Itadaki no Hecate Second

The Measure of a Whim

It was at that moment that Yuji recalled the age between them. Here was a girl at least a thousand years old or so for the current iteration of her duty, and at least several times that if you considered her entire existence. In stark contrast, he was still just in the middle of his teenage years.

"Actually, it's the same with humans," he told her solemnly. "Many people marry and make the vow, but it's a sad fact that a lot of them break that same vow and separate after a while. They dismiss the promise on the excuse that it was formed by some sort of whim, or worse, made it a tool for their own personal gain."

"That's... disgusting," Hecate said, her brow furrowing ever so slightly that one would not notice unless within arm's reach.

"But you know, my mom and dad married at a young age," he began to speak with admiration now. "Although they'd probably prefer to tell you the whole story themselves, they had a pretty close bond that exists even up to now. It was very difficult for them at first because they could hardly support themselves, since they were still students at the time. But, no matter how hard it got because of their circumstances, they were always there for each other, protecting and holding onto each other with all their heart. Either one of them could have broken it off like many human couples did, but they never let go of each other. It's still not too different from Denizens, but that should be a good thing too, right?"

Hecate smiled again and nodded slightly.

"I really appreciate them."

"Because you were born, and are the existence you are now," Hecate said as she recalled the many memories of the growing years he had shared with her.

"Yeah."

"Then I appreciate them too."

Yuji let his gladness show. While it was true that their age gap was indeed unfathomable, they still managed to connect so well somehow.

The Supreme Throne stopped in her tracks and the Mystes paused to look back at her. The girl looked deeply into the eyes of the boy, who was drawn into hers, and found himself immersed in the feelings of hopefulness, determination, and longing.

"Yuji, if we could find an alternative to my sacrifice as the Priestess, would you vow to stay with me forever?"

Yuji was stuck for an answer. He really did care about this girl and shared a unique bond with her, he could not deny that, not after all they've shared together. But he still felt like it was something he couldn't commit to just yet. Deep down, as much as he wanted to be with her and free her from her fate, he was still scared and hesitant.

Just like any normal human.

But why? He still did not understand. Was it because he could live forever and knew nothing about what could happen between them in the next two hundred years? Was it possible? It was difficult to be absolutely certain.

As he grasped for an answer to the girl's question, he noticed another girl coming up behind them, and realized that she had been listening to them for a while.

"A-Aah, Shana, f-fancy meeting you here," he said, obviously flustered. "How long have you been there?"

Hecate's mood immediately darkened, although it was very subtle outwardly. She turned towards the Flame Haze behind her.

Shana simply kept walking ahead, and a moment after passing by them, she turned back. Surprisingly, she did not look at the Supreme Throne with any hostility, but rather with a look of some small measure of sympathy, and it was enough to relax the latter slightly. Then she turned to Yuji with a glare, taking him aback. And then, the Flame Haze continued on with nary a word.