522 Love Confession (1)
ââŠYouâre lying.â
Freeing herself from Fionaâs embrace, Lily spoke as she slanted herself over the table.
âChrono, tell me youâre lyingâŠâ
Her gaze fluttered wide, while her round, jade eyes swayed.
âIâm not lying. Itâs the truth.â
Iâve betrayed her.
When I saw her desperate, yet shocked expression, such was my thought.
Am I being conceited?
After all, my confession of sin proved that Iâd done more than just sparing my enemy. It was betrayal in the truest of sense.
Even so, Iâd been trying to look good in front of Lily. At the beginning, I merely didnât want to burden her. But soon, the thought of disappointing her began to feel unbearable.
It was to be expected, for Lily was the first friend Iâd ever made in this world. When I fell into the woods, she came to my aid. Afterwards, we didnât only live together, but she also took care of me. Later, we became comrades in arms. Without Lily, God knows whatâd happen to me.
Hence why, I didnât want to disappoint herâI want to look cool in front of her.
By that, I meant using common sense, being sensible, staying calm, and avoiding making mistakes in judgment. I thought I was good enough. At the very least, Lily shouldâve believed in meâin my justice. After all, wasnât that why she decided to stick with me?
âŠBut as of the present, I had no âjusticeâ to speak of.
âI wonât ask for forgiveness. Curse me all you want. Iâm aware of what Iâve done.â
âYouâre lying, no wayâŠâ
I was speechless.
Lily gaped, letting out such meaningless mutterings. No words could describe how excruciating that sight was.
Itâs okay, Lily. You donât have to believe in me anymore. Condemn me. Say that everythingâs my fault. Insult me. Say that Iâm the worst.
âŠPlease, Lily.
Please, as long as you donât suffer like that.
âAah, why, why⊠why are you still aliveâ!?â
At that moment, there was a flickering lightâ
âa flickering, red light.
ââStar Sword: Antares!â
When my vision returned, Lily was already in front of me.
The young girl was clad in the brilliance of the Oracle Field. In her right hand, was the deadly photon sword that was Force Edge, which could easily cut through the strongest steel.
In an instant, sheâd transformed into her true form. The Star Sword, âAntaresâ, in her right hand told of her killing intent.
As she shone above the table, she swung her crimson light bladeâ
âHowever, it wasnât directed at me, but Sariel.
ââŠStop it, Lily.â
I stopped the crimson blade at the last minute. Using my bare hands, I managed to halt the swordâs descent to Sarielâs head. At that point, the two were only separated by a distance of several dozen centimeters.
With âOver-Accelâ, the surprise attack of tremendous speed didnât go unnoticed by me. With âOvergearâ, I was able to stop the scorching blade despite being unarmed. It was a powerful technique that made use of two blessings in succession.
Even so, it was a close call. If I was even a fraction of a second too late, Sariel would be split in half.
In spite of that, the target of the attackâSarielâsat unflinchingly. It was as if she knew I was going to protect her.
âWhy did you stop me, Chrono!?â
âPlease, pull back your sword, Lily!â
âIf I canât kill Chrono, Iâll just kill this woman instead! If left alive, sheâll only make you suffer, Chrono!â
âNoâ!â
I wanted to keep Sariel aliveâsuch was my intention. In that hut, I didnât know how many times I denied her pleas to die.
âŠLily, youâre mistaken.
The reason I was unable to end Sariel wasnât because I didnât want to dirty my hands.
Even if such was the case, as if Iâd let Lily take over the dirty role! I wouldnât be able to forgive myself!
âŠIs it because I reflexively thought that?
Through telepathy, Lily mightâve understood my feelings to some extent. Hence, she drew her sword.
âBut⊠so why? Chrono, this isâŠâ
As she stood still on the table, the crimson blade dissipated.
Has her murderous intent dissipated?
For the time being, none of that could be felt, but there was no guarantee it wouldnât happen again.
Even if I didnât have telepathy, it was apparent from her expression that Lily was distraught. I had never seen her like that beforeâLilyâs expression wavered with tremendous anxiety.
âThere was no other way. At that time, Sariel was on the verge of death, but with the power of the apostles, sheâd recover overnight. Upon regaining Shirasakiâs memory, I could no longer detect any hostility from Sariel. However, if sheâs still under the command of the White God, thereâs no saying she wouldnât attempt to kill me againâeven if itâs against her will.â
I couldâve just glossed over it. How easy would that be? I felt like if it was the current Lily, even if it was a blatant lie, sheâd still believe me.
âIâm aware that I shouldâve killed her. After all, the 7th Apostle, Sariel, was an enemy to us all. I knew that, but I still wanted her to live⊠I desperately thought soâŠâ
The reason why I was so honest⊠Was it to make everything easier? Maybe, I just wanted to apologize.
Surely, the guilt of lying, concealing the crime, and deceiving Lily from now on would prove to be unbearable for me.
âBut this woman is no longer the Shirasaki Yuriko that Chrono knew! Her current personality is the result of âAngel Ringâ! Sheâs a different person entirely! Despite being a human, she canât relate to the feelings of others! Sheâs just a puppet, and yetâŠâ
âI know, I know that muchâŠâ
ââThen why!? Why are the memories you have with this now-puppet more important than myself!?â
Oh, I see.
Is that so?
Despite being aware that Shirasaki lost her ego a long time ago, I still helped Sariel. Was it to simply cling to the memories of the past?
âIâm truly sorry, Lily⊠Apparently, I wasnât strong enough to discard all of my pastâŠâ
âNo, no, you arenât in the wrong, Chrono, you arenâtââŠâ
Lily was downcast. At the corners of her eyes, large droplet of tears trickled.
âItâs alright, Lily. Iâm to blame.â
âNo, itâs fine, it isnât Chronoâs faultâŠâ
Lily took a step forward on the table.
âLike I said, it was all a lie, right?â
Two steps, three stepsâit wasnât a very wide table. Then, her path ended.
Even so, Lily still took the fourth step without any hesitation, and naturally fell towards me. It was as if she fully believed that Iâwho was in front of herâwould catch her.
ââŠIt wasnât.â
In fact, when Lily leaped into my chest, I held her in my arms. As usual, her angelic body felt peculiar in a sense that the weight didnât match its appearance.
âŠPetite, delicate, and soft.
At the same time, I felt a certain presence in my arms.
âIt wasâ! It was all a lieâ! For Chrono is kind⊠Youâre just trying to shoulder the blame for Sariel!â
Lily looked up at me with tearful eyes. The girl who flinched in my chest desperately reached for me.
Her warm, bloodied, yet pure white palm wrapped around my cheek.
âNo, itâs the truth. Iâm not lying. Everythingâs my fault.â
âItâs okay, you donât have to lie to me. After all, Iâm a fairy, so I know the truth, I can simply gaze into your heartââ
âLilyâs face was approaching as if we were about to kiss.
But our lips never collided.
Instead, she pressed her forehead against mine. The distance made it easier to do telepathy.
At such a close proximity, itâd be easy for someone with telepathic ability like Lily to read mind. Hidden in my heartâthe most recent memory information.
Therefore, even if I tried to conceal it, I couldnât.
The 24th of the Dark Moon, the Holy Night. Inside Lilyâs hut, driven by insanity and pleasure, I embraced the bloody Sariel.
Noâ
âThatâs the only thing you shouldnâtâŠ
âŠYou shouldnât see it.
Even if I was able to confess my sins, to let her watch as it unfoldedâŠ
At this moment, my heart was filled with an overwhelming sense of reluctance.
Of course, because that night, Iâd activated the Fourth BlessingâOver-ecstasy, and ravaged the limbless Sariel akin to an enraged beast. For Lily to witness it, itâd be akin to standing there as it progressedâthat was what it meant to be able to read my memoryâ
ââStop it!!â
Even if it was for a fleeting moment, sheâd definitely seen it.
As if I had gone crazy, I screamed at the top of my lungs, but that wasnât the end of it.
âAhâŠâ
I heard Lilyâs somewhat forlorn and hollow voice.
âŠThat was when I realized itâI had pushed Lily away.
Even if I regretted it, the die had been cast. As if sheâd forgotten how to fly, she fell on her back. A dull sound resounded.
âLi-LilyâŠâ
She didnât even try to cancel her fall. Instead, she fell flat on her back, hitting her head hard. She didnât budgeâas if sheâd passed out.
What have I done?
I extended my hand towards Lily.
Certainly, she was protected by the Oracle Field, making her impervious to physical shocks such as falling, but that didnât make the problem disappear. The act of pushing Lily away in and on itself was a sin.
Like ink dissolving into water, a sense of guilt engulfed my heart. Without even thinking, I blurted an apology.
However, my mouth wouldnât budge.
ââŠâ fđłđđweđđđšđeđ.cođź
Iâm sorry, forgive meââŠ
I should extend a sincere apology. Furthermore, I should also ask, âAre you alright? Are you okay?â I should take care of her fallen body and help her stand. But when I tried to reach for her, to lift her upâI found myself unable to do that.
I couldnât touch Lily.
I had to keep her away.
Thus, I realized itâI was pushing her away. I couldnât help but do so, since she could read my mind.
I couldnât bear the thought of her seeing the memories of that time.
At the very least, Lily alone mustnât see itâŠ
ââŠChrono.â
Lily uttered my name.
I wondered what sheâd think of me, who heartlessly shoved her away. Not only that, I didnât even try to help her up, opting to just stand there in silence.
Her long, disheveled platinum hair scattered beautifully and tragically across the floor. With her eyes wide open, her jade eyes wavered as she showed a stunned expression. Even though her Chrono usually wouldnât do such a terrible thingâŠ
What would she think of me?
When she fell, even though she was physically unharmed, what of her heart� What of her sanity�
She caught a glimpse of the memories from that night, and was pushed away. The [Chrono] she believed in had pushed her awayâ
ââChrono, it hurts, a-aahâŠâ
Undoubtedly, Lily had arrived at the truth. I wasnât a noble character that fairies would like. Even among the lustful humans, I was by far the most wretched.
ââAah, uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahâ!!â
Lily cried.
It was the second time Iâve made her cry. She cried so sharply, to the point she couldnât even form any words.
âL-Lily!?â
Softly, as if sheâd suddenly regained her ability to fly, Lily floated up. Before I could comprehend what was happening, Lily bolted out of the room. She covered her face as she cried.
She no longer ran towards me. Instead, she went in the opposite direction. Lily had chosen to escape from this place on her own.
Before I could say anything to stop her, Lily fled the scene. Looking at her momentum, she mightâve already jumped out of the front door and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
I had to look for her.
But when I thought soâ
ââPlease wait, Chrono.â
âDonât stop me, Fiona! Lily isââ
ââOnce you managed to catch up to her, what then?â
Her ruthless, heartless words didnât leave any room for objection.
If I managed to catch up with Lily, what then? Whatâd I say to her?
There was nothing I could say to her.
âUghâŠâ
Fiona quietly stood up from her seat and proceeded to approach the listless me.
âItâs alright. Despite her appearance, Lily is capable enough to fend for herself.â
ââThatâs not the problem! We canât possibly leave her like this!?â
âNeither Chrono nor Iânor anyone elseâhave the correct thing to say to Lily right now. Whether or not to forgive you⊠Itâs something that she has to decide for herself.â
Fiona certainly had a point.
However, when I saw Lily acting like that, how could I possibly leave her be? Despite the feeling of rejection, I was still genuinely worried towards her.
âStill, Iâd like toââ
âThen, Iâm sorry to say this. Chrono, you donât have the right to console Lily.â
âI know that. I know that everythingâs my fault.â fređđđđnoŃ”el.cđm
âNo, youâre mistaken.â
What, is there more?
Before I knew it, Fiona had arrived in front of me. At the sight of her, my breath was caught at my throat.
âItâs because Chrono doesnât understand Lilyâs feelings at all.â
ââŠWhat, are you talking about?â
âDid you not realize it? Apparently, Lily is good at concealing her feelings. Even so, thatâs dense of you, Chrono.â
What on earth is she on about?
Even if I was like this, I still cared about Lily. After all, she was the partner Iâve known the longest in this world. We even did a fusion, where our minds and bodies became one.
Therefore, what could I possibly not understand about her?
ââLily loves Chrono.â
âŠI wasnât so dense as to not understand her words. Still, both my understanding and focus failed me at that moment.
âWhat, did you sayâŠ?â
âOf course, she loves you as a member of the opposite sex. Itâs neither affection nor friendship, but a romantic feeling, absolutely.â
Does Lily love me?
I thought she cherished me, and I never doubted for even a moment that I reciprocated it.
âHence why I said youâre so dense, Chrono.â
Fiona spoke as if sheâd seen through my heart.
âIf you think about it, it shouldnât be that difficult? Think of what happens when men and women are in the same party.â
An adventurer party consisting of men and women. More often than not, itâd lead to a romantic relationship. Because of that, the risk of falling out was extremely high, so the guild didnât recommend it.
Iâd never applied such common sense to myself.
Why?
Lily and IâŠ
âŠI was confident that such a thing wouldnât happen. No, I didnât see myself as some sort of a saint. Instead, I mustâve placed a blind faith in Lily.
Only now did I realize how irresponsible that was.
âIs that how she saw me all this time?â
âThatâs right. Probably from the time before you even met me.â
Why, how�
Was I dense for failing to comprehend that? âŠAnd here I thought Sariel was the one who couldnât understand peopleâs feelings.
Lily and I had been together ever since we came across each other in Fairy Garden. Our days in the Irz Village were both peaceful and uneventful. Lily was inherently strong, and despite her childish appearance, she was independent.
As a result, she ended up taking care of me. As for me, I hadnât been able to show my cool side to her.
A life of a rank 1 adventurer that was both peaceful and carefreeâŠ
I wonder if thatâs the reason?
Could people fall in love just by being together without doing anything special?
âWhile Chrono seems to think that heâs betrayed her trust as a companion, but youâre completely mistaken. What youâve betrayed is Lilyâs love.â