"Erina...?"
She slowly brings her face closer to mine, wearing a smile tinged with exhilaration...
"I've been following you all this time, haven't I? So, I want a reward."
Her expression is odd, hard to describe... It's like a pet showing obedience to its master...
"Just a minute?! Wait...!"
"Why? Why won't you accept me?"
Does she really not know? It's obvious that being forced into something without consent is not okay.
"Could it be... you dislike me...?"
But before I can even make an excuse, her trembling voice brings a somber mood...
"Erina...?"
The suspicious atmosphere from before is gone, replaced by rapidly growing sadness in her eyes...
"Is it because Harold dislikes me... Is this making you uncomfortable?"
It's not that, but... I suddenly find myself unable to understand Erina's reaction...
"My strength comes from you."
Suddenly, she tells me how her strength is derived, gripping my wrist even tighter. The force is so strong, I fear it might break my bones...
"Being by Harold's side, being looked at by him made this possible... But without Harold, I am nothing..."
Tears start forming in her eyes, soon rolling down her cheeks like morning dew...
"Erina...?"
"Lately, my heart feels like it's being torn apart... There's always another woman by Harold's side... and then another..."
Her lips lightly touch my neck, an unexpectedly sorrowful turn that catches me off guard.
"I hate it... There was a time when it was just the two of us... But then, one day, I realized there were so many rivals around you, actually coveting you... It feels like my heart is in agony, about to be torn apart..."
She recalls the cherished moments from the past, pouring out her emotions as she presses her face against my chest.
To be honest... at some point, there became many people around me.
Initially, there was Eleonora... Then Mir and Abner, and starting with Erina, the number of people around me just suddenly increased... Back in the day, Eleonora and Abner only stayed in their temples, meeting only during appointed times, and Mir wasn’t always around.
So, back then, it was mostly Erina and me spending a lot of time together.
But now, things have changed... Honestly, even being alone was a rarity, with Yura always trying to follow me... And now, even though in the temple, Luceria needs to be by my side to maintain her form as she was designed to exist only with my presence.
So, was she feeling insecure about her diminishing place all this time?
"Do you even know what it feels like... to be a tool, gradually forgotten by its master...?"
Erina, now desperately clinging to me, refers to herself as a mere tool...
I start feeling a sense of self-loathing from such needless words...
"I've always said it, and like I just did... everything about me is for you, my life itself... Harold is my kind master, and I am but a tool that follows him..."
It was heartbreaking to hear her belittle herself so much... and it was becoming unbearable to endure such excessive treatment.
"Please... Even if it's not physical, can't you whisper to me that you love me...? If it's too embarrassing and hard to accept yet... even a light expression would be fine..."
"A tool can be a great help to its master but requires care... like that... let me feel that I am by your side..."
Responding to Erina's request, I instinctively pull her into my embrace.
"Harold...?"
She looks puzzled yet hopeful... Her lips, pale from sadness, regain some color.
Now... I'm not even sure myself... what I'm thinking right now...
But I knew for certain that this was related to the current conflict I was facing.
"If that's what you want... I can't do too much... but..."
Honestly, in the future, I might question myself why I did this... My actions and words... I embrace her as warmly as I can.
Was it sympathy for her pitiable state that made me lose my cool... Or... even though I hate to admit it, am I gradually accepting it...? In one corner of my mind, I comfort Erina with the excuse of 'preparing my companions for the upcoming final trial'.
"Erina... I have something to say..."
I look straight into her eyes and speak words that can't be taken back.
Honestly, I had come to warn them about the imminent crisis today... but at some point, the purpose of my visit got distorted...
Instead of warning them and preparing for what's ahead, it turned into a time for self-reflection and indulging their whims...
"Ugh..."
Thinking about what I said to Erina earlier, my face still burns with heat.
As expected, looking back at the past now, I'm overwhelmed with immense embarrassment and regret.
But like water that's been spilled, the words already spoken can't be taken back... so now, I was resigned to let things be as they were....
"It feels somewhat comfortable, is this what it's like to indulge in the company of someone you like?"
But as if my embarrassment wasn't enough, I had to face another humiliation in the principal's office of the academy I visited next...
"Um, Arsia...? How long do we have to keep doing this...?"
Overwhelmed by shame, I finally ask her, almost pleading... but, of course, the answer I wanted didn't come.
"It feels better than I thought, can we stay like this a little longer?"
Resting on her shoulder, my head gets gently stroked...
Initially, I wanted to use her lap as a pillow, but after my desperate protest, she reluctantly agreed not to.
Instead, this became a different kind of embarrassing punishment...
Initially, like the others, it was meant to be a simple warning... but as it happened before, somehow it turned into this unseemly situation.
The reason was a violation of school rules...
Dragged into reality by Mir, I lost time in a different dimension... Excessive absences led to an inevitable expulsion, but then I used the library upon my return, so technically, it was my responsibility to deal with...
"The god of time said that, huh... I better prepare thoroughly, and I should also inform the students."
Despite everything, she acknowledges my words with a comment, then starts absentmindedly stroking my head again.... The silence descends... Unlike me, Arsia seems radiant, almost as if flowers were blooming around her.
Considering everything, she is older and generally a sly character, and perhaps due to her extensive experience in looking after young students, she exudes a strong maternal presence.
Even now, she's wasting what little rest time she has, comforting me with the ease that comes from her maturity...
"Arsia... Can we stop soon?"
Especially in front of someone else...
"Harold seems a bit uncomfortable..."
Aris, who had been silently observing the situation, finally couldn't bear it and tried to speak on my behalf...
"Do you want to try it too, Aris? After all, you love Harold."
However, her uncomfortable expression crumbles with just one sentence from Arsia, and her face turns unusually red.
"What... What?!"
A proposal that would be unimaginable under normal circumstances...
"Well, I can do it because I am you, so I know what you like, right? I'd like to show off my confident side, but you're just jealous of me, aren't you?"
Every word from her seems to hit Aris's weak points, as her expression grows more troubled with each sentence...
"If you want to, go ahead, Aris! If it's you, I might be willing to share."
Is this twisted maternal affection or self-love? Without any hesitation, she suggests things that would be unacceptable in a normal relationship.
Her attitude towards me, treating me like an object, was a bit irksome...
But what made me more uncomfortable was...
Aris, not showing any negative reaction to Arsia's temptation...
"Should I say I want to be hugged instead of being stroked...?"
After hearing her words, I just stopped thinking.
"It seems we've reached an agreement."
The two women solemnly speaking in the vast, white temple...
"Hmm..."
The goddess of fate, Morione, and the ancient goddess, Luceria,
After endless debates, they finally come to a conclusion.
"It's good that I'm regaining my original strength, but... can I handle it well? If my husband gets involved with my inherent powers, it could be disastrous..."
Once Luceria finishes speaking, Morione gestures as if to say it's a needless worry, in a space where no one else should enter and no one else can overhear. "But as it stands, we can't defeat the goddess Eleonora. From what I've experienced directly, she's simply too much to handle."
"You know, right? The strength of a god comes from will... And surely, an emotional being who's endured long suffering won't easily let go of the happiness they've finally found."
At these words, Luceria falls into deep thought, seemingly unable to even afford the luxury of responding to Morione's statement.
"Just somehow deal with Eleonora, I'll take care of the rest."
"Alright... I'll have to try somehow."
Morione lifts her head in agreement, albeit reluctantly, to the uneasy partnership, casting a tense atmosphere.
"Finally, it's over. That was a really heated discussion... But if my predictions are correct, then, right now, at this moment..."
"Harold will come."
With a loud noise ――!
As soon as those words are spoken, the doors of the grand audience chamber open, revealing the figure of a man.