Ch.107107. It’s Not My First Kiss

Alkine was about to protest as Celia dragged her along somewhere without listening to reason, but stopped when she saw her expression.

She seemed to have been smiling before dropping Ludion off, but now her face looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

Who could say anything after seeing that?

At least Alkine couldn’t.

Perhaps noticing her gaze, Celia spoke in a brusque tone.

“What? You’re a noble too, so you know. Hiding one’s expressions is a basic skill we should all have.”

“I know. But… if even I can’t tell, isn’t that beyond basic skill and into the realm of magic?”

“Thanks for the compliment. If you say that, then Ludion definitely couldn’t have noticed.”

Celia responded to Alkine’s not-quite-compliment while glancing back in the direction of the dormitory where Ludion had gone.

Was the smile that formed when she uttered Ludion’s name deliberately shown, or was she unable to hide it?

Probably the latter.

Normally Alkine would have been confused, but now she could state with certainty.

Because…

[Current Favorability: 39/100]

[You are in an emotional confusion state due to a rapid increase in favorability.]

[Favorability increase is restricted until this state stabilizes.]

She had reached the point where she couldn’t help but smile at the mere thought of Ludion.

All of Celia’s eccentric behaviors toward Ludion now made perfect sense.

‘No wonder she always stuck close to him.’

With that thought, Alkine followed Celia’s gaze and discreetly looked toward Ludion’s dormitory.

Meanwhile, Celia was steadily heading somewhere.

Being pulled along by Celia was comfortable since Alkine was floating by magic and didn’t need to move at all.

Surprisingly, they arrived at the third-year girls’ dormitory—specifically, in front of the building where her own room was located.

‘Didn’t she say she wanted to talk?’

Just as she wondered about this, Celia provided an answer.

“Did you see Ludion pat my arm earlier when he told us to reach an amicable agreement?”

“…Yes.”

“That’s why we’re here.”

“…Huh?”

When Alkine tilted her head in confusion at Celia’s words, Celia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if she didn’t want to explain further.

After exhaling completely, Celia closed her eyes briefly, feeling stifled, then continued speaking with a slight intake of breath.

“It was his way of saying not to trouble you too much because you must be tired. That’s why I brought you to your dormitory.”

Hearing this, Alkine couldn’t help but be surprised.

She had thought it was just a gesture accompanying his joke to tease her, but they had unknowingly exchanged such signals.

Above all, she was extremely happy to learn that Ludion had been subtly taking care of her while pretending not to care and just making jokes.

“If you’re going to be happy, you should manage your expression first.”

“Ugh, is it that obvious?”

“Don’t you know yourself?”

Celia’s observation was accurate. Someone of Alkine’s caliber would certainly be aware of the state of her facial muscles.

Right now, Alkine’s face could best be described as “beaming.”

“Well, manage your expression as you see fit. Let’s go in for now.”

Celia spoke while Alkine was trying to compose her previously relaxed expression.

…Go in? Where?

“Your room, of course. We agreed to talk, didn’t we?”

“But I thought we postponed that because I’m tired…”

“I never said we’d postpone. I just came to the dormitory so you wouldn’t have to wander around outside when you’re tired.”

Alkine was about to retort to Celia’s words but remembered what Ludion had said and stopped herself.

What was it he said? Something about never being able to win once Celia starts deploying her self-serving logic.

Now that she was in this situation, she understood what he meant.

“Fine. I got it. Follow me.”

So she decided to accept without arguing further.

It gave her a strange feeling, as if she was experiencing a small taste of Ludion’s hardships.

Being careful not to attract attention, they cautiously made their way to Alkine’s room.

Alkine sat down on the desk chair after tidying up a bit.

Celia, who had already seated herself on the bed, spoke first. She was holding a teddy bear that had been placed at the head of the bed.

“Your room is cute.”

“Didn’t Ludion tell you?”

“He’s not the type to spread such things. And I don’t particularly care about other people’s secrets as long as they’re not harmful.”

After saying that, Celia put down the teddy bear she was holding, stating that wasn’t what she came to talk about.

“Before hearing about what happened, let me ask this first. How’s the favorability rating?”

“…It increased. A lot.”

“Be specific. I’m asking for the current number.”

“39. It stopped there because it rose too rapidly and became dangerous.”

“Sigh… I achieved my goal, but I’m not happy about it.”

Looking at Celia as she sighed lightly, Alkine felt somewhat apologetic.

Clearly, Celia had developed feelings for Ludion first and had been openly showing them.

Alkine had inserted herself between them, so she couldn’t help but feel sorry.

However, it was now irreversible. Alkine’s feelings had also grown through this incident.

“I’m sorry. I can’t control it anymore either.”

“I know.”

Despite her apology, Celia responded rather calmly.

“I’ve experienced those feelings too. I can’t selfishly ask you to suppress them.”

Alkine thought Celia was amazing for saying that.

Because she didn’t think she could do the same.

Even now, she felt a subtle jealousy toward Celia, and she couldn’t imagine how she would react if another latecomer appeared.

And yet Celia accepted it like this?

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m just rationalizing it because it’s something I have to endure for Ludion’s sake.”

“Most people can’t do that, which is why crimes of passion happen.”

Though Celia spoke as if it were nothing, Alkine couldn’t help but express genuine admiration.

Perhaps finding her reaction burdensome, Celia hastily brought up the main topic.

“Anyway. Tell me what happened.”

“Okay. Starting with how the rift opened…”

Alkine began her story slowly, pondering how to explain the first kiss.

Throughout Alkine’s story, Celia’s expression changed rapidly.

She seemed puzzled about the rift opening due to the favorability system,

Looked troubled when hearing how Ludion was injured while protecting her,

And was truly distressed upon learning he had nearly died.

And then… regarding the first kiss story, which Alkine carefully brought up thinking it would be harder to reveal later…

“Alkine?”

“I’m truly sorry. I wasn’t in my right mind at that moment.”

The situation made Alkine switch to formal speech despite being Celia’s senior and the student council president.

Alkine was feeling fear from the current Celia.

With some exaggeration, it was comparable to when she had faced Belle.

Alkine was genuinely overcome with the desire to flee, but knowing it would be meaningless, she could only wait for Celia’s reaction.

“Kiss… you two kissed…”

In truth, Celia had somewhat suspected that the two had kissed.

When the demon from the rift mentioned kissing, Alkine had been unusually conscious of her own lips.

“Haah…”

However, regardless of her suspicions, she couldn’t help feeling angry.

Celia spent a while muttering to herself and sighing before revisiting something Alkine had said.

“Come to think of it, Ludion said it was his first kiss?”

“Yes. I was surprised too.”

At the mention of “first kiss,” Celia recalled her return from the Imperial Palace not long ago.

Ludion asleep in the carriage, the curtains covering the window, rising desire…

The corners of her mouth lifted involuntarily as she remembered the sensation she had felt then.

“…It wasn’t his first kiss.”

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

She decided to bury this fact forever. That way, both she and Alkine could be happy without getting hurt.

They agreed to hear the rest of the story next time… when they were with Ludion.

They could ask him then while organizing the situation for the report they needed to submit.

The reason for cutting the conversation short here was that Alkine looked very tired.

“Sorry. My body is fine, but I’m mentally exhausted.”

“Of course. You watched someone you care about almost die right before your eyes.”

Being the person who could empathize most with that aspect, Celia concluded the conversation without complaint.

She had no lingering attachments since they had finished discussing the most important parts about Ludion’s injury and the kiss.

“Well then, get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay…”

As soon as Alkine responded, Celia threw herself out the window.

It was a spectacular sight to see her float up instead of falling and fly away.

Since there was no need to watch her all the way back, Alkine turned away from Celia’s receding figure and lay down on her bed.

As her body and mind relaxed into the softness, her thoughts became lighter.

‘Kissing Ludion… I wonder if we could do it again.’

…What am I thinking right now?

Maybe it was because they had just been talking about it.

Either way, she had undeniably had an embarrassing thought.

I must be going crazy. I think all sorts of things when I’m tired.

I should sleep quickly. With that thought, she hastily closed her eyes.

And so Alkine fell asleep and dreamed.

What kind of dream it was remained Alkine’s secret, but… judging from her sleeping expression, it certainly wasn’t a lukewarm, boring dream about cooking spicy fish stew.