Surprised by an unexpected arrival,
I was shocked… but not for the reasons you think.
It was Rubia.
Not the ‘Rubia’ that was lost in trials,
But the Rubia I knew.
The real Rubia.
The one I liked…
The one I loved above all else.
“Ru… hmph…”
Rubia.
I tried to call out her name, but my throat was choked tight.
“Huff… Ru, Biaaa…”
Rubia, who gazed down at me, knelt and hugged me tightly.
“You did well, Noah.”
The familiar, yet longed-for embrace of Rubia wrapped around my body.
An unforgettable scent.
A touch I didn’t want to forget.
The sound of a heartbeat echoing in my mind.
And…
A gaze aimed solely at me.
“I have a lot to say to Noah.”
Her voice… what was wrong with it?
“…Yes, heh…?”
“But I don’t think this is the right place to talk.”
“C-can’t we just talk here…?”
Gaaack – Rubia’s breath grew ragged as she held me tight.
It sounded… as if a wolf was growling…
“Let’s go to a quiet place.”
“…Oh my.”
With a startled gasp, Hermila alternated her gaze between Rubia and me, plastering on a customer service smile devoid of emotion.
“…Um. I should get back to work now. You two… have a happy time… okay?”
Pat-pat – Tac-tac-tac –
And then, channeling her magical power, she zipped away at lightning speed.
[…I’m a bit tired too. Um, yeah. Have a good chat. Ugh, good luck.]
Just like Hermila, Cartia also vanished into her bracelet with a soulless smile.
You traitorous scoundrels…!
“Don’t want to?”
“Ah, no… it’s not that I don’t want to…”
“Sigh…”
Slither – The arms that had been binding me loosened.
“…Is R-Rubia angry…?”
She still wore a gentle smile, but…
The atmosphere was terrifying.
I felt the chilling truth in the saying that when a person’s anger peaks, they become colder instead…
It was a feeling of emotions sharpened to a knife’s edge.
“Well, I’m not sure what I feel right now.”
“…Um…”
During times like this… I learned how to calm anger…
But would my advice actually work…?
“Still, one thing’s for sure, I’m not angry-”
Ugh… I don’t know!
But Rubia called me cute…!!
“Want to touch my… chest?”
“Excuse me? What did you say?”
“I… um…”
I slyly… straightened my shoulders and pushed out my chest.
No hesitations.
No pulling back.
So comfortably, I presented my chest.
But… it only looked like my ribs were sticking out.
Nothing showed at all.
“Suddenly… why the chest?”
Rubia’s once stiff voice softened slightly.
It’s working…!
“…When angry, this method is the best…”
“Who said that?”
“‘Rubia’… did.”
Finally, Rubia chuckled and shook her head while taking my hand.
“That’s for a place where no one is around. Not covering anything. Touching everywhere, not just the chest.”
Want to touch it,
She whispered into my ear while a ticklish breeze passed by, pulling on my hand firmly.
*
Rustle – Rustle –
“Ahh… what should I ask first?”
“Ugh…”
“Now that I know almost all of Noah’s secrets, don’t even think about hiding anything.”
Rustle –
“Ugh… Okay. But, do we really have to lie down like this?”
“Yeah. Don’t you like it?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it… it’s just a bit…”
Swish –
“Heeah… Hah…”
Rubia’s cold hand brushed between my soft thighs.
“It’s c-cold…”
“Just bear with it.”
“Ugh…”
I couldn’t help but tightly close my legs as her fingers tickled me.
And I can’t let it get higher, or it would become a problem…
“After the trial… how do you feel now? Can you feel the difference?”
“Feel… yes. It definitely changed…”
“How did it change?”
“Well… my body feels much lighter and more sensitive. And… um, it feels like there’s no intermediate process to my actions…?”
I didn’t know how to explain it, but…
It truly felt like there was no intermediate process.
Before the trial, if I needed to cut down an enemy, several steps were required.
I’d have to move the muscles in my arm and fingers to grip the sword, lift it, recognize the enemy, gauge the distance, and swing the great sword with my entire body.
All those processes.
But now, my body moves as I think.
And as my body moves, enemies are cut.
So, basically,
With a thought, the ‘result’ appears.
Even though all those steps took less than a second,
Now, it’s even faster… no,
Not just faster, but like… um… what is this?
Anyway, that’s how it is.
For the same reason, my body became faster and stronger.
But…
The most important thing is…
“But… without the great sword, I can’t exert any power at all.”
“Really?”
“W-well, I was strong even without the great sword normally? But now, without it… I’ve become completely weak and can’t do anything. Like this.”
I slowly lifted Rubia’s hand that was heading toward my underwear and gripped it firmly.
“Hwaah… this is my maximum strength…”
“…Really?”
“Yes… after all, Frey can be summoned anytime, so it’s fine… but it feels weird…”
Pause for a moment, Rubia held her breath and muttered softly.
“It seems more edible than before.”
“…What?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s a huge change, isn’t it?”
“Y-yeah? But what did you just say-”
“Did you feel anything else?”
Rushing to cut me off, Rubia lowered her hand, beginning to stroke my abdomen instead of my thighs.
“Um… I felt more… A! And, um, this… uh?”
The most significantly changed thing…
How do I explain this?
“The sensation of being connected to the world?”
Rustle – Rubia’s hair fanned out beside her.
She tilted her head, probably wondering what I meant.
I don’t know either.
It truly feels like I’m connected to the world.
If I focus a little more,
If I delve deeper,
Beyond my body,
Transcending into the world,
Of ‘everything’s’.
End.
Start.
Regulation.
Law.
Concept.
Foundation.
Encompassing that.
Existence.
I look at ‘that’.
‘That’ looks at me.
Feeling.
Reaching out toward ‘that’.
If I stretch out my hand.
I can touch—
“ Noa?”
“…Ah, yes.”
Slither – The hand that was stroking my belly caressed my face.
“When you’re with me, don’t think about anything else.”
And with her other hand, she seized my wrist, a truly vicious… chest…
“Gasp…”
Soft—
“Is this how you’ll stop me from thinking about anything else?”
“T-that’s not…!”
Rubia chuckled and adjusted her posture, embracing me tightly.
And then, she carefully asked.
“Noah came from another world, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“A world without magical power, where science developed instead of magic engineering.”
Nod…
My head feels heavy.
The air feels heavy too.
“This world we live in is a world made from a place called Earth… a world in a story.”
“Th-that’s…”
A constructed world.
An illusory world.
At first, I thought that.
But… now I don’t think that.
I’m not certain, but… for now.
“I don’t think that’s true…”
Using the hands that had been wandering awkwardly in space, I hugged Rubia tightly.
“I’m sorry, Rubia… for not telling you first…”
“No, it’s okay. It’s unbelievable. Who would believe in a world that’s made up, where everything’s predetermined? Heh.”
Rubia’s voice, flowing out in a dull tone, caused my heart to ache.
An end.
What Rubia meant by “end” would be her sacrifice.
“…The end is not predetermined.”
Wriggling in Rubia’s embrace, I faced her.
“We can change it. I will change it.”
It doesn’t look different from the trials.
Not holding the great sword meant I couldn’t envision anything.
But the scent of Rubia,
Her breath, and the feelings in her fingertips
Are clearer than before in my mind.
Because of that, the path I must take also feels clearer than before.
“I’ll somehow… save Rubia. Just wait. I’ll make Rubia happy.”
My fingertips brushed against Rubia’s warm breath, landing on her lips.
“Trust me?”
Peck –
“Heh-heh…”
A laugh mixed with relief and happiness.
And a very tiny sadness and weak regret exhaled in a sigh.
“…Yes. I trust you. If it’s not Noah… who else would I trust?”
“Yeah… that’s right. Rubia just needs to trust me… and live happily.”
“Happily…”
As Rubia chewed on the word ‘happiness’, she suddenly squeezed my face.
“So, were you happy?”
“…Wh-what do you mean…?”
“During the trials. Were you happy with ‘me’?”
“Uh…”
Our foreheads touched.
“We’re even poking our foreheads together.”
Our noses touched.
“We’re also touching noses.”
The hand that had been cupping my cheek gently slid down to entwine my hand sensually.
“Now, holding hands tightly.”
The other hand was going under my skirt.
“Showing me your underwear.”
And then, once again,
That hand that had gone down smoothly came back up to grasp my necklace tightly.
“Like a newlywed couple, we made food together, laughed, went out to see night views, later… later… tsk.”
“Hah…”
“Even though you knew I wasn’t the one, you were still happy, right?”
“W-well…”
“Did you enjoy it more than me?”
“Of course not…!”
“Then…”
Eventually, Rubia, who had let go of my necklace, pulled away from me slightly.
Then, her body climbed over mine.
“Make me believe.”
“Hah – Pfuuh… Ru, Rubia… gasp -”
Forgetting everything I shared with ‘myself’,
So that you can’t recall it at all.
Neither can I remember it now.
So I forget, erase, and overlay the feelings bubbling up now.
And at last,
When everything about you fills me up,
And all of me is filled with just you.
“Hah…”
Her body pressed against me.
Her breath,
Her tongue, lips, touch, feelings.
Everything that makes her.
Colors my inside.
Thus, we found our way through.
The long battle we fought.
The deep nightmare we endured.
Soaked in twilight, the dark night we faced.
With the heartbeats of just the two of us gradually intensifying.
Slowly, slowly…
We began to paint it.
