Only with Your Heart

Ruklov couldn't believe he was still breathing.

I don't even know why I keep breathing, having abandoned the meaning of living long ago.

Ruklov stood in front of the armor displayed in the corner of his chamber, looking at the dull silver glow with his lifeless eyes. Emphasizing pragmatism in everything, Lucrov hates flashy decorated armor.

What decorations are needed for iron protective equipment to kill people and prevent them from being killed?

But at that time, at probably the beginning of his life, Luklov chose one out of several helmets, not in practicality, but in its appearance, and reached out.

Something shaped to hide the top half of your face and only expose your mouth.

- I found your goddess.

Rodolgo's good crouching voice crosses Lucroff's back of the brain.

Over and over again.

Strong, strong.

─ ─ Exposed black hair with a rare exotic look. Wearing a little unusual clothes and saying a few strange things, she's a young daughter......

Ruklov ascertained the weight of the helmet in his hand and pulled his mouth. Impossible. The likelihood of that brunette being a thousand cranes is equal to nothing.

Wouldn't you?

Fourteen years have actually passed since Ruklov last saw her.

Young daughter, it can't be.

Thirty-two if you're alive...... I may have lost my unusual spirituality, but it would be about the time I was an adult woman, boasting a round, ripe beauty to smell. Ruklov was supposed to be next to her like that. I was supposed to dedicate my whole life to her like that.

It's all a crushed dream.

Disappeared love.

So it was a terribly funny story that Ruklov now chose a helmet to hide the scratches running from forehead to brow.

Don't expect it. Don't expect it. Don't expect it.

Ruklov repeatedly told himself.

How many times... how many times I would have tasted this despair. A hundred? It was hard to count. Ruklov was too hurt to hope again over this period.

─ ─ If you think it's a lie, come. Either way, it's quite apart. If you don't pay, I'll sell her to another man. Wouldn't be a bad value......

Other, man.

Even the dreams I gave up at last. Even if I didn't believe what Rodolgo said. Just imagine a situation where Chizuru would be in the hands of another man, etc... Ruklov's reason had blown up without a trace.

It's mine. Chizuru. I won't give it to anyone.

I can't give it to you.

With all these years gone by, "If I Live," it's no wonder Chizuru is happy with other men, and Luklov still has an irresistible desire for exclusivity.

It's funny. It's hilarious.

Still.

Still, Ruklov wore a clasp (crunchy tear) and when he wore armor, he held a helmet.

This is a ritual for peace of mind...... Luklov tried to assume so. Just to make sure that the brunette is not a thousand cranes, and to close her heart again, and live quietly.

Ruklov closed his eyes.

Chizuru.

How long would it take you to confuse me? How far do I go to ask you for answers?

About fifteen years ago...

That was an act of one evening, not a month after Chizuru showed up in this world.

Luklov, who had camped before sundown and was collecting dead branches that would become seeds of incendiary fire for a long night in late autumn, looked back, feeling his gaze behind his back.

I stand flat next to the tent I set up and want to see how Luklov looks...... I have eyes for Thousand Cranes.

Chizuru and.

Ruklov stared back at her.

Then Chizuru stretched out his spine as if he had found a prank and hid himself gently in the tent. ─ ─ Shit.

Dropping the dead branches he had on the ground, Ruklov headed to the tent where Chizuru disappeared. I'm glad that's already called a conditional reflex. When Chizuru becomes invisible, Ruklov wants to go after her. It was a simple conditional reflex.

A hard fact to change, perhaps.

"Didn't I tell you to stay in the tent, Chizul?

In a narrow tent where there was no place to hide, Chizuru was shrinking as he gripped the blanket.

As Luklov stands blocking the entrance, he looks up as he has noticed.

"Well, yeah... I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help"

"It's getting cold out there. I have trouble collecting raw trees that won't burn again. You just have to wait in the tent."

"But... luklov"

Chizuru was a strange being in every sense.

First of all, it's surprisingly lifeless.

If I couldn't ride a horse, I couldn't drink grapes, and if I couldn't start a fire, I didn't know how to wash them. So I thought he was a fairly spoiled princess in the original world, and he said he wasn't, he was just a commoner.

And for some reason, it had the odd nature of being restless if you don't work yourself when the people around you are working.

I think he said something like, 'Because it's nihongine'. Sometimes she had verses that seemed to think that one word could explain everything.

Luklov leaned against the wooden frame he had put up to support the entrance and exit of the tent, putting his arms together in front of his chest.

"You want to help?

Chizuru's eyes glowed.

"Yeah! Are you sure? What am I supposed to do?

Damn...... Ruklov felt something shake violently in him, eating his teeth off.

Is this creature (Chizuru) real?

Ruklov had to concentrate.

I have a mission to crusade the cursed 'evil dragon', with many responsibilities on my shoulders. Honestly, I didn't care what happened to the fate of the world or anything... but the task I once undertook must be put to rest. That was the nature of Luklov.

Not if you're chasing around the ass of a beautiful girl with flowing dark hair, crushed eyes.

... don't you?

"Come... look for branches over there that can be used for incineration. I'll teach you."

"Really? Good luck!

Jumping like a rabbit, Chizuru came right in front of Luklov. It shines its eyes and turns its gaze full of anticipation as if Ruklov is about to teach you where the treasure is (if any).

Ruklov reached forward.

Thousand cranes were neat for a moment, but immediately understood the meaning of the hand offered, and responded to it with a snack.

The two joined hands and left the flatlands where the Knights of the Bad Dragon Crusade, including Lone, were preparing for the camp.

Explaining how to identify dead branches suitable for non-burning raw trees and incineration, Chizuru eagerly listened and immediately began working.

"I'll gather it so Lucrov can rest a little."

Chizuru said.

"Do I look like I need a break?

Ruklov said it back sharply.

Chizuru looks like he's hurt and stops moving.

"That's not what I meant...... It's just that I've been bothering you all day... and now I want to help you."

Whispering so much, he turned a blind eye to escape Luklov's reaction and began to get enthusiastic about picking up dead branches - pretending to.

Oh, shit.

The evening sky was already dim.

Ruklov chose it even though he didn't have to go out of his way to pick a place like this, away from his people, to be alone. And I suffer the consequences.

Ruklov's chest nodded when this Gentile looked hurt.

When this maiden called the name of Ruklov, the unexplained joy filled her heart.

And more than anything else...... before this daughter, the man of Ruklov himself raised a wild cry.

In other words, around the groin, it's not ready for a fire.

Still, Ruklov thanked the long-time forebearer for conveniently hiding the area.

"It's my job to protect you. It's not annoying."

To Lucrov's twinkle, Thousand Cranes didn't give him a face... but he gave him a thin smile on his mouth. Except I couldn't say I was happy grinning.

"Right. It's your job."

"Yes."

"Yeah... Ah, there seems to be a lot more over there..."

Chizuru distanced himself from Gikshak and Ruklov under the guise of a snob. And I turned my back on Ruklov.

Just as Chizuru's heartache hurt Ruklov's chest, her happiness brought peace to Ruklov's heart.

─ ─ It's my job to protect you. It is an obligation to be accomplished over the course of my life, and somehow... it is also the joy of Ruklov.

But... damn... how could this girl disrupt Lucroff's thinking?

Why do you have to be danced to every move of a thousand cranes like this?

The problem was not that there was no answer.

Whether there was an answer or not, Ruklov couldn't help but look away from Thousand Cranes. Maybe... another lifetime... like an incurable disease.