episode_0043

Perhaps it was because she was still half-asleep.

Emilia didn’t shy away from the caressing hand. She simply lay still and accepted it.

Like a child being praised by an adult.

Stroke stroke—.

“Heh heh.”

The snake smiled faintly.

It was due to her unusually docile response to his touch, unlike her usual sharp-edged demeanor.

He seemed to be enjoying her still-groggy reaction.

The subtly continued situation for a while.

Her hazy consciousness cleared, and the girl belatedly came to her senses.

A faint sigh escaped her lips.

“……Ah.”

Emilia flinched and turned her head.

As her eyes flickered with bewilderment, the boy, who had been laughing softly, withdrew his hand.

His expression suggested he was already satisfied.

Seeing his eyes curved into a thin crescent, the vain girl bit her lip.

“……”

“……”

Silence filled the surroundings for a moment.

In the awkwardly lingering atmosphere, the girl unnecessarily averted her gaze.

Right beside her sat the snake.

There were many things she wanted to ask, but she couldn’t easily bring herself to speak.

The laboratory where shadows had swirled.

The silhouette that stood there remained vividly in her mind.

Perhaps Emilia was afraid of the boy.

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

Regardless.

The golden snake shrugged his shoulders cunningly.

In the end, the first words the girl, who had been repeatedly hesitating, uttered were a rather pointless question.

“……What happened?”

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

“Then… what about that giant monster?”

“Don’t you know?”

The answer came back meaningfully.

Emilia unconsciously swallowed dryly.

-Like last time… wouldn’t you like to make a deal again this time?

Perhaps it was because the scene was still so vivid.

It was a particularly deeply ingrained sensation.

-Don’t be flustered.

-As long as I’m here… Young Lady, you won’t be pushed back.

The girl remembered.

The warmth that had embraced her from behind, and the thrill that had immediately sent shivers through her entire body.

The shadow spreading from his fingertips was also vivid.

-It’ll be just for a moment, but I’ll show you a new world.

The vain girl reflected on that fleeting moment.

The moment their hands met, the world would turn black, leaving only darkness.

What shone in her empty vision was a single star.

A calmly glowing fragment was visible.

The sole starlight that kept vigil through the dawn soon transformed into tens of thousands of beauties, creating an enchanting landscape.

-You can do it.

It was an unforgettable sensation.

What had granted the girl a sense of omnipotence… was a power akin to that of a ‘god’.

It was an expression that would cause a fit of blasphemy if heard in a church, but there was no other way to describe her feelings at the time.

Because what she had experienced was a kind of divine authority.

“……”

Emilia needlessly fiddled with her fingers.

Thoughts intertwined complexly.

Most of them were about the boy.

He’s strong.

He was not a vessel she could judge with her own eyes, at least.

Even if she set the standard as low as possible, he was at least professor-level… or perhaps even a powerhouse comparable to the dean.

The performance the boy showed overwhelmed the common sense the girl knew.

‘So far… he’s been hiding his abilities.’

It was a significant point.

To possess such immense power, yet live while hiding himself.

A chilling intuition ran down her spine.

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

“……”

“I understand. A lot has happened.”

The corner of his mouth curved calmly.

Watching the snake act as usual, a single question filled Emilia’s mind.

Emilia uttered it, almost inaudibly.

“……You.”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you save me?”

She didn’t understand.

What was the reason he revealed his hidden power to protect her?

What did he stand to gain, truly?

Although they had made a deal, it was, in reality, merely a one-sided relationship.

The girl had no choice but to obey unconditionally.

Because the snake held her weakness.

That was also why her first kiss had been taken.

“You didn’t really need to save me.”

It was a choice that only resulted in loss.

As a villainess who always calculated pros and cons, it was difficult for her to understand the boy’s intentions.

As she stared intently at his characteristic narrow eyes, a roguish laugh suddenly returned.

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

“So why?”

Her blue eyes were clouded with confusion.

She felt a terrible sense of dissonance.

What need could he possibly have had to save her, nurse her, and stay by her side?

What could he possibly expect from such cheap scrap?

‘I don’t know.’

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

His fingers, intertwined as if it were natural, held an inexplicable tenderness.

Perhaps she was a little afraid.

Because she didn’t know what the boy wanted.

“……I’ve learned that there’s no goodwill without reason in this world.”

“Why do you always try to find a reason?”

“Because I couldn’t survive otherwise.”

“That’s a regrettable thing to say.”

“It’s an important part of me.”

“Hmm.”

The snake seemed to fall into thought for a moment.

Chewing on the brief silence, he then opened his mouth as if he had come to a conclusion.

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

The boy murmured.

“Because I treasured Young Lady.”

His gentle voice tickled her ears.

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

“……Pardon?”

A question mark appeared above the girl’s head.

Regardless, the sweet voice calmly explained itself.

“At first, I didn’t think much of it.”

Calmly.

“I simply thought it was a fleeting encounter. Our first meeting was, after all, a complete mess.”

He seemed to be referring to that time.

The day the two of them first met.

“I thought you were a prickly person.”

“……I was, actually.”

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

“……”

“That’s thanks to Young Lady choosing a new path.”

The snake smiled gently with his eyes.

Emilia held her breath and listened intently.

“At first, I wanted to understand you, then I wanted to watch over you… and now, I wish to protect you.”

So that you can create a new story.

I wish to be a source of strength by your side.

It is my hope that in that fairy tale I loved so dearly, this time, Young Lady’s name will also be written.

“Because this time, you have changed.”

The air was tinged with freshness.

Before she knew it, Emilia’s face was flushed red.

It was because of the sudden content.

“……”

Though Emilia was endlessly ignorant in such matters, even she couldn’t help but notice when it was this blatant.

It was a moment when the knowledge she had learned from books shone brightly.

This was clearly.

That kind of meaning.

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

The girl was dumbfounded by the sudden bombshell.

“Wh-wh-what… suddenly, u-uh-huh…?”

Her mind went completely blank.

Emilia inadvertently let out a strong reaction.

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

“Didn’t Young Lady ask?”

“Th-that’s true, but…!”

Of course, she had asked why he saved her!

But she had no idea it would take this turn.

The girl fidgeted, biting her lip.

The hospital room, which had just moments ago been filled with an ominous aura, was now emitting only a fresh scent.

The snake said calmly.

“The deal… what I told you back then was sincere.”

“……”

The deal.

Only then did Emilia realize what the boy wanted.

A few memorable words came to mind.

-However, I wish you would live for me.

-So that I can watch your story… it is enough for you to always stay by my side.

It was clearly that kind of content.

The snake, instead of saving the vain girl, wanted to keep her by his side.

Although the boy’s previous words contained no ulterior motives, Emilia had no way of knowing that.

Thus, she was left to misunderstand on her own.

That the boy in front of her loved her.

“I, I…”

Thump-thump.

Perhaps it was because of the unfamiliar situation.

Her pulse was racing strangely.

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

It was a slight worry.

“I don’t know if I can do well.”

She had learned that emotions rarely went as one willed.

She had promised to always stay by the boy’s side, but could her feelings become the same as his?

It was an unknown.

“As I said last time, I have no experience in such matters at all… and I don’t know if I can live up to your expectations.”

But.

“……Still, I’ll try.”

Because she had already received his help.

If she owed someone her life twice, shouldn’t she at least show some effort to fulfill the deal?

She planned to at least try to develop feelings for him.

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

“I know.”

“And I’m very clumsy.”

“Everyone is, aren’t they?”

“If even that is alright… I’ll do my best.”

Emilia murmured softly.

The snake stared blankly for a moment, then soon let out a faint laugh.

“Heh… that’s pleasing.”

The boy stroked the girl’s head as if she were praiseworthy.

This time, she didn’t avoid his touch.

She simply lay still, her eyes tightly shut.

“……”

“Heh heh.”

In truth, the two of them were perceiving the situation entirely differently.

Emilia had conveyed her resolve amidst much anguish, but to the boy’s ears, it simply sounded like a determination to work hard to help him.

As the misunderstanding deepened.

“Ugh… my head hurts.”

Just then, a rustling sound was heard from beside them.

Following the sound with their gaze, they saw a pair of green eyes, as if just waking up.

“W-where am I? There was definitely a monster…”

Messy pink hair.

The girl, who had been blankly looking around, suddenly met the gaze of the two people watching her.

“You’re awake, Miss Regia.”

“Commoner… looks like you’ve come to your senses.”

“……Huh?”

Regia couldn’t help but be flustered.

One was someone she thought was dead.

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

The girl’s hazy, half-asleep eyes soon shook violently.

“Y-Young Master? Young Lady…?”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

The girl asked softly, her voice choked with sobs.

“……Perhaps I’ve died too?”

“……”

“……”

It seemed she was misunderstanding it as the afterlife.

The girl began to shed tears, tear by tear.

“Hiccup… What do I do! Oh, poor Young Master, sniffle, Young Lady…!”

Although it seemed she was grieving for others’ deaths more than her own.

Anyway, it was an awkward situation.

“Now now! Stop crying, okay?”

“We’re not dead! Don’t cry and pull yourself together!”

“Ugh, uh, hiccup! Waaah…!”

The pilot cried out loudly.

The snake, and the vain girl, had to struggle to comfort her for a while.