After a stretch of comfortable silence, broken only by Ichinose's soft, even breaths, Levi finally spoke, his voice low. "Oi, Dola. Is she asleep?"
Riku glanced down at Ichinose, her serene face nestled against his thigh, her long, gradient hair a soft weight. "Yeah. She's asleep."
Levi nodded, his gaze shifting to the entrance of the ruined ship, still shrouded in the pre-dawn gloom. "Good. Then we should talk about… important things."
Riku raised an eyebrow, his gaze questioning. "Why didn't you want to talk about these 'important things' when Ichinose-san was awake?"
Levi snorted, rolling his eyes. "Because, genius, some things are a bit… complicated. We shouldn't be dumping all our weird, life-threatening baggage on some kid who just popped into existence five minutes ago. Let her have a few hours of blissful ignorance before we traumatize her with the realities of our messed-up lives."
Riku looked down at the peacefully sleeping Honami, then back at Levi, then down again, and then back at Levi, a slow dawning of amusement spreading across his face.
Levi, catching Riku's pointed gaze, abruptly unsheathed his already gleaming blade, the polished steel glinting menacingly in the dim light. He fixed Riku with a sharp glare.
Before Riku could utter a single word, a teasing remark about Levi's height already forming on his lips, he thought better of it. Instead, he said, his voice carefully neutral, "Hey, I wasn't making fun of your height, Levi."
Levi's glare remained unwavering for a moment longer before softening slightly. "Good," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Because I really, really hope you weren't." He flicked his wrist, the blade disappearing back into its sheath with a soft click. "Now, about these 'important things'…"
"Levi," Riku said, his gaze steady, "I know you wouldn't actually harm me, even if I did make a joke about your height."
Levi's expression softened slightly, though a mischievous glint remained in his eyes. "Of course I wouldn't, Dola. We've been through too much for that. But," he paused, his gaze flicking towards the peacefully sleeping Ichinose for a brief moment, a subtle implication in his tone, "there are other ways of making you regret ever making fun of me. Ways that might involve… unforeseen social complications."
Riku's brow furrowed. "What exactly are you thinking of doing?"
A sly smile spread across Levi's face. "Well, there's that Starboy back in the village, the one all the girls have a ridiculous crush on. Just imagine the delightful chaos if they were to find out their heartthrob's best friend has already… acquired a wife for himself."
Riku scoffed. "I hope you won't do that levi, Levi. Ichinose-san already loves someone back in her own world, and she'll be sad if you connected her to a man who she doesn't-"
Just then, a soft voice interrupted them. "I don't have a lover." Ichinose, who had appeared to be sleeping soundly, opened her sapphire eyes and looked at them with a calm, if slightly puzzled, expression.
Riku blinked, dumbfounded. He hadn't expected her to be awake and listening. A slow dawning of realization spread across his face. "You… you understood what we were saying?"
Ichinose nodded slightly. "I may not understand all the nuances of your… social dynamics," she said, her gaze flickering between Riku and Levi, "but I can understand the words. And I was not asleep."
Riku sighed, rubbing his temples. "Of course you weren't. Why am I not surprised?" He looked at Honami, a sudden understanding dawning in his eyes."What were you doing before you… came here? Where were you?" Riku asked
Ichinose's expression softened, a hint of anticipation in her eyes. "I was getting ready to go to my new school. The Advanced Nurturing High School. ANHS."
Riku quickly understood, Since she hadn't yet arrived at this "ANHS," the events of her world hadn't fully unfolded. There was no way she would know who this "Ayanokoji" was, and therefore, she likely didn't have a lover yet.
"Well, well, well," Levi said, a wide, mischievous grin spreading across his face, his eyes gleaming with wicked amusement. "Looks like our little pinkie here is a free agent. That changes things, doesn't it, Dola? Perhaps my earlier plan wasn't so far-fetched after all." He leaned closer to Riku, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, though Honami was clearly within earshot. "Imagine the look on Starboy's face when he hears you've snagged a lovely young lady from another dimension. The drama! The heartbreak! Oh, the delicious chaos!"
Riku sighed, rubbing his temples, a familiar weariness washing over him. "Leave it, Levi. I don't have the time or the energy to deal with unnecessary drama. Besides," he continued, his gaze turning serious, "why have you been so… pointed since we arrived here?"
Levi's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a more serious expression. "Don't tell me you're actually going to whine about it like a real brat, Dola."
Riku met Levi's gaze directly. "Is it because I didn't kill the fairies back in the clearing? Even though we had the opportunity."
Riku recounted the fairies' explanation, translating their melodic clicks and whistles into blunt, understandable terms for Levi. He described the Bloom of Everlife, a sacred flower vital to their kind, and the annual ritual they performed under the convergence of the twin moons to channel their life energy into it, ensuring its vitality and the prosperity of their groves. He also relayed the crucial detail about the ritual attracting "unwelcome visitors" – creatures of shadow and hunger drawn to the potent life energy released by the fully bloomed flower.
Levi listened intently, his sharp grey eyes narrowed, his expression hardening with each piece of information. By the time Riku finished, a grim certainty had settled upon his features. "So, they're basically setting up a giant dinner bell for every nasty thing lurking in these woods," Levi stated flatly, his voice laced with a chilling pragmatism. "And these 'unwelcome visitors' sound like the kind of things that would make those overgrown lizards we used to fight look like fluffy bunnies. We had them at our mercy, Dola. One swift move, and the threat would have been neutralized before it even materialized. Killing them wasn't just the right choice; it was the smart choice. We prioritized the potential safety of our village over the lives of a bunch of glowy-winged insects who are practically broadcasting their location to every monster for miles." His argument, stark and survival-driven, held a grim logic that was hard to dismiss.
Riku, his expression serious and unwavering, met Levi's intense gaze. "There is no point in unnecessary bloodshed, Levi. We are not executioners. They were performing a ritual vital to their own survival, a ritual that occurs only once a year. They posed no immediate threat to us." He paused, then revealed his carefully considered plan. "We will change the location of the village. We will pack everything, quietly and efficiently, and settle somewhere else, far from this area and the inevitable fallout of their blooming flower."
Levi stared at Riku, his jaw slack with disbelief. "Move the entire village? Just like that? Dola, do you have any idea the amount of work that entails? The resources, the time… it's insane!"
Riku's gaze was firm. "This is what humanity has always done, Levi. When faced with overwhelming threats, when survival necessitates it, we adapt. We move. We find new ground. We endure. We have done it before, and we will do it again. It may be difficult, but it is a far better alternative than engaging in unnecessary slaughter and potentially making enemies of a magical race whose full capabilities we don't even understand. We will pack, we will move, and we will survive." His voice held a quiet conviction that brooked no argument.