Alluring Secret : Black Vow

Chapter 2 : Part 4 : Contract

Chapter 2, Part 4 – Contract

Gentle sunlight illuminated a single branch on the Tree of Life. As a source of holy energy, angels often took breaks here. Rin stretched out on a low, shady branch, taking a brief rest. Lately, it had been busy here in Heaven.

It had been about a year since the demon faith investigation had begun in the Velcant Region. Unable to find any useful information even now, the units put on the mission continued to busily survey the human world daily. In particular, Kaito's unit, which had Velcant under their direct surveillance, was the busiest.

Despite knowing that she would have to switch out for the surveillance again today, for some reason, she couldn't find the motivation at all. It had been like this for a while now. No matter what she did, she'd end up spacing out and staring at the sky, and worrying Kaito, the other members of her unit, and even the most easygoing team in Heaven, Gaku and Gumi. However, in a time like this, their intuition was somehow sharp, guessing that she had eaten something strange while in the human world. However, unable to figure out the real reason, they could only worry from afar.

"Haa ...... Miku ........."

She breathed a heavy sigh, and once again, the same thoughts repeated. Right now, the majority of her thoughts consisted of Miku. Ever since that day, she noticed that Miku's face would keep flickering in her mind. She had been interested in her since before; a human that she liked so much, she would go out of her way to make time just to meet her in the human world. Nevertheless, she had never thought of her so much that she was unable to work, like what was happening today.

Ever since that day that she had kissed her, she felt like something had changed inside of her. How will I face Miku? The next time we meet, what should I say to her ....?In the first place, her personality of not worrying or thinking deeply about things worked against her; she had the habit of worrying endlessly once she got started. The last time she'd worried this much was when she had separated with "him"—her former partner, twenty years ago.

"Rin!"

Just as she was becoming lost in thought again, she heard someone call her from below. Snapping out of it, she cast her downwards and saw an angel, carrying a large pair of red scissors and a watering can, winking slyly—the stewardess of this tree, Meiko.

"Good timing~ I could use some help right about down. Would you help me out with the pruning?"

"It's not often that I see you come around here. Really, it's been too long."

"Ahaha ...... That's true. Since we're in different divisions now."

Holding a pair of scissors that was nearly twice her height, Rin cut the branch of the apple tree. Normally, it would be the angels assigned under Gabriel that specialized in caring for this tree, so she wasn't sure where and how she should cut. She merely pruned the areas that Meiko had designated earlier.

"How've you been lately~? I heard that you got promoted to a junior angel. If I remember, you were assigned to ...... Kaito's unit, right?"

Meiko said this while skillfully swinging the giant watering can to water the plants. She had helped Rin much when she had still been an angel trainee. As one of the finest apple cultivators in Heaven, she had taught Rin the basics of growing apples. While in the human world, they had had a teacher and student relationship. Meiko, who was also an Archangel like Kaito, had treated her very well, but once Rin had officially become a junior angel and gotten busy with work, they didn't meet as much anymore. Being from different units, it wasn't very often at all that they had work together.

"I'm doing surveillance in the human world as part of Kaito's unit."

"I see~ That person is the type that's strict with both himself and others, so it must be tiring, right? Have you gotten used to work already?"