Chapter 9: A Confession Left Unanswered?

“Drip, drip, drip…”

As the sky became overcast with dark clouds and thunder rumbled, a light rain began to fall.

Pedestrians still on the streets were desperately rushing home before the rain got heavier.

And at a street corner, a “corpse” was lying there…

As the rain fell harder and harder… this “corpse” stirred…

“Ah… it hurts.”

As the raindrops fell on my face, I regained consciousness.

I shook my still somewhat groggy head, and the blurry image before my eyes slowly came into focus.

“Ah… it hurts so much… what happened? Why am I sleeping here?”

I patted my still-dizzy head, and my memory slowly started to return…

“Smack!”

“…Lewd……… sob sob sob……”

…

Mhm, I remember now.

I was messing with a blonde tsundere loli, did something stupid to make her cry, and was rewarded with a slap.

Then I was sent spinning and flying through the air, spinning and flying, spinning and flying…

Then I crashed into the ground and passed out…

After confirming several times that I was indeed sent spinning into the air by a single slap, I finally came to accept this utterly shameful way of being knocked out.

It was supposed to be a mind-reading test, but thinking about stuff like tentacle play with the blonde tsundere loli… it was definitely my fault.

When it comes down to it, I brought all of this on myself!!

“Still, for a girl, she’s way too strong, able to slap me spinning into the air. Are all the girls in this other world this strong?”

Even though a lot of time has passed, my face is still burning with pain, and there’s a clear, bright red handprint on it.

Suddenly, without warning, I thought of Aisilis.

As a 13th-rank Grand Swordmaster, Aisilis’s strength is beyond doubt.

If I accept Aisilis’s confession and we become a couple, we’ll undoubtedly face disagreements and such in the future.

If we get into an argument… and Aisilis gets emotional and resorts to violence…

I’ve heard that a 13th-rank Grand Swordmaster can destroy a city single-handedly.

Mmm~ my fate would be quite tragic…

Excellent, I’ve thought of another reason not to accept Aisilis’s confession…

My resolve to reject Aisilis is growing stronger and stronger.

Sigh… but I can’t believe my 90-degree perfect bow of apology technique didn’t work.

Is it really because of my attitude?

No, that’s not right. A normal person would have been scared out of their wits and fled in terror upon seeing my apology method.

I was just unlucky today to run into a tsundere loli who can read minds.

If it were anyone else, today would have been my victory, absolutely…

Thinking this, I felt a lot better.

“Achoo~”

A sneeze made me realize I was still standing in the rain.

From the time I woke up from my unconscious state until now, I’ve been standing in the rain for a good while, and I’m not wearing much today, so it’s only natural that I’d sneeze…

I really don’t want to catch a cold or get a fever or anything… so I started heading towards Aisilis’s place.

Although I still don’t really want to go back right now, I have nowhere else to go…

“I need to quickly think of an excuse to stall Aisilis, then I can leave.”

On the way, I would occasionally see one or two people running towards their homes in the heavy rain, but I continued to walk slowly, letting the rain fall on me.

My whole body was already soaked, so there was no point in rushing.

And seeing as I was about to arrive at her place… I still hadn’t thought of a single excuse…

“Maybe I just won’t go back today. I’ll stay somewhere else for the night and leave any issues for my future self to deal with. Mmm… good idea, let’s do that.”

Just as I had decided to spend the night at the maid cafe,

“Yuren❤”

A familiar voice called out to me.

I turned my head stiffly and saw Aisilis, holding a white umbrella, smiling at me…

“Yo… Ai-Aisilis, long time no see, ah… ahahaha… what am I even saying ⊙﹏⊙‖∣”

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you just leave the house this morning? You must be very tired. Look at you, you’re soaked to the bone. I’ve already prepared a bath for you. Hurry home and change your clothes. If you catch a cold, I’ll be heartbroken~”

As Aisilis complained, she took my hand and started walking towards her home…

Wait a minute… what’s with this atmosphere…

Why does this sound so much like what a wife would say to her husband when he comes home after a long day of work?

This is not good. This scene is very bad for me.

I haven’t even accepted her confession, and Aisilis is already acting from the perspective of a wife?

I haven’t even thought of an excuse yet, and Aisilis has already put me in check.

If this continues, it will be even harder for me to refuse Aisilis’s confession later.

Damn it… I need to think of something quickly…

“Alright, Yuren, go take your bath. The food will be ready soon, you must be hungry~ After you’re done with your bath, we’ll eat.”

“Phew~”

Soaking in the wooden tub, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Luckily, Aisilis didn’t ask me for my answer to her confession as soon as she saw me.

Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have known what to say…

Okay, while I still have some time, I should think of a good excuse to temporarily stall Aisilis…

“Hmm… hmm… hmm…”

Humming an unknown tune, Aisilis, wearing an apron, was cooking in front of the stove.

Then, Aisilis glanced in the direction of the bathroom, took out a red bottle from her bosom, and dripped a few drops into the simmering soup.

Then she smiled and looked at the red bottle…

‘I’ll keep this desire water as a backup. Although I’m sure Yuren won’t refuse my confession, just in case he does, I’ll use this. By then, once the deed is done, it will be impossible for Yuren to refuse even if he wants to.’

As if she had thought of something, the smile on Aisilis’s face became even brighter…

“Yuren should be about done with his bath. Mmm, I need to hurry.”

She looked at the crystal in her hand.

An image of Yuren Xing appeared in the crystal…

That’s right, it was Yuren Xing, still soaking in the wooden tub…

After Yuren Xing went out today, Aisilis had installed these monitoring crystals in every room.

The surveillance feed was transmitted directly to the crystal, with the purpose, of course, of being able to monitor Yuren Xing at all times.

Although these were generally used for monitoring criminals, it didn’t matter to Aisilis at all.

She felt neither troubled nor guilty.

Compared to these things, Aisilis cared more about everything related to Yuren Xing.

She wanted to know everything about Yuren Xing.

Whether it was Yuren Xing’s privacy, soul, spirit, or body, Aisilis wanted to understand it all, and then possess it.

She wanted to make Yuren Xing a person with no secrets in front of her.

She wanted to become an existence that understood him even better than he understood himself.

As for Yuren Xing’s own wishes? She never even considered them.

If it weren’t for her still being concerned about Yuren Xing’s own will, Aisilis would have imprisoned him long ago.

For Aisilis, rather than letting Yuren Xing go out traveling and face dangers, she would much rather have him stay at home all the time.

Yes, like becoming a useless person, completely dependent on her.

It should be said that she hopes Yuren Xing becomes a useless person…

And as for the definition of danger: leaving her side or not being within her line of sight.

Then Yuren Xing is in danger.

Aisilis, this woman, years of waiting have completely twisted her love for Yuren Xing.

“Together for a lifetime, protect for a lifetime.”

These promises made in childhood, for Aisilis, it was as if they had just happened yesterday.

Watching Yuren Xing get out of the wooden tub, Aisilis licked her lips.

“You’d better not disappoint me, Yuren❤ hehe~”

Under the light, the smiling Aisilis appeared even more bewitching and captivating…

“Phew~”

Taking a deep breath, I opened the bathroom door and came into the living room with some trepidation.

By the way, I didn’t come up with a good excuse at all…

“Are you done with your bath, Yuren?”

“Er… mhm, I’m done.”

“Then let’s eat. I’ve made a lot of… Yuren!”

Just as I was about to walk over, Aisilis suddenly called my name sternly.

“W-what’s wrong?”

I was a little flustered. Is it finally coming…

“What’s with the handprint on your face?”

“Eh…?”

Faced with an Aisilis who had never been so serious before, I thought she was going to ask for my answer, but I didn’t expect it to be about something completely unrelated.

At this moment, I was a little grateful to the blonde tsundere loli.

As for the slap mark on my face… because I was soaked to the bone when I was outside, my face was pale and bloodless, so it wasn’t visible then. Has it reappeared now because the bath got my blood circulating freely again…?

Faced with Aisilis’s gloomy and cold expression, I couldn’t help but shiver.

“It’s nothing, I just brought it on myself. It’s fine, let’s eat.”

Smiling, I said this and then walked to the dining table to sit down.

Aisilis frowned for a moment, but seeing that I didn’t want to talk about it, she didn’t ask again.

After peacefully finishing the meal, I let out a burp.

I have to say, Aisilis’s cooking skills are quite good…

Just as I was wearing a look of enjoyment, Aisilis spoke up.

“So… Yuren❤, about this morning’s confession, what’s your reply?”

It’s here. It’s finally here.

Looking at the smiling Aisilis now, I couldn’t smile back. I haven’t thought of an excuse at all, what should I do?

For me, this is a complete dead end.

“Um, Aisilis… I… about… you…”

“Yuren will accept, right?”

“Eh?”

Without waiting for me to finish, Aisilis interrupted me.

Then she kept smiling and looking at me.

That smile was so full of confidence. On what grounds does she think I’ll definitely accept?

Where on earth does this confidence come from?

“Um, Aisili…”

“Even back when we were children, I already liked you, Yuren.”

Aisilis interrupted me again and continued her confession.

“From the very first time we met. Yuren protected me, even though Yuren got beaten up badly. But, at that time, Yuren was the most handsome in my heart. And those two years I spent with Yuren, although they were tough, they were the happiest times of my life.”

“Aisilis…”

“And also, when we were separated…”

Ignoring me, Aisilis continued on her own.

“After we separated, I thought about Yuren every day. I thought about you while eating, while training, even my dreams were full of Yuren. Komia told me that this is love… But later, when I went to look for you, Yuren was gone. At that time, I really thought I would never see Yuren again… Every night, I would hide under the covers and cry by myself. At that time, I really regretted not staying with you. I wanted to disregard everything and go find Yuren, but I didn’t know where Yuren had gone, nor did I know which way to go. I could only comfort myself, telling myself that Yuren would come back. So every month, I would go back to Nordanlon, hoping to see Yuren appear before me. But you never did… not once… Every time, I would tell myself that maybe Yuren would be back next time… but all that awaited me was despair…”

As Aisilis spoke, tears streamed from her eyes.

“Until yesterday, when Yuren appeared before me. I was so happy, it was the happiest moment of my life. But I was also very scared, scared that it was all just a dream. That when I woke up… everything would go back to how it was… So, I decided not to hide my feelings for Yuren anymore…”

Aisilis stood up and looked at me with great solemnity.

“Yuren, I like you, I like you very, very much. So, don’t leave me alone again…”

Faced with such a confession from the young girl, I fell into deep thought.

To be honest, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t moved. I even felt that there could be no scene more moving than this one.

Looking at the tears in Aisilis’s eyes, I wiped them away with my hands.

“Didn’t I tell you not to cry at the drop of a hat? You won’t be pretty if you do that. Now, it’s my turn to respond to Aisilis… I, ah, I like Aisilis very much too. If there’s anyone else in the world I care about, it must be Aisilis. So, it’s not me accepting your confession, but you accepting mine. Aisilis… be my girlfriend!”

“I accept.”

With that, Aisilis threw herself into my arms…

Smiling, I looked at Aisilis in my arms and felt what they call happiness for the first time…

‘Hmph hmph~ Plan successful.’

In Yuren Xing’s embrace, a slight smile appeared at the corners of Aisilis’s mouth.

This was her plan… to play the emotional card with Yuren.

Just as she had predicted, Yuren had no resistance to these things at all…

He could only fall into the net she had woven for him like prey.

However, this is not to say that Aisilis’s feelings for Yuren Xing are fake. In fact, everything Aisilis said was true.

But, Aisilis’s love is even more twisted and heavy than the love she described.

So heavy that a person can’t even breathe…

But by the time Yuren Xing discovers this, it will all be too late…

I’m sure someone still remembers the soup that was spiked with desire water…

But after Yuren Xing accepted her confession, Aisilis poured it away.