Hold My Hand
I held out my hand. The most powerful vow a mage could make—the Mana Oath. It was the heaviest promise of all, so when Sien realized what my words truly meant, she lifted her head and met my eyes. Why? Why are you doing this? The questions swimming in her gaze were only those two, and I could only press a bitter smile against my lips.
“Yeah… I don’t really know why either.”
I knew full well how sudden this must have sounded. By any measure of time, we’d only known each other for a few hours. We were practically strangers who had just exchanged names. I wasn’t blind to how burdensome and bewildering my offer to save her must have felt from her perspective… but still.
“I just… don’t want to watch you in pain anymore.”
That’s what villains are like. Emotion always overrides reason. Even when they have a solid plan, they get swept up in a single moment of desire, rage, pleasure, or arrogance and ruin everything. Just like I’d done right now—completely derailing my original plan to deal with those trash and slowly close the distance with Sien until we could exchange contact info.
Who else but the greatest villain would be this emotional?
Who would’ve thought the day would come when I’d worry about the hero?
I let out a small chuckle and met her eyes again.
“For now, let’s get out of here.”
There were only about ten seconds left before the magic would dissipate. Thankfully, Sien gave a careful nod.
“Whoa, that’s bright.”
With a creak, the door opened to reveal the wide-open view of the Academy. Lowering my gaze slightly brought the lake garden into view, along with students leisurely enjoying it. Lifting my head slowly from there, I saw the Academy’s famous spire—the elegant clock tower that had stood for well over sixty years. Widening my view further into the distance revealed the sea, my favorite sight of all.
The Academy was a royal institution of higher learning built on an island in the northeastern part of the kingdom, accessible only by a dedicated road from the mainland. The population living on this island—technically called the campus—totaled less than seventy thousand. Yet the dormitories, library, faculty buildings, training facilities, and amenities were all organized on such an enormous scale that it was said even Academy students wouldn’t fully explore the campus until right before graduation.
After thinking long and hard about a place where we wouldn’t be noticed, my feet stopped on the rooftop of the temple building. It was far enough from the cafeteria, which was the most crowded spot during the short one-hour lunch break, and this temple was a place most people didn’t know about.
“If the dean finds out we’re living this comfortably, I bet he’d just say it’s fine.”
In truth, we could have just slipped into any empty classroom in the temple to eat, but if we were going to have a meal, wasn’t it better to do it somewhere with a nice view?
“…Is it really okay to be here?”
“Of course it is. It’s not a restricted area.”
“But… there’s no one around…”
“Who wants to be bothered during an exciting lunch break? That’s why I deliberately came somewhere quiet.”
Even as I said that, what could generously be called lunch consisted of two eclairs slightly longer than my palm and my life-sustaining 400ml bottle of grape juice. That was only natural—I’d originally planned to stop by the cafeteria for a proper meal and had never intended to come here. The bread and drink I had were snacks I’d stashed in my subspace for when I got hungry.
“As expected, I prefer the quiet~.”
With a smile, I stepped inside first. Sien hesitated, glancing around nervously, before squeezing her eyes shut and following me in. Her ash-gray hair caught the warm sunlight and shimmered like silver for a moment.
“Do you like bread?”
“…I’m not sure.”
“I love this one. Try it.”
“I’m sorry. I should have brought something to eat too…”
“It’s fine since I dragged you here in a hurry. And honestly, I’d rather hear ‘thank you’ than ‘I’m sorry’…”
I pulled one of the breads from my subspace and held it out to her.
“Thanks for sharing food with me. If you say it like that, I’d be really happy.”
“……”
“You’re hungry, right? Take it.”
“I-I’m not hungry at all———”
———Gurgle.
The sound rang out dramatically. As someone aspiring to be a gentleman, I naturally tried to pretend I hadn’t heard and look away, but…
“I’m sorry for lying…!!”
Her face flushed bright red as she bowed at a perfect ninety degrees. I couldn’t help but laugh. Smiling, I placed the bread firmly in her hand.
“I’ll let it slide. That was incredibly cute just now.”
“Huh…?!”
I took a big bite of the bread. It felt wrong to keep talking while she was hungry, and I had a feeling that if I didn’t eat first, Sien would never touch hers.
“As expected, the mocha flavor in these eclairs from that shop is the Truth.”
“……”
“Look at this glossy glaze. I can’t resist the temptation—one bite and that rich mocha chocolate bursts out. …Wait, what? The thing that just went into my mouth completely melted?”
In truth, the eclair wasn’t so delicious that I’d widen my eyes or devour it like a starving beast. But since Sien was swallowing hard yet refusing to eat, I exaggerated my praise to tempt her.
After two or three more bites, when I was about halfway through my eclair… Sien cautiously opened her small mouth and took a bite. She chewed a few times, then her eyes sparkled and her face brightened.
“It’s good, right?”
“…Yes!”
“I’m glad you like it.”
The clear voice I was hearing for the first time and the bright expression I’d never seen before brought a smile to my own face without me realizing it.
For a while, neither of us spoke. Naturally, we were both too busy eating our eclairs. Though the amount wasn’t enough to fill our stomachs, every time I glanced at Sien, she wore a smile of pure happiness as she savored the sweetness.
Just watching someone eat can fill you up. I’d never understood what that meant my whole life, but today I felt like I was starting to get it.
With the occasional song of a lark as our background music, I fully enjoyed this peaceful moment.
“That bread disappeared so fast…”
The eclair had vanished in the blink of an eye. Sien seemed to feel the same; she was staring wistfully at the crumbs on her fingers.
She’s cute.
The image of Sien I knew was so firmly rooted in coldness and frostiness that seeing the fifteen-year-old girl in front of me pouting her lips in disappointment felt incredibly endearing. Of course, the fact that Sien was naturally beautiful helped too.
I was unknowingly watching her with the fond smile of a doting old man when—
“…Thank you.”
“Hm?”
“Thank you for sharing the eclair with me…”
Sien clasped her hands together at her navel and gave a polite bow. Damn, that uncle-like smile is creeping out again.
“See? It was really delicious, wasn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
“I’ll buy you more next time.”
“Really…?”
Sien’s eyes widened, sparkling with anticipation.
“Really. I’ll go make a reservation right after this.”
“…Thank you!”
“I’m happy you appreciate it. Keep expressing yourself like this from now on, okay?”
I chuckled and brushed the crumbs off my hands, then pulled out a cold bottle of grape juice from my subspace.
“Let’s take a nap now. We have the first ranking match at two o’clock. We’ve got time, so let’s sleep.”
“B-but we need to return to the classroom by one…”
“Aww, do we have to? The professors will be busy with the ranking matches anyway, so they won’t come to class. And even if we go… it’ll be boring.”
I’ll get bullied. I didn’t want to say those words out loud, so I mumbled and took a sip of the grape juice.
“You drink some too.”
“…I-I’m fine.”
“If you don’t, I’ll drink it all.”
“I-it’s okay if you drink it all. …It’s not mine anyway.”
“…If you say it like that, I might actually drink everything.”
I took a cautious sip while watching her reaction. When she still didn’t seem to mind, I lifted the bottle higher and drank with big gulps…
“……Ah.”
Sien realized she had been staring at the shrinking juice with desperate eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away.
…But I saw that, didn’t I?
When about half was left, I spoke up. Sien blinked, her expression subtly hopeful.
…Sien likes to eat. Memo.
Like a gentleman, I pretended not to have noticed and set the bottle down beside her. Then I lay back on the floor, lacing my fingers behind my head.
“This is the life.”
The clouds kept the sunlight from being too harsh, the breeze was refreshing, and the distant sound of people laughing and chatting made the surroundings pleasantly lively. There couldn’t be a better moment than this. My heart wanted to sleep here for a full thirty minutes, but…
Sien doesn’t look sleepy at all.
She was still sitting rigidly upright, occasionally glancing around with a tense body. Well, she had just gone through something awful, so it probably wasn’t easy to adjust to this sudden change in atmosphere.
Let’s talk a bit more to close the distance.
With that resolve, I swallowed a yawn that slipped out and was about to sit up when—
“…You can sleep.”
“Hm?”
“You’re sleepy, aren’t you? You don’t have to force yourself to stay awake because of me…”
Sien glanced at my face, reading my expression.
“Ah, no. Talking with you is better than sleeping at a time like this…”
“You can sleep. I’m sleepy too, so I’ll rest like this and sleep soon…”
“……”
“See? I’m yawning too…? Haaam.”
Sien fidgeted with her hands, trying her best to look me in the eye. It was obvious she wasn’t sleepy at all and was lying just to let me rest, but…
“Yeah. Sien looks really tired.”
Her kind heart, trying to look out for me, was so beautiful and touching. Given her unstable emotions and distrust of people right now, it must have been incredibly difficult for her to care about someone else.
“…Then, shall I sleep?”
I shifted around until I found the most comfortable position. I brushed my annoying bangs to the side, laced my fingers behind my head again, and closed my eyes, savoring this peaceful moment.
Suddenly, I opened my mouth to say what I’d been wanting to tell her.
“…About what I said earlier. I know it was one-sided. I know it might feel burdensome to you.”
“……”
“If you don’t want it, you don’t have to accept it. If you hate it, just say so. I don’t want to do anything you dislike.”
“……”
“Still… my wish for you to be happy is sincere. That’s why I hope you’ll accept my oath.”
The wind blew, and drowsiness slowly took over my body. My mind grew distant, to the point where I wouldn’t even remember what I’d said in my sleep.
“Hold my hand. Then I’ll protect that oath no matter what……”
The nap felt incredibly good.