Chapter 96 – Cartia (2)

A chill ran through me.

It felt as if a dagger had pierced my chest.

But there was no need to worry.

The hand is quicker than the eye.

I slipped a piece of peach jelly into Rubia’s mouth.

Pop

“Heh, hehe… Rubia…”

Rubia quietly turned her head towards me.

“I-is it tasty?”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes, Noah.”

Rattle-rattle

“Ugh…”

The swaying carriage seemed to mirror the turmoil inside me.

After finishing my conversation with Charlotte, I bid farewell to Yuria and Hephaestus, and even informed Rebuge. We immediately left Ursphere and set off for Cartia.

It was a shame to miss the Flame Festival, but once I heard the contents of the artifact Sirin left behind, staying any longer wasn’t an option. The artifact revealed that Serr was slowly dying from a vicious curse, and only Rubia could break it. Sirin promised to explain everything else as much as possible if we agreed to help.

Upon hearing this, Rubia didn’t hesitate. She began packing her things, saying she had to help Serr—not just for Sirin, but because she absolutely must aid him. I wasn’t sure if she and Serr had some kind of bond or if there was another reason.

“Um… how far have we come…?”

“I’m not sure, Noah.”

“O-okay…”

And… Rubia was furious.

Since my conversation with Charlotte ended, she hadn’t spoken to me for three days. She chatted and smiled easily with others, but with me? Not a word.

No, she did say one thing.

She asked me, “What exactly are we?”

I couldn’t answer her.

Not because I didn’t understand the question, but because I did.

The thought of being in such a relationship with Rubia… it was overwhelming.

To say I’d never considered it would be a lie.

Perhaps ‘hesitating’ was the better term.

If such a deep relationship were to last forever, it would naturally be wonderful, but thinking of the end made it hard to start.

It might seem strange to think about the end before even beginning.

But I couldn’t help it.

Still… I didn’t like the idea of staying just friends with Rubia.

Desire kept surfacing.

I wanted us to be closer.

To share more, to trust each other more deeply.

I wanted Rubia’s every first to belong only to me.

The happy, the sad, the gloomy, the angry, the joyful—everything.

I want to experience it all with her.

Most of all, the thought of Rubia smiling with someone else made me feel like I could burst into tears right then and there.

As I once said to Rubia.

As Rubia once said to me.

For as long as we both lived, I wanted us to share the deepest bond.

It was difficult and suffocating.

I just… wanted to pull out my brain and squeeze it dry, or open my chest and pound my heart to make sense of this.

“Huu…”

I couldn’t keep postponing an answer forever.

And I didn’t want to.

It would have been easier to answer lightly and brush it off, but I didn’t want that.

I wanted to answer with sincerity.

So… I needed a little more time to think.

Taking a trembling breath, I stood up and plopped down next to Rubia.

Her body flinched, but I hooked my arm around hers without hesitation.

“Rubia… do you… l-like me?”

“Yes.”

Her reply came without the slightest hesitation, and I burst into laughter.

“Is this funny to you?”

“No, it’s not that… I’m just… happy.”

Rubia’s stiff lips twitched.

A small smile, imperceptible to normal eyes, sensed only through my focused perception on Rubia.

Yeah. This is the Rubia I like.

“…Do you think you can just gloss over everything like this? Thinking I’ll let it slide again—”

“I like you too, Rubia.”

“…What?”

Rubia’s smile vanished.

In its place were surprise and hope.

“‘Like’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. This is… an even deeper feeling.”

My face felt hot.

It was as if all the heat in my body had gathered in my cheeks.

It felt like steam was pouring out of my ears.

Embarrassed and flustered, I pulled Rubia into a tight hug and buried my face into her.

“But… I need time to think.”

“What? What does that—”

“It’s not a bad thing. Absolutely, it’s in a good direction. I want to grow closer to you, share more with you… and I want you to look only at me.”

Rubia’s body started trembling.

Or maybe it was mine.

I couldn’t tell anymore…

“I want to be your first in everything.”

I lifted my head slightly, smiling softly.

“And I want all of my firsts to be with you too.”

Raising my hands, I cupped Rubia’s face.

“So… please, just a little bit longer. I’ll make sure to give you the answer you deserve.”

Then, I pulled her in closer.

“Okay?”

I kissed her cheek.

“Oh my…”

Thump-thump-thump-thump

It felt like my heart was pounding in my brain.

Or maybe throughout my entire body.

Even the breaths I exhaled were hot.

I was trembling, dizzy.

It was so embarrassing. Too embarrassing.

I ducked my head back into Rubia’s embrace to hide.

It was awkward since her chest got in the way, but at least it covered me.

“Will… you wait for me?”

“…Unconditionally.”

“Hehe… th-thank you.”

“But there’s one condition.”

“Condition…?”

Rubia gently lifted my chin with her hand.

“Do that again, on my lips this time.”

“W-what…?”

“If you don’t, I won’t be able to wait.”

“Y-you’re being unfair!”

“Do you realize who’s really being unfair here?”

“Ugh… f-fine, okay.”

Raising the hand that was wrapped around her waist, I once again cupped Rubia’s face.

It would have been easier if I held my greatsword, but knowing her expression might truly make my face explode, so I decided against it.

“Ugh… okay…”

Using my thumb to fumble and find Rubia’s lips, I slowly pulled her closer.

And then… I didn’t manage to kiss her.

“Pfft—Noah, what are you doing right now?”

“Uh… er… t-this isn’t…”

“You know I said ‘on my lips,’ not ‘let’s bump noses,’ right?”

Right… Rubia and I bumped noses, so our lips didn’t meet.

Too flustered to move, I froze in place. Then Rubia’s hand wrapped over mine.

“If that was an act, Noah, you’re a natural at seduction.”

“It wasn’t an act! I-it’s just that… I-I’ve never done this before, so… I didn’t know.”

“That makes you a natural in another way, then.”

“W-what? No, that’s unfair—mmph…”

“Tilting your head slightly,” she murmured, before her soft, warm lips, flavored with a peachy sweetness, pressed against mine.

That sensation, that feeling.

It was so similar to the jelly I had been eating.

I instinctively stuck out my tongue and licked her lips. Then went deeper.

Skimming past her firm teeth, to her gums where the peachy taste lingered, and the sweet inside of her lips.

At that moment, Rubia twitched violently and pushed me away.

“W-what, wh-what was… what are you doing?!”

Seeing Rubia stammer even worse than I do was so funny, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing as I licked the lingering sensation from my lips.

“Tasty… hehe.”

Two days passed since I confessed my feelings to Rubia.

Finally, we reached Cartia, the final destination of the escort mission.

Even though I wasn’t going to part ways with Rubia after the mission, I still felt… restless.

“Phew! Finally, we’re here,” Rubia said cheerfully as she opened the carriage door, her voice fresh and invigorated with a strong peach scent lingering in the air.

“Y-yeah…”

I, on the other hand, felt completely drained.

Picking up the greatsword that was rolling on the floor, I straightened my clothes and got out of the carriage.

The first thing that caught my eye was the long line of people undergoing inspection to enter Cartia.

The second was the massive wall, rivaling the size of Ursphere’s.

No, it might even be bigger…

But wait, wasn’t Cartia supposed to be a village?

“It’s huge… I thought it was just a village?”

“Hehe… it’s enormous for a village, right?”

“It’s even bigger than Ursphere…”

“This city isn’t entirely Cartia. The center of the city, a small, restricted area, is what’s actually Cartia.”

What on earth…?

“The land is… Cartia? Not a village? Huh?”

“Cartia Sanctuary, they call it. It has no ties to Erden, but it’s still regarded as sacred.”

“T-that’s confusing. So, um… what’s this city called, then?”

“Cartia. Haha.”

Unable to wrap my head around it, I tilted my head in confusion as Rubia continued speaking while stroking the mane of the unpleasant horse that had pulled our carriage.

“Well, technically, the name Cartia comes from the Savior who rose to prominence during the Age of Chaos. Her name was ‘Cartia Frey.’ But people eventually started calling it Cartia since her name was apparently difficult to pronounce back then.”

“The Age of Chaos…? A Savior?”

“Yes. Though I don’t believe it. They say back then, there were dragons and all sorts of mythical creatures. Many spirits that are now hidden were abundant, including the Spirit King. It sounds like something out of a fairy tale, doesn’t it?”

Dragons… While it hadn’t been revealed in this timeline yet, they did exist.

The sealed ancient dragon, Sirinias.

The Spirit King also undoubtedly existed.

“Setting that aside, there’s a legend that might interest you, Noah.”

“A legend? W-what is it?”

“There’s a story that the sword Cartia Frey wielded is hidden somewhere in Cartia.”

“O-oh… but as you know, Rubia, I… I can’t use anything other than a greatsword…”

Rubia stopped stroking the horse and turned to look at me, spinning gracefully.

“They say Cartia Frey used a greatsword. A heavy, thick one, much like yours.”

“Wh-what?!”

This… none of this was in the game.

No, wait—did I just miss it because I ignored the story?

No, I would have noticed anything related to greatswords.

“What do you think? We have two days until Sirin comes to meet us. Want to take a look around?”

“S-sure! Oh, b-but… isn’t Cartia restricted? Y-you’re not planning to sneak in, are you? That’s not okay…”

Rubia chuckled softly, extending her hand toward me.

“Noah, who am I?”

“Y-you’re the Priestess…”

“Exactly.”

Then, before I could even reach for her hand, she snatched mine with a mischievous smile.

“Who would dare stop me?”