"
Moka paused, tilting her head again before answering:
"Mostly the same as the human world. But some places look like straight out of a horror movie.
It's full of monsters, with no humans and not as many animals as here.
It doesn't feel as bright or colorful as the human world."
Maybe it was because the realm was saturated with monster energy.
Some places were dark, barren, with twisted trees and no grass at all.
But before she came here, Moka never thought anything was wrong with it—she'd grown up surrounded by that landscape.
Time slipped by as they talked.
By the time they checked the clock, it was already past eleven at night.
At a park bench in Nerima Ward, Max glanced up at the moon hanging high in the sky. Then he turned to Moka, smiled, and said,
"It's getting late, Moka. Let me walk you home."
"…Okay."
She didn't really want to part ways just yet, but she still nodded, smiling sweetly.
They stood and left the park together.
All of a sudden, Moka slipped her hand around Max's arm.
"Moka…"
He looked at her in surprise, feeling the warmth and softness pressing against his arm. His eyes flickered slightly.
"Let's go."
Her cheeks were pink as she looked up at him with a sweet smile.
There was a hint of shyness in her eyes, but more than that, she just felt happy being this close to him.
"…Alright."
Max didn't pull away. He was more than happy to grow closer to her.
If she didn't mind, he definitely wasn't going to act reserved.
Moka clung to his arm tightly as she led him toward her place.
Max glanced down at her, lips curving into a small smile.
In just two and a half hours, their relationship had leapt forward.
She already treated him like a trusted friend—maybe even more than that.
They'd talked about so much during that time.
Max had learned that she'd been attending human schools for three years.
But since humans didn't even believe monsters existed, she'd always felt out of place.
Alone.
That loneliness had slowly turned into dislike for humans.
Not long ago, she'd even thought about returning to the Demon Realm.
Learning she'd only been in the human world for three years made Max pause.
As far as he remembered, Moka had always studied in human schools before high school.
But now, things were different.
It seemed the merging of worlds had shifted her backstory.
Time passed quietly.
Half an hour later, Max escorted Moka back to her place in the human world—a two-story house with over a hundred square meters of space in Suginami Ward, right next to Nerima.
"Good night, Max."
There was a trace of reluctance in her eyes.
"Good night."
He smiled at her before turning toward the station.
Moka stood watching until his figure vanished from view, then finally went inside.
"Max…"
Lying in bed, her mind was full of him. Her cheeks glowed faintly pink, her green eyes flickering with what looked like the faintest trace of red.
Meanwhile, on his way home—
Max activated the Encyclopedia of All Things with a thought.
Moka's entry had already lit up on its own.
"....."