"Erina...?"
She slowly brings her face closer to mine, wearing a smile tinged with exhilaration...
"I've been following you all this ti, haven't I? So, I want a reward."
Her expression is odd, hard to describe... It's like a pet showing obedience to its master...
"Just a minute?! Wait...!"
"Why? Why won't you accept ?"
Does she really not know? It's obvious that being forced into sothing without consent is not okay.
"Could it be... you dislike ...?"
But before I can even make an excuse, her trembling voice brings a somber mood...
"Erina...?"
The suspicious atmosphere from before is gone, replaced by rapidly growing sadness in her eyes...
"Is it because Harold dislikes ... Is this making you uncomfortable?"
It's not that, but... I suddenly find myself unable to understand Erina's reaction...
"My strength cos from you."
Suddenly, she tells how her strength is derived, gripping my wrist even tighter. The force is so strong, I fear it might break my bones...
"Being by Harold's side, being looked at by him made this possible... But without Harold, I am nothing..."
Tears start forming in her eyes, soon rolling down her cheeks like morning dew...
"Erina...?"
"Lately, my heart feels like it's being torn apart... There's always another woman by Harold's side... and then another..."
Her lips lightly touch my neck, an unexpectedly sorrowful turn that catches off guard.
"I hate it... There was a ti when it was just the two of us... But then, one day, I realized there were so many rivals around you, actually coveting you... It feels like my heart is in agony, about to be torn apart..."
She recalls the cherished monts from the past, pouring out her emotions as she presses her face against my chest.
To be honest... at so point, there beca many people around .
Initially, there was Eleonora... Then Mir and Abner, and starting with Erina, the number of people around just suddenly increased... Back in the day, Eleonora and Abner only stayed in their temples, eting only during appointed tis, and Mir wasn’t always around.
So, back then, it was mostly Erina and spending a lot of ti together.
But now, things have changed... Honestly, even being alone was a rarity, with Yura always trying to follow ... And now, even though in the temple, Luceria needs to be by my side to maintain her form as she was designed to exist only with my presence.
So, was she feeling insecure about her diminishing place all this ti?
"Do you even know what it feels like... to be a tool, gradually forgotten by its master...?"
Erina, now desperately clinging to , refers to herself as a re tool...
I start feeling a sense of self-loathing from such needless words...
"I've always said it, and like I just did... everything about is for you, my life itself... Harold is my kind master, and I am but a tool that follows him..."
It was heartbreaking to hear her belittle herself so much... and it was becoming unbearable to endure such excessive treatnt.
"Please... Even if it's not physical, can't you whisper to that you love ...? If it's too embarrassing and hard to accept yet... even a light expression would be fine..."
"A tool can be a great help to its master but requires care... like that... let feel that I am by your side..."
Responding to Erina's request, I instinctively pull her into my embrace.
"Harold...?"
She looks puzzled yet hopeful... Her lips, pale from sadness, regain so color.
Now... I'm not even sure myself... what I'm thinking right now...
But I knew for certain that this was related to the current conflict I was facing.
"If that's what you want... I can't do too much... but..."
Honestly, in the future, I might question myself why I did this... My actions and words... I embrace her as warmly as I can.
Was it sympathy for her pitiable state that made lose my cool... Or... even though I hate to admit it, am I gradually accepting it...? In one corner of my mind, I comfort Erina with the excuse of 'preparing my companions for the upcoming final trial'.
"Erina... I have sothing to say..."
I look straight into her eyes and speak words that can't be taken back.
Honestly, I had co to warn them about the imminent crisis today... but at so point, the purpose of my visit got distorted...
Instead of warning them and preparing for what's ahead, it turned into a ti for self-reflection and indulging their whims...
"Ugh..."
Thinking about what I said to Erina earlier, my face still burns with heat.
As expected, looking back at the past now, I'm overwheld with imnse embarrassnt and regret.
But like water that's been spilled, the words already spoken can't be taken back... so now, I was resigned to let things be as they were....
"It feels sowhat comfortable, is this what it's like to indulge in the company of soone you like?"
But as if my embarrassnt wasn't enough, I had to face another humiliation in the principal's office of the academy I visited next...
"Um, Arsia...? How long do we have to keep doing this...?"
Overwheld by sha, I finally ask her, almost pleading... but, of course, the answer I wanted didn't co.
"It feels better than I thought, can we stay like this a little longer?"
Resting on her shoulder, my head gets gently stroked...
Initially, I wanted to use her lap as a pillow, but after my desperate protest, she reluctantly agreed not to.
Instead, this beca a different kind of embarrassing punishnt...
Initially, like the others, it was ant to be a simple warning... but as it happened before, sohow it turned into this unseemly situation.
The reason was a violation of school rules...
Dragged into reality by Mir, I lost ti in a different dinsion... Excessive absences led to an inevitable expulsion, but then I used the library upon my return, so technically, it was my responsibility to deal with...
"The god of ti said that, huh... I better prepare thoroughly, and I should also inform the students."
Despite everything, she acknowledges my words with a comnt, then starts absentmindedly stroking my head again.... The silence descends... Unlike , Arsia seems radiant, almost as if flowers were blooming around her.
Considering everything, she is older and generally a sly character, and perhaps due to her extensive experience in looking after young students, she exudes a strong maternal presence.
Even now, she's wasting what little rest ti she has, comforting with the ease that cos from her maturity...
"Arsia... Can we stop soon?"
Especially in front of soone else...
"Harold seems a bit uncomfortable..."
Aris, who had been silently observing the situation, finally couldn't bear it and tried to speak on my behalf...
"Do you want to try it too, Aris? After all, you love Harold."
However, her uncomfortable expression crumbles with just one sentence from Arsia, and her face turns unusually red.
"What... What?!"
A proposal that would be unimaginable under normal circumstances...
"Well, I can do it because I am you, so I know what you like, right? I'd like to show off my confident side, but you're just jealous of , aren't you?"
Every word from her seems to hit Aris's weak points, as her expression grows more troubled with each sentence...
"If you want to, go ahead, Aris! If it's you, I might be willing to share."
Is this twisted maternal affection or self-love? Without any hesitation, she suggests things that would be unacceptable in a normal relationship.
Her attitude towards , treating like an object, was a bit irkso...
But what made more uncomfortable was...
Aris, not showing any negative reaction to Arsia's temptation...
"Should I say I want to be hugged instead of being stroked...?"
After hearing her words, I just stopped thinking.
"It seems we've reached an agreent."
The two won solemnly speaking in the vast, white temple...
"Hmm..."
The goddess of fate, Morione, and the ancient goddess, Luceria,
After endless debates, they finally co to a conclusion.
"It's good that I'm regaining my original strength, but... can I handle it well? If my husband gets involved with my inherent powers, it could be disastrous..."
Once Luceria finishes speaking, Morione gestures as if to say it's a needless worry, in a space where no one else should enter and no one else can overhear. "But as it stands, we can't defeat the goddess Eleonora. From what I've experienced directly, she's simply too much to handle."
"You know, right? The strength of a god cos from will... And surely, an emotional being who's endured long suffering won't easily let go of the happiness they've finally found."
At these words, Luceria falls into deep thought, seemingly unable to even afford the luxury of responding to Morione's statent.
"Just sohow deal with Eleonora, I'll take care of the rest."
"Alright... I'll have to try sohow."
Morione lifts her head in agreent, albeit reluctantly, to the uneasy partnership, casting a tense atmosphere.
"Finally, it's over. That was a really heated discussion... But if my predictions are correct, then, right now, at this mont..."
"Harold will co."
With a loud noise ――!
As soon as those words are spoken, the doors of the grand audience chamber open, revealing the figure of a man.
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