Chapter 32

This is a conversation between Milk and Ayame that was not depicted in the previous story. It's quite a tense story, so if you don't like such content, please skip it.

The conclusion of their conversation, as mentioned in the previous story, is "situation confirmation," "declaration of war," and "for now, on hold."

Milk and Ayame entered the adjacent room that the princess had prepared for them. However, neither of them could utter the first word. Ayame and Milk had been classmates for a year. They weren't particularly close, nor were they particularly distant. They would talk when they met and had even eaten lunch together. They became friends in their second year. After their classes were separated, their relationship became a bit distant.

Milk awakened. Her hair turned pink. She knew about Awakened individuals and had sometimes envied them, but when her hair color changed and she felt an unknown power swirling inside her, it made her feel uneasy. At that time, she thought of Ayame. Ayame had awakened a month before Milk. Milk consulted Ayame. Ayame had the same concerns as Milk. Although not everything was resolved, it was comforting to know that a classmate shared the same worries. Perhaps it was out of consideration for Awakened individuals like Milk, but they ended up in the same class again in their third year, despite the large number of classes. It might have been to make management easier by keeping them in the same class.

Their classmates viewed Milk and other Awakened individuals as if they were different beings. Most of it was out of curiosity, but some classmates genuinely disliked them. Being an Awakened individual gave an advantage in exams, and some might have been jealous, but others might have simply found them repulsive. Awakened individuals were considered a different species from humans, a notion Milk was aware of. As a result, Milk naturally spent more time with Ayame.

It was during this time that she met Taiga. Despite going to places where Taiga might be, like game centers and bookstores, she never ran into him when she wanted to. Yet, when she didn't want to, they met in a place far from her home. She tried to greet him with a smile, but inside, she was scared. She was worried about how Taiga would react to her as an Awakened individual. Taiga was surprised but accepted her as usual. She was happy about that. She fell in love with Taiga again. However, she felt a bit guilty towards Ayame, who had mentioned being a bit afraid of interacting with others.

So, when she heard that Ayame had a crush on someone, she was genuinely happy for her. She never imagined that the person would be Taiga.

"…Ayame, I like Taiga."

"Ayame-chan… I do too."

"Yeah, I know. Taiga is like a prince, after all."

Why does God have to be so cruel?

"Hey…"

"Ayame-chan, I don't intend to give up."

"Neither do I. I can't give up because I can't like anyone else but Taiga."

"……"

They fell silent again.

Friends or lovers.

It's a common ultimate choice, but we both prefer lovers over friends…

"Let me confirm, Ayame, you haven't started dating Taiga, right? You haven't even confessed yet, right?"

"Ayame-chan, you haven't started dating him either, right? You said it's hard to change the relationship with your childhood friend."

"……"

We had been overcommunicating on the phone. Everything but our names was out in the open. Rather, why didn't we realize we were talking about the same person?

I even considered suggesting that we confess to Taiga at the same time. I thought I had an advantage because of our long history.

"Ayame, I really like Taiga, but I have something I need to achieve as an explorer. I love Taiga, and that will never change. But dungeon exploration isn't a game."

I want to obtain the Holy Maiden's elixir to lift the curse on Dad. If we fight over Taiga and one of us ends up dating him, the party will become very awkward. I don't want that.

"I'm not playing a game either. I'm serious."

Ayame said.

"Then, let's put Taiga on hold. We won't make a move on each other."

"Okay… Yeah, if that's fine with you, Ayame-chan, it's fine with me. But even if you and Taiga end up dating, I won't give up."

"Me too… Hey, Ayame, we're still… friends, right?"

"Yeah, I want to be too."

I don't know if Ayame and I will remain friends. But an agreement was formed between us. For now, I think it's okay. And just like Ayame said, if she ends up dating Taiga, I can't celebrate, and I don't think I can give up either. Taiga has become that important to me. Ever since he saved my life in the Stone Stage dungeon. And after he saved Dad's life, my feelings for him became as hard as a diamond. They will never waver.

"By the way, about Hime."

"…Yeah. I think Oshino-san definitely likes Taiga too. But it doesn't seem to be a high priority for her."

"We need to be cautious about that too."