What happened in the days that followed wasn't hard to guess.
There was no entertainment on a barren star.
There was only a man telling stories—and for the two of them, that was the highest form of amusement.
Day after day. Year after year.
It was the dullest routine imaginable, with hardly any change from one day to the next—yet it was never boring.
The cold, emotionless Moon King grew, noticeably.
From "keep your distance" at the start, she advanced to reading joy, anger, sorrow, and delight from another's expressions.
After that, she learned to express her feelings directly.
Her capacity to learn was astonishing.
Did Ryouma really do that much for Crimson Moon?
In truth, not particularly.
He simply told stories day after day, emptying out the store of data and knowledge he'd stocked in his mind.
At most, he embellished here and there.
He told Crimson Moon about the bond between living things and their planets, and spun great sweeping tales.
And yet, those small acts came to make up the whole of Crimson Moon's life.
Ryouma, and the stories he told—
that was Crimson Moon's world.
She thought so as well.
Overbearing, even domineering.
Perhaps that was her nature to begin with—a woman who, once she set a goal, never looked back.
"Dragon-slaying heroes who end in tragedy; a king who spends everything to save his nation only to meet ruin; a master and disciples on a westward journey… That star truly never runs short of interesting stories."
Crimson Moon rested her chin in one hand and smiled bewitchingly.
Now she was no longer statue-still. Lounging on chairs and a table shaped from the planet's authority itself, she looked lazy and enchanting.
Ryouma sat in a chair beside the table.
He was no longer naked; he wore an elegant suit Crimson Moon had created for him.
Compared to the icy stares of their first meeting, she was now far more human.
Spirit shimmered in her eyes.
And with the faintest smile, she could make the stars grow dim.
"But my favorite is still that one called Lunar Coral. Don't you think so, Ryouma?"
There was a teasing curve to her lips.
Others might not have understood.
Ryouma knew exactly what she meant.
Lunar Coral told of a man who had lost his capacity for emotion and fled to the Moon, where he met a not-quite-human moon princess; in the end, the two came to understand humanity—and learned what love was.
He'd thought the tale fit Crimson Moon all too well, so he had tried telling it to her.
He hadn't expected her to take to it so completely that even her attitude toward him would change.
Seeing Ryouma refuse to take the bait, Crimson Moon pouted—then shifted the topic.
"Ryouma, how do you know so many stories? I'm supposed to be the planet's intelligent brain, you know."
"Well, that's because you handle the power, and I handle the knowledge. You're the planet's mighty embodiment, and I'm its wisdom. In a sense, it's division of labor, isn't it?"
"Oh? I see~"
She didn't question him in the least.
Or rather, she didn't care.
It was the most ordinary kind of small talk between them; she asked simply as an excuse to keep chatting.
As she learned Earth's culture, she also accepted the name he'd given her.
Crimson Moon—she felt it suited her well.
"Culture… how complicated.
If people are all linked by karma, and you and I are both intelligent brain-bodies born of the planet, then doesn't that make us family—one and the same at the root?"
She sounded like a discoverer of a new world.
Her freewheeling logic left even Ryouma struggling to keep up.
But, thinking it over, she had a point.
They were both Originals, born of the Moon. You could, in a way, call it a kind of blood tie.
"In principle, you're not wrong. But I don't think you really understand what 'family' means, do you?" Ryouma said.
"Not really. It's that thing, right? Protectors and the protected? Adults protecting the young?"
She tilted her head, thoughtful.
To be honest, seeing the Moon's queen make such a cute expression felt unfair on several levels.
But her understanding was still shallow.
"Family isn't just the strong protecting the weak. Brothers and sisters, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren—family love one another and support one another.
Each person becomes the other's harbor and bridge, someone you'd bleed yourself dry to protect."
Ryouma's words carried his own feelings.
As someone who bore the Aozaki family on his shoulders, he knew it well: family could be both a bond and the source of happiness.
Crimson Moon listened, half-understanding.
"But the most important thing is this: once you have family, you're no longer alone."
His tone was quiet.
To Crimson Moon, those last words seemed to touch something soft within.
It was the first time she'd heard of such a bond.
And yet the feeling was akin to what she'd felt the first time she gazed upon Earth—longing.
Something you could truly hold was right before your eyes.
She no longer intended to turn away.
"Family, huh… That doesn't sound bad."
"What's wrong?"
"Mm. I've decided. You and I are inseparable family. No one can deny it."
With a bright, excited smile, she declared it.
Allowing not the slightest objection.
She pulled Ryouma into a tight embrace, burying his head against her chest in a sudden, overwhelming "attack."
It was an irresistibly tempting, shameless move.
Crimson Moon, unaware of her own charm, was the most dangerous of all—there was nothing sensual in her act, or rather, she had no concept of such things.
Breathing in the maidenly fragrance that threatened to suffocate him, Ryouma wriggled free from those towering peaks. "Haa—what kind of family does that!?"
"By age, I'm far older than you… so, as expected, I should be the onee-san.
Ryouma, you'll be my dear little brother. The strong me will protect the weak you, and become your one and only harbor.
In return, you will entrust everything to me. I will accept it all."
Crimson Moon cupped his cheeks in both hands.
Her voice had never been so affectionate.
In her crimson eyes surged a flood of doting warmth. She would not permit the one before her to be separated from her.
Unreasonable as it was, Ryouma could still see the hope deep in her gaze. In those eyes, the world held only him.
And her smile was the most radiant of all.
"I don't have any room to refuse like this, do I…"
"Just accept it~!
You won't lose out with your onee-san. The only one who could make me say all this is you, Ryouma-kun~!"
Crimson Moon hugged him tight, brimming with joy.
Ryouma could only give a helpless smile and indulge the willful queen.
Resistance was futile; surrender—and enjoy—was all that remained.
[End of Chapter]
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