**Episode 016: Honest Feelings of an Unassuming Girl (Different Perspective)**

■ Yukki Yuna’s Side

―Clang

The gate and outer wall lost their gaps, and the school gate closed completely. It meant parting ways with him. I watched him move away from the school gate.

“Big sister, this.”

My sister ran up to me and showed me something she held in her hand. It was a piece of paper with a phone number and what seemed to be the ID for the LINGU talk app.

“What’s this?”

“He said,If you’re in trouble, contact him. And if that’s not possible, go to the shrine on top of that mountain; Koutaro will be there.”

Hearing my sister’s words, I couldn’t help but be moved to tears.

He protected us at the risk of his own life. When we fell and were about to be caught by that monster, we thought we would undoubtedly die. If he hadn’t come to our rescue, we would have been consumed by shadows just like our grandparents.

I shivered as I remembered.

I feel embarrassed that I wished he had come even faster. Moreover, he didn’t get angry at me for saying such things; instead, he apologized to me.

It’s not his fault that he couldn’t save Grandpa and Grandma…

They are no longer here. But I can’t just mourn. The monster is still out there. We can’t let our guard down until we secure a safe place.

Moreover, when they let us go, they told us to live. Even in this changed world, I believe that surviving to the best of our abilities is the way to repay them.

He taught us that way.

He generously gave us the equipment he obtained, even leveled us up.

On top of that, he brought us to this evacuation site, and unbelievably, he gave us his contact information and address in case we needed help.

What’s even more surprising is that he didn’t ask for anything in return. I had been cautious, thinking he might ask for something in return until the end, but he handed over his contact information and left without asking for anything.

I’ve never met a man like him before.

Usually, those who approach us are only interested in our appearance or bodies. We’ve even been involved in incidents that resembled kidnapping. Fortunately, a few groups happened to pass by and saved us at that time.

Since then, I’ve been scared of men and considered them filthy beings.

But he, in the end, didn’t ask for anything in return for the help he provided.

My perception of men has been completely shaken.

“…He’s kind, though a bit perverted.”

“Yeah. Koutaro is incredibly kind but a bit lecherous. It’s unavoidable because he’s a man.”

However, he being a bit lecherous is something I know from his gaze toward us.

He may think he averts his eyes before our eyes meet, and he might not be aware that he looked at us as if drawn to our bodies.

Before, a man’s gaze was nothing but unpleasant to me. However, strangely, I didn’t feel uncomfortable with his gaze.

“Hey!! Yukki, hurry up and come!!”

As we indulged in such sentiments, an unpleasant voice reached us.

This guy is also one of those men who direct unpleasant glances at us. He probably sees women as tools for his sexual needs.

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

We followed him, suppressing our expressions.

“But big sister, was it really okay?”

“What do you mean?”

Kana asked me in a low voice, but I didn’t understand what she was referring to.

“To not go with him. You were about to say that earlier, right?”

“~~!?”

However, with my sister’s continued words, I recalled it, and it was a hit. I stared at my sister in amazement.

“Why do you know? Oh, right, you would know; we’re twins. How long do you think we’ve been together in our lives?”

“That’s true…”

Understanding what I was saying through my gaze and understanding what I was going to say to him, being twins and sharing the same length of life as with life itself, was only natural.

Moreover, today, having experienced the same things and feeling the same emotions, there was no way she wouldn’t understand my thoughts.

“So? Was it really okay?”

“Yeah. Honestly… honestly, I wanted to go with him.”

If possible, I wanted to go with him and be of help.

However, I couldn’t do that.

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you?”

When I confessed my true feelings, my sister tilted her head in wonder.

“Because if I went with him now, I’d just be a hindrance.”

“That’s… ”

In response to my answer, my sister was at a loss for words, quickly understanding what I was saying.

As expected of my sister.

“Kana also understood, right? That he is unbelievably strong.”

“Yeah.”

We were aware of his abnormal strength. Even though he should have awakened at a timing not much different from us, he had the strength to overwhelm that shadow monster alone.

I’m sure he called it a Shadow. From now on, we’ll call it that too.

“But, we were clearly becoming a burden to him. In that case, he couldn’t move freely. He seems to have some goal and was getting anxious. We were in the way of achieving his goal.”
“That’s true.”
Even with his overwhelming strength, if he had two burdens, he would have to be quite careful in his actions. In such a situation, he might not be able to achieve his goal.

The atmosphere seemed tense, and he looked like he was in a hurry. I didn’t want to be a hindrance to him.

“Besides, if we had said we would go with him, I think he would have accepted it despite looking troubled. I didn’t want to burden such a kind person like him.”
“That’s right. If we fulfill the obligation of being brought this far, Koutaro can part ways with us with a clear conscience. Then, he can achieve his goal without any worries.”
“Exactly. That’s why I parted ways here.”
“I see. I understand. You’re considering those aspects properly. Even though in front of Koutaro, you become such a wreck.”

Kana, satisfied with my explanation, then smirked and teased me about how I acted in front of him.

“Don’t say that!!”

Remembering the various embarrassing moments in front of him, I unintentionally shouted loudly. Jumping away from him, freezing when touched, adopting a prickly attitude—all those reactions were because being near him made my heart pound so much that I felt like I was going crazy.

Kana knew that and was teasing me.

“Hey!! What are you chattering about!? Quietly follow along!!”

The guy, Kurabayashi, who was walking in front, noticed I was talking to someone and yelled at me. I had just started to feel good about remembering him, and now I felt truly annoyed.

“Wait… we got scolded by him.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

I whispered to Kana in a low voice, and she smiled wryly, clasping her hands in front of her face and bowing down as if pleading.

“Sigh… Let’s just hope this evacuation site is a good place.”

After exhaling a sigh of exasperation, I looked up at the school building. It was nearing the time when the sun would set, and the building looked eerie in the twilight, as if foreshadowing our future.