Chapter 1092 - It's Okay
"Sora."
"Y-yes..."
Once the door is closed, it becomes an isolated dimension (instance). Furthermore, by tapping the door from the inside with a fingertip and fiddling with the settings to erase everything from other people's entry permissions to knock notifications, it becomes a complete private room.
"...!"
Naturally, if such a thing were forced through without consent, it would be the establishment of a fluid confinement. The system wouldn't allow that, so a notification must have gone to Sora as well.
Thus, for a few seconds. While looking down in bewilderment, the girl used her free right hand to touch a system notification window that I couldn't see—and then, she remained here.
In short, she had consented to being alone in a private room.
...Of course,
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, um, yes..."
Right now, there isn't the slightest call for an inappropriate atmosphere.
I'm pretending to be calm, but I'm also panicked to the extreme, and Sora seems unable to return from the height of her confusion. Just like the closed room, we're at a dead end.
So, what I can do is sadly limited.
—Well, precisely because it's limited, there was no need to hesitate.
"I'll say it just in case. I'm sorry."
While she was bewildered, Sora's hand never tried to let go; I pulled it again, this time consciously, and somewhat forcefully drew her body close. Then, I caught her weight as she stumbled and fell toward me,
"He, ah..."
"If it's against your will, I'll gladly accept the punishment."
Without fail, I gently caught her with my own body. Then...—it's been ad-libbing up to here, and it'll be ad-libbing from here on too, which is troublesome, but I'll try to use my head.
"...So, what's wrong?"
I'm sighing at myself for using such a cliché line that I don't feel will go well from the start, but well, I'll show my sincerity by continuing to speak without giving up—
"............"
In response to my question, Sora shook her head in my arms as if to say, "I don't know."
"This is really late to ask, but is it that? ...No, I don't know if it's okay to ask so bluntly, but please forgive me since the situation is what it is, okay? Um..."
I took a small nod as permission.
"Do you have... some kind of traumatic thing about people collapsing (..........)...?"
Next, she shook her head horizontally.
I see... well, even without a trauma, a person collapsing is undoubtedly a shocking event, but it's not like she has a specific, special aversion to it.
Then...
"Er... I said what I said earlier, but. Did you actually have some true feelings where you hated the idea of me returning to the virtual world so much you wanted to oppose it..."
Again, her head shook horizontally.
I see... well, I know there's worry. For both of us, right? However, it's not the kind of emotional instability that would make her suddenly cry like this.
Then... then, then............ what?
"..................Ah—"
No, wait. Is this that? Could it be that (....)?
That thing I was taught (........) that men probably can't understand well, a trait specific to girls... if I think of it that way, Sora's own surprised state makes sense.
Seeing me in the virtual world again for the first time since that day. If I assume that became the trigger... well, it might be possible? It's just a man's guess, though—
Since it's just a guess, let's confirm it.
"...Sora."
"..., y-es............"
"Were you super worried about me?"
"That... of course... yes............"
"Were you thinking about it the whole time?"
"E-u............ yes......"
"Whether you were asleep or awake?"
"W-what are you saying...! It's not like, that much............"
"............"
"It's... only natural, isn't it... because it's natural............"
What is this, she's so cute, precious, and endearing—no, that's not it.
I see.
Well, I guess so.
If she had been worrying the wh-o-o-o-ole time and thinking only of me, then naturally. Unavoidably, she would have been recalling that scene (..........) over and over again.
"...Did you compare them?"
"Huh? E-eh, what..."
"That, you know. My face when I collapsed...—"
—According to Ashe and Nia... my face, which 'looked as if I had died.'
And my face now, showing a smile as if nothing had happened.
She compared them in the virtual world, which was the scene of the event, and because she compared them... perhaps she received an additional shock from the gap with a time delay.
"............, ..."
As if that guess,
"... ...h-hu............"
Had hit the mark, or rather...
"U, h-ha, ha, u... ... ............"
As if that had been the final blow, shattering the dam to pieces.
"U... —uuuuuuu...!"
It didn't stop at just shedding tears.
Seeing the girl start to cry grandly in a somewhat clumsy manner, I unconsciously put strength into both arms embracing her slender body. Naturally—
"..................E-eh, er..."
While I was also grandly panicking.
—Girls, you see, are creatures that cry even if there's no reason.
A piece of trivia about the opposite sex taught to me by a predecessor once upon a time.
'Even if there's no reason' doesn't correctly apply to this situation, but well, what the teaching means is that 'there are cases where girls cry with colorless (........) emotions.'
It's not that they're happy, or sad, or moved. Or rather, those elements haven't caught up yet. Even in such situations, they might get surprised and cry.
At a torrent of emotion that doesn't have a reason or color yet, which they don't even understand themselves. Because of that, tears might overflow ahead of everything else.
...Even while panicking, the teaching that comes to mind is valuable instruction from a predecessor.
I think, what was it again?
"...Sora."
If you're next to them at a time like that. The thing a boy can do for them is—
"............I'm sorry. It was scary (..........), wasn't it?"
"—......!"
To give a reason (color) to the emotions they're only bewildered by because they can't understand them.
...Thus, whether that was the correct answer or not, I have no way of knowing without asking.
"Whoa, there..."
That's about all I can do.
After that, at most, while feeling a faint sense of guilt for 'remembering' the honest crying voice I was hearing for the first time, I caught the girl's body as her knees buckled, buckling my own knees as well.
"...It's okay. It's okay."
While conveying that I was here through virtual body heat,
I did nothing more than continue to hold her slender body tight without loosening my arms.
Endearment.