[Realm: Álfheimr]
[Location: Heart Kingdom]
[Pulchritudo]
Getting back to the inn had not taken long.
The walk through the city had been relatively uneventful, especially compared to everything that had happened earlier that night. Shuten-dōji had remained beside Mikoto for most of the journey, but neither of them had made much effort to fill the silence. There had been no need to. Whatever Shuten had said to him before they left had clearly given her something to think about, and Mikoto had noticed the way she occasionally seemed to retreat into her own thoughts while they walked.
She had seemed to be digesting what he had told her.
Mikoto had not minded; if anything, he preferred it.
Silence required nothing from him. It did not ask him to explain himself, defend what he had said, or try to put feelings into words that he barely understood himself. After spending so much time talking about things he normally kept buried, the quiet had been almost reassuring.
