At this moment, as we finished our meal, all we could hear aside from the crashing of waves and the sound of it echoing through the cave was the flickering of the flame—but most importantly, how this particular organ in our chest was pumping rapidly. Still, it felt wrong after being with Aoi-san for all these years—and for some reason, feeling this type of way—so yeah, I broke the silence as I popped an innocent question:
"So, umm… Aoi-san… Is there a place where we can sleep here or are we hiking back to the village?"
"..." Aoi couldn't even look me in the eye.
"Aoi-san?"
"Y-Yes?! Oh— Ah, I mean… there's a place I— We— I-I could sleep i-in but… C-Can't we hike back? We can light a torch, right?"
I dryly chuckled, "Forgot about the forest spirits and shit? And I'm tired, like really~ tired. I'd sleep in the sand if I have to—"
"N-No! Absolutely not! You'll catch a cold and your feet are—"