A Two-Person Head-Pat Kill

Pulling the door open, Hoshino Sakio stood at the entrance clutching the bag with the food container.

Seeing Kirishima Shiro inside, she quickly lowered her head. “Um… Kirishima-san, is Flona here?”

“You’re looking for Flona?”

Kirishima Shiro’s expression instantly grew cautious.

Only when Flona walked over did Hoshino Sakio push the container forward slightly, her fingertips tightening around it. “These are cookies I baked myself. I w-wanted to thank you.”

When she said the word “thank,” she quickly glanced up at Flona, then hurriedly dropped her gaze again.

“There’s no need to thank me. It was something I should have done.”

Flona took the box and opened it.

The small round cookies were neatly arranged, giving off a sweet, rich aroma.

A layer of powdered sugar dusted the surface, and the edges were baked to a light golden brown.

“They’re fresh from the oven. They m-might not taste very good…”

Hoshino Sakio twisted her fingers together, her voice growing softer and softer.

Until Flona picked one up, took a bite, and her eyes lit up.

“They’re so crispy and fragrant!”

Hoshino Sakio let out a quiet sigh of relief, the corners of her mouth lifting into a faint smile.

Kirishima Shiro’s gaze darted back and forth between the two of them.

She looked at Hoshino Sakio staring at the cookie in Flona’s hand, unconsciously curling her fingers around the cuff of her uniform, that nervous yet hopeful expression.

Then she looked at the smile on Flona’s face.

She hadn’t eaten a lemon, so why did it feel so sour.

No, she couldn’t let them keep chatting like this.

So Kirishima Shiro took the initiative.

“Hoshino-san, did you come to see Flona for anything else?”

“There is something else.”

Though interrupted, Hoshino Sakio didn’t seem upset.

Instead, she carefully said to Flona, “Flona, you might become unlucky for a while, so please be extra careful.”

Flona blinked in confusion.

“Unlucky?”

Hoshino Sakio’s fingers unconsciously scraped along the edge of the container, then she seemed to make up her mind.

“It’s related to my special ability.”

“You also have a special ability?” Kirishima Shiro asked in surprise.

“It’s not anything amazing. It’s just that whenever trouble is about to strike me, I somehow end up avoiding it.”

Hoshino Sakio suddenly lowered her head.

“For example, a billboard fell above me and someone happened to bump into me. I dodged it, but he ended up in the hospital. Or when I was on a bus that got into an accident, I was the only one who survived.”

By the end, her voice was so light it sounded like a sigh.

“Some people say my ability turns disaster into good fortune. But more people think I attract calamity, drain other people’s luck, and keep myself alive.”

So the reason the eyeball monster wanted to parasitize Hoshino Sakio was to obtain that disaster-averting ability.

And it was stopped by Flona.

“You were afraid your ability would take away my luck and put me in danger?”

“I’m very sorry!”

Hoshino Sakio shut her eyes tightly, afraid of being scolded by Flona.

“There’s no need to apologize. This isn’t your fault, Sakio.”

Stepping closer, Flona reached out and gently rested her hand on top of Hoshino Sakio’s head.

Her hair slid through Flona’s fingers, carrying a faint, clean fragrance.

The warmth on her head made Hoshino Sakio tense all over, her back instantly going taut like a fully drawn bowstring.

She secretly opened one eye and saw Flona smiling gently at her.

“I told you, Hoshino Sakio is my lucky charm. You won’t make me unlucky.”

To have the ability to make a Saint unlucky, one would first have to overcome her divine protection.

Flona withdrew her hand.

“All right. I’m happy that you were willing to tell me something this important, Sakio.”

Hoshino Sakio stared at Flona blankly as the tension slowly drained from her body, her eyes growing a little warm.

She sniffed softly and whispered, “Thank you… Flona.”

Hoshino Sakio actually hadn’t wanted to reveal her ability.

Because she was afraid of being pushed away by Flona.

But she was even more afraid that her only friend might get hurt because of her, something she would regret for the rest of her life.

Carrying that inner conflict, she had come here.

If not for Kirishima Shiro’s accidental assistance, she might have fled the moment she handed over the cookies.

Thinking of that, Hoshino Sakio gave Kirishima Shiro a grateful look.

“Why did it turn out like this?”

Looking at the increasingly harmonious atmosphere before her, Kirishima Shiro fell into deep self-doubt.

This was clearly her own house, yet she somehow felt like an outsider.

She shouldn’t have said that extra line.

And you, Sakio, what are you looking at.

Even though Kirishima Shiro knew the look wasn’t meant as provocation, she still felt oddly offended.

If she weren’t worried about being disliked by Flona, she would have already ordered Hoshino Sakio to leave.

“It’s getting late, so I’ll be going now.”

After receiving a response far better than she had expected, Hoshino Sakio didn’t linger and took her leave.

“Goodbye!”

Closing the door, Flona tidied up the dishes while thinking to herself.

Hoshino Sakio’s special ability felt strangely similar to that of the Hero.

Always encountering trouble, yet always managing to escape danger.

Though in comparison, the Hero tended to bring trouble upon herself more often.

Huh, who turned off my light?

The shadows cast by the lights on the floor enveloped Flona, interrupting her thoughts.

Turning around, she saw Kirishima Shiro standing there with a dark expression, faint wisps of malice rising from her body.

The malice had just been cleared yesterday.

Why had it risen again today?

Fortunately, the increase wasn’t very large.

Kirishima Shiro spoke in a low voice.

“Did that head-pat feel good just now?”

“Mm… better than Suzuki Megumi’s. Very smooth.”

Mainly because Hoshino Sakio naturally gave off an air that invited affection, making it easier to stir Flona’s gentler feelings.

Besides, Suzuki Megumi didn’t seem to groom her hair much. Flona’s hand had nearly gotten caught in a tangle when she touched it.

“You even patted Teacher Suzuki’s head?”

Hearing Kirishima Shiro’s agitated tone, Flona froze.

“What’s wrong?”

No answer came.

Instead, Kirishima Shiro slowly walked over and stopped in front of Flona.

Afternoon sunlight brushed past the tips of Kirishima Shiro’s hair.

She didn’t speak.

She simply lowered her head slightly, bringing it within reach of Flona’s raised hand.

“Help me tidy my hair.”

Her fair neck flushed pink, faintly outshining the evening glow at the horizon.

Just tidying her hair?

Only then did Flona notice the stray strands near her temples and reached out to tuck them behind her ear.

The moment her fingers touched the hair, Kirishima Shiro gently rubbed against her palm like a small animal seeking contact.

“Shiro?”

“It’s nothing.”

Kirishima Shiro quickly reddened and escaped from Flona’s hand.

Now she had been patted too.

Humming a little tune, Kirishima Shiro bounced off to wash the dishes.

Watching her swaying back, Flona couldn’t help but smile and shake her head.

Are rabbits really this competitive?

She suddenly remembered something and blinked, focusing her gaze toward the kitchen doorway.

The malice that had been faintly clinging to Shiro just moments ago… was gone?

Flona instinctively rubbed her eyes.

Looking again, she saw Kirishima Shiro facing away from her, standing on tiptoe trying to reach the dish soap in the cupboard.

It really had dispersed.

Flona had been completely unaware that malice could be affected by one’s own emotions.

In her world, encountering a witch meant an inevitable fight to the death. Once the fuse was lit, there was no stopping to communicate.

Moreover, even in death, witches remained a tremendous problem.

Their corpses would erupt with vast amounts of malice, spreading like poison and corrupting surrounding life into mindless killing monsters.

Using holy energy to purify malice in advance was the best way to prevent such contamination.

Although holy energy could cleanse malice, it could not restore a witch to normal, as their self-awareness had long since been completely eroded.

When Kirishima Shiro was only on the brink of losing control, Flona could still pull her back.

If she truly became a witch, what Flona would use wouldn’t be purification but holy flames.

If positive emotions could remove the malice from Kirishima Shiro, Flona would be more than happy to do so.

After all, being that honest every time was something even she couldn’t handle.