"I'm telling you, Pendragon, nights are usually for resting, right?"
"Yes."
"Dinner, a bath, then sleep, or watching TV."
"Yes."
"So why… are we out patrolling at this hour?"
On a street in Fuyuki City, Naoki grumbled to Artoria beside him, as if he couldn't take it anymore.
It was eleven o'clock at night. Several hours had passed since they finished dinner with Manaka. Normally, Naoki would already be lying in bed, fast asleep, but tonight, right after his bath, Artoria dragged him out of the house.
[Since we don't know when a monster will appear, we need to patrol Fuyuki City to be ready to strike immediately]—that was more or less the reason.
Plus, tomorrow was Saturday, no school, so Artoria took Naoki out to patrol the streets at night.
Though Naoki was a thousand times unwilling. He was ready to fight monsters and would take it seriously when the time came, but right now, he just wanted to sleep—it was eleven at night!
Facing Naoki's complaints, Artoria could only encourage him. "Hold on a bit longer, Master. You don't want to be woken up to fight a monster while sleeping, do you?"
"If that happens, I'd be so mad I'd beat the monster half to death with my fists, no beam needed."
Disturbing someone's sleep could enrage the heavens and earth!
"By the way, those monsters don't appear every day?"
"Every day… why would you think that, Master?"
"Well… in Ultraman, it's like that, right? A monster shows up now and then. You defeat one today, and another pops up tomorrow or the day after."
Artoria sighed slightly. "It's not like that, Master. The monsters' appearances don't follow a pattern. We can't prevent them; we can only stop them as quickly as possible when they show up."
"So, we're really in for a tough time. Every day will be like this?"
"I think so."
Spare me—Naoki felt the pressure on his shoulders grow heavier.
"Do monsters only appear at night?"
"Not sure, they could appear during the day too. Since only one has shown up so far, we can't confirm any pattern."
So, they might have to fight a monster in the middle of class, during a meal, or while in the bathroom… Naoki sincerely hoped a monster wouldn't appear then; he didn't want to rush out mid-toilet.
As they talked, they reached a park.
Buying two cans of soda from a vending machine, Naoki tossed one to Artoria and sat on a bench. "Let's take a break here. We've been walking for hours; let me rest a bit."
"Thank you for your hard work, Master."
Sitting beside Naoki, Artoria opened her drink and took a sip. Watching her, after a brief pause, Naoki suddenly asked, "What did you and Manaka talk about?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"When you two went to the supermarket. You must've talked about something… Well, if it's not something you can share, that's fine. I was just asking casually."
The topic from the supermarket?
[Pendragon-san, I like Naoki, I really like him.]
Manaka's words flashed in Artoria's mind. Somehow, she slowly said, "Love."
"Huh? Love? Love what?"
"Sajyou said… she really likes you."
After hesitating, Artoria told the truth. Hiding it further… felt pointless. Manaka hadn't forbidden her from telling, and with their relationship, it would come out sooner or later anyway.
Especially with the monsters.
After much thought, Artoria felt it was better to push it forward. "She said that, she really likes you."
*CLANG!*
Naoki froze in place, as if rooted, the soda can slipping from his hand and hitting the ground with a clatter that snapped him back. He hurriedly bent down to pick it up.
Opening the can and taking a sip, trying hard to calm himself, Naoki gave a faint smile. "You, you're joking, right? Manaka would say that to you? You girls sure love talking about romance—"
"I'm not lying. I can confirm, Sajyou definitely likes you, Master. She wasn't lying about that." Artoria looked at Naoki and said, "You… should've noticed a little, right? No, you must know. I'm not joking."
"…"
Silently sipping his drink, Naoki paused for a moment before saying, "Why… did you two talk about something like that?"
"It seems she thought our closeness made her misunderstand. I've already explained it to her."
"The monster thing?"
"I didn't mention that. Like you, I only told her what she could understand—anyway, how will you respond to Sajyou's feelings? Master, do you like her?"
Like Manaka?
Not answering directly, Naoki crushed his soda can, and only after it was deformed did he nod. "Yeah, I like her."
Someone who'd been with him for ten years, always taking care of him, granting nearly all his requests, and a beautiful, sweet childhood friend like an angel. To not like someone like that, how twisted would someone's sense of aesthetics have to be?
At least Naoki couldn't do it.
So, he liked Manaka—that wasn't wrong.
"You two like each other… So, will you confess? To Sajyou. Now that you know her feelings, will you do it?"
"No, that's… a bit too fast." This time, Naoki firmly shook his head. "There's still the monster issue. At least that needs to be resolved first, right?"
Of course, that was just one reason. The more important one was Naoki himself—something as significant as a confession needed proper preparation. Like choosing an important day and confessing in a special place… something like that.
For example, a birthday, a regular school festival, or a school trip. Kyoto's Kiyomizu Temple was supposedly a famous spot for confessions; that would be a good choice.
*BZZZT!*
Just as Naoki thought this, the previously pitch-black sky suddenly lit up with rainbow-colored light, instantly filling Naoki and Artoria's vision. The blinding light forced them to raise their hands to shield their eyes!
"This…?"
"Could it be a monster?"
An abnormal situation—linking it to a monster wasn't wrong. Moments later, the bright light that filled their vision shone for only a few seconds before rapidly fading into the night sky like a receding tide.
Naoki looked up—nothing was there.
"Pendragon, this…"
"I don't know, but I think… a monster."
Artoria said with a slightly serious expression.