Chapter 62: Chapter 61: Ophelia at Takeshi’s Apartment.

Takeshi went straight to where Ophelia was sitting.

He had one priority before the day ended, and that was making sure Ophelia didn’t return to the shrine that night. Going back there tonight would be handing Ophelia to the killers on a silver platter.

Takeshi got straight to the point.

"You’re not going back to the shrine tonight."

Ophelia looked surprised.

"Why?"

"Because... I want to invite you to my apartment."

Ophelia processed that for a moment.

"Your apartment?"

"So you can see where I live."

There was a pause. Ophelia didn’t seem opposed to the idea, she was just evaluating it.

"Is there enough room?"

She asked.

"We’ll make room."

After school, the two of them went to the apartment.

Akari wasn’t there when they arrived.

Takeshi showed the apartment to Ophelia, who carefully looked around the space, examining the shelves, the arrangement of the furniture, and the living room window overlooking the street.

"It’s functional."

She commented.

"Yeah."

"Have you always lived here?"

"For a while... I think."

Takeshi answered, which was the most honest response he could give without explaining things he had no way of explaining.

Ophelia sat down on the living room couch and pulled a book out of her bag. Not the shrine one, but another one with a blue cover. Takeshi didn’t ask what it was about.

Twenty minutes later, the intercom buzzed.

It was Nyx.

Takeshi picked up the receiver.

"How did you know we were here?"

"Aoi told me."

"Then how does Aoi know!?"

"You should probably open the door first, since we’re both downstairs."

Takeshi pressed the button to unlock the building entrance and waited by the apartment doorway.

He heard the elevator, then Aoi and Nyx’s footsteps in the hallway together, though neither of them looked at the other.

Aoi walked in first. She scanned the living room with a quick glance, saw Ophelia on the couch, and chose the opposite end of the couch to sit down.

Nyx came in behind her, evaluated the distribution of people in the available space, and sat in the only remaining chair beside the kitchen table, positioned where she could see both the door and the window.

Takeshi prepared something to eat. He found rice, eggs, and some vegetables Akari had neatly stored in the lower drawer of the fridge.

He silently prepared four servings while, in the living room, a conversation unfolded between Nyx and Ophelia about the shrine texts, with Aoi occasionally adding short comments without directly looking at Nyx.

They ate at the kitchen table because the living room didn’t have enough space to eat comfortably. It was an uneventful dinner.

Ophelia asked how the cooking system worked because the shrine used a different type of equipment. Nyx explained it, but Aoi corrected one detail in the explanation, and Nyx didn’t respond to the correction.

Takeshi ate while keeping an eye on the window.

When Akari came back, she found four people in her kitchen and calmly processed the situation.

"Hey girls, long time no see!"

She greeted all three of them, talked for a few minutes, then went to her room to rest.

The night went on.

Nyx slept in the kitchen on a futon. Aoi lay down on the living room couch, and even though her eyes were closed, Takeshi had doubts.

’Is she actually asleep?’

Ophelia used Takeshi’s room.

Takeshi stayed in the living room.

He didn’t try to sleep. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall, from where he could see the front door, the living room window, and the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

At two-thirty in the morning, he heard the bedroom door.

Ophelia came out barefoot, wearing her uniform shirt. She stopped when she saw Takeshi sitting on the floor.

"You didn’t sleep?"

She asked quietly.

"No, I’m not sleepy."

She looked at the available space and sat down on the floor too, about three feet away from him, with her back against the couch where Aoi was sleeping.

"I can’t sleep either..."

Said Ophelia.

"Why not?"

She thought about it for a moment.

"This place is different, and the sounds are different from the shrine. Besides, it takes me a while to get used to sleeping somewhere new."

She paused.

"Do you always keep watch at night?"

"No, tonight’s an exception."

Ophelia looked toward the window. Outside, there were streetlights and the occasional sound of a passing car.

"Why did you become so interested in the goddess Tot?"

She asked.

Takeshi considered how much to say.

"It was simple curiosity."

"Just curiosity?"

"Well... I wanted to understand the beliefs of someone important to me."

Ophelia looked surprised.

They stayed silent for a moment.

"Takeshi..."

Ophelia began.

"What?"

"Why are you doing all this?"

Takeshi looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Worrying so much about what could happen to me."

She paused briefly.

"It’s not part of any formal obligation. Merwyn asked you all to protect me, yes, but what you’re doing goes beyond that."

Takeshi thought about how to answer in simple terms.

"Because if something happens to you, I won’t be able to do anything to undo it..."

He answered, which was true, though not in the sense Ophelia could understand.

"And I don’t want that to happen."

Ophelia looked at him for a second.

"Are you promising that you’ll protect me?"

She asked in a direct tone, without irony.

"Yes..."

Takeshi affirmed.

"As long as I can, yes."

Ophelia didn’t respond immediately.

She looked ahead, toward the window, and stayed still for several seconds. Takeshi couldn’t tell exactly what she was thinking, but something in her expression subtly changed.

Then, in a very quiet voice, almost to herself, she said something Takeshi couldn’t fully catch. He only heard the last few words.

"Just like in the book."

"What?"

Takeshi asked.

Ophelia looked back at him.

"Nothing!"

She answered, slightly flushed.

"Just something I remembered, that’s all..."

She didn’t explain further.

Takeshi didn’t press the issue.

They stayed sitting there in silence for a while longer. At some point, Ophelia rested her head against the couch and closed her eyes. Takeshi didn’t know exactly when she fell asleep because he never stopped watching the door and the window.

The night passed without any attacks.

Takeshi waited for dawn with his back against the wall and his eyes open.

’What did Ophelia mean when she said it was just like the book?’

He didn’t reach any useful conclusion before light began filtering through the window.