Chapter 49
The Guards took ‘Mercy’ into custody, and we headed back to the dorm.
“Those guys. They were definitely trying to kill you, right?”
“Seems that way.”
Before we fought ‘Mercy,’ the attacker had said this.
-God desired your death.
In other words, it had definitely been an attack aimed at me.
But why? Wasn’t the Baekcheon Church targeting students who’d enrolled at the academy? Why me...
“Come to think of it, Plia.”
“Yeah?”
“What exactly is the Baekcheon Church?”
“Oh.”
Right, I’d promised to tell him.
But how was I supposed to explain it...
“Um... a cult of fanatics?”
“...That’s all?”
“...Yeah.”
Well, for now, they were just your average cult fanatics.
The problem was that those cultists were absurdly strong.
“Huh... So two people with powers belonged to nothing more than a cult of fanatics? And from what I’ve heard, they weren’t even the only ones.”
“...”
“An ordinary cult with all these dangerous people who have powers... What a strange thing.”
Ian said with a cold smile.
Still, it was classified information, so I couldn’t just blurt it all out.
“Sigh... Fine. I doubt I’ll get a better answer by asking more.”
“...Sorry.”
“It’s fine. More importantly, let’s think about what’s happening now. Do you think they’ll attack again?”
“...Yeah. Definitely.”
They’d probably heard an oracle.
Whether it was a message from a god or one from a demon.
Since they took the form of a religion, they’d obey an oracle without question.
Which meant they’d keep targeting me...
“The next attack will be more carefully planned.”
“I think so, too.”
They must’ve decided they couldn’t catch us with an attack like this.
People with powers were rare.
Usually much rarer than Masters.
As things stood, the only person with a power was the Hero.
I didn’t know how they’d gathered those users, but there couldn’t be many.
Even if they’d been gathering them for centuries by some means, there still couldn’t be that many.
At most, twelve or thirteen.
They’d already lost three power users, so they’d be more cautious next time.
They’d make sure they could escape immediately.
Or...
“They could make sure they kill us.”
“Right.”
The former would at least be manageable, but the latter couldn’t be allowed to happen, not even by chance.
It would mean a force capable of taking on three Masters at once was coming.
Or they might assassinate us before we could respond at all.
Either way, we’d be done for.
“Sigh...”
This was giving me a headache...
“Cheer up, Plia.”
-Pat
“Yeah... Huh?”
While I held my aching head, Ian offered me some words of comfort.
As he patted my head.
“...Huh?”
-Pat.
“What are you doing right now...!”
-Paaat~
“Mmm...”
Ah, this feels really nice... No, that’s not the point!
-Smack!
“W-w-w-what are you doing?!”
“Hm? You looked so down, so I thought I’d cheer you up a little. What man wants to see the woman he loves looking so dejected?”
“...Ugh.”
Flirting so naturally again...
“Th-that doesn’t mean you can touch a lady’s head without asking...”
“Hm? So if I ask, I can pat it?”
“No, that’s not what I...”
“I’m going to pat your head, Plia.”
-Pat-pat.
“Haa...”
Why does this feel so good...
“I’m glad you seem to like it.”
“You...! I swear, I’ll...”
-Pat-pat-pat
“Eek...”
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”
“You little...”
-Pat-pat-pat-pat
“Hic...”
This jerk was deliberately patting my head whenever I tried to speak...!
-Paaat~
“I love you, Plia.”
“Hnh...! Don’t pat me...”
“Even if another day like today comes, I’ll always protect you. So don’t worry.”
“...”
Ian’s expression as he said that was painfully serious.
You bastard.
What am I supposed to do when you say that with such a worried look?
“Sigh...”
-Thump!
“P-Plia?”
“...”
I leaned my back against Ian.
Well... I only did it because I felt sorry for him looking so worried.
He could pat me until he was satisfied.
...
I shouldn’t have given him permission.
With my silent permission, Ian suddenly took me into the bedroom, sat me on his lap, and began patting my head.
“...Am I a little kid?”
“What’s wrong with that? You’re cute.”
“...Tch.”
Honestly, where does he learn all those cheesy lines?
“Oh. Your ears are red.”
“I-It’s because I’m hot! I’m hot!”
“Sure, sure.”
He didn’t believe me at all...
“Sigh... Isn’t it about time you stopped?”
“No? Since you gave me permission once, I’m going to keep doing this even after you fall asleep.”
“Oh, is that so... Huh?”
What? Even after I fall asleep?
“You’ve been kidnapped.”
“...Sigh.”
Where does he learn stuff like that?
“Do whatever you want.”
“I was going to, even without you saying so.”
Then Ian really did pat my head without holding back.
He was even good at it, and it felt pretty nice.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to let him have my head like this sometimes...
‘...No. Get a grip.’
I must be crazy.
“By the way, Plia.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you decided who’ll be on your team for the base-capture exercise?”
“Oh, that. Of course.”
The base-capture exercise was one of the academy’s training activities.
Teams of three were formed, then two teams were designated as the attackers and defenders.
The attackers won if they captured the base within the allotted time.
The defenders won if they protected it until the time was up.
It was basically a mini siege battle.
“Really? Who?”
“Obviously you and Arin.”
“Right?”
When I said I’d team up with him, Ian looked really happy.
Was he that happy?
“Of course. I don’t want to be apart from the person I love for even a moment.”
“Is that so? Good for you. I’m happy to be teamed up with someone special, too.”
“Wha—?!”
Ian’s face turned bright red when I called him special.
He’d even stopped patting my head and frozen up, so he must’ve been pretty surprised.
But here’s the thing.
“Of course, by someone special, I mean Arin. She’s my best friend.”
“Ugh...! You!”
“Bleh.”
Hmph. I’m not just going to let you get the better of me.
No, maybe I should take it one step further.
“Of course, you’re special, too.”
“...Huh?”
“It’s not like I’d let just anyone pat my head, you know?”
Even among my family, the only person who’d ever patted my head was my mother, Lauren.
“You’re plenty special to me, too.”
“...”
-Hug!
“...Eh.”
As I giggled at Ian, whose face had gone red right to the tips of his ears, he suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.
...Didn’t see that coming.
“...Ian?”
“...This is your fault.”
“What do you mean... Eek?!”
Ian lay down on the bed without letting go of me.
“You’re sleeping like this tonight. It’s your punishment.”
“What kind of...”
Of course, it wasn’t as if I’d never slept in the same bed as Ian.
Before we came to the special dormitory, we’d sometimes slept together, and after moving in, we’d slept together almost every day.
But... we’d never been this close... had we?
-Squeeze
“Hng...”
Ian hugged me tightly from behind.
Somehow, his grip seemed to be getting stronger...
“Seriously... you’re doing this?”
“Yeah.”
He really had no intention of letting me go like this.
Sigh...
-Grab
“...Just this once.”
I took hold of Ian’s hand as he hugged me from behind and slowly closed my eyes.
The warm sensation of being held captive wasn’t unpleasant, in its own way.
...
“You’re plenty special to me, too.”
...The moment I heard those words, it felt like the world had stopped.
I know that’s an incredibly clichéd way to put it, but I couldn’t think of any other way to describe it.
Special... to her?
Of course, I knew she hadn’t meant it romantically.
But I couldn’t say that was entirely untrue, either.
So I took a bold step forward.
“You’re plenty special to me, too.”
“...”
-Hug!
“...Eh.”
Keeping her seated on my lap, I pulled Plia into a tight hug.
Plia was surprisingly susceptible to a bold move.
“...Ian?”
“...This is your fault.”
“What do you mean... Eek?!”
The proof was that she didn’t really protest when I lay down on the bed with her in my arms.
If she really hated it, she would’ve shaken me off long ago.
“You’re sleeping like this tonight. It’s your punishment.”
“What kind of...”
Honestly, I knew it was an excuse, but if I didn’t do this, I didn’t know what I might do.
If I gave in to her unintentional seduction and pounced on her... our relationship would fall apart right there.
Better to hold back a little and take things slowly.
...That is, if you could call this taking things slowly.
“Hng...”
Even when I hugged Plia a little tighter, she didn’t show any sign of disliking it.
If anything...
-Grab
“...Just this once.”
Plia took my hand in hers.
Seriously. How could she be this cute? It was hard to resist.
‘Be prepared, Plia. Even if you beg me in tears later, I won’t let you off.’
I tightened my arms around Plia and thought to myself.