Chapter 137: Kalpas: You tricked me coming here to cook, right?!

"Nozomi, what's on your head..."

　　"It's the ears~"

　　Seeing Eden's puzzled look, Nozomi shook his head happily, and the pair of slender green animal ears on his head also swayed, soft and looking very fun and cute.

"Ah... it's Sakura, isn't it? No wonder she looked so happy when I saw her leaving earlier."

Recalling the smile on Sakura's face before, she no longer tried to keep the animal ears on her head stiff. Instead, she shook them slightly twice naturally to show her happy mood to others... Eden also understood.

"That's great... Nozomi has helped her again. Sakura is always like this, occasionally getting into trouble because of something... But now she has met someone who can enlighten her and let her rely on~ That's great..."

Eden walked forward gently, got in front of Nozomi, tilted her head slightly, and sniffed his neck lightly. The scent coming from her nose was full of light floral fragrance.

"It all smells like cherry blossoms... Am I a little jealous?"

"Are you unhappy?"

"Somewhat."

"So?"

"Hold me."

Eden stood up straight, with a gentle smile, and opened her arms towards Nozomi.

"Okay~"

He slowly reached out his hand and lightly touched her waist, then slowly, moved his hand back little by little, letting his fingertips rub against her clothes, just to feel the warmth that was only blocked by the clothes.

Then, he took a half step forward, moved closer, and actively welcomed her with open arms, allowing her to put her arms around his neck. He then leaned back slightly and took on the weight that she deliberately pressed down on him.

He felt a squeezed feeling on his chest, and his long burgundy hair fluttered along, intertwining with his wave-like white hair.

"Hehe~"

Eden's voice rang softly in his ears, her laughter gentle and joyful.

She rubbed his cheek affectionately, the sound of the hair ends rubbing against each other entered her mind, and the warmth between them was transmitted to each other. She leaned back slightly, allowing her golden pupils to look at him... That dark color like the night sky, that golden color like the stars, and that circle of light scarlet, all of which she particularly liked.

With a smile in her eyes, she came closer little by little, and then...

"Hmm... maybe I came at a bad time?"

"…No, not really~"

Together with Eden, they tilted their heads to look at Elysia, who was standing at the corner and peeking out.

"Ahem... Sorry, did I disturb you~?"

Seeing that she was discovered, Elysia coughed lightly in embarrassment, and then walked out confidently, looking at the pair of slender animal ears on Nozomi's head that were swinging happily with some curiosity.

"But Nozomi has... the same ears as Sakura? How did you do that?"

"It's very simple, just like this..."

He separated from Eden slightly, held her with one hand, placed the other hand lightly on his chest, and then sang a syllable slowly in a soft voice.

Hmm——

The gentle breeze was picked up, dyed with color, and finally surrounded his head, dyeing the animal ears, which had become a little lighter in color, back to a verdant color.

"It'll be fine like this."

"That's amazing... can I touch it?"

"It's OK, but it won't have a physical touch."

Noticing the curious and eager looks in the two people's eyes, Nozomi smiled, raised his hand, and fiddled with the animal ears, then tilted his head towards Eden, and the slender animal ears fell in front of her, waiting for her touch.

"…It's amazing, a wind that can be seen and touched."

Eden touched it curiously, and tried to feel it again, but there was indeed no physical feeling in her hand, only the feeling of a breeze.

"Ah... What a pity, we can't catch it~?"

Elysia also moved forward to touch Nozomi's wonderful ears, trying to grab them... but unfortunately, the ears passed through her hands like the wind, and even when she made the "grab" action, they slipped out of her hands, which made Elysia feel funny and amused.

"It is the wind after all."

Nozomi shrugged and adjusted his head.

"Come on, Elysia, what do you want from us?"

"Oh, yes, yes... I'm here to invite you to the dance tonight. After all, there are new companions joining us, so we have to celebrate. This can be considered a small welcome party~"

"A new companion?"

"Yes~ And he is considered a fan of yours... Oh, by the way, there is a little surprise besides this~ Nozomi, just look forward to it~?"

"Okay~"

"Well... I won't bother you for now~ I have other people to notify~ See you tonight~"

Elysia smiled at the two of them, said goodbye in a light tone, and winked at Eden as if to encourage her, and then left with light steps.

"...Shall we go get ready first?"

Eden watched Elysia's figure disappear around the corner, and then she slightly pulled Nozomi's hand so that he could hold her arm, and turned her head to look at him, with a faint smile in her eyes.

"You want to leave your dance partner to me tonight?"

"Okay~"

"I have to choose the clothes too, okay?"

"Sure~"

"Hmm~"

Eden hummed happily a few times, and walked forward holding Nozomi's arm, never letting go. Facing the surprised and delighted expressions of others, she gently raised her chin and revealed a somewhat smug smile, which seemed to be a declaration of sovereignty.

After that, it's time to wait for the night party to begin...

...

"Um... Eden... are you really going to go out wearing this..."

"What's wrong? Don't you like the outfit I prepared? Or... is it not pretty enough?"

"Of course I like it, but... isn't this a little too [beautiful]?"

Nozomi looked at himself in the mirror, blinked, lifted the hem of his skirt, and said helplessly.

"It's better to be prettier~"

Eden drank the last bit of wine in the glass and walked to Nozomi's side feeling slightly tipsy.

"After all, you're going to dance the ladies' part tonight~"

She took Nozomi's hand, bowed gracefully, touched the back of his hand with her lips, and then revealed a slightly cunning smile.

"You belong to me tonight, don't you?"

"Okay~"

Nozomi tilted his head and responded with a smile.

As for whether he was wearing women's clothes, Nozomi didn't mind. After all, for the two of them, it didn't matter who did it. Exchanging clothes, identities, and dance steps, the romance and fun brought about by it also had a unique charm... he believes that the following scene will definitely leave a vivid mark in the memory of others.

"In that case, then... let's do a little better."

Nozomi blinked, placed his hand lightly on his chest, and adjusted his breathing and voice.

"Ahem... how about this~"

"Make sure you don't focus too much on other people, okay?"

"No, I already have a boyfriend, don't I?"

"Hmm~"

Eden hummed happily twice, then took Nozomi's hand and slowly led him towards the venue of the ball.

Ahem... there is no need to say much about other people's gazes and expressions along the way. There were weird ones, curious ones, and some people even said weird things like "That's so awesome!"... Well, it doesn't matter. Nozomi doesn't care about these anyway, and other people just think of this as a "little interest" between Nozomi and Eden.

After all... they know that, Nozomi is quite pretty at this moment. With the clothes chosen by Eden and simple makeup, Nozomi is really charming at this moment. With that gentle voice and those particularly attractive three-color pupils, maybe even someone who doesn't know the truth will fall in love with him~

However, the steady amplitude of his body still allows people to vaguely guess his true identity, otherwise... the misunderstanding would be huge~

"I've had enough!"

They continued walking forward, but before they reached the dance hall, Kalpas's manic voice penetrated the wall and directly reached their ears.

"Kalpas... don't be so angry... Elysia just wants our new companion to get to know you better..."

It was Aponia who soothed his emotions.

"Yes, Kalpas, if your new companion knew that you are such a "Master Chef", they would definitely be very happy~?"

"Companions? Hahahaha... I don't need any companions at all! I only need enemies! Let them come like a tide! And I will tear them to pieces!"

"Kalpas?"

Nozomi brought Eden and quietly poked his head out of the door to look at the people inside.

"Who?!"

A dangerous gaze swept over in an instant, and a voice that was strange yet slightly familiar made Kalpas feel suspicious.

"…It's you? How did you become like this?"

Noticing the familiar long hair that gradually transitioned from dark to white, and the familiar smell of wind lingering around him, Kalpas frowned and spoke in a strange and disgusted tone.

"Nozomi... you..."

"Ah~ This look is so beautiful~ Even me fascinated by it~"

Aponia showed a little surprise on her face, while Elysia showed a happy expression after a brief surprise.

"Isn't it pretty? This outfit is very beautiful."

Nozomi looked at himself with some confusion.

"This voice... Damn it! Can you please stop that! It's so disgusting!"

"..."

"Even the voice... oh yes, I almost forgot, Nozomi was famous for his changeable voice... But with this look, it's really deceptive~ What's wrong? Are you trying to charm the new companion~?"

The three of them behaved differently. Kalpas was as irritable as ever, Aponia was silent, and Elysia... what was going on? Why did she seem so happy?

"If that's the case, it would be such a shame... After all, he already has a boyfriend."

(TL: Man this is weird....)

Eden replied with a smile and gestured to the hand that was still held with Nozomi.

"That's right~"

Elysia also sighed in the same way.

"It's just, what's going on here? Kalpas... is he angry?"

Nozomi blinked, looked at Kalpas who was standing at the kitchen counter wearing an apron, and asked with some confusion.

"Well..."

Elysia glanced away awkwardly.

"snort...."

Kalpas sneered and first glanced at the location of the oven. After confirming that there was still some time, he moved his gaze to Elysia.

"Welcome party... welcome party, what do you mean by welcome party? In the end, they tricked me into coming here to cook! I've had enough!!!"

Boom!

As if to vent his anger, he chopped the kitchen knife in his hand on the chopping board, almost splitting it in half... Then he slowly lifted the kitchen knife, and the rhythmic sound of chopping vegetables was heard, gradually cutting the onion in Kalpas's hand into thin strips.

"Ahahaha... that's about it. As for Aponia and I... we're here to help~"

"snort."

Elysia laughed dryly twice and spoke a little embarrassedly, but Kalpas responded with two cold sneers, and no one knew what he was mocking.

"I see... do you need help? I'm actually quite confident in this area, huh?"

"Get out!"

Kalpas's eyes swept over instantly.

"Go back to where you belong... If I see you here again later, I'm going to shove this spatula down your throat!"

"You really don't need help?"

"Shut up and get out!"

"All right..."

Under the helpless and amused gaze of the crowd, Eden and Nozomi left together, leaving only Kalpas and the other two.

"...snort."

After making sure Nozomi had left, Kalpas snorted coldly, lit the stove, put oil in a cold pot, and skillfully spread the oil to the bottom of the pot. After confirming the temperature, he put the ingredients in.

Ziii——

The smoke spread along with the fragrance and slight sound.

"Ha... Kalpas is really gentle~?"

Elysia stood aside, looked at Aponia who was helping to wash the vegetables, then looked at Kalpas who was busy in front of the stove, and said with some amusement.

"To prevent the fumes from getting on Nozomi or something... That's great~?"

"Shut up, you useless bastard... if you keep talking I'll throw you out!"

"Heh~?"

...

"Hey, Eden, and... uh... Nozomi?"

Hen, who was with his wife and daughter, raised his hand and greeted Eden when he saw someone familiar. Then he looked at the... er... lady beside Eden with a puzzled expression.

"..."

Sakura, who was talking to them, was also stunned when she saw Nozomi's appearance. She looked at the slender green animal ears that were still on his head, which were similar to hers, and then looked at his current appearance... Finally, her eyes stopped on Eden beside him.

"..."

Eden blinked at Sakura, and then subtly gestured to her hand, which was still held by Nozomi. The meaning was self-evident.

"ha..."

Sakura smiled helplessly, and the animal ears on her head swayed slightly twice... But she didn't say much, after all...

"..."

Sakura looked at the pair of green animal ears on Nozomi's head that were similar to her own, and slowly withdrew her gaze with a smile.