"What are you going to do next? Hide somewhere? Or try to escape to the outside?"
Reze did not answer immediately. Instead, she turned her gaze to the boundless sea. The surface shimmered; sunlight danced with the waves. She watched for a long moment, then lowered her head slightly, lost in thought.
After a while, she finally broke the silence.
"Since you didn't kill me and didn't hand me over to Public Safety, what I do next has nothing to do with you."
Her voice had turned cold—utterly devoid of emotion. Renji ignored the deliberate distance she was putting between them and spoke as if to himself.
"Even though I'm not really into coffee or desserts, I still went to that café every day to see you. I know—I know everything. I'm fully aware that your original intention in approaching me wasn't pure. You're just like those gangsters and devils, aren't you? Your goal was always my… male part."
"But… but so what? I don't care about any of that. I don't care what you did to me. The important thing isn't how things started—it's how they end. Reze, my plan is still the same as I said before. It won't change now, and it won't change in the future. Stay here. Our lives can go on as usual. I'll figure something out. Trust me. I promise, I'll…"
Renji's face flushed slightly. He cleared his throat.
"I… I'll protect you. There's no other reason. It's because I like you—this incorrigible pervert. Just like you like me, this incorrigible…"
"How disgusting."
Before he could finish, Reze stood up and cut him off. Her face twisted with disgust as she spoke coldly.
"Your words are truly nauseating. Did you copy those from somewhere? Or make them up yourself? Either way, the quality is embarrassingly low. That's exactly the kind of lovesick drivel you'd find in trashy comics and romance novels."
Renji froze. His mouth hung open slightly; only a short sound escaped.
"Eh? R-really?"
"You can't even maintain your transformation right now, can you? If I killed you this instant, could you still spout such disgusting things?"
Reze continued her mockery. Renji nodded.
"Yes. I could."
—Pfft—! "Hahahahahahaha!! Hahaha… hahahahahaha…!"
Reze burst out laughing. She laughed for a long time—loudly. So much so that her eyes gradually grew moist, and crystalline tears sparkled at their corners.
"You didn't actually believe what I said before, did you? You thought I really liked you? Why? Because you're a man? Just because you have an extra part compared to ordinary people? You think that makes you special?"
"Reze…?"
"The expressions I showed you—the blushing—those were all lies. I mastered them through practice. And just as expected, you fell for it easily. How foolish."
Reze turned to leave.
"I lost. Fighting you wasted too much time. I'm escaping now. Don't follow me—or I'll kill you."
She turned and walked away. Renji watched her retreating figure. He wanted to beg her to stay, but the words wouldn't come. He feared the answer would be the same—that she'd push him away again.
A powerful sense of helplessness surged in his chest. He ran his hand through his hair, stomped agitatedly in the sand, trying to calm the turmoil inside. It was useless. He gritted his teeth and let out a deep sigh.
"Then let's escape together?"
Reze stopped. She turned to look at him.
"Hm?"
Renji smiled at her.
"I really have no other choice. I can't persuade you at all. Since you won't stay no matter what, I'll go with you. That way, we can look out for each other on the road."
A blush crept back onto Reze's face. Renji looked at her—it was so familiar, so endearing, so beautiful.
But then he sensed something different. This time, the blush was so natural… and then it quickly faded.
Reze's exquisite face returned to its expressionless, icy mask.
"What an idiot. You didn't listen to a word I just said, did you? In one ear and out the other? Still so full of yourself?"
Under Renji's gaze, she turned away again. The distance between them grew. As she walked, a long trail of footprints was left in the sand.
But just then, Reze heard an unusual sound behind her. She stopped, hesitated for a moment, and finally turned her head to look.
She saw Renji's eyes grow hazy, his pupils losing focus. Fresh red blood continuously welled from the corners of his mouth, staining his pale lips a shocking crimson.
His whole body swayed—like a candle flickering in the wind. Finally, he could no longer support himself and collapsed onto the sand.
[Ding~ Detected Reze's puzzled emotional state. System rewards 20 points.]
[Ding~ Detected Reze's fearful emotional state. System rewards 20 points.]
[Ding~ Detected Reze's terrified emotional state. System rewards 20 points.]
...
A strange surge of emotions flooded Reze's heart. They came so fiercely that she reacted almost instinctively, sprinting toward him.
"Renji! Renji! Renji?!"
She called his name anxiously as she reached his side. She knelt, turned him over, and lifted his upper body, beginning to carefully check his condition.
"Why…? Why did this suddenly happen?! Is it…! Is it because of me?! How… how could this be?!"
As her trembling hands fumbled over his chest, she accidentally touched some spot. Renji's eyes flew open; his lips parted, and he spat out another large mouthful of fresh blood.
With the last of his strength, he pushed free from her arms and rolled onto the sand beside her.
He knelt, his back to her, one hand clamped tightly over his mouth as pained groans escaped.
"Renji! Renji! Hold on!"
Reze scrambled to his front again, telling him not to move, to hold on—she hadn't figured out the cause yet.
Renji spat out something else, then extended his hand toward her. With a flick of his wrist—
A vibrant rose appeared in his palm, its faint fragrance drifting on the sea breeze.
"Boom boom boom boom Congratulations, miss! You are the 50th customer of the coffee shop today! This is a gift from the café~"