CH 34

I wondered if Liel, who was already in the rain, would need an umbrella, but wouldn’t it be better than not having one?

I tried hard to catch my breath, ignoring Liel’s eyes staring at me.

Soon, my irregular breathing returned to normal.

As if nothing had happened, I straightened my back with a calm face and looked at Liel fiercely.

“If you catch a summer cold, there’s nothing we can do.”

Then Liel answered with a gentle smile.

“I’ll be careful.”

Liel’s eyes, which were filled with heat, returned to its original colors.

When I faced his unique friendly eyes, a hypothesis came to my mind.

Maybe this is why other people misunderstand my relationship with Liel.

There may be many factors, but I thought this would be one of them.

But it wasn’t Liel’s fault.

Liel was a friendly person who looked at not only me but also everything with a warm gaze.

He’s born like that. What can I do?

“Let’s go.”

When I rushed Liel thinking about something else in my head, he also moved his feet according to my steps.

I’ll talk to Liel again.

All the way to the dormitory, I wondered whether I should bring up the idea of keeping some distance between us or not.

Tuk—

But he hated it so much when I talked about it last time, so will he listen to me?

Tuk—

Or should I say we should not hold hands only in the academy?

Tuk—

“Lucy.”

I think he’s going to get angry again…….

I had no choice but to hesitate because I had already made Liel sad about this problem.

Tuk—

“Lucy.”

As I was lost in thought with a serious expression, Liel held his hands together over my hand holding the umbrella

His rain-soaked bandage, and Liel’s cold fingers covered the back of my hand.

Thanks to the cold sensation, my wandering thoughts returned.

I rolled my eyes and noticed Liel’s messy hair. Only then did I realize that I had been hitting Liel’s head with the umbrella.

“……sorry for being short…….”

As soon as I realized the situation, I quickly apologized. Every time I did this, I felt a great sense of shame for my short height.

Is there no possibility that I’ll get taller in the future……?

“Should I hold the umbrella?”

Instead of getting angry at me, he asked, pulling the umbrella up. I didn’t feel any irritation in Liel’s words.

“Will you?”

It would be more of a nuisance to refuse here. I hated causing inconvenience, so I immediately tried to take my hand off the umbrella.

“……? You said you’d hold it.”

I couldn’t because Liel wouldn’t let go of my hand.

I looked up at Liel with the meaning of letting go, but he only smiled and didn’t put his hands away.

I could still hear the sound of raindrops falling from the umbrella.

For some reason, there was a strange atmosphere between Liel and I.

This atmosphere seems to be a problem, too.

“Other people thought you and I were dating.”

I rambled about what I had been concerned about for a long time.

I thought about beating around the bush, but I couldn’t think of a suitable word, so I just said it straight away.

Having said this, Liel must have understood.

“…….”

He paused for a moment as if he was troubled. He even looked down at me from time to time.

I waited, nervous, silently, for his mouth to open.

“Really?”

I’m sure he understands……?

Liel’s voice was calmer than I thought. I thought he’d be a little surprised, but this was unexpected.

This isn’t it…….

“Hey, if you keep going like this, the whole school will misunderstand. So we—”

“I…”

Drops of water dripped down Liel’s chin and fell to the floor. The falling drops of water made my eyes automatically turn to Liel’s neck.

We’re almost at the dorm.

“It doesn’t matter.”

At last, he finally opened his mouth, but his words felt like he drove a nail to my chest.

“Ha ha. Why, why doesn’t it matter?”

I asked, grasping my throbbing forehead with my left hand.

Come to think of it, Liel tended not to care much about other people’s eyes.

“Because it’s Lucy.”

What are you talking about?

“If it’s other people, I wouldn’t like it, but it’s okay because it’s Lucy.”

Why?

Why does it feel romantic all of a sudden? Not only that, but I even felt a little dazed.

I slapped my forehead with the palm of my hand to calm my hazy mind.

A powerful sound resonated that could not be buried in the sound of rain.

Surprised by my sudden action, Liel’s eyes widened and lifted my bangs to examine my forehead.

“There was a loud noise.”

“If I don’t do this, I think I’ll be in big trouble.”

Liel pressed my hot forehead slightly with his cold hands.

I was almost swept away by the atmosphere.

No way. Others may be swept away, but not me.

That way, I can proudly say that I’m friends with Liel wherever I go.

I gave my eyes strength so that I wouldn’t lose my mind.

Contrary to me, Liel’s eyes bent beautifully. Looking at his beautifully bent eyes, suddenly I wondered if I should worry about him.

“Are you angry?”

Liel asked, in a playful tone, as if he thought I was glaring at him.

Was that a joke…?

“I’m not angry.”

I quickly denied it. But my eyes were still full of power. To clear up the misunderstanding, I also forced my mouth up and laughed.

It was an awkward laugh.

“But I didn’t lie.”

Now I tried to relax my eyes, but I couldn’t because his words that followed were also shocking.

“It’s true.”

What do you mean…

“Why would I care about a rumor or two with a friend who runs frantically after me without knowing that she’s getting wet in the rain because she’s worried about me?”

Huh? That’s true too……?

I didn’t feel so bad because I felt like he was complimenting me.

Before I knew it, Liel and I had arrived in front of the women’s dormitory. As the time to say goodbye approached, we looked at each other as if we had planned it.

When I saw Liel from the front, he looked like a drowning mouse.

Liel swept his hair away with an insincere movement, as if his wet bangs were annoying. I was glad to see his straight forehead after a long time.

“Lucy. I don’t think we’re in a relationship where we keep our distance just because of rumors.”

Liel took a breath and said. Wouldn’t his breath not have touched my nose if I hadn’t been distracted by his forehead?

No, that was fine up to that.

The problem was that Liel’s breath at the tip of my nose was hot, unlike my body temperature, so my mind was becoming dazed.

My forehead, which was heated by his breath, was clamoring for me to wake up.

“The ends of your hair are a little wet. You’d better hurry up and go in and wash up.”

Liel said, grabbing my hair slightly and letting it go.

His hand that approached and slowly receded seemed big enough to be called an adult now.

Not to mention his deep voice.

“Yes, you too.”

When I managed to answer with my lips lifted, Liel nodded. Then, I relaxed the strength in my hand holding the umbrella together.

He took a step back.

If I left him alone, he was about to walk back in the rain.

When I suddenly came to my senses, I quickly grabbed Liel’s wrist and stopped him.

Liel, who was suddenly caught by the wrist, looked down at me as if asking if I still had something to say.

“Use this and go. You don’t have to return the umbrella. Professor Bendick gave it to me as a reward. Oh, never mind. If you’re going to return it, can you take it to Professor Bendick instead of me?”

“Yes, I will.”

Liel, who had been waiting silently until my words were over, took the umbrella from me.

Then I let go of Liel’s wrist and turned my back on him. The silence and the sound of rain mingled together.

Liel’s body temperature remained at my fingertips. I couldn’t get rid of the cold sensation.

Standing tall, I stopped walking and held and opened my hand that had just held his wrist.

Today, everything seemed to revolve around Liel.

Maybe it’s because of the rain.

It happened to rain, and the surrounding air was wet with water, so Liel’s body temperature was also lower than usual.

All of this goes so well with Liel, so…….

“So?”

Something seemed to have seeped into me.

What’s this?

When I was puzzled by the first sensation I felt, what Liel said followed came to mind.

“Why would I care about a rumor or two with a friend who runs frantically without knowing that she’s getting wet in the rain because she’s worried about me.”

Friend.

I felt like I was sobering.

As he said, we were friends. It was also the most ideal relationship I wanted from him.

In the future, I can go to his wedding and sit in the front seat and applaud him.

As I repeated the pleasant thought inside, that something that I felt from Liel earlier quickly sank and disappeared.

As I was trying to sweep my refreshed heart with my palm, I immediately noticed the trick hidden in his words and tore my bangs.

‘No, wait a minute.’

So we shouldn’t be the only ones who know that……!

At this rate, I will not be able to even set my foot on the wedding hall, let alone the front seat.

***

I didn’t say it directly, but interpreting Liel’s words and actions meant that he had no intention of keeping a distance in the end.

‘Let’s give up persuading Liel.’

To be honest, I felt stuffy and felt my blood pressure rising, but I couldn’t help it.

I’ve already talked about the same topic twice, and I’ve heard the same answer twice.

There is a saying that people usually endure up to three times, but if I ask one more time, it would be the third time.

‘I think I can explain that it’s not me either.’

If I tell him three times, he may get angrier than last time, or he may be really upset.

When I imagined that Liel would be upset, I naturally had a headache.

‘Yes, let’s do that.’

I don’t want to wake sleeping dogs for no reason and make the matter worse.