"Well, aside from the obvious, sometimes ......," I hesitated. I'm not sure -- I don't know how to read minds -- but sometimes when you're talking about something else, it's like you're trying to say goodbye. This is the best summary of those painful feelings that his words have caused in my heart from time to time.

"Very sharp." He whispered. Another wave of pain struck, and on the surface he seemed to confirm my fears. "But that's really why you're wrong." He was about to begin to explain, but then, his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'those obvious manifestations'?"

"Okay, look at me." I said, but it wasn't necessary, because he was already watching me. "I'm pretty ordinary—well, except for a few bad things, like all these brushes of death and being clumsy like a handicapped person. And look at you. I waved at him, and all of his disorienting extremes.

His brow twined angrily for a moment, then calmed down, and he looked like he knew everything. "You don't see yourself clearly, you know. I'll admit you're absolutely right about those bad things," he chuckled gloomily, "It's a pity you didn't hear what every human male in the school was thinking when you first came here. ”

I blinked, surprised. "I can't believe it......" I whispered to myself.

"Trust me, even this time - you're the exact opposite of the ordinary."

My embarrassment was worse than the pleasure in the look in his eyes when he said this. I hastened to remind him of my initial argument.

"But I didn't say goodbye." I pointed it out.

"Don't you see? That's just the proof that I'm right. I love it the most, because if I can do it—he shook his head, as if struggling with the thought—"if it's the right thing to do to leave, I'd rather hurt myself than hurt you, as long as I can keep you safe." ”

I glared, "And you don't think I can do the same?" ”

"You'll never have to make that choice."

Suddenly, his moody mood changed again. A naughty, sarcastic smile reappeared on his face.

"Of course, making sure you're safe is becoming a full-time job, and I need to be by your side forever."

"No one wants to kill me today." I reminded him that it was nice to be able to move on to a relatively light topic. I don't want him to talk about parting anymore. If I had to do this, I guess I would have put myself in danger so that he could get close to me...... I kicked the thought out of my mind before his keen eyes could see it on my face. This idea is obviously going to get me in trouble.

"Not yet." He added.

"yes." I agree. I should have argued with him, but now I just want to let his expectations fall through.

"I have another question for you." He still had a nonchalant look on his face.

"Something to say."

"Do you really need to go to Seattle this Saturday, or is this just an excuse to say no to all your admirers?"

Thinking about it, I couldn't help but grimac: "You know, I haven't forgiven you for that Moore incident." "I warn him." It's all your fault that he deludes himself into thinking I'm going to go to the official ball with him. ”

"Oh, even without me he would have found a chance to invite you - I just wanted to see your face," he chuckled. If it weren't for the charm of his laughter, I would have been angrier. "If I had invited you, would you have turned me down?" He asked, still laughing to himself.

"Probably not." I confessed. "But I'll break my promise later — make up a medical condition or pretend to sprain my ankle."

He was confused: "Why are you doing this? ”

I shook my head sadly. "I guess, you haven't seen me in gym class, but I thought you'd understand."

"Are you talking about the fact that you can't walk over a flat, solid stretch of road without finding anything to trip you up?"

"Obviously."

"That won't be a problem." He said with confidence. "It's up to who's going to lead you to dance." He could see that I was about to raise an objection, so he interrupted me. "But you haven't told me yet - do you have to go to Seattle, or do you mind if we do something else?"

As soon as I hear the word "we", I don't care about anything.

"I'll accept either one." I demanded. "But I have a reluctant request."

He seemed wary, as he always did whenever I asked an open-ended question. "What?"

"Can you let me drive?"

He frowned, "Why?" ”

"Well, mainly because when I told Chuck I was going to Seattle, he specifically asked me if I was going alone, and at that point, I was alone. I probably wouldn't lie if he asked again, but I don't think he would ask again. And leaving my truck at home will only unnecessarily raise the topic. Also, because of your crazy driving that scares the hell out of me. ”

He rolled his eyes. "Of all the things that scare you out about me, you're only worried about my driving." He shook his head in disgust, but then his eyes became serious again. "Don't you want to tell your father that you're going to spend the whole day with me?" There was an undercurrent in his question that I couldn't understand.

"With Chuck, it's better to talk less." I'm very concerned about it. "Anyway, where are we going?"

"The weather was going to be nice that day, so I couldn't be in plain sight...... Of course you can come with me, if you want. "Again, he gave the choice and let me decide for myself.

"And you're going to show me what you're referring to about the sun?" I asked, excited about the idea of solving yet another unsolved mystery.

"Yes." He smiled, then paused. "But even if you don't want to...... Alone with me, I still hope you don't go to Seattle alone. I shudder at the thought of the dangers you might encounter in a city of this size. ”

I was a little annoyed: "Draconda is three times the size of Seattle - and that's just the population. In terms of area—"

"But obviously," he interrupted me. "When you were in Celestial Dragon City, you weren't in a big disaster yet. So I want you to stay near me. His eyes began to be unfairly hypnotized again.

I didn't argue, maybe because of his eyes, or maybe because of his motives. Not to mention the pointlessness of arguing about this in any case. "As it happens, I don't mind being alone with you."

"I know." He sighed worriedly. "But, you have to tell Chuck."

"What am I doing this for?"

His eyes suddenly sharpened: "In order to give me a little motivation to bring you back." ”

I swallowed. However, after thinking about it for a while, I decided. "I think I'll try my luck."

He snorted angrily and looked away.

"Let's talk about something else." I suggested.

"What do you want to talk about?" He asked. He was still annoyed.

I looked around and confirmed that we were not in anyone's sphere of influence. As my eyes wandered the room, I met his sister's gaze, and Milani was watching me. Everyone else looked at Roger. I immediately looked away and fell back on him. Then, I asked myself the first thing that came to my mind.

"Why did you go to Goat Rock Wilderness last weekend...... What about going hunting? Chuck said it wasn't a good place to camp because there were bears everywhere. ”

He stared at me as if I had overlooked something obvious.

"Bear?" I gasped, and he laughed wickedly. "You know, it's not yet season to hunt bears." I added firmly, trying to hide my shock.

"If you look closely, you'll see that the law only targets hunting with weapons." He told me.

He looked at my face with amusement and watched as I digested the knowledge bit by bit.

"Bear?" I repeated with difficulty.

"Grizzlies are Dysonka's favourite." His tone was still casual, but his eyes were closely watching my reaction. I tried to regain my composure.

"Uh-huh," I said, taking another bite of my pizza and bowing my head. I chewed slowly, then sipped the Coke for a long time, still not looking up.

"So," I said after a moment, finally meeting his anxious gaze. "What's your favorite?"

He raised a frown and curled the corners of his mouth in disapproval. "Cougar."

"Ahh I said in a polite, disinterested tone and started drinking my soda again.

"Of course," he said, his tone mirroring my tone. "We have to be careful not to allow inappropriate hunting to damage the environment. We try to concentrate our hunt in areas where there is a surplus of carnivores - the range of changes is as wide as possible according to our needs. There are usually a lot of wild deer and elk, and it's okay to hunt them, but what's the fun in that? He smiled self-deprecatingly.

"To be more precise." I took another bite of the pizza and muttered.

"Early spring is Dysonka's favourite bear hunting season – they've just woken up from hibernation, so they're more likely to get irritated." He seemed to remember some joke and laughed.

"There's nothing more fun than an enraged grizzly bear." I agreed, and nodded.

He snickered and shook his head, "Tell me what you're really thinking, please." ”

"I tried to imagine it all - but I couldn't." I confessed. "How can you hunt a bear with your bare hands?"

"Oh, we have weapons." He quickly bared his bright teeth and smiled sinisterly. I was crushed for a while, before it betrayed me. "It's just not the kind of weapon they can think of when they're writing about hunting. If you've seen the bears attack on TV, you can imagine what Dyson Card would look like hunting. ”

I couldn't stop another shiver that flew down my spine. I stole a glance at Dyson Card across the cafeteria, thankful that he wasn't looking in my direction. Muscles covered his arms and torso, and somehow the muscles on his body looked even more intimidating now.

Roger followed my gaze and chuckled. I looked at him discouraged.

"Do you look like a bear too?" I asked, in a low voice.

"More like a lion, or rather, that's what they told me." He said briskly. "Maybe our preference makes sense."

I tried to smile. "Maybe." I repeated. But my mind was filled with opposing images, and I couldn't put them together. "Can I go check it out?"

"Absolutely not!" His face turned even paler than usual, and his eyes suddenly became furious. I stepped back in fright - though I never wanted to admit it to him - horrified by his reaction. He also stepped back, his arms folded over his chest.

"Too scary for me?" I asked when I could control my voice again.

"If that's the reason, I'll take you out tonight." He said categorically. "You need to supplement with a dose of wholesome fear. Nothing can be more beneficial to you. ”

"Why, exactly?" I urged, trying not to pay attention to his angry look.

He glared at me for a minute, a long minute.

"Next time." He finally said. He stood up with a light movement. "We're going to be late."

I looked around and was shocked to see that he was right, and the cafeteria was almost empty. When I'm with him, time and space blur and I lose my sense of them completely. I jumped up and grabbed my backpack from the back of my chair.

"Then, next time." I agreed. I won't forget.

"What is the reason for this?" I thought so.