"I'm back! What are you making? Curry?"
Uesugi Ryu's nose twitched slightly as a unique aroma filled the room.
"Welcome home, Uesugi-sama!"
Yasuhisa Nashiro greeted him while wearing oven mitts, carrying a large pot of curry to the dining table.
"Looks pretty good."
"Akira!"
After praising the meal, Uesugi Ryu headed straight for the kitchen in search of Mado Akira.
"Akira?"
Not seeing her, he turned to Yasuhisa Kurona and asked in confusion,
"Kurona, is Akira not home?"
Kurona finished scooping the rice before answering.
"Akira-nee seems to be in the study. She's probably reading."
"The study?"
Uesugi Ryu froze.
Then he suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, shit. I forgot to clean up!"
He immediately rushed toward the study in a panic. Just as he was about to push the door open, Mado Akira stepped out.
Uesugi Ryu coughed lightly and quickly asked,
"Akira, what were you doing in there?"
Mado Akira slowly raised the copy of One-Eyed King in her hand and said calmly,
"It's getting late. Let's eat."
One look at her expression told Uesugi Ryu that she had definitely found the letter.
That calmness was merely the silence before the storm.
Just as he was about to explain, Mado Akira had already turned and walked toward the dining room.
"If I keep putting this off again, I'm a dog."
Uesugi Ryu was already wondering how to explain everything. Sooner or later, he would have to tell Mado Akira.
Yasuhisa Kurona respectfully placed a bowl filled with curry in front of Mephisto.
"Mephisto-sama, please enjoy."
Mephisto waved a wing and praised her.
"Very spirited. Excellent service today."
At that moment, Mado Akira and Uesugi Ryu passed by him one after the other before taking their seats at the table.
Mephisto casually greeted Uesugi Ryu.
"Good evening."
Since the Yasuhisa sisters could not eat curry, they were simply eating plain rice. Even so, it was delicious enough.
Soon, silence filled the dining room as everyone focused on eating.
Mephisto ate quickly. Halfway through, he suddenly shrieked.
"Too spicy!"
He shot into the air and flew straight into the kitchen.
"Milk! Milk!"
Everyone watched as Mephisto crashed into the refrigerator in a frantic search for milk.
The sight made the Yasuhisa sisters and Mado Akira burst into laughter.
But seeing Mado Akira smile only made Uesugi Ryu more uneasy. Even the delicious food suddenly tasted bland.
Dinner soon ended, and the Yasuhisa sisters cleaned up the dishes.
With a dishwasher, it did not take much effort. They only needed to load everything inside.
Mado Akira turned and quickly walked into the bedroom.
Uesugi Ryu followed immediately behind her. The dull thud of the door hitting the wall made his heart skip.
He looked at her. In the reflection of the glass, he could see her fingers tightly gripping the curtains.
Mado Akira suddenly spoke, her voice taut like a drawn string.
"How much longer can you stay?"
Uesugi Ryu reached out toward her shoulder, only to stop halfway and pull back.
"Akira, listen to me. That..."
"How long?"
Her grip on the curtain tightened further.
"I have a way to take you with me. I won't leave you behind."
Faced with her question, Uesugi Ryu answered immediately.
Mado Akira suddenly looked up. Her reddened eyes made his breathing catch.
He stepped forward at once and pulled her into his arms.
Mado Akira's hand trembled as it clutched his collar. Tears slid silently from the corners of her eyes.
It had taken her a long time to force herself to accept this reality.
She looked up at Uesugi Ryu's determined expression, her voice shaking slightly.
"I'm so scared. Don't go... please?"
Not everyone could accept leaving their world behind for an unknown life in another realm. Mado Akira also feared becoming a burden to him.
The moment she said it, she already regretted it.
She rose onto her toes and kissed him.
Uesugi Ryu had just opened his mouth to speak when her soft lips pressed against his.
The salty taste of tears mixed with a citrus fragrance on his tongue.
"Mmm... mm..."
He had more to say, but with his mouth occupied, he could only give up.
Mado Akira suddenly pulled back and looked at him seriously, breathing heavily.
"At least leave me something I can hold on to..."
Her fingers tightened around his collar until her knuckles turned white. Moonlight flowed along her collarbone, gathering into trembling pools of light against her chest.
A sudden shove made the mattress creak softly.
Uesugi Ryu sank into the sheets, feeling that somehow, their roles had gotten reversed.
Mado Akira's hair was disheveled. Her tear-washed eyes gleamed brilliantly, and her damp lashes cast delicate shadows beneath them.
She wore only a simple white shirt. Under the moonlight, her beautiful curves were fully revealed before him.
Uesugi Ryu fell silent.
He avoided her pounce, then wrapped an arm around her slender body and drew her close.
At some point, a ring had appeared in his hand. The cool metal rested against Mado Akira's heated palm.
She froze.
Moonlight glimmered off the pink gemstone set within it.
"Wear this. While I'm away, it'll protect you."
Uesugi Ryu gently took her trembling hand and slipped the ring onto her finger.
The moment it settled on her ring finger, Mado Akira felt a warm current flow through her body.
She instantly felt stronger.
She recognized the ring immediately.
Uesugi Ryu had worn it for a long time.
The ring automatically adjusted itself to fit her finger perfectly, tightening snugly around it.
Mado Akira could feel energy stored within the ring, and she knew exactly where that energy had come from.
Her cheeks flushed red.
She casually grabbed a hair tie from the bedside table and tied her smooth golden hair behind her head.
Uesugi Ryu placed both hands behind his head. His bright golden eyes shone brilliantly in the dim room.
The pounding heartbeat beneath the shirt was impossible to distinguish from whose it was, mixing together with Mado Akira's muffled, nasal sounds.
"Eek! Who uses a wedding ring... as a protective charm..."
Neither of them slept that night.
And they were not the only ones.
Next door, the Yasuhisa sisters clung tightly to each other as they listened to the unusual noises.
Yasuhisa Kurona's face was flushed.
"So that's why they went to bed so early..."
Yasuhisa Nashiro looked at her sister in confusion.
"What are they doing?"
Kurona did not answer.
She simply grabbed the blanket and pulled it over both their heads.
The following afternoon, sunlight filtered gently through the curtains into the thoroughly ravaged room.
Uesugi Ryu sat by the window, looking completely refreshed despite not sleeping all night.
Mado Akira slept deeply on the bed. Under the sunlight, two intoxicating blushes colored her pale cheeks.
Faint tear marks remained on her exquisite face, while a happy smile lingered on her lips.
The Pharmacist's Treasure had another effect besides healing injuries: Constitution +1.
After spending the entire night "sneak attacking" someone, both stamina and energy had been heavily consumed.
But with Uesugi Ryu's monstrous physique, it was hardly worth mentioning.
A tattered white shirt lay discarded on the floor.
After taking a sip of water, Uesugi Ryu quietly left the room.