“Uheehee.”
Today, Mari was showing a strange side of herself.
She kept staring blankly into space while giggling to herself.
Meanwhile, I was just here, crying tears of joy like a mess.
“…I’m sorry for getting angry, Unnie.”
“Lily…”
Lily, hesitating, was apologizing to me.
Seeing her like that made me feel like I could burst into tears at any moment.
How could I not be touched?
My younger sister, whom I thought was just a child, stepped up first to apologize.
I don’t know what changed in her heart after I passed out from drinking, but overnight, Lily came to me first.
What on earth happened? Her eyes seemed much brighter than before.
It was like she had shaken off all her worries…
Before Lily could feel awkward, I hurriedly grabbed her hand and replied.
“Unnie is okay… thank you for coming back.”
“….Yes.”
As we shared a heartfelt hug, I felt her warm body nestled against mine.
We stayed there embracing for quite a while without moving a muscle.
Just when I was feeling a bit too warm, a sudden thought hit me, and I pushed Lily away from my embrace.
“But Lily…”
“Yes?”
Lily looked at me with a much brighter smile than yesterday.
I grabbed her shoulders and spoke earnestly.
“Don’t we need to go to school?”
“….Huh?”
*
– What about you?! Why am I the only one going?
– I’m not even a student… I’m taking the day off.
– That’s not fair!! If you don’t go, I won’t go either!
– No. Students have to go to school. If you don’t go, Unnie will be disappointed.
– B-but…
With a forlorn expression on her face, I sent Lily off to school and enjoyed a leisurely morning now.
“Heehee.”
Now, Mari’s laughter, not fading away even slightly, was starting to worry me a bit.
“Mari…”
Is it because she’s been in the inn since yesterday?
I thought about how a dragon, who should be ruling the sky, could be stuck in such a narrow space.
Eventually, with a worried heart, I suggested to Mari to take a flight around the area. She beamed with joy and flew out of the window as if she were following my words.
Maybe she was just feeling really cooped up.
“…….Maybe I should have just stayed with her.”
Atena mumbled to herself in disappointment as she watched the sky Mari had left behind.
When I tilted my head at her words, Atena sighed and came closer to me.
“…So Hera, why do you look like that?”
“Uh… huh?”
Seeing me flustered, Atena stepped in closer and looked at me.
“Your face looks dark. Are you worried about something?”
“Ah…”
Her sharp words caused the smile on my face to waver.
‘…How did she know?’
I tried my best to hide it, but it seemed I couldn’t around Atena.
Surprised by Atena’s insight, I shook my head a few times and looked at her.
“I’ll tell you later, Atena.”
“Is it something serious?”
“…No.”
“Hmm…”
She looked at me suspiciously for a while before letting out a short sigh and getting up from bed.
“Well, whatever. There’s something more important.”
“Uh? Something important?”
I tilted my head, looking at Atena. She pulled me closer and whispered lazily in my ear.
“I want a reward.”
“..Reward?”
Confused, I decided to listen more closely to her.
“You’ve made me hold off for two years without going as you wanted. Don’t you think you should give a well-behaved slave a reward?”
As Atena walked forward while holding me, my feet got caught on the bed.
“Uh… you kissed me yesterday.”
“I remember it being interrupted by the kid, though?”
“Oh.”
That was true.
I didn’t even know how awkward that made me feel.
“And I don’t think a kiss will do. I think I need to collect interest for making the kid feel better.”
“What?”
Atena’s words slipped by lightly, and my eyes widened in surprise.
Why did Lily’s demeanor change completely today? Could it be Atena had done something?
“What did you do?”
As I looked at her, urging for an explanation, Atena grinned confidently and continued.
“Do you know how hard it was dealing with that little brat coming at me fiercely?”
“…What?”
My heart dropped.
What did Atena just say?
They fought? With Lily…?
Despite my trembling gaze, Atena continued to speak with a proud smile.
“Good thing it was me. If it had been anyone else, they’d have lost an arm or two.”
“You… you…”
Panicking, I grabbed Atena’s shoulders and began to shout.
“Are you okay?! It wasn’t a big fight, was it?!”
At my scream, Atena’s eyes widened in surprise, and she gently embraced me with an emotional look.
“…Hera.”
“Tell me..! What happened?”
“…….”
She looked at me with flushed cheeks.
Her silence frustrated me a little.
“Are you hurt? It’s not serious, right?”
“I didn’t expect you to care this much. It’s touching.”
Atena looked like a child who just received a big gift during a holiday.
But unlike her, I was just confused.
‘…..?’
In the thick silence, I was the first to break it.
“What do you mean?”
“?”
When I looked at Atena puzzled, she raised an eyebrow and peered down at me.
“I was just asking if Lily was hurt or not…?”
“….What?”
“…..Huh?”
Atena stared at me blankly.
After a moment of silence, I could see her golden eyes starting to tremble.
I found her reaction strange.
‘Isn’t that obvious…?’
We just fought the strongest being, Atena, after all… shouldn’t I be worried about Lily, the opponent?
But Atena was only looking at me with an expression of shock.
…..I think I might have messed up.
In the quiet inn. I poked Atena’s back with my fingers, calling out to her repeatedly.
“Atena~”
“…….”
Hmm…
It seems Atena was sulking.
And quite a bit, too.
“I’m sorry… please cool off, okay?”
“I’m not mad at all, Hera.”
“…..”
Is she really expecting me to believe that?
It’s clear she’s upset…
By the way, it’s surprising to see Atena sulking.
I’ve seen her angry or annoyed a lot, but pouting is a completely new reaction for me.
It doesn’t suit her. Such a peculiar situation.
Could that be why?
She suddenly looked cute to me.
‘…I want to tease her a bit.’
With her sulking like that, I found the playful side of me surfacing.
I knew I shouldn’t, but after all the times Atena tormented me, I felt a little vengeful.
I suppressed a laugh that was ready to burst and snuck up behind Atena, wrapping my arms around her gently.
Atena jumped a little in surprise, then cleared her throat and said in a calm voice.
“What are you doing, Hera?”
Atena sounded annoyed, but I wasn’t hurt at all.
‘She’s lying.’
Does Atena not know how fast her heart is racing right now?
Even I could feel it through the back of her shirt where I touched her.
“Your heart is racing a little, Atena?”
When I chuckled and said that, Atena froze in place.
Seeing her so flustered made me burst into a small laugh again.
‘…She still likes me.’
It’s quite embarrassing to say, but I know how much Atena loves me.
Even during that short time we spent as a couple, the way she looked at me with longing was part of my everyday life.
Not only that, but her usual attitude, her consideration, and her sacrifices for me, all made me realize, no matter how clueless I tried to be.
Still, after two years of keeping some distance, I thought those feelings would fade a bit.
But Atena was still looking at me with the same gaze.
And most importantly, I didn’t feel like that was a bad thing.
No, it made me feel a little good even.
I knew I shouldn’t be thinking like this, but part of me wished that Atena would continue to like me.
When I looked up, I could see Atena’s ears slightly red. I smiled a bit more playfully and moved a little closer to her.
“You’re not really sulking, right? Hmm?”
“…….”
“Come on… there’s no way the hero is sulking over this, right?”
“…….”
“Ahaha… what? Really sulking? Can you at least respond, Atena-…?”
– Eek-
A chill ran down my spine, warning me of the impending danger.
I immediately shut my mouth, but it was already too late.
With trembling eyes, I looked in front of me.
Atena was staring at me with an expression devoid of emotion.
“Ah… Atena…”
Looks like I crossed a line.
Was it my fault for getting too carried away with her amusing reaction?
I hurried to apologize to her, but…
“I can’t hold back anymore.”
Atena was the first to take action.
“Ex?!”
It was only a brief moment.
A split-second that barely registered in a human’s perception.
Atena quickly spun around, knocking me onto the bed before I could even react.
Then, before I could manage any kind of response, she delivered a powerful elbow strike to my lower abdomen.
*
*
*
“???!!?♥♥♥♥♥♥”
An intense sensation that felt like something exploded inside of me left me utterly speechless.
Something rushed down from my battered abdomen, and in an instant, my vision inverted with an overwhelming feeling I couldn’t contain.
“….I tried, Hera. This is all your fault.”
With a suspicious sound of something gushing out, I quickly lost consciousness without being able to utter even a sound.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.