Ch.43Organizing (2)

Was it because she was still half-asleep?

Amelia didn’t avoid the caressing hand. She simply lay still, accepting it.

Like a child receiving praise from an adult.

Stroke, stroke-

“Hehe.”

The snake smiled gently.

Unlike his usual sharp demeanor, he seemed to be enjoying how unusually docile she was under his touch.

He appeared to be savoring her dreamy, half-conscious response.

The strange situation continued for a while.

As her foggy consciousness cleared, the girl finally came to her senses.

A faint sigh escaped between her lips.

“…Ah.”

Amelia turned her head with a start.

While she looked around with bewildered eyes, the boy who had been softly laughing withdrew his hand.

His expression suggested he was already satisfied.

Seeing his narrowed eyes forming an arc, the vain girl bit her lip.

“……”

“……”

Silence filled the surroundings for a moment.

In the awkward atmosphere, the girl rolled her eyes unnecessarily.

The snake was sitting right beside her.

Though she had many questions, she found it difficult to speak.

The laboratory where shadows had swirled.

The silhouette standing there remained vividly imprinted in her mind.

Perhaps Amelia was afraid of the boy.

“My, my… I don’t understand why you’re so intimidated.”

Regardless.

The golden snake shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

After hesitating repeatedly, the girl finally asked her first question, which was rather pointless.

“…What exactly happened?”

“While you two were unconscious, support from Gallimar arrived. We returned to the academy without delay.”

“Then… that huge monster?”

“Don’t you know?”

The answer came back meaningfully.

Amelia unconsciously swallowed dry saliva.

-Like before… won’t you make a deal with me this time?

Was it because of that still-vivid scene?

It was a sensation that had been particularly deeply imprinted.

-Don’t be alarmed.

-As long as I’m here… you won’t be overwhelmed, my lady.

The girl remembered.

The warmth of being embraced from behind, and the thrill that had coursed through her entire body afterward.

The shadow spreading from his fingertips was equally vivid.

-For just a brief moment, I’ll show you a new world.

The vain girl reflected on that instant.

When their hands touched, the world turned black, leaving only darkness.

In the empty field of vision, there was a single star.

A gently shining fragment appeared.

The starlight, the only one keeping vigil until dawn, soon became thousands of beautiful pieces, creating a mesmerizing landscape.

-You can do it.

It was an unforgettable sensation.

That which had given the girl a sense of omnipotence… was a power comparable to that of a “god.”

It was an expression that would cause seizures in church for being blasphemous, but there was no other way to describe what she had felt then.

After all, what she had experienced was a kind of divine power.

“……”

Amelia fidgeted with her fingers unnecessarily.

Thoughts tangled complexly.

Most were about the boy.

He was strong.

At least, he was beyond what she could judge with her own eyes.

Even setting the bar as low as possible, he was at the professor level… perhaps even comparable to the dean.

The performance the boy had shown overwhelmed everything the girl knew.

‘So until now… he was hiding his abilities.’

It was a significant point.

Despite possessing such intense power, he lived while concealing himself.

A chilling intuition ran down her spine.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

“……”

“I understand. A lot has happened.”

His lips curved calmly.

Watching the snake behave as usual, one question filled her mind.

Amelia pronounced it almost inaudibly.

“…You.”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you save me?”

She couldn’t understand.

What was the reason he tried to protect her, even revealing his hidden power?

What exactly did he want?

Although they had made a deal, it was essentially a one-sided relationship.

The girl had no choice but to obey unconditionally.

After all, the snake had leverage over her.

That’s why her first kiss had been taken.

“You didn’t even need to save me.”

It was a choice that only created disadvantages.

As someone always calculating benefits, she found it difficult to understand the boy’s mind.

As she stared intently at his characteristic narrowed eyes, a sly smile suddenly returned.

“Hehe… You’re making the person who nursed you all night feel unappreciated.”

“But why?”

Blue eyes soaked in confusion.

She felt a terrible disconnect.

Why on earth would he save her, nurse her, and stay by her side?

What could he possibly expect from such worthless trash?

‘I don’t understand.’

The warmth of the hand holding hers since earlier felt unfamiliar.

The fingers interlocked as if it were natural, imbued with an inexplicable tenderness.

Perhaps she was a little scared.

Because she didn’t know what the boy wanted.

“…I was taught that there’s no kindness in this world without reason.”

“Why do you always look for reasons?”

“Because I couldn’t survive otherwise.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“It’s important to me.”

“Hmm.”

The snake seemed lost in thought for a moment.

After chewing on the brief silence, he spoke as if he had reached a conclusion.

“If you really want to hear a reason… I suppose I can give you this much of an answer.”

The boy murmured.

“It’s because I cherish you, my lady.”

A gentle voice tickling her ear.

It was an answer that deviated greatly from her anxious expectations.

“…What?”

A question mark appeared above the girl’s head.

Regardless, the sweet voice calmly explained itself.

“At first, I had no particular thoughts.”

Calmly.

“I thought it was just a passing connection. Our first meeting was truly a mess.”

He seemed to be referring to that time.

The day when the two first encountered each other.

“I thought you were prickly.”

“…I was indeed prickly.”

“I thought it would be difficult to get close to you… but gradually my thoughts changed.”

“……”

“It’s thanks to you choosing a new path, my lady.”

The snake smiled gently.

Amelia was listening with bated breath.

“At first I wanted to know you, later I wanted to watch over you… and now I want to protect you.”

So that you can create a new story.

I want to be your strength by your side.

I wish that in some fairy tale you once loved so much, your name would be written alongside it this time.

“Because you’ve changed this time.”

The air turned fresh and innocent.

Amelia’s face had already turned red.

It was because of the sudden content.

“……”

Although Amelia was incredibly ignorant in these matters, even she couldn’t miss something so obvious.

It was a moment when knowledge learned from books shone.

This was clearly…

That kind of meaning.

These were sentences with the atmosphere of a man confessing love to a woman.

The girl was dumbfounded by the sudden bombshell.

“W-w-what… s-suddenly, uh, ueh…?”

Her mind turned completely blank.

Amelia couldn’t help but show an intense reaction.

“W-w-w-why are such words suddenly coming out?!”

“Didn’t you ask me, my lady?”

“T-that’s true, but…!”

Of course, she had asked why he saved her!

But she never expected this kind of development.

The girl bit her lip, fidgeting nervously.

The hospital room, which until just now had been filled with ominous feelings, was now exuding only a fresh scent.

The snake spoke calmly.

“The deal… what I said then was sincere.”

“……”

The deal.

Only then did Amelia realize what the boy wanted.

A few memorable phrases came to mind.

-However, I want you to live for me.

-It’s enough if you stay by my side so I can watch your story… always.

That was definitely the content.

In exchange for saving the vain girl, the snake wanted to keep her by his side.

Although there was no ulterior motive in what the boy had said up until now, Amelia had no way of knowing that.

And so she misunderstood on her own.

That the boy before her was in love with her.

“I… I……”

Thump, thump.

Was it because of the unfamiliar situation?

Her pulse was beating strangely.

Trying to calm the heat rising to her face, the girl timidly conveyed her thoughts.

It was a slight concern.

“I’m not sure if I can do well.”

She had learned that emotions don’t always go as planned.

Although she had promised to always stay by the boy’s side, could her heart ever match his?

It was uncertain.

“As I said before, I have no experience in this area… I don’t know if I can meet your expectations.”

But.

“…Still, I’ll try.”

Since she had already received help.

If she owed her life to someone twice, shouldn’t she at least make an effort to fulfill her end of the deal?

At the very least, she intended to try to develop feelings for him.

“It might not be as much as you want.”

“I know.”

“And I’m very clumsy.”

“Everyone is.”

“If that’s okay with you… I’ll do my best.”

Amelia murmured softly.

The snake stared blankly for a moment, then soon broke into a faint smile.

“Hehe… that makes me happy.”

The boy stroked the girl’s head as if finding her endearing.

This time she didn’t avoid his touch.

She simply lay still with her eyes tightly closed.

“……”

“Hehe.”

In fact, the two were understanding the situation completely differently.

While Amelia had conveyed her determination after much anguish, to the boy’s ears it simply sounded like a resolution to work hard to help him.

And so the misunderstanding deepened.

“Ugh… my head hurts.”

Just then, a rustling sound came from beside them.

Following his gaze, they saw green eyes that seemed to have just awakened.

“W-where am I? I’m sure there was a monster…”

Pink hair in disarray.

The girl who had been looking around in a daze suddenly met the eyes of the two people watching her.

“You’re awake, Miss Lezia.”

“Commoner… I see you’ve regained consciousness.”

“…Eh?”

Lezia couldn’t help but be surprised.

One was a person she thought had died.

The other was someone who had been at death’s door with her.

The girl’s dazed eyes soon shook violently.

“Y-young master? My lady…?”

Moisture gathered in her eyes.

The girl asked in a low, sobbing voice.

“…Am I dead too?”

“……”

“……”

She seemed to be mistaking this for the afterlife.

The girl began to shed tears.

“Hic… what do I do! Poor young master, sniff, my lady…!”

Somehow, she seemed more saddened by others’ deaths than her own.

Anyway, it was an awkward situation.

“Now, now! Stop that!”

“We’re not dead! Stop crying and pull yourself together!”

“Ugh, sniff! Huaaang…!”

The pilot wept openly.

The snake and the vain girl had to work up a sweat for a while to console her.