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“I’m done… in the bath.”

Kanata sat on the luxurious double bed, as he looked at Sakura who’d just gotten out of the bath.

“Mh… Could you sit here for a bit?”
“Sure.”

Sakura sat down right next to him. They were so close to each other, there was just enough room for their shoulders to move a bit.

“My head… is still a bit fuzzy,” Kanata mused.
“Same for me.”
“…Can we… talk about what happened?”
“Yeah.”

They talked to each other, briefly summarizing the events of this day.

“…And, here we are, in this house…” Kanata finished.
“Way too much happened today, no?”
“Absolutely.”

There was a somewhat intimate atmosphere between them.

“Uhm, Kanata,” Sakura raised her voice, as if she had made up her mind.
“What is it?”
“I wonder if everything… all that happened since waking up in this world, was just a dream.”
“Why do you think that again?”

Kanata looked intently at Sakura’s forlorn expression.

“After all… after all, you know?” she continued. “To begin with, isn’t it weird that there’s swords and magic and skills? It’s way too unreal.”
“You still think so after all this time?”

While he did put it that way, there was no exasperation in his tone.

“Moreover… My eyes were healed, you confessed to me, and we’re now dating… Heh-heh… Furthermore, Ayu-nii and Big Sis were already in this world… I can’t help thinking that this is a world that grants my wishes. That’s why I’m worried it might be a dream.”

Sakura gazed at the clock in the room with eyes that seemed to look at something far away. It was half an hour past midnight.

“Still.” Kanata moved his body just a little, bringing his shoulder close to Sakura’s. Furthermore, he gently took the hand she had extended. “You can feel this, can’t you?”
“Geez, Kanata. I’m sure you know that, don’t you? You can have sensations in a dream. Look, there’s those times when you feel like falling while you’re asleep…”

“Well, you’re not wrong.” He continued, squeezing her hand lightly enough so it wouldn’t hurt. “Yes, I get how you feel. I still can’t believe we managed to defeat Surtr and that my big brother and Mika-nee are here. I was also wondering whether I was dreaming earlier, but… you probably wouldn’t say these things in my dream, Sakura, so I am convinced that this isn’t a dream.”

She looked up at him with an incredulous look, when he declared that.

“Why?”
“If this was my dream, I simply don’t think you would say such a thing.”
“…Hm? What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s fine if you don’t get it.”

She looked at him with her large, black eyes, as he scratched his cheek bashfully.

“Right, then everything has been real, in the end?”
“Probably.”
“Gotcha… in that case-”

*Slap*!

The sound of Sakura slapping Kanata’s face as hard as she could echoed through the luxurious, yet silent room. In a complete reversal, Sakura had tears in her eyes, while Kanata, likely understanding why she had hit him, didn’t comment on it and kept silent.

“Hey. I told you I didn’t want to be left behind, didn’t I? I said you should take me with you!”
“Yes, you did.”

She glared at him angrily.

“Then why did you do it?”
“…I didn’t want you to get hurt. Even more so after that monster possessed Shuu. I couldn’t have born it, if something like what happened to Rir…”

When she heard that, Sakura glared at the boy even more sharply and balled her fists.

“I’m… I’m the same…! I couldn’t put up with you being injured or ending up dead…! Didn’t we have that conversation before!?”
“We had. But in the end, you are important to me, Sakura. You are angry at me for risking my life, so I won’t say anything more about that, but my feelings… have been like this for a long time, maybe ever since I can think.”

Kanata looked deeply into Sakura’s pleading, teary eyes.

“I always cared for you. I keep thinking I have to protect you, even now,” he continued. “Words don’t do it justice… During the sixth year of elementary school, you started studying late into the night, Sakura.”
“I did. So, I could go to the same middle school as you, Kanata.”
“To be honest, I wanted you to stop doing that, too. I thought you’d ruin your health… Well, as a result, we managed to get into the same middle school, so that’s a good thing. You probably think I’m… overprotective. And annoying. You might think this a weird attitude towards life, but… that’s how I am.”

He continued gazing at her. She looked back at him while crying.

“…Do, do you think I’d say this if I was part of your dream?”
“Hah… ugh… you’re right. Maybe this isn’t a dream. Big Sis and Ayu-nii being here, and you and me having feelings for each other; all of this is probably real.”
“Yep. But until we’ve acclimated to our siblings being here, it’s only natural for this to feel dreamlike… We should go to sleep. If everything’s still there tomorrow, then this isn’t a dream¹.”

After giving her head a pat, Kanata was about to lie down, but Sakura stopped him with her arm. With her vigor still present, she pressed a kiss on his lips. Of the kisses they had shared so far, this was the longest.

“I’m sorry for acting like that,” he apologized again.
“…Mh, it’s fine.”

This time, the two of them laid down. Sakura strongly, very strongly hugged Kanata.

“…Sorry, could you either weaken your embrace a bit or give me some space…?”

In the dark room, Kanata’s voice was faint, sounding like it might disappear at any moment.

“Hm… I’ve been thinking this for a while. You love me, Kanata, don’t you? Although it’s hard to ask this… don’t you enjoy being hugged by the girl you love? Why do you keep trying to escape?”
“No, I do enjoy it, but… uhm…”
“What is it? Be honest.”

Kanata’s face turned red. Although Sakura couldn’t see that in the darkness.

“…Your chest…”
“My chest? Oh!”
“…Yes.”
“I see. You’re embarrassed. They are big compared to other girls, after all. Heh-heh… It feels like I’ve discovered one of your weak points…!”

Sakura embraced Kanata even more strongly, deliberately pressing her assets against the boy, and closed her eyes.

1. The original is これで冷めなかったら、絶対に夢じゃない (“If (it) doesn’t cool off/fade away with this, absolutely isn’t dream”). Thanks to Kemm for explaining alternate meanings of 冷める.

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