Chapter 297: Consolation
kacha
After receiving permission in advance, Vahn opened the door to Yasaka’s room, prompting a high-pitched but slightly deeper voice than the one in his memory to exclaim, "Chichiue...!?"
Seeing Vahn enter her mother’s room, Kunou separated from Yasaka and zipped toward him with a swift pitter-patter of footsteps before wrapping her arms around him tightly, adding, "I missed you so much..."
"You’ve grown..." remarked Vahn, hugging Kunou’s head to his chest with his right hand. In truth, Kunou was nearly the same as his memory, but he didn’t want to upset her.
Barely processing Vahn’s words, Kunou inhaled audibly through her nose several times before remarking, "You smell of that insufferable brat..." in a temperamental tone.
"You’re referring to Millicas...?" asked Vahn, prompting Kunou to stare up at him with a frown and assert, "I refuse to speak his name..."
"Mmn...that might be taking things too far..." remarked Vahn, preempting Kunou’s response by picking her up by the pits of her arms. She frowned even more intensely, but instead of protesting, she obediently wrapped her arms around his neck and flushed slightly as he supported her bottom with his left hand and forearm.
Carrying Kunou over to the red and gold chaise-style lounge her mother was sitting on, Vahn sat on the section with the higher back and outward-curling armrest. Yasaka had naturally made room for him, allowing herself to nestle closer to him once he had sat down.
"Welcome home, Danna..." muttered Yasaka, narrowing her golden eyes until they were nearly closed and raising her chin as Kunou released her hold on Vahn to let him and her mother exchange a chaste but lingering kiss.
"Me too..." muttered Kunou, waiting for her mother’s and Vahn’s lips to part before gripping the fabric of his yukata and giving him a pleading, deliberately pitiable look.
Though his initial instinct was to shake his head and refuse, the look on Kunou’s face cut through Vahn’s defenses like a hot knife through butter. She had also turned sixteen a few months prior, so as long as she didn’t entreat him for even more, he felt a peck on the lips should be fine. The bigger issue was the presence of her mother, who saw no reason for him to restrain himself at all...