Dong—
Dong—
The long, lingering sound of the bell echoed from the distance once more.
Sophie instinctively looked up.
The setting sun had already sunk to the edge of the city walls.
The golden-red glow covering the rooftops of Silvervein City was rapidly fading. On both sides of the streets, vendors were busy packing up their goods, and lamplighters walked briskly with long poles, lighting the candles inside the brass lanterns one by one.
Pedestrians returning home also grew hurried.
Companion leashes were gripped tight, one after another.
Parents held onto their children, and merchants left in groups, pushing their wooden carts. Even the laborers unloading cargo by the docks accelerated their pace after confirming their companions' locations.
Twilight was nearly over.
And in Solitude.
The night was never a suitable time for a stroll.
Once that crimson moon rose, the moonlight would turn into a curse that devoured the lonely. Any living being not in physical contact with another would turn to ash under the moon's shadow.
Not even a fragment of bone would remain.
“It’s getting dark.”
Sophie looked toward the distant horizon.
“Why don't we call it a day?”
“Is Elder Brother tired?”
“Well, not exactly tired.”
Sophie glanced at Fueno beside her.
“It’s just that if we keep walking, I’ll be eaten by the moon.”
“Elder Brother can hold me~ for as long as you like.”
“I need to maintain a healthy sleep schedule,” Sophie said righteously.
“I see.”
Shironaka Fueno gave a soft laugh.
She looked up at the sky on the other side of Silvervein City.
The eastern horizon had already been dyed a faint dark red.
That crimson crescent moon had not yet fully appeared; only a corner of it peeked out, yet its cold and eerie radiance was already eagerly seeping out from behind the horizon, like some colossal beast about to open its eyes.
Shironaka Fueno raised her right hand.
She lightly crooked her index finger.
“Then let the world put on an encore for Elder Brother.”
Sophie was stunned.
In the next moment.
Countless deep blue silk threads extended from Shironaka Fueno’s fingertips.
At first, the threads were only as thick as a strand of hair, but they surged upon leaving the girl's fingertips. They crossed the canals, the rooftops, and the high spires of Silvervein City, flying toward the distant horizon like a giant net that covered the sky.
The sky darkened for a moment.
The rising crimson crescent moon suddenly stopped.
Billions of blue threads wrapped around the edge of the lunar disk.
They sank deep into the crimson moonlight and, with a sudden tightening of Shironaka Fueno’s fingers, dragged the crescent moon back below the horizon inch by inch.
Click.
Click, click.
It wasn't that time was reversing; rather, the sunset and the moon were both temporarily halted.
The last glimmer of dusk covering Silvervein City did not continue to dissipate.
Twilight was putting on an encore.
Pedestrians on the street stopped in their tracks.
The lamplighters looked up in confusion.
Even the citizens rushing home couldn't help but pause and look at the sky, where the golden-red afterglow still lingered.
Sophie: “Incredible...”
Where did Little Dino get all these mechanics?
She clearly wasn't this powerful before.
“Little Dino.”
“Yes?”
“Won't doing this... cause some trouble?”
“It won't be delayed for long,” Fueno said. “It's just extending the performance time a bit.”
She withdrew her gaze and looked back at Sophie.
“Besides.”
“As I said before, no one else will disturb me and Elder Brother.”
...
The stroll along the river continued.
Shironaka Fueno gently took Sophie’s right hand.
Slender fingers naturally fell between the gaps of her own.
“Can Elder Brother still speak?” Shironaka Fueno chuckled.
“If it's Little Dino, it's normal, right?” Sophie said nonchalantly.
“And why do you insist on circling around just to hold my right hand?”
“Because the left hand was already held by Miss Knight.”
“...”
“Even though all the wrinkles, scents, and traces of contact that shouldn't be there will be cleaned away, Dino doesn't want to hold it for now.”
“Didn't you say you only see her as scenery along the way and don't care?”
“Elder Brother misunderstands.”
Shironaka Fueno gave a sweet smile.
“I just find it repulsive.”
The two continued walking along the riverbank.
Sophie thought for a moment, then suddenly pulled her right hand away and offered her left hand to Fueno.
“Aren't they both my hands?”
Fueno took a glance.
“I'm not holding it.”
“Just hold it once.”
“No.”
“Little Dino, be good.”
Shironaka Fueno smiled and reached out, gently pushing Sophie’s left hand back.
“Elder Brother is the one who should be good.”
Sophie thrust her left hand out again.
Fueno pushed it back.
Thrust it out.
Push it back.
On the third time, Sophie took advantage of Fueno’s lack of attention and grabbed her palm.
“Caught you!”
“...”
Shironaka Fueno looked down at their interlaced left hands.
Sophie was triumphant.
“See? There’s no difference at all.”
“Is that so?”
Shironaka Fueno tilted her head, then stepped forward and hugged Sophie.
“Elder Brother doesn't want to be princess-carried in the middle of the street, does he? I'm even a bit shorter than Miss Knight.”
Sophie: “...”
A supreme humiliation.
Why? Why was everyone bullying her today?
Was she some kind of soft, fragrant little cake? If they mess with Sophie once, well, they've certainly messed with Sophie once!
A speechless Sophie let Fueno take her right hand again.
“Childish.”
Sophie commented.
“Yes.” Fueno nodded gently. “Elder Brother is very childish.”
“I meant you!”
Fueno didn't answer; she just pursed her lips, a successful smile on her face.
Rate on N.U.
