“I’m sorry, Lily.”
“Hmm.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“…Hmm.”
“I was wrong—”
“Stop it! Stop apologizing! How much do you have to apologize before you’re satisfied?”
“…*sniffle…”
“Sigh…”
Lily took a handkerchief out of the air as if conjuring it.
I buried my face in the handkerchief Lily offered, blaming myself.
Oh, how embarrassing. I couldn’t believe I was sniffling like this. I felt like I could d*e of shame.
“What kind of dream did Arthur have that made him cling like a baby?”
“…”
Dreams…ordinary dreams disappear from memory as soon as you wake up. But that dream was etched so vividly in my mind. Especially that voice at the end of the dream…just thinking about it made my stomach churn.
“Lily thought I was going to apologize, but…ahem…when I thought I was left alone in the room…I thought Lily had abandoned me…”
At this, Lily gently stroked my head and whispered,
“I will never leave your side. That will never happen.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, I’ll be with you for the rest of my life.”
Lily’s firm reply warmed my heart, but…
‘Now’s the time to ask.’
What does “forever” mean to Lily? Perhaps it means nothing significant, like how she treats Louis.
“Lily, the reason I was angry—”
Lily’s hand suddenly paused.
“What do you think about humans?”
“…”
Lily couldn’t say anything. I expected this. Most outsiders view humans the way we look down on bugs, or even less significant.
“I was scared. I’m just a regular human, while Lily is an outsider. My entire life might be just a fleeting moment to you. And no matter how hard I try, I was afraid that all my efforts would be meaningless to you…”
“So you were mad because of how I treated humans?”
“Yes.”
I said this, laying my worries in front of Lily.
All that was left was Lily’s answer.
Now in this silence, the only sound reaching my ears is the rapid heartbeat, whose owner I can’t identify. The heartbeat must have raced at least a hundred times when…
“You’re the most precious thing to me.”
“…What?”
With a calm voice, Lily lifted my chin from within her embrace. The emotion in Lily’s eyes when our gazes met was…
“I was angry because you got hurt by someone.”
An infinitely warm emotion. Just yesterday, the emotion Lily showed me was twisted, distorted beyond recognition. But now, it was pure and refined, like it had found its true direction.
“I hated that person who hurt you. So much that I wanted to k*ll them.”
“My every action revolves around you. That will never change.”
Lily smiled and said,
“Every moment I spend with you, everything we do together, holds immense significance to me.”
“True, I don’t think very highly of humans.”
“But you’re different. If the entire world of humans were to d*e painfully, I wouldn’t feel a bit sad. But if you were even slightly hurt…I would feel sadder than ever.”
“Happiness and meaning in just a second with you surpass all the years I’ve lived before. So…”
Lily briefly kissed me while lifting my head.
“Don’t be anxious. Don’t be afraid. You hold the most significant place for me.”
-Thump…thump…
Ah, I clearly understood. This rapidly beating heart belongs to me. Lily’s pure emotions made my heart leap again.
“Lily.”
“Arthur.”
When we called each other’s names at the same time, we briefly exchanged confused expressions, but…
“Haha!”
“Ahaha!”
We laughed joyfully, foreheads bumping gently against each other.
Until now, the emotions Lily had shown me were so distorted I couldn’t make sense of them. But now they were clear. I understood how Lily thought of me and the magnitude of that thought.
And through her clear emotion, like a mirror, I looked into myself. The feelings I discovered were not very different from what Lily was sending to me.
Looking into each other’s eyes, we realized that the emotions were not flowing one way but mutually towards each other.
Holding those emotions, we whispered together,
“I love you, Lily.”
“I love you, Arthur.”
Although the meaning packed in this statement seemed to have changed slightly from before, we didn’t say anything about it.
—
Lying next to each other on the bed, staring silently for a while, a sudden unexpected noise startled us.
“Cluck-cluck…”
“Ah…”
“Um…”
That wasn’t a sound coming from my side. Lily slowly turned her head.
“Lily.”
“…”
“Come on, look at me.”
“…”
“Why don’t you eat? Is there any particular reason?”
Then Lily mumbled,
“…Dieting…”
“Excuse me?”
I momentarily lowered my body to gaze at Lily’s entire figure.
…I didn’t understand what she was trying to reduce. The only protruding part of Lily’s body…that area shouldn’t be touched…
“Lily.”
Calling her quietly, Lily slowly turned her body again.
“I don’t want to see Lily starving. I don’t know the real reason, but if it’s because of me—”
I gently cupped Lily’s cheek and spoke.
“Don’t move.”
Lily didn’t avoid my lips. When our lips touched, Lily hesitated briefly, then sucked out my vitality shortly afterward. Though I felt a chill inside me, sharing Lily’s warmth made me feel even warmer.
No matter how much vitality leaves me, regardless of its effect on me, I will no longer let Lily starve. Because for the person I love, I’d give my life if necessary.
The meal ended quickly. Lily stepped away, saying it was unnecessary anymore.
As she pulled away from the kiss, Lily suddenly reached out and touched my neck.
Her slender fingers grazed the spot the chain had pressed, inducing a mild stinging sensation.
That must have shown on my expression because Lily paused her hand.
“…Does it still hurt?”
“No, it’s okay now. It’ll heal tomorrow anyway.”
Louis isn’t stupid. I was sure that a wound like this would undoubtedly heal. The guy was also a student who was scared of the professor, so he wouldn’t leave evidence behind.
“How much of such harassment have you endured until now?”
“Not much—”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“…Numerous times.”
“Tight grip…”
The force tightened in Lily’s hand gripping me.
“It hurts, Lily.”
“Sorry.”
Lily’s expression seemed lost in deep thought, and somewhat mischievously I asked her what she was pondering.
“What are you thinking about?”
“As long as they don’t d*e, it’s fine, right?”
It was a question answered with another question, but the reply was contained within those words.
“…What do you intend to do?”
Would she…?
“Maybe give them an upset stomach.”
Phew…surprisingly cute revenge. I thought she’d dismember them and bring them back to life…
“Is that okay?”
“Hm…just leaving them alone—”
“Isn’t an option. They hurt you.”
Lily has already made up her mind. In that case…
“Alright.”
After all, she’s doing this to avenge me. Continuing to refuse would just be strange…frankly, it might be amusing.
“Arthur, I have one more question. I’d like you to answer truthfully this time.”
With Lily’s serious glance, I focused on what she had to say.
“Isn’t it true you’re about to be expelled?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you want to stay here anymore?”
“Well…why do you ask?”
Though I’ve already let go, and I’ve given up, I couldn’t say the same to Lily because…
‘That wouldn’t be true.’
“Yes, I want to stay.”
Lily’s gaze briefly lingered on my neck again.
“Even if you keep getting bullied?”
“It’s not all those kinds of people here, and I’ve already made some friends. Most importantly…”
I smiled and honestly revealed my thoughts.
“Crazy as it sounds, I barely managed to stay through all my studies. It would feel so unfair to get expelled in an absurd way like this.”
Lily, who hadn’t expected this answer, momentarily showed a baffled expression before saying…
“Hmm, I understand your feelings.”
Then Lily murmured something into her mouth, then spoke.
“Then let me help you.”
Ah, as I foresaw. If there’s something I want, Lily will always try to help me fulfill it. I understood that she feels the same.
While Lily’s intentions made me happy, there was one thing that troubled me.
“How?”
If helping means causing damage to Lily, I’ll refuse from my side.
“Hm…the easiest way would be divine grace, but I’m not in a position to give that now.”
Okay, divine grace is excluded for now. But…
“Why not?”
“Well, not only is my power currently incomplete, the biggest issue is the backlash that occurs when giving divine grace. Someone might see it.”
“Ah! Divine energy ripple!”
Why hadn’t I thought of that before? When someone receives grace from a deity, a divine energy ripple spreads into the surroundings. Those who witnessed the ripple in the sky described it as beautiful, like the auroras that only appear on the Arctic ice island.
The ripple varies in strength and beauty depending on the power of the deity. For someone of Lily’s caliber, it would undoubtedly produce an enormous ripple, making it easy for the someone Lily mentioned to notice.
“So what do you plan to do?”
“There’s one…thing that I have in mind, but it’s still a bit unstable, so I’ll try it tomorrow.”
“Lily, if—”
“–it causes harm to me, you’re planning to refuse?”
“…Yes.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not a strain on me, and most importantly, it’s something I want to try.”
In that case, there’s no reason to refuse.
“Thank you, Lily.”
“Thank me? I should do this at the very least.”
As Lily stroked my hair, her soft touch made me lazy, and a yawn escaped.
“Ah…I’m sleepy. Let’s go to bed.”
The mention of sleep reminded me of the nightmare I just had.
“Lily, I—”
Lily placed her hand on my cheek, sensing my worry.
“Don’t worry. I’ll bless you so you won’t have nightmares tonight.”
“Can you even do that?”
Upon reflection, Lily was also the deity of dreams!
“Yes, like this…peek!”
Lily lightly kissed my forehead.
“With this, nightmares can’t touch you.”
The faint warmth on my forehead was oddly reassuring, and unable to resist the drooping eyelids, I couldn’t hold on anymore.
“Mm…good night Lily…”
“Good night Arthur.”
—
That moment Arthur drifted into dreamland.
Someone emerged in the dark library at the academy.
Appearing silently in a space assumed to be empty, the person crept over the librarian’s desk, then paused at the door on the floor.
He took out a key from his robe, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.
Descending the staircase in brisk steps, he passed through the large bookshelves encircled by black stone walls, entering the library’s forbidden zone without slowing down.
He briefly halted at the line marked in red, drawing a large crystal orb from his cloak.
Holding the orb with both hands, he muttered some words, and mist rose from his body, slowly being absorbed by the orb. Once the mist was consumed, the orb shone brightly like the sun, illuminating the shadowy shelves.
Placing the orb on the ground momentarily, he cautiously extended his toes over the red line. Confirming his toes had crossed the line, he swiftly stepped over.
Reaching an isolated bookshelf located deep inside, this is the first time he spoke aloud since arriving at the library.
“Hm?”
He blankly stared at one corner of the bookshelf, then scanned the entire shelf. Then he murmured dispiritedly.
“Where in the world could this have gone?”
