Chapter 11

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"Shiori-chan! What happened to your face?!" Mitsuri asked worriedly.

"I fell down the stairs yesterday."

"Oh my, you're too careless! Please be more careful!"

Shiori smiled at her friend. They were having lunch together after a while not seeing each other. The bruises on Shiori's face were already fading away, thanks to her incredible recovery speed.

"Where's Sayu-chan?" Mitsuri asked.

"She's at home with her friends. Her friends sometimes come over to play." Shiori answered.

"Ah... Your lover allows them to visit and play? That's so nice of him!"

Shiori simply nodded at her. She took another bite of her grilled salmon and chewed on it.

"Oh, I heard you went on a mission with Shinazugawa-san. How was it?"

"Nothing special actually. I was surprised when I heard I had to go on a joint mission with a pillar." Shiori said.

"... Um..." She trailed off.

"Shinazugawa-san is really good with kids, huh?"

"Oh, I don't know about that." Mitsuri said, placing a finger on her chin. "I saw him helping out some children and elderly people, he must've been very kind in the inside."

"But if you ask him whether he has a sibling or no, he'll answer no despite having a younger brother."

"He has a younger brother?" Shiori asked.

"Yeah, I heard from a fellow pillar." Mitsuri nodded. "I wonder what makes him act like that..."

"Anyway, your wedding is ten months away! I'm so excited to know what my friend is getting married!" Mitsuri clasped her hands together.

"Say, I never know how you two meet each other." Mitsuri said, leaning forward on the table.

"Oh, I never told you?" Shiori placed down her chopsticks. She leaned her cheek on her palm, "Let's see... It was about five years ago when Sayu was still a baby."

"After my father sold me to a brothel, I had an opportunity to escape so I ran away with Sayu in my arms." Shiori said. "The people in the brothel caught up to me so I couldn't escape but at that moment, Izuru-san and his mother walked past us."

"The next day, they came to the brothel and asked them to release me. I don't know how much they paid to buy me out but his mother was so kind to me. They offered me to stay with them and, well, that's it."

"It must've been fate, isn't it?! To think that he was the one who found you!" Mitsuri squealed. "Aw, my heart is beating faster just by thinking of it!"

"Love sure does make your heart flutter!"

Shiori stared at the soup bowl. Her heart never beats faster around Izuru even once. She just smiled at her friend and offered her another plate of mochi.

"Move! Move! Make way or I'll kill you!"

Shiori and Mitsuri looked at the group of men that just arrived into the shop. They forcefully drove people away from their tables to sit down by themselves. Shiori noticed that some of them were in a pretty bad shape.

"Where's the worker?!" The man slammed his hand in the table. "Get someone over here now or I'll crush the place!"

"They're so violent..." Mitsuri whispered. She frowned at the group of men. "I can't let them do as they please."

Mitsuri was about to stand up but Shiori grabbed her hand.

"Wait, Mitsuri." Shiori said. She didn't want Mitsuri to get caught with Izuru's underlings. Shiori listened in to their conversation.

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