After seeing Mei off, the sky had darkened a little more.
Shiraha was just about to go comfort Elysia-nee when the door was pushed open again.
It was Rin... but those eyes were pale purple, not the pale blue tinged with cyan of Rin's, it was probably Yae Sakura.
"Rin-nee?"
Yae Sakura was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Shiraha gave a clean, bright smile: "What's wrong, Rin-nee? Is something about the room uncomfortable?"
Yae Sakura seemed to hesitate, as if wanting to say something. Every time she saw this child smile so brightly, she felt a pang of guilt, this much kindness made her feel genuinely undeserving.
Rin let out a cold laugh from inside the Stigma space. Yae Sakura quickly spoke up: "You've worked hard these past few days."
Ok, confirmed. It's Yae Sakura.
Shiraha tilted his head.
Yae Sakura added: "I might have been a bit willful these past few days."
Rin started laughing coldly again. Shiraha couldn't help but want to laugh too, Sakura-nee, are you expecting Rin to have a sudden change of heart and become a good child by saying that now?
—
"It's okay. Though I don't know exactly what Rin-nee has been through, after over 50,000 years have passed, I'm actually pretty happy to see that she's still kept such a childlike heart."
"It means that at least in recent years, Rin-nee has been relatively happy."
At the very least, Shiraha wasn't facing the Herrscher of Corruption who'd been locked in a dark room for 50,000 years.
Yae Sakura was startled. The fox spirit had lived how many years?
A great yōkai who'd lived over 50,000 years, had she been sealed away by Kallen?
And also...
"Recent years... happy?"
Yae Sakura murmured softly, perhaps not even speaking to Shiraha.
Rin didn't answer.
But compared to that previous life of utter darkness, the five hundred years of bickering, fighting, and loving-hate with Yae Sakura had at least made her somewhat human.
Yae Sakura was quiet for a moment: "I might be willful sometimes. Shiraha, please bear with me a little."
Rin sneered: "Asking a little kid to bear with you?"
Shiraha was quiet for a moment too, then nodded: "I'll definitely take good care of you in place of Sakura-nee, that's the promise of big kid Shiraha."
He stood on the bed, which made up for his lack of height.
Yae Sakura's smile was poignant: "Then I'll be in your care from now on, Little Shiraha."
She reached out and gently ruffled Shiraha's hair... as she left the room, Yae Sakura still seemed dazed, her smile bittersweet.
It wasn't that she didn't sympathize with the fox spirit but in the fox spirit's heart, what she'd done in Yae Village was actually something that made her happy.
After seeing Yae Sakura off, Shiraha stood at the door for a moment. Once he was sure no one else was coming, he started to close it.
"Nee-chan, don't be upset—"
"Shiraha!"
Another call.
Shiraha's lips twitched.
In the corner, Elysia grew even more melancholic. Her little brother was certainly busy, wasn't he? Just a little while ago, Little Shiraha had been holding her and saying, "Your little brother may be short on everything, but never on time."
Sigh. Little liar.
But Shiraha couldn't exactly turn this one down.
"Uncle Ryoma, I'm here."
He turned around, his face already switching naturally to that well-behaved smile.
Outside, the sky had gone completely dark. Ryoma Raiden's expression was gentle, when facing Shiraha, he was never as stern as he was in front of Mei.
Whether it was to maintain his image in front of his daughter or to play the cool dad, who knew.
Ryoma Raiden glanced at the decor inside Shiraha's room: "Shiraha, how old are you again?"
"Nine."
Shiraha's age was easy to remember, he was an orphan born in 2000, and it was now 2009, so he was nine. Mei was twelve.
"Nine years old..." Ryoma Raiden was silent for a moment. Nine was far too young, he felt a bit awkward bringing up matters of love.
He patted Shiraha's shoulder: "Shiraha, have you ever thought about what kind of person you want to become in the future?"
What kind of person?
Shiraha thought for a long time, even glancing at the melancholy fairy girl inside the room.
He answered seriously: "I want to become someone like Uncle Ryoma, someone who can handle everything in life!"
He hoped that his future standing in the world would be like Ryoma Raiden's standing in Nagazora City.
He couldn't even scale it up to the Far East, because that wouldn't be enough for Shiraha.
Ryoma Raiden paused, forcing down a smile at the corner of his mouth. This time, he asked more directly: "What I mean is, have you thought about what kind of wife you want to marry in the future?"
Shiraha was taken aback. Asking a kid that?
Oh, right a lot of adults did like asking children that kind of question.
He wrestled with it for a long time: "Ideally, someone like Elysia-nee."
Warm and cheerful, able to take a joke, and really strong! Or at least with great potential!
Ryoma Raiden: ....
Good news: Shiraha didn't seem to like Kiana or that miko Rin.
Bad news: It seemed Shiraha's preference wasn't exactly human.
Ryoma Raiden suddenly asked: "What do you think of Himeko? Is she pretty?"
Shiraha's mind went blank. Uncle Ryoma, what are you doing?
He answered instinctively: "Yeah, she's pretty."
Good. That's fine then.
Ryoma Raiden breathed a sigh of relief. He patted Shiraha's shoulder: "Alright then. From now on, play with more classmates at school. Don't spend all your time with your ghost friend, you need to have a life of your own too."
Shiraha nodded obediently. Whether he actually took it to heart, that was another matter.
After seeing Ryoma Raiden off, Shiraha looked around again and spotted Kiana still rummaging through the fridge. He waited a moment.
When Kiana came upstairs and saw Shiraha, she blinked. She hesitated, then handed him half a piece of bread: "You want some too?"
Shiraha shook his head. Kiana walked past him with a puzzled look, and when she reached her own door, she glanced back at him in disbelief, Shiraha was still standing there.
"Are you waiting for someone?"
"I'm waiting for you to go into your room."
Kiana: ?
Shiraha: "..."
Kiana went back to her room in a daze.
The Raiden estate finally fell quiet... oh, wait.
No, there was still one more.
Sure enough, Siegfried came upstairs a moment later. Shiraha continued to watch him silently, which made Siegfried feel a little uneasy.
"Kid, do you need something?"
"No. Go to sleep, Uncle Siegfried."
As Siegfried closed his door, it belatedly hit him, what did that brat just call me?
Uncle?
Hadn't he always called me by my name directly?
But when he turned around, Shiraha had already shut his door.
Siegfried: ....
Inside the room.
Shiraha casually turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness. The fluorescent stars on the ceiling slowly began to glow.
"Alright, Nee-chan." He sighed, a hint of weariness in his voice: "I admit it, I was pretty busy today."
He walked over to the bed.
Elysia was still curled up in the corner, only her starry eyes visible, distinct enough for Shiraha to make out in the dim light.
"I thought you'd forgotten about me," Elysia's voice was muffled, carrying a hint of grievance.
Her little brother didn't even have an abundance of time anymore, the one thing he was supposed to have plenty of.
"How could I? Just some simple little things." Shiraha leaned against her, yawned, and nuzzled her shoulder: "Nee-chan..."
His voice grew softer and softer.
Elysia cut in decisively: "Go to sleep."
Today, she decided she wouldn't be willful or clingy. She had all the time in the world anyway...
And the all-powerful fairy girl, it seemed the only thing she could do for her little brother right now was this.