Lead and Blood - 6

As the battle ended, Sensei approached me, standing alone at the enemy's stronghold. "Line, are you alright?" I remained silent. As before, I still couldn't tell what my condition was. "Line, are you angry by any chance?" I was puzzled by Sensei's words. 'Why would I be angry? What reason do I have to be angry......?' At first, I couldn't understand why he would ask such a question when there seemed to be no reason for me to appear angry in his eyes. But after pondering over his question, I realized what my state was. I was, as Sensei said, angry. "I suppose so. Those who dared to recklessly fire their guns without knowing their place......" And the pathetically weak me, made me angry. When I was first shot, I felt like my temple was damp. Although there was no reason for it to be damp in reality, that's what I felt. 'It could have simply been sweat.' But it wasn't because of sweat. There was no clear evidence that it wasn't because of sweat, but I knew that it wasn't the reason. The reason I felt my temple was damp was because I naturally assumed that I was bleeding, and I secretly wished that I was. I wanted to use the excuse of bleeding to run away. I was afraid of fighting and wanted to abandon the students of Abydos and run away. I wanted to throw away those kids who always stood with guns in their hands, for the sake of their school, shouldering a debt they didn't need to bear. Realizing this thought that I had without even knowing it, I was disappointed and angry at myself. As I finished my thoughts, Sensei's figure came into my view. He had a troubled expression on his face. 'Huh......?' Only then did I realize how sharp my words from earlier must have sounded. "I'm sorry! What on earth was I saying......" "Line, you're a kind child." "Pardon?" "Because you can stand up for others and get angry for them." After saying this, Sensei turned his gaze to the side. I followed his gaze, and there were the students of Abydos approaching us. "Yes......" I quietly answered Sensei's words as I looked at the students. The sight of the Abydos students smiling and waving at us captivated my eyes and seemed to transform the blood flowing in my heart. The blood that had been boiling hot, sticky, damp, and like a sharp blade, instantly turned warm and soft like chocolate. Seeing Sensei waving his hand and taking a step towards the Abydos students, I also followed suit. "Ah......" But suddenly, my legs lost their strength, and after taking only a few steps, my legs tangled, and I collapsed to the ground. Hearing the thud, Sensei turned around to look at me, and I awkwardly smiled and said. "Haha...... I think my legs gave out......" Sensei silently stared at me with surprised eyes for a few seconds, then soon approached me with a gentle smile that had a hint of mischief. 'Huh?' I suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. My instincts were warning me to run away from this place immediately, but my legs still wouldn't cooperate. So, I could only nervously watch as Sensei approached. "Kyaa!" Sensei knelt on one knee in front of me and suddenly slipped his hand under my thighs. The sensation of his large hand touching my thigh startled me, and a shrill sound escaped my throat, and soon I felt a sense of floating. Sensei had lifted me up. And that too, in his arms, supporting my back and the back of my knees, in a position commonly known as the 'princess carry'. "W-Wait...... Th-This position......" I tried to speak to Sensei to somehow get out of this position. However the fact that we were in front of the Abydos students made me hesitate, and my immense embarrassment made it difficult for me to speak properly. If we were in a place where no one was around, I wouldn't have minded being held in this position. But the problem was that we were in front of the Abydos students. I could clearly see how the Abydos students would react to seeing me being held like this, but I couldn't do anything about it. 'Ah, ahhh...!' *** "Hyuu~ Wow, what a sight~" "Oh my, oh my☆" "Ugh, ughhh..." I was currently being teased by the Abydos students while being held in Sensei's arms, and I was drowning in embarrassment, covering my face and groaning. Hoshino's subtle smile and Nonomi's gentle yet deeply piercing smile had already sunk me earlier. "Hmm......" "Haha......" "Wh-What are you doing! The kid's uncomfortable!" Next to Hoshino and Nonomi, for some reason, Shiroko was looking at me with her ears down and an envious expression, and Ayane was laughing awkwardly through the hologram. I could only find solace in Serika's scolding, which seemed to be directed at my well-being. "Ugh...... C-Could you please put me down now?" "It hasn't been that long, can you walk already?" I asked Sensei to put me down because I couldn't bear the embarrassment any longer, but I couldn't answer his following question. As Sensei said, I still needed rest because my legs hadn't regained their strength yet, so all I could do was bury my face deeper to ignore the embarrassment. "Don't push yourself. I'm fine, really." 'Yes, you really do look fine......' I couldn't bring myself to complain to Sensei, who was exerting himself for me, so I kept my thoughts to myself. And so, I was quietly carried back to Abydos in Sensei's arms. The way back to Abydos felt much longer than when we came here. *** "Welcome back, everyone. Good work." When we returned to the school, Ayane, who had stayed behind to operate remotely, greeted us. "We're back~" "Good work on the operation, Ayane." Hoshino was the first to respond to Ayane, and Serika followed by thanking Ayane for her work. "Are your legs feeling better, Line-san?" Perhaps because the last image she saw through the hologram was of me being carried by Sensei, Ayane asked me if I was okay as soon as she saw me. "Yes, my legs regained their strength midway, so I can walk properly now. Although, thanks to that, I got a face full of sand..." "Uhe, it was a really strong wind, wasn't it~? A lot of sand was mixed in the wind blowing behind us, and Line-chan just happened to be right there." "If you want to wash up, I'll show you to the shower room. We have shower supplies, so don't worry." I was very grateful for Shiroko's offer. I was worried because I hadn't been able to wash properly since leaving home yesterday, so I was going to ask about it first, but thanks to her, I didn't have to. It felt good that Shiroko was being considerate of me, as if I had gained her favor by fighting together in the battle. "Then I'll gladly take you up on that offer. I was feeling uncomfortable with sand in my hair, so that's a relief." "You do have sand in your hair. ......By the way, what did you use to tie your hair? A shoelace...?" "Ah." I quickly moved away from Shiroko, who was examining my hair, and covered the tied part with my hand. But as a result of Shiroko already having said it out loud, the surrounding gazes focused on me, and I had no choice but to confess the embarrassing truth. "I was trying to tie my hair this morning, but I couldn't find a proper hair tie..." I felt heat rising to my face from embarrassment. 'Ugh, how many times have I been embarrassed just today...?' I felt a little dejected because I seemed to be experiencing a lot of embarrassing things today. Then, Hoshino approached me and spoke to me. "Heeh, Line-chan is surprisingly clumsy, isn't she~? Don't worry, this old man also sometimes forgets about other things because she's taking a nap." "Isn't Hoshino-senpai just being lazy?" "Uhe, I've been found out." Serika interjected and gave Hoshino a hard time, which made everyone around laugh. 'Is this supposed to be comforting...?' I had never been comforted in this way before, so I felt unfamiliar because I wasn't sure if this was meant to be comforting. But when I realized that I was also being considered by Hoshino, I was able to laugh along with the other students. "Anyway, Line-chan, you've worked hard today, so rest well before you go." "That's right, and it was your first battle, wasn't it? You were amazing for your first time!" "I'll give you a hair tie to use after you wash up☆" I was surprised by the following words. We hadn't even known each other for long, and we had only fought together once, but they were being so kind to me. I found it hard to believe because I was worried if it was possible to become this way so easily, and if it was okay to be this way so easily. But it was clearly evident in the way the Abydos students treated me, so I had no choice but to know even if I couldn't believe it. "Yes, thank you. Everyone." I had become a welcomed existence in Abydos. So, I happily responded to this hospitality. *** I received shower supplies from Shiroko and went to the shower room to wash up. The warm water flowing from the showerhead provided a sense of stability to my mind and body. I squeezed the shampoo into my hand a few times and applied it to my hair, and the bubbles spread a nice fragrance around. 'It smells good. I wonder what kind of scent this is.' It felt special because I was washing with a scent I had never smelled before in a place I had never seen before after being outside for over a day. 'It's strange to feel this way just from washing. Is it because I haven't been able to wash for a day?' When I thought to myself that I hadn't been able to wash for a day, the words felt off, and I felt uneasy. 'Hmm...... Saying it like this makes it sound like I stink. ......I didn't actually stink, did I?' I suddenly became worried that I might have smelled, so I thought about it carefully. Abydos had strong sunlight, but the air was dry and there was a lot of wind, so I didn't sweat much. Therefore, it was hard to imagine that anyone would notice a sweaty smell unless they were very close. 'Well, people don't usually notice sweat smells unless you're sweating a lot or consciously thinking about it up close......' Just as I was about to reassure myself with that thought, I remembered that I had been carried here in Sensei's arms until midway. "......" I felt like my mind had momentarily stopped. It had already happened, so there was nothing I could do to take it back, but, 'Please don't let me have smelled......' If I had smelled, I was sure that I would have been unable to control my embarrassment and would have collapsed to the floor, screaming.