Bzzzzt I woke up, startled by the loud commotion outside.
I didn’t even bother questioning this situation.
I instinctively got up and, like water flowing, walked over to the great sword I had leaned against the couch.
There was no pain from the moment my senses were activated.
No special sensation either.
It wasn’t even a pleasant surprise.
I could only feel the emotions stuck inside of me.
Strange emotions.
Or rather, emotions that felt like they had always belonged to me.
Sadness. Anger. Anxiety. Malice. Disillusionment. Whining. Incompetence. Depression. Misery. Doubt. Confusion. Agitation. Worry. Shame. Greed. Frustration. Bitterness. Fear. Unhappiness. Longing. Weakness. Betrayal. Loneliness. Injustice. Agony. Guilt. Urgency.
All of it directed towards myself.
Endlessly dark and murky emotions began to wrap around me.
Swish they made me want to gouge out my eyes, tear off my skin, crush my insides, and strangle my neck until it broke.
And then,
Creek the door opened, and the one person I wanted to see the most appeared.
Happiness.
“Noah.”
And then,
“… Rubia.”
An ineffable feeling.
Frustrating… pink.
Countless emotions that had been dragging me down to the abyss began to dissipate under two simple ones.
They got layered and faded away.
“Good morning, Noah.”
Rubia’s face lit up with a happy smile.
I thought to myself,
I’m happy too.
I really want to smile like that…
Yet, for some reason, tears threatened to spill.
“Ru-Rubia… W-why… why is this happening…? Sniff Huh… why am I…”
“Come here.”
Slowly approaching Rubia pulled me into her embrace.
But this feeling was different from before.
There was kindness, softness, and warmth, yet…
I couldn’t find the hand that used to hug me like I was a doll.
I felt a tender touch, as if she was handling fragile glassware that could break at any moment.
“Did you sleep well?”
Nod
“Did you have a good dream too?”
Nod…
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Rubia’s gentle strokes calmed me for a while.
But then… something felt off.
I felt like something wasn’t quite right.
Even though I was snuggled in like normal, it felt empty, neither tight nor suffocating.
And then,
A strange feeling began to wiggle… and stir.
“Rubia…”
“Yes?”
I felt shy saying it.
But still, I managed to fight Kalt, protect the people… I had done quite a bit, right?
So, um…
I should be allowed to do at least this much.
Turning my head back, I buried my face in Rubia’s embrace.
Then, I gripped her waist tighter… and mumbled.
“…Could you hold me tighter…?”
Did she hear it?
Did it come through clearly?
Could she interpret this when I mumbled like that…?
As I lifted my head slightly to say it all again…
Grrr… I felt a pain threatening to burst my body.
My heels lifted a little and felt uncomfortable, my chest was tight, it was hard to breathe, and my joints ached.
But still,
I loved the feeling of her will not to let go of me.
The flowing warm emotion directed straight at me felt like it pierced my heart.
So I simply buried my face deeper, responding to it.
The tears, which had barely calmed down, erupted again.
*
“Not hungry?”
“Nope…”
“But if you aren’t hungry, why are you eating so many jelly beans?”
“Jelly and… meals are different…”
Giggle “Got it.”
I sat a little away from Rubia as she shared the stories of what happened while I was out.
From defeating Kalt, Yuria’s elixir, the sudden snowstorm, the magical avalanches, to the unleashing of Tylant.
And how Zang Strong Noah single-handedly brought down Tylant.
I asked tons of questions about this super strong Noah, but…
After hesitating until the end, Rubia finally caved under my relentless inquiry.
Turns out, he was quite similar in a lot of ways…
But he could see and speak correctly.
Totally different from me…
There wasn’t much that was similar…
Anyway… having heard all these shockingly enormous revelations, I felt drained.
So… that’s why I was gobbling down jelly beans like mad.
“So… um, right now… it’s a festival…?”
“Yes! It’s super lively, right?”
“Mmm… right…”
“They say they’ll have a festival in Ursphere every year on this same day.”
Rubia’s gaze was directed out the window.
“Then… they must be selling lots of delicious stuff, right?”
Ursphere is famous for its raspberries, after all.
I’m sure there’ll be tons of raspberry juice, jelly, and candy for sale.
But those are desserts, so what’s the main meal…?
“Yes…? They’ll sell lots of accessories, and there’ll be clothes too…”
Since Carpen made quite a bit of money… I think buying matching accessories or clothes with Rubia would be okay too.
“Still… the highlight of the festival is… fireworks!”
Even if I can’t see them… just hearing the booming sounds will be nice!
Hearing people’s excited and thrilled voices under the sky filled with exploding lights will also be delightful.
But more than anything,
The best part would be being right there with Rubia…
Hmm… but in places with too many people, breathing gets hard… maybe we could view it from the rooftops?
I might be able to ask Charlotte or Revuze to find a good spot… Hehe…
“It’s going to be super pretty, right…? Of course… um… I won’t be able to see it, but Rubia can.”
“Noah… Is that really you?”
Suddenly, with a twisted expression, Rubia came closer to me.
“Yes…? Of course it’s me…?”
“Correct?”
Rubia stared at me for a while before suddenly squeezing my body tight.
“Ugh…”
“Please… just hold on for a moment.”
“Okay…”
I raised my hands and patted Rubia’s back gently.
After what felt like a hundred times of patting her, she finally calmed her breathing.
“Phew… the star of this festival is Noah.”
“But that’s not me…”
Her previously quiet breath faltered slightly.
I felt hate towards that.
“No, Noah is… Noah.”
Rubia pinched my thigh gently.
“Enough already…”
My mind was in disarray.
Every time I looked at Rubia, heard her voice, smelled her scent, or felt her skin on mine.
Especially… when our bodies connected like now.
My heart raced like crazy—thump thump —so fast.
My hands trembled. My breath quickened.
A prickly feeling spread throughout my body, trying to wiggle its way out.
And somewhere in a corner, a familiar warm energy made me uneasy.
I felt shy. It was tinglish and prickly.
It hurt and felt bitter, but the sensations blended together and ultimately made my body burn with heat.
So…
I couldn’t stick close to Rubia.
It was hard to approach her.
Look, just hearing her breathing next to me made my body go haywire.
It was driving me crazy…
I couldn’t confide this to anyone.
And if I just clung to Rubia…
It would be too difficult for me.
My body would go strange…
With a sigh, I lightly pushed Rubia away.
Then I pulled down the hem of her skirt that had ridden up.
But…
Huh…?
I felt an unfamiliar sensation, so I hesitantly reached my hand slighty into the skirt to check.
The panties… were different.
I didn’t own any like these…
Wha… whose panties are these?
“Rubia…”
“Yes?”
“My… my underwear…”
It felt just right, so it must belong to me.
But I didn’t own anything so… so soft and smooth…
Aah! I’ve never bought such lewd-looking underwear!!
As soon as it registered, the strangely captivating sensation became unbearable, sending shivers down my spine.
“Ugh, this… feels weird… Can’t I… just change into something else…?”
“…What?”
“I mean, geez! What is this… squeal I can’t take it!”
In the end… unable to bear it any longer, I stood up.
I dashed to a corner where Rubia shouldn’t see, and ripped it off.
When I took it off, it basically slipped off as if it flowed away.
“Ugh… Ugh!”
I crumpled it up in my hand and tucked it into my pocket.
I didn’t want Rubia to see it…
If she saw me in such pervy underwear… she’d think I was odd.
“Noah?”
“Ugh… yes…?”
“Why are you suddenly taking off your… underwear…?”
Huh? Did she think she could just take off hers too? Rubia stared at me intently.
“It feels… strange. This doesn’t feel like my underwear…”
I couldn’t bring myself to show her, so I rubbed my pocket while walking toward her.
Then Rubia tilted her head slightly,
“Ah… Noah. Um… how do I explain this…”
She seemed to think for a moment, her lips moving as if choosing her words carefully.
And I felt like she was subtly glancing at me.
Did I do something wrong?
Oh.
Could it be that she secretly bought this while I was asleep…?
So it really wasn’t mine.
Yeah. That makes sense.
There’s no way I’d buy something… something so lewd.
Rubia must have bought it for me.
Well… I could forgive that since she took care of me…
But… doing that while I was asleep is just too pervy for me, Rubia.
Rubia is so naughty!
Giggle… Hic…
I don’t know why, but the corners of my mouth curved upward.
I kept trying to suppress my rising smile and slowly approached Rubia.
How to apologize for this?
Saying it with just my mouth feels a bit awkward…
But I still have plenty of jelly… um…
Should I ask her to fetch some sugary fruit for me?
“Well then… when did you go to buy… this weird underwear—”
“I went two days ago… together, to buy… it.”
My steps froze.
“Eh…?”
My thoughts halted too.
