154 – [ I see. ]

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[———————-]

I regain consciousness.

I take out my pocket watch and check the time.

……I hardly got any sleep.

It’s only been about 10 minutes since I fell unconscious.

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Seras…

[………………..]

—is lying down with her back turned towards me.

She appears to be awake but——

[……, ……….?]

I feel uncomfortable.

The only thing covering my upper body is these bandages wrapped around my wounds.

There’s also “that” in the center of my exposed chest.

A strange lingering memory.

That area is slightly warmer than the others……

One discomfort after another.

I put my hand on my mouth.

My lips.

……A warm moisture.

Strangely enough, they feel wet.

I silently looked at Seras’ back.

Shyness…

Nervousness…

Surprise…

Regret…

Guilt…

……Awareness.

I could read intermingling emotions from her.

[……………….]

“Achoo.”

Raising my upper body, I touch my bangs.

I then called out.

[……You still can’t sleep?]

Seras’ calm shoulders twitched in response.

Taking a deep breath, she replied.

[My apologies.]

What was that apology for?

[Why are you apologizing?]

[I- I’m sorry……]

[…………….]

I should probably pretend that I didn’t notice it.

[Should I make you sleep with my skill?]

That’s also probably better for Seras with the way she is right now.

Slightly shrinking her body smaller, Seras replied.

[Yes, please.]

[—–<Sleep>—–]

Shortly after, I began to hear the regulated sounds of her breathing.

Turning over, Seras lies down on her back.

I look at her sideways to see how she’s doing.

……It seems that she’s completely sound asleep.

[…………………………..]

I take a deep breath.

I had a slight hunch of what happened.

After the battle against Civit, Seras kept a reasonable distance from me.

Yes— Consciously so.

She was probably looking out for me.

She doesn’t want those emotions to get in the way of my journey for revenge.

Even so…

[She’s more daring than I thought……]

I’m a little surprised.

No…

[But well…… this is how it turned huh.]

However, this happened way too sudden.

A lonely journey of escape, in which you’re exhausted both physically and mentally.

And in the middle of the road, you finally met someone that you felt comfortable with.

In a situation where you’re driven to the corner…

And you were saved in a way like that…

If our situation was reversed…

If it were Seras that had saved me instead…

[It wouldn’t be weird for me to be infatuated with her…… However—–]

Before I fell unconscious…

I had only planned to sleep after Seras herself fell asleep.

And yet—– I fell unconscious.

On Seras’ lap, I completely fell unconscious.

Completely.

[I see.]

I look towards Seras as her chest regularly move up and down.

[Even I…]

Before I noticed it…

[I’ve also come to trust you this much huh.]

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After we had some rest, we left the cave and hurried straight to our destination.

The skies were still dark after we left.

However, the sky brightened up soon as sunrise came.

The morning of this day is rather quiet in the Demon Zone.

The crisp, clean air pleasantly fill my lungs.

We didn’t encounter any minor hindrances along the way.

Is it because the monsters in the vicinity had decreased after yesterday’s slaughter?

Or perhaps, is it that the monsters have perceived us as dangerous beings now?

Anyway…

[Touka.]

Eve stood next to me.

[Yeah.]

We checked out the map.

From hereafter, we finally entered the domain where the Witch lives.

The glowing dot showing our position and the glowing dot showing the witch’s position.

The two glowing dots showing our positions were about to overlap with each other.

[There’s no turning back now, Eve.]

My lips curved up a smile.

[Well…… There’s no way you’re going to turn back now that we’re already in front of our goal.]

“Umu.”

The pensive Blood Champion nodded her head.

[Obviously.]

And thus—- We stepped into the Witch of Taboos’ domain.