Read Novel Full Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Chapter 124 – True Feelings
“Riste, I’m sorry!”
After paying for our purchases, we quickly left the store.
Or rather, Riste left the store first, so I hurried after her.
To be honest, I’m not really sure why things turned out this way.
I’m sure it’s my fault that Riste is in a bad mood, and when that happens, the only thing that comes out of my mouth is an apology.
But Riste doesn’t stop.
She turns off the main street and heads down a narrow alleyway with few people.
“Riste… Riste-sama! Please wait a moment. Stop for a moment and tell me what’s going on first!”
“…..”
“I apologize if I offended you in any way! I’m just an idiot, and I don’t understand why Riste-sama is angry with me… that’s all!”
She ran through several alleys as if trying to escape me, and I chased after her, repeating my apologies…
Finally, she stopped in a narrow alley where people could barely pass each other.
But…
“…why are you chasing me?”
The words she spoke with her back turned were directed at me.
“Of course I am! We agreed to go on this adventure together today, didn’t we? This is all my fault, isn’t it? That’s why I’m trying to apologize…”
“It’s not that you did anything wrong, Loki-kun.”
“Th-Then why?”
“You know, Loki-kun… you probably get bored with me, right?”
“Huh…?”
“The three who went down to the lower world first told everyone about it. But the most we talked about was you, Loki-kun. I can understand why Feeril and Felin talked about you, but even Ria, who was with you, liked to talk about the conversations she had with you and the things you did together. That’s why I was looking forward to this as well.”
“…..”
I failed. That’s what I thought.
When she first arrived, Riste didn’t like the way I called her, saying it was like she was being excluded from the group, and she felt uncomfortable with the way we were interacting.
I thought she was half joking, but…
“You’ve noticed, haven’t you? Loki-kun is always being considerate of me. In other words, I make Loki-kun feel uncomfortable.”
“Th-That’s…
“Last night, Loki-kun stayed up with me even though you were tired. But if it had been Feeril, wouldn’t Loki-kun have just said he was sleepy?”
“…..”
“Even in the restaurant you took me to today, Loki-kun was always thinking about me. But if it had been Feeril, wouldn’t it have been a fun place where the two of you could talk about your impressions of the food?”
“…..”
Both things are true, as Riste says.
If it had been Feeril, I could have honestly said I was tired, and if it had been Feeril, we would have talked about our impressions of the food.
Why… why does this happen to me when I’m with Riste-sama?
Is it just because of the atmosphere that I’m just brushing it off with the word ‘noble’?
Is that all it is?
No, that’s not it… I know the answer, don’t I?
“So you’re okay now, right? I don’t want you to worry about me, Loki-kun. From now on, I’m going to switch to investigating the inside of Palmeira, so I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other for a while. There’s a chance that I might be here when my soul comes to the divine realm, but please forgive me for this time, okay?”
“――? Are you kidding me?!”
I couldn’t help but raise my voice.
But if I don’t do anything here, what Riste said will surely be carried out.
That’s not what I want!
“I’m sorry!”
So, I quickly got down on my knees.
This is a warning to myself about harboring feelings that are out of place.
At the very least, I want to restore the relationship to what it should be.
With that in mind, I bow my head.
“Hmm? I thought I made that clear earlier. It’s not your fault, Loki-kun. I felt that even from the people around me today. The cause is me, who makes the people around me feel uncomfortable…”
“No, it’s clearly my own problem!”
“…..?”
This kind of awkward confession is unheard of.
Even though I was already dressed in a shabby way, I rubbed my hands and forehead on the unpaved alley and ended up exposing myself in the most unpresentable way.
But…
“I… I have come to see Riste-sama as a woman. Even though you are a goddess. I am very sorry that I caused this situation by trying too hard to be liked by you, even if only a little!”
“…..”
“But if it has to come to this… it’s okay now. It’ll be normal from now on. That’s right, it will be normal. I won’t try to read between the lines. So instead of not seeing each other, can’t we just be friends and talk normally?”
“T-That kind of thing… It’s unfa…”
“Eh?”
I didn’t hear what she said, and when I looked up, Riste was staring at me.
That’s not fair!”
There was no sense of intimidation in her eyes, as there had often been before, but rather a confused and excited atmosphere.
It was the first time I had seen Riste like that.
“What do you mean by ‘unfair’?”
“How can I be happy when you say things like that and then give me a choice like that? When you bought me the shoes, I was happy because it made me feel special to have something expensive that was different from everyone else’s! That’s why I changed my clothes too because I thought you would be happy if I became the person you wanted me to be! But… I’ve felt a wall between us for a long time… I’m happy when you do things for me, but at the same time, you have a worried face! I don’t want you to make that face! That’s why I decided to keep my distance…”
“Wait a minute! I don’t want that either! If I could get closer to you, I would! But I get nervous, so I can’t help it! If I buy you shoes that fit you, you’ll look even better, and if you put on the divine realm clothes, you’ll look so good that I’ll die… If you wear accessories, I’ll probably die even more! But I want to do it for you! I want to do it if it makes you more like me!”
“What? I-I can’t just say ‘I understand’ when you say things like that!”
“Why not? I don’t think I’m doing anything you don’t want me to do! If you’re happy with it, then just accept it without saying anything!”
“I’ve told you many times! I don’t want you to make a troubled face!”
“Then let me kiss you! That would make most things easier!”
“Eehhh?!”
“Ehhh?! No, that’s not it! If I don’t do something like that, a guy like me won’t be able to handle maximum beauty―ugh, no way!”
I-I got carried away and said something outrageous…
What could have happened to make me suddenly go crazy and kiss her?
Oh no, oh no, oh no…
When I looked at Riste’s face, she looked down with a bright red face.
“No way, no way, no way! It was a joke, a slip of the tongue, a figure of speech! Don’t worry, it’s just that my mouth went a little haywire!”
“S-so that’s it, right?”
“Of course! I’m not so good-looking that I could suddenly skip a step like that!”
“Fufu.”
“Hmm?”
“Finally―you’ve become the Loki-kun I want you to be.”
“Ah…”
It was only when she said it that I realized it.
Maybe it was because we’d been able to express our true feelings to each other, but the extreme feeling of tension that had been building up inside of me had disappeared.
And I think it was also significant that I was able to hear Riste’s true feelings.
“Maybe it’s because we were both able to express our true feelings… hahaha…”
“True feelings… is that what it was? It seems like that was the reason.”
“I think so too. I was just trying to act cool in front of Riste, and I think that was different from my true feelings.”
“Well, Loki-kun, I’ll tell you my true feelings from now on.”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“Would you be willing to buy one of the accessories from earlier?”
Riste’s smile looked really bright.
So I answered honestly.
“Of course. I’ll buy them both because I think they look good on you. But they both have to be no more than 100,000 Beeke! I’m really running out of money!”
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