"Thank you very much. Truly."
After the crowd dispersed and the matter with Meguro was finally settled, Gin Dojima bowed deeply to Jaden in private.
"Ah, it's nothing..."
Jaden looked at him, his eyes still carrying faint dark circles.
"After all, I didn't step in for the sake of Totsuki Resort. So it doesn't really matter."
Gin Dojima paused, then smiled slowly.
"That's not the same thing, Jaden."
"Since you are Erina's friend, to Totsuki Resort... no, to all of Totsuki, setting aside your status as a former student, you are a guest."
"No matter the reason, allowing a guest to face a dangerous enemy on our grounds is a failure on our part."
"In theory, once you arrived at Totsuki Resort, your safety should have been guaranteed by us."
"But instead, we were the ones who relied on you."
"That is extremely discourteous of us."
He straightened slightly.
"So you don't need to worry too much about what happens next."
"Although Totsuki isn't a particularly large corporation compared to Toyo Electric, if we act cautiously and stay vigilant, they won't be able to easily harm the people around you."
Hearing this, Jaden let out a light laugh.
"In that case, I'll be relying on you."
He said it casually.
But inwardly, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
He had acted impulsively last night.
And now, hearing Gin Dojima's words, it seemed likely that Toyo Electric might retaliate by targeting the people around him.
He was an orphan.
He had no parents.
But-
What if they targeted the orphanage?
Tch.
Maybe I should find time to use the Curse and wipe out Toyo Electric's top executives.
"All right," Gin Dojima said, "I still have some cleanup work to handle."
"And my presence here will probably make people uncomfortable."
He laughed lightly.
"I'll leave the rest to you young people."
As he spoke, he gave a meaningful look toward Alice and Hisako.
Alice didn't quite understand.
But Hisako seemed to grasp it.
She first gave Jaden a scrutinizing look, then pulled Alice-who had been about to approach Jaden-and followed Gin Dojima away.
Soon, only Jaden and Erina remained.
Noticing those small actions, Erina's face flushed.
Jaden also felt the atmosphere grow awkward.
Before he could say anything, Erina spoke first.
"Jaden... thank you for everything."
"And also..."
"I'm sorry."
Her voice lowered.
"Because you disrupted Toyo Electric's plan this time, I might have dragged you into trouble."
Jaden looked at her.
After calming down, her expression had worsened instead.
Her head was lowered.
She didn't dare meet his eyes.
He slowly reached out and placed his hand on her head.
Erina froze the moment she felt his hand.
"If you say it like that," Jaden said, "then it's more accurate to say I was too rash."
"But even if you asked me to do it again..."
"I still would."
-Just more cleanly next time.
"So don't be like this, Erina."
"And didn't Mr. Dojima just say it?"
"Totsuki is doing its best to protect the people around me."
"So don't apologize."
"You didn't do anything wrong."
Erina kept her head down.
Her ears slowly turned red.
After a long moment, she let out a small, animal-like sound.
"Mm..."
Jaden slowly began to withdraw his hand.
He knew he probably should stay with her a bit longer right now.
Given her state, that would have been the right thing to do.
But-
He felt restless.
Very restless.
He wanted to return to Yuki Orphanage immediately.
He was paying for his lack of experience.
Even with the Curse.
Even with overwhelming power.
-If he had just killed Meguro instantly when no one was looking, then left with Erina and the others, maybe he wouldn't be worrying now.
And on top of that, he had forgotten to place a Curse on Toyo Electric's Toyama Taira-ken.
Thinking about it-
He really was still too green.
His methods were naive.
As Jaden silently regretted this, he noticed Erina lift her head.
Then-
With a faint blush-
She reached out with both hands and grabbed the hand he was withdrawing.
It was night.
They were standing in the courtyard connected to the back door of Totsuki Resort.
The night breeze didn't make Jaden feel cold.
But compared to the warmth of Erina's hands, the temperature difference made her grip stand out sharply.
This-
Jaden was about to speak.
But Erina looked up, met his gaze, and spoke first.
"Jaden... you must be worried about the family you call 'Old Man.'"
"The one who sent you the letter."
"Go back quickly and check on them."
"Be careful."
Just as Jaden knew Erina was still shaken and needed reassurance-
Erina also knew he was worried about the orphanage.
Jaden wanted her to feel at ease.
And she didn't want him to keep agonizing over it.
So she smiled.
"I have Hisako and Alice here."
"And after what just happened, Totsuki will definitely increase security."
"You don't need to worry about me."
"Go back and check on your family."
"But be careful."
Hearing her words-
Looking into her eyes.
Seeing her flushed face.
Feeling the warmth in her hands-
Jaden froze briefly.
Then he nodded.
Just like he had comforted her earlier, he responded softly.
"Mm..."
"All right," Erina said. "Then go back first."
"You won't feel at ease if you don't hurry back, right?"
"Mm..."
Jaden answered again.
They exchanged a look.
Both nodded.
Then Jaden turned and left through the back door of Totsuki Resort.
Erina watched his back until it disappeared.
Then she covered her face with both hands and slowly crouched down.
Silver moonlight spilled over her.
Her reddened ears were clearly visible.
From the shadows behind her, Alice sighed and walked over.
"If you're that embarrassed," Alice said, "you shouldn't have said those things."
Alice leaned closer.
Erina snapped her head around, glaring fiercely with a red face, like a startled cat.
"None of your business!"
Being seen doing something so embarrassing-
Right now, Erina wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground.
But-
Just like Jaden had said earlier.
If she had another chance.
If she already knew how this felt-
She would still say the same thing.
Because-
-He really did look like he needed those words just now.
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