"Um, Yuusuke-san, is something wrong?"
Lisha asked, her concern evident.
Oh, how kind-hearted she was to extend such a compassionate voice to even a hopeless loser like me – truly a saint.
I had tried to mercilessly abandon such a gentle girl.
"...I guess I'm destined to be dumped."
"? What are you talking about?"
"No, it's nothing."
I rolled onto the floor and covered my eyes with my arm. It must have been around 8 PM by now. After dinner with Lisha, I had no motivation to do anything, so I lay there. I hadn't attended any classes either. Before I knew it, Hinata had returned home with Lisha.
I couldn't remember what they talked about, but Lisha seemed to have enjoyed herself. The demons didn't show up either, which was a huge relief. I didn't want to think about what kind of embarrassing spectacle I'd put on if a fight broke out now.
"Um, Yuusuke-san."
"What is it?"
You can watch TV if you want; just don't open the computer. If a 16-year-old girl like Lisha found erotic videos, I'd seriously have to contemplate death.
"No, it's not about TV."
"Then what? If you want snacks, we have some lying around."
"It's not snacks either."
Lisha interrupted my words and denied them. Right after that, a small hand shook my shoulder.
What is it...?
I moved my heavy arm and turned towards the voice, but Lisha's face was unexpectedly close.
"Is something wrong with you? If so, I believe I can alleviate it with my magic."
"...No, it's not like that."
"I see. Well, that's good then."
Lisha started to fidget a bit.
What's wrong?
But I'm a guy with tact, so I didn't say something like, "Do you need to go to the bathroom?" Say that when you're camping, and you'll get death stares from women. It's a nightmare.
Even so, seeing a 16-year-old beauty fidgeting in front of me gave off a certain criminal vibe.
"Um, I don't think I can repay the favor I received from you with something like this, but at least..."
"Hmm..."
I sat up and looked at what Lisha was offering. It was a pendant made of braided decorative string in the shape of a flower.
"What's this?"
"I made this using the friendship bracelet Hinata-san and I bought together."
"Huumir...?"
"You're familiar with it, aren't you? Did that tradition also exist in your family?"
"Eh, uh, yeah! Well, something like that!"
I nodded instinctively. Huumir was a type of protective charm made by humans from the Holy Goddess Church on Asteris. They braided decorative strings into various shapes, and almost everyone on Asteris had one.
"Huumir is an amulet created by infusing each braid with prayers. This one is in the shape of an iris, symbolizing protection in battle. I don't really think something like this will help in a fight, but I wanted to repay you in some way."
Lisha modestly stated, but the Huumir in her hand was of excellent craftsmanship. I had no idea how to make such a beautiful flower through braiding. I had tried making one myself back in the day, but what I ended up with resembled some four-legged walking monster more than a flower.
"No, thank you. I really appreciate it."
"Really?"
Lisha's face brightened as if a weight had been lifted.
Actually, why would a 16-year-old beauty go out of her way to give an amulet to a guy who deserved to be dumped?
Maybe it was because my heart was weakened, but I couldn't help but ask Lisha.
"Hey, Lisha."
"Yes, what is it?"
"I'm just thinking now, is it okay for you to trust someone like me?"
"What do you mean by 'someone like you'?"
"I mean, I've rejected your requests twice already. Can you really trust someone like me?"
Normally, it would be impossible. I would be constantly worried about being betrayed at crucial moments. I couldn't easily trust someone I hadn't even had a proper conversation with.
However, Lisha tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
"It's me who made the impolite request, so it's only natural to be refused."
"Well, even so, being refused like that is unpleasant."
"That's..."
Lisha hesitated for a moment.
"I have to admit, there were times when I thought you were a heartless person."
To think she went that far. Well, looking back on it now, it was an utterly heartless way to turn her down.
Then, Lisha looked at me with gentle eyes. They were filled with so much compassion that I couldn't believe she was just sixteen.
"Even so, I trust my eyes and instincts. I asked you because I felt I could entrust my life to you, Yuusuke-san."
"Someone like me, abandoning a girl in need like this."
"You were right to refuse, Yuusuke-san. Besides, if you were really the type to abandon someone, wouldn't you have ignored me when I was being chased by demons, or when I was fighting? You wouldn't have come to help me, would you?"
"...If someone is truly good, they actively come to help."
"I was told that there are no truly good people in this world. Trustworthy individuals are those who can consider both good and bad things and choose the latter. Yuusuke-san, you are one of those who can do that."
"You're overestimating me."
"In that case, I'll continue to overestimate you."
I couldn't stand looking at Lisha's smiling face, so I averted my gaze. Despite her sheltered upbringing, or maybe because of it, Lisha saw the world with pure eyes. It was as if her pure-heartedness pierced through my tainted heart.
"Oh, but still, requesting my body as a reward is... um... it would be better if you refrained. That kind of thing is indecent."
"No, I've never asked for anything like that, right? That's all your imagination."
I sighed and, taking the Huumir from Lisha's hand, I put it in my wallet. This way, I wouldn't lose it.
Then I straightened up.
"Now, Lisha."
"Yes, what is it?"
"I want to have a serious conversation."
"Understood."
Saying that, Lisha also straightened up. She already had a good posture, so it wasn't really necessary, but it didn't matter.
"I've been thinking about a few things since yesterday. I don't think we can just wait around."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I thought that if we repelled the coming enemy, we could manage for about half a year. But if demons were to come to that university, it would still be a problem."
"...I see."
I recalled the grounds that Lisha, Hinata, and I had walked around today. At first, I had thought it unlikely that they would attack during the day, but if demons were to appear there...
When I thought about it that way, I realized that there should be no room for even the slightest possibility. Tsukiko, Souji, Hinata, Matsuda, my precious friends, there were many of them there.
Even if it was just a little bit, if somewhere suddenly turned into a battlefield, whether it was at the university or in this area, if someone got hurt or died, my heart would ache uncontrollably.
"So, I think we should take the initiative."
Saying that, Lisha's eyes widened in surprise.
"You mean, challenging the demons?"
For her, who had spent the past six months constantly running from pursuers, such a thought probably never crossed her mind. The demons were that strong in her eyes.
"Yeah, fortunately, this God-Demon War seems to involve a limited number of opponents. So, if we can take out even one of them, the threat will decrease significantly. And for that..."
At this point, I looked at Lisha with a serious gaze.
"Lisha, I need your power."
"My power?"
"Yeah, judging from what I saw yesterday, your magic creates a Magic Domain to protect something, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. But... Yuusuke-san's magic and mine, they don't really complement each other well."
Right, as Lisha mentioned, her magic and mine didn't have good compatibility. That's because I excelled in close combat, while Lisha's magic was more suited for long-range spellcasting that took time to build up.
However, we could also look at it differently. Lisha's magic might be the most compatible with mine.
"Listen, Lisha, I'm confident that I can defeat almost anyone in a one-on-one fight. But there's something I'm not good at."
"What is it?"
"Protecting many things at once."
That was my constant weakness.
I might not fall behind in close combat, but the range I can protect is very limited.
When it comes to protecting something or healing wounds, my magic isn't all that useful.
"So, Lisha, you'll be the one to protect. The lives, livelihoods, and the environment of the people living here. If you do that, I can go all out and take care of our opponents."
"...I'll protect them."
Lisha whispered and clenched her fist over her chest.
I was aware that I was giving an unreasonable request to a sixteen-year-old girl, but it had to be done.
If the demons and I were to engage in a serious battle, even the aftermath alone would easily devastate the town. A mere barrier wouldn't be enough to protect everyone. That's where Lisha came in.
Lisha took a deep breath and raised her head.
"I understand. I will protect everything that's important to you, Yuusuke-san."
"Yeah, I'm counting on you."
I could entrust it to Lisha. It had only been two days since I first met her, and yet, why did I trust her this much? Maybe this was the power of a saint, I wished I could exchange it for the power of a hero.
While I was thinking about that, Lisha suddenly exclaimed, "Oh!"
"What's wrong?"
"Well, I currently have very little magic power, so I'd appreciate some time to recover..."
"Oh, I see."
Now that I thought about it, demons primarily operated during the nighttime. This also applied to Lisha, who used magic. No, wait...
"Lisha, do you know how to perform magic recovery breathing?"
"Huh? Um, yes, you mean the Circulation Breathing method?"
That was a technique used by magicians in Asteris to intentionally absorb a significant amount of aether into their bodies and recover magic power.
I did it all the time, as it was the only way to maintain my magic daily. I could only be a hero when I was using magic, after all.
"In that case, what have you done in this room?"
"Um... nothing so far."
"Then let's give it a try."
"Um, okay."
Lisha closed her eyes and started performing the Circulation Breathing. Shortly after, she opened her eyes and looked at me in surprise.
"Yu... Yuusuke-san! The aether in this room is incredibly dense!"
"Actually, I wonder why I didn't notice it until now. Maybe it's because I live here, but this room has always had this kind of atmosphere."
"Um... I thought it was due to the overflowing magic power from your body."
"No, I usually keep my magic power hidden."
That's why I appeared as an ordinary person when I didn't use magic.
Speaking of which, places where spirits or divine beasts lived tended to have dense aether. I didn't know whether it was because they liked dense places or because they created dense areas, but it was probably a bit of both.
"Anyway, you should continue practicing the Circulation Breathing here until you go to sleep today. If possible, it's better to do it even while sleeping."
"Um, can you really do Circulation Breathing while sleeping?"
"At least I can."
"Neither the person who taught me nor the one who came to this world with me could do that..."
Well, with practice, people might be able to do it. However, it wasn't something they could start doing overnight.
"Alright, I'll do it for a while since there's nothing else to do."
"Okay, understood!"
I crossed my legs facing Lisha, and tried to calm my mind.
Lisha had already closed her eyes and started performing deep breaths.
Exhale deeply, inhale deeply. The movement was fine for ordinary people, but for Lisha, it changed the situation significantly.
That was because her chest moved with her breath. Like a moving mountain. Not just a little – it was moving a lot. And there were two of them, to top it off.
However, I focused on maintaining my usual Circulation Breathing while closing my eyelids.
...But then, what was it about the lack of visual input that made Lisha's breathing sound strangely loud? With the two of us in this small room, facing each other like this, it felt like a potentially dangerous situation.
It was hard to put into words what was so concerning, but I was determined to pour all my energy into not becoming overly aware of Lisha's presence.
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