131 – Is it finally complete..?
“Erina…?”
He gets closer and closer to me and smiles with joy…
“I… Have followed you well so far, right? So I want a reward.”
I should say that the expression is strange… It feels like a pet that obeys its owner is speaking…
“Wait a minute?! Wait…!”
“Why? Why don’t you accept me?”
Are you asking because you really don’t know… Of course, being forced to do something without consent wasn’t a good thing.
“Do you… Hate me…?”
But before I could make an excuse, a trembling voice lowered the mood…
“Erina…?”
The suspicious atmosphere from just a moment ago has disappeared and the glances are rapidly becoming depressing…
“That’s because Harold doesn’t like me… Is this something that bothers you?”
It’s not like that, but… To be honest, I suddenly couldn’t understand Erina’s reaction…
“The reason I am strong is because of you.”
Then, out of nowhere, she tells me what her strength came from, and her grip on my wrist becomes even stronger.
Strong strength that makes you think that if you do something wrong, your bones will break…
“This is only possible because Harold is by my side and looks after me… So, on the other hand, without Harold, I can’t do anything…”
Her eyes become moist and soon her tears run down her cheeks, like dew rolling down her face.
“Erina…?”
“Recently, my heart keeps breaking apart… Because there is always a woman by Harold’s side… And again…”
Her lips lightly touch the nape of my neck. Contrary to what I had expected, I was unconsciously taken aback by this sad development.
“I don’t like it… There was a time when it was just the two of us… When I came to my senses, I realized that countless competitors were targeting you and actually coveted me… My heart ached and I felt like it was going to be torn apart miserably….”
He presses his face against my chest, letting out all his emotions as he remembers the moments he missed from the past.
To be honest… Before I knew it, there were more people around me.
At first, it was Eleona…. Then, starting with Mir, Abne, and Erina, the number of people increased rapidly at some point….
In the past, Eleona and Abne were members of their own temple and did not see each other except during meeting times, and they did not always meet Mir where he was and what he was doing.
So, I remember spending a lot of time alone with Erina at that time.
But now it was different… To be honest, I barely got to be alone, and originally Yura always tried to follow me… Even though she is in the temple now, in order for Luthria to maintain her form, I have to be by her side at all times. Designed to exist.
So, has she been anxious about her diminished status?
“Do you know how it feels to be a tool that is gradually being forgotten by its owner…?”
Now Erina is desperately clinging to me, calling herself a tool…
A sense of self-destruction begins to creep in upon me because of meaningless words…
“I’ve said it all along… As I said before… Everything I have belongs to you, life itself… Harold is my gentle master, and all I can do is follow him…”
She felt sorry for calling herself so lowly… And it was difficult to endure the harsh treatment any longer.
“Please… Even if it’s not physical, can you just whisper that you love me…? If you’re embarrassed and can’t accept it yet… It’s okay to just express it lightly…”
“Tools can be a great help to their owners, but they need maintenance… Just like that… Let them know that I am by your side…”
As if responding to Erina’s request, I hug her.
“Herald…?”
Puzzling yet hopeful eyes… Lips that had turned pale from crying become vibrant again.
Now… I don’t know… What I’m thinking right now…
However, I was able to clearly see that this was related to my current conflict.
“If you really want it… It can’t be too much, but…”
When I honestly look back at her future self, I wonder why I did that and ask myself questions about her words and actions… I embrace her in my arms as warmly as I can.
Has his coldness disappeared as he feels pity for his pitiful appearance? Or… Is he starting to accept it even though he doesn’t want to admit it…
Somewhere in his heart, he comforted Erina by making the excuse, ‘I’m adjusting my colleagues’ condition for the upcoming final test.’
“Erina… I have something to tell you…”
Looking straight into her eyes, I say something I can’t take back.
◆◆◆
“…….”
Honestly, I came to meet them today to tell them of the crisis… But at some point, the meaning changed…
From Noble mtl dot com
Rather than coming to warn them and prepare for what’s to come… It became a time to meet each of them, reflect on myself, and accept their foolishness…
“Ugh….”
Honestly, when I think about what I said to Erina earlier, her face still burns hotly.
As expected, when I come to the present and look back on the past… I suffer from great shame and regret.
However, just as water that has been forced cannot be contained again, the words have already been spoken… Since it was impossible to take them back, I felt that it was time for me to become the same….
“It feels comforting. Is this what it feels like to enjoy the person you like?”
But I still feel ashamed, because I had to go through the humiliation once again in the principal’s office of the academy I visited the next time…
“Hey, Mr. Arcia…? How long do you have to stay like this…?”
Unable to overcome her shame, she ended up asking her as if she was praying… But of course I didn’t get the answer I wanted.
“I feel better than I thought. Is it okay if I stay like this a little longer?”
“……”
Leaning on her shoulder and gently stroking her head…
At first, she even said she wanted to use her knee pillow… But she finally gave up on my desperate protest.
Instead, this is a punishment that feels shameful in its own way…
At first, like others, it was meant to be a simple warning… Just like the situation before, it somehow ended up in such an unclean situation.
The reason is because it violates the school rules…
In the time lost when I was dragged back to reality by Mir… I had no choice but to be expelled from school due to excessive absences… But when I came back, I ended up using the library, so I had to deal with it.,,
“The God of Time said so… I guess I should prepare well, right? And I should also guide the students.”
But as if he clearly heard what I said, he said something and started caressing me again…
Silence descends… Unlike me, Arsia looks bright enough to make you think flowers are blooming around her…
If you think about it, she comes across as a person with strong maternal love, perhaps because she is older, has a generally sly personality, and has looked after countless young students.
Even now, he was wasting his little resting time, caressing me with the leisureliness that comes from maturity…
“Arsia… Can’t we just quit soon?”
And that too in front of someone…
“There’s something about Harold that feels a little burdensome…”
Aris, who had been watching this situation until now, couldn’t stand it anymore and tried to represent me…
“You want to try Aris too? That’s because you love Harold too.”
However, that uncomfortable expression collapsed at one word from Arcia, and her face also turned abnormally red.
“What.. What?!”
Under normal circumstances, this is an unimaginable recommendation…
“Well, since I’m you, you know what I like, right? To be honest, I want to show off my confident side, but you’re jealous of me, right?”
Aris’s expression seems to be getting more difficult with each word, as if every single one of her words hit her weak point…
“If you want to do it, Aris, feel free to do it! You could share it, right?”
Is she a twisted maternal love, or is she a self-love… If it were purely a relationship between a man and a woman, she freely suggests words that would be unacceptable.
In the beginning, the attitude of treating me like an object… Was a little annoying…
But what makes me even more troubled than that is…
“…….”
Aris doesn’t give off a negative vibe to Arcia’s temptation…
“I… Should say I want to be hugged instead of petted…”
“…….”
After listening to her… I stopped thinking.
◆◆◆
“It seems like everything is in order.”
Two women talking solemnly in a huge white temple
“Hmm…”
Goddess of Fate Morione and Ancient Goddess Luthria
After the two of them discussed without knowing the end, they finally reached a conclusion.
“It’s good for me to regain my original strength… But I wonder if I can handle it well… It’s been a while since I’ve had my original strength, so it would be a big problem if my husband gets caught up…”
As Lucria finished speaking in a space where no one could overhear, Morione gestured as if she was worried for no reason.
“However, I can’t defeat Goddess Eleona like this. Having experienced her firsthand, she just can’t handle it.”
“You know that God’s strength comes from will… There’s no way an emotional being would let go of the happiness he gained after a long period of suffering.”
“……”
At those words, Lucria fell into deep thought for a moment, and she couldn’t even find the time to reply to Morione’s words.
“Just take care of Eleona somehow, I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Okay… I guess I’ll have to try something.”
He eventually gave in thanks to Morione’s persuasion, but the atmosphere was tense due to her undesirable collaboration.
“It’s finally over, it was a really heated discussion… But if my prediction is correct, maybe right now…”
“Herald will come.”
Drurrruk ㅡㅡ!
As soon as those words were spoken, the huge throne room door opened and a man was revealed.