episode_0089

“Haa, haa, huff. Groan. Hiiing.”

Torn blankets, burst pillows, a bed split in half, feathers floating in the air.

Each ruined bedding was not only high-end but also now irreplaceable limited edition items, but Mei Luina couldn’t care less about such things now.

Her mind was so full of one man that there was no room for anything else.

“St-Stay…”

The saint who descended to the surface after hundreds of years, the hero Mei Luina who saved the world by sacrificing herself.

The only person in the Papal Court, made up of the Pope and his dogs, who could restrain the Pope with her innate power and political acumen, she was so flawless that even hostile factions were in awe of her natural abilities, calling her the ‘Iron-masked Saint’. But now, she was crying like a child.

Even though it was her own room and no one could see her, Mei Luina, who never showed her emotions, was now sobbing and wailing to an extent that anyone who knew her would doubt their own eyes.

“St-Stay… huff, huff, groan!”

And the cause of this unbelievable sight was none other than the man Mei Luina was desperately calling for, Stay.

The man who freed Mei Luina from the curse, the man who, just a week ago, had told her with a light heart, “What, only a month? If you can endure that, I’ll consider it a long time. I’ll be eagerly waiting for you to come back to me, regretting your absence.”

“I miss you… I want to see you…”

And a week later, as always, it was Mei Luina who regretted.

“I thought I would be fine… I’m not a plant anymore. I thought I could handle it even without Stay…”

On the first day of being freed from the curse, the day when they took a walk in Liberty Park under the clear sky and bright sun, Mei Luina was sure that it would be Stay who would regret.

Because she was a saint, the greatest hero who could do anything she wanted as long as she didn’t show her emotions.

Saint Mei Luina, revered, respected, and praised by all.

That was who she was, and so Mei Luina naturally thought that the unfortunate one would be the F-grade Stay who couldn’t even receive decent treatment anywhere.

“Even lying on the bed with my eyes closed… I can’t hear Stay’s voice.”

But it didn’t take long for her to realize that this was an unreasonable thought.

On the first night after being freed from the curse, lying on the bed with her eyes closed, Mei Luina keenly felt Stay’s absence.

“Stay isn’t here… He disappeared without a trace…”

The month and ten days spent with Stay were enough for Mei Luina to engrave in her body and mind how warm and comforting Stay’s presence was.

“Normally, I should be able to hear his voice… He should come every three days…”

Through lion-face-to-face meetings, Stay’s voice, which she could hear through the speaker even if it wasn’t her treatment day, was as natural to Mei Luina as the rising and setting of the sun.

But even lying on the bed with her eyes closed, she couldn’t feel Stay’s touch, let alone hear his voice, and this brought about the greatest pain she had ever experienced in her life.

Overwhelming loneliness.

The month she had endured as a plant after being cursed, before meeting Stay.

Engulfed in darkness where nothing was visible, unable to converse with anyone, feeling as if she had been completely isolated from the world, Mei Luina experienced the most dreadful sensation.

“Uh, I-I can’t close my eyes… The thoughts just keep coming back…”

It was Stei who liberated Mei Luina from the terrifying and overwhelming solitude.

Stei’s treatment, the warm and delicate touch, and the affectionate voice, all through physical contact, swiftly healed Mei Luina’s mind, which had been deeply wounded by the despair of loneliness.

Through Stei’s warmth, Mei Luina was able to once again realize that she was not alone, that she was still a member of this world.

“Originally, originally, Stei would start a conversation, call me Mei, praise me as kind and cute, and even pat my head…”

As Mei Luina lay on the bed with her eyes closed, the reality of feeling nothing from Stei only brought back the despair of loneliness, which seemed all too natural.

“Because there’s no one even when I close my eyes… It’s too, too difficult…”

Since the night Stei informed her of their parting, Mei Luina had not been able to sleep a wink for a whole week.

Touching her own chest in hopes of feeling some trace of Stei’s touch, Mei Luina realized that all she could find was her own pitiful technique, completely incomparable to Stei’s touch stored in her memory.

Having transcended the realm of defeat and entered the realm of human, Mei Luina, developed by the genius Stei, had now become a body that could no longer be satisfied alone.

Whenever she tried to sleep, the stark reality of Stei’s absence would be so vivid that it would jolt her awake, leading to a vicious cycle of yearning for Stei whenever she tried to soothe her growing loneliness by touching her own chest.

This cycle continued for seven days, and now, after a week of sleepless nights, Mei Luina had come to a realization.

“I, I can’t live without Stei.”

The thought of a life without Stei had become unimaginable.

“Uh, I-I have to go. I’ll go and meet you.”

Realizing that all that was left was to act, Mei Luina, who had lived feeling the severe consequences of a gap between decision and action, began to prepare to go out in the middle of the night, even though she had not slept a wink.

The completely devastated state of her bedroom still did not catch her eye, as she quickly walked to the wardrobe to pick out her clothes.

With a belief that the gap between decision and action must be minimized, Mei Luina, who considered choosing any clothes that came to hand to be the right choice, was unusually cautious in her selection of clothes.

“A formal dress won’t do. It will surely attract people’s attention… And it holds nothing but bad memories with Stei, so wearing this will only give a bad impression.”

Choosing what to wear when meeting Stei was a serious matter.

It had been a whole week. After such a long and arduous week, she was finally going to meet Stei.

But to show up in just any random clothes at such an important moment? That was something Mei Luina could never allow.

“Neither too expensive nor too fancy clothes. You’ll surely feel burdened. Stei is ordinary. You must not feel a difference in status when you see me.”

The words that Mei Luina had never failed to mention when conversing with Stei or thinking about Stei.

“I need to choose clothes that don’t make it obvious that I’m a saint, that aren’t expensive or look luxurious… Just ordinary clothes that won’t make me stand out at all even standing next to Stay… I have to pick clothes like that and wear them.”

After agonizing for nearly three hours, Mei Luina finally found the clothes she wanted to wear.

A black hoodie and jeans. A very ordinary outfit that no one would think belonged to a saint, suitable for going to the convenience store in the middle of the night.

For a moment, the worry of ‘What if Stay doesn’t think I look pretty?’ stiffened Mei Luina’s expression, but then she remembered she was a saint.

“There’s no way I won’t look pretty, right? Stay always tells me I’m pretty every day! Geez, geez! Ehehe!”

Even if she was completely ruined because Stay wasn’t there, Mei Luina, with her inherent self-confidence that pierced the sky and the best skills backing her up, did not allow herself to be negatively affected.

“From the start, there’s no way Stay wouldn’t like it when I take the initiative to approach him, right? It’s natural for me to come running out with a fluttering heart! Ehehe, I can already imagine the expression he’ll make when I suddenly show up… It makes me burst into laughter just thinking about it!”

Certainly, just three hours ago, Mei Luina was someone who would have thought it was difficult and lonely without Stay, but now she was emitting her natural charm all over her body.

“Even when I couldn’t react while lying still, I was praised for being pretty, cute, and kind, and I approached him with a big smile on my face. I can easily capture the sympathy of a lifelong solo like Stay!”

With unfounded confidence, Mei Luina armed herself and followed Stay’s whereabouts the day after they parted ways through the central information agency.

“Take it as an honor, Stay! After all, I’m the one who’s going to you first!”

※

“U-um, what should I do… I just remembered that Stay said he doesn’t like me… If I just barge in like this, I’ll definitely be hated…”

Mei Luina, just before entering Stay’s cafe, recalled the last words he left behind!