Chapter 162 – Twilight

I was startled by her unexpected appearance, and a little flustered, because… I had done something I shouldn’t have.

But it was Rubia.

Not the Rubia from the trial, the one I didn’t know.

The Rubia I did know.

The real Rubia.

The one I liked.

The one I loved more than anything.

“Ru… ngh…”

I tried to say her name, but my throat closed up.

“Hic… Ru… bia…”

Rubia, who had been silently gazing down at me, bent her knees and pulled me into a tight embrace.

“You’ve been through a lot, Noah.”

The familiar, yet long-missed comfort of Rubia’s embrace enveloped me. A scent I could never forget. A touch I never wanted to forget. The sound of her heartbeat, etched into my memory.

And, directed only at me…

“I have so much I want to say to you, Noah.”

Her voice… What was that tone?

“…Y-Yeah… Heh…?”

“But this isn’t the place for that kind of conversation.”

“C-Can’t we just… talk here…?”

Rubia, hugging me as if she might devour me, took a sharp, ragged breath. It sounded like… the growl of a wolf…

“Let’s go somewhere quiet.”

“…Oh my.”

Hermilla, who had been looking back and forth between Rubia and me in shock, inhaled deeply and plastered on a professional smile, devoid of any genuine emotion.

“…Well. I should get back to work. You two… have a… nice time…?”

She gathered her mana and swiftly retreated.

[…I’m feeling a bit tired, too. Uh, yeah. Have a good talk. And… uh… good luck.]

Kartia, mirroring Hermilla, offered a hollow smile and whoosh, vanished into the bracelet.

Those traitors…!

“Do you not want to?”

“N-No… It’s not that…”

“Haa…”

The arms holding me loosened.

“…Ru… Rubia, are you angry…?”

She was still smiling gently, but…

The atmosphere was terrifying.

I could feel it in my bones, that saying about how a person’s anger, when pushed to the limit, turns cold…

It felt like a razor-sharp, chilling emotion was cutting through me.

“Honestly? I’m not sure what I’m feeling right now.”

“…Uhm…”

In times like this… a way to soothe her anger…

I did learn something in the trial.

B-But… would it even work if I suggested it…?

“Well, I can say for sure that I’m not ang—”

Ah… Screw it!

Rubia did say it was cute…!!

“D-Do you… want to… touch my chest…?”

“…Excuse me?”

“…M-My… chest…”

Hesitantly, I straightened my shoulders and pushed out my chest.

Nothing was in the way.

Nothing was holding it back.

It just… stuck out.

Though… my ribs were more prominent.

There wasn’t much there.

“Why… are you suddenly talking about your chest?”

Rubia’s previously stiff voice softened slightly.

It’s working…!

“…B-Because… I heard it was the best way… to calm someone down…”

“From whom?”

“From… ‘Rubia’…”

Rubia chuckled softly, shook her head, and took my hand.

“That’s for when we’re alone. With nothing in the way. And not just your chest.”

She whispered into my ear, her breath warm and teasing. “Everywhere.”

Then, she tugged my hand, pulling me along.

***

Swish, swish.

“Haa… Where should I even begin?”

“Ugh…”

“Now… I know almost all of your secrets, Noah, so don’t even think about hiding anything.”

Srrrt…

“Ugh… F-Fine. But… do we really have to do this lying down?”

“Yes. Do you dislike it?”

“It’s not that I dislike it… It’s just… um… a little…”

Swoosh…

“Hng… Hyah…”

Rubia’s cold hand brushed against my soft inner thigh.

“I-It’s cold…”

“Endure it.”

“Uuuh…”

Her fingers kept moving, tickling me, so I instinctively squeezed my legs together. And, to keep her from going any higher… It would be bad if she touched my underwear…

“How do you feel after the trial? Can you sense any changes?”

“Sense…? Yeah. There’s definitely a change…”

“What kind of change?”

“Uhm… My body feels incredibly light and sensitive. And… uh… it’s like the ‘in-between’ is gone…?”

I wasn’t sure how to explain it. But literally, the intermediate steps were gone.

Before the trial, if I wanted to strike an enemy, there were several steps. I had to move my arm and finger muscles to grip the sword, lift it, identify the enemy, gauge the distance, and use my whole body to swing the greatsword. All those steps.

But now, the instant I think it, my body moves. And the instant my body moves, the cut is made.

So, basically.

The instant I think it, the result appears.

Of course, that whole process used to take less than a second anyway. But now, it’s even faster… no. It’s not just faster. It’s…

It’s just… uh… what is this?

Anyway, that’s how it is. And because of that, my body is faster. And I’m stronger, too.

But. The most important thing is…

“But… the thing is… without my greatsword, I have no strength at all.”

“What?”

“I-I mean… I used to be strong even without it, you know? But now… I’m completely weak… I can’t do anything. L-Like this.”

I slowly lifted Rubia’s hand, which had been inching towards my underwear between my thighs.

And then, tightly, I held it.

“Hnn… Th-This… is my… maximum… strength…”

“…Seriously?”

“Yeah… I can summon Frey anytime, so it’s fine… but it feels… strange…”

Rubia held her breath for a moment, then murmured very quietly.

“Easier to consume than before.”

“…What?”

“Oh, nothing. I said, that’s a significant change.”

“R-Right? But wait, what did you—”

“Is there anything else you’ve noticed?”

Cutting me off, Rubia lowered her hand and began gently stroking my stomach.

“Hmm… Something else… Oh! And… um, this?”

There was one major change. But… how could I explain this?

“It feels like… I’m connected… to the world.”

Swish. Rubia’s hair shifted. She tilted her head, seemingly trying to understand.

Honestly… I wasn’t sure myself. It was exactly as I said. I felt connected to the world itself.

If I focused a little more…

If I delved deeper…

Not just my body.

Beyond this world.

To the very…

End.

Beginning.

Laws.

Principles.

Concepts.

Foundation.

A presence encompassing it all.

I… could see ‘it’.

And ‘it’… could see me, too.

Watching.

Aware.

And if I reached out…

I could…

“Noah?”

“…Ah, yeah.”

The hand that had been stroking my stomach now cupped my face.

“When you’re with me, don’t think about anything else.”

Then, with her other hand, she grasped my wrist and pressed it against something incredibly soft… her chest…

“Hngh…”

Thump.

“Will this keep your mind from wandering?”

“Th-That’s… not it…”

Rubia chuckled softly, shifted her position, and pulled me into a tight embrace.

Then, very carefully, she asked,

“Noah… you came from another world, didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“A world without magic. One where science, not magitech, advanced.”

I nodded.

My head felt heavy. The air felt heavy.

“This world we live in… is a story… created in a place called Earth.”

“That’s…”

A fabricated world. A fictional world. That’s what I thought at first.

But… I don’t think that anymore. I can’t be certain, but… for now…

“I… don’t think that’s true…”

My hands, which had been hovering awkwardly, wrapped tightly around Rubia.

“I’m sorry, Rubia… for not telling you sooner…”

“It’s okay. It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? Who would believe that this world was created? That it has a predetermined end?”

Rubia’s calm voice made my chest ache.

The end. The end Rubia was talking about… was her own sacrifice.

“…The end isn’t set.”

I shifted in Rubia’s embrace, looking her in the eyes.

“It can be changed. I will change it.”

Unlike during the trial, I couldn’t see anything. I wasn’t holding my greatsword, so nothing was visualized.

But, Rubia’s scent. Her breathing. The warmth at my fingertips. These were clearer than ever.

Because of that, the path I needed to take, the direction I needed to go… became clearer, too.

“I’ll… find a way to save you, Rubia. Just wait. I’ll make you happy.”

My fingertips brushed past Rubia’s warm breath, gently touching her lips.

“You… believe me, right?”

Peck.

A soft laugh. A smile of relief, of happiness. And yet, mixed within that happiness… was a hint of sadness. A faint trace of hesitation.

“…Yes. I believe you. If not you, Noah… who else could I believe?”

“Mm… that’s right. Rubia… just trust me… and live happily.”

“Happily…”

Happy. Happy. Rubia repeated the word, as if savoring it.

Then, suddenly, she cupped my face and asked,

“So… were you happy?”

“…Wh-What…?”

“In the trial. With… ‘me.’ Were you happy?”

“Uh…”

Our foreheads touched.

“You even pressed foreheads like this.”

Our noses touched.

“And noses, too.”

The hands cupping my cheeks slid down, intertwining tightly with mine.

“You held hands, tightly.”

Her other hand slipped beneath my skirt.

“You even showed your underwear.”

And then. The hand that had slipped down slowly rose again, grasping my necklace tightly.

“The two of you cooked meals together like newlyweds, laughed, went out to look at the night view, and later… later… Tsk.”

“Hngh…”

“You knew it wasn’t really me. And yet… you did all of that. Were you… happy?”

“Th-That’s…”

“Did you… like her more… than me?”

“Th-That’s impossible…!”

“Then.”

Rubia’s hand released my necklace as she leaned back.

And then, she climbed on top of me.

“Make me believe it.”

“Huff…Mph… Ru… Rubia…Uhp—”
Make me forget everything with ‘me’.

To the point where you don’t even think about it.

To the point where I, myself, cannot think about it.

Forget, erase and overwrite those feelings.

Until.

Until you are completely filled with me.

Until I am completely filled with you.

“Hnn…”

Her weight pressed down on me.

Her breath.

Her lips, her touch, her emotions.

Every part of her.

Began to paint over every part of me.

And so, we…

After a long, long battle.

After a deep, deep nightmare.

Drenched in twilight, we moved into the deep, deep night.

With the sound of our increasingly frantic heartbeats.

Slowly.

Slowly.

Became one.