A small yawn escapes my lips as I sluggishly get out of my bed.

I can hear winter footstep during this time of the day. It took a bit of reasoning to get me out of my warm bed, but the stimulating smell of spices had caused my conscious to choose to be awake. No desire to sleep could defeat my appetite.

I had no regrets leaving the bed behind me as I moved towards the smell, my stomach grumbling as I walked.

It was not a very large apartment room, and the kitchen was right in front of me. And there was a man standing there; cooking. To me, his back looked like it was shining.

As a woman, I was slightly taller than average, but he was so tall that I had to look up to face him. His broad and powerful back was distinguishable as that of a first-rate warrior or knight. Even a child would be able to tell. In fact, he was much more. He was a berserker. First-rate warriors would flee before him.

And now, that back which held such superhuman strength was bare without even a single shirt to cover it.

His back was like steel, like armor made of muscle. Looking at him, I had to swallow down my saliva for reasons that had nothing to do with the cooking.

Just like a male adventurer who is lured towards a succubus, I find myself wobbling towards him. If he wasn’t wearing his favorite underwear of black dragon leather either, if his lower half was naked as well, I might have dashed forward and jumped on him.

In any case, I would reach him quickly in this small room. I would be at a distance where my hand could reach, and then a distance where our skin touches.

There is no hesitation or modesty. I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around him, just like I had wanted to.

“Good morning, Kurono.”

“Morning, Fiona. I’m almost finished here, just wait a moment.”

“Sure.”

“...I suppose you aren’t going to let me go then.”

I imagine him smiling. I wish that I could see it, but I didn’t want to leave his back, my cheek against his. I couldn’t leave even if I wanted to, there was nothing to be done about it.

“I’ll wait patiently.”

“That’s not the problem. It’ll burn if I can’t move.”

“Meat tastes better if its a little burnt.”

“You’ll get something more than just well done.”

“That’s quite a predicament.”

“Anyway, you should go change. You’re too tempting when you are naked.”

Yet he’s seen me naked plenty of times. Kurono could be cute when he says such innocent things.

There was no getting around it, I agreed and begrudging untangled my witches embrace.

Nightmare let out a frightening and healthy neigh once again as I and Kurono rode together, gallantly making our way to the Academy.

Now we were heroes that everyone in Spada knew about, the ‘Nightmare Berserker’ and the witch. We made such a great couple, the looks of jealousy that the other students threw at us felt good. It was nice to have our relationship accepted by everyone.

We left Mary in the stables and headed for the classroom, hand in hand. Our fingers entangled, what I like to call the lovers tangle. I didn’t want to let go of him for a second. I think this, but reality won’t allow it. But it was alright, I was a woman who could wait.

I let go of him with a little regret and sat in the chair next to his. The adventurer’s course had free seating at least. Even if a seat was already occupied, the students were understanding enough to give me their set. It is very important to be able to read the situation.

And so, what starts next is a low-level lesson on modern magic that was not even fitting for a refresher. Of course, in terms of my school record, I had already graduated Elysion Magic Academy as a top student, and that was the highest educational institution in all of the Sinclair Republic. So there was no lesson in any renowned school that did not seem familiar to me.

I was not here to learn something anyway. My purpose is to help him, he who came from a far away country known as ‘Nihon,’ so he can learn about this world.

“Hey, Fiona, this technique here...”

“You need to squeeze here, and push here, then it should turn correctly.”

“I see. Thank you, Fiona. You make it easy to understand.”

No, no, you are too kind. This was nothing for me, a witch.

Apparently, Kurono had something called a ‘transword’ ingrained directly inside of his head that made it hard for him to understand certain chants and terms or proper nouns. And so my support during magic classes was invaluable.

It is a wonderful thing to be of use to the person that you love.

“...Now, what should we do for lunch?”

Kurono asked as heard the dragons roar coming from my stomach. The lunch break bell had just been rung.

“We can eat here today.”

“Okay, let’s go then.”

A year ago, I would never have imagined that I would be eating with someone at school.

Back then, it was normal for me to be alone. It was normal for people to stay away from me, it felt natural to be alone. There was no pain or regret there. I just accepted everything as it was.

Thinking back, I could see how boring, how lame, and how unhappy it all was. I made fun of friendships, I looked down on love. I was a hopeless fool back then.

Being with someone, becoming one with the person you love. Now I knew what happiness that brought. Now that I knew, I would never go back to where I was.

No, I’m sure that my past self had actually longed for it. That rose-tinted Academy life.

“What do you want to do after school? Should we just look for a random quest?”

“No, I think...let’s just go back home.”

What we will do when we get back. I didn’t even need to say.

“I guess I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

It wasn’t so much rose-tinted, but peach-tinted. This life.

Lust was a strong desire, almost as strong as hunger. I had discovered this just recently. It is quite frightening, even knowing this, you cannot stop it...

Before sunrise, when I had just started to fall asleep, my conscious woke me up once again.

“Are you crying, Kurono?”

The bed was now completely cool, with no remnant of the intense heat from earlier. He was facing the wall as if to hide and I could see that there was a slight trembling in his shoulder.

“...Lilly, she is calling me.”

“It’s a bad dream. All of it, it is finished.”

The fight at Alsace, that last day. The sixth day of the month of the First Flame. Lilly had died that day.

The two apostles who had stood by, they had killed Lilly as if on a whim. There was a huge discrepancy in power. There was nothing I or Kurono could do.

No, it was because Lilly was sacrificed that Kurono was saved.

I had unleashed ‘Aur Soleil’ and was depleted of magic and had fainted. So I did not see everything. Kurono refuses to talk about the details.

However, it was obvious that whatever happened was exceedingly cruel.

“You can forget about it if it hurts. If it’s hard, you can run from it. No one will blame you if you pretend that none of it happened.”

“But...I...”

I kicked the blanket away and covered Kurono with my body. His tear-stained face now showed an expression of surprise.

Affection, compassion. The positive feelings I had in wanting to comfort him would change into shallow desire when I looked at his face. He was in unbearable pain, I knew that I was the only one to ever see him like this. I was filled with a desire to possess and a superiority that came with it. Almighty, all-powerful, I felt like I had gained everything there was in the world.

Before I knew it, I was devouring his mouth. At that moment, all reason had left me. I finally pulled away in order to breath.

“I will make you forget all of it... Just like I did before.”

He had lost his friends, his trust, and his beloved Lilly. Kurono had been thrown into a pit of despair, he was turning into a husk of a human.

I devoted myself to taking care of him.

Neither of us knew anyone in Spada. In this room that we rented, this closed world, we were alone as a man and a woman.

“Don’t leave me alone... Fiona.” So saying, Kurono had pushed me onto the bed.

He was not well, I was his only surviving companion, his friend...I was a woman. It was natural for him to want me eventually.

“I’m sorry, that time, I...”

“Don’t apologize about it.”

I was waiting for you to do that to me. It was I who was a coward.

“I love you, Kurono. Your strengths and your weaknesses, all of you. And, you have to understand that it is okay to run from a past that is nothing but pain.”

Forget it. All of it. Forget it. The sinister memories of despair, the memories of the beautiful Lilly, all of it. The past and the future, the only one who needs to be in your heart is me.

“You don’t have anyone to fight anymore. You don’t need to try. You don’t need to become stronger. You can live in peace. It’s okay.”

The only fortunate thing in all this was that the Crusaders had destroyed themselves.

Spada’s attack and Daidolos’ revolt had worked to expel the Crusaders from the continent of Pandora. Commander Sariel, 8th Apostle Ai and 11th Apostle Misa were killed. There was no one to kill for revenge.

“That is probably true.”

“Yes, it is.”

Finally, Kurono gently returned my embrace. My feelings were conveyed, they entered him. It was such a happy embrace.

“Thank you...I love you, Fiona.”

“I love you too, Kurono.”

This time, my body and my mind were both fulfilled. I was finally able to fall asleep.

Ah, what should I eat tomorrow? How should I make love to Kurono? My days of happiness had only just begun.