Jhin awoke from the dream. He sat up and saw the five amulets beside his hand, then tied one of them around Kokkoro's fair, pale wrist, making a promise to her as she lay in her endless slumber: "I'll find a way to kill that red dragon and wake you up, no matter what it takes."
Now that he had a new goal, he decided to set out for the Red Dragon Volcano at once. But before that, he still needed to explain to his remaining companions where he was going and why, and hand the amulets over to them.
Perhaps when Eris had summoned him into the dream, she had also used her divine power to wipe away his mental exhaustion—because right now Jhin felt utterly refreshed, and even the thick dark circles beneath his eyes had vanished.
He was just about to step out of Kokkoro's bedroom when he caught sight of his own stubble-covered face in the vanity mirror. So he stopped, took a razor out of his storage space, and gave himself a proper grooming before finally pushing open the door and walking out.
Hearing the commotion on his end, Megumin and Pecorine came rushing over. Looking at Jhin, whose haggardness had been completely swept away, their faces lit up with delighted surprise: "Jhin! Don't tell me Kokkoro woke up?"
His gaze dimmed slightly as he shook his head in denial: "Not yet. But I've already found a way to wake her. Take these two amulets and keep them on you at all times."
"This is..."
The two of them took the amulets from his hands, faces full of confusion.
"I'm about to take Kyaru on a long journey. All you need to do is give Kokkoro water on schedule. The life force I left inside her body can sustain her health for three months. These amulets will guarantee your safety—if you see one glowing, don't hesitate, just take Kokkoro and leave immediately. You know how to pack up the Capsule House. If a monster catches up to you, then huddle together; the amulet will unfold a shield and send you straight to my side."
"You—what exactly are you planning to do? Why won't you take me, and instead take Kyaru?!" Megumin stuffed the amulet carelessly into her pocket and angrily demanded an answer from Jhin in a loud voice.
She was his partner-in-crime, after all. For something this obviously important, he chose not to bring her along?
As for Kyaru, Megumin still harbored a fair bit of resentment in her heart—Kyaru could be counted as one of the main culprits behind the Gourmet Edifice ending up like this.
Betrayal was forever the most taboo thing in every guild across the continent of Astraea.
That Megumin could tolerate her staying in the house like this was already on account of Jhin speaking up for her. She believed that since they were companions, then when times were hard they should turn to one another for help—not keep everything to themselves, and then, after being threatened, voluntarily drag a companion into danger. Wasn't behavior like that just a complete lack of trust in them?
"I know you still hold dissatisfaction toward Kyaru, but I'm taking her away with me to prevent that monster from leaving some contingency planted in her that could threaten you all."
"And besides, your Explosion magic won't be the slightest bit useful against this particular target."
"Tch... damn it, isn't it just other kinds of magic? It's not like I don't have skill points... I... I'll learn it right now and show you!" Megumin was deeply unwilling to be useless to the person she loved at a time like this. Shouting loudly, she pulled an attribute card out of her pocket—only for Jhin to grab the left hand holding it.
Under Pecorine's wide, staring eyes, he gently kissed Megumin's moist lips. It was as though he were kissing cola-flavored jelly. Watching those crimson eyes burst with a brilliance they'd never shown before, and watching faintly salty tears flow out of them, he finally ended the kiss and wiped her tears away with his thumb.
"All you need to do is keep advancing toward the strongest Explosion magic in the world. Isn't that your dream? Don't just casually give it up."
"I... you..." Megumin choked up, unable to get out a single complete sentence. Her feelings had been answered, yet she had to watch her lover set off on a journey where everything was unknown—it was simply too cruel.
But she quickly composed herself, responding to Jhin with a resolute kiss.
"I'll wait for you at home. You absolutely have to come back. If you die, then I'll go study dark magic, drag you out of hell, and imprison you inside a Familiar so that you can never leave my side for the rest of your life!"
"So that you won't go learning other kinds of magic, I will definitely come back."
"If you're leaving, then hurry up and go. Stop dawdling around here—I'm going back to my room to drink cola!" Megumin kicked him, neither lightly nor hard, then turned and walked away.
"Megumin... she'll probably keep crying, won't she..." Pecorine murmured softly, gazing at the closed door.
Jhin shook his head and told her in a certain tone: "She's stronger than you think."
"When did the two of you become this kind of couple? I only just noticed now."
"I'll tell you when I get back."
"Mm! Then... I wish you a safe journey." Pecorine waved at him with a gentle smile, then walked into Kokkoro's bedroom.
Jhin turned his head and spoke toward the corner of the staircase: "You've been listening for quite a while now—shouldn't you go pack your things and get ready to set out with me?"
"Understood." Kyaru's numb voice rang out together with her footsteps. It didn't take her long to change clothes and arrive at the entryway, where she looked at the amulet being handed to her in confusion: "This thing... why are you giving it to me?"
Wasn't an amulet like this a very important item? Why give it to her, who was nothing more than a tool herself?
"Just take it!"
Jhin forcefully stuffed the amulet into her hand. His attitude toward Kyaru was just as complicated. On the one hand, she had once been a companion he trusted; on the other, she was the person who had indirectly led to Kokkoro being attacked.
Exactly what kind of reason had driven her to betray companions she'd lived alongside day and night, he had no way of knowing. But judging from the ruthless, leave-no-roots methods of that mastermind behind the scenes, it likely wasn't a pleasant reason either.
He decided to leave the decision of whether to forgive her in Kokkoro's hands. If she chose to forgive Kyaru after waking up, then they would treat the whole matter as if it had never happened.
If she didn't forgive her, then Jhin would follow his previous approach and use Kyaru as a tool to hunt down [What Heads Toward Death], even though he wasn't very willing to treat her that way.
If only he had a spare personal terminal right now...
Thinking this, Jhin grew even more determined to ramp up the production of personal terminals. If he had a spare one, he could head to the Red Dragon Volcano with Kyaru with peace of mind—no matter how far away he was, he'd still be able to contact Megumin and Pecorine.
Pulling his thoughts back, he called out to Kyaru, who stood there blankly clutching the amulet: "Let's go. Stop standing here zoning out."
"Mm."
As the front door closed, Megumin and Pecorine came out from the room and watched through the living room window as the two of them slowly departed.
Megumin held her cup and took a sip of cola. Her once-favorite drink tasted utterly bland at this moment. She muttered under her breath: "I remember there's a training method that refines magic power by suppressing the fluctuations of one's mana... Pecorine, I'll have to trouble you to look after Kokkoro for a while!"
"Mm, leave it to me."
____
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