"I came to give you my answer from back then."
Was that about what he said the last time we met… about wanting to be friends…?
I couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Sofia, who knew the situation, also had a serious expression.
And as for Lena…
"Ah, miss. I’ll have an orange juice."
She casually placed an order.
"Do you wish to be cut down?"
"I was thirsty too, and when you come to a place like this, it’s only proper to order something, right!? So could you please stop reaching for your sword hilt with a smile!? I don’t have my magic sword right now, so I’d definitely lose!?"
Overwhelmed by Sofia’s killing intent, Lena panicked like crazy.
More importantly, just now…
"You don’t have your magic sword?"
"Um, ah… yeah."
Lena nodded awkwardly, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"When I have that thing, it kind of pulls my mind in a bad direction. Like, I get high, or my sense of ethics gets warped… I think it’s like a side effect."
There had been times when Lena seemed unstable, but… so that was the reason.
"Also… Fate told me something, and it made me wonder if this is really okay."
"What do you mean?"
"I have to take revenge for the tragedy of the past. That’s the wish of us, the Alliance of Dawn. If not us, then who will avenge our ancestors? That’s what I believed. And I still do, but… you know. Fate’s words really stabbed right into my chest…"
Was it really okay to do anything for the sake of revenge?
Wouldn’t that make us the same as the ones who caused the tragedy?
I remember saying something like that…
And it seems those words really reached Lena.
"I didn’t know what to do, so I backed off back then… and after that, I’ve been thinking about it the whole time."
"Did you find an answer?"
Lena shook her head.
"…I still don’t know."
"I see."
"But… I don’t think I want to fight you anymore, Fate."
"Yeah, I don’t want to fight you either, Lena."
"And also… um… do you remember what you said back then?"
"About wanting to be friends?"
"Yeah, that!"
Lena broke into a wide smile.
"When you said that, I was so happy! Really, really, really, really happy!"
She leaned in closer and closer.
I get that she’s happy, but please stop.
Look, Sofia is giving off killing intent again.
"So, um… about that…"
Suddenly, Lena lost her usual energy.
She looked at me with eyes like a lost puppy, glancing over nervously.
"Could you, um… how should I say this… um…"
She looked at me pleadingly, and—
"W-would you… be my friend…?"
"Yeah, sure."
"That was way too light!? This was a once-in-a-lifetime confession for me! I asked with the resolve of jumping off a cliff! And your answer is so casual!?"
"But…"
I understood how Lena felt.
Maybe I had responded a bit too casually.
But it’s not like I dislike her or don’t care about her…
"I already thought of you as a friend."
"Huh?"
"I wanted us to be friends… and before I knew it, I just started thinking it was already fine that way… yeah, something like that."
"…What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Who knows? But…"
I held out my hand to Lena.
"Then, let me say it properly. I’m Fate Steart. Will you be my friend?"
"—!"
For a moment, Lena looked like she was about to cry…
But she held back her tears.
"I—I’m…!"
Her voice trembled a little.
But she didn’t say anything more.
She just looked at me.
"I’m Lena Summerfield… and I’m the one who should be asking—please be my friend."
We shook hands…
And just like that, we became friends.
Comments
Post a Comment