CHAPTER 379

  REASONS AND TALES

  Ryt and Ion stood on the side, both silently sniffling, as Hannah and Lino stepped out of the isolated space and back into reality . Lucky had a faint, crescent smile on her face as she stared at the two, barely holding back from lunging over and hugging them both . Primul merely nodded with a smile and congratulated the two before retreating into his own little corner .

  Alison suddenly felt her knees grow weak as she held meekly onto Lucky’s back . All the while, deep in her heart, she had hoped it would all blow over —— that she would come to her senses and come back home . However, she truly loved him, Alison realized . It wasn’t the sort that passes with time or the ilk that can be vanquished . She loved him from the depths of her heart, and he loved her back just the same .

  She was on the wedge, battling deep inside her soul; Hannah was, after all, her best friend, someone who had been there for her since Alison was a little girl . How could she not be happy she had found someone? Yet, at the same time, she felt terribly bitter that Hannah’s betrayal hadn’t led to a catastrophe, but a joyous story .

  "M-master . . !!" Ion cried out lowly as he walked up and suddenly hugged Lino . "Congratulations!"

  "Congratulations, Master!" Ryt quickly joined, not to be outdone, hugging Lino from behind and rubbing his head against his back . "You deserve it!"

  "A-alright lads, he he, stop rubbing you goddamn snot against Master’s shirt, you little fuckers!!"

  "A-ah! Sorry!! Sorry!"

  "Khm, anyway, thank you," Lino said . "You two will be in charge of decorating the venue . Are you up to the task?!"

  "Definitely not, Master!!" Ryt and Ion quickly stood on attention and replied .

  " . . . what?"

  "We know absolutely nothing about decorations," Ion said . "If you’d like us to put on a performance in which I beat Ryt into a smooth ball, you got it!"

  "And by that he means me beating him into jelly, Master!"

  " . . . aah, I’m surrounded by idiots . " he sighed .

  "Alright boys, enough joking around," Hannah chuckled . "Don’t tell anyone just yet . We want it to be a surprise, alright?"

  "Yes, Lady Hannah!"

  "Tsk, two of the ugliest people I’ve met in my life getting together . " Lucky chortled . "How fitting . "

  "Shut up, jealous guard-hound," Hannah scoffed . "We at least found each other . You still have to stick wood in your ass to get you going . "

  "At the very least mine doesn’t go limp after one round . "

  "One round is more than enough . "

  "Yo, yo, ladies," Lino suddenly interjected . "By all means, yap at each other however much you want, but let’s keep my wood out of it, huh?"

  "Wood? What wood?" Alison suddenly joined in .

  "Yeah Master, what wood?" Ion and Ryt quizzed from the side .

  " . . . Alison, you’re a middle-aged woman now, by god," Hannah sighed . "How can you still not know any of these things? You, dog, you seem you’ve got a mouth on you and a lot of beavers digging around . Teach her already . It’s fucking embarrassing . "

  "H-hey!! I know stuff too!!"

  "I imagine they were talking about his private part, Lady Alison," Primul said from the side . "It was a rather fun wordplay, if you ask me . "

  " . . . private part? What pri——" faster than she ever did before, Alison hid behind Lucky and buried her head into her arms .

  "Happy?" Lucky glared at Primul who merely shrugged .

  "What about the smithy?" Hannah asked Lino .

  "I’ll sort it out with Ed and Jack . " Lino replied . "Don’t you have bigger problems now?"

  "What?" she asked back .

  "The wedding . I was planning on getting married in like two-three months . So you better start planning . "

  " . . . he he, it’s cute you think anything you want matters," she winked mischievously, grabbing his arm and strutting it around hers as she slowly began walking forward, dragging him with her . "You can have one thing, Lino —— just one thing of your own . The rest? Just shut up and accept it, okay?"

  " . . . alright . Then I want Vy to walk you down the aisle . " Lino grinned back in the same tone, causing Hannah to sigh .

  " . . . ugh, fine . What do you want?"

  " . . . I’m kidding," he suddenly ruffled her hair . "All I want is what I’ve already gotten . It’s your job to ensure others realize just how much I love you . So, the bigger the wedding, the more I love you . "

  " . . . h-hey . . . can I . . . can I ask you something rather . . . insane?" she mumbled lowly as they drew distance from the rest, slowly moving across Vy’s insanely massive back .

  "What?" Lino asked .

  "I . . . I know it’s stupid, and probably a terrible idea," Hannah said, sighing . "But . . . I want to invite my parents . "

  " . . . you do?"

  "I do . "

  "Alright," he chuckled lightly . "I’ll make sure they’re there . "

  " . . . oi, what kind of evil shit did you just concoct inside that fucked up head of yours?"

  "E-eh?! What do you mean evil shit?! I was just going to politely ask them, you jackass!!"

  "Yeah, right . You . Politely asking . Anyone . Anything . Would looove to see that happen . "

  " . . . did I just sign off the rest of my life to . . . this?" Lino mused with a smile .

  "This . . . and a whole lot more of this . Prepare, pretty boy! You shan’t have a peaceful day till you croak!"

  "All I heard is that I won’t have a boring day ever again . "

  "No, no you won’t . " she said .

  "You’ve gotten quite stronger," Lino added suddenly . "What’s with that?"

  "Well, there’s this abnormal freak that I know and it’s pretty hard to keep up with him . You let it slip once and bam, he’s gone . "

  "Oh my, he sounds like a piece of work . "

  "Eh, he’s worth it . What about you? How confident are you?" she asked .

  " . . . no man, living or dead, can match me!"

  "Alright, let me rephrase that —— if they wailed on you, would you cry or take it like a man?"

  "Are you there?" he asked back .

  "Sure . "

  "Cry like a little bitch . "

  " . . . ugh . "

  "Ha ha ha ha . . . "

  " . . . will Ally be fine, do you think?" she asked, breaking the short silence that had emerged between the two of them .

  " . . . she will," Lino replied with a smile . "You’ve taught her well . "

  "And some thanks I get . "

  "Well, you did betray her, making bed with her archenemy and all . Man, what a splendid betrayal . "

  "Hey, jagoff, you still want this wedding to happen?"

  "Yep!"

  "Then shut your goddamn trap . "

  "Nope!"

  " . . . it was fun, seeing her . " Hannah said, smiling lightly . "And talking to her again . At moments . . . it felt like old times again . When it was just the two of us and her barrage of questions . "

  " . . . yeah? What questions?"

  "Ha ha, any kind, really . . . from what plant this is, what animal that is, why are Sister Rya’s breasts so humongous——"

  "——Sister Rya?"

  "——dude . Really?"

  "Hey, you said it, not me . " Lino raised his arms defensively .

  " . . . ugh, yeah, they’re massive, alright? They’re like . . . fucking watermelons . Goddammit . . . how are they so big? Anyway, when I said she’d ask me anything . . . I really mean anything . "

  " . . . she was always curious . "

  "Aye . What about you? What’s it feel like to meet your first love?"

  " . . . jealous?" Lino cracked a smile as he glanced at her .

  "Eh, she had you first, I kept you last . Her loss . "

  "Or victory . Never say never . Besides," he added, kissing her lightly . "I’ve met my first love a long time ago, by the side of a clean lake, where she adamantly claimed to be entirely fine with her average-sized tits . "

  " . . . you really never liked her?" Hannah asked .

  "Of course I liked Ally," Lino said . "She’d been my entire world for what little time we spent together in the orphanage . I used to sneak out almost every morning and rush to the bakery to get her a hot bun since we’ve never had warm meals in the orphanage . I can’t remember just how many fruit seeds I’d planted in the orphanage’s backyard hoping they’d grow one day, for her . I even went around digging for wells at the edges of the village, hoping to find something . "

  " . . . "

  "I just always felt like I had to take care of her," he added, lowering his head slightly . "Whenever I’d look at her, I’d see this . . . fragile house of cards . In the end, it turned out that the fragile house of cards was actually a mighty castle . . . "

  " . . . you never told me what happened with you two," Hannah said after a short silence . "Neither did she . "

  " . . . she was raped," Lino said, startling Hannah . "Shortly before you arrived . "

  " . . . the butcher?" Hannah mumbled lowly .

  "Hm," Lino nodded . "She was told I’d be given a warm place and food, and all she had to do was . . . well . "

  " . . . " Hannah winced, suddenly coming to a stop and bending over, as though getting sick . Lino merely crouched next to her and held her tightly . "I . . . why . . . why didn’t she ever tell me?"

  " . . . heh, that’s Ally for you," Lino chuckled . "She never told me either . I found out by accident . God, even today I remember how shitty I felt back then . I just wanted to find a hole and crawl into it and die . So, that’s the story of us," he added . "I was pissed she’d do something so dumb for me, and she was pissed I’d send her away without ever talking with her . "

  " . . . how old was she back then? Eight? Nine? My god . . . " Hannah shuddered as she slowly got up . "I . . . can’t even imagine how she felt . . . "

  " . . . you’ve a month, Hannah," Lino said, lifting her chin gently and caressing her cheek . "Make amends . "

  " . . . heh, you sly animal . You can’t be bothered to convert her, so you’re outsourcing it, huh?"

  " . . . " Lino grinned lightly and kissed her before replying . "You just know me so well, huh?"

  " . . . you did it for me, didn’t you?" she suddenly held his arm and pulled him back before he could resume walking . "You asked her to stay for me . "

  " . . . a little bit for you," Lino replied . "A little bit for me, a little bit for Lucky . Don’t be so full of yourself, it doesn’t suit you . "

  "Oh, you piece of shit . . . "