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Kazuki was relieved to hear Kazuma's agreement, taking a half-step back to give him space. He almost lifted his hand to pat his little brother's head, but he figured he had probably embarrassed the both of them enough. He didn't know what it was about the situation that made him feel so off--probably the ale, honestly--but hit was almost enough to sober him up. He watched as the other brunet decided to walk after Rael, taking a second to take in a deep breath. Alright, he was fine, he didn't need to walk in a straight line to go...wherever it was they were going.

The bard was surprisingly fine as he did the smallest jog to catch up, though he was surprised to hear his brother say something about Mystic Prophecy. While he didn't stop, Kazuki's steps were noticeably slower, and an uneasiness bubbled in his chest. Whatever relief he previously felt quickly turned into dread at the thought of running into Luci, and he was deaf to the rest of the conversation. No, he didn't want to go there.

The thought occurred to him that he could easily just...not continue walking. That thought, however, came to a halt as Alja suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Logically, she likely chased them down, but from his perspective, the woman came straight out of nowhere. The surprise climbed on top of the rest of his troublesome emotions, causing Kazuki to outright stop.

To his credit, he opened his mouth to protest, but the words never came. Instead, he simply turned around and began to walk back to the tavern.

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