Happy Wednesday!
Here"s the chapter, enjoy.
ED: Ignite
AN: It will change from Oda Akira"s POV to Amelia Rose Quartz"s POV in the middle.
「Akira, have you been sleeping these days?」
The next day, Amelia, who had woken up before anyone else, worriedly asked me this.
I averted my eyes from Amelia as I sipped a coffee-like beverage.
To tell the truth, I hadn"t been sleeping these days.
I already knew why.
It was because of what Kurou had told and asked of me that day.
To add to that, Zeal-san"s words made me feel even more anxious.
「I didn"t sleep. However, it will not be a hindrance during battle. After coming to this world, other than when I fainted, the number of times that I"ve slept deeply could be counted on one hand.」
I covered half my face with a hand as I said that.
I was probably making an awful face.
I needed to do something about it before everyone wakes up.
When I thought this, Amelia stared at my face.
She took away my hand that was covering my face and grabbed both sides of my face.
「Worrying about things all by yourself is one of Akira"s bad habits. Is it so hard to trust me?」
「N, no, such a thing….」
Being stared at head-on by those scarlet eyes, I could not avert my eyes either because of her hands.
This was the first time I thought that Amelia"s eyes were scary.
「I understand that since Akira keeps quiet in order to protect us or to protect someone. …then I will take tough measures to protect Akira.」
「Ah, oi!」
Not having the time to stop her, Amelia raised her magic power.
A faint blue light enveloped my body.
「Sorry, Akira.『Magic Creation』…『Forced Sleep』!!」
「Ame…li, a….」
Just before I lost consciousness, the last thing I saw was the heartbreaking look on Amelia"s face.
And so, I was in despair.
Did I feel so isolated and withdrawn that I"d even hurt Amelia, the person I love, with my own actions?
~Amelia Rose Quartz POV~
I put a blanket on Akira who had forcibly lost consciousness, and stared at that innocent sleeping face of his.
I gently rubbed the dark circles under his eyes.
It had gotten worse when compared to yesterday.
「What a terribly violent princess.」
I looked up when I heard the quiet voice, and Kurou, who was getting up from the nearby sofa, was smirking as he looked towards us.
I glared at him.
「What did you say to Akira.」
Kurou averted his eyes, and stretched his body like a cat.
I stood up, as if to protect Akira from Kurou, while I glared at him.
「Don"t furrow your eyebrows like that. They"ll stay that way. …besides, I had only requested an appropriate remuneration.」
I suddenly realized what he was talking about.
What crossed my mind was Kurou"s appearance from behind when he saved us in the dungeon.
「That"s why you saved us in Brute dungeon? …answer me.」
I glared at Kurou who further averted his eyes.
Kurou frowned a little.
「No, I wonder why. I had saved you as a simple favor. …it was only later that I discovered there was merit in that.」
My eyes widened when I saw that dejected look on his face.
I didn"t have as deep of a connection with this man as Akira did with him, and I didn"t understand him either.
However, I felt like I could understand his desire for revenge when he couldn"t save his younger sister, and rebuked him for trying to abandon his revenge as time went by, but I didn"t even know if that was the right thing to do.
Even though my first impression of him should"ve been terrible, I found myself sympathizing with him as I learned more about him.
The principles of this person and I, they were probably pretty similar.
「I used to admire you.」
I raised my voice to change the subject, but when I heard those words, I had my mouth wide open in shock.
In response to my gaping mouth, Kurou looked at me and gave me a small smile.
「The princess who saved the elves. The user of magic like『Resurrection Magic』and『Gravitational Magic』that seemed to appear in stories about heroes. To me, you were someone who I aimed to be like. …maa, now that I"ve met you and saw that human-esque side of you, I"ve reconsidered a little.」
「…I hate people who look at me that way.」
Because to praise me was to look down upon Kirika who went through that h.e.l.l.
TN: She"s talking about Kirika"s hardcore training that she put herself through
Kurou gave a wry smile.
「That"s true. You"re that kind of person. …did you know that I created Ria"s staff?」
I shook my head.
Perhaps he told Akira.
Recently, I didn"t even have the time to chat with Akira, so we were not on the same page.
「Because of that staff, I knew that you guys were in trouble. Don"t you think that Ria"s name is similar to your"s?」
「…did it come from mine?」
「That"s right. I had named her that, in hopes that she grew up to be like you.」
My eyes widened at being connected in an unexpected place.
And then, I narrowed my eyes.
「What"s with that?」
Ria—-what kind of relationship did Kurou have with Uruk"s first princess.
He scratched the back of his head and looked outside where the sun had begun to rise.
「Who knows. I just wanted to test the human named Akira Oda whom you"ve recognized. The words I said to him were not lies, but I wanted to see if he deserved to be by your side. When I gave Ria that name, I never thought that there would be someone standing next to you. Of course, I still think that even now.」
At those words, I lost my cool.
Because he was implying that Akira should not be by my side.
「…just how much of a burden are your selfish thoughts on Akira!」
At my words, Kurou froze.
Due to the rising sun, I could see his facial expression well, and it seems that he became somewhat dejected.
「I didn"t think that he would be this troubled either. It seems that this guy loves you from the bottom of his heart, but not enough to abandon humankind.」
Sometimes, love is blind.
I will, more or less, live many times longer than Akira as well, so I understood that much.
If Akira became blind because of me, I should step aside.
I gave a small smile.
「He"s a man I can count on.」
Kurou shrugged his shoulders as he gazed at the morning sun.
「It seems so. However, it seems that he"s grateful enough to actually be troubled. This man, perhaps if anything happened to you afterwards, he will abandon humankind.」
It"s something to keep in mind.
After Kurou said this, he glanced at Akira and left the room.
In the end, I wasn"t able to get him to tell me what he had told Akira.
Apart from that, the words that he just said startled me.
「…Akira, are you going to abandon humankind for me?」
I knew that I would not get an answer to my question, yet I couldn"t help but ask.