A Promise on the Collarbone
She gazed down at me with that slow, teasing smile, as if she'd suddenly dumped every last stat point into charm. Had she finally lost her mind? I could already picture her kicking her blankets in embarrassment later. It was so obvious. Still, that's a relief. Judging by her reaction, her sulky mood from the pain seemed to have eased a little.
Now, how was I supposed to get out of this situation? I'd been knocked flat onto the bed by a sudden cat-punch to the chest, and there she stood right in front of me, wearing that dangerously seductive smile. I need to run!Though, it's not like I actually want to... Honestly, if I could, I'd turn Stardust's genre straight into an 18+ rating and slam the shutters down so no minors could even play. But I'd seen how quickly those couples burned bright only to crash and burn. No, wait. Why is my mind naturally drifting toward romance? Was this some kind of gaslighting?
Anyway, Violet wasn't in her right mind right now. She looked like she'd inhaled some kind of powdered drug that didn't show on the surface. Once she came back to her senses, the shame would hit her too. If I crossed the line here, it would be a nightmare to clean up once she was sober again.
But if she's not in her right mind right now... As long as I didn't cross the line, she was the one who made the first move, so a little teasing should be fair game! With that convenient logic, I hooked her leg and pulled her down on top of me.
"Aaaah!"
...A bit too rough. Then, slipping into my usual teasing tone, I smiled and asked, "My lady, are you trying to seduce me?"
Her eyes spun in circles for a moment, like she hadn't processed what just happened. See? I knew this would happen. She's going to be mortified.
"If I say I like you, will you hug me again?"
"Ah... no... that's..."
This person would only become the human psychology master villainess right before dying from her worsening illness. Right now, she was just a harmless, docile lady.
"Ah, I'm already being hugged. It felt nice, of course, but I didn't expect you to do this first."
"Y-you...! You tripped me with your leg...!"
She desperately tried to deny that she'd been hugging me. Of course, I was just being unreasonable, but I continued the tease while gently stroking her cheek with my hand. "Even so, the fact that you're not even trying to get away after falling... doesn't that mean you like it too, my lady?"
"Ugh...!"
When I pulled the kind of prank only couples would do, she turned bright red and shoved me away. Maybe that was a bit much?
"You like me, don't you, my lady?"
But I was the kind of man who found this reaction adorable, so I leaned in closer and asked again on purpose. This wasn't to satisfy my own selfish desires. It was all for the sake of making Violet's ending sweet and popular once the developers added it!
"Y-yes! I said I like you! Why are you asking again when you even recorded it?"
...Huh. I hadn't expected that answer. I'd braced myself for a soul-crushing rejection or a punch to the gut, so I was slightly taken aback. I gave a small laugh and leaned back a little.
"My lady, I might be dispatched somewhere far away soon."
I'd run out of new ways to tease her, so I decided to bring up something I was going to have to say eventually.
"Wh... what...?"
She looked startled. Tsk. I wasn't actually going that far. Now I felt a little guilty.
"Your illness. It's Mana Retardation, right?"
"U-uh... yeah, it is..."
Her eyes held worry and longing, but also a faint trace of hope. There was only one way to cure Mana Retardation in Starlight: defeat the one who created it, the Plague Demon King Laplace, and force him to make the cure.
This guy's strangely cooperative for a Demon King... Break a few of his legs, rip out some fingernails, and scorch his skin a little, and he'd sing like a bird. What? Too cruel? He was the easiest Demon King to subdue. The others were so difficult that I'd even prepared torture devices for them.
"I know how to cure Mana Retardation. However, there are additional steps involved, so to make the cure, I'll have to be away from you for a while."
"C-can't I come with you?"
She looked up at me with sparkling eyes. Absolutely not. Did she think I was crazy enough to take her into a danger zone where a Demon King was lurking? But if I told her that, she'd worry herself sick, so I gave a vague answer instead.
"You're... you're not abandoning me because I'm being difficult, are you...?"
She asked while glancing nervously at me.
"Would I ever abandon someone as perfect as you?"
As if I would. Who do you think I'm doing all this for?
"U-ugh... Then when are you leaving?"
Honestly, I'd planned to leave as soon as I obtained the hidden piece and built enough of a relationship with her. But...
...
It felt like we'd reached a much deeper level of intimacy far faster than I'd expected. From the way she was acting now, she clearly had feelings for me.
"Probably... within the next few days at the latest."
Even saying "a few days" was generous. If I wanted, I could leave tomorrow.
"What? No! Stay a little longer..."
She rolled around on the bed, looking reluctant, but I pressed on.
"Your illness has progressed quite a bit, hasn't it?"
"Ugh..."
Her condition seemed much more advanced than it was in Starlight. Honestly, I was a little worried about leaving her alone like this, but...
I'll just ask Hebriele... If I played along with his sense of justice, even if it was slightly twisted, he'd probably agree. His idea of justice was the same as any normal person's, after all.
And because of that bastard... Faye Nicare. The moment she realized I was gone, she'd probably come running to gaslight Violet. So I'd call Hebriele in advance to block that. The two of them were rivals in the story anyway. Honestly, if those two just fell for each other and ran off to another world, that'd be great.
"That's also why I asked if you liked me, my lady."
-Click!
"U-uh... I like you... I like you too..."
The moment I pressed the button on the recorder, Violet's embarrassed voice played back from inside it.
"Y-you crazy bastard! Why did you play that all of a sudden?!"
I looked at her flustered face with delight.
"I thought it would be a shame if I couldn't hear your voice. So I recorded it for comfort."
Technically, I'd asked to confirm her feelings before going to hunt the Demon King, but... well, that wasn't important. Let's just keep that as our little secret.
"Ahem..."
Now that she'd heard the whole thing again, she was getting embarrassed all over. Where had that seductive, fox-like Violet gone?
"...Hey. Give me that recorder."
She buried her face in her knees and quietly held out her hand.
"Why, so you can smash it? I might actually die if you do."
"Damn it... Do I look like some muscle-brained idiot who only knows how to use force?"
Hmm. Can't really deny that. When I gave her that look, she got annoyed and raised her fist above her head. See? The moment words fail, the fists come out.
"F-fine, I'll give it..."
In the end, I handed it over like I was being robbed. She ran to the corner of the room, muttering something into the recorder while glancing at me, then came back and gave it to me.
"Here. Listen to it when things get hard... Hey!!"
Not a chance. I pressed play the second I got it back.
"...You're doing well, right? Don't get hurt and come back quickly. I'll miss you!"
Her voice was quiet, so the quality wasn't great, but I could make out the words clearly.
"Pfft... Heh..."
I couldn't hold back the smile spreading across my face.
"Hey! Give that back! I must've been crazy! I'm deleting it... No, I'm breaking it!!"
Her face flushed again as she lunged at me like she wanted to kill me.
"Ah... wait, my lady! Aah! That's my bone!"
We ended up wrestling over the recorder again. At some point, Violet seemed to realize how embarrassing our position was.
"...Ahem."
Instead of running away, she spread her arms. And why were her eyes closed?
"Ahem, ahem."
Her eyes were slowly opening while she kept fake-coughing. Was she really doing what I thought she was doing?
-Flap flap!
Now she was even waving her arms like a duck trying to fly. I pulled her into a hug.
"Aaaah!! Wait!!"
Was she actually trying to break my ribs? She attacked me while giving me a light hug. ...Though the way she kept rubbing her face against me made me wonder if this counted as the kind of hug I was thinking of.
"...Hey."
She stopped the violent hug and spoke to me.
"Yes, what is it?"
I endured the pain radiating through my bones and answered. She buried her face in my chest and said,
"If you use curing my illness as an excuse to meet other women, I'll tear you both apart. Got it?"
"Yes, yes. Of course."
Did she really see me as that kind of trash? A little sad. As I stared at the ceiling feeling slightly hurt, a warm sensation touched my collarbone.
"...Hm?"
I looked down to see Violet pressing her lips against my collarbone. Wait, why are you kissing me there?!
While I was still flustered and stammering, she pulled away with a satisfied grin and pointed at the spot.
"Instead of here, I'll give you a real kiss on the lips when you come back safe."
Huh? What? Before I could even process what she'd said, she wrapped both arms around my neck and whispered right into my ear, close enough that her breath tickled.
"So if you want to kiss me... come back healthy."