Akira glanced at Alfia, lips parting slightly, as if to say something. Yet the words never came. He swallowed them back. Somehow, he didn't want this moment to end.
Even though exhaustion tugged heavily at his eyelids, demanding rest, even though thoughts of follow-up discussions with Zald and Erebus lingered at the edge of his mind…
Right now, he just wanted to enjoy the stillness, to be still with her.
Maybe… just a short nap. He had earned it. He allowed his body to relax, leaned forward slightly, and closed his eyes. A soft breath escaped his lips as his forehead dipped lower. The strands of his hair brushed gently against Alfia's cheek.
She blinked. The ticklish sensation broke her train of thought, and she turned to see him. Leaning over, asleep, the weariness etched onto his face, his long lashes casting faint shadows beneath his eyes and their hands still clasped together.
She felt it now, warmth spreading from his palm into hers. A comfort she had not known since Meteria passed away.
She should have pulled away. She should have retracted her hand and sat up properly. But instead, her fingers curled inward as if defying her will. She held onto him. She listened to the rhythm of his pulse.
'I really miss this.' She thought to herself quietly.
Lying in the arms of another… fingers intertwined… breathing in the scent of someone warm, someone real. It was so much more intimate than anything she'd allowed herself to feel in years.
Too intimate.
Yet she didn't push him away. She didn't want to. Maybe it was the warmth she hadn't felt in so long…
Maybe it was the fatigue…
Or maybe…
'Hmph.' She grumbled in her heart. 'I'm just not moving so I don't disturb this kid's rest. That's all.'
Even as she told herself that, a strange realization made her freeze.
When had she started lying to herself?
Since when did the arrogant witch who used to scowl at the world become so easily shaken by warmth?
So uncertain… so soft?
Was it because he saved her?
Alfia slowly lifted her gloved hand and stared at it.
Once so cold. So rigid.
Now… trembling slightly.
"…How weak."
She couldn't help but look at Akira's face again, seeing how calm he was.
Looking back on it now, the time they had spent together was fleeting, merely a handful of short moments. Yet within that span, he had stirred her heart more times than she could count.
That teasing compliment that infuriated her. That reckless gesture, risking everything to save her.
'So cunning.' She murmured silently to herself, her lips moving without sound.
When Akira lowered his head in sleep, his slightly messy hair brushed lightly against her collarbone. The feather-like sensation was more terrifying than staring down the Black Dragon itself.
Her body, which had long been ravaged and numbed by years of unrelenting pain, now felt as though it were immersed in a warm spring. Each cell greedily drank in the unfamiliar warmth, as though awakening from a winter that had lasted far too long.
'So strange. What is happening to me?'
"Ugh…"
Akira let out a soft groan, as though caught in a half-conscious dream. His arms, perhaps by reflex, tightened slightly around her slender waist. And it was in that moment, an unguarded, fleeting moment, that Alfia felt it.
A hunger within her heart.
Not for vengeance. Not for battle. But for closeness. For this strange comfort.
'Maybe… my feelings for him have already become something more than just gratitude.' Alfia whispered within herself.
The moment the thought formed, her cheeks flushed with heat. Startled by the direction of her own emotions, she averted her gaze in a panic.
"This is absurd…"
The great witch who once stood atop the world now turned her face away like a flustered girl, struggling to bury a sprouting feeling.
But before she could reflect further, a sharp noise shattered the delicate atmosphere.
A thud, followed by hushed voices outside. Metal lightly clinked together.
The tension in the room snapped instantly.
Alfia's body went rigid, and the warmth in her eyes gave way to alertness. She sat up slightly, ears straining.
A knock echoed through the door, followed by Zald's low voice. "Akira, was the treatment successful?"
He and Erebus had been waiting outside for too long without hearing a single sound. Worry crept into their minds and, with no choice, Zald had come to check.
Alfia's heart skipped a beat. Her current posture, leaning against Akira, cradled in his lap, was far too compromising.
If Zald saw them like this…
She didn't even want to imagine it. He would never let her live it down.
She tried to slip free from Akira's hold, but found herself unable to.
The boy's slumber was deeper than she had anticipated, and perhaps his arms had tightened around her in his sleep. A protective reflex.
"Hey, wake up." Alfia whispered urgently, patting his arm while glancing nervously at the door.
Her eyes sharpened. She didn't need Zald making idiotic assumptions. He'd definitely tease her. Worse, he might even try to play matchmaker. And with his meddlesome, fun-loving personality, there was no doubt he'd do something shameless.
Akira stirred, his eyes slowly blinking open, unfocused from sleep.
"Huh…"
Then he saw her expression.
Serious. Nervous. Eyes darting toward the door. That woke him up instantly. His gaze shifted toward the door just as Zald prepared to knock a third time.
Akira's arms loosened immediately, and he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Sorry. I must've fallen asleep too deeply."
"It's alright. I was careless too." Alfia shook her head softly, though her eyes still held some unspoken complexity.
Clearing his throat, Akira raised his voice toward the door. "Uncle, the treatment was successful. Give us a minute."
Then he turned to Alfia and helped her sit upright, straightening his own clothes while stifling a yawn.
Alfia cast him a sidelong glance. Nothing was said, but her eyes asked the question.
You really okay?
Akira noticed and smiled warmly. "Don't worry. Just a little tired. A short nap and I'll be back to normal."
Hmm. It seemed that saving Alfia had changed something. Her words came softer now. Her expression more transparent.
"Mm." Alfia nodded faintly, eyes lowered.
Then, Akira suddenly remembered something. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a pair of black gloves. They closely resembled the "souvenir" Alfia had given him back then but these were even more refined.
At the wrist, a silver chain was woven into the design, embedded with multiple glimmering teleportation magic stones, each one inscribed with the blood Akira had personally collected before.
He offered them to her with a smile and said, "Here, a return gift."
Alfia blinked, stunned for a moment. Then, slowly, she reached out and took them. Her fingers gently traced the intricate embroidery, her thumb gliding over the cold surface of the magic stones.
Akira said casually, raising a brow, "You gave me a glove, so I'm giving you one too. You don't mind, right?"
Oh, and he hadn't even told her what the necklace could do yet.
She raised her head to look at him, really look, and her gaze sparkled with something unreadable.
Gratitude? Bitterness? Surprise? Joy?
A storm of emotions churned quietly in her chest.
Thank you. No, that wasn't right. Too soft. Too unlike her.
Alfia smirked instead, a bit of that old arrogance surfacing again. "A pretty good gift. I'll accept it."
Then she slipped the glove on. The size fit perfectly, as if it had been made just for her.
"It suits you." Akira said with an appreciative smile.