Chapter 5: Timing

Our relationship—once so close—now felt weighed down by a growing distance, an invisible wall between us.

At least, that’s how it felt to me. And that’s why I had stopped sleeping naked beside him.

Looking back, maybe that was the turning point.

What began as a small shift somehow turned into a rift. If only I had said something back then, would things have turned out differently?

Even during quests, the tension made everything uncomfortable. We couldn't coordinate like we used to. I kept getting distracted by unnecessary thoughts, unable to focus.

Just like right now—my mind drifting again.

That’s when it happened.

This time, we had taken on a quest to hunt down a Breath Spider.

The Breath Spider is about a meter long and, unlike most spider-types, it spits webbing directly from its mouth. It doesn’t spin webs to trap prey; instead, it uses its speed and wide-reaching sticky threads to hunt.

Lately, their numbers had increased near a village, and they’d started causing harm to the locals. So a culling was requested.

It was a B-rank quest—easy for the two of us, even if we weren’t in sync like before.

And maybe because I felt so sure of that, I let my mind wander again, distracted by thoughts of what had gone wrong between us.

Kazuya moved ahead, dodging threads and attacks with ease, steadily thinning the numbers.

I stayed back, casting support spells and the occasional long-range attack. But I wasn’t fully focused, and I let my guard down from the rear.

By the time I sensed something and turned around, a zigzagging strand of web—like a streak of lightning—was already right in front of me. I had no time to react or dodge. It wrapped around me instantly.

“Ah!”

That was all I managed to get out.

More spiders followed up with additional threads. I couldn’t move, my mouth was sealed, and my vision went dark.

I’d made a fatal mistake. A complete blunder.

Kazuya had been fighting a bit farther off, so even if he heard me, it would likely take him time to get back.

Breath Spiders inject venom into their prey after capture, then drag it back to their nest as food.

I was immune to poison, sure—but that didn’t mean I wanted to get bitten or stabbed with a feeding tube. That would still hurt.

As panic overtook me, imagining what would happen next, I heard Kazuya’s voice.

“Get away from Miki!”

He’d already made it back to me.

“Uoooooooh!!”

His roar echoed. To me, it sounded powerful—reassuring and fierce.

Soon, the area fell silent, the only sound left was his heavy breathing.

Kazuya burned through the sticky threads and freed me.

“Miki! Are you okay!? Are you hurt!? Are you alright!?”

“Th-thank you…”

He sounded desperate, his voice thick with worry.

“Yeah… I’m fine. They just wrapped me up, that’s all. They didn’t get to do anything else. I’m okay.”

As I said that, I braced myself. I figured next, he’d scold me—tell me to watch my flank or stay focused.

But instead—

“I see… yeah, good. I’m glad. Really… I’m so glad.”

He exhaled those words with genuine relief.

It caught me off guard. I finally looked at his face.

How long had it been since I’d properly looked at Kazuya’s face? Since then. Yeah—since all this started.

For the first time in a long while, I truly saw him—his expression.

There was no frustration. No blame. Only worry… and relief. He looked genuinely happy I was safe. That expression felt blinding to me.

Guilt flooded me.

I’d been so distracted, so careless. I hadn’t been focused, and it nearly cost me everything. So of course, I expected Kazuya to be angry. I deserved it.

But he wasn’t.

He hadn’t even considered blaming me. He was just… relieved I was okay.

“I’m sorry… It’s my fault. I wasn’t paying attention. I was lost in my head and didn’t even notice the monster. I’m sorry I made you worry.”

I said it out loud.

That it was all on me. That in the middle of battle, I’d been thinking about something completely unrelated. Maybe part of me wanted him to blame me—to punish me for being so reckless, to make up for the mistake I’d made.

But instead, Kazuya nodded, then spoke gently, like he was trying to ease my guilt.

“Yeah… I knew. I’ve known for a while you weren’t really present. Like your heart wasn’t in it. I could tell. But… I was scared to ask. Scared to bring it up. So instead, I stayed alert, just in case something happened—so I could cover for you. So really… don’t worry about it.”

Apparently, he’d seen through me the whole time. That’s why he’d been able to reach me so fast.

And when he said he was scared to ask, I understood. It was about us—the way things had changed lately. The distance. And my coldness.

Kazuya had been watching me closely. Understanding. Caring. Unlike me.

I’d noticed the change, felt the gap between us… and yet I did nothing. Just kept worrying in circles, without actually doing anything.

I said we were best friends, and yet I hadn’t even been thinking about him.

I really was pathetic.

What had I even been doing?

Kazuya started fidgeting, then looked straight at me with a serious expression.

I wondered what was going on. Maybe, just maybe, I was finally in a place where I could listen properly.

"Hey Miki, can we talk for a bit?"

"Yeah, sure."

After taking a deep breath, Kazuya began to speak.

"Some time ago... I started feeling like something was off between us. Like there was this distance growing."

"...Yeah."

That was exactly what I’d been thinking all along. Even though it weighed on my mind, I never found an answer. I couldn’t bring myself to say anything—yet Kazuya was the one to finally speak up about it.

"I started feeling like you were avoiding me. And then I guess I started holding back around you too."

Thinking back, I was probably the first to feel that rift. Maybe Kazuya didn’t notice at first. But because I acted that way, he began to hold back too. Is that what happened?

"At first I thought I was just imagining it. But little by little, I started feeling like you were drifting farther away. Then one morning, I came to wake you up like always—and you were wearing clothes. You’d always slept naked before. I mean, yeah, I’d always tell you to put something on, but... it was around the time I really started sensing that distance. So I thought... maybe you didn’t want me coming to wake you anymore."

He was right. I had started to feel uncomfortable being seen naked, so I began sleeping in clothes. And then—

"I figured if you didn’t want me waking you up, I should stop. But now I regret it. Ever since then... you’ve felt even farther away."

I pushed Kazuya away, and he sensed that and stopped waking me. Our daily rhythm fell out of sync. And that’s how this distance between us grew.

He’s right. That’s exactly what happened.

And yet—I didn’t know what to do. So I did nothing. No, more than that—I think I deliberately avoided him.

"That’s why I’ve been waiting for the right time to talk. But the timing never came. ...Until now, maybe. Because today, for the first time in a long while, you actually looked me in the face."

Those words hit me like a jolt. Kazuya was looking at me—truly looking at me.

Unlike me, who hadn’t looked him in the eyes properly since then, he’d always faced me head-on.

So it was me all along. I was the one who felt the distance. I was the one who drifted away, all by myself.

And because I hadn’t looked at his face... I lost sight of who Kazuya really was. That’s how things ended up like this.

God, how pathetic am I? Even after living for 400 years, I still can’t face my one and only best friend properly.

"And Miki—this next part is the real reason I wanted to talk. Please, hear me out."

"...Okay."

"While we’ve been spending time apart, I’ve been doing some research. About elves. That they tend to have weaker romantic or sexual feelings. That even though they live long lives, they rarely marry, have kids, or even fall in love. That’s something really different from humans. But when you think about it... if elves were just like humans, the world would be full of elves by now."

"...Yeah."

I still wasn’t sure where this was going. It felt like we were still in the prelude.

"Do you remember when you asked me why I never hit on other girls?"

"Oh, yeah. I remember."

I remembered clearly—because I’d always seen that moment as a turning point. Now I wish I’d never said it.

"Now I want to tell you the real answer."

"Okay... huh?"

Wait a second... this flow... don’t tell me...

"Miki, I still think we’re best friends."

I’d started to feel like I didn’t deserve to call myself his best friend anymore, so hearing Kazuya say that made me happy. If he still called me that, then yes—we were still best friends. But...

"But... no—because we’re best friends, I think I can say this. Miki, I’m in love with you!"

...I knew it.

"I know you’re an elf. I understand that we have different lifespans. I’ve thought it over, struggled with it. But even so, I still love you. It’s not just because you’re pretty or beautiful. It’s because you’re you. I love you, Miki—my best friend who just happens to be a woman. I love everything about you."

"...Hold on a second."

I couldn’t answer him right away.

The truth was... I didn’t feel that way about Kazuya. At least not romantically. I wasn’t even sure I saw him as the opposite sex in that way.

He was someone special—yes, very dear to me. As a friend, I loved him. But as a potential partner? I wasn’t there.

Still... a part of me felt bad about rejecting him outright.

Before, I would’ve thought that any romantic feelings between us meant the end of our friendship. But I’d changed. Now I felt that even if I didn’t return his feelings, maybe I could still accept them.

After all, I was the one who created this rift between us. I’d failed as a friend.

If accepting his feelings could bring us back together—if it could fix what I broke—then maybe that would be a way to make amends.

But as if he saw right through me, Kazuya spoke again.

"Miki, if you’re going to accept me out of pity or sympathy, don’t. What I want is for you to love me. I want your heart—your whole heart."

It was like he could see straight into me. Maybe he understood me better than I understood myself... maybe even more than I wanted him to.

Wait—if that’s the case, then he must’ve known I wouldn’t say yes. So why confess now?

"Miki, I only said how I felt. I didn’t ask you to go out with me. I know you’re not in love with me right now. So you don’t have to give me an answer. I wouldn’t want to hear something forced anyway."

Huh? Then why confess at all, knowing that?

"You’re wondering why, right? ...There were two reasons. First, I wanted to close this distance between us. And if you don’t hate me, I figured we could get back to how we used to be."

He was right—I wanted that too. The doubts that had been clouding my heart felt like they were gone now. I really believed we could go back.

"The second reason is... I wanted you to be aware that I love you. Even the smallest gesture feels different when you know someone likes you."

That... might actually be true. Being confessed to does make you start seeing someone differently. But... isn’t that kind of like spoiling the story?

...Wait. Was spoiling the story part of the plan? To make me feel at ease? Heh... that’s just like him. Honestly, it made me like him a little more.

"Now that you know, be prepared—because I will wake up those dormant elven feelings of yours. You got that?"

"Yeah. I can’t say I return the feelings, but... I do want to close the distance between us. Let’s get back to how things were."

My heart felt lighter, the fog lifted—all thanks to Kazuya.

I was lucky to have a friend like him. Even being on the receiving end of his feelings didn’t feel bad at all.

"Well then, now that we’re back to normal, how about we hold hands?"

"What? We didn’t even do that before! Don’t push your luck."

"Aww, seriously? Not even now?"

"Tough luck!"

I burst out laughing.

"You finally smiled again. You look better that way—cuter, too. That’s the Miki I know."

Kazuya smiled too. But it wasn’t his usual friendly grin—it was softer, more tender. The kind of smile you give someone you truly love.

And I laughed. A real laugh, not a forced one.

In the end... it’s like he had me wrapped around his finger.

Goddamn it, Kazuya. I really can’t compete with you.