Kallen didn't think she was that historical Valkyrie, and Yae Sakura didn't think Kallen was real.
Evan saw this from their behavior and didn't intend to point it out.
What would pointing it out achieve? Yae Sakura would probably reminisce with Kallen with excitement and a little inquiry, but Kallen, after countless cycles in that virtual reality, had her past memories blurred. If Yae Sakura discovered the strangeness in this, she would only be more firmly convinced that Kallen was an illusion created by Higokumaru to deceive her.
And Kallen, tortured by the stage play that lasted for who knows how long, even doubted her own existence, and her impression of Yae Sakura became even blurrier. Even if Evan told everything, the two would not welcome the joy of a long-awaited reunion.
After thinking about the pros and cons for a moment, Evan quickly chose to remain silent.
Facing Yae Sakura, whose voice choked up as she called her name and whose eyes trembled violently, Kallen was a little overwhelmed. She looked at Evan with a pleading gaze, causing Yae Sakura to be stunned, then quickly restrained her emotions.
The Kallen created by Higokumaru got to know this boy from St. Freya Academy first?
Bringing an innocent person into this space and letting him contact Kallen without scruples is simply constantly reminding me that the Kallen in front of me is fake.
Am I such a foolish type in Higokumaru's eyes?
Yae Sakura shook her head secretly, crying and laughing at the same time. She had already made up her mind to recreate the story of that year, a story that could still warm her and relieve her loneliness during the years she was sealed.
When I see Higokumaru again, I'll negotiate with it. If it can maintain this space, I am willing to sink here and give my body to it.
Although I'm a bit sorry, there are some things I still have to push forward.
I want to hear you say those words again, Kallen.
"My name is Yae Sakura. What about you?"
Yae Sakura, who had made a decision in her heart, introduced herself to Kallen somewhat nervously. Yae Sakura was worried that Kallen would ask why she knew her name. A story that hadn't started yet couldn't have abnormal conditions right at the starting point.
"Kallen... Kallen Kaslana."
Fortunately, Kallen didn't seem to hear herself calling out her name just now, or maybe she didn't hear clearly? The other party didn't pursue it, which was great.
Yae Sakura breathed a sigh of relief secretly, then looked at Evan beside Kallen with an apologetic look.
Because she saw Kallen again after many years, even if it was just a fake, Yae Sakura's emotions fluctuated greatly, so much so that she almost completely ignored Evan before.
Speaking of which, the conversation between Kallen and me just now was exactly the same as in my memory, word for word...
But Kallen didn't smile at me.
Could it be because the one who saved her wasn't me, but this Evan who suddenly popped up? How did Evan heal Kallen's injury in such a short time?
It should have been the first wonderful encounter between Kallen and me!
Yae Sakura's originally apologetic gaze towards Evan gradually became full of resentment, but all negative emotions disappeared when they touched Kallen.
Kallen didn't bring the black box like she did back then. This was natural. After all, this space was created by Higokumaru. It couldn't possibly obediently drill into the black box for the sake of restoration, and an empty black box with only an appearance would be too fake.
So she simply didn't have the black box.
Yae Sakura was somewhat helpless but understood this and didn't intend to delve deeper.
She didn't even want to ask about Kallen's origin because Yae Sakura couldn't imagine what reason Kallen, who had even lost the black box, would give.
"You are travelers passing through here, right? I am the shrine maiden of Yae Village. If you feel tired from the journey, you can rest for a while at the shrine where I live."
Yae Sakura, who said this, also showed a pleading look of "please don't refuse" to Evan. She didn't want the beautiful dream to be broken just like that. Although she was sorry, Yae Sakura hoped that Evan from St. Freya Academy could cooperate with her performance first.
Evan would naturally cooperate.
"Then we will brazenly disturb you."
We?
Hearing Evan's wording and noticing that Kallen didn't raise any objections, revealing trust in Evan inadvertently, Yae Sakura suddenly felt a pain in her heart.
I was clearly here first. As early as five hundred years ago, I met Kallen, got to know her, and then entrusted my life to her. Five hundred years of longing, a reunion after five hundred years, should have been as beautiful as a dream. Why did it turn out like this?
It's clearly just a fake space created by Higokumaru, clearly just an illusory character fabricated to make me sink here. Why would she trust a character who appeared five hundred years later so much before meeting me?
Yae Sakura, who was leading the way in front, could hear from the footsteps without looking back that Kallen was extremely close to Evan. That was a distance difficult for friends of the opposite sex to reach; they were either partners who entrusted their lives to each other or lovers who were attracted to each other.
This situation made Yae Sakura, who had always been calm and composed, anxious. She began to pray silently in her heart.
I hope Evan trips halfway and faints just like that, and then wakes up after Kallen and I have re-enacted the story of the past.
Although she knew it was wrong for a shrine maiden to make such a prayer, Yae Sakura had to give up her original professional ethics because it concerned Kallen. She would send Evan out safely later as an apology.
On a high mountain with lush vegetation in the distance, watching Evan and Kallen walking into the village under Yae Sakura's lead, the giant fox—Higokumaru—also showed a very human-like confused look.
"The fake Kallen I created shouldn't have much intelligence. Why does it look like she gets along well with the person from St. Freya Academy? Tsk, whatever. At least for now, everything is under control."
Read ahead with 100+ chapters now with daily updates!
@patreon.com/Zefyrus