"Because if Tsukuyo really, truly became someone who could only hide in the back..."
"Then if we later run into stronger monsters — like a Floor Boss, or those powerful creatures in the depths of the Dungeon — everyone would be up front fighting for their lives, but Tsukuyo would collapse because her body couldn't take it. How could Tsukuyo protect everyone then? How could she still stand at Kami-sama's side?"
"Tsukuyo is really scared. Scared that one day she'll hear everyone say, 'Tsukuyo, stay in the back. It's too dangerous up front.'"
"Tsukuyo doesn't want that."
Inaba Tsukuyo's voice trembled.
The words cut off abruptly at that critical moment.
Normally, in front of others, Inaba Tsukuyo always maintained her silence.
She was used to expressing herself through the motion of drawing her blade and clean, decisive slashes.
In those moments, her posture was resolute and unwavering. But now, that swordswoman who cut down monsters in the Dungeon with such lethal decisiveness had vanished.
In her place was a twelve-year-old middle school girl.
All the self-doubt she had pressed down deep in her heart for two full days finally came pouring out, here in this quiet room that belonged only to her and the god she admired.
After receiving God's Grace, she had faced the trials of life and death within the Dungeon.
At the same time, she had truly, tangibly sensed the explosive growth in strength of everyone around her.
She was blind.
She couldn't see her companions' stats.
But she could sense the movement of everyone's heartbeats.
And those sounds were growing louder and louder.
She, however, remained firmly bottlenecked by that single weakness — Endurance.
Pressure has a way of piling up in the heart.
Haimer sat on the edge of the bed, quietly listening as Inaba Tsukuyo poured out all of this in one breath.
His hand still rested on her head, fingers threading through that smooth silver hair, the pads of his fingers gently pressed against her scalp.
Tsukuyo's worries were, in truth, not unfounded. After all, conquering the Dungeon meant traveling the entire route, from the upper floors down to the deep levels.
A frail body would indeed drain a great deal of stamina over the course of a long expedition.
At this thought, Haimer lowered his head slightly, gazing down at Inaba Tsukuyo's face, faintly flushed from the surge of emotion.
"..."
"It seems..."
"I've discovered another adorable side of Tsukuyo."
Haimer thought for a moment, then continued to soothe her.
Hearing this.
Inaba Tsukuyo, who had just been baring the fears in her heart all in one breath, went instantly silent.
On that exquisite doll-like face, the blush that had at first only touched the tips of her ears spread in an instant across her entire cheeks and neck, until even her exposed collarbone was dyed a shade of pink.
"K-Kami-sama..."
"Tsukuyo... Tsukuyo is talking about something very serious, how, how could you tease Tsukuyo like this..."
Inaba Tsukuyo stammered, and her hands that had been gripping Haimer's trousers suddenly let go. Not knowing where to put them, she could only wring them together in a flustered tangle.
Faced with this, Haimer could only sigh helplessly, gently laying his hand against Inaba Tsukuyo's cheek.
"Because I'm being serious."
"Tsukuyo just said so much all at once, laying bare every worry in her heart. That means Tsukuyo already trusts me enough — enough to be willing to show me her most vulnerable side."
"A Tsukuyo like that — how could she not be adorable?"
Inaba Tsukuyo continued to lie on Haimer's lap.
She gave no reply.
She only felt that the hand resting against her cheek was very warm.
Pursing her lips, her breathing gradually slowed.
Seeing Inaba Tsukuyo settle down, Haimer withdrew the hand from her cheek.
That hand returned to her hair, combing downward along the grain of the strands.
"Still, if it were me..."
Haimer went on.
"I would still want Tsukuyo to believe in herself — and to believe in Rin and Kirukiru too."
"Because Tsukuyo just said she's worried about holding Kirukiru and the others back."
"But has Tsukuyo ever considered that Kirukiru and the others are just as worried about holding you back?"
Inaba Tsukuyo tilted her head slightly.
"Everyone has their own talents."
Haimer looked at Inaba Tsukuyo's face.
"In this world, you will never find two leaves that are exactly the same. People are the same way."
"The purpose of a God's Grace was never, from the very start, to turn you all into identical, cookie-cutter warriors — it's to amplify, without limit, the most unique traits each of you possesses."
Haimer extended his index finger and gently tapped it against Inaba Tsukuyo's smooth forehead.
"The 'Ill-Fated Sword Demon' did indeed strip away the growth of your Endurance."
"But in exchange, it also granted you an ability that is one-of-a-kind in this world — an ability no one else can ever hope to reach."
"Find the thing you're best at, and hone it to perfection."
"As for the rest — the weaknesses you can't control — leave them to time, and to your companions, to fill in."
"That is the true meaning of a Familia."
Inaba Tsukuyo listened quietly.
"You fret over gains and losses."
"You care too much about the shadow cast by that sickly shell of a body, and you worry too much about the dangers you might face someday in the deep levels of the Dungeon."
"But there's a saying that puts it well."
"Yesterday is a fact that has already happened; tomorrow is an unknown mystery; and today is a gift from the heavens. You should cherish today the way you would cherish a gift."
"Don't be afraid of things that haven't happened yet. Just focus on what you can do right now."
"Keep swinging your sword, keep sensing the sounds around you, and shed all the sweat you're meant to shed today."
"As long as you seize today, then tomorrow — who knows — a miracle just might happen to you."
Haimer lowered his head slightly, his gaze fixed intently on Inaba Tsukuyo's quiet face.
"Just like Lili."
At the sound of that name, Inaba Tsukuyo's eyelids twitched faintly.
She was no stranger to Lili's situation.
Earlier that day, at a street corner, she had heard the sounds of Lili being beaten with her keen hearing, and had stepped in together with Onigawara Rin.
She understood clearly the circumstances Lili endured within that Familia.
"Before Lili met all of you, she too struggled every day in an abyss."
"In the Soma Familia, Lili was bullied endlessly. She felt just as much despair toward the future, believing that this was all she could ever be for the rest of her life — she may have even thought about ending it all."
"But it was precisely because you all reached out to help her in that alley, letting her see the light, letting her yearn to be reborn."
"And so, she made a change."
"By her own will, she drank down that Divine Wine — the very wine that even high-ranking adventurers fall to — and proved to me that she could shatter the shackles of desire between her teeth."
Haimer's hand returned to rest atop Inaba Tsukuyo's head.
"And Tsukuyo should have heard it just now too, right?"
"Lili obtained a new skill — 'Poisoned Chalice Sprout.'"
"That is the miracle of God's Grace descending upon her."
Haimer gently ruffled her hair.
"Since Lili could do it, I believe Tsukuyo can do it just as well."
"As long as Tsukuyo never gives up refining herself, one day this same devotion will spark God's Grace into giving birth to a miracle all your own, Tsukuyo."
"So believe in yourself, Tsukuyo."
"No matter what, everyone will surely believe in you. And so will I."
"What's more — just as I said when you were all assigned your mentors — I will teach you personally."
With these words spoken.
The room fell quiet once more.
Inaba Tsukuyo lay on Haimer's lap, holding that posture without moving.
Only the faint glow of the Magic Stone lamp in the corner spread softly through the room.
After quite a while.
Inaba Tsukuyo's hands, which had been lying flat on the bedsheet, stirred. Her fingers flexed once, then gripped the edge of the sheet.
"Kami-sama."
Inaba Tsukuyo's voice no longer trembled, returning to that usual cool tone laced with a hint of soft sweetness.
"Tsukuyo understands now."
Inaba Tsukuyo braced her hands against the bed beneath her, put strength into her wrists, and slowly sat up from Haimer's lap.
The motion of rising was a little sluggish.
Because she had been lying down all this while, her waist-length silver hair had come loose and fallen in slight disarray over her shoulders.
She straightened her body.
With both hands she felt out and smoothed the hair hanging over her chest, tucking a few stray strands behind her ear. Then she lowered her head and tugged at the hem of her thin robe, smoothing out where it had bunched up.
Once she had finished, Inaba Tsukuyo sat beside Haimer, the direction of her face aimed precisely at where he was.
"Tsukuyo will no longer dwell on things that haven't happened yet, nor will she be afraid anymore because of her Endurance weakness."
"Tsukuyo will swing her blade to the utmost, and raise her speed and hearing to a point where no monster could ever touch her. Tsukuyo will become this fastest blade, and cut down every enemy who tries to harm everyone."
"It's just..."
"Kami-sama."
Having said this.
The corners of Inaba Tsukuyo's mouth pursed slightly. On cheeks that had only just lost their blush, two vivid patches of rosy red swiftly took flight.
She pinched the corner of her robe with both hands.
Her fingers began to rub back and forth.
She lowered her head, her voice growing even smaller than before.
"Then... since Tsukuyo has already worked things out, could Kami-sama give Tsukuyo a reward?"
Haimer heard this request.
"A reward?"
Haimer repeated the two words.
"Yes, a reward. A reward just for Tsukuyo."
Inaba Tsukuyo's face grew even redder.
She pressed her head very low, her chin nearly touching her collarbone.
"Since Kami-sama said that today is a gift from the heavens."
Inaba Tsukuyo haltingly pieced together her words.
"Then, since Tsukuyo has worked things out."
"Tsukuyo wants... a reward from Kami-sama to celebrate that Tsukuyo has worked things out..."
Haimer looked at Inaba Tsukuyo's hands, which had nowhere to settle.
"Then what gift do you want? As long as it's something I can give."
Haimer asked gently.
He had assumed Inaba Tsukuyo would ask for something like a doll as her reward.
Yet, contrary to his expectations.
The moment Haimer's words fell.
Inaba Tsukuyo, sitting on the bed, gave no answer.
She only suddenly released the hands that had been pinching her robe, letting both arms drop to her sides, pressing them into the sheets beside her for support.
Then, she straightened her upper body slightly and slowly leaned toward Haimer.
Because she was blind.
Inaba Tsukuyo relied entirely on her extremely acute hearing, catching the sound of Haimer's breathing to judge the exact distance between the two of them.
And that wasn't all.
Inaba Tsukuyo shifted her body slightly on the bed, leaning forward bit by bit, drawing closer and closer to Haimer.
She had come very, very close.
Haimer sat where he was, watching the girl's face grow larger and larger in his vision, her long silver eyelashes trembling faintly.
So close that he could even clearly catch the scent of soap lingering on Inaba Tsukuyo from her recent bath, mingled with the faint body fragrance unique to a young girl, drilling straight into his nostrils.
And then.
Inaba Tsukuyo raised her hand and grasped the edge of his collar, gripping that patch of fabric tightly.
Feeling the slight pull transmitted through Inaba Tsukuyo's hands.
Haimer then saw it.
Inaba Tsukuyo tilted her head up slightly, her upper body leaning toward him.
Her lips softly drew near.
And with that.
A faint little sound — "chu."
After lingering briefly for a single second.
Inaba Tsukuyo's face flushed red, and she retreated backward in a fluster.
Then she snatched up the pillow beside her, hugging it tightly to her chest, burying most of her face into it, leaving only her two ears — long since flushed red enough to bleed — exposed on the outside.
She didn't dare move a muscle.
Her cheeks, her neck, and her bare arms turned crimson, as though they had been scalded in boiling water.
The sensation of that fleeting moment still felt a little unreal to Inaba Tsukuyo.
It was as if a thousand bees were buzzing inside her head.
"Th-this is the gift Tsukuyo wanted."
Her voice still came out muffled from within the pillow.
At this, Haimer looked with some surprise at his girl, who had grown so rarely bold.
"Come to think of it, strictly speaking, this doesn't count as a gift from me to Tsukuyo."
"Rather, Tsukuyo has given me a very wonderful gift."
Haimer leaned his body forward slightly, closing the distance between the two of them, and stroked her head.
Feeling Haimer draw near, Inaba Tsukuyo felt that her cheeks were already hot enough to cook an egg.
She lowered her head slightly, her chin pressed against her collarbone, not daring to lift her face at all.
"Later on, I'll make it up to Tsukuyo with a gift of my own."
"O-okay... Kami..."
Hearing these words from Haimer, Inaba Tsukuyo only dared to answer in a faint voice, her tone quivering, at a loss for what to do.
As for Haimer, looking at his girl who was so bashful she wished she could hide herself away, he couldn't help but let out a helpless smile.
Her courage had run dry just like that.
"In that case."
Haimer stood up.
"It's getting late."
"There's still warm milk downstairs." Haimer looked down at her. "Go drink the milk, then head back to your room and get to bed early. Tomorrow you still have to go over to the Loki Familia for special training, so remember to keep your stamina up."
Hearing the sound of Haimer rising to his feet, Inaba Tsukuyo hurriedly stood up as well.
She shifted from the wide bed to its edge, lowered her feet over the side, and slipped on the soft-soled slippers left on the carpet.
Once steady, Inaba Tsukuyo smoothed out the sleeping robe on her body.
"Then... Kami-sama... Tsukuyo will go downstairs first."
Inaba Tsukuyo faced the direction where Haimer was and bent slightly at the waist in a proper, standard bow.
"Mm, go on."
Haimer said.
Inaba Tsukuyo turned around and made her way with small steps toward the door of the master bedroom.
Only, when she reached the door and her hand grasped the metal handle, she paused once more.
"Kami-sama... good night."
Having said this, Inaba Tsukuyo pressed down the handle, pushed the door open, and hurried out. Then, in her fluster, she reached back and pulled the door shut.
"Click."
Out in the hallway.
The corridor's main lights were off, with only a few small wall lamps glowing.
Inaba Tsukuyo leaned against the wall beside the door, both hands pressed tightly over her cheeks.
The warmth radiating into her palms was frighteningly high.
Inaba Tsukuyo closed her eyes and gasped in great mouthfuls of air, trying to calm the heart still pounding wildly within her chest.
She recalled that scene in the room just now.
She had actually taken the initiative to kiss Kami-sama on the cheek.
Something like this, in the past, Inaba Tsukuyo would never have dared to even imagine.
But just now, she had done exactly that.
At this thought, Inaba Tsukuyo bit down on her lower lip, buried her head very low, and leaned against the wall for quite a while.
It wasn't until she touched her still-burning cheeks and felt the heat on her face recede a little that she finally managed to recover.
Only then did the corners of her mouth curve up into a small little arc. And so, holding onto the wooden banister, she made her way all the way downstairs.