The sun was still shining. He simply didn't want to wake up. Lying on the grass by the river and enjoying the morning breeze was truly a wonderful thing.
Lying down on the ground, closing his eyes, feeling the warm breeze, the soft sun, and the white clouds—it felt as if one's entire life had passed just like this.
"Haha..."
A light, silvery laugh caught his attention. He opened one eye slightly and used his peripheral vision to look at the softly laughing figure beside him.
She stood in the wind, backlit, her long hair fluttering.
Pink hair? A stranger.
He closed his eyes again, not wanting to bother with her. There were thousands upon thousands of passersby in the world; he couldn't meet even one percent of all people in his entire life, so why care about one solitary person?
"Haha..."
"..."
But to his surprise, most people he usually ignored would leave without making fools of themselves when they saw he wasn't responding. Yet, this girl still stood there, watching him and smiling.
This piqued his interest.
"Why are you laughing?" he asked in a muffled voice without opening his eyes.
"Looking at your uniform, it's from Chiyu Academy, right? It's almost time for class, and you're still lying here enjoying the breeze. Plus, your clothes are all messed up, and your hair looks like a Saiyan's," the pink-haired girl's voice was clear and clean, like the small river nearby.
He raised an eyebrow and opened one eye: "But aren't you also wearing a Chiyu Academy uniform? Not going to class and standing here watching others enjoy the breeze? You're quite strange yourself."
"But my watching you has nothing to do with you, right? Just like your enjoying the breeze here has nothing to do with others."
"...Hmm, that makes sense." He fully opened his eyes, rolled over, and took his glasses out of his pocket to put them on over his messy hair. "You're quite interesting."
After putting on his glasses, his vision became clearer, allowing him to see the gentle smile on the girl's face and her excellent looks.
"But I've suddenly decided not to go to class. You should hurry to school," he stretched, waved his hand, and prepared to leave.
"What a coincidence? Actually, I don't want to go to class either. Have you had breakfast yet? Why don't we eat here together?"
"..."
Most people evaluated him as an eccentric rather than a genius, mainly because his behavior was very abnormal, mostly stemming from sudden whims, and he wasn't constrained by worldly morality. In the eyes of others, the only difference between him and a lunatic was perhaps that he would explain what his crazy words meant.
But in his opinion, this girl seemed even stranger than he was.
She actually sat down on the ground and took a lunch box out of her school bag. Inside, after opening the lid, were exquisitely handmade sushi rolls. The rice grains were distinct and translucent, clearly indicating the chef's skill was excellent.
He didn't say anything either, sitting opposite her on the lawn, enjoying the breeze, listening to the sound of the water, and watching the sun's trajectory.
They finished the sushi in silence.
He licked the grains of rice from his fingers, looked at the girl, and smiled at this girl, whom he had just met and whose name he didn't even know: "I've decided. I'm going to marry you."
...
"What is it?"
Lin looked at the young woman who was standing still.
"...Nothing, I just remembered something." The young woman shook her head. With her helmet on, he couldn't see the expression on her face.
Seeing that she didn't want to talk, Lin didn't press, merely taking her on a tour of the headquarters.
They didn't speak the entire way. Lin couldn't find a topic, and the young woman didn't initiate conversation.
It wasn't until they reached Lin predetermined endpoint that the young woman finally spoke again: "Lin, do you think there are people who propose to others the moment they meet?"
"...Aren't we?"
"..."
Oh, right, wasn't that exactly their case?
"No, I mean actually getting married."
"The world population is as high as 6 billion. It's not strange for any kind of person to appear," Lin responded calmly. "Examples of meeting and getting married are not uncommon, generally called 'flash marriage'."
"How strange..."
Lin didn't understand what the young woman meant by "strange." Speaking of strange, didn't she also choose to 'marry' a person she just met for her own purpose? Although this was only a non-essential relationship, they were indeed addressing each other as husband and wife.
The young woman asked in confusion: "What are the thoughts of those who flash-marry? What kind of feeling leads them to marry?"
If Lin knew, he probably wouldn't be conducting this hypothetical marriage experiment with the young woman.
However, this was indeed a topic worth discussing, at least something the two of them could talk about.
"If they marry because of feelings, do they have enough feeling between meeting and marriage to choose to accompany each other for life?" The young woman shook her head vaguely. "If they marry for something else, can marriage still be considered proof of feelings?"
"..."
Lin stopped in front of a large door. He carefully examined the marks on the door.
This door was not special. Whether it was its location or the room behind it, it was ordinary for the Fire Moth headquarters.
It was just that this door originally belonged to someone named Seele, and now her body was lying on an operating table in some laboratory.
"In fact, there are many people who have feelings without getting married, and love is not the only feeling between people. In fact, most inter-personal emotions are not purely a single type of feeling."
Lin turned around, slowly stating his understanding.
Once upon a time, he had also shared his understanding with others in this manner. At that time, his emotions were still quite simple, and their intentions were also pure.
A moment is not eternity. He had long understood this principle, but time had pushed him forward too quickly.
And this young woman was ignorant and innocent, like a blank sheet of paper, also pure in that way.
"Then what exactly is feeling?"
The same question.
The question Lin could not answer.
He believed in human emotion, but he himself could not explain what it actually was.
"I apologize." The young woman saw the implication contained in Lin silence, and she apologized.
"Feelings are the necessary ingredient that brings about miracles, you know~"
Just then, Lin familiar voice rang out. He instinctively turned his head and saw the pink-haired young woman walking towards them, happily raising her hand.
"Elysia... aren't the Captains in a meeting right now?" Lin was no longer a Captain, so he didn't need to attend the Captains' meeting, but Elysia was indeed the Captain of the Thirteenth Squad. Why was she wandering here?
"Oh, it was too boring~ Anyway, we'll be notified afterwards, so why bother going?" Elysia waved her hand casually, as always, and quickly focused on her target. "Speaking of which... who is this girl? Why is she wearing the same helmet as Lin? Can she take it off so I can see? Is she cute?"
The young woman paused, looking at the hastily questioning Elysia: "Hmm... from a human aesthetic point of view, I am cute."
"Oh! That's wonderful! I love cute girls the most."
Elysia smiled and placed her hand on the young woman's helmet, pulling it upwards...
The young woman clung to her helmet with both hands, not budging an inch.
"..."
"..."
Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense.