Trust.
Or, it would be right to say that Ryuu had absolute trust in Isao.
If Isao told her that she should pass the sea of fire, she would do it without hesitation, showing how much trust she had in him.
Yes, this guy might not be a good buy, but to her, he was gentle, so gentle that she often had terrible thoughts toward him occasionally.
At the same time, Ryuu also knew that he often hid something from her. His strength was undoubted, but did he really not need to pay anything to resurrect her deceased friends?
'Everyone...'
Five years had passed, but even so, their images were still vivid in her mind. Their laughter, personalities, fights, arguments, and everything. All of them passed together, whether it was fun or bad. Under the lead of the gentle goddess, Astrea, all of them gathered together to fix the Orario that had become a den of criminals.
The smile and happiness that everyone saw present was impossible to see five years ago.
The same thing might happen again today, but as Isao came, everyone was calmed, and a similar tragedy didn't happen once again.
Still, as usual, he took everything on his own, calmly and reliably, yet what did he truly feel inside his heart?
While she also felt happy when she thought she could meet her deceased friends again, she felt hesitant.
"Isao..."
"Hmm?"
The two had entered the dungeon, and with their levels, passing the 1st to 3rd Floor was like walking in the park. More importantly, Isao had a skill that allowed them to not be seen and remained invisible in the eyes of others, so their walk was smooth. Their destination was the 18th Floor, the place where Ryuu buried her deceased friends and the place where she buried their bodies.
If Isao wanted to resurrect Ryuu's friends, he had to get part of their DNA first.
But then again, Ryuu's body also had a mix of the DNAs of her deceased friends, so even if the DNA of her deceased friends disappeared, being devoured by monsters or dungeons, it should be okay.
Everything was good, but—
"L-Let's not do it."
Isao stopped and looked at Ryuu, who suddenly told him those words. "Really?"
"Yes." Ryuu had been hesitating for a while, but this time, she nodded. "I-I don't want anything to happen to you... you might say that everything will be okay, but... but if you are hurt again." More importantly, Hestia Familia had to participate in the War Game later, so if he was in a bad state, then if he lost...
"Ryuu."
Feeling his hand on her cheek, Ryuu looked up at him and stared at him in a daze. They had been so close before, but all of the intimate exchanges they had were either he teased her or she secretly made a move on him, so when he held her cheek tenderly and looked at her softly, she couldn't look away, and her feelings were so overflowing.
"I will be fine. I have made my preparations and I won't say something that I won't be sure of."
"But..."
"What do you want me to do to make sure that you believe me?"
When this question fell, Ryuu was surprised, but then he thought for a while and said, "Can... can I get pregnant too?"
"...what?"
Isao stared at Ryuu in disbelief, strangely and subtly. Naturally, he knew what kind of perverted things this elf had done to him, but he pretended that he didn't see anything since it was fun to see the pure and unbending elf slowly fall. However, she hadn't fallen yet, so that was why he was dumbfounded when he heard that she wanted children from him.
"I..."
Watching his surprised expression, Ryuu knew that she couldn't hide her feelings anymore. She had tried to become someone that Isao wished to be, a comrade who he could trust, and fought together, yet in the end, she saw him in the perverted eyes. She wanted him to impregnate her, make children, and have a family with him.
This was wrong, this was wrong, she had kept repeating herself, yet when she saw the loving gaze of Chloe, Eina, and even Hephaestus as they gently held their bellies, she couldn't help but imagine herself being in their places.
While she knew that she might not have a right to be happy, especially with how much blood she had shed by killing those who were involved with the Evilus... her emotions said otherwise.
Her rationality told her this wasn't good, yet her feelings told her to do so, especially when she felt Isao might disappear sooner or later.
Like a comet or even a meteor, his existence shone brightly, then disappeared into the dark sky.
She didn't want that.
She didn't want that to happen.
Yet, she knew that Isao bore many things, and her power was limited, especially when she could do nothing but just support him from behind, but even so, she didn't want him to die or even think of sacrificing his life for him.
Yes, while it was a bit selfish... Ryuu wanted to be one of the reasons for him to live.
"I... know that you want to make me happy, but... I want you to be happy too. I-I know that I-I might not be able to do it well, but I-I want to give you happiness, and... and give birth to your children..."
Her voice was a little low and quiet, but Isao could hear clearly the determination and courage that she expressed in those words.
Yes, for Ryuu, her deceased friends were important, especially when they had been working hard, fighting to save her. Even one of her skills allowed her to make use of the skills of her deceased friends, so when he heard that she would choose him over them, he couldn't help but think that his existence really had become important in the minds of others.
To be honest, while he knew that it might be wrong for him to think of this, he had always thought that he would leave this world sooner or later, so he never thought of making an important relationship with others. Even if they left, he would be okay, but then he knew that it was wrong since he ignored the feelings of others.
It was like when he was with Maya and Miya, he thought that he made it right, but the moment he told them that he could go to the past to change their past, it made them realize that they didn't mean much in his life, which made them cling to him.
Well, this thought of his was also something that he couldn't help since he knew that he had wronged all the girls he had met, so he tried to compensate them, but wasn't their meeting with him also happiness for them?
He wasn't the source of a disaster but a source of happiness.
Fortunately, everything wasn't late, and there was still time for him to fix everything.
Being a good person... he shouldn't look at it as how the majority viewed him since he didn't care about the majority. Instead, he should look at how those who were close to him saw him since, unlike the majority, those who were close to him understood him well.
This was what he should think of, and as for Ryuu's friends, when their children were born, it wouldn't be too late to meet them, so at this moment, he kissed her lips, which caused her to be surprised and shy, yet happily accepted it.
Still—
"W-Wait, we're in the outside! A-At least, get a room!"
As expected, it was impossible for an elf to do it outside, even though they were known as a nature-loving race.
Nevertheless, this wasn't a problem for him, especially when he had the "Infinity Castle."
As the portal of this castle opened, the two directly entered and worked hard for the future of the living beings in the lower world.
Still, if Muzan knew what Isao did with this ability, there was no doubt he would be in tears, filled with happiness since everything that this guy had worked on for thousands of years was used well by Isao.
"..." Muzan.