Sitting on a park bench, after happily finishing the bento that Raize had carefully prepared, Eu wiped her mouth with a tissue and then looked at Raize, who was mixing a drink for her.
Watching Raize, who wore an expressionless face as he continued to bear her power for her, Eu felt that it was time to take back what belonged to her. She could not keep letting Raize support her like this.
"Let's wait a bit longer. I'm removing the hidden dangers within your power. I don't want you to suffer like last time."
After stirring the drink, Raize condensed three small ice cubes with one hand and dropped them into the cup, then handed it to Eu.
Regarding the girl beside him wanting to take back her power, Raize declined tactfully. Just recalling Eu's painful state from last time made him instinctively resistant to returning this power that still carried risks.
He would delay it for as long as possible. Raize did not want to deal with Eu's power hazards little by little, day by day. Even if he could not completely resolve them, he still had to make sure that this power would no longer backfire on Eu.
"But, Aize…"
Taking the ice-cold drink, Eu's delicate, fair brows knit slightly. Although she no longer worried excessively about Raize in her heart, she still did not want him to keep bearing the power for her.
She could see that Raize wanted to delay it as much as possible, and she knew it was for her sake.
After everything that had happened before, the relationship between the two had grown much closer. Aside from cherishing Raize as someone important, the hazy and restless feelings in Eu's heart also made her unwilling to push trouble onto him.
But Raize revealed a faint, subtle smile. In his usually calm, well-like-still-water eyes, a trace of gentleness appeared.
He lightly extended his index finger and, amid Eu's stunned and bashful gaze, placed it against her soft lips, stopping her from continuing.
As long as there was no extreme emotional fluctuation, with his ability, he could still manage minor changes in expression.
"Eu…"
A gentle call escaped him. Faced with the girl's flustered and shy gaze, Raize—his heart full of tenderness and countless unspoken words—lightly pinched her smooth, fair chin and guided it forward slightly, then pressed his lips against Eu's smooth, pale forehead.
"Mm…"
The sudden intimate and doting action made Eu's pupils shrink slightly. She let out a soft, cute whimper, her fair, rosy little face once again dyed in an enchanting blush. The hands holding the drink trembled faintly.
A kiss on the forehead carried the meaning of protection. From now on, he truly wanted to protect the girl before him—especially after seeing the King of the Night's memories.
Raize was not some block of rotten wood. The last time he kissed her, it was not only Eu whose heart had been thrown into chaos.
With the boy's initiative and the vow he had made to himself last time, Raize could sense that Eu no longer felt conflicted.
He had already understood his own heart. He did not want this girl to disappear from his sight, and he yearned for a life in which she existed before his eyes.
He did not want… this gentleness to leave.
After mutually expressing their feelings, their relationship had subtly changed. The feelings between Raize and Eu had gradually warmed to a level of intimacy.
Gently reaching out to smooth Eu's furrowed brows, Raize looked at the girl whose cheeks were flushed with a captivating pink and said:
"In moments without burdens, don't wrinkle your brows. Helping you deal with the power's hidden dangers is also part of our agreement."
Thump, thump, thump…
Eu's heart was beating fast. Looking at Raize, whose gaze carried a trace of gentleness and doting affection, she truly no longer had any intention of asking for her power back.
Rather, aside from the uncontrollable shyness and joy, there was no room left for other thoughts.
Her destiny was already bound to Raize's. Eu believed in Raize's future and knew that he was someone she could rely on.
But as for romance—up until now, Eu had never experienced such a thing in her life. She did not resist Raize's intimate actions, but she simply could not calm her heart.
Moreover, when she was by Raize's side, her ability to control her emotions was steadily worsening.
"Aize…"
She murmured softly and lowered her head. The shy, adorable Eu ultimately did not dare to look into Raize's eyes anymore. The pink atmosphere between them grew thicker and thicker.
The girl took small sips of the ice-cold drink in her hands, trying her best to shift her attention to her tongue, savoring the cool, refreshing sensation.
As if doing so could dispel some of the heat in her heart.
Seeing that Eu's attention had been diverted, Raize smiled faintly to himself. He extended one arm and wrapped it around Eu, holding the girl's slender, soft waist and pulling her tightly against him.
After holding her, the boy felt an inexplicable sense of fulfillment. The reassurance in his heart was so real.
Feeling Raize's one-sided, assertive action, Eu's body trembled slightly, and she shyly lowered her head even more.
Though very embarrassed, Eu showed no sign of resistance. Her small head gently leaned against Raize's shoulder.
Raize also lightly rested his cheek against the girl's head. Breathing in, he inhaled the fragrance of her hair and slightly narrowed his eyes.
At this moment, although Eu's heart was filled with the shyness befitting a young girl, she also felt incomparably at ease. Raize felt the same.
Someone who would protect you, care for you in every way, fight for you, and promise to stay by your side forever—he was right here.
There was no need to think about anything, no need to worry about anything. Simply leaning against Raize like this and enjoying this precious, soothing tranquility was enough.
May time linger a little longer at this moment…
Such were the shared prayers in the hearts of Raize and Eu at this very instant.
---
After spending the entire day accompanying Eu at the convention, both of them returned home in good spirits, in more ways than one.
After finishing dinner, Sei, Asia, and Haruna all cast strange glances back and forth at Eu and Raize.
Had something changed between these two that they did not know about?
Unable to endure the others' gazes, Eu ultimately glanced at Raize's back as he entered the bathroom, then silently returned to her own room.
"Haruna, while I was training Asia, did anything happen between Raize and her during this time?"
Feeling an inexplicable heaviness in her head, Sei looked toward the bathroom with an emotionless gaze, then turned to Haruna, whose eyes were drifting, and asked in a hollow voice that carried a hint of pressure.
Asia nervously shrank back beside the suddenly imposing Sei. Though she had a childlike face and an impressive chest, the girl now radiated an inexplicable gravity in Asia's eyes.
Although there was no command in her tone, Haruna's intuition told her that now was not the time to act tsundere or put on airs.
"I'm not really sure. Raize is still busy every day. If anything did happen, it was when the necromancer ate an orange she shouldn't have eaten and got sick—Raize was the one taking care of her."
"That's all I know."
Haruna pouted unhappily as she honestly explained to the current version of the Biblical loli God, who radiated a strange pressure.
Lowering her head, she stared at the apple in her hand as if venting some dissatisfaction in her heart, viciously biting into it and devouring it in a few bites, leaving only scraps.
Sick… Raize… taking care of her.
The Biblical loli God muttered inwardly, processing this crucial information from Haruna. With an ominous premonition rising in her heart, she quietly activated her power.