A loud voice, like a collapsing stack, was heard behind him as the mysterious person kept dragging Kagayama. His skin brushed against the stone building's edge before he slipped into a narrow alley.
He caught a glimpse of a hand from outside, trying to enter the alley, but a scream was heard before the hand disappeared completely in the sea of disaster. Kagayama peeked at the person who had taken his hand and got more scared because of his appearance.
He was dragged with full force and couldn't resist the power, even if he tried as hard as he could. He turned his body in the same direction as he went and watched the person who was dragging him all this time carefully.
She was hidden under a thin white cloth, and her hands were so small compared to Kagayama's. The bright sunlight from above makes the silhouette of her beautiful, curvaceous body visible, which looks very feminine, and makes Kagayama stunned, while his mind is surrounded by fear.
She dragged him until their position became deeper inside the alley. Kagayama notices a gap and manages to release his left hand from her. He tried to run away, but she responded quickly, switched to another position, and caught Kagayama's hand before pinning his body to the stone wall.
"Ahhhk-"
Kagayama let out a deep groan as his hands got pinned so hard. He clenched his fist in a hopeless mind before surrendering completely because of the pain he gained, even more as he tried to break free.
Her breath was heavy, and her grip weakened as Kagayama surrendered himself. After a few seconds, she releases Kagayama and takes a step back from him before saying.
"You're a hassle, it takes all of my energy to bring you here, you better thank me after this."
The sounds were familiar and made Kagayama turn his body quickly before his eyes widened. Bright sunlight still illuminating her body made his heart skip a beat as heat rushed to his face faster than he could process. He raised his right hand to cover his eyes from seeing her lower body while he focused on her face.
She was Merianth with her neat bun-styled hair, which made her appearance more captivating and seductive. Her beautiful eyes capture anything from Kagayama, even his mind, completely. He couldn't help himself but remained focused on her beautiful face before saying.
"Uh… Can you move out of the sunlight? I can see… everything."
"Oh, you mean like this?"
Merianth takes a step closer, out of the sunlight's radiance. Now her thin clothes can hide her body from the other people, but Kagayama remains uncomfortable as her breath sounds and makes a warm sensation on his skin. She also wearing perfume, which makes her fragrance even stronger.
All of this beauty made Kagayama's cheeks slightly red. Unfortunately he could control his mind and move away from her while saying.
"Thanks for your help, Merianth. I appreciate it, but could you make a little gap for us."
"Umm, yeah sure"
Her tone lowered as she took a step away from Kagayama, but her face remained attractive as before.
Now their gap is more than 3 steps away, and Merianth also makes sure the sunlight doesn't illuminate her this time. Kagayama can take a deep breath, control his wild moving mind, and make the blushes on her cheeks disappear.
Merianth watches him slowly as her finger travels on her cheek. A playful smirk is written on her face while she sees a person in front of her become calmer. With a flirtatiously curious face, she asked Kagayama.
"What are you doing near the government building today? Especially when the condition of Asdorf is a little bit unstable lately."
Kagayama let out a gasp as Merianth teased him even more, making his cheeks blush again. He takes a step back to respond to Merianth's words while thinking about the answer.
"I-I don't know if it w-would become like that."
After hearing the response, Merianth inched closer, heat on her body barely bruising against him. Kagayama swallowed hard as her appearance became more and more seductive. Her faint smile was enough to take the remaining soul from him, before she asked again.
"Are you sure about it?"
"I..I- I'm sure…I think"
His tears become visible, and his gaze wanders around, trying to evade Merianth's eyes. But without his concern, his eyes always met with hers, no matter how he tried. His vision was locked onto her, and one more move could completely overwhelm his senses.
While he struggled, Merianth wanted another response from him, but after seeing Kagayama's hopeless eyes, she walked normally, passing him like nothing had happened before. A small chuckle escaped her lips as she left him standing there—dazed, breathless, and utterly defeated.
Kagayama feels like his heart was taken brutally from him before Merianth put it back gently with her beautiful smile. Her captivating eyes remain hypnotizing him for a second until he manages to control himself. A faint blush remains on his face as he sees her from behind, making him flustered.
After a few steps, Merianth looked back at Kagayama, a joyful smile appeared on her face as she saw him stunned in place—watching her from behind, motionless. She gently brushed her hair to the side, adding a graceful touch to her movement. Then, in a soft, gentle tone, she said.
"Let's head back to the mansion."
He nods nervously before walking towards Merianth and says.
"Alright.. Alright, but promise me you wouldn't do anything strange to me…"
"I promise," She closed her eyes while smiling widely.
Both of them walk to the mansion in silence. Merianth walked in front of Kagayama while he was behind her, avoiding any contact and making himself a little bit calmer.
At the moment of peace, she suddenly stopped and walked backward while her face remained straightened to the street in front of her. As her position near Kagayama, she would slow down and move in rhythm with him. He getting a peace before Merianth moved beside him with a smile on her face. Without talking or even moving her body seductively, she successfully makes Kagayama's heart pump faster like before.
The warmth spreads across his body as his eyes meet hers. But the sense of happiness was felt inside him this time, making him more immune to her and ready for the next battle.
On the other side, Merianth seems different; her face seems more relaxed than before, but even so, Kagayama couldn't stop stealing a glance at her. As they kept walking, she noticed his eyes and waited patiently before finally catching him. He turned his face immediately as her playful smirk appeared again.
But now she is not as aggressive as before. Merianth seems only to want to tell something she held all of this time. Her mouth opened like she was about to speak before closing again. She seemed to surrender, although her mind said the opposite.
A hint of a flush became visible on her face, her sight travels to Kagayama, watching him closely before her mouth slips a word.
"Do I look beautiful to you?"
The heartbeat loses its rhythm for a second before Kagayama manages to take control of it, and still his mind is hard to control but not as bad as before when she teased him. Now he can think properly and respond normally.
"Yeah, you look so beautiful, especially because of your hairstyle…It fits you so well." He said it calmly.
Relief washed over her as Kagayama approved of her beauty. She glances at him, her eyes soft yet piercing like the brown planet at night. Merianth kept her focus on him for over 2 minutes before turning her gaze straight to the street. Time becomes silent until they're near Henry's mansion, and each step feels like an eternity for them.
As the garden revealed itself, Kagayama shifted his eyes to Merianth beside him, wanting to ask her something.
"Merianth..could I ask you something?"
"Yeah sure, what is it?"
"What kind of job can give me 11 Gulden and 99 Vefein in one week?"
Merianth was stunned for a second after hearing his question; her gaze remained fixed on the street, and a bitter smile slipped from her face before replying in hesitant tones.
"Maybe a diplomat or shop owner. But most importantly, why do you want the exact amount of 11 Gulden and 99 Vefein in a week?"
Her curiosity grows.
"I just make sure to have a planned income in the future."
Her grin appeared as words future slide from his mouth. She covered it with her hands femininely before turning his face in another direction.
A bitter smile appeared on Kagayama's face as seeing her started laughing softly.
Now they are in the mansion safely, and some of the servants are watching them from afar, talking to each other while chuckling. Merainth became more silent as she got into the mansion, and her face became gloomy.
She took a few steps ahead, turned her face to kagayama before saying.
"I will go to-"
"Are you okay..Merianth?"
There is a glimmer of happiness in her eyes as Kagayama asks about her condition. She shifted her gaze forward, a smile on her face, sweet like sugar, yet her eyes still mysterious.
"I'am okay..Don't worry about me…" She takes a gap in her sentence before continuing.
"I must go to another place now…. see you later," with her normal tones.
"Ah..see you later"
"She is not okay."
Waving his hands, watching her body fade away behind the concrete wall. She runs in a hurry as something important is waiting for her.
His mind feels a little bit strange. A fragment of memory ignites his inner brain, making him think hard, try to understand this feeling, and unfortunately, a spark of realization gets him.
"I forgot to ask her name….But it seems that I forgot another thing again."
He searched for another fragment, snatched faster inside his thought. Some of them make wounds he wouldn't forget for eternity, but he keeps searching. His eyes closed, his hand on his chin—it felt so painful when he remembered yesterday, and so scared for tomorrow.
A dull piece of fragment finally came to him, it felt so warm, and different from the piece that brought him suffering. It looks like Merianth, a different version of her, a version he knew before all of this cursed fate happened.
"Am I." He pauses, his hands weak, his breath heavy. His gaze locks onto the emptiness before him.
"Just forgetting about her all of this time?" Kagayama murmured slowly as the realization got inside him, pulling him away from this world.