Before I knew it, evening had already fallen, and Lina still hadn't woken up. After checking on her condition, I got up to make dinner.
I wasn't sure when she'd wake, but maybe the smell of food would do the trick. Not that Lina's a glutton or anything—it's just a possibility.
Halfway through cooking, I heard a knock from her room. She must've woken up. I hurried there and saw her on the floor, trying to push herself up. I rushed over to help her.
Now we were both sitting on the floor. I first made sure she was all right.
"Lina, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
"No."
"Does anything hurt?"
She must have fallen off the bed earlier.
"My hands and knees. I hit them when I fell, but it doesn't hurt too much."
"I see… that's a relief."
Thank goodness. My heart finally calmed down after seeing that she wasn't seriously hurt.
"Karen, do you smell something burning?"
The moment Lina mentioned it, I caught a whiff of something scorched too. Burning…?
"Oh no! I'm still cooking!"
I jumped to my feet, leaving Lina behind, and rushed back to the kitchen. The food was already blackened. I quickly removed the pan from the stove.
While staring at the burnt mess, I sighed.
(Well… guess we'll have one less dish tonight.)
"Karen, is everything okay?" Lina asked from behind me.
"It's not. We've lost one dish for dinner."
"Was it the meat!?"
"No, just the shredded potatoes and radish."
"Oh, thank goodness."
Seriously, all she cares about is the meat? Can't she at least worry about the vegetables a little? They're healthy, you know. But I wasn't in the mood to lecture her. I was still more worried about her condition.
"Lina, go have a seat. I'll finish this up soon."
I didn't bother asking if she had an appetite—her panic over the meat was proof enough that she did.
"I'll help you."
"No need. I want to ask you about what happened this afternoon anyway. Think about why it happened."
I didn't want her helping because she'd just woken up—her head might still be spinning. It'd be better for her to stay put and calm down.
"…Mm."
Her tone sounded a bit deflated, and her face wasn't exactly bright either. Was she upset that I turned her down? Maybe. But I really needed her to recall what happened earlier. If I didn't sound a little firm, she might insist on helping.
(I'm sorry, Lina.)
My heart was filled with guilt. I'd have to make the tastiest meal I could to make it up to her.
During dinner, Lina stayed quiet the whole time, her expression gloomy. Because of that, my mood soured too.
(Damn it, it's all my fault. My stupid curiosity… couldn't it have waited until tomorrow? Now the mood's all awkward.)
After we finished eating, I decided to postpone washing the dishes and finally asked her what I'd been holding back.
"Lina, can you tell me why you fainted earlier?"
She'd kept her head down since dinner started, but now she slowly looked up. Her face carried a look of guilt, as if she thought she'd done something wrong. After a short pause, she spoke.
"…When I was controlling the water sphere, I focused all my energy on it. If I lost concentration even for a moment, it would've burst. But then I suddenly felt really tired… and everything went black."
"I see. I understand now."
I rested my chin on my hand, thinking it through. Lina fainted from overconcentration, which meant controlling that water sphere must've been extremely difficult—maybe even beyond her limits.
Then Lina nervously asked me,
"Karen… are you… mad?"
"Mad?"
"…Mm."
Ah, she must mean about earlier. My poor heart again.
"I'm not mad. I was just worried about you. If I made you feel bad, then I'm sorry."
I told her honestly—I wasn't angry at all.
"N-no, I'm not upset."
Even though she smiled, her face still looked a bit downcast. I couldn't help feeling guilty again, thinking I needed to make it up to her somehow.
"Lina."
I called her name first to get her attention.
"What?"
"Whatever you want me to do tonight—I'll say yes to it."
"Really?"
Her eyes widened with surprise, then softened into a happy look. This was the least I could do.
"Really. But just for today."
After saying that, I started gathering the dishes to wash them. Lina seemed deep in thought, not noticing what I was doing.
Halfway through washing, she suddenly appeared beside me.
"Karen, why didn't you ask me to help?"
"Because you looked like you were thinking about something."
"…Mm. I'll help you."
She paused before replying, but now that she insisted, I couldn't refuse.
"Okay."
After we finished cleaning up, we took baths, read a bit, and it was time for bed.
Through all of that, Lina never asked me to do anything.
(She really doesn't have anything she wants me to do?)
For some reason, I felt a little lonely.
Lying in bed, I stared at the ceiling when I suddenly felt a tug on my sleeve—twice. I turned to look.
It was Lina, holding onto me, her expression almost pleading.
When she noticed I was looking, she whispered,
"Karen… can I sleep while holding you?"
"Eh?"
(Does she mean literally pressed up against me? We're only 6 years old, but… isn't that a bit too close?)
Seeing me hesitate, Lina looked a little unhappy. Then, in the cutest voice imaginable, she said the one thing I couldn't say no to.
"Didn't you say you'd agree to anything I asked?"
"Of course I'll agree. I just got surprised, that's all."
Lina rubbed her hands together shyly, then sat up, gently moved my left arm aside so it lined up with the pillow, and rested her head on my arm.
Then she made another request. At this point, I'd given up thinking altogether.
"Can I hug you?"
"You can."
"Then you hug me too."
"Okay."
Even though I'd surrendered to her requests, I couldn't help but notice every detail of the girl in my arms—her snow-white hair shining under the moonlight, her warmth, the way she kept rubbing her cheek against me.
(Did Lina nap too long this afternoon? Whatever… time to sleep.)
"Lina, good night."
"Good night, Karen."
A lot had happened today—the Shadowgem, the new magic, Lina fainting, and now… sleeping while holding each other.
I felt especially tired tonight, maybe because it was my first full day of work.
Eventually, I fell asleep with Lina in my arms, not knowing whether she'd already drifted off or not.
My head rested on Karen's arm, and my hands hugged his waist, because he said he would agree to any request I made.
During dinner earlier, I was almost scared to tears. When he said "No need" in that cold tone, it really frightened me—I thought he disliked me. But it turned out he was just worried about me.
(I'm so glad I had the courage to ask Karen.)
Being held by Karen was really comforting. It made me unconsciously put all my weight on him, though it felt a little lonely to be the only one hugging.
"Then you hug me too."
"Okay."
After saying that, I felt like I was asking for too much, but Karen didn't complain. He just placed his hand on my back and gently pressed, making our bodies feel even closer.
I pressed my face against Karen's chest, and everything went black in front of my eyes. At that moment, a feeling I had never experienced before filled me, different from the warmth I felt when my parents hugged me.
I rubbed my face against Karen's chest, hugging him tighter. I finally understood how happy it was to be held by someone you like.
(This is Karen's first time holding me too.)
That thought made me realize that I had hugged Karen so many times these past few days, but he had never hugged me back. It was okay though—there would be more chances.
I was too excited to sleep. I looked up at Karen; he was already asleep.
He had worked really hard today, so he must be exhausted.
Since I couldn't sleep, I thought about what happened this afternoon. Controlling the water ball was possible—I just hadn't found the right technique yet.
(If I focus too much, I'll pass out. If I don't focus enough, it will explode. How should I do it to succeed?)
I wanted to succeed and surprise Karen.
(Forget it. I'll think about it tomorrow. If I stay up any longer, I'll oversleep.)
Even though I told myself to sleep, I wasn't tired at all, and Karen was already snoring.
Then Karen moved, his hand that had been behind my back slipped away, and he shifted from lying on his side back to flat on his back.
I grabbed his waist to pull him back, but my strength couldn't hold him for long, and he returned to lying flat again.
I tried a few more times—leaning his weight onto me, hooking his feet with mine—but no matter what, Karen always ended up flat again, and I messed up the blankets.
(Karen's hug is over…)
I sighed through my nose, giving up on keeping him hugging me. I hadn't enjoyed it enough yet, and feeling cold, I wanted to fix the blanket over us.
Then I felt something press against my back. Karen moved again, turning onto his side, and his right hand moved too, resting behind me as if pulled by his body. The blanket lifted with him and now covered us completely.
Now Karen was holding me again, tighter than before. Maybe he was dreaming.
I felt something on the back of my head, stroking gently—it felt so nice.
Then I heard singing by my ear.
"Sleep tight~ Sleep tight~ Child, drift off to sleep~ Sleep tight~ Sleep tight~ Child, drift off to sleep~…"
Hearing the softly repeated song, I realized Karen was awake. It was his hand that had been stroking me.
The song itself was somehow soothing, and the repeating voice made me sleepy. I was about to drift off.
(Falling asleep while being held by Karen… I'm so happy.)
With that thought, I finally fell into a peaceful sleep.