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Another adventure filled with unexpected twists and turns. Now that everything had settled, they finally came to a stop, each letting out a relieved sigh.
Cor Hoshino slid gracefully off Sephiroth’s back, lightly touching her toes to the ground as she carefully rotated her right ankle. Though healed, the injury still ached faintly.
Looking back on an entire day of being carried, lifted, held, piggybacked, and cradled by him, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of helplessness. Still, her expression remained as proud and dignified as a princess—if only she had ridden Sesame Paste from the start, she wouldn’t have ended up being such a burden.
She shot a sidelong glance at the silver-haired teenager stretching his shoulders and neck, she took a deep breath, and pushed down the creeping sense of guilt. Then, in a tone of utmost seriousness, she said, “We all made it back in one piece today, and that’s all thanks to you.”
Sephiroth, who was already displeased that yet again—again—he had been dragged into a dungeon run with her, resulting in yet another delay to his SOLDIER mission, was mentally strategizing an emergency recovery plan.
Hearing her words, he paused mid-stretch, his sharp gaze flickering with scrutiny and mild caution—was that genuine gratitude he heard, or was she just messing with him? He knew her too well to take it at face value.
But Cor's eyes were unwavering, filled with nothing but earnest admiration as she declared, “You’re incredibly reliable—when I was injured and unable to move, you carried me effortlessly; when I was taking damage, you healed me without missing a beat while maintaining strikes off monsters; when I went all out in combat, you charged in to support me with unparalleled speed and landed the finishing blow. By Wutaian women’s standards, someone like you is—”
Before she could finish, Sephiroth was momentarily caught off guard. His first instinct was to respond, “In that situation, operational efficiency and the survival of allies take priority…” But the slight rebuke in his tone quickly lost momentum under her words.
Wait… was she about to say “that” word?
Cor hesitated for a moment before averting her gaze and murmuring, “Besides, let’s not even talk about how outstanding you already are—you’re basically my ideal…”
Sephiroth felt a strange mixture of anticipation and wariness—was she really about to call him “that”?
That word!
“Chocobo.”
Cor shut her eyes and, with unwavering confidence, uttered those syllables.
Silence fell over the area. Then, opening her bright, starry eyes, she looked at him again and added, “A silver chocobo—the kind so rare and legendary that no matter how perfect the breeding conditions are, it would still be impossible to produce another one in a hundred years. Perhaps only Sesame Paste can be compared.”
Sephiroth exhaled slightly, relieved.
And yet, an unfamiliar sense of emptiness lingered in his chest… even an inexplicable irritation.
Not that he could quite put his finger on what exactly felt off.