Loki's gaze was tinged with fear as he lifted his chin slightly and stared straight ahead.
　It's not a powerful gaze. It's only when you look at it head-on that you can clearly see it.
　Yes, it's not an eye that was never directed at you with a strong will.

　The eyes say a lot. If they are as pure a color as hers, they carry more than words.
　Most of her emotions are expressed as her true feelings without pretense. What you want to say and what you're holding back are all reflected in your mind.

　It is the eyes and the pupils that cannot be manipulated as skillfully as facial expressions.
　Looking at her at this time, Ars felt again. If it was Tesfia, she would emit her emotions with words, and if it was Alice, she would emit her emotions with an easily understandable expression.
　However, Loki does not emit such signs that others can detect. Instead, those hidden emotions in his chest are caged in his azure-clear eyes.

　The eyes say a lot. It is a sensory organ that cannot be disguised. Because Loki in particular does not express his emotions, his clear eyes are beautiful, but they also tell us a lot.

　No matter how much Loki smiles fearlessly now, it will be easy to tell it's a lie.
　Loki's facial muscles were slightly tense and trembling.
　She couldn't spin the words well, but her eyes still caught Ars's eyes and didn't release them. They were filled with scary images, and yet they still stubbornly appealed to her with their eyes.

　It was painful, as if a small animal was desperately pleading with her. It was never an act of courage.

　Ars knew what she was trying to say.
　It was quite easy to decipher what her eloquently narrative eyes were reflecting.

'It's all right. I won't make you feel like that again.''
..........

　Whatever Loki's mouth tried to spin, it was pulled tightly together by the trembling.
　Loki must be remembering that scene of the battle with Krokel that had left her with nine deaths. That event must have put a great deal of trauma in her mind.

　Until now, Ars would have been able to handle it as an unwanted worry.
　Now that she didn't even know the cause of her dis-ease, it was normal for Loki to imagine that near-death event.

　His silver hair didn't twitch slightly, and frightened eyes peeked out of his bangs.
　If he lived a normal life, he probably wouldn't even think about what would be the worst for that person.
　However, the worst and despair for Loki was clear.

　It was that Ars would die.
　Loki's heart was shattered once. It was slowly being repaired, but it would probably never heal. Now that he knew - now that he knew and witnessed what was worst for him, he couldn't repeat it.

　Something that was shattered once that day when I thought Ars was dead, shattered once to pieces. It was impossible not to think about that scene, that despair, but at the same time, it would bind Ars at the same time.

　I know that it will bind the current Ars that has changed since I came to the academy.
　So--.

'Al, I've become terribly weak. I've become a coward.
..........

　Now it was Ars's turn to swallow the words.
　What a heavy spew. What painful words spun out thinly.
　It sounds as if the grief came out as words.

　An ominous feeling of foreboding swirled within Loki. It was impossible not to think about it.
　I'm not more worried about Ars than the mark placed on me by the demons that have befallen me.
　So, I said "I'm going to go", knowing that I lacked the strength to do so. That's all I could think of.

　And Loki knew that even such a poor reason would surely be brushed aside by him.

Oh ... me too.
...!
Maybe I'm getting weak, too. Hey, Loki. What did I look like when I heard Felli had been taken?
It's...

　It's hard to answer that. It's not because it's especially Loki.
　You can find a lot of people who have a lot of experience in this field. It's not just a matter of how much time you have left, it's also a matter of how much time you have left.

　Seeing Loki stagnate, Ars guessed the general situation.
　It must have been an awful face, as Ilyce had said. I'm sure it's a shameful face, which is hard to imagine from the usual Ars.

　I'm sure there was not a trace of the most powerful title there.

　Even knowing this, instead of being ashamed, Ars was lifting his cheeks for some reason.

''........?'' And to Loki, who understandably shook his hair and had a question on his face, Ars said as usual - or worse, it was a face full of unlikely humanity.

　Then, Ars took a step forward, quickly closed the distance and put his hand on Loki's head. It wasn't just a gentle hand as usual, but a hand that was attached to the back of his head as if to hold him in.
　The next thing he knew, Loki was snuggled up against his chest as Ars pulled him closer. He buried his face directly in front of her and his hands were held alongside her face in a small way, perhaps as a slight resistance.

　The next thing he knew, he could feel Ars's quiet heartbeat directly from his buried face, taking away Loki's anxiety.

'I could have done it of my own free will, not at anyone's behest. Even if it was in the land of the dead. This still gets me first place. I'd like to save as much as I can afford.
But...
'I know what you mean. Not everything is perfect, that's for sure. But nothing's perfect in the outside world all the time.
That's a quibble.
Maybe. But aren't you disappointed that I'm not working here?　You don't want me to be like that, do you?

　Ars could have died, rather than go through that horror again........
　Loki shook his head forcefully in his chest, saying that he would rather not feel that way. There was no way he would be discouraged, because there was no way he would hate it.

''No, you're lying,'' a single word that was seen through, caused Loki to react with a jolt of disbelief.

　It's not a lie, but Ars in Loki's mind has already decided to go to the rescue.
　He knows that's the kind of person Loki sees Ars to be. And because he is like that, Loki has vowed to give his life and serve.

'For the first time, I think I can do something wizardly. Let me do it ... and I want you by my side.

　The wizards, as Ars calls them, are the beautiful ones who can move without regard to gain or loss. They are reckless people who sell life cheaply. But it is the brilliance of life that is always ready to throw it away, not for its own sake, but for the sake of others.

　That selfish desire may be one of the things that Ars envies.
　But at the same time, both Ars and Loki knew that such people often die early.

　Ars doesn't ask for trust with all his words, he just hugs Loki tightly.
　With both hands, he wraps him up tightly.

　The hug is so tight that Loki is on his toes. He turns his eyes to the ceiling, peeking out from his shoulders.
　He knew thinly that this would happen.
　And as long as Ars continued to go to the outside world from the day he became aware of the fondness he had for him, this anxiety would never go away.

　Loki pulled out his hand that was between him and Ars and dropped it as if he had given up.

　As if to remind himself that it was okay, he put his arm around him and patted him on the back.

'Oops, sorry. That was a little too forceful.'
'Oh, ah ... kohon. Hey, I'm sorry to leave you in a passionate embrace, but we'll have to wait until after we've taken care of everything else.

　Would it have been naturally funny? Inwardly, I was a little disappointed in myself, but now....

　Just as a knock on the door glass sounded from behind them, Loki and Ars turned their attention towards it.

'Looks like we've got our story straight. Or is it my turn now?

　Ilyce, who has returned from the rooftop garden, pastes a sneaky smile on her mouth and thrusts out her hands, which are hidden in her sleeves, for a hug.

　But just before he did, Ars's arm held Ilyce's head down like a pinching rod.

'When everything is all settled, I'll do whatever you say.
'Oh!　You said it, kid.
No, wait!　

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

　Once the sneaky smile was withdrawn, Ilyce gave a thumbs up and a quick snap as a signal to leave.