"Another one? Does someone else come to you in the middle of the night for 'Life Counseling'?"
Outside the door, Fairy's face was crimson. She wore a sleeveless dress with white lace trim, her golden hair tied high in a ponytail with a red ribbon. Her ten rounded toes, visible in her white sandals, curled tightly in embarrassment. Even though she was fully dressed, she looked more shy than if she were naked.
"Actually... well, you could call it a form of life counseling."
"People have come to me for it before... Did you bring us here specifically for this?"
"Uh... yeah."
Fairy's voice was as quiet as a mosquito's buzz. Her usual eccentric energy was gone, replaced entirely by girlish bashfulness. She reached out and grabbed Rin's hand.
"The others seem to be asleep. Follow... follow me."
Fairy led him away, her footsteps light. Following behind, Rin could clearly see her ears glowing red. Aside from their very first party, he had never seen her this flustered.
Rin followed Fairy out of the hotel. They took a stone path from the backyard into the woods. The moonlight filtered through the trees, and the path was decorated with flickers of fireflies. This was the same darkness that had terrified Ami earlier, but Fairy showed no fear now. On the contrary, the further they walked, the shier she became.
They walked in silence, accompanied only by the chirping of insects. Soon, the path opened up to a small lake surrounded by clouds of fireflies reflecting in the water. Fairy ran forward and twirled on her tiptoes, the fireflies circling her like light spirits. In that moment, she looked like a true fairy from a fantasy novel.
"This is the Fairy Forest, surrounded by spirits of light~"
"The inspiration for your novel? It's beautiful."
"Hehe... I'm glad you like it." Fairy blinked shyly. "Actually... this is the place where my father confessed to my mother."
Rin was stunned for a moment. Was Fairy bringing him here to confess? Fairy realized what he was thinking and quickly waved her hands.
"I'm not confessing! Don't misunderstand!" She gave a small huff of feigned arrogance. "Actually, my dad's confession was a total failure."
"Pffft..." Rin couldn't help but laugh. "I thought this was going to be a romantic story. That's it?"
"My mom hates bugs. All these fireflies put her in a terrible mood." Fairy laughed at the memory, mimicking her mother's voice: "'What were you thinking, proposing in a place full of insects!?'"
"After that, Dad chased Mom for five more years before they finally got married... My mom is a great beauty. Everyone says Dad only won her over because he was shamelessly persistent."
A happy smile graced Fairy's face.
"It sounds a bit pathetic, but I understand him... To be with the person I love, I'd do anything, too."
Fairy lowered her eyes and gripped her skirt tightly. Despite her denial, she looked exactly like a girl about to confess.
"Um... I... I'm only saying this once! Listen up!" She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "This... this isn't a confession, okay? I just... I think... having parties with Ami and Sagiri and the others... it's actually quite fun."
"You won't get jealous?" Rin asked with a grin.
"Sagiri and the others are so cute even I like them, so you definitely do, too. As long as it's not that bitch Utaha Kasumigaoka, I won't get jealous!"
"S-so... I just mean... maybe being with you in the future would be happy. Maybe it would be blissful. Yeah... that's all."
"I see... So it's not a confession, it's a marriage proposal. Skipping right to the end, huh? Bold move."
"Hah!? No! Y-you should be the one proposing to me! I might consider it then!" Fairy stepped closer to him. "In the near future, you will propose to me! I'll definitely win against Kaede and Suzu and make you love me the most!"
"The person you love most must be me!"
Even though she kept saying it wasn't a confession, her words were exactly that. Seeing Rin's amused smile, Fairy started to panic. Why was he laughing? Didn't he know how much courage it took for her to say this?
"What's your response? Where is your thousand-word essay on how moved you are!? Ugh... fine, don't say anything. Let's just pretend this never happened!!!!"
She tried to brush past him, but Rin grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"Wait... Mmph!!!!"
Before she could react, her lips were sealed. This wasn't like the frantic, lust-filled kisses of their parties. This felt like a first kiss. Fairy's body went stiff, and she forgot to breathe. Her pink eyes glazed over as she finally melted, wrapping her arms around Rin's neck and standing on her tiptoes. Her small, warm tongue actively responded, tangling with his as they swapped saliva.
After a long moment, she pushed him back slightly, a silver thread of spit stretching between them. She looked into his eyes.
"Emily... my name is Emily. Remember it. When you propose to me later, use that name."
Snap.
The sound of a breaking branch echoed through the trees, followed by Maki's hushed voice.
"Ah... dammit, Megumi! Why did you step on a branch? We're gonna get caught!"
"Sorry!! It was an accident!"
"Quiet! They'll hear us!"
While the other girls were focused on the romance, Ami and the others were watching Erimi. This was all part of the plan! They had followed the couple, bringing Erimi along to "witness" the truth.
Erimi was currently sniffing back tears, her eyes welling up.
"Ugh... my wife... my wife just proposed to a man."