114 Ch. 114 'Eclipse'

Niken and Kazuto came down the mountain right after sunset. They both entered a village that was now full of decorations of the festival atmosphere and lantern lighted on every street corner.

There were various kinds of stalls selling different types of tasty snacks. Niken's eyes lit up at the pink cotton candy stall, and without hesitation, she expressed her desire to eat the cotton candy.

Kazuto bought her the pink cotton candy without question, making Niken squeaked happily. Next, they walked into the crowd, who were looking at an attraction.

A group of adventurers performed an acrobat attraction by showing off their martial arts skills using a sword.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of swords clanking each other was heard, followed by the admiration of the audience. The two individuals who wielded a sword in their right hands looked like two people fighting a great conflict. Miraculously, they did not look like they were enemies; on the contrary, they both seemed to be dancing beautifully.

Their sword dance was unique with agile movements as if to attack at the same time looks elegant.

Niken had never seen a sword dance before, but undoubtedly, this was one of the most beautiful dances she had ever seen.

Niken glanced at the man next to her, remembering that the black knight's primary weapon was the black sword. Is it possible that Kazuto could also dance to the sword? Ah, she really wants to see it.

"I can't dance." A firm answer came out of the man's mouth, making Niken dumbfounded.

How did the man know what he was thinking?

"The eclipse hasn't happened yet, so our minds are still connected. I can hear whatever you think."

A red tinge adorned Niken's face, feeling helpless. She forgot this simple fact.

The mind between the knights and their inamorata would be connected per both parties' agreement after their fusion has taken place entirely.

Edward and Scarlet were the same. They could communicate with each other through their minds if they wanted. But they preferred to speak out so they could enjoy each other's voices.

Boom!

The sound of an explosion from unexpected fireworks was heard, making all eyes turned to the eruption. A variety of beautiful colors appeared in the dark sky, accompanied by cheerful local music.

"Wow," Niken kept clicking in admiration while enjoying the view of the sky.

Previously in her orphanage, she had played fireworks, but not as excited and impressive as this.

Kazuto smiled contentedly at the expression of his inamorata's happiness. He circled his hands at Niken's waist to close their bodies. After all, they were in the middle of a crowdedness. Kazuto did not want them to separate in the middle of this sea of ​​people.

That's why, before that happens, he would make sure they don't separate.

Just as the music stopped indicating the sword dance had ended, a large black circle appeared blocking the moon that had just shone brightly.

An eclipse has occurred!

Kazuto felt a little dizzy once the moon no longer appeared. He tightened his grip on Niken's waist to ensure that his inamorata was still with him.

"Kazu? What happened to you?"

After adapting to his physical state, which was far weaker than before, Kazuto answered the girl's question gently. "No, nothing. Come on, let's see another performance."

Niken agreed happily without feeling suspicious of the small change that had taken place in Kazuto's pale expression.

They went to stalls selling in the streets. Kazuto bought Niken two cute butterfly-shaped hairpins. After paying the pins, Kazuto attached the clip to Niken's black hair.

The butterfly pin was golden yellowish color now attached to each side of Niken's jet-black hair.

"Very beautiful. Do you know your beauty always stole my breath away?"

For the umpteenth time, Niken's face flushed at the praise without saying anything. How should she answer that? She had no idea.

Kazuto chuckled at her shyness and picked up her hands as if it was the most natural thing to do.

Then they walked deeper towards the game booth. There were dozens of arrows with a bow, and various items arranged neatly on a large wooden table.

Even though Niken was no longer a child, she was still very fond of dolls. Especially when she saw a giant rabbit doll colored as white as snow, she couldn't help remembering her childhood.

Ah, she misses her father and mother. She wished both of them still alive somewhere, and the evil man failed killed them.

"You want the doll?"

Niken nodded her head along with a hopeful look making Kazuto giggling.

Without asking further questions, the man had gone to the stall keeper to query in more detail how to win the large rabbit doll.

"You need to shoot this arrow to the center of the target there."

Kazuto and Niken looked at the target attached to the tree, which was located some distance from where they stood. The white circular objective with some black lines inside it and the red circle in the middle was broad. But isn't the distance too far?

Kazuto was suspicious that the owner of this kiosk was deliberately giving this difficult mission so that the visitors would not easily win the grand prize. Kazuto had never shot archery before, but he had learned it before he became a knight.

He wanted to test himself whether he still remembered his archery training or not. If Scarlet were here, there was no doubt the girl would have shot her arrow right on target dozens of times. Alas, Scarlet was not here, and he didn't want to let someone else get the main prize for his inamorata.

Kazuto had taken a bow and put up an archery position. He smiled obliviously, a pair of black eyes were staring at him with adoring eyes.

Niken was stunned and couldn't take off her eyes from the youth's posture before her. His tall body and strong muscles, not to mention the hands that pulled the bowstring, looked sturdy made it difficult for Niken to swallow her saliva.

Her face got hot, remembering that both strong hands had hugged her, calmed her down, and also...

Ehem... 

Groped her body.