『What Actually Matters To Oneself』
"What's wrong Kaori-chan?" The princess poked her friend.
"Ah... nothing—by the way, is Marika-san not joining us for dinner...?"
It was early in the evening, and the castle was as vibrant as ever, despite it not having lots of people—this is primarily due to the people within, who have such bright personalities. The girls were discussing things among themselves, seemingly sharing their thoughts about the girl they recently met, Marika Hoshizawa.
"Ahaha, well it can't be helped—some people prefer to be alone, after all." Leanna smiled.
"Marika... Cute."
"Janice-chan has returned to her family home for the time being, so it's just the four of us!" The princess beamed, it was as if that was a good thing.
The four began to chow down the food that was in front of them, switching from topic to topic. After several days of being together, they have gotten so close to each other that they began to sleep together—and even talk about matters of love.
"The seniors of the academy want us to train with them if we have time—supposedly, to train us for the upcoming tournament at the end of the year."
"So it was true... the number one group in the academy—the
They were the group that will also compete at the end year's Zenia Youth Inter-Kingdom war. Leanna and Janice are both practitioners that can compete with them—but seeing as they were incompatible with the team, they were segregated to form the group they had now instead.
"Hehe, don't worry! Aren't we already strong?" The princess smiled.
"Mhm... Soul Shredding... mastered."
"Well, we've already unlocked our 15th Star node in such a short amount of time—though that is still not enough compared to the top of the academy."
"Haha, it's only friendly sparring, there is no need to compare yourselves to them yet—also, I've heard they'll help you with strengthening your Soul World Projection."
That's right, the reason why the kingdom had decided to add the three to the tournament even if there were other options was mainly because of their high potential. Kaori, who was at her 1st star node when she arrived, had already unlocked her 61st node and was the only cultivator of the five that cultivated Fire arts. Although her weapon had nature-based skills, it complemented well with her element.
"Eira onee-chan will be there! She's the best cultivator I know aside from mother." Lydia reassured the two.
"Hah... it seems we have no choice. I will try to at least not disappoint them..."
"Kaori... coward."
"Guh...! I know. I still get scared fighting opponents I know I can't beat." Kaori could only heavily sigh.
Everyone chuckled at the two's back-and-forth—conversations like these were getting common for them. They all continued eating their food. After all, the night was still long.
<<----------->>
"I'm sorry!" A man prostrated himself
"Eh!?"
"Did this peasant drink something...?"
It was a tiring day for everyone—the girls were out shopping and Naoki was exhausted from the assessment exam. Though it was somewhat rewarding for Naoki, as he was somehow placed in the silver class. They all returned to the inn, to wash off the pangs of their body—to rest.
"If the reason that you two are being distant is because of what I did then I severely apologize!" He exclaimed.
"What are you saying?" The two stared in shock.
"But...! I don't regret it!"
"Is this even an apology!?" Dorothy retorted.
The two began to understand what he was referring to—though they were still confused as to the sudden shift of events, what exactly happened to Naoki? They both collectively thought.
"As I said, it's not like that. In fact, I don't mind it that much anymore..." Astria reassured, though she trailed off at the end.
"This might sound so conceited and quite cliché—but! I hope that I can stay by both your sides forever!"
"He's drunk." Dorothy blankly stared at the prostrating man.
The illusion had made him realize, he was afraid. If they were to really leave him—he'll probably be lost and have nowhere to go. Although he knew that was unlikely, he still wanted to express his fear.
"Hah... I somehow understand what is going through your mind right now, Naoki—but do you really think we'll do such a thing?"
"No! But even so, I want both of you to know that you have both became an important part of my life."
It was only several days since they met, yet Naoki felt a huge affinity for them—which was likely due to them knowing everything about each other's lives. It was a weird feeling, time wasn't really an indicator of closeness, Naoki thought to himself.
"..." The two girls stared at each other, seemingly communicating something between the two of them.
"Fine, it seems that Dorothy would like a word with you."
"Eh...?"
"Carol... you made it sound like I'm going to kill him."
The two chuckled at each other—with Naoki's head still on the floor. It seems he really wanted his intentions to get across.
"Well... I'll leave you two for a while."
The door closed, leaving the two behind—it seems that the current state of affairs wasn't going to be ignored.
<<----------->>
"So..."
After a few minutes of silence, she finally spoke up.
"...?"
"You know... I don't think we can..."
Her voice hesitated as her hand curled into a fist—this probably took a lot of her willpower to say, Naoki thought. She continued, her voice shaking with each word.
"Continue... this..."
"..." Naoki knew what she was trying to say, though she let her continue.
*Drop*
A tear dropped from her face, which was immediately noticed by Naoki—his head was still facing down, after all. He looked up, only to see a crying Dorothy.
"This is impossible..."
"I can't... I can't say it...! What's up with you anyways!? I was so ready to say it, even after Carol told me that I shouldn't do this... so why!?"
"..."
"What's so special about you!? to the point that my soul keeps yearning for you!? Shouldn't I be happy that I finally got closer to my beloved Carol? Yet you..."
The tears flowed down her face—it seems she was thinking about this for a while now and has still not come to peace with it. In her mind, she will have to give space for the two of them—yet it seems the situation now said otherwise.
"...I know."
"Eh..?"
"I mean, how could I, who promised that I will never make Astria Caroline von Avery regret this her whole life, manage to immediately fumble and fall for another girl..." Naoki looked at the crying Dorothy.
"And you know, I still want to fulfill that promise—I had to ignore these feelings, which were just a product of my ability."
"Or so that was the case... until I saw you cried. At that moment, I could only think of doing everything to make you the same old lively Dorothy again—and before I knew it, these emotions that I repressed for the sake of a promise had all gushed out."
"So... I know this might sound weird, but I'm willing to make that same promise to you—Dorothy Cliffheart. If you believe in me, I will make sure that you won't regret following what your heart told you on this night."
Naoki stood up, his face showed no trace of coquettishness nor hints of doubt. He had faced her head-on, offering his sincerest intentions.
"That..."
"...That's not fair. How are you so good with words? Will you say that to everyone now?" Dorothy wiped her face, a slight laugh escaped her mouth.
"I just said what I honestly feel."
"Heh, trying to sound cool all the time—you might be good with words but shouldn't you comfort a girl like this more passionately...? Just kidding."
*Thud*
As Dorothy said that, Naoki grabbed her—putting her in his embrace. The warmth of their bodies could be felt by each of the two, not a single one of them letting go.
"You know... Carol is still outside."
"Don't worry, let's stay like this for a while."
"Ahh... mhm."
Unbeknownst to Dorothy, Astria was telepathically communicating with Naoki using their marriage connection. "If she were to rush out of that room, crying—I will murder you," she said quite a while ago. Although Naoki had meant what he said, the fear of Astria being angry at him sent shivers down his spine—he didn't want to get chased again.