Clang—Ping!
Shichen and Zastin's figures intertwined; when the holy sword t the great‑sword, fierce sparks burst and scattered everywhere.
Neither man used any sword techniques; they relied purely on the hardness of their blades, their physical power, and reflexes.
Their silhouettes flashed so swiftly that, without staring hard, one could see only the flying sparks and not their forms at all.
Even Lala, watching from a distance, was transfixed.
"Ojou-sama, this man truly is remarkable—he can trade blows with Zastin without losing ground," Peke exclaid in admiration.
"Mmm …" Lala followed Shichen's movents, eyes shimring.
"Ojou-sama?"
Peke noticed sothing odd about Lala. He called to her, but she did not respond, and he felt uneasy.
Still, this man wasn't bad—able to spar with Zastin, far stronger than those other candidates, and handso too.
He suddenly felt that letting Shichen beco her fiancé might not be unacceptable after all.
"Shichen, you really are impressive! It's been ages since anyone could fight like this!"
After several minutes of combat, Zastin finally voiced his praise—though the sound of it made Shichen a bit uncomfortable.
"Are you sure you're not holding back?" Shichen asked while blocking Zastin's assault, adapting as he went to fighting with a sword.
He truly knew no sword arts—certainly no sword‑dance—he was rely swinging wildly on the strength of his body.
Zastin, however, was the foremost swordsman of planet Deviluke, which dominated the galaxy; his technique was definitely top‑class.
So there was no way he was flailing as randomly as Shichen—aning he had to be pulling his punches.
"Sorry. I didn't an to mislead you," Zastin said after they clashed and bounced apart, lowering his blade instead of pressing the attack.
"Didn't an to?"
"Right. Since you're not using sword skills, I won't use them either. A fair fight."
"Is that so?" Shichen smiled and shook his head. "You're… a pretty decent fellow."
"Hardly."
"Though perhaps you misunderstood—I really don't know any sword techniques; I'm just swinging."
"I realized that… but why do you have that sword?"
Zastin had seen Shichen's situation from their first exchange; that was why he chose a "fair fight."
It wasn't just his nature; it also concerned Shichen's current role—after all, the girl he liked might soday list Shichen among her fiancé candidates.
"I'd like to know that myself," Shichen said, montarily distracted as he looked at the silver holy sword in his hand.
"Picked it up by chance? It's an excellent blade," Zastin remarked casually.
"I agree." Shichen nodded with a smile.
"Then let's continue—I want to see how far you can go," Zastin said, gathering himself.
Shichen indeed did not intend to keep stalemating.
"Sorry, but next I'm going to fight seriously."
"Seriously? You were holding back?" Zastin was surprised.
"I was only testing its power just now. Now I'll fight in earnest."
Shichen turned and winked at Lala.
"Eh?" Lala looked at him in puzzlent.
"What do you an?" Zastin asked curiously.
"Do you know why she ran away from ho?"
"Because blind dates are a hassle?"
"No—it's that none of you considered her thoughts or her feelings."
"You an…?" Zastin frowned.
"Lala is still just a girl. Heirship and arranged marriages are far too early for her. She has things she wants to do; she wants the freedom to live as she pleases. Why can't you understand?"
"Shichen?" Lala's gaze sparkled; she stared at him without blinking.
Her heart raced; she couldn't take her eyes off Shichen, wanting to throw herself into his arms, to be close to him.
She had thought they were only casual acquaintances, but because he had saved her she planned to use that to ask him for help so she could stay—yet she hadn't expected him to understand her so well, despite knowing each other only briefly.
Suddenly she felt the two of them might be a fated encounter.
"Zastin!"
Lala flew to stand before Shichen and said to Zastin,
"I lied to you before, but now it's different."
"Ojou-sama …?"
"I truly like Shichen now. I want to marry him!" she declared, gentle yet firm.
She could not help but turn to Shichen; the pale blush on her cheeks deepened, charming as cherry blossoms.
"Lala." Shichen shook his head.
"Shichen, will you marry ?"
"You can't just decide to marry on the spot."
"Eh? You won't?"
"We've only just t—shouldn't we start by getting to know each other?" Shichen reminded her with a smile.
"So you an…?" She looked at him in delighted surprise.
"Marriage is too soon, but we can date first. You understand this planet's customs, right?"
"Then I'm Shichen's girlfriend? Wonderful!"
Lala bead and leapt into his arms.
Once again tackled, Shichen gently supported her.
He suddenly wondered if Lala counted as his first official girlfriend; neither Tohru nor Kasumigaoka Utaha had ever raised that label with him.
But girlfriend or not, it didn't matter—he treated them all as family.
"So that's how it is?"
Zastin suddenly spoke—and actually burst into tears.
"Shichen, I have lost."
"Huh?" Shichen looked at him, baffled.
Angry with himself, Zastin explained:
"My duty is to obey King Deviluke's orders, yet I failed to understand Ojou-sama's feelings… I have lost completely."
"Not fighting anymore?" Shichen asked.
"No. I think you are worthy of Ojou-sama."
Zastin shook his head and turned away.
"I don't know whether the other fiancé candidates will approve, but you should be fine. I'll report this to the king. For now, I entrust Ojou-sama to you."
Zastin walked beneath the spaceship, floated up, and entered it.
The black‑clad man who had been unconscious also returned to the ship.
The spaceship's lights dimd; it rose slowly, headed into the night sky, and in a blink vanished like a shooting star.
"That's wonderful, Shichen!"
Lala hugged him tightly, her cheek against his chest, joy overflowing.
Shichen dismissed the Demon Killing Sacred Sword, gently patting her back.
"Now you can live as freely as you like."
"Mm, all thanks to you."
Lala looked up, eyes bright and shimring.
"What's wrong?"
"Shichen, since I'm your girlfriend now… shouldn't I do girlfriend things?"
Lala suddenly flushed, her gaze a little evasive.
"Girlfriend things? You an…?"
"Shichen… would you like to… kiss?"
Lala tilted her head up slightly, fragrant breath brushing him.
Her swirling eyes, cherry‑pink lips, exquisite face—so close that Shichen's mouth suddenly felt dry.
"Sounds like you want a kiss," he teased.
"Don't you?"
"Of course—"
Before he finished, he held her close, lifted her onto tiptoe, and lowered his head to kiss her.
The instant they touched, Shichen felt the velvety softness of Lala's lips and grew more ardent.
His left arm circled her waist, his right hand pressed the back of her head, deepening the kiss.
"W‑waaah!"
Atop Lala's head, Peke blushed crimson and shyly looked away.
Shichen did not "bully" Lala for long; after a mont he let her go.
"Huff—huff—"
Lala slumped weakly against him, face flushed, breathing hard.
She knew nothing; this first attempt left her clueless about breathing, and she'd nearly run out of air.
And the new sensation left her slightly intoxicated; she felt soft and boneless—without Shichen's support she might not have stood.
So this is what a kiss is like? How wonderful…
"You okay?" Shichen asked, amused by her dazed look.
"Y‑yes… Shichen, were you satisfied?" Lala asked sweetly.
"Not really—but no rush, we have plenty of ti."
"Right, I can live with Shichen now."
The thought struck her, and she imdiately grew nervous.
"If we live together… doesn't that an we'll do lots of things?"
"Want to know? I'll teach you slowly," Shichen said.
"Mmm …"
Lala shyly buried her face against his chest.
"Already imagining things not suitable for children?"
"N‑no!" she denied in a tiny buzz.
"No hurry—you'll experience everything in ti. For now, let's get dinner."
"Dinner?"
"Yeah, I haven't eaten yet."
"Then I want to try this planet's food too!"
"All right, let's go."
~~~
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