Silent Goodbye
The redheaded inventor watched the troops preparing to ride to Ruttenburg. There had been many talks which would have been better described as shouting matches over what was about to take place.
It seemed impossible that it was really happening, but in the end it was the troops themselves, under Conrad who decided they were going in the hopes that they would return to a more accepting homeland.
If they returned.
The maou's second son was off to the side, checking his body armor when she walked up to him.
There were no words.
What could you say to a man who you had known since he was a boy who was about to go to war, possibly not to return?
He was her closest friend's little brother, and while it always seemed like Gwendal only begrudgingly admitted to even having siblings, she could still tell how much the severe looking man cared about them.
Even spending much of her life in the same castle as the brunet half-Mazoku she hadn't spent a lot of time with him, especially not alone. So, he looked a bit surprised when he looked up from what he was doing to acknowledge her.
Her cherry red lips parted, but she was still very much at a loss for words, so she did the next best thing with her mouth—she kissed him.
Conrad's eyes opened wider and for a moment. Just when he thought Anissina couldn't get any more surprising…
Finally pushing herself away, Anissina just gave Conrad a little nod and walked back to her laboratory. She was proud of herself. At least now he didn't have to die without knowing a woman's touch!
Of course, it certainly hadn't been Conrad's first kiss, but there was no reason for her to know that. And, in fact, that kiss had kept him safe—not from the battle at Ruttenburg—but many years latter when Conrad returned from Earth a changed man.
Anissina never seemed to press him into her service. Most people thought it was because he lacked maryoku, but he knew better.