Stop It

“What I want to say...?”

Overwhelmed by how serious he was, I found myself repeating the Hero’s words.

The Hero answered with a nod.

“Yeah. Actually, I was going to tell you later, but I don’t think I can wait... So there’s something I really want to tell you.”

“O-Oh, I see.”

What could he possibly want to say that he kept hedging so much?

It made me swallow nervously and tense up.

The Hero stared directly at me, so intently that it was hard to meet his eyes.

Was it just my imagination, or could I see courage in those eyes?

Then the Hero seemed to take a deep breath...