The two of them stopped in their tracks, and a quiet silence settled over them—long, heavy, and lingering.
"I like you."
Those three words hit Dystopia like a thunderclap. Her mind went completely blank. She stared at Kosma, her first thought: Did I hear that wrong? Has this blockhead finally figured it out?
After speaking the words, Kosma fell silent too. He looked at Dystopia, his face flushed as he averted his gaze.
(I actually said it… just blurted it out in the heat of the moment… I'm confident in my feelings, sure, but… what if Dystopia doesn't feel the same way? And our relationship… it hasn't even properly recovered yet…)
Kosma's feelings for Dystopia in their previous life were more of a vague, youthful affection. Dystopia had understood her own feelings much earlier, but Kosma only came to realize his after the Eighth Herrscher incident.
"Ah… Kosma…" Dystopia finally spoke.
(Is it judgment time…?)
"Can… you say it again?"
"Eh?" Kosma looked utterly dumbfounded at the equally flushed girl before him.
Facing his bewildered gaze, Dystopia placed her hands behind her back, tiptoed on one foot, and slowly traced circles on the ground with her other foot, speaking softly: "I… want to hear you say what you just said again."
Kosma stared at her, swallowed hard, and his mind went into overdrive.
(What does she mean by that…? Did I not say it clearly enough just now? No… her expression doesn't look like she didn't hear it. So… why does she want me to repeat it? What's her purpose…? Or does this have some hidden significance? If Silas were here, he'd probably know right away.)
Seeing Kosma remain silent, Dystopia realized he was carefully analyzing her words. This Kosma really is…
Ah, forget it. Saying those three words in the first place is already his limit.
Dystopia didn't expect him to come up with some romantic speech. Frankly, the fact that Kosma could actually confess at all felt almost miraculous. Especially since they'd just had a bit of tension between them, though it had softened slightly during the game session at Sakura's house…
Taking a deep breath, Dystopia quietly clenched her hands behind her back. Since Kosma had spoken these words with such determination, she had to take them seriously. She forced herself to display a calm, unreadable smile and said:
"Hmph… do you realize what you just said to your senior?"
Kosma froze.
(What did I just say to my senior…? Does this phrase have some hidden meaning?)
Dystopia first lowered her head slightly, then lifted it again, smiling at Kosma.
"Now that you've said it, you should… be prepared to take responsibility for it, shouldn't you?"
Kosma looked at Dystopia, and for some reason, his mind flashed back to what Silas had said after their previous mission:
"No matter what you think, remember—you still have a few years before you reach adulthood. The Fire Moth doesn't recommend early romance."
Kosma suddenly understood.
(So that's what Dystopia meant… Indeed, this is a very serious matter… Even though I've experienced everything in my previous life, my physical age is still the same as Dystopia's now… But still… does the Fire Moth actually have rules about this? Maybe it's because I never had thoughts like this in my previous life, so I never knew…)
"Indeed, I'm not mature enough right now. Perhaps I don't yet have the ability to accept and shoulder this kind of feeling. Besides, we just had a little spat, so it's normal if you can't immediately accept this," Kosma said. "So… I can wait."
Dystopia blinked. "???"
What is Kosma saying?
Feeling like something might go wrong, Dystopia cleared her throat lightly and said, "I mean…"
"I understand, Dystopia," Kosma cut in, feeling he could take the lead. "After all, the Fire Moth doesn't support early romance. And youthful feelings, from what I've seen in books of a similar kind, aren't always stable. Still, I hope you can trust me."
Dystopia blinked again. "???"
The Fire Moth has rules about this? And Kosma… he actually reads those kinds of books? I thought he only read hero manuals!
Kosma had already said so much, and Dystopia knew there wasn't much else to argue about. But to prevent him from overthinking, she finally spoke:
"Alright. I'll wait until your birthday, when you're officially an adult, and then you can say those words to me again. It's a deal."
Kosma looked puzzled. "I have no problem with that, and I understand waiting for that day. But… why did you want me to say it a second time before?"
Dystopia hesitated. Could she admit that she hadn't expected Kosma to be so straightforward, and that she simply wanted to hear him say it again?
"Forget it. Even if I explained, you probably wouldn't understand, Kosma," she said, feigning exasperation and rubbing her forehead, trying to hide her shyness. But Kosma immediately saw through her attempt to cover her feelings.
(You say I wouldn't understand… but your expression… clearly you're hiding something.)
Before Kosma could speak, Dystopia, blushing, hurriedly added: "Anyway, I'll wait too, because… I really like you, Kosma! So… um, I'll take your words as my tentative answer for now."
She had given up resisting. Kosma was the type to overthink everything, so she had to be explicit, or who knew how he'd interpret her feelings.
Like… how did he even connect her words to the Fire Moth's rule against early romance? Her reply was just a normal response a girl might give when accepting a confession! And as for age… she wasn't much older than Kosma herself…
Kosma froze.
(So that means… she was actually agreeing just now?)
"But at first, I thought you were going to apologize to me or something…" Dystopia took a few steps back. "I didn't expect it to be this… Kosma, remember this—when confessing to a girl, you have to look her in the eyes! Next time… don't forget!"
Then she spun around and ran.
Kosma reached out, stopping midair, staring at her retreating figure, and scratched his head.
(Confessing to a girl… while looking into her eyes… this feels even harder than taking down a Herrscher… But after hearing Dystopia's response, it doesn't seem so scary anymore… This is exactly what Silas said: only by saying it out loud can you face it. I really lack knowledge and experience in this area… I can't always rely on Silas's advice. I'll have to study more tonight… that book… I haven't finished it yet because of time.)
It was a coming-of-age novel. After their mission clash, Kosma had returned to the base, picked up this type of book, and tried to learn some lessons from it.
(And I'll make sure… after the Eighth Herrscher incident… you'll never have to go through that again, Dystopia!)
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