Chapter 125

「Akira, have you been sleeping these days?」

The next day, Amelia, who had woken up before anyone else, worriedly asked me this .

I averted my eyes from Amelia as I sipped a coffee-like beverage .

To tell the truth, I hadn’t been sleeping these days .

I already knew why .

It was because of what Kurou had told and asked of me that day .

To add to that, Zeal-san’s words made me feel even more anxious .

「I didn’t sleep . However, it will not be a hindrance during battle . After coming to this world, other than when I fainted, the number of times that I’ve slept deeply could be counted on one hand . 」

I covered half my face with a hand as I said that .

I was probably making an awful face .

I needed to do something about it before everyone wakes up .

When I thought this, Amelia stared at my face .

She took away my hand that was covering my face and grabbed both sides of my face .

「Worrying about things all by yourself is one of Akira’s bad habits . Is it so hard to trust me?」

「N, no, such a thing… . 」

Being stared at head-on by those scarlet eyes, I could not avert my eyes either because of her hands .

This was the first time I thought that Amelia’s eyes were scary .

「I understand that since Akira keeps quiet in order to protect us or to protect someone . …then I will take tough measures to protect Akira . 」

「Ah, oi!」

Not having the time to stop her, Amelia raised her magic power .

A faint blue light enveloped my body .

「Sorry, Akira . 『Magic Creation』…『Forced Sleep』!!」

「Ame…li, a… . 」

Just before I lost consciousness, the last thing I saw was the heartbreaking look on Amelia’s face .

And so, I was in despair .

Did I feel so isolated and withdrawn that I’d even hurt Amelia, the person I love, with my own actions?

~Amelia Rose Quartz POV~

I put a blanket on Akira who had forcibly lost consciousness, and stared at that innocent sleeping face of his .

I gently rubbed the dark circles under his eyes .

It had gotten worse when compared to yesterday .

「What a terribly violent princess . 」

I looked up when I heard the quiet voice, and Kurou, who was getting up from the nearby sofa, was smirking as he looked towards us .

I glared at him .

「What did you say to Akira . 」

Kurou averted his eyes, and stretched his body like a cat .

I stood up, as if to protect Akira from Kurou, while I glared at him .

「Don’t furrow your eyebrows like that . They’ll stay that way . …besides, I had only requested an appropriate remuneration . 」

I suddenly realized what he was talking about .

What crossed my mind was Kurou’s appearance from behind when he saved us in the dungeon .

「That’s why you saved us in Brute dungeon? …answer me . 」

I glared at Kurou who further averted his eyes .

Kurou frowned a little .

「No, I wonder why . I had saved you as a simple favor . …it was only later that I discovered there was merit in that . 」

My eyes widened when I saw that dejected look on his face .

I didn’t have as deep of a connection with this man as Akira did with him, and I didn’t understand him either .

However, I felt like I could understand his desire for revenge when he couldn’t save his younger sister, and rebuked him for trying to abandon his revenge as time went by, but I didn’t even know if that was the right thing to do .

Even though my first impression of him should’ve been terrible, I found myself sympathizing with him as I learned more about him .

The principles of this person and I, they were probably pretty similar .

「I used to admire you . 」

I raised my voice to change the subject, but when I heard those words, I had my mouth wide open in shock .

In response to my gaping mouth, Kurou looked at me and gave me a small smile .

「The princess who saved the elves . The user of magic like『Resurrection Magic』and『Gravitational Magic』that seemed to appear in stories about heroes . To me, you were someone who I aimed to be like . …maa, now that I’ve met you and saw that human-esque side of you, I’ve reconsidered a little . 」

「…I hate people who look at me that way . 」

Because to praise me was to look down upon Kirika who went through that hell .

TN: She’s talking about Kirika’s hardcore training that she put herself through

Kurou gave a wry smile .

「That’s true . You’re that kind of person . …did you know that I created Ria’s staff?」

I shook my head .

Perhaps he told Akira .

Recently, I didn’t even have the time to chat with Akira, so we were not on the same page .

「Because of that staff, I knew that you guys were in trouble . Don’t you think that Ria’s name is similar to your’s?」

「…did it come from mine?」

「That’s right . I had named her that, in hopes that she grew up to be like you . 」

My eyes widened at being connected in an unexpected place .

And then, I narrowed my eyes .

「What’s with that?」

Ria—-what kind of relationship did Kurou have with Uruk’s first princess .

He scratched the back of his head and looked outside where the sun had begun to rise .

「Who knows . I just wanted to test the human named Akira Oda whom you’ve recognized . The words I said to him were not lies, but I wanted to see if he deserved to be by your side . When I gave Ria that name, I never thought that there would be someone standing next to you . Of course, I still think that even now . 」

At those words, I lost my cool .

Because he was implying that Akira should not be by my side .

「…just how much of a burden are your selfish thoughts on Akira!」

At my words, Kurou froze .

Due to the rising sun, I could see his facial expression well, and it seems that he became somewhat dejected .

「I didn’t think that he would be this troubled either . It seems that this guy loves you from the bottom of his heart, but not enough to abandon humankind . 」

Sometimes, love is blind .

I will, more or less, live many times longer than Akira as well, so I understood that much .

If Akira became blind because of me, I should step aside .

I gave a small smile .

「He’s a man I can count on . 」

Kurou shrugged his shoulders as he gazed at the morning sun .

「It seems so . However, it seems that he’s grateful enough to actually be troubled . This man, perhaps if anything happened to you afterwards, he will abandon humankind . 」

It’s something to keep in mind .

After Kurou said this, he glanced at Akira and left the room .

In the end, I wasn’t able to get him to tell me what he had told Akira .

Apart from that, the words that he just said startled me .

「…Akira, are you going to abandon humankind for me?」

I knew that I would not get an answer to my question, yet I couldn’t help but ask .