ISEKAI? More like I See Crap!-Chapter 348: Until We Meet Again ( )

Ridan smiled softly and let out a long exhale.

"I wonder what the future holds for us, Syaria," he murmured. Then his grin slowly returned. "But one thing I know for sure..."

He puffed up his small chest proudly, smacking it with his tiny, puffy hand.

"If that guy and the princess ever get married and have a bunch of kids, hehehehe~ they’ll call me Uncle Ridan!"

Syaria covered her mouth, giggling. "Uncle Ridan, huh?"

"Yeah! And I’ll tell them all the stories about their idiot father and me, our grand adventures, our dumb luck, and every time he almost died but didn’t!"

He floated a little higher, tail flicking behind him as he laughed.

"One thing’s for sure," Ridan said with a proud grin. "The boys will take after Hazuki’s human side... and the girls will definitely get Ellyna’s catgirl charm."

"Ehehehehe~" he chuckled to himself, clearly pleased with the idea.

Syaria just smiled softly. Her voice came out in a quiet whisper.

"I wish... we could have our bodies back... even if just for a little while."

Ridan heard her. But he didn’t say anything. He just floated there in silence.

Syaria slowly wrapped her arms around him again, her form shimmering faintly against the morning light.

Ridan looked down toward Hazuki, still walking below with Ellyn on his shoulders.

"...Let’s just enjoy our remaining time, Syaria," he said at last, his tone calm and steady. "The future is for the future, and now is for now. Today’s problems are for today... and tomorrow’s problems are for tomorrow."

Syaria smiled faintly, closing her eyes as the two of them drifted gently above the quiet morning road.

They finally reached the gate.

Outside, two massive wagons were parked, surrounded by a large group of Beastkin. Foxkin, wolfkin, and others, all clad in high-quality armor that gleamed under the morning light.

Some of the female officers wore refined command armor, while a few held long staffs, their robes and accessories marking them as elite mages.

Hazuki narrowed his eyes, rubbing his chin.

"Wow... is your family rich or something, Ellyn?"

"E-Eh!? N-No!?" Ellyn’s ears twitched, tail stiffening.

"Really?" Hazuki glanced up at her, squinting. "Because if they were adventurers, I doubt they could afford armor that expensive."

Ellyn froze for a second, then quickly poked two fingers straight into Hazuki’s eyes.

"Gyaaaaarghhh!!"

Ellyn puffed her cheeks, pretending to pout. "You were looking at other girls, weren’t you!? Hmph!"

Hazuki rubbed his eyes, glaring at her through the tears. "Do you think I’m like Ridan!? He doesn’t care if they’re covered in fur as long as they have boobs...guh!!"

Ridan, who was floating above them, almost choked on air. "O–Oi!! What are you talking about, you idiot!?"

Ellyn just smirked smugly. "See? You are like him~"

"You know I can’t look at other damn girls even if they’re too sexy!" Hazuki grumbled, staring at her. "We’re already bound by the Pinky Promise, right?"

Ellyn giggled softly, jumping down from his shoulders. She landed lightly, then turned to face him with both hands behind her back.

"I guess... we’re going to part here," she said quietly.

"Mm." Hazuki smiled faintly. "You want me to come with you?"

Ellyn shook her head, her tail trembling slightly. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she still smiled, pure and gentle.

"No... if you do that, the quest will take even longer. And we’ll end up being apart even more, right?"

"Y... yeah," Hazuki said with a small, awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess that’s true."

Ellyn took a deep breath, then gestured for him to crouch down. When he did, she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips.

Hazuki blinked for a moment before returning the kiss.

When they parted, Ellyn smiled up at him, cheeks pink. "How does it feel... kissing the ’child’ version of me? Tehe~"

Hazuki just shook his head with a small smile. "You really know how to ruin a touching moment."

Ellyn giggled, then threw her arms around him tightly. "Take care of yourself, Hazuki."

"Don’t worry about me," he said softly, hugging her back. "And you... don’t get kidnapped or teleported by weird people again, alright?"

"Mm... I will," Ellyn nodded, her tears finally spilling down her cheeks as she smiled through them.

Ellyn leaned closer, her breath brushing against Hazuki’s ear.

"Hazuki... when you finish your quest... don’t forget to find me in Pawston, alright?" she whispered softly.

Hazuki smiled gently. "Okay~ don’t worry, Ellyn. First thing I’ll do is come find you."

"I believe in you, Hazuki~" Ellyn whispered again, her voice turning teasing. "And when you do... I’ll show you how many transformations I can use... and let you see me in every one of them~"

Hazuki blinked, eyes widening slightly. He pulled back just enough to look at her face, his throat going dry. "R... really?"

Ellyn giggled through her tears, smiling sweetly. "Mm~ I can transform into any race, you know~"

Hazuki’s face turned bright red. "Y-you’re seriously dangerous, you know that!?"

Ellyn just laughed softly, wiping the tears from her cheeks as her tail swayed behind her.

"Don’t you dare find another girl out there!" Ellyn hissed softly, eyes narrowing.

Hazuki rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "You already know I can’t even look at another girl without divine punishment striking me."

Ellyn let out a quiet laugh and took a small step back, standing in front of him with both hands behind her back. Her tail swayed gently, ears flicking with each breath.

"Be careful out there... and eat properly, okay?" she said softly.

Hazuki chuckled. "I’ll eat what I can eat~"

"And don’t argue too much with Ridan."

Hazuki sighed, shaking his head with a grin. "That one... I can’t promise."

Ellyn giggled again, her eyes soft and full of warmth as the morning breeze brushed through her hair.

They both looked up when they heard familiar voices echoing above them.

"Stop crying, damn it!!!"

"B-but... uwaaaaa!!! Ridan!!!"

"Gih!! Get off me if you’re gonna keep crying!! Ugh!!"

Syaria floated beside him, tears streaming as she clung tightly to Ridan.

"Ridaaaan!!!"

"Ghhh!! Stop crying already!! Sheesh! We’re going to meet again anyway!!"

Hazuki and Ellyn both couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the two floating puffballs bickering above them.

Ellyn turned back to Hazuki and hugged him tightly one more time.

"Until we meet again... Hazuki..." she whispered softly.

"... I love you," she added, her voice trembling slightly.

Hazuki smiled, his hand resting gently on her head. "I love you too."

Ellyn looked up at him, eyes shining through the tears, leaned forward and kissed him deeply, the morning light wrapping around them as the world seemed to fall silent for just a moment.

Their sweet moment was suddenly interrupted by a loud noise from above.

"Chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!"

"Blergh!!! Stop kissing already, Syaria!!!"

"Eh!? But last night you loved it!!!"

"That was last night!! Today is today!! Gih!! Stop kissing me already!!"

Ridan flailed in midair, his tiny puffball body squished mercilessly as Syaria kept smothering him with her puffy cloud-like lips.

"Ridaaaan~! One more~ Chu~!"

"Ghhh!! Somebody help me!! She’s trying to kill me!!"

Hazuki and Ellyn both blinked, then burst into laughter. The once-serious farewell turned into a scene of ridiculous chaos...just like always.

( End Of Chapter )