Chapter 6 A sudden summer attack

The key to freedom is power and authority. One of the first lessons he learned in Amarein, without strength how do you expect to survive such a chaotic world? If you want to be free from a country's rule over you, how would you do it? By being stronger than the combined military might of a said country. It was how he freed himself from Speron, the kingdom they were summoned too. Well, he wasn't free per se, he was free to do what he wanted, in fear he might turn against the country if they anger him. Not like he would do that, he wasn't that kind of guy. Oh, and Speron was his ticket back to Earth after all.

Why is he training? To gain power? No, it was to gain freedom or in this case keep it. There was an old expression or saying, "If you want peace, prepare for war". If he wants to keep a peaceful and quite life, he must be strong enough to discourage anyone from disturbing his peace. Or they will face the consequences.

Hikigaya just finished warming up, it was early in the morning and he had come to the warehouse to train his body once again, but this time he has a companion who will join him. With a few more minutes till Miura arrives, he decides to relax while waiting for her. Sitting down on a small patch of grass on the compound, he admires the small blue orb in his hand. It was one of the items he and Miura looted from the Goblin nest, it was located at the top of the Goblin Champions crude throne.

The Blue orb was radiating waves upon waves of magical energy, it likely contains a powerful item inside. He can say this because the orb is similar to a storage ring's main component, a space stone. A space stone contains a small pocket dimension within it, it could span from a few meters to a few hundreds of meters. With a simple operation of mana, one could open a stone easily. If it isn't sealed that is, like the one he was holding now. A seal would take a large amount of time and skill to unlock, one needs to be careful if do try to unlock it. If not, the contents of the space stone will be destroyed along with it.

The items inside must be powerful, a large amount of mana radiating out of the space stone is proof of that. He needs to go about carefully unsealing it, whoever did the seals of the stone was a master. He has only been able to unlock the seal by 10% since they have gotten it yesterday, that was when he spent time until midnight to open the seals. It would take another 10 days at the rate he was going.

Deciding to give up on unlocking the Space Stone for now, he lays down on the patch of grass, maybe he could catch up on some sleep before Miura arrived. Unfortunately, that plan was, impossible to begin with. From his position, he looks up to see a pair of olive-green eyes looking down at him. The owner must have arrived while he was inspecting the blue space stone.

Since they will be training today she seemed to have worn clothes that fit the activity. A large sweatshirt over her grey tank top, black joggers' pants covering her legs and sneakers. She obviously chose those clothes for the ease of movement. But given what she is wearing and the ponytail, she is currently giving that "Gym Girl" kind of vibe. Comparing his black tracksuit to her stylish clothes, makes it look like he was just out for a morning jog.

"Are you done lazing about? Geez Hikio, you're the one who told me you were training. Why we're looking at the stone anyway? I doubt you were able to unseal it so quickly." She was gazing down at him, her right eyebrow cocked up.

"I was only wondering what is inside, I guess we should get started" Hikigaya stood up as he answered her, wiping off any dirt that may have gotten on his clothes.

"How about you warm up with some stretches first? After that we can have a spar, so we'll know how accustomed to mana our bodies have gotten."

"Sure"

Miura begins to go through the series of stretching exercises taught to them. With nothing better to do other than wait for her to finish, Hikigaya decided to join her in the activity. After a few dozen minutes their bodies were properly warmed up, a few drops of sweat could be seen dripping from their forehead.

Positioning themselves five meters apart for their spar, they began to focus their energy. Deciding to not use weapons, they will be battling with only their fist and magical abilities during the course of the spar. Using large scale spells would obviously be out of the question.

Gazing at each other expectantly, both waiting for the opponents first move. Only the wisps of mana moving around them, signifying the use of [reinforcement]. Like a flash of lightning both of them disappear to the naked eye. Leaving behind nothing as they left their positions, meeting right at the center, they began their exchange of fist.

With every punch, kick, and grab the air would snap, miniature shock waves were occurring in the middle of their exchange. Their battle looked well-coordinated, each dodging and weaving each other's strikes. An elegant and deadly dance, born from countless number of battles and war. Conceiving no victor after half an hour of their exchange, they both withdraw from their brawl. Gaining distance from each other they were able to catch a breath.

Sweat was dripping from both of their faces, their clothes were wet and clung to their skin. The short but intense exchange of martial prowess tiring them rapidly, leaving them out of breath and heaving for air. In order to recover some stamina, they both cast their own stamina recovery spell.

[Rejuvenation/Inner Fire]

With their exhaustion slowly alleviating, they prepare the spells for their next exchange. They were done testing their bodies physical limits, it was time to test out how much mana their bodies could release before straining. The body has a set limit of mana it could handle before it shuts down, regardless of how much magical energy you have, the body needs to adapt to the use the of mana to be able to use large amounts of the energy. The common way of doing this is to start off with small spells, that requires using small amounts of mana first and scaling up the intensity from there. You also need to give time for your body to adjust and rest from the training.

Right now, they were even in physical strength. Which confused Hikigaya, he might have only been training for a week, but due to the influence of mana, his body should be developing 5 times faster than average. Yet, Miura was able to match his strength blow for blow. He would have thought the blonde was also training if Yuigahama hadn't mentioned their clique going out as a group over the past week before the summer camp. So, it was unlikely for her to find time to train. But what else could it be?

Carefully observing the fire queen, he notices the slight glow in her eyes, signifying the active use of her [Gift:Bond]. How annoying. Was it a new ability she unlocked? He was sure both partners would be buffed passively once they close a certain distance. So how was it she was the only one powered up?

"Did your [Gift] get stronger or change?"

Hikigaya tried to get information from her that may help in solving his questions. The only reply he got from Miura was a cheeky smile and the action of zipping her lips, signifying she won't answer questions. For the dark-haired loner that was all the answer he needed.

"Well two can play at that game

[Arise: Harley]"

A Fairy with a pair of butterfly-like wings and pointed ears appeared. Wisps of shadow mostly covering his form, but you can still see the long-sleeved shirt accessorized with a flower-like collar, black pants with black pointy-toed shoes.

Hikigaya called forth a member of the legendary Fairy race, from his army. The Fairy race boasts a high affinity with mana allowing them to easily adapt from the strain of its usage from an early age. The loner, of course, won't use Harley to fight Miura two on one, instead, he had other ideas.

[Shadow Meld]

With his command, Harley suddenly dove into Hikigaya's shadow. The result of such an action was unknown to Miura until moments later, Hikigaya's ears turn pointed, butterfly wings made of light erupted from his back, and his eyes started to glow a startling blue light. If someone who can sense mana was nearby, he would feel Hikigayas mana capacity increase with the physical changes.

The ability to combine the Master and the Shadow:[Shadow Meld], this allows the strength of the Shadow Monarch to increase to the proportion of the strength of the shadow. The stronger the shadow the further their power increases. This ability does have its drawbacks. After using the ability, the shadow used would not be available for some time.

"Hey! No fair, that is technically making me fight 2v1. And I thought we would be holding back on using stronger abilities, why'd you summon Harley of all things" Miura complained to the loner.

"Weren't you using your gift first?"

Miura cringed having been reminded of her sly use of her [Gift], she blushed and tried to stammer out an excuse.

"You expect me to fight you without any buffs? You've been training for a week! That's at least a few months' worths of normal muscle training. Did you just want to bully me? How to mean of you Hikio."

"I would have held back… probably."

"Probably?!" That got her miffed, he was sure he whispered the last part. Right, hearing and other senses get boosted too.

"Anyway, how come you are the only one affected by your [Gift]? Shouldn't it be affecting both of us?"

Although they never tried using their [Gifts] during spars, as they were advised to keep it as a hidden card in case of emergencies. So, they trained them in seclusion. He was sure Miura didn't have the ability to choose who gets affected by her [Gift]. Did it somehow get stronger over the past week? Or did being on Earth affect their [Gifts] to a certain degree. His [Shadow Meld] seems to be working fine.

"Oh, are you curious? Well if you want to know you have to promise me something."

Seems like, he could get an answer, but she wants something in exchange. If she wanted something Miura could have just told him what it is, it's not like he could deny her request. After years of being in the same party as the blonde, he has become accustomed to going along with her whims and spoiling her at times. No, he wasn't charmed by her, he was just a pitiful slave.

Right?

"Let's eat out after this before we go study at your house I mean"

That was it? Why did she have to make a big deal out of it? He would have agreed if she just asked. They would be hungry after the training, so he would likely agree to her request. Looking at her he notices that Miura was slightly blushing, it was either from the physical exhaustion or embarrassment. But since she had just used [Inner Fire], it was unlikely to be the later. He didn't speak after she stated her request it likely made her nervous.

"Sure, I don't mind. We can talk about where we're going to eat after our spar."

"I know just the place! Let's finish this fight"

His answer seemed to have satisfied Miura, her smile could dazzle anyone with how bright it is. Her eyes were shining as it gazed at him in determination. It seems she wants to finish the fight quickly. Magical power came in waves, as it radiated and released from her very being.

"So, I got a new ability that lets me activate [Bond] and have its buff affect only me while denying those buffs to my partner"

She explained how she was able to match his straight even without training her body yet. As she was talking magical power in the air continues to thicken, the air became dense with magical energy she was controlling.

"It comes with a drawback of course; my physical parameters are only increased by 10X instead of the normal 30X and magical ability is 4X. It's a form of punishment for denying my partner of the bond I think, the effects are only temporary, not even an hour long. I call this new ability [Seclusion].

Once the magical power reached its peak she raised her right arm. A four-layered magical circle appeared at the tip of her fingers, full of complex and intricate runes. The spell she is invoking was eating up a large amount of mana as it slowly manifests into reality. The amount of mana was enough to cast a master level spell.

"[Sun Forge]"

Five bright sources of light came into being. They were all located hovering on top of Miura, each one varied in size. But the "suns" all have one thing in common. Their sheer destructive capability, if anyone of these fiery masses were to hit the ground, the result will be molten rock from a mere moment of contact.

Was she trying to destroy the warehouse?

It was a good thing Hikigaya melded with [Harley], among his army Harley boast one of the best magical ability. Unfortunately, he specialized in nature magic. But as long as he uses living plants, they probably won't burn to ashes immediately. Actually, there was a perfect counter for Miura's [Sun Forge], it was a spell that replicates the Fairy King's weapons forms.

"[Sun Flower]"

Hikigaya immediately used the mana available to him to invoke his spell. A gigantic shoot emerges from the earth, towering over them as the flower bud blooms. The flower absorbs the light emanated by Maura's spell, feeding off the energy of the five "suns" it charges up for an attack.

Recognizing the flower Miura panicked, the amount of power it will release would definitely do more than stop her spell. Immediately controlling the [Sun Forge] to destroy the large flower, she plans to stop it before it can do anything.

Before the five suns could hit, the flower fully blooms releasing a dazzling beam of solar energy. This beam causes the [Sun Forge] to extinguish due to the sheer amounts of air it displaced. Once it passes over Miura harmlessly, the beam continues to fly through the clouds.

"What the hell, Hikio! That was definitely a large-scale spell, you could even call it a super large scale one. Good thing it is so bright out or people would have it."

Miura crumpled to the ground due to her defeat, complaining to Hikigaya due to his admittedly overkill counter to her spell. The dark-haired loner could only silently admire the large flower he created. After his inspection, he walks to Miura, [Shadow meld's] effect have been dispelled so he was back to his original appearance.

"I aimed it upwards, unlike someone who panicked and just fired off her spell at the general direction of my plant"

He walks close to the blonde, close enough that he could offer his arm to her and help her up. Accepting the offered appendage, Miura pulls herself up with it. Once she was standing up, she kicked Hikigaya's shin out of spite.

"Ouch! What was that for!?"

" What for!? How about shooting a laser beam over my head!"

"If you say it like that, I feel kind of guilty…"

They stood in silence, one teen annoyed and aggravated from her…defeat? She had her arms crossed and head pointed away from him. While he could only look at her with an apologetic expression. Which he wasn't sure why he should feel sorry, it not like he aimed right at her.

The silenced was disturbed when both of their bodies stomach decided to grumble in hunger. The physical and magical exhaustion finally catching up to them.

"So… Lunch?"

"How many times are you going to make me say sorry? And stop looking at me like that, what else do you want me to do, Dogeza? Cause I'll do it"

Hikio proceeded to stand beside the table, facing Yumiko he starts to kneel. But before his knees could touch the ground he was stopped by her. She grabbed his arms and threw him back to his sit in front of her. Hikio quickly recovered from the sudden throw and looked at her confusedly.

"I hate it when you do that, sacrificing your dignity so you can solve an issue. But if you really want my forgiveness, how about you start by sitting beside me"

She patted the seat beside herself to show him where she wanted him to be. Hikio looked reluctant with her request and started speaking

"B-but that would…"

"Sit. Beside. ME."

This time she spoke with a deadly smile promising pain if he did not follow her request. This quickly led to Hikio's rapid reaction, he stood up front his sit and leaped/teleported across the table to place himself to her offered seat. Once he was sat down a wave of sweat poured from his forehead, which he quickly wiped away.

"See easy right? Now we can talk to each other more easily."

"R-right" he looked uncomfortable.

Looks like she frightened him too much. She only wanted him to sit beside her for once, the loner always acted distantly. Always being a few steps behind or seating on the other side of the table. For once she wanted him to be right beside her, so she could actually feel like they were spending time with each other.

Suddenly, Miura leans towards his shoulder, nestling the top of her head the crook of Hikigaya's neck. The loner stiffened in surprised to the very intimate action, he turns his head to try to look at the blonde. Said blonde only shifted her head to make her position more comfortable. Once she found the best position, she closed her eyes in content.

"M-Miura, can you get off my shoulder"

"Why should I? The spar earlier tired me out, and this is the perfect place to rest."

"Perfect place? No, I think a bed would be better if you want to relax. Also, people are staring and what if someone from school sees us?"

"Let them, I don't care if a random person sees us. And why should it matter to me if a school mate sees us? I can spend time with whoever I like. Now stop complaining, I'm trying to rest" This time Miura grabs one of his arms, hugging it to her chest treating it as a makeshift pillow

"Miura! I can feel-I can feel your…your!" he stuttered out unable to make a proper sentence. A crimson blush was painted all over his face, reaching down to his neck.

"Hmm" Miura hummed sleepily, seemingly unaware of how her actions are affecting the dark-haired returnee.

They sat in that position for a few minutes, slowly getting comfortable with the contact. Miura's breath evened out, signifying that she had fallen asleep. Hikigaya who was also tired from the spar earlier was slowly being lulled to sleep. The noise from the family restaurant was blocked off, he could only hear Miura's heartbeat rhythmically beat, the sound calming him as his eyes slowly close.

"Um excuse me, your orders are here" He was not able to notice the food had been placed on their table until the waitress spoke up. The waitress apologetically smiled at them as she confirmed all their orders have been received.

"Yes, umm thank you." Hikio thanked the waitress, they would pay for the food after the meal. Seeing Miura still awake he tries to wake her. "Hey Miura, its time to eat. Wake up."

Hikio tries to shake her awake, his action only resulted in her tightening her grip on his arm and digging her head deeper in his shoulder. Hikio lightly struggled against her actions to no avail.

"Ahh, Young love~" The waitress mumbles as she walked away from their table.

Hikio blushed as he heard the statement. He looked at Miura too look for any sights of her waking up. Seeing none he settles on waiting in his position. He wasn't hungry yet anyway. Looking with the corner of his eyes he silently admires Miura's sleeping face. His heart slowly quickens. Her face looked peaceful, with her lips slightly parting as she breathed, and her eyes scrunched up due to the light. She would sometimes rub her face against his shoulder.

"Doing this sometimes is fine too"

"Sorry for falling asleep, I must have been really tired" Miura apologized a helpless smile plastered on her face. It would have looked like one if she wasn't busy eating.

"It's fine It's not like we had anything important to do, my shoulder feels a bit stiff though" it must be because of the award position his shoulders were held from Miura hugging his arm. It didn't really hurt, more of an inconvenience.

"Sorry, sorry…I know! I could give you a massage later, Yui told me I was pretty good at giving them." Yuigahama did? Must be back from having too big of… gahama's

"I don't really need it, but if you really want to. I am fine with it" He nods at Miura's offer, who wouldn't want a free massage from a beautiful girl? Not like that was the only reason he accepted.

They both enjoy their meals, with Miura ordering some pancakes and juice, and Hikigaya ordering a small pizza with soda. And a kakigōri for both of them, consisting of shaved ice, topped with a sweet flavored syrup, Fruit slices, and condensed milk. It was unknown to Hikigaya when Miura ordered such a desert.

"Hikio your pizza looks really delicious. I am curious what it tastes like can, I have a bite?" Miura was eyeing his dish with interest.

"Sure, the pizza was meant for two people anyway."

Hikigaya lifted a slice up to give to Miura, intending to give it to the blonde archer. What he didn't expect was for her to take a bite out of the slice while it was still in his hand. Miura moaned in delight after getting a taste of the pizza. She went back to finish off the rest of the pizza in Hikigaya's hand, nearly biting off his fingers as she did.

Hikigaya could only stare at her actions. He intended to give the slice to her, only to end up feeding her instead. He will be honest and say it was funny how she did that on her own. She didn't seem to be aware of her actions, so he tried to keep a straight face as she finished off the slice of pizza. The only sight of embarrassment he had was a small blush.

"Thanks for letting me have a bite, it was pretty tasty. In exchange, I'll give you some of my pancakes"

She cut off a portion of her meal. Picking it up with a fork, she moves it to Hikigaya's mouth intending to feed it to him. She looked at him expectantly in the eye, trying to convey a message.

" Here you go. Ahhh" She moved the fork closer.

"Wait! Just place it on my plate, I can feed myself."

"That isn't fair Hikio, you handfed me the slice of pizza, didn't you? It's only fair I do the same for you. Now come on, eat it already!"

You did that on your own!

Hikigaya would have opened his mouth to retort, but he was to busy trying to keep it close so that Miura would just shove the pancakes into his mouth. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Trying to see who would break down and bend to each other's will first. Hikigaya ended up losing to Miura. Once the corners of her eyes started tearing up, he gave in to her wishes.

"Did you like it?"

"Yes, the syrup they used really blended well with the pancake"

"Good, here have some more."

Miura kept feeding the loner her pancakes until half of it was gone. That seemed to have satisfied her, so she returned back to eating the rest of the meal. Using the same fork used to feed him, which she didn't seem to mind. Unlike him. Hikigaya decided to focus on finishing his meal instead of thinking of what just happened. He would sometimes glace at Miura, only to see her smiling at him knowingly.

She ate the pizza out of hand of purpose!

Once they were both finished eating their separate dishes, they were now sharing the kakigōri, since it was too big for a single person to eat. To forget what happened earlier, Hikigaya opened up a discussion.

"So, I did some research on Goblins and was able to contact Saika" It was impossible for Saika to get a signal up in the mountains, he only able to call the tennis player when they were getting supplies for their trip. With that, he was able to ask Saika questions on the possible source of the goblins.

"So, he knew something? Not surprising, he was mostly spent time in libraries and universities when we weren't training or doing a quest. With the amount of time he spent around books, it would be concerning if he didn't know anything."

He agreed with Miura. If Saika didn't know any information about the possible source of the Goblins, it would have been difficult to search for any signs of clues. Luckily for them Saika's [Gift] allowed him to store and process a large amount of information and knowledge.

"So, what did he say? Was it able to help solve the mystery of the Goblins" curiosity was dripping from her voice as she asked?

"Well yeah it did answer a lot of questions, but it also brought to light a few more concerns" Hikigaya's face was tense, what he was about to discuss with Miura was a serious matter. It may change the way they will live on Earth from now on.

It seems like the people of Amarein have been looking at other world travel as a new stage of exploration and discoveries. There had been countless theories, formulas, papers, and experiments created to see the viability of other worlds existing. It seems these archives were unearthed by the head magister when he was searching for a way to send Hikigaya and his party back to earth.

The tomes found dated back hundreds of years ago when the different races were in a somewhat peaceful state. Only minor skirmishes happening due to territory disputes. Each race at the time seemed to have a study of other world travel, the way to a different world, and how to travel to the different worlds would be possible. Some of the research done could be called unsavory.

From what Saika told him, races would sometimes send living beings through their makeshift and experimental dimensional transfer spell. They would sometimes send monsters, demi-Humans, other races and even a member of their own race. Not all experiment would produce results, of course, some test would have nothing happening to the subject, while others would blow up in their faces.

There are tests that succeeded in transferring a test subject to another world, however. Which is their main problem right now. They may have sent a multitude of other species from Amarein other than Goblins. They could be located in any place on Earth, hidden in some unknown place no one has explored. There is also the fact 'When' these being we send in time. They could have been sent to the past, or they could appear in the future. It was very likely that there are organizations that have already discovered these magical beings. If you read legends and folktales you would see stories of them.

This was the origin of the summoning ritual used to transfer them to Amarein.

"Is the Earth in danger? I mean with all of those monsters being sent to earth wouldn't that cause the discovery of Magic at some point?" Miura was concerned for such a thing to happen, magic could be very dangerous when in the possession of the wrong hands. Magic is heavily regulated and monitored in Amarein's cities, making it safe for the general public. here on earth, there would be no one upholding the law for magical users.

"Monsters have likely appeared thousands of years ago due to time displacement. Like how we spent years in Amarein, but only a week passed on earth since our disappearance. There is likely an organization regulating magic usage on Earth, but they are most likely hidden from the regular public."

"I guess they would also handle any monster appearing, and make sure they don't appear in the news." Relieved that she didn't have to go out monster hunting on a regular basis, Miura relaxes in her seat. "But wouldn't it be a problem if such an organization found out about us? What if they wanted us to be under their thumb?"

"You shouldn't worry about that. If an organization does discover us, their magic is likely to be less advanced than ours. We only need to get strong enough, so their authority does apply to us. We could even form our own organization if you want to? But that would be a lot of work, so I'd rather not do it." she calmly answers Miura's concerns, waving his arms in a relaxed manner to dissuade her doubts.

"So, what we did with Speron? Only with a weaker faction, hopefully, we don't get into any conflicts" returning to finishing their desert Miura lets go of any remaining worries.

Speron, the kingdom they were summoned in. Tried to control them in various ways money, fame, magic, and even various sexual partners. But their methods quickly proved to be obsolete once the [otherworlders] true powers started manifesting. The kingdom could only wholeheartedly support them in their endeavors. Or they might end up with needless casualties and losses. Who would want to fight against godlike beings if you were on the same side?

Looking at the clock on the wall, Hikigaya decided it was about time they go. They still had to study at his house after the meal. Hopefully, Komachi was busy with student council duties and wasn't home. If she is home… well, let's just say the Hikigaya household will be quite lively.

"I'll pay for the meal. We should get going now"

"This is easier than what I remembered, are we sure this is the 2nd year high school curriculum?" Miura was having a hard time believing this was what the school was teaching them before. She didn't find them the least bit difficult at the moment.

"This was what was written in my latest notes. Shouldn't you be happy that it isn't that difficult? Well, compared to the advance magical formulas and equations we studied, these high school lessons are childish." Hikigaya was inspecting the math notes he had to see if they were the right ones. Realizing they were he calmly answers Miura's question.

The formulas and equations they had learned and mastered were the more advanced versions of the mystic arts that are far more challenging, than compared to their high school lessons it was a wonder how they mastered and even surpassed such complicated calculations. now , it was as easy as elementary math to them.

Memorizing the theories behind each spell wouldn't seem complicated, but once your library of spell reaches thousands it wasn't a simple matter. If you mix up two spells together it would cause a disastrous result. You would need a substation amount of brain power and focus to remember the mysteries behind the spell, along with calculating the right formulas to invoke it the way you want. So, if you make teenager who has the brain capacity to easily process such complicated magical formulas, go through and study high school lessons the end result is what you currently see in the Hikigaya household.

A few books, notes, and papers were sprawled over the living room table, while a blonde teen was laying on the couch lazily, with her eyes half closed from studying very simple lessons, to Miura and her companion at least. Said partner was currently unsure how to handle the rest of the afternoon since they have already gone through their second-year curriculum.

It only took them two hours.

Yes, you heard right it only took Hikigaya Hachiman (Hikio), and Miura Yumiko (Yumi), to finish a whole years' worth of school curriculum. They would have gone through the 3rd year lessons as well, unfortunately, they didn't have the books required to study them. So here they are, lazily sprawled over the living room.

When they arrived at the Hikigaya household, they discovered that no one was home. Only a note from the younger Hikigaya was found on the kitchen table stating that she will be out with her friend for most of the day. With that they proceeded to study their old lessons, what they didn't expect was for them to fly through the lessons at an alarming rate.

"Hey Hikio, lets watch some TV" asking Hikigaya to open the TV, Miura was hoping it could rid her of her boredom.

"OK" Hikigaya grabs the remote to turn the TV on "You know you can go home now since we finished studying? No need to force yourself to keep me company" He didn't want Miura to be forcing herself to stay.

"It's fine, I have nothing to do at home anyway" The blonde looked at him tenderly. "and not forcing myself or anything, I just want to spend time with you"

"O-ok"

Hikigaya looks away from her unable to look into Miura's eyes. That tender look she gave him really got his heart beating. He looks back at the TV trying to distract himself from the awkward presence. But once he was unable to handle it anymore, he decided to grab some snacks to eat.

"I'm going to grab a snack. Do you want anything?"

"Whatever you get is fine with me. Maybe something sweet?"

Hikigaya nods at her request, standing up to head to grab some food. The kitchen was connected to the living room, so he didn't have to go far. First, he made some juice, mixing the powdered drink with the cold water. Once that was done he proceeded to find some snacks. He took out some chips from their cupboards and placed them down beside the juice he made. Finding nothing sweet that would fit Miura's request he looked toward the fridge.

We should still have some ice-cream

It was summer so the Hikigaya family would commonly but ice cream for themselves. Either their parent would bring some home with them, or the sibling would buy some at the local convenience store. Hikigaya proceeds to grab the cold treat from their fridge, He grabs a couple of spoons and bowl to eat it with, then proceeds back to the couch where Miura was.

"Wow! Those sure are a lot of snacks. Here. Here." Miura who was initially laying down on the couch sat up and patted to space next to her. Signaling Hachiman to seat beside her.

He decides to follow her wish and sat beside Miura. Placing the food on the table in front of them, he comfortably positions himself next to the blonde. Miura meanwhile grabbed a bowl and scoop some ice-cream from the tub of strawberry ice-cream Hachiman got. Deciding to follow her lead Hachiman gets some ice cream as well.

They spend the rest of the afternoon like that. Snacking on some food while watching shows on TV. Their books and notes long forgotten by the time the sun had set. Now they had finished up the last few drops of ice cream, Miura was leaning on Hachiman's shoulder once again. Her eyes were half closed and sleepy, opening and closing as she fought sleep from taking over her. Hikigaya who had gotten used to the contact a while ago was also trying to fight off sleep. He was faring no better than Miura.

"Hey Hikio" Miura sluggishly called out to him. shifting her head to look him in the eyes.

"Hmm, what is it?"

Noticing the movement Hachiman meets her gaze, one full of warmth and… resolve? With his drowsiness gone he gave Miura his full attention.

"I Like You"

He fainted.

Or he would have like to have fainted at that moment. Unfortunately, he was awake and perfectly conscious, he was inwardly panicking on what is happening, but conscious.

"I don't remember when it started, but I've liked you for a while. You don't need to answer me right now, I know how you are with these kinds of things. But I still expect you to answer my feelings"

How did he feel about Miura? He cares for her, he was sure of that. These past few days have made him realize that he cared for her deeply, he enjoys her presence. Her actions, at times, making his heart beat crazily, making his face bloom red and his hands shake and feet fumble. There were also times Miura's mere presence calmed him down, making his mind serene and tranquil, free from any negative thoughts and worries.

"Miura I-I" His voice betrayed him, unable to form word he holds her hand shakily.

Feeling his emotions through [Bond], Miura goes for the attack. She pins Hachiman down to the couch, straddling his hips to keep him in place. She leans her head down and whispers demurely.

"I love you Hachiman"

With Miura's second confession, Hachiman's defenses fell. With that Miura's closes in to attack his lips, connecting it with her tender ones. While Miura was enthusiastically assaulting his lips Hachiman, try to reciprocate her action in his dazed state.

It was unknown to the duo how long their lip lock lasted, it could have been second or It could have lasted minutes. But neither of them wanted it to end, only the need for air and inexperience forced them to separate from the heated exchange.

After a few seconds of respite, gulping down much-needed air. Miura was about to go for another kiss, Hachiman was preparing to accept her kiss. The dark-haired teen had already accepted Miura's feeling and was about to answer with his own, but the blond kissed him before he could. Before they could continue another session of expressing their love, they were stopped by a certain little sister's voice.

"I'm Home! Onii-chan you're here with a guest? I saw another pair of shoes."

Komachi had returned home.

[Speron]

A kingdom of Amarein. Known as the mightiest human kingdom in their world. The foremost pioneers of Science and Magitech, it boasts supreme military might and social hierarchy.

[The Blue Orb]

Discovered in the goblin nest, found at the to top of the Goblin Champions rustic throne. It emanates magical energy in droves, it is suspected by Hikigaya that it holds a Powerful item inside.

Storage Ring

A ring holding a space stone. Used by inhabitants of Amarein to contains precious items or store huge bulks of materials and resources. The ring is usually inscribing with a seal to keep the contents locked for all but the owner. It is also used to boast one's prestige.

Space Stone

A space stone contains a small pocket dimension within it, it could span from a few meters to a few hundreds of meters. One with small storage space can be artificially created, but at most 10sq meters can be created. Natural ones have much larger space contained within its pocket dimension.

[Rejuvenation]

A spell commonly used by Druids of the forests to restore mana. Restores stamina by consuming any fats and excess energy stored within the body. Drains a person's reserved stamina, so may have after effect of hunger and sleepiness.

[Inner Fire]

A sorceress spell that was created with the idea that every being has a fire that fuels their movements. Restores stamina by consuming any fats and excess energy stored within the body. Drains a person's reserved stamina, so may have after effect of hunger and sleepiness.

[Arise: Harley]

Harley was once the fairy king Oberon's loyal friend, but due to a certain event with humans, he went into madness. The demented fairy roamed the human's kingdoms destroying one city to the next. Until Hikigaya ended his rampage by request of the King of Fairies himself. He captured Harley alive and brought him to Oberon, who forgave him for his crimes and brought Harley to salvation. He sacrificed himself to save Hikigaya from death, thanking him in his last moments for bringing him back to his dear friend. Hikigaya brought him back as a shadow, fulfilling Harley's last request in his moment of death

"Let me serve you, let me see what a human is capable of, whether it be the greatest kindness, or the cruelest actions let me see and serve a Human King"

[Shadow Meld]

The ability to combine the Master and the Shadow:[Shadow Meld], this allows the strength of the Shadow Monarch to increase to the proportion of the strength of the shadow. The stronger the shadow the further their power increases. After using the ability, the shadow used would not be available for some time, having been drained of its strength.

[Sun Forge]

A master level spell brought to new heights by the ruler of flames. Five white hot "Suns" is created. With sheer destructive capability, if anyone of these fiery masses were to hit the ground, the result will be molten rock from a mere moment of contact. A direct hit would cause incineration of a target.

[Sun Flower]

A spell of the Fairy King's guardians only a select few may learn such a sacred spell. It created a giant flower that absorbs energy from the sun and shoot its own in a powerful beam of energy.

Kakigōri

Kakigōri is a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and a sweetener, often condensed milk.

It Is Very Yummy.

Thanks for reading!

Note:

Creating this chapter took longer than I expected. I wanted to save the last part for the next chapter since I wanted to finish the chapter up, but I decided No! I am going to put this scene here. I did leave a cliffhanger, I hope you enjoyed that as I enjoyed writing the chapter.

Next chapter will be next week, March 21

Probably

Make sure to leave a review, whether negative or positive. I can take it!