Love You

VOLUME 1

Season 2, Episode 6

Episode 6:

Everyone was talking about them.

Shun could literally feel the gazes of his fellow students penetrating through him as he walked through the hallways.

Guess it didn"t take them all that long to spread around word about Rosalie. After all, not everyone could have stopped Nadeshiko"s mid-kick as easily Rosalie had.

Nadeshiko was clearly quite p.i.s.sed about it too, seeing as she actually ordered a censor of said topic.

Not that it worked, but still.

A small voice suggested that perhaps Nadeshiko was more bothered by the fact that Rosalie declared herself as Shun"s bride. Shun quashed it immediately. That was just stupid.

Getting up, Shun decided to go hunt out Rosalie. After all, things weren"t getting any more comfortable from where he was sitting.

First, he thought he"d try the partic.i.p.ant"s room that had been set up for the fight later. Stepping into the empty cla.s.sroom that had been set aside solely for Rosalie, he spotted her beyond the gla.s.s divide, slumbering peacefully in a pool of golden sunshine, her body perched at the edge of her seat as her head was laid down upon the table.

Trying to make as little noise as he possibly could, Shun entered the room.

Seeing as there was no one else, Shun decided to grab that one chance he had to watch Rosalie sleep.

She really was such a beauty. Her golden hair fanning out on the table, cheeks flushed from the heat, chest steadily rising and falling. She looked a picture of sweet innocence.

Whilst admiring the picture she made, Shun felt the unreality of the situation hit him like a freight train. Maybe it was more apparent after the talk with Sora but Shun felt as though he were this close to witnessing a miracle.

–

It was then that Rosalie woke up.

She smiled a lazy smile up at Shun and got up.

"I"ve been waiting for you."

Grabbing his hand, she led him to the table.

"Here! Let"s eat your bento!"

Bringing out the bento box, she proceeded to unwrap it with the utmost care, before setting it in front of Shun with a smile.

"I now present you your bento, made with love!"

Shun"s heart skipped a beat.

While it remained true that Rosalie"s sudden turn up had caused quite an upset, and what"s more, her undeniably being the main cause of all this fuss, at that very moment Shun felt quite touched. After all, it wasn"t every day that a girl made bento just for you. Especially not this girl - the warrior princess Rosalie.

"Thanks, Rosalie."

Determined to savor every morsel of food in the bento, Shun lifted the lid, only to be greeted with a lump of black slime.

His subconscious wrote a little requiem for that fleeting moment of tingly warmth when Rosalie gifted him with the bento.

Really, the stuff in there looked like it could kill. It was as if Slime monsters had been roasted alive with the Begourda spell, the highest grade, most refined version of the Begoura fire magic.

"Go on, have a bite, Shun."

The black stuff seemed to absorb all forms of light, and emit a killer aura. In fact, Shun wouldn"t even be surprised if it turned out to be able to shoot lasers from within its murky depths.

And he was expected to eat this?!

Sneaking a glance at Rosalie, Shun was about to apologize when his gaze met hers.

Her huge eyes were sparkling with excitement, her features akin to that of a child"s who had just completed their first portrait.

There was no way he could say no to that.

And hey, maybe it didn"t taste as bad as it looked.

"T-Thanks for the f-food…"

Shun held his breathe and shoved the first spoonful of slime into his mouth.

…

This tastes like s***!

He hadn"t even swallowed it, and yet dramatic UFO-capture background music was already playing at the back of his mind.

Grabbing his courage by the tail, he relaxed his throat and allowed that black slime to slide down his gut.

The mental image of a scarecrow falling face down into the earth.

The deafening sound of roaring thunder as it pelts of rain shot down from the skies above. An organ was playing its last few dramatic notes, and both the Devil and Angel were preparing for a battle that was soon to embroil the entire nation. A few habanero peppers were also added into Shun"s imagery for extra spice.

"How was it, Shun?"

Rosalie"s voice shook him awake from his reverie.

It"s bad enough to make my soul dissipate as soon as I open my mouth.

Right, he was definitely going to say that, no matter what happened to her after. She was practically feeding him poison, for crying out loud!

"T-That was horri-cious!"

"Shun?!"

"Sorry, wait! No, I meant that it was delicious! E-extremely delicious!"

"Does that mean it"s powerful?"

"A-Ah, yes!"

"That"s great!"

She flashed her million watt smile.

"Did I make you happy, Shun?"

That was her line from Dragon Bless again. Rosalie tended to say that after helping out any character in the game.

Shun couldn"t help but smile weakly at the sheer naivety of it.

Well, figures he was suckers for girls with a kind heart.

–

"Shun, could you read this letter next?"

Well, well, yet another surprise.

Rosalie withdrew an envelope from the drawer beneath the table.

"A letter? For me?"

"We"re exchanging letters, are we not?"

Rosalie said this as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"This is our first trail in order to achieve marriage. Shun, please read the letter regarding my feelings for you."

"Okay."

What else could he say?

Reaching out for the envelope, Shun could feel the residual warmth of Rosalie"s fingers on the top of it. Despite his misgivings, he could feel his heartbeat quicken as he broke the seal and took out the note.

That was it?!

Shun"s hand shook with an effort to choke back his laughter. Better not say anything lest he injure Rosalie"s frail pride.

Well, it was no wonder that her intelligence stats only amounted to 40 points.

"How"s the letter, Shun?"

She actually thinks that that"s a letter?!

"… Err, yeah, it was great!"

"I see."

She must have been waiting for his answer with baited breathe, for as soon as he gave his appraisal, she let out a huge sigh of relief.

Her talkative side decided to come out and play.

"Hey, Shun. Somehow, I"ve always felt as though I"ve been travelling with you all the time. All my adventures and everything, it really feels as though you were right there beside me all the while."

"Huh?"

Narrowing her eyes to look at Shun, Rosalie went on to explain it.

"I"ve felt you beside me when I journeyed through my world, both during the bad and the good times. In fact, somehow, you were always unbelievably close to me, even if I couldn"t see you. You and me, we"re connected by fate. Perhaps, you were even there since I was born."

In a fluid motion, she lifted her hand and placed it over her heart.

"That"s why, I feel that I was meant to marry you. This is our fate, yours and mine."

She said it so naturally, Shun almost believed her.

No, there was no way. Rosalie had mistaken him for the Dragon Spirit, and thus, had felt that it was her destiny to marry him to obtain a certain power. She wasn"t saying all of that because she liked him or anything. Of course not. But still -

All that Rosalie had said about journeying together through the lands and whatnot, clearly meant that she was referring to him as Shun, the player of the popular RPG, Dragon Bless. And it was to this Shun that had shared her adventures with her whom she wanted to get married to. She didn"t want to marry Shun, the Dragon Spirit.

Outside, groups of students were moving out to the grounds. The compet.i.tion was due to start soon.

Silence reigned as the school building emptied. The sunlight that shone in through the window cast a shadow upon the mattress in the corner of the room.

Shun could see the dust particles dancing in the breeze. They seemed to circle around Rosalie, enveloping her in ethereal beauty.

He needed to tell her now, before he forgot.

"Rosalie, I - "

Knock, knock!

–

One of Nadeshiko"s lackeys entered the room and announced that it was time for the battle.

"Sorry, what were you about to say, Shun?"

The moment had been completely ruined.

"Nothing."

The both of them then proceeded to walk down the hallway to the school grounds.

"Say, Shun, why must I fight this Nadeshiko?"

Shun nearly banged his head against the wall. Did she not even know the most basic reason behind all the fuss?

"Well, you injured her and gave her a nosebleed."

"I see. So I must needs battle her and win before I am forgiven?"

Honestly, Shun didn"t even think that Nadeshiko intended to lose. But he couldn"t tell Rosalie that, she"d never understand.

Speaking of which though…

"Rosalie, there"s something I"d like you to promise me. It"s about the battle."

Best to tackle the problem before he forgot.

"Can you promise me not to use any of your spells or special skills during the battle?"

"Why not?"

Because I don"t want people to find out that you"re a level 99 warrior from Dragon Bless.

–

"You can"t let Rosalie-san find out that this is another dimension."

Sora"s warning sounded like alarm bells in his head.

"She must not know that this wasn"t the dimension that she occupied previously. Rosalie"s existence here is still very shaky, and should she find out about this, the very fabric of her being might crumble and she would cause an explosion of sorts in this dimension. Therefore, I implore you, try not to let Rosalie suspect anything out of the ordinary here."

–

Remembering Sora"s words, Shun knew that he needed to keep the crowd quiet somehow.

He didn"t want his world to crumble after all. That and it would make things much less of a ha.s.sle.

Rosalie, on her part, was looking at him expectantly.

He needed a cover.

"Well, whatever the reason, just please promise me you won"t use magic?"

Rosalie c.o.c.ked her head, and looked at Shun curiously.

"Are you telling me to hold back, Shun?"

Yes! He could kiss her right then for providing him with such a brilliant excuse.

"Ah, yes! I wanted to ask you to hold back."

"Don"t worry, Shun. I was also thinking about that. From what I can see, Nadeshiko seems to be about a level 10 martial artist. I don"t want to injure her further."

"I-I see…"

In this dimension, Shun didn"t think Rosalie would even be able to find an equal. He really didn"t know whether to laugh or cry at that.

"I"ll definitely win."

Rosalie was nothing if not confident.

"I am a warrior. Warriors never lose."