Chapter 119: [Kurokawa] Mother’s home

Chapter 119: [Kurokawa] Mother’s home

"Hey, W-Kurokawa, Rachel. Could I ask you something?" Interestingly, that person was Han. I was half-expecting Blondie to break the silence.

"Go ahead." Not looking up from cutting my vegetables, I responded.

"Firstly, I don't mean this to be rude, but why are you all so fascinated by C? And don't take what I said wrongly, please. I know he's a great guy and all. I'm just curious what you think about him to...you know...learn from him."

"Hmm..." Rachel and I both stopped what we were doing to look at him in surprise.

Sensing the sudden spotlight dawned upon him, Han quickly continued: "Look, I'm not asking you to go on and on about your love life, but if you could answer that question, I would appreciate it a lot. I mean, everyone here has their own opinion. And there's no such thing as a wrong opinion in this case. But I'd like to hear yours. Please understand that I'm not trying to butt in or anything. I'm just trying to improve by imitating the Master."

"Well, well, well. Look at you, Han!" Rachel nodded her head like a mother seeing her child growing up. "You're finally learning! That's very good! Commendable!"

"U-Uh-huh." Han smiled awkwardly.

"So, let's see, Wawa. Do you want to go first? Or shall I have the honor?" Rachel looked over at my side.

"He's willing to do anything to make me happy." I shrugged my shoulders lightly while returning to slicing the onions. "If there's one thing I've noticed with him, it is that he cares about me. He notices if I'm sad or angry and tries to cheer me up."

"Yep. I agree with Wawa. C is kind. He's kind to a fault. Sometimes a little bit too much and to so many people. He definitely needs rest." Rachel sighed. She was right. C should not be waving his kindness like some magic, ready to be cast at one's notice. Doing so consistently had evidently worn him out and dealt devastating blows when it did not work in his favor. Unfortunately, most of the time, his kindness was in vain.

"Okay, kindness. Noted." Han mumbled to himself. "What about you, Rachel? Which part of C makes you fall for him?"

"It's his attention to detail." Rachel's aquamarine eyes began to waver.

"Huh... What does that even mean?"

"Like I said, he's kind. Very kind. But that means he's also very attentive. He'll remember everything you say and do and take it to his heart, never letting them go."

Even when Rachel was not completely focused, I still could not do anything but admire her knife work once taken a glance. Since our household did not have much money for anything too fancy, the protein I could get had to be skinned and deboned before consumption. Plus, to save myself from walking outside our house many times a week, usually, we had the whole piece to dissect later, making the workload even more strenuous than it should. Honestly, I did not find that troubling, but preparing the meat was too time-consuming. Yet, Rachel made everything seem like child's play.

"C's... circumstances have given him the trait of paying attention to details. He knows what should be and should not, then acts accordingly." Even with hazy eyes, seemingly in a dream, Rachel could masterfully handle the knife. As the tip of the kitchenware pierced precisely between the skin and a layer of white meat, with one swift motion, everything was separated as though that was its original status. Placing the skin on one side and the rest under her hand, the blond-haired girl severed all the tendons and pulled the bones out like a surgeon who had countless operations. There was no unnecessary movement in how Rachel moved. She was not just efficient. She performed a dance, a knife dance, beautifully and elegantly.

"It gives me a sense of being looked after."

"True. Very true. I also got the same thing." Rachel nodded again and again, seemingly in deep thought.

At this point, everything was clear. Touching C and kissing him would have different effects. While getting a touch from C would free a character in this iteration from their fate, a kiss was a gateway that opened memories from a previous iteration where we were together. From how Rachel reacted last night at Han's mansion, albeit vague, I thought something was amiss. Nonetheless, Rachel's answers just now confirmed my thinking to be correct.

More importantly, there were similarities in how we viewed the world. In both cases, between Rachel's and mine, our final moments with C were apocalyptic events where nothingness was trying to consume everything. It was distinct from a reset where all would suddenly collapse. The event happened over time until there was nothing left. In our final moments, there was no one besides us. No Han, no rivals.

"It was... bittersweet..." The taste of our past lingered on the tip of my tongue.

In my past, C explained that the apocalypse we were seeing was another ending where I would still have my memories wiped. It happened when no one got Han to themself, a typical Bad Ending according to this game world logic. Still, even when he kind of shrugged it off his back like something uninteresting, I could not help feeling C did not mention something crucial. Dear husband was trying to hide it from me, his wife, a piece of information that would foil his plan. And I knew my husband well. His reason was singular: to give us a future. He never said anything. I understood his heart regardless.

I needed to find out what C was hiding.

And I needed to find that out fast.

In order to do that...C would need to have his memories returned.

Dropping his shoulders, Han continued to look exacerbated: "Honestly, hearing you two saying things like this really makes me envious of C. I have no idea how he could woo everyone in such a short time, but I guess that is why he is the Master and not me."

I chose to ignore Han to focus on what was coming next. Now that I could confirm Rachel had memories of her relationship with C, it was not farfetched to say she knew who was about to appear in this story. Even more so, from this point onward, we shared information about the main storyline.

"Hey, Rachel. Just a quick question. It is unrelated to the kiss, though."

"Sure."

"You know who's coming next, right?"

"Of course. It's A's little sister. The little devil An."

Knock-knock

At the same time as Rachel's answer, my heart sank.

Mother was home.