Silver Wish

A few hours later

Lila's only been gone for at most half an hour, but maybe it's because of that, he finished washing and cleaning the dirty dishes quite quickly. He would have chased after her. But, the others told him to leave her be. 'Even, she needs some time to be alone.' Alone? It's such a foreign word, he's never once thought to leave Lila alone. Why would he? It's Lila, even when he maintained his distance from her. He silently watched over her from the shadows.

Perhaps that news was too much to digest for her. The clue Shichiro found left behind by Shinozaki was rather disturbing. An article of clothing covered in blood stains and what else? That scent.

Sophia never liked me; otherwise, why would she enjoy it when I slept with other women?

Kiryu recalled the words Haruka told him and deeply sighed. Indeed, he does not understand that logic but wasn't Rosalia the same. Isn't it enough that one of them got involved with a crazy woman?

He sighed deeply. Sometimes he regretted letting Lila go; after all, he missed her dearly, and he dedicated himself only to her. Meanwhile, Haruka loves Lila and yet has other priorities. Kiryu shook his head. There is no need for him to compare their situations. After all, in the end, the one who sacrificed the most for Lila was Haruka.

That piece of clothing was something of Harukas. So that confirms the man is alive, and yet all that blood. Kiryu recognized marks from a whip. It is painful

His thoughts break off when he sees a woman with long brown hair.

For a moment, Kiryu thought he saw things. But the woman turned her head slightly, and he confirmed his suspicions.

Where is she going?

Kiryu found himself following her, and after he walked for five minutes, he arrived at the side garden to find Sumire-san standing in front of a large tree.

It was no ordinary tree but a silver tree.

Come to think of it, in K, there's a tree-like this too. He only found out that time Lila snuck off. He finds Sumire-san singing and eventually calls out, commenting how dedicated she is to sing outside work.

"That's because I love singing."

Sumire-san stops when he steps up.

It's something he hears from Lila all the time. But, to hear it from someone else seemed strange to him. The older woman chuckles, clearly having read his thoughts, and he averts his gaze awkwardly. Only to have Sumire-san reach over and grab his face with her hands.

"No! When you're talking to someone, even more so your senior. You have to make eye contact."

The person known as the number one Yankee and Queen of the underworld is telling him this?

"Uh, yeah."

"Very good!"

The women in the Terashima family are strange. Lila does this all the time with him, getting close without saying anything. At first, he thought it's because she wanted to be closer to him. But, he later found out that she did it with everyone. So, he simply dismissed it as her being weird.

As cute and adorable Lila is, even he can't deny that she's weird sometimes. Recalling something, he quickly puts his jacket around Sumire-san, and the older woman laughs.

"Thank you."

For a while, nobody spoke, and he watches as Sumire-san places her hand on the center of the tree. The moment she does so, the leaves start swaying around, almost as though they are dancing.

"It seems to be welcoming you."

"It would be great if it still does."

The silver tree is a tree that presents the life of everyone living in this town. No, this area. Since he first found out about it, he can't help but be curious. A tree of life should represent both darkness and light. But, he's only ever seen the light side of the tree. When it embodies darkness, what does it look like? He's curious.

Sumire-san suddenly steps back, and Kiryu looks over in confusion. Only to spot that where she placed her hand had wilted. Oh…

The older woman laughs, "It still responds to me. But, if I stay too long. It'll get hurt."

"Sumire-san, aren't you still in pain? Ren-san is back now, and everything's going well with your family. But the outside, your haters, are making themselves known again."

Sumire shook her head. "I am no longer in pain. It is strange saying this. Especially since I have felt so much pain for the last seven years, however, it doesn't hurt anymore. When I came back here, I can say so for sure that it was still here. But it's different now. It feels like I've been set free."

Set free, huh? To think the day would come where he would hear her say these words. The aunt Sumire he knew from a child always wore a fake smile on her face; whenever nobody looked, her gaze would remain dark.

"Because of Lila?" Kiryu guessed.

"I don't want to show any biases, but yes."

"Then, it seems like she accomplished what she wanted to do."

"A part of it. But, her story isn't over yet."

At that comment, his eyes widened.

"Despite what it would seem like, I'm only a small portion of her dream. When Lila sets foot into the world, she will meet new people, have different experiences, and many other dreams will emerge. No, things that have been there from the beginning will emerge. Kiryu-kun, you understand that better than anyone, right? Otherwise, you would have stopped her."

"I understand. I understand that. If she remains by my side, a part of her will remain restricted since she would focus on trying to make me shine instead of herself. I understand that, but I--I don't want her to go."

Though it was obvious from the very beginning, this is the first time he's said it out loud. It surprised even him, saying these words, considering how he's kept it to himself this entire time. But for some reason, when he saw the way Sumire-san had been looking at him this entire time. A part of him understood. She must have been waiting to speak with him.

"Shall we take a bit of a walk, Kiryu-kun? The back garden is pretty large."

"Alright."

"Good! Let's go."

Right now he could see the back of the person known as the best idol around, someone who beat the legends and started a new legend herself.

It's far lonelier than he ever imagined. But, at the same time, it's like what she just said. Despite the heavy burden she carries on those frail shoulders, there is something different now.

He wondered why, even though she was free, why does she still look so lonely?