1 Alice could definitely feel the sincerity in Mizuno’s words, and that made her really happy.

To be perfectly
2 honest however, Alice was quite worried about their future. Yes, as it currently stands, their relationship
3 has been the best thing that has happened to both of them, but that’s just the thing, because it’s ‘as it
4 currently stands’. Alice has never gotten a proper girlfriend before, so she doesn’t know how it really felt
5 having one, but from her friend’s statement, the first few months will always felt like it’s the best month
6 ever, followed by a month or two of stagnation, before finally a huge conflict after that. That was a
7 statement from someone who only met their loved one around three or four times a week, and in Alice’s
8 case, she’s living with her loved one. She also heard that living together with someone is the quickest way
9 to recognize their flaws, and in extension, make future decision based on that data, which indirectly also
10 means that you’d get to know your partner’s flaw much quicker and much clearer. Despite that, Alice also
11 learned that hardship builds relation, so if the two of them managed to weather it, they’ll be set for life.

12

13 That being said, Alice wasn’t sure if she herself was ready to face the problem with Mizuno, or worse,
14 against Mizuno. Granted, she’s much more mature than Mizuno, but when speaking about love, Alice was
15 just as immature as Mizuno is, or at least that’s how Alice perceived it. Alice can definitely handle being
16 left on the street without any cash, but she’s not that sure if she can handle betrayal, or deceit, or
17 manipulation, especially if Mizuno was the main actress behind it. Alice’s not even sure if she could be the
18 one who’s always on the right side, because her description of a personal space differs from Mizuno.
19 There’s also the fact that some of her interest doesn’t align with Mizuno, so there will come a chance
20 where Alice found someone who she can talk to at length about a certain topic, while leaving Mizuno in
21 the dark. Heck, even unbeknownst to Alice herself, the fact that her video already got shared around
22 means that there will be some inevitable fans in the future, one that might be brave, or reckless, enough
23 to confess in front of Mizuno. It might not happen, but there’s also a chance of stalkers as well.

24

25 “Look forward for the kind of memories we’ll make~” Alice hummed, as she finishes her part of the dishes.
26 “Here then, the rest of the dishes luv! I’ll just go ahead and start to unpack my suitcase” Alice said, as she
27 turned around finding Mizuno hiding her face behind her hand. At first Alice thought it was a cute gesture
28 but then something else caught her eyes; a gnarly and big scar on Mizuno’s palm. It was quite big that she
29 Alice was sure that it wasn’t a kitchen accident, or at least if it was, it would be one really stupid accident.
30 “Oh my- Mizuno what is this scar?” Alice immediately stopped whatever she was doing and grabbed
31 Mizuno’s hand, gently tracing her finger on the scar. Thankfully it’s already an old scar, so there’s no
32 immediate danger, but the fact that it’s there already causes some concern. “What were you doing that
33 made you get this scar, luv? I’m convinced this isn’t cooking related” Alice worriedly ask as she lock gaze
34 with Mizuno. “Unless you were one those idiots who got that avocado hand injury from piercing the
35 avocado’s seed, I’m pretty sure cooking related injury on the palm wouldn’t leave such a nasty scar” Alice
36 continued.

37

38 --------------------------------------------

39
40 Jun’s way of life is quite a unique one. She’s not one to take care of herself, but she’s one to care about
41 the other. The fact that she holds the bushido codes dearly quite reflects this part of her. Not one of the
42 bushido codes talks about taking care of herself, every code there has something to do with how one is
43 perceived by the other, but not how one perceives oneself. Perhaps it’s her escape from reality, by making
44 herself be perceived honorable, burying the festering wounds underneath. It is true that she has lost her
45 purpose, so by helping another, she gave a temporal, or even fake, purpose. Once that illusion is gone,
46 and Jun was left thinking on her own, she’ll just spiral back to that dark side of her. The best course of
47 action, as per usual, was to fulfill her time with something else. Gaming, beating up people, training, all
48 that stuff, as long as she’s not sitting there alone thinking to herself, she’s good, but the problem is still
49 there, it still exists, and there’s no escaping it. How do you solve something as big as finding a life goal
50 though? Usually it would be something that was nurtured since childhood, something that she’ll focus out
51 of the amalgamation of everyone’s dream, and decided it would be her dream.

52

53 But Jun lost sight of those, and doesn’t feel the fire to find it again.

54

55 “Nah, I am weird aneki, no need to care for my feeling on that department” Jun smiled slightly. She knew
56 that she’s not one that most considered normal, so she’s used to the thought. “Well if you want to know
57 even more, pump some alcohol into my blood sometimes, and let it simmer. Within seconds I’d be talking
58 like leaking pipe” Jun chuckled at the idea. Hearing Aoi’s word really shook something inside her however,
59 something that rarely happens before. Most people just ‘accepts’ Jun’s existence, but never got so deep
60 inside her life that she’ll depend on them for help. Jun was never one to rely on someone anyway, but
61 most people usually never regards her as someone who needs help, either because she always looks so
62 reliable, or those who found out about her quirky mental condition doesn’t want to stay around for too
63 long, and since Jun doesn’t always spout all of her mental state out, not a lot of people knew, and not one
64 people stayed around after hearing it. That was why she was sounding quite desperate, because she knew
65 that if she blabbed her mouth, there’s a really high chance that Aoi would get weirded out and avoid her.

66

67 “…..Yeah, I really do” Jun finally replied after a few seconds of silence. Again, Jun’s expression doesn’t
68 show much, but her tone definitely shows that she was a bit shaken, and trying to hold down her tears.
69 She doesn’t cry though, because if she did, she would become a sobbing mess. “Well, I don’t know how
70 you would drag someone up as a koi though. Pretty sure I would just drag you down….. But thanks for the
71 thought” Jun continued, before slapping her face again. “C’mon, we’re not that far from the ramen place.
72 I swear that I’d sound brighter on a full stomach” Jun pointed towards the alley on the far end of the
73 sidewalk. “We just need to go through there, make a right, and the place would be there” Jun explained,
74 as she walked a bit faster, wanting to fill her stomach as soon as possible so that she’ll stop spouting out
75 negative vibe from her mouth. Aoi might say that she doesn’t mind the fact that she’s talking her mind
76 out, but it doesn’t change the fact that by talking all that, Jun just made the situation much more grim
77 that intended, and she doesn’t want to do that, especially since this is the first time they’re out together
78 without the moodmaker Alice, so she can’t screw up THAT much.