Chap 43-Gift

 

“…Senior.”

I opened my mouth quietly after a moment. My voice came out more calmly than I expected.

I lightly pulled on the necklace around my neck.

I felt the leather tighten as I applied force.

“Something like this.”

I said, pointing to the necklace.

“I can break something like this, and this warehouse door too, whenever I want. ”

I continued, looking straight into her wet eyes.

“I’m sorry, but… your power isn’t enough to keep me locked up here.”

At my words, Bella slowly raised her head.

Her eyes were still full of sadness, but she didn’t deny my words.

“…I know.”

She replied weakly.

She had seen me fighting High-ranking Monsters with her own eyes.

No matter how strong she was, she knew she couldn’t suppress me by force now.

A heavy silence fell between us.

Knowing she couldn’t confine me, did she want to protect me with such a clumsy method?

I sighed deeply.

‘…This is why I tried to erase her memories.’

I was going to ask Master to erase all memories related to me.

That way, Bella could live a much safer and more peaceful life.

But…

『Even if there is any threat, a knight has the right to choose her own battlefield.』

Having heard those words, there was no way I could do such a thing…

She knew everything now, and she was worried and sad because of me.

It was really annoying.

But at the same time, strangely, a corner of my heart felt warm.

The fact that there was someone who worried about me so much and was afraid of losing me.

To be honest…

I was feeling a little satisfied.

The contradictory feeling of being sorry that my existence was a burden to her, and at the same time, being satisfied with the attention and concern that the burden gave.

I might be a selfish villainess, or even more than that.

I gave her a soft smile, trying to look as okay as possible.

Then, I slowly approached Bella and gently took her trembling hand.

“Senior.”

Her hand was cold, but the warmth within it was clearly felt.

“Thank you. Thank you for worrying about me so much. But…”

I put a little strength into the hand I was holding and continued.

“I have things to do. I can’t just stay here like this.”

At my words, Bella’s eyes wavered again.

She looked straight into my eyes and asked.

Her voice was mixed with resignation and a hint of resentment.

“That ‘thing you have to do’… in the end, it’s not for you, but for other people, right? Isn’t it?”

“…….”

I couldn’t answer. She was right.

As if accepting my silence as affirmation, Bella scoffed and said.

“Then how about this?”

She shook off my hand, took a step back, and said.

Her voice was a little more resolute than before.

“If you become dangerous, the entire human race could be in danger. So, for the sake of the very people you want to save, you should be in a safe place right now. Isn’t that a wiser decision?”

Her logic itself was plausible.

“Haa…”

I sighed once again.

“Senior, do you think they won’t find me if I hide here? Three ducal families are targeting me at the same time? This is just an excuse. It’s just a temporary measure.”

At my point, Bella seemed speechless, lowered her gaze, and remained silent, staring at the ground.

She must have known too.

That this small warehouse could not be a permanent refuge.

I comforted her in a slightly softer voice.

“And don’t worry too much. The kind of thing you’re thinking about won’t happen.”

“…?”

She asked, raising her head.

“Now that Master has left, the position of ‘Guardian’ is vacant in Terra. A new Guardian will come down from the spirit world soon. I don’t know who will come down, but that Guardian will protect me. Because I’m Master’s disciple. So, we just have to hold on until then.”

Of course, it was uncertain whether that ‘new Guardian’ would be as friendly to me as Master was.

But this was the only way to reassure Bella right now.

Bella didn’t say anything to my words.

She just looked at me with a complicated expression.

Once again, a heavy and long silence fell between us.

I couldn’t tell if she believed my words or if she was still unable to shake off her anxiety.

“…I’ll get stronger.”

Bella suddenly clenched her fist and raised her head, as if she had made up her mind.

Her eyes were burning with intense determination, unlike before.

“What?”

I asked back, puzzled. What was she talking about all of a sudden?

“I said I’m going to get stronger!”

Bella said almost shouting.

Her voice was filled with unwavering determination.

“Maybe I’m not enough to protect you right now. But just you wait. I’ll get stronger somehow, by any means. So that you don’t fall into danger anymore, so that I can perfectly protect you by your side!”

‘…What?’

I stared blankly at Bella for a moment.

I didn’t know how to react to her sudden declaration.

Of course, it was touching and grateful, but at the same time, it was so…

“Pfft…”

In the end, I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

“No, Senior. What’s with you all of a sudden… it’s a bit cheesy, isn’t it? It’s like a line from a novel.”

At my teasing, Bella’s face turned bright red in an instant.

She panicked, not knowing what to do, and avoided my gaze.

“S, shut up! I’m serious!”

“Okay, okay.”

I said, still holding back my laughter, trying to calm her down.

“I know you’re serious, so don’t say it so dramatically.”

I stopped laughing and looked at her with sincerity, saying.

“…Thank you, Senior.”

Her heart, her sincerity, was conveyed to me.

I was happy.

The fact that there was someone who thought of me so much and said they would get stronger for me.

It was a warmth that filled the void left by Master’s departure, even if only a little.

But at the same time…

I was scared.

…

“Th-then… I’ll untie you, come here.”

Bella reached out towards the necklace around my neck with a slightly reddened face.

Hmm…

“Oh? Are you untying me already? That’s a little disappointing, isn’t it?”

I guess I can tease her a little for daring to confine me?

“I didn’t think you were like this, Senior, but you have a bit of a… do you enjoy this kind of play?”

“…What!”

Bella’s face only turned redder as she panicked, as if she had nothing to say.

Her expression was quite cute, making me laugh.

“No, was it really necessary to put something like this on me? You could have just told me.”

I playfully looked at Bella with suspicious eyes and added.

“Hmm~ Could there have been another intention?”

Bella seemed to be sweating at my gaze, and hurriedly shook her head.

“Don’t talk nonsense! I just wanted to keep you from running away…!”

“Okay, okay.”

I chuckled and cut her off.

“Then, before I untie you, should I give you a special dog imitation?”

I pretended to crawl around Bella on all fours, sticking out my tongue.

“Woof! Woof woof!”

Bella looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

It was at that very moment.

Whack-!

Suddenly, Bella pulled my leash hard!

“Cough! Cough cough…!”

I choked and gasped for air at the unexpected action.

I collapsed to the floor, coughing.

Huh? Wait a minute… this… the feeling is getting weird?

Along with the pressure of the leash digging into my neck, a dense and dangerous kind of pleasure began to rise from my lower abdomen.

I raised my head and looked at Bella.

She was staring intently at me with a heated gaze, as if she was longing for something.

Her eyes were like those of a hungry beast.

‘Dangerous!’

I instinctively felt a sense of crisis.

This atmosphere, this look.

This was no longer a joke.

“S-Senior! It was a joke! I’ll stop! I’ll really stop!”

I shouted urgently and backed away.

Bella seemed to waver for a moment at my words, biting her lip tightly, and then let out a deep sigh.

I could see the dangerous heat from her eyes subsiding.

She silently approached and released the clasp on the necklace.

“Ahem.”

To break the awkward silence, I deliberately coughed.

Then, I picked up the dog collar that had been around my neck until just now.

“……?”

Bella looked at me picking up the necklace with a puzzled look.

Her expression seemed to say she didn’t know why I was picking it up.

‘This…’

I fiddled with the necklace in my hand.

‘I felt it when I was wearing it earlier, but it seems to have a pretty good effect.’

That thrilling pleasure from the pressure of being choked.

That feeling of becoming someone’s possession, of falling into a miserable existence waiting only for the owner’s disposal without any rights or will…

I quite liked it.

I’ll use it later when I want to…

No…

I should use it later when I’m training.

“I’ll just keep this as a gift.”

I took the necklace as naturally as possible, pretending to be nonchalant.

Bella’s expression momentarily hardened.

She suddenly looked like she was holding something back, and once again began to glare at me with that dangerous look.

It was a gaze filled with more intense and more blatant desire than before.