“Alright, next is Ken’s turn.”
“…Umm.”
It’s been five days since I was trapped in the tower by Raphne.
My persuasion has been completely useless, and I’m just waiting for an opportunity.
“Okay, how about this?”
“Ahhh!”
Right now, we were playing a board game similar to chess on the bed.
Honestly, aside from Raphne not letting me out of the room, things were pretty much the same as usual.
So during this board game, I managed to free my hands and put on shackles.
“…Hehe, got you, Ken. That position was totally my plan!”
“What?!”
With a decisive blow, Raphne turned the tables in an instant with her next move.
Ugh, it looks like I really can’t win against Raphne, who’s been studying this game alone in the tower for a year.
“I-I lost….”
“Yay! I won!”
In her victory, Raphne smiled brightly, raising her arms and bouncing in place.
Thanks to that, the bed shook, making it hard for me to maintain my balance.
“Then the prize for winning is mine?”
“…Prize?”
Did we ever bet on something like that?
While I was thinking hard about Raphne’s prize, she suddenly said, “Eh.”
“Huh?”
Thunk.
Raphne threw herself at me from the shaking bed.
Losing my balance with her weight, I fell back and was laid down on the bed.
And since she pushed me down, she naturally ended up on top of me.
Raphne’s hair curtain draped around my face.
“R-Raphne?”
Me, panicking, while she just smiled at me.
It was then that I realized what prize she was talking about.
It’s that thing she’s been asking for lately.
“I want a kiss.”
With her flushed cheeks and glistening lips.
The look in her eyes like a predator eyeing its prey.
Since the first time she crossed that line, she’s been asking for it frequently.
I’m glad to say that’s where it ends.
Unless I try to cross that boundary myself, it seems fine.
But once we started kissing, Raphne didn’t know when to stop.
Thump.
Thump. Thump.
As I was nervously waiting for her to get closer.
Thunk.
Suddenly, Raphne shifted and lay flat on the bed, like a sleeping Snow White.
Glimpsing sideways, she looked at me.
“This time it’s a prize. …Ken, you do it.”
Then she closed her eyes again.
…Me?
Up until now, Raphne had always initiated the kisses.
But as a reward for the game, she wanted me to lead this time.
“…Then, okay.”
Carefully, I leaned over her, supporting myself by her shoulder, and looked down at her.
Eyes closed as if she were asleep, with long beautiful eyelashes.
A soft smile with sparkling lips.
Gulp.
This was my first time approaching to kiss her first.
My heart was racing much more than when Raphne came close.
Okay, …this is a prize for winning the game.
Steeling my resolve, I slowly lowered my face.
Moving closer to Raphne.
Lips…
Click, squeak━.
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, my. I’m sorry. Did I interrupt?”
…Squeak, thud.
The firmly closed door swung open, and Siegfried witnessed our position, promptly shutting the door again.
“Wait, wait?! Senpai?! That’s not what it looks like!”
Well, I mean, it kinda is!
Squeak━.
“Um, is it alright if I come in?”
“Of course!”
Siegfried cautiously peered through the gap in the door.
‘…Wait a minute, how did Siegfried get here?’
Raphne had taken off her pendant, which means this place is under the curse’s influence.
For a normal person, approaching this place would be impossible due to immense pain and fear.
Then it hit me — his unique trait.
‘Ah, Unyielding Will!’
His inherent trait, Unyielding Will, grants him a strong will and high resistance against mental attacks.
Understanding that he could withstand Raphne’s curse makes sense.
“Well then, excuse me.”
Siegfried entered the room with my approval and immediately got to the point.
“Ken, I don’t know what’s going on, but if it’s okay, let’s go together. Others are worried.”
I understood his reason for coming here from his following words.
I mean, if there’s been no news for five days, everyone’s bound to worry.
But.
“Um, Senpai, the thing is….”
I appreciated his arrival, but the problem was that I was not a free man.
“You’re taking Ken away?”
Raphne’s cold tone echoed.
Upon hearing Siegfried’s words, Raphne emanated an intimidating aura as she rose from her seat.
“You are… Raphne Bell Martinez.”
As expected, it seems Raphne’s name is well-known even to the third years.
“Considering the situation, …you’re the one keeping Ken captive?”
Then Siegfried’s gaze changed.
His indifferent eyes sharpened, glaring at Raphne.
“Ken, answer me. Do you need help right now? If so, I will….”
He pulled out a wooden sword from his waist.
“I will save you with full force.”
The tip of the wooden sword pointed toward Raphne.
Both of them glaring intensely at each other.
It felt like a fight could break out at any moment.
Offering help, Siegfried.
Does he want me to ask for help now?
If a fight breaks out and Siegfried wins.
Will that resolve the situation?
No, even if we escape from here, Raphne’s feelings won’t be resolved.
“Senpai, I….”
So I was about to reject his help.
I didn’t want anyone to get hurt over a pointless fight.
But before I could say anything.
“No… No, no, no, no…!!”
Suddenly, Raphne went berserk.
“No one can take Ken away from me━!!”
As she yelled, she vanished from sight.
Boom━!!
Then came an enormous sound and pressure.
Items around us were blown about by the force.
Once I regained my senses, I saw Raphne and Siegfried clashing wooden swords.
The wooden sword Raphne was wielding was the one I used for training.
‘…Raphne’s attack was blocked.’
What surprised me was that Siegfried effortlessly defended against her ambush.
He blocked Raphne’s rapid strike, which was at a speed that couldn’t be perceived thanks to her unique skill, Neural Acceleration.
“Just as I heard, you’re indeed quick, but your killing intent is too strong.”
“…Ugh.”
Swish!
Having her attack blocked, Raphne panicked and fell back.
Just a few days ago, Emily, Mary, and Adrian couldn’t react to her attack.
Seemingly grasping his skill from the current attack, Raphne withdrew from close combat.
Then Raphne extended one hand forward.
“…Ignis Magna.”
She intoned the incantation for advanced fire magic.
With that, her magical power swirled as she conjured a massive ball of fire at her fingertips.
“…Tch.”
With no counter to the magic, Siegfried’s relaxed demeanor disappeared, his face hardened as he assumed a stance.
His position was aggressive, ready to spring into action.
He had no intention of fleeing.
He intended to break through head-on.
This is bad.
“Wait, wait, wait, for a moment!”
“Ke-Ken?”
“……”
If the fight continued, this tower would surely not survive, so I immediately inserted myself between them.
Spreading my arms, I blocked Siegfried’s path.
Siegfried looked startled, while Raphne said nothing.
Siegfried’s stiff expression relaxed, returning to his usual indifferent look.
“This is a misunderstanding! It was all a misunderstanding, Senpai! I’m fine, so there’s no need for you to fight!”
Of course, it’s not a misunderstanding at all.
Five days of silence.
The shackles on my feet.
And Raphne aggressively reacting, saying, “You can’t take him away.”
All the circumstances screamed that this was a confinement situation.
“…Hmm, is that so?”
“Y-Yes! So just put down the sword!”
“If that’s your wish, I understand.”
But even though he seemed to know, Siegfried nodded.
Then he sheathed his sword and turned towards the entrance.
“Well then, I’ll confirm you are safe and report back to the others.”
“Um, Senpai. If it’s alright, about the tower or Raphne….”
“Don’t worry. I’ll only report on your well-being.”
Then he opened the door and attempted to leave the room.
Squeak━.
But suddenly.
Realizing something, he stopped, turned around, and looked at us.
“…And Raphne.”
He was looking at Raphne behind me, and he spoke to her with an indifferent gaze.
“If you hold too tightly onto something precious, it will break one day.”
“……”
Receiving no response, he smiled faintly, opened the door, and left.
Squeak, thud.
With the door closed, a heavy silence returned.
In that awkward silence, I turned to Raphne.
She looked at me with a worried expression.
“Ken….”
Her trembling eyes reflected concern and uncertainty.
She probably couldn’t understand.
If I had asked Siegfried for help, he would’ve undoubtedly found a way to get me out.
Regardless of winning or losing against Raphne, he would have set me free.
Raphne, who knows his strength, would understand that best.
But I ended up blocking Siegfried and sending him away.
I voluntarily gave up my chance to escape.
That must be something she couldn’t comprehend.
So I approached Raphne and held her hand.
“I told you, I’ll always be by your side.”
“……Huh?”
Raphne was surprised by my unexpected words.
“No matter what happens, I won’t abandon you. I’ll stay with you.”
I had been pondering how to make my words convincing over these five days.
That’s why I declined Siegfried’s help.
With this, Raphne will understand.
She’ll see that I’m serious about my words.
“U-Ugh, hic, Ken….”
If my sincerity reached her, Raphne’s eyes glistened as tears began to fall again.
I reached out, pulled her into my embrace, and gently stroked her hair.
“Instead, let’s limit staying in the tower for two more days.”
Without answering, Raphne just cried in my arms.
“And after those two days, we’ll leave the tower together and head to the academy.”
After spending about a week together like this, I believed it would satisfy Raphne.
“Is that okay?”
“……Yes.”
“I’m sorry, I won’t try to distance myself again. Please trust me.”
“Hic, yes, I’m sorry too….”
Fortunately, it seemed Raphne understood.
Although she had been forceful on the first day due to shock, it seemed like she felt much better after five days of laughing and talking together.
Let’s be cautious from now on.
If there’s another blunder, a week of confinement won’t be the end of it.
Nevertheless, Raphne’s sudden crying when Siegfried visited made my words more persuasive.
“Then, shall we eat now?”
“Hic, yes, …Ken, what do you want to eat?”
“As long as it’s made by Raphne, anything will taste delicious.”
Thus, this confinement mishap, born of a single slip of the tongue, ended peacefully.
。。
“Did we finally resolve the curse?”
After a week of confinement in the tower, I returned to the academy with Raphne.
Having missed a year, Raphne was reassigned to the same class as me, and Adrian, who already knew about her leaving the tower, called me aside.
The location was the back yard of the academy’s main building.
“Are you not sending her back to the tower again?”
“There’s no reason to keep her in the tower now that the curse is resolved. I thought you’d understand.”
It seems that keeping a young lady from the prestigious Martinez family in the tower, after the curse was resolved, would be difficult even for him.
“Since I can no longer hide Raphne in the tower, I can’t know when her presence might be discovered by the Demon King’s army.”
“…Yes.”
“If she ever falls into the hands of the Demon King…”
Adrian’s face hardened as he gazed at me seriously.
“I will stop it, even if it means killing Raphne.”
“…….”
Having said that, Adrian turned and returned to the classroom.
‘…The Demon King’s army.’
The Demon King’s army’s attack events were frequent in the game.
But this time, Raphne was hidden in the tower.
Perhaps things to come will be different than what occurred in the game.
But.
Still, I made a decision and took action.
I will protect her, no matter what.
If the Demon King’s army appears, I’ll just knock them down.
Having steeled myself, I headed back to the classroom.
。。
“Ken! Where the heck have you been for a week?”
“Do you have any idea how worried we were? At least a heads-up would’ve been nice….”
As soon as I returned to the academy after a week, Emily and Mary came to me, asking those questions.
“Plus… Raphne came along.”
Emily cautiously directed her gaze toward Raphne sitting next to me and opened her mouth carefully.
Fortunately, thanks to the pendant’s effect, Raphne no longer trembled in fear or anguish being next to us.
But it seems a slight remnant of the curse still lingers, as she exhibits a bit of wariness.
“More importantly, Raphne, why are you so clingy to Ken?”
“W-Well! I was wondering about that too! I get that you just came back, but why do you need to stick together so much?!”
Having just returned to academy after a year, it was awkward for Raphne, and the academy had kindly arranged for her to be in the same class and sit next to me.
And having only been in the tower for a long time, Raphne was now surrounded by many people after a long time.
She must’ve been anxious that she clutched my arm tightly.
“Um, Ken….”
Silently listening to their words, Raphne then spoke to me without acknowledging them.
“Uh, yeah?”
“Who are these two? Can’t you tell them to get lost?”
“Th-That’s…!”
“…What did you just say?”
At Raphne’s sudden declaration, both Emily and Mary’s expressions hardened, creating a tense atmosphere.
‘…This is quite troublesome.’
It was clear that Raphne didn’t share a good relationship with Emily and Mary.
Thus, I had worried that such situations might arise upon returning to the academy, but I never expected it to flow this way….
“D-Don’t do that, Raphne. They’re my friends, so if you could get along with them….”
“I just need Ken. Aren’t you two just annoying? Can’t you go away?”
Crunch.
I heard the sound of teeth grinding from one of them.
It was probably Emily, right?
“Raphne, you….”
The fierce glares crossed between the three, with the atmosphere poised for an explosion at any given moment.
‘Great, I need to diffuse this somehow…!’
Starting a fight on the first day back at academy would certainly be a huge problem, so I tried to intervene just as the situation was escalating.
Bang, bang!
“Ken!!!”
The classroom door swung open as someone called for me.
With such a loud shout of my name, the tension-thick atmosphere dispersed, and all four of us turned our eyes to the classroom door.
What caught my eye first was a flurry of pink hair.
“I need you, now!”
The unexpected arrival was none other than Elise Granville.
“Eh?”
“Hurry, please! It’s urgent!”
“Whoa!”
With a fragile arm, she pulled me forcefully, and together, she dashed outside the classroom.
The three left in confusion could only watch us with blank expressions.
“Ken…?”
“Wait a minute!”
“……Ah.”
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