A Gentle Misunderstanding
Perhaps it was because she was still half-asleep. Emilia did not pull away from the hand stroking her hair. She simply lay there, accepting the touch. Like a child receiving praise from an adult.
Stroke. Stroke.
"Heh."
The snake smiled faintly. Unlike his usual sharp demeanor, he seemed unusually docile under her hand. He appeared to be savoring her drowsy reaction.
The strange moment lingered. Her foggy consciousness gradually cleared, and the girl belatedly came to her senses. A soft sigh escaped her lips.
"……Ah."
Emilia flinched and turned her head. Her eyes wavered with confusion, and the boy who had been quietly laughing withdrew his hand. He wore an expression of quiet satisfaction. Watching his crescent-shaped eyes, the vain girl bit her lip.
"……"
"……"
Silence filled the space between them. In the awkward atmosphere, the girl rolled her eyes restlessly. The snake sat right beside her. She had so many questions, yet none of them would leave her lips.
The laboratory where shadows had raged. The silhouette that had stood there remained vivid in her mind. Perhaps Emilia was afraid of the boy.
"My, my…… I wonder why you look so intimidated."
Whether she answered or not, the golden snake merely shrugged with his usual nonchalance. In the end, after repeated hesitation, the first words the girl managed were a rather pointless question.
"……What happened?"
"While the two of you were unconscious, reinforcements from Galimar arrived. We returned to the academy without delay."
"Then…… what about that giant monster?"
"You already know the answer."
The reply came with a meaningful tone. Emilia swallowed dryly without realizing it.
—Just like last time…… won’t you make a deal with me again?
Perhaps because the scene was still so clear, the sensation had been etched deeply into her.
—Don’t be alarmed.
—As long as I’m here…… you won’t lose, my lady.
The girl remembered. The warmth that had embraced her from behind, and the shiver that had run through her entire body right after. The shadows that had spread from his fingertips were still vivid.
—Just for a moment, I’ll show you a new world.
The vain girl reflected on that fleeting instant. The moment their hands touched, the world had been dyed black, leaving only darkness. In that empty vision, a single star appeared. A calm, shining fragment. The only starlight that kept vigil through the dawn soon blossomed into countless beauties, painting an ecstatic scene.
—You can do it.
It was an unforgettable sensation. The power that had granted her a sense of omnipotence…… was almost godlike. If anyone from the church heard such words, they would call it blasphemy and fly into a rage, but she had no other way to describe what she had felt. What she had experienced was nothing less than an authority.
"……"
Emilia fidgeted with her fingers for no reason. Her thoughts tangled in complicated knots. Most of them concerned the boy.
He was strong. At the very least, he was beyond any vessel she could judge with her own eyes. Even if she set the bar as low as possible, he was at professor level…… perhaps even on par with the academy head. The performance he had shown completely overturned everything she knew.
‘So all this time…… he’s been hiding his abilities.’
It was a significant realization. Despite possessing such overwhelming power, he had chosen to live in hiding. A chilling premonition ran down her spine.
"You seem to have a lot on your mind."
"……"
"I understand. A great deal has happened."
His lips curved calmly. Watching the snake behave as usual, one question filled her mind. Emilia voiced it, barely above a whisper.
"……You."
"Hmm?"
"Why did you save me?"
She couldn’t understand. Why had he revealed the power he had been hiding just to protect her? What could he possibly have wanted? Though they had made a deal, their relationship was essentially one-sided. The girl had no choice but to obey unconditionally. The snake held her weakness.
That was why her first kiss had been taken.
"You didn’t even need to save me."
It was a choice that only brought him loss. As someone who always calculated gains and losses, the vain girl found the boy’s heart difficult to read. Staring into his half-lidded eyes, she suddenly received a sly smile in return.
"Heh…… You’re making the person who stayed up all night nursing you feel rather hurt."
"Then why."
Her blue eyes were clouded with confusion. She felt a profound sense of dissonance. What reason could he have had to save her, nurse her, and stay by her side? What could he possibly expect from this cheap piece of junk?
‘I don’t understand.’
The warmth of the hand holding hers felt unfamiliar. The fingers that were now interlaced with hers as if it were the most natural thing in the world carried an inexplicable tenderness. Perhaps she had been a little afraid. Because she didn’t know what the boy wanted.
"……I was taught that there’s no kindness without reason."
"Why do you always try to find a reason?"
"Because otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to survive."
"That’s a rather sad thing to say."
"It’s important to me."
"Hmm."
The snake seemed to sink into thought for a moment. After chewing over the brief silence, he opened his mouth as if he had reached a conclusion.
"If you truly wish to hear a reason…… I suppose I can give you an answer of this level."
The boy spoke softly.
"It’s because I hold you dear, my lady."
His voice tickled her ears gently. It was far from the anxious answer she had expected.
"……What?"
A question mark floated above the girl’s head. Regardless, the sweet voice continued calmly, as if stating the obvious.
"At first, I didn’t think much of it."
He spoke plainly.
"I thought you were merely a passing encounter. Our first meeting was, after all, a complete mess."
He seemed to be referring to that day. The day the two of them had first faced each other.
"I thought you were rather prickly."
"……I actually was."
"I thought it would be difficult to get close to you…… but my thoughts gradually changed."
"……"
"It’s thanks to you choosing a new path."
The snake smiled softly with his eyes. Emilia listened with bated breath.
"At first, I wanted to know you. Later, I wanted to watch you…… and now, I find myself wanting to protect you."
So that you can create a new story. I want to be the one who supports you from beside you. In the fairy tale I once loved so dearly, I hope your name will be written alongside mine this time.
"Because this time, you’ve changed."
The air grew fresh and sweet. Before she knew it, Emilia’s face had flushed red. It was because of the sudden content.
"……"
Though Emilia was endlessly ignorant in such matters, even she could recognize something this blatant. It was the moment her book-learned knowledge shone. This was clearly…… that kind of meaning. Sentences that carried the atmosphere of a man confessing his love to a woman.
The girl was left dazed by the sudden bombshell.
"W-what…… suddenly, u-uh……?"
Her mind was bleached white. Emilia let out an intense reaction without realizing it.
"W-why are you suddenly saying things like that?!"
"Didn’t you ask, my lady?"
"T-that’s true, but……!"
Of course she had asked why he saved her! But she had never expected this kind of development. The girl bit her lip anxiously. The sickroom that had moments ago been filled with an ominous air now carried only a fresh, sweet scent.
The snake spoke calmly.
"The deal…… what I said back then was sincere."
"……"
The deal. Only then did Emilia realize what the boy wanted. A few remembered phrases surfaced in her mind.
—I simply wish for you to live for my sake.
—It would be enough if you remained by my side…… so that I may watch your story.
It had definitely been something like that. In exchange for saving the vain girl, the snake wanted to keep her by his side. Even though the words the boy had spoken just moments ago contained no ulterior motives, Emilia had no way of knowing that. And so she alone fell into misunderstanding.
That the boy before her was in love with her.
"I…… I……"
Thump. Thump. Perhaps because the situation was so unfamiliar, her pulse raced strangely. Trying to calm the heat rising to her face, the girl timidly conveyed her thoughts. There was a hint of worry in them.
"I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it well."
She had learned that emotions rarely went as one wished. Though she had promised to always remain by the boy’s side, she wondered if her own heart would come to match his. It was uncertain.
"I said this last time too, but I have no experience in these matters at all…… and I don’t know if I’ll be able to live up to your expectations."
But.
"……Still, I’ll try my best."
Because she had already received help. If she owed someone her life twice over, she ought to at least show the effort to fulfill her end of the deal. At the very least, she intended to try developing feelings for him.
"It might not be as much as you want."
"I know."
"I’m very clumsy, too."
"Everyone is."
"If even that is acceptable…… I’ll do my best."
Emilia murmured softly. The snake stared blankly for a moment before letting out a faint laugh.
"Pfft…… That makes me happy."
The boy patted the girl’s head as if she were praiseworthy. This time, she did not avoid his touch. She simply lay still with her eyes tightly shut.
"……"
"Heh."
In truth, the two of them were interpreting the situation completely differently. While Emilia had made her resolve amid countless worries, to the boy’s ears it had simply sounded like a determination to work hard in order to help him.
And so the misunderstanding deepened.
"Ugh…… My head hurts."
Just then, a rustling sound came from beside them. Following the noise, they saw a pair of green eyes that looked as though they had just woken up.
"W-where is this? There was definitely a monster……"
Her pink hair was disheveled. The girl who had been blankly looking around suddenly met the gazes of the two people watching her.
"You’ve woken up, Lady Legia."
"Commoner…… You seem to have come to your senses."
"……Eh?"
Legia couldn’t help but be flustered. One was the person she had thought was dead. The other was the person who had been standing at death’s door with her. The girl’s dazed eyes from sleep quickly shook violently.
"Y-Young master? My lady……?"
Tears welled up in her eyes. With a trembling voice, the girl asked quietly.
"……Did I die too?"
"……"
"……"
She seemed to have mistaken this for the afterlife. The girl began to shed tears.
"Hic…… What do I do! Poor young master, sob, my lady……!"
Strangely, it looked as though she was grieving the deaths of the other two more than her own. In any case, it was an awkward situation.
"Now, now! That’s enough, isn’t it?"
"We’re not dead! Stop crying and pull yourself together!"
"Ugh, u-uh, hic! Waaah……!"
The pilot wailed loudly. The snake and the vain girl had no choice but to spend quite some time soothing her.