novelI Wish To Be Strong
| ← Ch.366 | Ch.368 → |
Translator: Reflet
Editor: ryunakama
Taiyou swallowed his saliva with a gulp.
The phosphorescence emitting from the pure white girl only enhanced her beauty.
Taiyou knew that it wasn't just beauty, though. He had the privilege of having known her, and it was clear that a miracle lay ahead.
Yes, the term "miracle" might be commonplace, but he couldn't find any other words to express it.
So Taiyou waited in expectation.
Ruri, shining with phosphorescence, swiftly unsheathed her so-called partner, "Heaven Reversal", which also began to glow as if it, too, were part of her body. She then thrust the tip at Sakura, or more precisely, Sakura's neck.
"If you won't listen...I cut you."
"Huh?"
Taiyou was the one who had exclaimed in surprise; Sakura was the one who appeared to be nonchalant.
Ruri continued.
"I'll slice you...into seven bits."
"Well that sounds rather scary."
"Which is why...you listen to what I say."
"Wait, are you actually trying to threaten her?!"
Taiyou interjected. This situation had flipped a 180 on his expectations. Who would have thought she would stoop to such a cheap method of coercion?
"The North Wind...and the Sun."
"Yes, I know, you said that earlier!"
"Darling, you are...the sun."
"You said that too!"
"Darling, you are...naive."
"You said that too! Word-for-word!"
"So it is time...for the north wind."
"Y'know, I'm pretty sure you already said I was a failure at being the sun!"
"Mhm...I did."
Ruri nodded blankly, as if to ask him what he was getting at.
"You've gotta be kidding me..."
"Heheh, well this is interesting. I was also taken quite aback. Since you said he failed at being the sun, I totally thought you would give him some warmth."
"Yeah, I thought that too."
"But now we're apparently talking about the north wind."
"It's Mister...Northern Wind."
"C'mon, stop confusing us."
"Then...I will lower the temperature."
"Huh?"
Taiyou's face went blank.
The next moment, bloodlust enveloped her entire body. It was nostalgic, but completely inferior to before.
Questioning the meaning of this, he looked at Ruri and noticed her looking at Sakura.
All of a sudden, Ruri was back to her old self, her vacant eyes filling him with nostalgia. She was once again the version of herself known as Shirokiyami.
Then Taiyou realized that her bloodlust was not inferior. She was merely aiming it at Sakura, and all he could feel was the shock waves.
For once, he was a mere bystander. However, he could still feel his entire body trembling in awe.
"This is your...final, warning."
"..."
"If you don't become Darling's...then..."
"Answer...quickly."
"...Well you seem like you're serious there."
"Wait, wait wait."
Taiyou got between them and stopped Ruri.
"There's a lot of things I could say right now—-but first, quit it with that."
"Which one...are you, talking about?"
"The whole north wind thing. And you also need to stop making that expression with your eyes and speaking in that manner."
"Bu—-"
"No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I also won't allow you to say however or make any objections in general."
He cut off Ruri as well as any further responses from her.
"Go back to normal first."
He said in a stronger tone.
After briefly staring at Taiyou, Ruri nodded. She stopped glowing and put her sword away.
"Is this...fine?"
Her tone had returned as well.
"Yes, that's fine."
"But if I'm like this...I can't intimidate her."
"I don't want you to. Wait, is there even much of a difference?"
"Form 1...and Form 2 are different fields of expertise."
"You act like those are dramatic transformations or something."
"And Form 3 can do both...but then my lifespan shortens."
"Not sure if you're joking or not from that tone of yours, so I'm prohibiting it from now on."
"Okay...I have sealed Form 3."
"Jeez..."
"But...what will you do now?"
"About what?"
"No north wind...no way to win."
"..."
"And besides...you're behaving strangely, Darling."
"How so?"
"Objective...and method."
"Yeah, and I'm saying this way is better. If anything, you were potentially hindering my plan back there which is why I stopped you."
"I don't...think it would hinder you."
"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to ban anything that isn't first cleared with me."
Taiyou said, patting Ruri's head in a rough manner as if to chide her.
"I'm not going to have anyone going off and sacrificing themselves. I will never allow that."
"Okay...no more."
"Yes, thank you."
Taiyou said, kissing Ruri. It was a natural kiss, and she accepted it as per usual.
"Depending on how you look at it..."
Sakura opened her mouth, and Taiyou looked in her direction.
"This could definitely be a skit."
"I don't disagree there. I mean yes, I did take issue with some things, but on the whole I would agree."
"And I also feel as if I have gained a better understanding of what kind of person you are."
"Me?"
"Take right now for instance. It's fine that you kissed her, but why exactly did you say 'thank you' instead of 'sorry'?"
"Hm?"
Taiyou tilted his head, thinking about it.
Just earlier, he had indeed said "thank you".
"Is that something to be surprised about?"
"Of course it is."
"But I don't really consider it to be weird. I can never thank everyone enough."
"And this is always the case?"
"It is."
"You are serious about this?"
"Of course."
Taiyou nodded firmly and spoke with emphasis.
"I'm super grateful to everyone for liking me, which is why I have to put it into words in order to convey that gratitude."
"You don't mean to say 'someone LIKE me'?"
"I purposely avoid saying things like that."
Taiyou said, face even sterner than before.
"Because that's rude to them. If anything, it's gotta be the opposite."
"Opposite?"
"I have to become the kind of man who's worthy of the love and sacrifice of seven women. At least that's what I believe."
"You're a strong one."
"No, if I was truly strong, I wouldn't even be having thoughts like this. All I'm doing right now is telling myself to be strong."
"Right now?"
"Because I will eventually become that strong."
"Eventually?"
"At least by the time all seven have gathered."
"All seven?"
"All seven."
He responded without much thought.
| ← Ch. 366 | Ch. 368 → |