Confession

Miyu had been worriedly watching over Riko this whole time, and when she noticed Kio flinching at Dan's words, she couldn't help but ask, "Kio, what's wrong? Let's go to the plaza!"

Kio felt something off about her words. She shouldn't be able to understand Dan's words, so he asked her, "Miyu, can you understand what he just said?"

"What are you talking about, Kio?"

"Let me rephrase that, did you happen to go into a white space before you came to this world?"

"Eh? How did you know? Although I was only there for a few seconds, I did appear in a place like that."

"Huh? A few seconds? What happened there?"

"Well, I heard somebody tell me, 'since you have been summoned by a Teleportation Crystal, you will only get the three starter skills', whatever that means. The next thing I knew, I appeared in front of you and big sister."

"I see… so that's what happens when a Teleportation Crystal is used to bring someone over."

"So what happened earlier? You looked agitated when he mentioned the plaza."

"When we were first summoned to this world, I think the place we landed in was the plaza. I also briefly heard somebody yell out the words 'Revival Jewel', "Resurrection', and 'Dungeon'. With those words as clues, I believe somebody important had died, and they must've brought the priest there to try and heal that person."

Kio had been whispering quietly into Miyu's ears, since he didn't want the others to hear that he was summoned.

Although they can easily find out by asking around, he didn't want to blatantly tell them that he wasn't from this world.

'I bet Luna noticed something already, since she had witnessed the scene where Riko used her Teleportation Crystal to bring Miyu over here.'

"Eh?! Then doesn't that mean…"

"I know what you're thinking Miyu, you want us to go to the plaza to get the priest to heal Riko. I also have the same idea... however, I think the plaza is overrun with zombies by now…"

"What?!"

"Miyu, how about you and Luna leave this city with the elves, while I bring Riko to the plaza to find the priest? Just wait for us somewhere safe outside while staying away from Ren and Akira, those two are extremely dangerous."

"But, big sister told me to stay with you…"

"Miyu, please..."

"I don't want to!"

*Cough*

"Ahem! If you guys aren't planning to buy anything and are just going to stand there whispering, can you please leave? You're interfering with my business here."

"Got it, thanks for letting us know where the priest went."

As they left the store, Riko quietly spoke up.

"Kio, can you promise me something?"

"What is it?"

"I won't tell you unless you promise me first."

"If you're planning to stop me from looking for the priest, then you can forget it."

"That's not what I was going to ask."

"Hm? Then what is it?"

"Promise me first."

"..."

Knowing that Riko could get pretty stubborn sometimes, Kio gave in, "Sigh… fine, I promise.

"Kio, I know that I'm going to die soon, I barely have enough energy to move or talk now."

"That's why-"

"Let me finish. Can I ask you to get that Revival Stone we heard about, back at the plaza? Based on what those people mentioned, it should be an item exclusive to the Dungeon, wherever that is. If the name of that item isn't wrong, it should be able to revive somebody back to life."

"Don't tell me you plan on dying here…"

"Yes, just let me pass away peacefully and then revive me again in the future, as long as you don't forget about me."

"But-"

"Kio, what would happen if you end up dying with me in the plaza? Or if you get bitten by a zombie? Who will take care of Miyu? What about Kaori? I know you plan on bringing her over here too. We can't just leave those two girls alone by themselves in this world."

"..."

Hearing Riko's words, tears formed in his eyes. Kio knew that her words made a lot of sense, but that's exactly why he didn't want to do it.

Putting aside the problem of entering the Dungeon and finding the Revival Stone, he would have to let her die in front of them.

"R-Riko… I don't want to lose you…"

"Kio, I never did get a chance to finish my words before. It had always been weighing on my mind ever since I realized it. Although our first meeting wasn't great, you had saved me so many times before in the past."

"..."

"When I was getting bullied by my classmates, I knew you were the one who bullied them back after class. When I was surrounded by delinquents, you were also there to rescue me."

"..."

"When I ran away from home after my parents were arguing, you were the first one to find me, and you even stayed with me that entire night. Although we both got scolded in the end, I had a lot of fun that night, sitting on the swings and talking about random things."

"..."

"I don't even know when I felt this way about you, but I was too scared to say it back then, because I didn't want to risk losing our friendship. However, if I don't say it now, I feel like I will regret it, even if I come back to life later."

"..."

"You know, ever since the first time you reached out to me and saved me, that was probably when I fell for you. I love you, Kio, can you please kiss me?"

Tears had been streaming down his eyes nonstop while he listened to her words.

With every moment she mentioned, he reminisced about the things that happened between them.

As he heard her request, he leaned over towards her and gave her a gentle kiss, followed by a tight embrace, as if expressing the fact that he will never let go of her.

"Riko, I've loved you for awhile now, and I was too scared to tell you my feelings back then. Whenever we spent time together, those were the happiest moments of my life."

Tears welled up in her eyes, but this time, she was crying tears of joy after discovering that he felt the same way about her.

"Kio, did you know, the best thing that ever happened to me was when your family moved in beside us. Otherwise, I never would've been able to meet you."

"I feel the same way, if it wasn't for you and Miyu, I'm pretty sure Kaori and I would have had a much harder time living in Japan."

"Kio… please take care of Miyu…"

"Yea… I promise, and I will definitely find the Revival Stone as soon as I can."

The two of them embraced each other for the longest time, and Miyu even joined in at some point, hugging Riko from her back.

After they all expressed their feelings for quite some time, Riko peacefully passed away.

As her arms drooped down lifelessly and she stopped breathing, Kio and Miyu cried even louder.

Luna, Fae, and the other elves were watching everything from the side, trying to be as silent as possible to not disturb them.

Although Luna didn't know them for long, she felt a bit of sympathy for Riko, as she imagined herself in Riko's shoes.

Looking over at Kio, she tried to guess what it would feel like to lose somebody you loved.

'Ahh, what kind of weird thoughts am I having.'

Luna shook her head to disperse whatever she was thinking about.

Fae, on the other hand, also felt a bit sad by Riko's death.

From Felix's words earlier, Riko and Kio were the only two who saved the elves. The others, especially Ren and Akira, had their own reasons for saving the slaves.

'I guess the least we could do to repay them is by welcoming those three into our village…'

Fae walked towards them as she wanted to inform them about her decision.

"Hey you…"

"Ah, you can call me Kio, and the other two are Miyu and Luna."

"Ahem, Kio, I would like to invite your group of three to our home to repay the assistance you and that girl over there have provided."

Fae pointed towards Riko as she invited them.

"If it wasn't for you two, I don't even know if I would be able to see my little brother Felix again."

"You're welcome…"

Kio responded, but his mind was elsewhere, since he was still aggrieved over Riko's death.

"Miyu, before I forget, can you join my party?"

"Mmm sure…"

As she accepted his party request, Kio noticed something weird in his party view.

He could see 4 names in his party - himself, Riko, Luna, and Miyu.

'I'm guessing Yuki's name probably disappeared after she died when we her behind. However, why is Riko's name grayed out?'