Chapter 60
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Anyway, His Heart Is Directed Towards Me!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Anyway, his heart is directed towards me!
About three hours before Stay—who had resolved to do anything to achieve his dream—launched his grand relationship reconstruction operation on Mir Ryuin.
In the early morning, before Stay had even woken up, May Luina couldn't contain the pounding in her chest.
Of course, as a vegetable state patient, her heartbeat was no different from usual, but May Luina felt her heart pounding.
The reason was...
'Even after waking up from that fainting orgasm and thinking it over again, this definitely isn't a misunderstanding. S-Stay might actually like me! Because who else but someone who likes me would call me by my name like that...!'
Her delusion, sparked by being called by her name yesterday, had ballooned until it reached the conclusion that "Stay likes me."
'Well, maybe it's only natural. I'm May Luina, the saintess beloved by all, the world's greatest healer. Even though I'm a vegetable patient now, I can easily make someone like Stay fall for me.'
Even though she'd clearly heard it was informal speech for treatment purposes, the context before and after didn't matter to May Luina at all now. Being called by name alone had her ignoring such trivial details.
She was utterly immersed in the delusion that Stay liked her, brushing aside minor facts as she nurtured the fantasy further.
'Yeah. Come to think of it, he's been subtly showing it. The first room he came to was mine, and while he's rough with the others during treatment, with me he's gentle— just kneading my breasts softly or pressing my nipples. Sure, yesterday he slapped them, but that's that, and this is this.'
Desperately ignoring the full-body tight hug he'd given Dain Adamas, May Luina racked her brain to recall even more reasons why Stay harbored feelings for her.
'And on the first day, he visited me twice. He didn't go to the others! Plus, when he did the lion face, it was in my room. Wow, listing it out like this, Stay's been openly expressing his affection for me in ways I somehow never noticed?'
The reason May Luina hadn't noticed until now was simply that Stay harbored no such feelings for her—but the truth like that wouldn't reach her in this state.
'Sigh, even the world's most noble saintess can't help but commit this sin. I was just sitting here, and now I've stolen a man's heart. What a tragic fate.'
The fleeting morning delusion of "Stay might like me?" that popped into her head upon waking hadn't taken long to morph into "Stay likes me!"
Since it was a pleasant delusion for her, realizing it was just that—a delusion—was a distant prospect indeed.
Trapped in pitch-black darkness where she could do nothing but fantasize unless Stay's voice came through the speaker, the current May Luina—who had never once dated anyone in her life—was unleashing a spectacular solo delusion spree at an astonishing speed, a hallmark of the eternal singleton.
It was truly an explosive synergy of abyss meeting abyss.
'I never intended it, but in the end, it all happened because of me. This is clearly my sin, and I must take responsibility. No helping it. As a saintess and a hero, it's only natural to reach out to the pitiful.'
The only person who could put the brakes on this explosive delusion was Stay, the sole one who could hear her voice—but today, he had to treat Mir Ryuin, so he couldn't come here.
'Once treatment ends and I get up from this bed, we'll have to part ways per the contract, but if Stay feels immense sorrow at our separation and begs me not to leave... well, I'd have no choice but to offer him a secretary position. Sigh... Being a saintess sure isn't easy.'
And so, no one could stop May Luina's delusions now, and in her mind, Stay becoming her secretary was already set in stone.
From the start, Stay had made a contract specifically requesting they pretend nothing happened in this special room and cut all contact after treatment—but May Luina couldn't even remember that.
'...If he saw us as strangers from the get-go, he wouldn't have called me by name, right? He's F-rank while I'm S-rank— the saintess May Luina—so maybe he's pushing me away out of concern that he'd hold me back. That explanation makes even more sense. Stay, honestly... Someone like him wouldn't dim my future at all. He's seriously underestimating me.'
To be precise, it wasn't that she forgot the circumstances of the contract; she was outright fabricating and reconstructing the memories from that day.
'But since I have to take responsibility, I'll accept him as my secretary—but what if he doesn't settle for that? He likes me so much he's calling me by name; would he really be content just being my secretary? No... he wouldn't.'
May Luina furrowed her brow, seriously pondering this with furrowed brows, treating her flimsy delusion—based solely on "he called me by name"—as utter truth.
'When I wake up and he begs just like I imagine, and later snaps because the secretary role isn't enough and confesses his feelings... could I really ignore Stay's pleas... his confession of love?'
The very idea of Stay begging was something that only happened in May Luina's imagination—something that hadn't happened in reality and never would.
'Hmm...'
Thanks to her stunning looks, figure, world's top healing abilities, and strength that could stand toe-to-toe with the Holy See's awakeners single-handedly, May Luina had received confessions from countless people in the past.
But she'd rejected them all without a second glance.
Because she was the saintess. The benefits of forgoing mere romance far outweighed it.
That was how May Luina had always drawn the line, citing her purity and nobility as a saintess.
'I probably couldn't! Because I'm a saintess who can't just stand by while someone suffers because of me! I'd have no choice but to accept Stay's feelings. Mhm!'
She was treating a non-event as if it had already happened, justifying it as inevitable, and choosing to accept Stay's "feelings" (pure delusion).
'Ehehe... If we end up together, he'll call me by name all day long. Everyone else always uses my full title and never just my name, but he called me May. Man, I'm such a sinful woman.'
Though she called it a sin, May Luina's mood was lighter and fluffier than ever.
It was peak singleton behavior, spiraling into delusions over the sole reason of Stay calling her by name.
'Still, unless Stay sincerely begs me, I absolutely won't accept his confession! He has to drop to his knees, hug my legs, bawl his eyes out, and say, "Please don't go. I can't live in this world without May. I-I'm dying here. Forgive me for only confessing now, make up with me. Otherwise, I might really die." Anything less, and no dice! It's only natural for someone linking up with a saintess like me! Mhm!'
Having imagined the exact lines and emotions for the perfect confession, May Luina didn't stop there and kept spinning her fantasy onward.
Static—ding.
But before she could fantasize about "waking up every day in the same bed with Stay, hugging him tight, and having him whisper my name in my ear," the speaker activated first.
'Huh? Oh, it's starting? Well, now that I know Stay's feelings, there's nothing to get mad about. I can listen to his voice comfortably. After all, his heart is directed towards me!'
Normally, she'd welcome hearing Stay's voice but feel jealousy and irritation that it was directed at another woman—but the current May Luina was utterly relaxed.
'That voice? Pfft, I can take it anytime. It's not aimed at me right now, but the most important thing—Stay's heart—is squarely on me...'
"Mir Ryuin's jealousy? How cute."
'...'
"Why are you whining like that? Were you that spoiled without me for three days?"
'...'
"You don't have to get all prickly—just tell me what you want from me. ...Mir."
'...Huh?'
Just three minutes after Stay's voice began echoing from the speaker, May Luina's mind went completely blank.