Chapter 4 - Springtime (5)

My gaze fell on Kaori's tantalizing lips.

Driven by hormones, I couldn't help but want to kiss her lips and feel the taste of kissing for the first time.

Of course, I could easily control myself, but I had tunnel vision and let my hormones control me at the time. I was enchanted by Kaori's tantalizing defenseless appearance.

I slowly pushed my face towards her.

Surprisingly, Kaori also pushed her face towards me, her eyes still glazed, unfocused.

Our faces slowly approached until…

Cu~❤

Our lips met in a chaste kiss.

At that moment, time seemed frozen for me. I fell into a daze.

Kaori's lips were warm and soft, and her breath was surprisingly nice.

The sensation of my first kiss was so…

Honestly, I couldn't describe it in words in fear of cheapening this precious experience.

We stayed like that for a few moments. Then…

"Ah!"

Kaori gasped and pulled her head back, breaking off the kiss. I could see her face that was very red.

Her fingers touched her lips, her expression showing astonishment and embarrassment. Then, she turned her face away and covered it with both hands, trying to hide her face from me.

I recovered from my trance and turned my head away.

Despite my immeasurable INT, I couldn't control my biological reactions, so I was also blushing like Kaori despite my calm expression.

Even so, my mind kept repeating the scene of our kiss and the sensation of our lips. It had become a memory that I would treasure for a very long time!

…I'm sure of it!

Anyway, there was an awkward silence around us.

When I realized that Kaori wasn't going to break the silence, I decided to say something to clear the awkwardness between us.

"Um, Kaori-san, please forgive me! I didn't know what got me to do that!" I turned to her, bowed my head deeply to her, and said that.

Of course, I didn't regret kissing Kaori, but I feared that this would make her dislike me and destroy my chance to date her.

I really didn't want to resort on using something like brainwashing to make Kaori fall in love with me. What I wanted was her genuine love!

I was about to peek into Akashic Records to figure out Kaori's real feelings about this matter, but Kaori spoke up, taking my attention, "No! Please raise your head, Yuuya-san! That wasn't your fault entirely!"

I raised my head and looked into her eyes. There was no anger, hatred, or cold indifference in those eyes. In fact, those eyes stared at me with acceptance and affection.

And to tell you the truth, I was kind of surprised when seeing those emotions in Kaori's eyes. It looks like Kaori accepted her feelings for me.

It's faster than I thought, but it's good!

I don't have to bother going through time-consuming and complicated courtship to get her as my girlfriend.

"I'm glad that you don't hate me for this," I said to her.

"I don't think I can ever hate Yuuya-san… Not with these feelings in my heart…"

Kaori muttered under her breath, but my enhanced hearing could hear it easily.

Anyway, I abused my immeasurable INT to find out the best course of action. I also simulated the best path to proceed forward.

A few seconds later, I came to a conclusion. Then, I turned to Kaori and said: "Um, still, I feel bad. Should I take responsibility for it?"

As I said that, I pretended to be guilty yet determined.

When Kaori heard my question, she choked in surprise. Her head snapped in my direction, her face red like a ripe apple and her eyes wide as she stared at me.

"Ta-taking re-responsibility?!"

She raised her voice in agitation, though she didn't seem against it.

"Yes, even though that was my first kiss… but, if Kaori-san demands me to take responsibility after kissing you, then…"

"Wa-wait for a moment, Yuuya-san! That was also my first kiss!"

"Well, then, it looks like I have to take responsibility for that. After all, that was your first kiss too…"

"The-then, what are you going to do?"

Kaori stared at me nervously. I stared back, pretending to be nervous like her.

"Um, what about going out as a couple?"

"A-A co-couple?! Yu-Yuuya-san and I are…?!"

With a red face and glazed eyes, Kaori said that loudly.

"That's my opinion, but if Kaori-san doesn't agree, I'll do anything so that Kaori-san forgives me."

"Eh?! I don't mind becoming a couple with Yuuya-san!"

"Well… I guess we're officially a couple, then."

"I guess so…"

Kaori looked bashfully. Seeing how cute the bashful Kaori is, I wanted to hug her and start spoiling her so much, but I resisted this urge.

I had to take it easy and carefully cultivated Kaori's feelings for me. I couldn't rush this even though my hormones demanded otherwise.

We lapsed into an awkward silence. Kaori fidgeted in her place while I tried to keep my straight face.

Even though I have immeasurable mental capacity and capability, I feel like my mind is blank. I can't afford to choose a topic to break the awkwardness between us.

Or to be precise, my mind is wandering back to the memory of our kiss. The soft and warm sensation of Kaori's lips lingered in my mind, keeping my attention glued to it.

"Ahem, Kaori-sama, Tenjou-sama, I beg your pardon, but it's getting late."

The female driver who'd been quiet suddenly spoke up, startling us — Kaori and I.

It was then that we realized that we were not alone in this car.

I felt my face heat up as I realized that the driver heard, and even witnessed, what had happened.

I glanced at the mirror in front, and my eyes met the driver's warm gaze. She even had a mischievous smile on her face!

A moment later, I took a glance at Kaori and saw her look ahead blankly with wide eyes. She was unresponsive.

"Ka-kaori-san! It's getting late! I'm going back to my house! Anyway, thank you for today, Kaori-san! I have had so much fun!" I couldn't help but ramble at her.

However, when Kaori remained unresponsive, I became suspicious. My embarrassment disappeared, and I called out for Kaori.

"Um… Kaori-san? Excuse me? Is there anybody home?"

I waved my hand in front of her face, but she remained unresponsive. I became concerned, and even the driver turned around to look in Kaori's direction.

I grabbed her shoulder and was about to shake her to get her attention. However, her eyes suddenly rolled back, and her body collapsed onto the back of the chair.

"Ah, she fainted," I murmured in disbelief.

"I beg your pardon?! Did Kaori-sama really faint?!"

I ignored the panicking driver and stared at the unconscious Kaori blankly. I couldn't help but feel envy because she didn't need to experience the deep embarrassment I felt before.

The driver checked on Kaori and found that nothing was serious with her condition. Granted, I'm aware of that.

It's so obvious that Kaori fainted from feeling embarrassed so much.

After that, I got out of the car with my purchases. Then, I saw the car driving away until it disappeared.

To be honest, I wanted to laugh because of this ridiculous incident, but I stopped myself. No matter how funny it was, my new girlfriend was the one who fainted!

★☆★

"Hah! Hah!"

Panting loudly, a beautiful girl was running desperately through the forest.

The fancy dress that the girl was wearing, which could be seen as fine quality by anyone, wasn't suitable for such an activity. The gorgeous strawberry blond hair had become dirty, and now it had lost its radiance.

Several people who hid their faces behind a hood were chasing after the girl.

"Kuh…" The girl grunted as she was running barefoot in the forest with a bad footing.

"Ah!?" She gasped as she stumbled over a tree's root because of the dress that was unsuitable for running and the forest treacherous environment.

The mysterious group couldn't miss that chance and immediately surrounded the girl, who realized that there was no longer hope to escape. However, she put on a face full of deviance and glared at the group.

"You… Do you know who you are chasing? I am the first princess of Alceria Kingdom!"

The mysterious group exchanged glances after seeing the girl's attitude.

"Hahahaha! We know that, Lexia von Alceria!" 

One of the mysterious pursuers said to the girl, now known as Lexia von Alceria.

"Then why…" Lexia looked at a loss for words.

"Why, you said? You still asked something so obvious, aren't you? Well, for what reason you're getting attacked, shouldn't you already know it, you filthy half-blood?"

The shrouded figure insulted Lexia, who mumbled back.

"My blood is not dirty…"

"Don't talk back, you filthy half-breed!"

The shrouded figure snapped at Lexia and did something…

"Kyaaa!"

And Lexia's scream echoed in the forest.