Chapter 375: The Thread That Leads Back ( 375 )

"Oi! Ha Joke Kiiii!"

Hazuki snapped from his thoughts, blinking as he glanced up at Ridan, who was floating backward in front of him, facing him with both hands behind his head, wiggling his eyebrows with an annoying grin.

"What!? Can you at least let me enjoy a calm and peaceful moment?"

"Peace?" Ridan wiggled his eyebrows even more, his purple puffball body bobbing up and down in a teasing, wavy motion like a buoy on water. "What peace? You were lost in thought while walking~ What if you trip and eat shit~?"

"Ugh! Super annoying sulking purple puffball." Hazuki groaned loudly, dragging a hand down his face before glancing toward the horizon, both hands shoved inside his pockets.

Ridan landed on top of Hazuki’s head, gripping his hair before leaning down. "So~ thinking about something?"

Hazuki smiled softly, his gaze still fixed on the distant sky. "Yeah."

"Oho~" Ridan’s body swayed left and right in a playful, rhythmic motion, his grin turning cheeky. "Thinking about that catgirl, huh~?"

Hazuki nodded gently, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. "Mm... kinda."

Ridan’s grin stretched even wider, his voice dropping into a teasing, singsong tone.

"Not just thinking about her face, I bet~ Thinking about her body too, huh~? Those soft thighs, that smooth skin, that tight little..."

"Oi!" Hazuki’s face flushed bright red, his hand reaching up to swat at Ridan. "Shut up, you perverted puffball!"

Ridan floated and evaded Hazuki’s hand with a spin, hovering in front of him with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He started moving his hips back and forth in an exaggerated humping motion, his voice dropping into a creepy, teasing tone.

"Mm~ that ass~" He pretended to slap an imaginary butt with his tiny cloud hand, making a loud smack sound with his mouth. "Oh yeah~ right there~"

He switched positions, crouching low and bobbing his body up and down like he was riding something.

"Ooh~ cowboy style~ yeehaw~ ride ’em, girl~"

Hazuki chuckled at first, watching Ridan’s antics before his face turned to the side, glancing toward the beautiful scenery stretching out before them. The rolling hills, the golden sunlight, the soft rustle of the wind through the trees.

"Ridan?"

Ridan paused mid-pose, his body frozen in an awkward cowboy-style position, before he glanced at Hazuki. "What?"

Hazuki smiled softly.

"Do you miss Syaria?"

"Hmm..." Ridan straightened up slowly, his posture shifting. He shrugged, his tiny shoulders rising and falling with a nonchalant wave of his hand. "...Don’t know. I don’t think much about it."

Ridan watched how Hazuki was smiling softly while looking at the horizon, his expression calm and warm. Ridan narrowed his eyes toward Hazuki. "Don’t tell me..."

Hazuki glanced up at Ridan, who was crossing his arms, floating and eyeing him with a narrow, suspicious look. "Hmm? What?"

Ridan floated down until he was right in front of Hazuki’s face, his tone turning teasing and singsong. "You miss that catgirl, don’t you~? That’s why you asked me about Syaria~"

Hazuki’s smile softened, gaze drifting back toward the horizon, a fond, gentle expression settling on his face.

Ridan’s puffball body shuddered, and he jerked backward, pointing at Hazuki. "Oi! This isn’t like the usual you. You’re starting to become weird. Creepy Zuki!"

"W...wha? I’m not!" Hazuki’s face flushed, his hands waving defensively. "And stop adding new nicknames, you sulky puffball!"

Ridan wiggled his eyebrows while floating around Hazuki’s head. "Just admit it~ You miss her, don’t you? If you really miss her, we can go visit her in the Beastkin Nation~"

Hazuki stopped walking, narrowing his eyes toward Ridan before shoving his hands back into his pockets. "We can?"

"Yeah. If you really miss her, there’s no harm in us going sightseeing there again~" Ridan shrugged, his puffball body bobbing casually.

Hazuki chuckled softly, shaking his head before continuing to walk. "I want to... But I already made a promise to her that I’d go see her after I finish all the herb quests."

Ridan floated in silence for a moment, a warm smile crossing his face before he quickly shifted back into his teasing, mocking mode. "Oho~? Since when did you start taking promises seriously, dumbass? Did you hit your head somewhere? Or did that catgirl’s kiss scramble your brain? What happened to the guy who never gave a damn about anything? The one who’d say ’yeah, yeah, whatever’ to everything~"

"Yeah..." Hazuki mumbled, his voice quieter than usual.

He paused, his gaze softening.

"Before... I never took any promise seriously. Never made one, never kept one. If I said I’d do something, I’d just... do it or not, no big deal."

He smiled faintly.

"But after meeting Ellyn... after making that Pinky Promise with her... even though she tricked me, even though she made me think she was still a kid and I’d have to wait eight years..." He let out a low chuckle. "I realized something."

Ridan tilted his head. "What?"

Hazuki’s smile turned gentle, his voice quiet.

"Maybe it’s true what they say. A promise isn’t just words. It’s a thread you tie to someone else. And if you hold onto it long enough, it’ll lead you back to where you’re meant to be."

Ridan stared at him in disbelief before grabbing Hazuki’s face with both of his tiny cloud hands, squeezing his cheeks. "Oi! What happened to my Hazuki!? Did your brain rot somewhere? Or did some wire in your head disconnect!?"

He floated back, waving his hands dramatically. "Do you need magic to fix it? Tell me where it hurts and I’ll fix it for you! Is it here? Here?"

Hazuki swatted at him with a weary exhale, staring up at Ridan who was flailing his arms around. "I’m not! Ugh! So annoying."

"Y... you’re not?"

"Yeah. I’m still me."

Ridan stared at him in silence, his eyes narrowing. Then his face twisted into an exaggerated look of pure disgust, his whole puffball body wobbling like jelly.

"Ewwww! Disgusting."

He floated backward, making a dramatic gagging motion, his whole body shuddering.

"Disgusting! Words like that coming out of the mouth of the guy who never gave a damn about anything! Who are you and what have you done with my dumbass?!" He spun around Hazuki, his voice dripping with mockery. "From now on, you’re not lolizuki anymore. You’re Disgustzuki! The Disgusting Zuki! The Zuki who says gross things! Blerrghh!"

Hazuki groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Ugh! Shut up, Ridan."

( End Of Chapter )