Realizer of Death : The Reaper

Setsuka felt that her heart had calmed down. But she decided not to speak first because her feelings were still unstable. Setsuka didn't know what had happened to her. When she first saw Tenku, her body trembled with fear, and it was the first time she felt such a thing.

When Setsuka meets Tenku again, she feels strange because she no longer feels that scary thing from him. On the contrary, she feels comfortable when she is with him. After all, Tenku sees and treats her without any hidden desires.

What Tenku said and did was according to what he thought, or so her intuition told her, and Setsuka believed it. Because of that, Setsuka felt she could spend a long time with Tenku even though he was a man.

"Miss Fuyushima, can I ask you something?" Tenku glanced at Setsuka and asked.

"What do you want to ask?" Setsuka was curious about what Tenku wanted to ask her. But she still can't look him in the eyes directly because her feelings are still messed up until now.

"Why are you showering at this time and alone? Wouldn't it be better if you asked your friends to look after you or take a bath with you?" Tenku is confused when he sees Setsuka bathing alone at night in the lake, and there is no one to look after her. As a Snow Miko from Fuyushima Temple, she shouldn't do such a dangerous thing.

"I feel tired and uncomfortable with my body after a long journey to this place. That's why I came here to take a shower. I also don't want to do it alone at this hour, but when I intend to invite my friend to accompany me, she is already asleep from exhaustion.

So I decided to go alone and look for the safest and most hidden place, both from monsters and humans. But I didn't expect you to appear here." Setsuka smiled bitterly, and her face blushed whenever she thought about it.

"I see. But next time, you'd better bring your friend to look after you or accompany you, Miss Fuyushima. If the person appearing right now wasn't me but the horde of monsters hiding in this place, it might be dangerous for you. A weak freshman like me shouldn't say that to a senior. I just wanted to return the favor to you for reminding me via message about the incident around my apartment back then." Tenku said softly.

Even though Tenku had good intentions, he didn't want his words to sound like he was lecturing an upperclassman and offending Setsuka.

"Don't worry about it. You don't have to think about juniors and seniors here. I should thank you for your good intentions. I think it's natural for us to remind each other in a dangerous place like this regardless of our status." Setsuka smiled. Tonight she became more talkative, and the expression on her face became softer than her usual aloof and coldness.

Tenku was a little surprised by Setsuka's response. He remembered that Takaya had said that Setsuka was a cold girl and tough to approach, especially by male students.

Setsuka is the student council president of Suisei High School and one of the strongest students. Most importantly, she was the daughter of the current head of Fuyushima Temple. Although her face was gorgeous, not many male students dared to speak or chase after her.

But Setsuka next to him was very different from the image she had shown during the admissions ceremony and what Tenku had heard from Takaya and the students at school. Tenku feels that the current Setsuka is a gentle, friendly, and approachable girl. He didn't know the reason for the difference in her attitude and didn't care.

"That's good. By the way, doesn't the water in the lake feel cold at night?" Tenku could feel that the water in the lake was icy even though he didn't throw himself directly into it. But Setsuka bathed quietly like she was soaking in warm water and seemed to enjoy it. If the person bathing in the lake were another student, they would have been shivering from the cold.

"The water in this lake is cold for other students but not for me. This is no secret, and I'm sure you must have seen it when I fought the goblins back then. My Phantasmal Objects have elemental ice abilities. So the cold water in this lake does not affect me and is refreshing instead." Setsuka happily explained.

"Yeah, I remember it. No wonder you dared to bathe in the lake at this hour while the other students were hiding under the blankets in their tents." Ziel nodded after he recalled his meeting with Setsuka after he was kicked out of the Karitoshi residence.

"May I ask you something personal? You can refuse to answer if you don't want to." Setsuka asked hesitantly. She was curious about something on her mind about Tenku. But since it was a private matter, she had to ask his permission before saying it.

"What do you want to ask, Miss Fuyushima? I can answer that if it's not something sensitive to me." Tenku didn't know what personal question Setsuka wanted to ask him. But he couldn't refuse right away before he heard Setsuka's question.

"What is your goal in becoming a Realizer? Does this have anything to do with the death of your parents? If so, you should know that becoming a Realizer with a low-ranked Phantasmal Object would be very dangerous. So you better forget about that." Setsuka said with concern.

Setsuka had read the information about Tenku and knew about his life experiences. She was worried that her question would make Tenku reminisce about his terrible past. But what concerned her more than that was Tenku's reason for becoming a Realizer. Setsuka thought Tenku became a Realizer to avenge his parents against monsters from another world.

Tenku wasn't angry at Setsuka's words because he could feel genuine concern from her. Since it was a past incident and not too sensitive for him, Tenku didn't mind answering her question.

"I aspired to become a Realizer like The Strongest since I was a child and use my powers to protect this world and my family. After my mother and father were killed by monsters, I lost my dream, but I got a new goal to become a Realizer." Tenku stopped his words and smiled mysteriously.

"What's that?" Setsuka's heart suddenly skipped a beat when she saw that and subconsciously asked out of curiosity.

"We must return to camp immediately, Miss Fuyushima. Otherwise, teachers and senior Realizers will be worried if they find out that you are not in your tent at this hour." Tenku tried to divert their conversation because he didn't want to answer the question.

Tenku doesn't want to tell Setsuka that his current goal is to go to Arcadia to find Haruna. It was a sensitive matter for him, and he didn't want to tell it to someone he hadn't known for long. Especially that person was Setsuka, a member of one of the strongest Realizer groups in Japan.

Setsuka treated him well despite knowing that he had only awakened a low-ranking Phantasmal Object, but Tenku couldn't believe her. It will only make him repeat the mistakes he and his family have made in the past.

"Yeah, you're right. I almost forgot about it. But before we head back, I want you to keep what happened here a secret. Besides, please forget what you saw at the lake." Setsuka nodded slightly, and her face turned red at the end of her sentence.

"I understand. I promise I won't tell anyone what happened here. I will try to forget what I saw in the lake, but I don't want to be an irresponsible guy and take advantage of a girl. I will remember this as my great debt to you, and I will pay it back." Tenku stood up from the boulder and said seriously.

Tenku has the principle of not being in debt to others. For a girl like Setsuka, he knew that her naked body was priceless, and Tenku couldn't forget it and act as if he had never seen it. As a man, he has his pride. Even though Tenku couldn't pay for it with money because it would offend Setsuka, he was sure he could replace it with something much more valuable.

Setsuka was taken aback when she heard Tenku's words. She did not expect the boy in front of her to be so responsible. But then, Setsuka smiled bitterly after thinking about something.

"You don't have to think about that. It was my fault for not being careful while bathing in the lake, and I already considered it the result of my carelessness. As long as you don't tell this to anyone else, then that's enough." Setsuka shook her head and stood up from the rock. She didn't take Tenku's words seriously.

Although she was amazed by his sense of responsibility, nothing could compare to her naked body, and Tenku would never be able to pay for it. She didn't want that boy to be burdened by it. Because of that, Setsuka thought Tenku was carelessly speaking out of pride, but she didn't hate it.

Tenku shrugged his shoulders when he saw Setsuka's response. He knew the girl would not believe his words, but he would keep his promise even though Setsuka didn't think much of it.

After that, Tenku and Setsuka returned to the camp because they didn't want the teachers to panic when they found out that Setsuka wasn't in the tent.

It didn't take long for them to return to camp. Setsuka asked Tenku to return to his tent first because he didn't want the people there to see them together and misunderstand their relationship. Setsuka saw Tenku's back slowly drifting away, feeling a sense of loss in her heart. When she blinked, Tenku's figure had already disappeared from her sight.

"Huh!?" Setsuka was confused because Tenku had suddenly disappeared. She looked around but couldn't find the boy's figure. As she focused on searching for Tenku, a voice suddenly sounded calling out to her.

"Setsuka! Where have you been!? I looked for you in your tent, but you weren't there." A male student ran towards Setsuka.