episode_0014

Today, I was out at the cafe a bit earlier.

And not alone, but with Lilith Tistina, my lover, and perhaps the woman I might marry someday.

I was surprised when she visited in front of the dormitory early in the morning.

She said she came early because she felt somehow anxious, even though we had only been apart for just one day.

Since she came all the way, we decided to have a light date.

Perhaps this is my first date across my past life and this life?

I felt strangely excited.

Lilith also seemed no different, holding my hand tightly even while sitting opposite me at the table.

And while endlessly fiddling and playing with my hand.

“Hehe… Is it because we’ve become lovers?

It’s a place I usually came to, but being with you feels different.”

“Huh? Oh, right… Now that I think about it, this cafe was a place we often came to even when we were just friends.”

“Exactly~ We came here as friends back then… And now, somehow, we’re back as lovers?”

After the failure of the date plan with Mark Vissess, she and I came to this cafe more often.

I was worried that she might be greatly disappointed about not becoming lovers with Mark, but thankfully she quickly pulled herself together.

That’s because whenever she met me, she always smiled and showed a lively attitude.

Come to think of it, there must have been people who misunderstood our relationship as lovers when others saw us back then.

Well, now we are definitely lovers though.

“Right. When I was hanging out with you so much, I couldn’t even imagine that I could ever be in a relationship like this with you.”

Although she said she was okay, I actually felt uneasy deep down all along.

Although we are lovers, doesn’t it ultimately trace back to the one-night mistake I made?

So, I worried that perhaps she was pretending to like me out of a sense of obligation because she had given her first time to me.

But that worry naturally disappeared as I saw how she was over the past 3 days and looked at her genuine eyes looking at me now.

“Huh? Uh-oh? Lophel, didn’t I tell you not to put yourself down so much?”

“Oh dear, sorry sorry, I guess this has just become a habit.”

“Lophel, I don’t know about other things, but I really hope you fix that part of yourself.

Sometimes I even feel pity for you, you know?

…I’m asking a bit cautiously just in case… Was there something… unpleasant regarding your family relationships or childhood?”

“Haha, it’s not like that. It’s just my nature, so don’t worry too much.”

If I were to talk about it in more detail, it would be related to something from my past life.

Just thinking about my past life makes me feel suffocated.

A life where nobody around accepted me and I only received rejection.

Memories of a past life where I felt acutely that I was dying rather than living each day.

Well, there’s no need to tell her about my past life, let alone the memories of it.

Not only is it not a pleasant story, but there’s also no need for her to know.

…And frankly, talking about it myself is painful.

“Lophel? What’s wrong? Your face suddenly became very dark.

Looking at you now, you also seem very tired… Perhaps I came too early?”

Lilith looked up at me and asked worriedly.

Indeed, I might look very tired right now.

That’s because I keep yawning uncontrollably and my eyes have a strangely hollow look.

“Nah, it’s not like that. I just… recalled a time when things weren’t good.

And don’t worry about the time. I’m always awake around this time usually. It’s just that there were several things after I returned to the dormitory yesterday, so I slept a bit late.”

Starting from Seraphina Serion’s sudden visit, I also received letters from the other two heroines of the original work, Eligio Gremlina and Isabella Kshatriya, at the same time.

And for some reason, all three of them brought up topics related to my marriage talks.

Thanks to that, my head felt dizzy and confused for a moment.

That’s because I worried that perhaps I had become so deeply involved with them that it might interfere with the scenario.

Well, thinking about it again, I didn’t really do anything particularly special.

Their letters also contained some content that could be misunderstood, but in conclusion, they were merely expressing concern for me as a friend.

“What happened that made you like that?”

“It’s nothing. Seraphina was waiting in front of the dormitory and besides that…”

“What? Seraphina Serion? Why was that girl waiting for you?”

As soon as the name Seraphina Serion came up, she abruptly cut me off and asked.

Because her words were particularly sharp, I ended up flinching a bit.

“Huh? Oh… At first, I was surprised because she said she had been waiting for a full day, but after hearing it, it wasn’t a big deal.”

“What? Not just waiting, but waited for a whole day? Why? What did she come to see you for?”

“Well… It seems Seraphina heard something about my marriage talks from my father.

Originally, I was supposed to have marriage talks arranged with other noble young ladies after graduation, and she came to talk about that.

And then she told me to withdraw all the future marriage talks.”

“Marriage talks? Oh, right… Indeed, in the reply to that letter back then…”

She lowered her head and muttered softly.

Then she raised her head again and looked up at me with a displeased expression.

“Anyway, who does she think she is, telling you what to do about your marriage talks, Lophel?”

“Seraphina thinks of me as a close friend, so I guess she probably wanted to give me advice.

We also helped each other during the sparring test we had before.”

“I know that too. Ever since then, Seraphina has been strangely hanging around you.

What I’m asking is, what does that have to do with Seraphina telling you what to do about your marriage talks!”

“Wait wait, calm down first. Let me tell you exactly what we talked about yesterday first.”

I told Lilith the conversation I had with Seraphina the previous day, without missing a single particle.

From her coming to me and talking about the marriage talks, to her attitude suddenly changing after hearing my answer, everything.

“… Is that really true?”

“Of course! We talked just like this, not a single letter off.”

“…Lophel, you really need to think about your attitude again.”

“…Huh? What does that mean?”

“Haa… Lophel, you’re a truly charming and good person, but that part is really…”

She put her hand on her brow as if she had a headache and sighed.

I couldn’t help but be puzzled.

What’s the problem?

Well… I did think it was strange that Seraphina’s attitude suddenly changed, to be sure.

“Lophel, then when are you going to meet Seraphina again?”

“That… I haven’t specifically decided yet, so I guess we’ll probably meet again at the academy?”

“I think differently. Seraphina will definitely come to see you again in the near future, you know?

And what’s more, full of misunderstandings and delusions she’s inflated herself.”

Lilith continued speaking with an uncomfortable expression.

“Listen carefully, if Seraphina calls you anytime, anywhere, make sure to go with me.

Even if she says she wants to meet you alone, definitely!”

Lilith seems to be particularly wary of Seraphina.

Indeed, although she is just a friend, Seraphina Serion is a woman and a famous beauty within the academy.

Even I would start worrying if she met a famous handsome man alone, so it’s not strange for Lilith to be concerned about Seraphina as my girlfriend.

“Alright. I happened to want to explain our relationship to Seraphina anyway.

It will be easier to explain if we go together.”

“Okay, always remember, Lophel, you are my boyfriend and I am my girlfriend. You must absolutely never forget this fact!”

Lilith asserted, bringing her face close enough for her nose to touch mine, with a slight furrow in her brow.

Looking at her face like that, I strangely thought she was cute.

Perhaps because of that, my head unconsciously moved forward.

Smooch

!

Perhaps she was flustered by the sudden kiss, even though we were a couple who had seen everything there was to see, lying naked in one bed.

As if her attitude from just a moment ago had vanished somewhere, she blushed.

Then, twitching the corners of her mouth as if trying to smile, she glared at me with a face that looked somewhat indignant.

“Eugh… Lophel, you..! Really… you’re unfair…”

“I’m sorry. For a moment, I thought your face was too cute, you see.”

“Seriously..! I’m being serious here and you…!”

Walking up to her, I gave her a deep hug.

Then, supporting her back, I gently stroked her hair with one hand.

Furthermore, I quietly whispered into her ear.

“Rest assured. No matter what anyone says, I am your boyfriend.”

“….It’s a promise.”

Finally, she also wrapped her arms around my waist with her own hands.

Forgetting that we were even in a cafe, we continued hugging, exchanging each other’s warmth.

Fortunately, it was still early and there were no customers yet, so it wasn’t embarrassing.

“But Lophel, you said ‘besides this…’ What else was there besides Seraphina?”

To point out the part where my sentence was cut off, she had a sharper side than I thought.

“Ah… it’s nothing much. I got letters from friends asking about marriage talks just the same, so I replied to them.

It took more time than I thought, so I ended up sleeping late.”

“…Reply? You wrote it yourself?”

“Of course I did! I wrote it carefully so nobody would get upset, so don’t worry.”

“…I’m still incredibly anxious, though.”

She seemed to have a lot of complaints, but soon nestled into my arms, closed her eyes, and decided to enjoy the feeling.

By the way, what was she anxious about?

Now that I think about it, my father is like that, and my younger sister is like that, too; the people around me, especially, find it unsettling when I write letters myself.

They say I make others misunderstand things in a strange way or something.

Well, this time I definitely wrote only the facts in my replies, so there shouldn’t be any strange misunderstandings.

Probably.