Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Alone Once More
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Thus, Dain Adamas was left alone.
"......Ugh. Haaa. Hoo."
Dain Adamas stretched languidly, letting out a massive yawn that filled her with the sensation of breathing in fresh air as she woke up.
The pleasant pressure and warmth enveloping her entire body.
It wasn't as intense as what she'd felt right before passing out—the pressure was lighter, the warmth less overwhelming—but it was more than enough for a delightful awakening.
"Heehee. Even while I was asleep, you kept holding me like this?"
Right before she'd climaxed into unconsciousness from pink-tinted delusions triggered by Stay's words—"You've ovulated?"—Dain Adamas had worried that when she woke up, this heart-melting warmth and pressure might be gone.
But even after waking, she was still wrapped in that warmth and Stay's two arms.
There had been no need to worry in the first place.
"......I've noticed it before, but Stay's really so diligent."
Stay, who had been so insignificant before she'd become a vegetable that he barely surfaced in her memories, had now become a fairly significant presence in Dain Adamas's life.
Significant enough that she'd feel upset if he wasn't there when she came to.
But contrary to her fears, Stay was right by her side now, which put her in a great mood.
"After I taught him just a couple times, he started bringing me what I needed without me even asking. He'd always sneak glances to check my expression, gauging my mood."
Perhaps because she was in such a good mood, Dain Adamas found memories of Stay from their training camp days utterly adorable.
"Maybe I should've taken him with me when I graduated from the training camp that day. Then I wouldn't have felt so stifled for no reason."
For Dain Adamas, who considered loneliness a given, this was enough to make her regret a past decision—Stay felt that cute to her right now.
"Yeah, once the treatment's done, I'll take Stay with me. I've had tons of people wait on me in my life, but none as quick on the uptake as him. If I offer him a fat salary, he'll happily follow, right? Heehee. A life with Stay as my secretary......"
Whether it was the aftereffects of that massive pleasure-induced blackout orgasm or intoxication from the warmth of his embrace, Dain Adamas clearly had hearts in her eyes.
She was the world's strongest hero—the world's greatest hero.
Stay was just an F-rank emergency room errand boy, a gap so vast that he couldn't even serve her. She knew that full well.
But with those love-tinted glasses on, she couldn't see reality at all.
"As my secretary, he can just live at my place, right? I wonder if Stay can cook. I'll take him around to hotel restaurants and show him my tastes. He'll pick it up quick—he's sharp and good at his work."
And without even asking Stay's opinion—the most important part—Dain Adamas naturally started picturing a future where he stayed by her side even after the treatment ended.
As she freely fantasized about a life with Stay, a voice tinged with slight fatigue but still gentle reached her ear.
"......You're awake?"
Stay's voice, accompanied by the sensation of their minds connecting.
As warm as the heat from being held in his arms, it filled Dain Adamas with an indescribable sense of fulfillment as she replied.
[Uh, uhuuung. I woke up...... Hehe.]
For someone who'd just been imagining a charismatic life as the world's top hero with Stay as her secretary, it was an absurdly cutesy voice brimming with aegyo.
"......"
Dain Adamas hadn't intended it at all—Stay's greeting had just made her so happy that pure, 100% genuine aegyo bubbled out naturally. Stay's expression crumpled at the response.
Fortunately, Dain Adamas was still a vegetable who couldn't see an inch in front of her face, so Stay smoothed out his crumpled expression, composed himself, and spoke.
"I see."
As he said it, Stay slipped his right arm out from under her head and placed a pillow in its place, letting her head rest on it.
[Eh, eeeh?]
While Dain Adamas panicked at the sudden loss of that thick, firm, reassuring arm, Stay lifted his left arm from around her back, threw back the blanket, and got out of bed.
[Huh?]
The sudden absence of that left arm's weight and pleasant pressure.
Once Stay left the bed, all that remained for Dain Adamas was the faint lingering heat proving he'd been there.
Before pulling the blanket back over her, she asked in a trembling voice toward Stay, who was straightening her disheveled clothes from their tight embrace.
[Wh-what? Why are you getting up all of a sudden? D-don't tell me...... Ngh.]
Words that could never come from Dain Adamas's mouth—someone who was always confident in everything she did, and confident even when she had no reason to be—like "Did I do something wrong?"
'Wh-why was I about to say something like that?'
She'd barely stopped those ridiculous words from spilling out, but she had no idea why she'd even tried to say them.
But right now, such questions didn't matter.
"Why am I getting up?"
[Y-yeah! Why are you getting up without a word all of a sudden?]
For Dain Adamas right now, the most important thing was that the warmth and pressure that had made her feel so good had vanished in an instant.
[We set treatments for every three days because we're dedicating a full day to one person each time, right? S-so you can't get up now. My day's not over yet. So tell me. Why are you getting up all of a sudden?]
He was the only one who could give her that ecstatic sensation again and keep it going, so Dain Adamas pleaded in a desperate voice she'd never used in her life.
It was a reflexive question born from the sudden tension and anxiety surging the moment Stay pulled away.
But even as she said it, it was a pretty logical question, so Dain Adamas could infer a plausible answer on her own.
'Maybe Stay needs to use the bathroom? He's been holding it until I woke up? If that's it...... he's being considerate. Even if he got up without a word, I could forgive that. If I'd woken up alone during that short time he was gone, I'd definitely be in a bad mood. Stay held it in desperately to avoid upsetting me. ......Heehehet. He's so thoughtful—how great would it be to keep him by my side?'
Dain Adamas came up with a plausible answer on her own before Stay could even respond, convinced herself he was being considerate, and smiled happily.
Thanks to that "plausible" answer, her tension and anxiety melted away, and even without being held, she felt the warmth of Stay's imagined kindness enveloping her.
Having reached her conclusion through delusion, Dain Adamas was about to say something only she—with her love-tinted glasses firmly on—could: "If you need the bathroom, go quick. But hurry back. I don't like being alone. Come back fast and hug me tight again?"
"Huh? No, today's treatment is over."
[......Huh?]
But Stay answered her question faster than she could voice her delusion.
"Dain Adamas, you were out cold for a really long time. It's already midnight, and I need to sleep too. To treat May Luina tomorrow, I have to get a full night's rest. I was waiting to say goodbye once you woke up, but I was getting anxious not knowing when that'd be."
[Wh-what do you mean......]
Even hearing Stay's utterly calm tone right in front of her, Dain Adamas couldn't properly process what he was saying.
'Over? Just like that? Today's supposed to be my day with Stay, and it's ending like this? N-no way. That can't be. I just slept today. I didn't do anything with Stay. I just blacked out pathetically from him pressing his lower body against my belly while hugging tight. That's all we did...... Why is it already over?'
Stay continued matter-of-factly, unconcerned with her confusion.
"Anyway, your curse relief hit 30% with today's treatment, and lying in your bed healed your wrist injury completely. No more sketchy patch-up days like today, so don't worry. I'll head out then. Good work on today's treatment."
Before she could recover from the shock of "it's over," cold farewell words came from Stay's mouth.
It wasn't really cold—he'd even waited for her to wake up, so normally she'd feel grateful for his consideration. But Dain Adamas was far from normal.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
'N-no, I can't let him go like this......!'
The sound of Stay's footsteps fading away.
Far from normal, Dain Adamas found his farewell and footsteps unbearably heartless. Desperate not to let him leave like this, she urgently called out to stop him.
[W-wait! You can't just go like that!]
Her head was still a mess, his words not fully registering, but her top priority was keeping him from leaving.
"Huh?"
Fortunately, Stay stopped at her words, and in her overwhelming confusion, she forcibly turned her sluggish mind to find something to hold him back.
[Stay, I have something to say......]
"Oh, right. Ahh, I almost forgot."
But once again, Stay cut her off just like before.
Being interrupted was annoying, sure, but since Stay's words were something only someone who'd forgotten an errand and had to come back could say, Dain Adamas didn't mind at all.
On the contrary, with nothing concrete to say, she was delighted that Stay had remembered something and returned to her.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
'Y-yeah, I can't let him go like this. He said my wrist's all healed, so at least I need some Portio development with that fixed wrist to satisfy both of us, right? Yeah, this time I'll last longer, chat with Stay about what we missed today, and have lots of constructive talks about our future......'
"Almost left this behind. Here, your speaker. May Luina and Mir Ryuin both got theirs—if you didn't, it'd be unfair."
Thud.
[Huh?]
"Then I'm really going. See you in three days."
Contrary to Dain Adamas's hopes, Stay left her hospital room without a hint of lingering.
Click. Snick-.
The moment she heard him exit and close the door, the sensation of their connection severed.
"......Huh?"
Thus, Dain Adamas was left alone.