Published at 18th of July 2022 1:47 am

Volume 3, Chapter 2 - Rebecca's Dangerous Command, Part 1-7

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

After class, Ash anxiously went to the student council’s office. Even though he was worried about Eco who had stayed in the dorm for the entire day, he insisted that he must speak to Rebecca face to face.

"Excuse me!"

Ash walked into the student council’s office without even knocking on the door. Just as he had expected, Rebecca was in the office, sitting on the couch comfortably, drinking her cup of tea. The sweet aroma of the Ansal tea could be smelled. Apart from Rebecca, there were no other students in the office.

"Hi, Ash. I had expected that you’ll show yourself."

Seeing Ash rush into the room, Rebecca smiled.

"What is that about? Why am I also a participant in the Selective Training Camp with those kinds of results......"

"Don’t you worry, please have a seat first before we start talking."

Ash unwillingly sat down opposite of Rebecca. Upon seeing this, Rebecca suddenly patted the empty space next to her.

"Didn't I tell you before that it is more effective to get to know each other when two people are sitting next to each other? This is the iron rule when you are dating."

"...Understood."

Although his current mood had nothing to do with dating, Ash obediently sat next to Rebecca. A refreshing scent wafted from her. It was the perfume that Rebecca loved to use. After Rebecca put her cup down, she looked at Ash. Her emerald-like eyes were reflecting Ash's face.

"Are you so concerned about yourself being selected?"

"Of course, I don’t know why I was even chosen......"

"The Specially Recommended System was only adopted this year. It was evaluated by the student council president, so I choose you. It is just as simple as this."

But upon saying this, Rebecca showed her tongue. This was the first time Ash saw Rebecca's playful look. That cute posture made his heart beat faster.

"To tell you the truth, the person who suggested the Specially Recommended System was me."

"What!? What is your purpose?"

Seeing Ash was dumbfounded, Rebecca calmly placed her hand on his lap and gently stroked his knee. Not only that, her mouth was getting closer to Ash’s ear. Rebecca exhaled on his earlobe, which made Ash shiver.

"Are you forcing me to tell you personally? Of course, it is to allow you to participate in the training camp!"

"W-Why...?"

"By following the previous selection method, an irregular like you will surely not be selected. But you have a genuine talent. To even have the incredible power of riding other people’s Pal.... and to have a special pal is also a fact. Additionally, you defeated the Necromancia and ‘Avdocha the Convicted’. That is why, I insist in letting you participate in the training camp, The Specially Recommended System is used to accomplish this task. "

"So it is really... for me?"

Ash was staring at Rebecca's beauty. Am I thinking too much? There was also the fact that Rebecca's cheeks were turning red.

"About that... right until now, I never fell in love with any particular boy."

"Huh...?"

"Because no matter how good that boy is, he can never be in the same position as me."

If these words were from the mouth of another girl, it might have sounded arrogant. But since it was Rebecca, it will be an another story. After all, she was a unique Ark-Dragner.

"But whenever I see you... It is a little strange, but I am always looking forward to it. I've never had these feelings. Maybe... I am easily attracted to 'hidden talents'."

Ash was surprised that there were times when Rebecca stuttered. Moreover, she looked like she didn't know how to deal with her feelings.

“W-What you mean... is it?"

Ash's heartbeat was almost at its peak. Rebecca as if leaking her secret, uttered that sentence.

"Can I expect it from you?"

Despite feeling flattered, Ash still had the urge to hug Rebecca tightly. This was the first time Ash had this kind of feelings for Rebecca. Their shoulders leaned closely together. No, it was done intentionally by Rebecca. Since the summer uniform was made from thin material, Ash was able to clearly feel Rebecca's body heat. Maybe summer uniforms also has its advantages... This was the first time Ash thought so.

"Rebecca-san......!"

Just when Ash was quietly murmuring like he was dreaming-

-Bang!

The door was suddenly opened with a loud sound. Meanwhile, two girls who had lost their balance plunged into the office. With a closer look, the two were Silvia and Jessica. Ash quickly stood up from the couch.

"What are you doing!?"

"I-It is not me! It was Jessica who suddenly pushed me...”

Silvia quickly climbed up while rubbing her waist. A while back, she showed her royal dignity which made him admire her a little. But after she had shown her useless side, he felt a little regret.

"Rebecca! I am not gonna let you off easily today!" said Jessica rushing up from the ground.

"There are so many people for you to seduce and you choose my Ash-sama!"

Rebecca replied with a nonchalant look:

"Jessica, you are mistaken. Ash at this stage does not belong to anyone! Logically speaking, I am not seducing him."

"You're lying! The scene just now..."

"Although, I won’t deny that I might like him in the near future..."

After hearing that, Jessica's expression instantly stiffened. It seemed that she never thought that Rebecca would declare war on her in this case. Not only Jessica, even Silvia was also speechlessly staring at Rebecca.

"I actually would like to ask what you two were doing suspiciously behind the door. Since you are in the student council, why not walk in proudly?"

Rebecca retorted with sharp words, which resulted in Silvia and Jessica explaining with a "Uuh!".

"I-I accidentally saw Ash-sama in the corridor and I came to take a look and I found out that Princess was standing at the doorway..."

Jessica quietly stared at Silvia.

"I-I initially wanted to ask president about issues of the selective training camp, but I saw president and Ash... Err... The atmosphere was a little embarrassing, so I was embarrassed to come in...

After listening to the two explanations, Rebecca sighed.

"The two of you are a proud members of the student council, at the same time, both of you are participants of the Selective training camp. I hope that you two have some self-respect, and remind yourselves to keep an honest attitude."

"Understood..."

Silvia humbly accepted the advice, but Jessica refuted.

"Hmph! Rebecca are you in any position to make those irresponsible remarks? I wonder who was the girl who embraced Ash-sama on the student council’s office's sofa? If Her Royal Highness and I had not broke in, God knows at what stage you will be progressing!"

"Ara, such attitude. I'm happy to talk about the trouble you made in your childhood right here? Anyhow you are my childhood playmate. Well, there were many things that could become the topic."

Despite the smile made by the smooth lips, Rebecca's eyes did not show any smiling sign. Like an eagle forcing its prey into its beak, they were bursting out with dazzling light.

"Eek...!"

Her previous arrogance disappeared. Jessica who turned pale was sweating profusely.

"I-It was my b-bad."

"Hmm, it is good to admit you are wrong honestly."

When Rebecca was answering while smiling- someone frantically rushed in through the opened door.

"President! Something is very wrong...!"

It was Max, who was in charge of the accounts. Perhaps he was running at full speed along the way because he was out of breath. He didn't even notice that his spectacle was not in the right place. How urgent was the situation for the calm Max to become this way? Ash was also feeling very tense since the city had been full of disaster recently, .

"What happened, Max? To be panicked to this extent is not your style."

The student council president was sure to be very experienced, Rebecca was still calm even after seeing Max's expression. She was calmly waiting for Max to reply.

"W-We received a report... there is smoke emerging from the Merk House of the women's dormitory-!"

"Is it a small fire?"

"The details are unclear. But, the smoke is suspected to be emerging from Lucca Sarlinen's room......"

Upon hearing Lucca Sarlinen’s name, Rebecca face became pale.

"I'll leave for Merk house... In my name Rebecca Randall I order! Respond to my summon, Cú Chulainn-"

The next moment, Maestro Cú Chulainn who responded to Rebecca’s summoning spell appeared in front of the window.

Part 2

Rebecca stood on Cú Chulainn's neck heroically, but Ash, Silvia and Jessica were struggling to cling on to its fur. Because Max was almost out of breath, he was left behind in the Student Council’s office. The other reason was that it would not be appropriate to leave the office empty when an emergency situation had occurred. In the end, there was no need for such a large group of people to march forth to the scene. As long as Rebecca was dealing with it personally, she was sure to come up with the most appropriate solution.

However, after Rebecca and Ash jumped on Cú Chulainn, a strange thing happened. Silvia and Jessica also stepped on the window and jumped. After giving a wry smile, Rebecca immediately changed back to her serious looks.

"Take us to the Merk house!"

After receiving Rebecca’s orders, Cú Chulainn gave an earth shattering roar and spread its wings. Ash and the rest just felt a floating sensation and a strong pressure. The Merk house, which took twenty minutes to walk to, was right in front of them in the blink of an eye. The Merk house was designed as the accommodation for the basic class female students. Unsurprisingly, the outside of the dormitory was packed with girls. They should be the ones who escaped after finding out about the smoke. The girls screamed after they saw Rebecca jump down from Cú Chulainn. The Student council president Rebecca Randall had always been regarded as an idol by the low-grade students.

"We are from the student council! Is the warden here?"

After Rebecca stated her name loudly, an old lady walked towards her.

"Is Lucca still in her room?"

Rebecca quickly asked and the warden nodded.

"That’s right. The other students called her several times, but she didn’t respond...."

According to the warden, the conclusion were as follows-

Not long before, the students living on the same floor as Lucca discovered smoke coming out from her room. If such an event occurred in the advance class dormitory, the advance class students would have had a way to calmly handle it. However, the lower class students who were still mentally immature, were shocked by the unexpected events. Their fear spread like an epidemic and it finally become a commotion. The warden said that she had gotten a headache just by trying to get the panicking girls to safety. Logically speaking, she should have the spare key to open Lucca's room, but she was busy with some other stuff. The warden who finished speaking handed over the silver keys to Rebecca.

"This is the spare key to Lucca-san's room.”

"I understand. Please stay here and take care of the students."

After receiving the key, she started to run. Ash and the others followed behind Rebecca. On the way there, Ash asked Rebecca.

"Rebecca-san... I would like to ask what kind of problem the girl named Lucca Sarlinen is facing."

Perhaps this was not an important enough question for them to talk about while running. But even the calm Rebecca had mobilized Cú Chulainn to rush to the Merk house after she heard Lucca's name. It meant that the situation right now was not some small matter.

"She is now being severely tortured because she as a Dragner lost her ability to ride her Pal... Although she gave excuses like being unwell; in fact, the problem is much more serious. Since she was unable to ride her Pal, she secluded herself in her dormitory. Recently, there were many students who began to show concern about Lucca's problem."

"I see...."

It was not rare for a breeder to be unable to ride his Pal. For example, illnesses, injuries, etc and many other strange things could be the reason. At the school assembly, "That rumor" that Raymond said could be this.

“Don’t tell me that because she couldn’t ride, and thus…”

An ominous possibility brushed through Ash's mind.

"That's not impossible... no one can guarantee anything, that’s why I’m so anxious."

After finishing this sentence, Rebecca kept silent. The group rushed into the dorm, walked down the hallway and climbed the stairs. Soon, Rebecca stopped in front of a door. It was located at the end of the corridor on the third floor. The name list beside the door showed only the name Lucca Sarlinen. The basic class dormitory was generally a three person bedroom, but it appeared that she was living alone. Leaving the question aside, the main focus was on the source of the smoke. In fact, some visible white smoke could be seen floating out from the cracks around the door. Compared to the big commotion, the amount of smoke could only be regarded as insignificant.

"Lucca! Answer me!"

Rebecca knocked on the door, but there still wasn't any response from inside.

"I’m going to open the door!"

Rebecca put the key in the keyhole. With some 'rattling' sound of metal, the door unlocked. Once the door was opened, the white smoke poured into the corridor. Rebecca entered the room followed by Ash. Most of the smoke drifted into the corridor after the door was opened.

Ash looked around the room. The room was cramped with all kinds of dried plants, which did not look like a girl's room. To force a description, this was more like a pharmacist’s workroom. To Ash's surprise, in addition to the furniture that the dormitory provided, the room also had some working tables. They must have been Lucca's private property.

In the center of the room, there was a low round table, which was of a design that wasn't normally seen in the Knight Country and the Kingdom. In addition, the surprising number of flower pots made the others curious. Flower pots were lined from the wall side to the window side of the room. Each flower pot contained plants that Ash had never seen before. The reason why she could have this amazingly large number of personal belongings in a room was that she was using a room for three alone. Although there was a double bed and a single bed by the wall, they were used to place her stuff.

"Lucca!"

Just when Rebecca shouted the room’s owner’s name...

Ash was shocked by what he saw. A girl suspected to be Lucca was lying in the middle of the room. The problem was, Lucca's body was lying in a container that looked like a coffin. The base of the container was covered with a layer of soft flowers. Her hands were also folded over her chest.

The only words that could be used to describe Lucca were- it was her corpse. [1]

"It can’t be...?"

Silvia and Jessica rushed past Ash who was muttering towards the side of the coffin.

After witnessing Lucca's appearance, Silvia and Jessica froze. At that point...

"Fyuaa..."

Followed by a cute yawn, the body slowly sat up. Even though it had a sleepy look, Ash was almost scared out of his skin. She was like a Fairy from the fairy tales. Her whitish gold straight hair was shoulder length. Beneath the neatly trimmed fringes were a pair of mysterious big amethyst-like watery shining eyes. Her skin was like white porcelain, to which normal whiteness couldn't be compared with. On the surface, she looked like an exquisite doll. Her petite height was no different from Eco. But she gave a feeling of a dreamy easily breakable object, which was different from the lively Eco. The most important feature, were those protruding ears that could be seen sticking out from her beautiful hair. Even the tip of her ear was pointy. Ash had long ago heard about the existence of this race, but until today, it was the first time he actually saw one.

"...Anything?"

Facing a group of stunned people, Lucca lazily looked at the faces around while speaking with a clear voice.

Part 3

Lucca put out the flames in the incense burner one by one and the smoke in the room slowly dissipated. The smoke seemed to be produced by burning a special bright dragon crystal so it was harmless. The students outside had returned to their rooms after the situation had settled down.

"To put it bluntly, the smoke was produced by the incense burner."

Lucca answered Rebecca questions. With her back facing the crowd, she covered the final incense burner’s lid. While looking at Lucca's small ass, Ash became surprised. The shape of her hips could be seen through the one-piece pajamas. But right now, the focus was not on the traces of her underwear.

“-Is she...?”

Just when Ash was troubled about where he was looking, Lucca turned around and faced the rest.

"I'm sorry to give you all a shock."

Lucca was sitting on her heels[2] and respectfully apologize by bowing down. Her every move made people worry. Describing this in another way, she was the kind of person who would provoke the urge of others to protect her unconditionally.

"You don't need to apologize. It is enough as long as you're safe. But please do not light so much incense in the future, otherwise the others students could think that it was a fire."

Lucca nodded humbly while Rebecca was reminding her.

"....Rebecca's words have always been right. I will try to pay more attention next time.”

"Come on, must you make the scene to look so deserted! Besides, what is that coffin about?"

"Coffin...? You are wrong. This is an Eckbald styled bed. It can be used directly in funerals; its features are very good."

"Sure enough, that’s a coffin! I can no longer bear with you, do you think as long as you give others a dreamy feel, you will be forgiven regardless of what you do? Without mentioning the rest, while facing your senpai, don’t you think that your tone of speaking is a little rude!"

"That’s enough! Lucca had always been timid and she is not like you. Don’t be too hard on her."

Jessica was angered after being scolded by Rebecca.

"Wha… I am as timid as most people are!"

Although Ash thought that she was speaking that way to make herself feel better, but it was better for him not to comment on anything.

"Excuse me, Jessica. Please be a little quiet."

Even Silvia also tried to correct Jessica this time.

"Back to the topic, president, could you ask her to re-introduce herself? After all, apart from you, all of us here have just met her for the first time."

Rebecca nodded while smiling at Silvia’s proposal.

"Hmm, what a good idea. Lucca please introduce yourself."

Even when Rebecca asked her to self-introduce, Lucca remained silent. Her head kept on facing downwards with a timid appearance. In the end-

“I’ll make some tea.”

She suddenly stood up and hid in the kitchen. Seeing Lucca had left, Rebecca smiled.

"She is still the same and has always been shy. I will introduce her in her place. As you had known, she is called Lucca Sarlinen. She had such an uncommon name because she is an Eckbald."

-Eckbald

Commonly known as the ‘forest Yōsei '. Since ancient times they had lived in the forest, a race with beautiful looks. By looking at Lucca's appearance, you would be able to know that the ‘forest Yōsei ' description fit very well. Their pointed ears were exactly the same as the Yōsei from the fairy tales. Apart from their beautiful looks, they were also famous for their herbology. The efficiency of the herbs made by the Eckbald was acknowledged by people around the world and the market price for them was always high. However, the most important feature of an Eckbald was neither their beautiful appearance, nor their profound knowledge of herbs.

-But as a heroic race of Dragners.

That was the reason why the Eckbalds were called Eckbald. Why was there the need to use the past tense? Because today, the heroic legend of the Eckbalds had become the legends of yesterday. Written in the history textbooks, because of the declining of the Dragons, the number of people who became a breeder had also declined. At that moment, Rebecca suddenly lowered down her voice and whispered.

"Currently, Lucca is the only Eckbald in this academy. That is why all the Eckbalds in the Eckbald autonomous regions have high hopes for Lucca. But, I have to say that some of those people’s thinking are behind time..."

"Behind time?" Silvia looked confused.

"Nn... they harbor a strong admiration over the Dragner. Since the Dragners were ordered to be involved in the Xenoglavia War, their thinking had been behind time. There are now many parents praying for their children to not become a Dragner. Especially the more affluent their family is and it is getting more and more serious. After all, most parents do not want their child to be ordered into the battlefield. "

"This issue really is no trivial matter! I really want to interrogate those people, for those who lost their admiration for the Dragners, can they call themselves the people of the Knight country!"

"Uuh... Princess? The focus is now on Lucca!"

Being reminded by Ash, Silvia blushed.

"S-Sorry, I’m a little too excited."

Silvia immediately controlled her temper.

"In short, even when bearing such a heavy burden, she was eventually just a fourteen year old girl. I hope she can get rid of the shackles of her family and happily enjoy her campus life, so please be sure to get along with Lucca."

When Rebecca summed up this conclusion-

"... Sorry, it is just some simple tea."

Lucca was back with a tray. On the tray, there were cups which were equal to the number of people. There was also hot white smoke coming from the cups. Since it was summer, they would like to drink some cold drinks instead of tea, but they couldn't complain about what she had specially made for them. Lucca placed the hot teas on the low round table.

Ash was slightly not used to it. Because he experienced drinking tea while sitting on the ground. However, since Eco's birth, Ash had been sleeping on the ground, so he could still accept the idea of drinking tea on the ground. Rebecca on the other hand was very relaxed. However, Silvia and Jessica couldn't seem to accept the habit of sitting on the ground, They sat on the bed while holding their hot tea. Although the beds were also filled with debris, they still managed to squeeze out a space for two girls.

Ash also took a cup of hot tea. Judging from the rugged shape, this cup should have been made personally. It was probably an item from her hometown. The thing that made the others worry was the steaming dark green liquid in the cups. Maybe it was mixed with various herbs; the liquid exuded a strong smell. Ash casually turned around for a glance and found out that Rebecca was already drinking. The way she was drinking could be called heroic.

"That, I would like to ask... What tea is this?"

After being asked by Ash, Lucca held her cup and stayed silent for a moment. For such a simple question, why did she even need to think? Ash became increasingly uneasy.

"This tea was created by me... so it has no name. But I'm sure that it has the effect for enhancing one’s energy after drinking."

"The effect… Of enhancing one’s energy...!"

After listening to Lucca’s description Jessica reacted. She shoved her cup of tea at Ash and looked at him with a pair of pleading eyes.

"I beg you, Ash-sama! Please drink my share! Then please give me your sperm!"

"How could you say such shameless words....! Don’t you have some shame? Any sense of shame!

Silvia who was red in the face commented on Jessica.

"Ara, why does Princess want to even bother with me?"

"It is because you're too shameless! As a lady of the Knight Country, can’t you show some modesty!"

"Is it really just because of this...?"

"O-Otherwise is there any other reason?"

While the two kept on quarreling, Ash on the other side had made up his mind to finish it as if he was drinking poison.

Glup...

Ash felt like he was drinking mud and just barely managed to keep himself from spitting it out.

Silvia and Jessica also tried to follow. But they both looked a lot healthier before they started drinking. Only Rebecca alone was unaffected...

"Anyway, Lucca. How are you now?"

"It seems that I still can’t." answered Lucca dejectedly.

"That... I heard that you seemed to have lost the ability to ride your Pal. Do you have any clue for the reason it happened?"

Ash asked with a calm tone and Lucca murmured.

"...I do not know, but I have not forgotten the riding method."

"Otherwise, what else could it be?"

"It is... Gawain is rejecting me."

After a simple explanation, Lucca remained silent. Perhaps she lacked emotions, her face was as expressionless as a doll. So Rebecca answered the questions in Lucca's place.

"Gawain had been rejecting Lucca for three months. Until now, we are yet to find a solution to this problem."

"Since the reason is still unknown, it is no wonder that nothing can be done. So we can only wait and see how will it progress, no?"

Jessica looked disappointed.

"No, the problem mustn’t continue to drag on."

Rebecca suddenly became serious.

"The point is, the Astral that links Lucca and Gawain had been cut off. If we continue to wait, then Gawain’s life would be in danger."

This sudden development made Ash speechless.

Part 4

After leaving the Merk house and breaking up from the group of student council members, Ash went to the city alone. He intended to buy crepes for Eco as an apology for coming home late because it was Eco’s favorite food. The works in St Durham Square had been successfully completed and the crowds there were back like the old times. Ash soon found a street vendor selling crepes, and asked the vendor to wrap up the vanilla flavored crepes in a wrapping paper.

Written on notice given out by the vendor was the message about a new chocolate banana flavored crepe that was going to be launched. I must tell Eco about this when I return- Ash while thinking so, walked back to his home.

Part 5

Back on the school grounds, after passing by the dragon homes, Ash again began to think about Lucca’s problem.

-Astral.

It was a must substance for the creatures on this planet to sustain their life. It was said that, Astral was the main reason for the declining of the Dragons.

Even the great Dragons couldn't supply Astral to their bodies themselves. Thanks to the connection between the humans who were rich in Astral since birth, the dragons were able to survive.

According to Rebecca, Gawain's body was getting weaker by the day. It was now eating food with high content of Astral to survive... The problem was that the content of Astral in the food was very little. If the dragons could survive through this method, then they would not need to bow down to the humans.

Is there anything that I can be of help...? Ash was thinking deeply. Lucca was now being tested as a breeder and as a Dragner. The reason she was shutting herself in was mainly because of the pressure.

...In the end, Ash had returned to the boys’ dormitory, the Apollo home before he could come up with a method.

Part 6

It was evening. Eco had passed her day alone in the room of the Apollo home. Except, Cosette who was worried about her and had visited her for a few times, she hadn't spoken to anyone. Fortunately, the summer sun was very strong and the cushions and sheets that Eco wet were completely dried. Eco, who usually let Ash do the housework alone, had brought in the clothes on her own. This was also her first attempt to make her bed. Although the results can only be considered so-so, but she still had completed it. Eco lay down on the bed lazily. The air was full of the smell of the sun.

"............"

The embarrassment of wetting her bed this morning had left a scar in her heart. For the highly noble dragon to wet her bed, this was unforgivable. After all, how could she do something so embarrassing?

"That dream... What is it about?"

Yes, the culprit was the ominous nightmare. The nine fiercely frightening eyes. The sticky tentacles that was all over. Just by recalling them in her mind, Eco's body was trembling with fear. She crawled out from the bed and quickly locked the door and windows. Even when it was a hot day, she still took out the fur blankets for the closet. Next, Eco was back to the bed and covered her whole body with the blanket.

Her limbs were madly trembling. I’m scared. I’m really scared. Why would I be frightened to this extend?

By the way... Before I woke up, the thing seems to say something.

It seems to be a very important, but...

"...I really can’t remember anything."

Eco rolled over while being wrapped in the blanket. After rolling left and right for a while, she became angry.

"Damn him...! Why is he not back yet?"

Eco started to complain about Ash. Logically speaking, the school had finished but Ash has still not yet returned. He should have been taken away by the student council as a slave.

-Why doesn’t he even think that I had been waiting for him to come home for a long time!

Right at this moment, Eco suddenly came to her senses.

"No, no! I-I didn’t... Who will wait for that type of person!"

Her cheeks were red hot. Eco told herself that she had misunderstood; her cheeks were hot because of the blanket that she had been covering herself with. It was not because of Ash’s absence she had become lonely. She had just become a little timid because of that nightmare. Having said that, Eco inevitably still thought that, if Ash had rushed home immediately, she wouldn't need to be afraid... Moreover, they were linked together by the Astral. They were partners who signed the sacred contract. Logically speaking, it was their right to accompany each other. In other words, Ash is the one who should be condemned!

Just when Eco came to that conclusion... someone with a 'Kon Kon' knocked at the door.

"......!"

Eco literally, jumped up on the spot.

Part 7

Ash was confused because there was no reply after he knocked the door.

"Where had that Eco run to...?"

Just as Ash reluctantly reached into his pocket to pull out his keys, the door suddenly sprang open.

"It hurts!"

Because his forehead was hit by the door, he was now in pain. Then Eco, like a cannon ball, rushed to him from the room.

"Uwaa!"

Ash fell to the ground after the impact. His Crepes also fell to the ground. Because of the lightning speed Eco also fell into Ash's arms. The feel of her soft skin was passed through the thin summer clothing.

"A-Are you alright?"

Ash asked in surprise, but Eco refused to answer even a word. She just buried her face in his chest. Whenever she exhaled on his chest, Ash became nervous. For Eco to show such attitude, Ash began to worry about her.

"D-Don’t tell me you are drunk? Didn’t I tell you a few times already to not touch the Ansal grass?"

After talking to her in a stern tone, Eco finally replied.

"....Right, I'm drunk. What complaint do you have about it?"

It was rare for Eco to talk in such ambiguous tone.

"Eco...?"

Even while she verbally declared herself to be "drunk", Eco was obviously awake. If she was really drunk, the things that she would do would not be limited to this extent. Fortunately, there were no other students in the corridor right now. So Ash could temporarily condone Eco’s behavior. Eco’s forehead was next to Ash's chest and her body was trembling without control. She was almost like a child. What could she possibly be frightened by? Though Ash still could not understand why she was so frightened, he still put his hand on her head to comfort her.

"Rest assured, I am here."

The two of them hugged each other for quite some time. After a long while, Eco finally stopped trembling.

Notes:

1. this sentence is originally short and made is seems like it is a dead body

2. 正座 Seiza, a formal way of sitting.

Share