kscans

Chapter 232 - Episode 23: Partner

So bright.

The first thing my consciousness registered was the familiar ceiling of my room. It seemed the light from the window had woken me. That’s unusual. Lately I’ve been waking up before the sun... The thought sent a chill down my spine. This has to be nearly noon.

A list of the tasks I was supposed to do today formed in my mind. The requests from everyone at the original Central Garden... Wait, did I finish that work?

I tilted my head, trying to sit up, but my body wouldn't obey. The right side of the futon felt especially heavy. Looking closer, I saw shining, silver-blue hair spread across the white comforter. Alfina was asleep, leaning against the bed.

A stray lock of hair rested on her beautiful profile. Seeing it, I remembered her face in my fading vision, desperately calling out to me. That’s right. I was in my room, working...

"What happened after that?"

I somehow managed to pull myself up. My body felt sluggish. My mind, on the other hand, was working well enough.

"...Ri, Ricardo... kun."

The weight on the bed suddenly vanished. Alfina lifted her head. Her eyes found me as I struggled to sit upright.

"...Um, well. ...Good morning."

It was a stupid greeting. For one thing, it wasn't morning. But the moment Alfina saw me, her eyes instantly welled with tears.

"You’re awake. Oh, thank goodness. Evening came, then night, then morning. You wouldn’t wake up at all, and I... I..."

Tears spilled from Alfina’s eyes.

"S, sorry to have made you worry. Um, I’m fine."

My body didn’t feel bad, perhaps thanks to the sleep. I spread my arms to show her. But Alfina simply placed a hand on my forehead.

"You don’t seem to have a fever. Are you really alright. Are you in pain anywhere."

She stared at me with desperate eyes. She was very close.

"I, I think I’m okay..."

"Really, are you sure. If there’s even the slightest..."

Guu...

It was my stomach that cut Alfina off. Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten in over a day.

I tried to recall what happened before I collapsed. Lack of sleep, fatigue, and I think I skipped breakfast too. Was Mia's question a trick question then. I can't really talk, considering Maytyl, heh.

◇◇

"...Um, Alfina-sama, this is, really a bit..."

"Here, Ricardo-kun. Please open your mouth."

A small piece of soft, white bread was held before my lips. It was drizzled with golden honey. The very carbohydrates and calories my body was screaming for. Yet I felt cornered.

"Please open your mouth. ......Are you not hungry?"

Alfina’s expression clouded over.

"No, that’s not it at all."

I hurriedly opened my mouth. The small, sweet piece of bread entered. This is our honey, isn't it. Was it always this incredibly sweet. Did they improve the quality while I was neglecting my main duties?!

"Next is a drink... Is milk alright?"

Alfina brought a cup to my lips. Warm milk soothed my throat.

"Your mouth..."

Alfina wiped the corner of my mouth with a handkerchief. I felt like I had become a baby.

She watched over me like a mother, her eyes fixed only on me. It filled my heart with something beyond simple embarrassment. To stay like this forever. I was tempted by the thought. But...

"Um, it’s about time I..."

I glanced toward the door, the bread Alfina offered still in my mouth. I had to get back to work. I hadn’t just lost the morning, I had lost an entire day. I needed to recover what time I could...

"Mia and my father have taken care of your schedule for today. So you must rest, Ricardo-kun."

Alfina said, her words coming a little quickly.

"Yes, but they both have their own tasks that take up all their time..."

I tried to get out of bed. But Alfina held me back.

"You will not."

There was no arguing with her. I ate my lunch, or whatever it was, slowly, more slowly than necessary, and strength began to return to my body. I think I’m fine. Besides, the very fact that I have an appetite...

"You see, yesterday was just a combination of sleep deprivation and a few other things."

"No. You will not... Please."

Alfina’s eyes grew moist. Ugh, isn't this cheating?

"Please. For now, just rest."

"B, but. I slept for a whole day, so I’ve had p, plenty of rest..."

I tried to argue. If anything, based on what she said, wasn't Alfina the one who needed sleep?

"When is the next time you’ll be able to sleep properly? How long will this continue, a state where you even forget to eat..."

Alfina’s eyes locked onto mine.

"W, well... Once this current task is settled, then surely..."

"And which of your current jobs would that be..."

Alfina held the list I had been looking at before I collapsed. ......All of them. I collapsed while I was checking it.

"......"

"I know very well how amazing you are, Ricardo-kun. No, you are amazing to a degree that someone like me could never comprehend... But this is just too reckless."

Alfina looked at me with a serious expression. Almost all of the amazing things she was talking about were just knowledge from my past life.

"Ricardo-kun..."

"Y, yes."

"You are... trying to protect me, am I being conceited to think so."

Alfina’s cheeks flushed as if she were nervous.

"As your partner... it’s only natural."

I managed to say. Alfina’s expression softened just a little. But she quickly hardened it again.

"I want to be your partner too, Ricardo-kun. If I am only being protected by you, then I am not a partner. I should have a role to play."

She pointed to one of the projects on the list she was holding.

"Please leave this to me."

Her finger rested on the Purple Magic generator, unequivocally the project with the highest priority. It was also the project I wanted to keep her furthest away from.

"N, no, absolutely not."

"I do not understand difficult things like the Director or you do, Ricardo-kun. I don’t have special skills like Noel or Princess Maytyl. But when it comes to sensing purple magic, I have the most experience."

I understood what Alfina was saying. It was a matter of putting the right person in the right place. And it would allow me to focus on the other major problem, the new model of sorcery staff. My reason clearly told me she was correct.

"Th, that’s exactly why. Yes, a system that relies solely on you, Alfina-sama, would be a poor disaster countermeasure. For example, what if you were to fall ill right when it was time for the final confrontation... Besides, even if that weren’t the case, as a last resort..."

I said, my gaze darting from side to side.

"Then what about you, Ricardo-kun."

Alfina looked straight at me, as if to prevent my gaze from escaping. Tears began to well up slightly in her eyes.

"In our current situation, are we not relying solely on you."

Her honest feelings pierced me. The project’s vulnerability wasn’t Alfina, it was me. Why was I lying in bed at a time like this.

"You always share your wonderful ideas with us, Ricardo-kun. But you always make sure to test them properly, don’t you."

"W, well, yes..."

"In this situation, you are keeping me away from a role that I should naturally fulfill. Do you have sufficient grounds for that. I have been careful in handling the crystal since that incident. I haven't been falling ill anymore."

"......"

I, the one who had actually collapsed, was at a loss for words. Considering the danger of the crystal and its future potential, I had conducted several investigations, incomplete though they were. One I asked Luiza to do. Another I asked Maytyl to do. The latter was still underway, but so far, no clear danger had emerged.

Of course, there was far too little information to make a definitive judgment. But that only meant I was attempting the impossible. The only way to eliminate all possibility of danger is to die.

"...To be honest, it makes me very happy to feel that I’m being treated as special. Hehe, is this a desire to monopolize you. I am an unworthy Oracle Princess."

Alfina folded her hands over her chest. Contrary to her words, her smile was so genuine it was dazzling to me. Alfina called it a desire to monopolize. That was the reason my own judgment was skewed.

"But if we continue like this, we will surely regret it. Both you and I, Ricardo-kun."

Alfina said, looking me straight in the eye.

My selfishness was putting many people in danger. The people who were desperately trying to face the calamity, even while I slept in bed. And in the end, I wouldn't be able to protect Alfina either...

I was confronted with the fact that my judgment was warped, and Alfina's was correct. What if something happened to her, by some slim chance. That fear was still inside me. But I was forced to realize that the fundamental reason for it was my own ego.

"......I believe your thinking is correct, Alfina-sama."

I had no choice but to admit defeat.

"Hee hee, this is something you taught me, Ricardo-kun. Don’t you remember? That time in the library, when you told me over and over how thoughtless I was."

Alfina smiled mischievously. After all, this girl was not someone I could lock in a cage and keep all to myself. I should have known that all along.

"I’ll be counting on you."

"Yes. Then, first. My first request as your partner."

"Y, yes."

I tensed up. We would make use of Alfina’s aptitude with Purple Magic. That couldn't be helped. But if I pushed her too hard, even without clear evidence, things could become like before. I never wanted to see Alfina lying in bed like that again.

"Please call me Alfina."

"Eh?"

...Was that really important right now. Besides, I was just virtuously reflecting on my actions and trying to know my place. And this conversation was unpleasantly reminding me of that other time, which was all kinds of bad.

"Ricardo-kun."

Alfina’s tone left no room for compromise.

"Understood. .........Alfina."

Her smile was radiant.

"Now for the next thing. First, please get your strength back."

Just when I thought there was more, something white was thrust before my lips.

"...We’re still eating like this."

"Yes. This is what I have determined is most important for me to do as your partner right now."

Alfina brought the remaining bread closer to my mouth. Isn't being fed like this unbecoming of a partner, I thought, but I opened my mouth anyway.

There were many things to think about. A voice inside me, one that still hadn't faded, asked if this was truly alright. I wasn't even sure what that voice was directed at.

But it was also true that right now, I didn't think I could win against this sweetness.