Chapter 4: Another Version 1

Story from here will mainly be told from Mizell POV

Another Version 1

That girl is following me around today too.　

The girl who had always made fun of me for being weak, and eventually kicked me out of her party, now for some reason asked me to hang out with her again.

I don't understand.

She was using her charms to seduce me... she was repeatedly acting in a way that could be interpreted as a honey trap, and there was no doubt that she was up to something, but I just couldn't figure out what her intentions were. Was there any point in her trying to trap me any further? Could Asurika, who had been adventuring with those friends for so long, have any reason to leave them and follow me?

Just like Asurika had told me over and over, I was just useless. I had very little money and I also couldn't think of anything special that would make her think the other way.

Ever since the day I left the royal capital, the girl named Asurika changed from "someone I didn't like" to "someone I didn't understand".

Asurika...Asurika recently...

Very, well, how should I put it.

She was someone you couldn't ignore.　

That day I reached the town and found an inn for the night.

I had finished preparing for the next day and all that was left for me to do was sleep. For some reason, Asurika was also in my room.

Of course, we wanted to take two rooms, but Asurika assured the innkeeper that one room would be fine, so we ended up staying in the same room.

Moreover, there is only one bed, so the only one who can sleep comfortably is Asurika. I can manage without a bed, though.

...I'm grateful that the lodging fee was cheap because I don't have much money. It's common sense among adventurers that men and women of the same age like us stay in the same room. There's no need to think about the reason. I hear that many people retire or take a break like that.

While pretending to inspect my luggage, I sneak a peek at her.

For some reason, Asurika has been drawing my attention lately. She has a different vibe than before, she seems like a different person... maybe.

She was currently leaning back in a chair near the magic lamp, reading a difficult book like the ones a wizard reads.

Asurika has never been this defenseless in front of me before. How should I put it, she looks vulnerable. No, maybe she's showing it on purpose...?

Either way, it just catches your eye.

Unlike during the day, she was wearing thin, revealing loungewear. I occasionally saw her crossing her beautiful, slender legs, and it made me realize that this was bad.

Her vibrant red hair and red eyes are proof that she possesses the pure magical power of fire. In the royal capital, there was no other magician who could control fire as well as she could.

Her profile, engrossed in the contents of the book, gave off a cold, yet intelligent impression. Her eyes, framed by long eyelashes, looked like the crimson jeweled ornaments I had seen in the shop in the royal capital.

...We had been a party for a long time. It was only after we started traveling together like this that I had become so captivated by her.　

"!!"

My heart skipped a beat and I immediately broke out into a cold sweat.

Our eyes met. That is to say, she looked at me sideways with the book still open. Those crimson eyes pierced me.

Damn. I stared at her too much today because we were in the same room. "Don't look at me, you're gross" -- that's what she said.

"Fufu..."　

But Asurika just gave me a small smile and went back to reading without saying anything.

I was shocked. In a different sense than before. Her whole behavior was seductive. I'm sure she was about the same age as me, but she looked a few years older.

……on second thoughts.

It would be bad to share a room with her.　

A little while later.

I can't ask her to turn off the lights, so I lean my back against the wall in the corner of the room and close my eyes.

I was planning to go to sleep if I could.　

"Can you turn off the lights?"

"Hmm? Ah, yeah..."　

When I ask Asurika in a very small voice and  she replied that she understood, the room went dark. I kept my eyes half open.

The shadow of a delicate girl passed through the starlit window. I heard the rustling of fabric and realized the guest's bed was moving.

It's finally time to sleep. Let's rest our bodies in preparation for tomorrow.　

"...Hey, Mizell."　

The whispers were easy to hear in the small room.　

"Why don't you come over here? It's a wonderful inn, so it would be foolish to just sit and sleep in a place like that."　

The moment she turned off the lights I thought this place was dark, but somehow I could see clearly.

Asurika lifts the blanket she is covering herself with to show that there is plenty of space inside.

To put it more clearly, it was literally an invitation. In the darkness, she was smiling with her eyes narrowed, her crimson pupils seemed to be sparkling, and she didn't look sleepy at all.

I am....

Of course, I can't take her word for it. I can't open my heart to Asurika.

I remained silent and motionless, ignoring her as if to claim that I was asleep.　

"Boring. What a coward."　

I shut my eyes tight. I hear the sound of clothes rustling, but I ignore it.

I don't mind if she find it boring. I'm sure she's teasing people and laughing at them in her mind as part of some scheme, but I don't want to be her laughing stock forever.

...Next time we'll definitely be in separate rooms. Thinking this, I took a deep breath.

"Here we go."

The voice came from right next to my ear.

Something bumps into my shoulder and a warm cloth is pulled over me.

I opened my eyes again and searched the darkness. ...just to find Asurika came and stood next to me, leaning her back against the wall in the same way.

"...!?"

"Maybe I should sleep here too."

"Wh, why...!?"

A heat rises to my head and I wake up suddenly.　

"Because it looks cold for you. I feel kind of sorry. What's wrong? Are you excited? Hehe."

Thanks to this, my body has warmed up a lot. However, it's so hot that I don't think I'll be able to sleep.

Asurika's body, pressed together under the same blanket, felt strangely hot, and her body heat was contagious to me like an epidemic.

This is too much. Even if you use your charms, this is too much.

Just as I was thinking of violently pushing her away, Asurika blew hot air directly into my ear.　

"Hey, Mizell. If you can't stand it anymore...it's okay, you know?"

It was a very quiet voice, but to me it was so passionate that it made my head go crazy.　

"...!"

"Ahh~..., I'm sleepy."

And then, after having pretended to be stewing a human brain, she yawned in a truly sleepy manner.

It just becomes quiet.　

……….

After that... for a few hours, there was nothing else we talked about. She fell asleep.

She is the only one sleeping soundly. I know she's changed, but she's still a terrible person.

Then, as I was feeling agonized, the weight of the girl's small head started to rest on my shoulders. When she started to breathe lightly, I couldn't move and it was painful.

...However, one person's sleepiness is contagious.

The time has finally come for me to doze off and my eyelids become heavy.　

"Um, Asurika."

With my head beginning to stop working, I ended up speaking to her.

I croaked. I wasn't expecting a reply.

"...What?"

A voice came from the darkness, close by.

When a person is truly sleepy, they are no longer afraid of the mysteries of the dark night or of tomorrow. Not that I'm saying this is why, but I ended up asking her something I hadn't asked her yet.

"Why are you with me?"

A natural question. Something she wouldn't tell me. So I asked her.

There was a moment of silence, and then a reply was heard.　

"Because I love you, Mizell... If that is what I'm going to say, would you believe it??"　

Most likely, it's a lie.

She enjoys teasing me like this and avoiding the real reason.

"...That can't be true."

I blurted it out. The things I was thinking before I drifted off to sleep just spilled out.

"……good night"　

The last voice I heard from Asurika sounded very gentle for some reason.

At one point, she seemed like a different person.

At that time――when I was facing a monster, helpless and on the verge of complete defeat, Asurika stepped in and saved me from death.

What's more, she even cast a warm healing spell on me. Even though she said she hated getting dirty, she knelt on the ground and touched me, covered in dust and blood...

Even though I had been treating her badly when she accompanied me on my journey. I never expected her to do something like that. Besides, when I was in the party in the royal capital, she had never helped me before I lost consciousness.

Is it because there are only two of us now and there are no other vanguard? Is it a selfish thing?

With that feeling, I turned to the person who had saved my life and asked, "Why did you help me?"

Asurika's expression is ....

Not the irritated expression she often showed, nor the mischievous smile she had recently.

She looked at me with calm, slightly cold eyes and said:

"Nothing. You're weak."　

My impression was that she was just conveying simple facts.

And now she was thinking that there was no great reason for her to help a weak person like me, and that it was only natural. That's what she felt.

……….

Asurika has changed.

That was the first time I felt that way.　

"...Thank you for saving my life."　

I also expressed my gratitude to her, as a normal human being should. I resolved not to forget this debt.

Then, Asurika said,　

"No need to thank me, just get stronger."　

She said, looking away.

To put it simply...it had a human-like expression.

I don't know what she's thinking, but just at that moment, I thought maybe Asurika wasn't thinking about anything in particular.

...When something like this happens, it happens.

There's nothing you can do if a "person you don't understand" suddenly becomes "someone you're interested in."　

"I ..I did it...?!"

I don't know why this is happening though.

Ever since Asurika started teaching me how to use my magical powers... I've been able to easily defeat monsters that I hadn't been able to defeat before.

An overwhelming sense of wonder, but also an even greater sense of accomplishment and omnipotence.

Watching the monster I had slain disappear into a flash of light, I spoke to her excitedly, like a child hoping to get praised for an accomplishment.

"I did it! It's amazing, thanks to Asurika's advice."

I even turned around and tried to run over to her.

But Asurika...

She glared at me with those slant eyes like a cat.

...No, that's not it. The crimson eyes were directed at my back.

"[Burn Storm]"

A fierce pillar of fire rises. Was there another one there, waiting for an opportunity?

She helped me again. I can't imagine what would have happened if she hadn't helped me. I break out in a sweat just thinking about it.

I wanted to thank Asurika, but she looked at me with a colder look in her eyes than usual.

"You should never let your guard down until the very end. That's why people call you a weakling. Right, Mizell?"

"Uuh……"　

Weakling.

She had told me that many times. I was used to it by now... or so I thought.

...It doesn't seem to be the case. For some reason, when Asurika said that to me now, my heart was unsettled.

I looked down at the ground and bit my lip.

Then, Asurika's shoes came into my narrow field of vision,

"Za~ko. Lol..."

A mischievous voice poured directly into my ear.

...It was an obvious provocation. But for some reason, her voice just now stirred something inside me.

Anger... or rather, the desire to rebel, was forcibly stirred up by Asurika. I never knew I was such a small person that words like this could upset me.

I want to say something, anything. I want Asurika to apologize. Even if it's the truth that I'm weak and there's nothing I can do about it.

Objection, objectionーー,

"...But. You've gotten a lot stronger since yesterday. I thought that was amazing."

"Uh, ah..."　

Again. Her usual whispering voice.

But this time, it seeped into the gap in my heart that had been created by the previous turmoil, like poison.

A voice escapes from my mouth. It feels as if the inside of my skull is being gently caressed by Asurika's beautiful fingers...

Her sweet voice spread heat throughout my body like a weak lightning spell. Just hearing her whispering voice... makes my ears go strange.

It's driving me crazy. If she does this to me every day, then what will I do? I know that she's the one who bullied me so much, and that she's still hiding her true feelings...　

"Oh, thank you."

"Hmm. Well then, let's go, Mizell."　

I somehow managed to return the thanks, and Asurika withdrew, inviting me to continue my journey. The warm body temperature and the strange, pleasant smell began to fade away.

...I want you to do more of that.

While thinking such things, I realized I was following her back with my eyes and was shocked.　

No. I'm sure they're up to something.

Don't lose your sanity!

Such an abnormal girl... You can't fall in love with her!