When the sensation of our lips has become wholly clear, so has my consciousness . But hardly any time had pa.s.sed . Almost none . A few seconds .

“Hhh…aa…Asagi…?”

“Uh, no…this…well, I mean…”

Daniela’s face was like a boiling pot that was getting hotter by the second . I could see from the corner of my vision that her hand had been gripped into a tight fist .

“Le-let me explain!”

“Ve…very well . I will listen to what you have to say…”

I was somehow given an opportunity to explain, and so I took in a deep breath . I couldn’t even remember what the dream had been about . I just remembered that I was scared . Scared… I don’t know how to explain it, but it was like I was also not scared at the same time . I was just terribly confused . But what I felt right after waking up was something that I had honestly felt . What I truly thought . And I needed to explain it to Daniela .

“Recently, you have been helping me a lot . I don’t know if it’s something that you think about, but you have really helped me . ”

“Hmm…”

“Now, I have started to feel that your presence near me as something very comforting . It’s become natural for me to think that you will always be with me . But I also know that I can’t take you for granted and rest on my laurels either . I try my best to do my part as well . ”

“That is commendable…”

She was mostly silent but occasionally nodded and muttered . I thanked her for this and continued to lay my feelings bare .

“I have come to feel that you are not only comforting to have by my side, but also very precious . ”

“Pre-precious…”

I see that her cheeks have become slightly flushed, and think ‘Ah, yes, that is how it is’ with realization once again . And so I continue . It wasn’t an explanation . It was a confession .

“Ah, at first I thought of you as a reliable comrade . But when we fought against Beowulf, and I saw that you cried for me, I realized that it was not enough for me to just rely on you . I wanted to push myself so that I could one day stand beside you . And as I pursued you in hopes of catching up, I started to really like you . ”

“Asagi…is this true?”

“Yes, I’m not lying . This has been a long explanation, but to put it simply, I had a nightmare of a dream and when I frantically woke up, a face that I longed to see was in front of me . And I kissed you without thinking… I hope that you can somehow understand it . ”

I told her what needed to be told . The timing was not ideal, there was no mood to help me here . But I felt like I had to say it now, or stay silent forever . Daniela slowly moved away from the bed . I looked at her without moving, waiting for a reply .

“I, could you…allow me to think about this a little?”

The answer was withheld . Well, it really was quite sudden… It was obvious .

“I understand . I’m sorry for springing this on you so suddenly . ”

“Yes, I am sorry as well… It was unusual for you to stay in so late . I came to call you . ”

I had stayed up very late last night…and there was drinking as well . Of course, I was not drunk at all now .

“I’m sorry . What will you do today? I had planned to visit the armor shop…”

“Aye, let us go . Meet me in front of the inn in an hour?”

“Okay, got it . ”

I nod and get out of the bed . Daniela took one last look towards me before leaving the room . I listened to the door close before exhaling all the air within my body .

“Hhhhaaa…what am I going to do…If she says no…”

I crash back into the bed . I wasn’t sleepy at all, so there was no risk of falling back to sleep . If anything, I felt more alert than usual . I felt as if I could fight a thousand goblins without letting my guard down even once . But there was no use in regretting my actions now . For now, I just needed to get ready . I moved my heavy body back up and took out a change of clothes from my bag and headed for the baths . I didn’t meet anyone on the way there, probably because I had overslept . The bathing pool in the empty room seemed a lot bigger than usual .

My mind feels completely blank, it was as if some white paint has been poured all over it . I was able to act cool on the outside, but my ability to think was nonexistent . A goblin was more intelligent than me .

The friend that I relied on was right in front of me . We were so close together . Touching . Primarily, our lips .

It is usually I who is last to wake up . But it was Asagi who was late today . And so I had gone to his room to fetch him . But he did not answer, and so I tried the door . It was unlocked and easily opened . And so I went it . I saw that there were discarded s.h.i.+rts and jackets on the ground and remembered, ‘Aye, a similar incident had occurred before, in reverse’ and chuckled . I moved towards the bed . Once I opened the closed curtains, the bright sunlight flooded into the room, illuminating the tragic scene before me .

“Hopeless slob . ”

I muttered, before moving in to wake him up .

“Asagi, it is morning . It is time that you get up . ”

“Mmm…”

“Mmm…”

“Asagi, get up . Asagi!”

I try pulling hard on his arms, but he shows no signs of waking . I try calling out louder to him, but it was clear that his dreams were not peaceful .

“Asagi! Hey, Asagi!”

“Customer…Customer…”

What dream was he having? Was he a clerk at a store?

“Who are you calling a customer! Wake u-, aghh, sto-, let go of me you fool!”

I said with exasperation, but he suddenly gripped my arms . While he may have been sleepy, his grip was strong . My free hand immediately pressed into the bed .

“Bahh…what…?”

So he had finally awakened… I thought as I saw his eyes slowly open halfway . This was a different side to him that I had not seen before, I think with amus.e.m.e.nt . Then our eyes meet . However, his eyes did not have their usual, lively color .

“Asagi? I, mmm…!”

And that is when my mind went blank . When we moved away a few seconds later, I could still clearly feel his face, his arm around my neck, and the sensation of his lips . Asagi had kissed me .

And that is when my mind went blank . When we moved away a few seconds later, I could still clearly feel his face, his arm around my neck, and the sensation of his lips . Asagi had kissed me .

“Le-let me explain!”

Those were the first words he said after kissing me . It sounded a lot like the first protestations of a man who has been caught cheating . But I am lenient . And I am careful .

“Ve…very well . I will listen to what you have to say…”

I say with a shaky voice . No matter what happens, I was always prepared to hear what someone has to say . I am lenient . I try to be lenient . And so, even when my mind feels like it is blank, I can still hear the words . And as I am careful, I understand them . What Asagi was telling me was a confession .

I thought hard once I had left the room . To be honest, I am no good at understanding my own feelings . I have learned to put a lid over my emotions ever since my parents were killed . But I knew that I could not live like that forever . Even if it was only on the surface, one needed to talk . And so, little by little, I removed the lid . It was always half open when I traveled alone . I would say what needed to be said and a.s.sume the necessary att.i.tude .

And that was how it was for a long time . It all came cras.h.i.+ng down when I met Asagi . I think that was the catalyst . I had been alone for so long, why had I wanted to form a party with this man? Even I do not understand why I felt like that at the time . I did give him a somewhat believable reason, but I still did not understand my true motive . I thought that it was something I would come to understand as we traveled together . And then it happened . The fight with Beowulf . We had somehow managed to wound him, but his attacks were relentless . His foot came down on Asagi, and it was clear that he could be killed at any moment . I did think of my parents then . That moment where he could have died . And yet he had tried to protect me . I knew then, that the lid had fallen off completely from my heart .

That was likely when I had allowed him in .

I told him about my past then . He had offered me a kind smile and some hot soup . I still have not forgotten its taste . That warm, gentle taste was how he felt . I think it was then that I started to really see him . His words, his att.i.tude, there were times when they had such a strong effect on me .

But even so, I was no good at understanding my feelings . And so I could not come to a clear realization until he kissed me .

I touch the clothes that hang near my room’s window . The first clothes that Asagi had ever bought for me . He had seen through me . Known that I had wondered if I could ever wear such pretty clothes . And so he made a present of them .

I look at the rays of light that s.h.i.+ne into the room . It’s bright and warm . Like him . And as I am careful, I consider it all in my mind once again . But there is really no need to think . I feel that the fact that I want nothing more than to run my arms through these sleeves right now was, more than anything, the answer to Asagi’s question .