"No! I—…"
Revy had just started to speak when he sensed a soft laugh from Theresa, and then—she vanished from his perception, clearly returning to her mental realm.
"Geez…"
With a fond smile, Revy shook his head and turned his attention back to Ifrit.
Theresa's teasing couldn't be taken seriously. Sure, Revy did feel something for Ifrit, but it was completely different from what he felt toward Theresa. And even if the chance came, Revy wasn't the kind of person to act on something like that without reason.
What happened earlier was a last resort, a crisis measure. Revy still felt a bit guilty for stealing what might have been Ifrit's first kiss without her consent.
"Is it… morning already?"
A faint ray of sunlight slipped through the small attic window, casting golden specks across the room.
"I didn't realize it was this late. Last night must've taken way more out of me than I thought."
Revy was certain now—what happened last night wasn't some accident. Someone had orchestrated the situation to make it look like Ifrit's illness had flared up fatally while they were in Laterano.
But why target this innocent girl? All she wanted was to finish her parents' research.
Clenching his fists, Revy started to consider whether to use some of his more "special" powers to investigate further.
"Ugh… S-Senpai?"
Ifrit's soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Turning around, he saw her slowly sitting up in bed.
"Ifrit? You're awake? Do you feel okay?"
Even though he trusted the "Gyamagara" powers to suppress the Oripathy, Revy still asked just to be sure. Her reaction to the flare-up last night was the most violent he'd ever seen. Better to be safe.
"Me? I'm… I'm okay—"
Still half-asleep, Ifrit rubbed her eyes groggily.
But when she lowered her hands and saw Revy in front of her, her face instantly turned beet red—like a plump tomato.
Revy blinked.
—What kind of reaction is this?
He was sure she'd been unconscious the whole time during the "treatment." There's no way she could know what happened… right?
And he definitely wasn't about to tell her. Denial may be cowardly, but sometimes it's the best option!
But the way Ifrit was acting now… it almost felt like she did know what happened last night?
"…Miss Ifrit?"
"Ah! S-s-s-senpai, w-w-what is it?!"
She was stammering like crazy, like when they first met.
"No need to be nervous, take a breath—" Revy tried to calm her down while internally reviewing all possible explanations. "What's wrong? Why so jumpy?"
"N-n-nothing! I-I-I-I just saw you all of a sudden and got startled, that's all!"
She was still trembling.
Every girl has a "princess dream" — where her prince charming arrives on a magical cloud (or something like that).
Ifrit was no exception.
So…
So!
How could she possibly tell him that she dreamt he was on top of her, kissing her? That would basically be confessing right then and there!
"R-right… I'll go prep the instruments for today."
Revy looked a bit awkward himself. After everything that happened last night, he didn't really want to bring up the awkwardness either.
So the two of them started their morning both feeling awkward, each secretly thinking the other knew something they shouldn't.
Meanwhile, the one behind it all was furious.
"Failure! You're telling me you failed?!"
A man's voice raged through the communicator."I paid so much, went to such lengths to get you out from those two women's grasp, and THIS is how you repay me?!"
"…It's my fault."
The man on the other end wore tattered cloth covering his face, and his voice was like a rusted saw."I thought it was a simple assassination. I didn't expect that little girl to have someone powerful at her side."
"Powerful?! Stronger than you?!"
The other man shouted again."Don't tell me some brat who only knows volcano research and that so-called Catastrophe Messenger—someone barely known—is stronger than the Witch King's top heir!"
"No! I'm the strongest!"
Angered, the man wrapped in cloth growled, almost as if trying to convince himself."In the name of the Witch King, they're dead! The moment they step outside the city, their bodies will be bones scattered across the wilds!"
"…Good. I'll hold you to that."