Footsteps emanated from the cave's entrance, and Jared's allies came into view.
Neron, Serah, Ivan, Edward, etc. All of them appeared, looking at the destruction around them.
Of all of them though, Kuzon's eyes only met one.
And that single person...
... also reciprocated his gaze.
They stared at each other for a while, and Kuzon was the first to move. The other person, in her small frame, shivered in both disbelief and stifled emotion.
She couldn't believe her eyes.
The person before her was far taller and more handsome than how she remembered him, but there was no way she could mistake his looks.
His golden eyes that greeted her, and the smile on his face...
"K-Kuzon...?" Ana whispered as she saw him.
There were also surprised gasps around her, but Ana couldn't hear any other voice or see any other face except the one in front of her.
Her heart raced like crazy, and while she felt guilty for feeling like this despite Jared watching from a distance, Ana was too petrified to do anything about it.
"Ana... it's been a while..." Kuzon appeared before her smoothly, almost like teleportation.
He suddenly held her in his arms, using one hand to support her face, while the other was on her lap.
'Heeeuuuuu!!!' Ana felt her face turn red as her skin tingled as a result of Kuzon's heated skin.
It was all happening too fast, and she was too delirious to take control—or make sense of what was happening.
"K-Kuzon, you—"
Before she could say anything else, his lips crashed upon hers, and a kiss was made.
"HMMMMMM?!!!"
Ana lost all control at that moment, and her fragile frame became locked in an embrace with the young man.
They both shared a passionate kiss, enough to send shocked expressions playing on the faces of everyone around them.
It was a single moment of ecstasy—albeit a very strange and confusing one.
It had been over two years since they last saw each other, yet...
... The young Midas's greeting to Ana was a kiss.
'Kuzon...' The girl's mind wandered as she lost herself in the pleasure—not minding anyone or anything else around her.
****************
'This is—!!!'
Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it in person was another ball game entirely.
Everyone was at a standstill, watching the event with either surprise or bashfulness, and for some reason, Lemi seemed to be excited about it.
'What did Ana tell Lemi about Kuzon? Hold on, in the first place...'
The entire scenario was occurring too fast, but it was dragging on for too long as well.
'I have to put an end to this.'
"Alright, you guys. Break it u—"
Kuzon's hand instantly pointed in my direction, as his palm indicated that I waited.
'Wait? For you to finish? This bastard...'
The dude began counting the seconds on his hand, and after all five of his fingers were down, he released Ana from his grasp.
She seemed so overwhelmed that her entire face was red, and even after he put her down, she was still woozy.
'If I wasn't certain before, I know it now. Ana clearly likes Kuzon. But, the thing I'm most concerned about is...'
I glared at Kuzon, and his eyes moved in my direction for a brief moment before turning away.
'... Does Kuzon feel the same? Sending a very strong signal, like a kiss, is something very dangerous.'
I knew it was somewhat hypocritical of me to say, but at least I never took any active steps in relating with Ana and the other girls.
"Don't you think you went too far, Kuzon?" I sharply spoke out.
While Ana was being supported by Lemi and being fanned by Asa, I had to address the matter.
If I didn't, and Ana got attached to him because of the misunderstood kiss, she could wound up breaking her heart.
"What do you mean?"
"Yeah, what do you mean, Jared? All I saw were two young ones passionately sharing a kiss. Also, where's Maria?"
I groaned upon hearing Serah's interruption. It seemed she was more of an advocate for love than she preferred taking my side.
'They're all staring at me like I'm a buzz kill, but no one understands...' I resumed my glare on Kuzon.
It was all his fault, anyway.
"If you won't say anything, I will." I sighed, moving forward.
While it was nice to let young ones dream about romance, this wasn't the right time. Ana didn't need Kuzon's crazy influence at this time, considering we didn't know how much he had changed.
"That kiss he gave Ana... is none other than a Midas Customary Greeting and Farewell."
"UHHHH?!" Everyone looked surprised—everyone but Kuzon.
"Kuzon belongs to the Midas Race, the Midas Empire."
"For real?"
"Those guys?"
"No one has really seen them in centuries."
"Hold on... why would he be here if they—!!!"
Neron didn't appear surprised, and neither did Serah, but everyone else was completely bewildered.
"So, you knew?" I turned to Neron.
"Of course. I was the one that recommended Ainzlark Academy to him. I spoke to Serah about it, so we both sponsored him to attend. That's why he got in through a special recommendation examination." The stoic man shrugged.
"Ah, the back entrance, uh?"
"Don't look at me that way, Jared. If I let him take the Exams like everyone else, he could have overdone it."
I couldn't argue with that logic. Still... why was I just learning about all this now?
"Why would a Midas be here, though? The Midas Empire doesn't involve itself with the affairs of other nations, right?"
I had many questions—not just about Kuzon, but about their nation itself.
After recovering my memory about the Midas Race—at least, some of them—I launched a search. Unfortunately, I didn't get any news at all.
I also tried looking, but I couldn't find them anywhere.
I knew they were good at hiding themselves from the outside world, but still... it seemed like they didn't exist at all.
"Well, about that..." Neron glanced in Kuzon's direction.
Something about the tension in the air made me realize just how grim the situation was.
***********
[A/N]
Well, the Kuzon × Ana Ship has begun to sail. However, we do not know where it will lead us.
Stay tuned to find out more.
