Chilly.
A dagger flies through the air and pierces my heart.
But don’t worry.
Hands are quicker than the eye.
Rubia puts a mouthful of… peach jelly in her mouth.
Slurp…
“Heh, hehe… Rubia…”
Rubia’s head quietly turns towards me.
“It’s, it’s delicious, right?”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes, Noah.”
Clunk-clunk…
“Ugh…”
The rolling carriage seems to echo my insides.
After finishing my conversation with Charlotte, I said goodbye to Yuria and Hephaestus, and even notified Revuze.
We immediately left Ursphere and set off for Cartia.
It’s a shame we missed the Fire Festival, but the moment I heard about the artifact that Sirin left behind, I couldn’t stay any longer.
It was about Ser slowly dying from a terrible curse that could only be broken by Rubia.
She said she would explain everything else she was curious about, so she asked for help.
Hearing those words, Rubia started packing her things without any hesitation, not just to help Sirin, but insisting she must help Ser as well.
I wonder if she had some friendship with Ser, or if she had other motives.
“Um… I wonder where we are…?”
“Hmm, I’m not quite sure either, Noah.”
“Ah, I see…”
And… Rubia was incredibly angry.
Since finishing the conversation with Charlotte, she hasn’t said a word for three days.
She would smile brightly and converse with others, but with me… she says nothing at all.
No, actually, she did say one thing…
A question about what kind of relationship we have.
I couldn’t answer that question.
Not because I didn’t know the meaning, but because I was too conscious to.
I can’t imagine being in a relationship with Rubia…
Saying I’ve never thought about it would be a lie…
Should I say I hesitated?
Having a deep relationship that would last for a lifetime sounds wonderful, but thinking of its end makes it too scary to start.
It might sound strange to think about the end without even having tried, but…
I can’t help it.
However… I also dislike the idea of remaining just friends with Rubia.
I keep getting greedy.
I want to be a little closer.
I want to share more things and believe in each other more deeply.
I hope that all of Rubia’s first experiences are with me.
Being happy, being sad, feeling gloomy, getting angry, being joyful…
I want her to feel everything together with me.
Above all…
Imagining Rubia laughing with someone other than me… makes me want to cry right now.
Just as I told Rubia…
Just as she told me…
I want to be in the deepest relationship until one of us dies.
It’s difficult.
So difficult, it’s frustrating.
I just want to take my brain out and squeeze it, and tear my chest open to smack my heart around.
“Ugh…”
I can’t put off my answer forever.
I don’t want to delay it either…
If I just lightly answer, everything might end well, but I don’t want that.
I want to answer sincerely.
So… I need a little more time to think.
I exhale a trembling breath, get up from my seat, and plop down next to Rubia.
Rubia flinches-
But I don’t hesitate to lock my arm around Rubia’s.
“Rubia… do you think… I, l-lik…e you?”
“Yes.”
Her response comes without a hint of hesitation, and I burst out laughing.
“Is… this funny?”
“N-No, it’s not that… I just… like it…”
Rubia’s previously tense lips twitch.
A small smile that can only be felt through the unique energy focused on Rubia, something ordinary eyes wouldn’t be able to see.
Yeah…
I like Rubia just like this.
“…D-Do you think I would like being like this? You’re just going to dodge this again, aren’t you?”
“I like you too, Rubia.”
“Uh…?”
Rubia’s smile disappeared.
Her face filled with surprise and expectation.
“Just saying I like you isn’t enough. There are… deeper feelings involved.”
My face was burning.
It felt like all the heat in my body was concentrated in my face.
It felt like hot steam was erupting from my ears…
I was so embarrassed and shy that I held Rubia tightly with both hands and buried my face in her shoulder.
“But… I need time to think.”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
“It’s not bad. Definitely in a good direction… I also want to have a deeper relationship with you, Rubia. I want to do more things together… and I want you to look only at me.”
Rubia’s body began to tremble violently.
No… is that my body trembling?
I can’t tell…
“Rubia… I want all your firsts to be with me.”
I gently raised my head and smiled bashfully.
“I want all my firsts to be with you too.”
I raised the arms that were wrapping around her waist to cover Rubia’s face.
“So please… just wait a little, a tiny bit longer. I promise… I will give you an answer that you’ll like.”
And then, I gently pulled her closer.
“Got it…?”
I kissed her cheek.
“Oh, you crazy…”
Thump-thump-thump-thump…
It felt like my heart was thrumming in my head.
No, it felt like it was pounding all over my body.
The breath I exhaled was hot.
I was trembling and dizzy.
So embarrassed, so embarrassed. Too embarrassed.
I buried my head again into Rubia’s embrace.
My chest felt blocked and quite awkward, but at least… it was hidden, so it was fine.
“W-Will you wait for me…?”
“…Absolutely.”
“Ehe, hehe… thank you.”
“But there’s a condition.”
“A condition…?”
Rubia lifted my chin.
“Please do that thing again, on my lips.”
“Huh…?”
“If you don’t, I won’t be able to wait.”
“You’re being too much!”
“Do you really know who’s being too much right now?”
“Ugh… Alright…”
I lifted the hands that were wrapping around her waist to cover her face again.
I could probably do it a bit easier if I grab a Great Sword.
But, knowing Rubia’s expression… it feels like my face would burst, so I gave up.
“Ugh… Phew…”
I traced my thumb and found Rubia’s lips, then slowly pulled her closer.
And then…
I missed.
“Pfft- Noah… what are you doing?”
“Um… th-this isn’t…”
“I didn’t ask to press noses; I asked for lips, you know?”
Right…
My nose bumped against Rubia’s, and my lips couldn’t meet…
I froze in surprise, and then Rubia clasped my hand.
“If that was an act, Noah, you’re a genius at wooing someone.”
“It’s not an act! It was just… I-I didn’t know…!”
“This is… genius in another sense.”
“Eh…? No, that’s unfair…”
“Kiss by tilting your head” echoed in my mind.
Soft, warm.
Rubia’s lips, flavored with peach, touched mine.
That sensation, that feeling…
It was similar to the jelly I had eaten.
I tentatively stuck my tongue out to lick Rubia’s lips.
Going deeper…
Grazing her tough teeth…
Lingering on her gums that still held the peach scent and the sweetness of her lips.
At that moment, Rubia twitched violently and pushed me away.
“W-What just… what did you do?!”
Seeing Rubia struggling to speak worse than I was made me laugh, and I licked my lips that had just touched hers.
“Delicious… hehe.”
*
Two days after confessing my true feelings to Rubia…
We finally arrived at Cartia, the last destination of the quest.
Just because the quest has ended doesn’t mean I’ll part ways with Rubia, but still, something feels… unsettling.
“Phew! We finally made it.”
Rubia opened the carriage door, filled with a rich peach scent, her voice fresh and bright.
“…That’s true…”
Unlike Rubia, I felt… so tired.
I picked up the Great Sword lying on the ground, adjusted my clothes, and got out of the carriage.
What first caught my eye was a long line of people being inspected to enter Cartia.
Then, the wall’s size, rivaling that of Ursphere.
Or is it even larger…?
But wait, didn’t they say Cartia was a village?
“Uh, it’s so big…? Wasn’t it a village…?”
“Right? It’s way too big to call it a village.”
“It’s… bigger than Ursphere…”
“Not all of that city is Cartia. There’s a small piece of land in the city center that only a few can enter. That’s Cartia.”
What the heck does that mean…?
“Land… Cartia? Not a village…? Huh?”
“It’s also referred to as the Holy Land of Cartia. It has nothing to do with Erden, but it’s definitely called a holy land.”
“Y-You’re making it too complicated. So, what’s the name of this city?”
“It’s called Cartia. Hehehe.”
I was tilting my head at the incomprehensible explanation when Rubia continued while petting the head of the unlucky horse that pulled our carriage.
“Actually, the name Cartia comes from the savior who thrived during the Age of Chaos. Their real name was ‘Cartia Frey,’ but the pronunciation might not have been clear back then, so now it’s referred to as Cartia.”
“The Age of Chaos…? A savior?”
“Yeah. I don’t believe it, but they say many fantasy beings, including dragons, lived during that time. Many spirits that have disappeared now also existed, and there was a Spirit King as well. Well… It sounds like something out of a fairy tale.”
Dragons… I know they’re not revealed in this timeline, but they certainly exist.
The sealed ancient dragon, Sirinias.
And the Spirit King surely exists too.
“Putting those aside, there’s a legend that Noah might find interesting.”
“A legend? What is it…?”
“There’s a legend that the sword used by the savior, Cartia Frey, is hidden somewhere in Cartia.”
“Oh, ooh… But as you know, I can’t use anything except for the Great Sword…?”
Rubia, who had stopped stroking the horse’s neck, turned around to look at me.
“Cartia Frey wielded a Great Sword too, one that’s very heavy and thick, similar to yours.”
“Whoa…”
Oh no… This kind of thing never came up in the games.
No, it must be that I didn’t pay attention to the story.
But no, I thought I knew everything related to Great Swords.
“How about it? Sirin is scheduled to meet us in two days. Do you want to take a look around?”
“Y-Yes! Ah… B-But doesn’t no one get to enter Cartia…? You’re not thinking of sneaking in, are you…? That wouldn’t be good…”
Rubia walked closer with a chuckle and reached out her hand.
“Noah, who am I?”
“I-I’m… the Shaman…”
“That’s right.”
Before I could grab her, she snatched away her hand with a mischievous smile.
“Who dares to stop me?”
