As a virgin in his late 20s and a full-time weeb, Nero never had much experience with real women.
But the dude had watched enough R18 videos and read every slice-of-life romance manga to earn a PhD certificate for theoretical romance.
… Enough to last multiple lifetimes, actually.
His whole browser history could probably power a small country if he converted that to energy.
That's why when it came to classic moves, bro had the entire playbook memorized.
It's just a matter of putting theory into practice.
And that's what he did, of course.
He wouldn't fumble or be awkward about it because her mama raised no pussy.
"Ow." Nero winced a bit.
He pressed his hand like there's a sharp pain in his left chest.
Surprisingly, he's a good actor if he puts his mind in it.
"Ugh… I think some of the wounds from that Ravager are still not healed properly."
Hook, line, and sinker.
Casual and non-intrusive.
It was something not exaggerated or out of context.
And thankfully, our angel took the bait.
Aurelia's expression turned stern and serious immediately.
Her golden eyes zoomed in on where he was pointing.
"Lord Nero, you should have mentioned this earlier when Yui was present."
She moved closer without any regard to her surroundings.
For her, his safety is the number one priority.
"Show me exactly where the pain is located."
And Nero almost felt bad about it.
She fell for it so easily.
'Good lord, how does such a girl as innocent as this exist?'
Probably because she's an angel… literally in this sense.
But that's not enough to make Nero stop.
Time to continue.
"Right here."
He pointed to a particular spot in his chest with a bit of pain in his expression.
"There's like a… sharp stabbing sensation."
Aurelia frowned.
She stepped even closer to examine the spot.
And seeing how close her head was, Nero was able to smell the wafting fresh scent from her wet silver hair.
*Sniiiifffff…*
He silently breathed a good long one.
'My soul is fully healed.'
Nero didn't forget to thank the gods for the blessing.
Meanwhile, the unaware angel hovered her hand over his chest.
She then touched the part for a while before furrowing her brows for a bit,
"... I do not see any external damage. The injury may be internal."
So she leaned closer.
"..."
Nero could practically feel her warm breath against his shirt.
Her silky silver hair fell forward, covering some of her face.
And at that point in time,
"...!!!"
A hint of realization struck the pure angel.
The air in the room suddenly went from serious to something frozen.
And Aurelia happened to realize it a bit too late.
Her barely-exposed body was already too close.
The silence was deafening at this point.
The distance was almost non-existent.
And the way her hands were still hovering over his chest started to quiver.
And then slowly… like she was fighting against her own instincts…
"..."
Aurelia raised her head like an old machine who forgot her to oil her gears.
"..."
"..."
Needless to say, their eyes met.
Her face was probably just about two inches away from his.
It was close enough that they could count their eyelashes up this close.
Close enough that Nero could see the way her usually cold and expressionless golden pupils trembled slightly in emotion.
Close enough that they could feel their warm breaths… and how Aurelia's turned a little uneven.
It was close enough that if he just leaned in a little bit forward...
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*
Aurelia's heart was beating so hard Nero could practically hear it.
Her blossom lips parted apart just slightly.
It was like she was about to say something.
But no words came out of her lips.
Nero felt his pulse kick into overdrive.
This was it.
This is the moment he was waiting for.
Nero then started to lean in slowly… his eyes drifting to her defenseless luscious lips.
She didn't pull away.
If anything, the angel seems to be frozen like a statue.
Light a weeping angel caught in the headlights.
Closer.
Just a little closer.
A few centimeters, and then…
*Knock! Knock! Knock!*
"M-Mr. Nero…? Ms. Aurelia! D-Dinner's ready…!"
Yui's voice crashed through their lovey-dovey moment.
Yui's voice was like a wrecking ball made of pure cock-blocking energy.
Nero and Aurelia went apart from each other so fast it probably violated the laws of physics.
Aurelia practically teleported to the other side of the room.
While Nero just sat there blinking.
He even wondered if he just imagined the whole thing.
'Fucking author!'
Nero made the most bitter expression he could muster.
"I hope you get roasted in the comments for that timing!'
Bro cursed the air as if he was seeing something none could see.
… Of course, it's not like he was in a novel or anything, right?
That would be crazy.
But if he is, the author in-charge is definitely getting a one-star review for giving him blue balls.
"... I'll go ahead, Lord Nero."
Aurelia's voice was back to her default tone, but there was something forced about it.
It sounds more like… she's agitated?
Before he even knew it, she was already fully dressed and heading for the door.
And then walked faster than her normal pace.
Like she was running from something.
*SLAM!*
The door closed behind her with enough force to make the walls shake.
"..."
Nero sat there alone, staring at the spot where she'd been standing.
"Well, shit."
Maybe he pushed too far?
Did that ruin everything?
Though… the look on her face before Yui's voice came in... it's definitely not disgust or anger.
Confusion? maybe.
Or probably, fear of what would happen next.
Nero let his body fall back on the bed. He then covered his face with his hands.
"Smooth, Nero… Real smooth."
***
"Ms. Aurelia? W-Where are you going?"
Yui's voice stopped Aurelia in the hallway.
"Training."
The word came out sounded sharper than she'd intended, making the timid Yui flinch a bit.
But then she still asked,
"B-But what about dinner? Y-You haven't eaten anything yet!"
"Please give my portion to Lord Nero."
Aurelia didn't slow down.
Instead her pace just increased to a brisk walk, almost becoming a sprint.
She needs to calm herself.
Calm herself from whatever the hell just happened in that room.
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*
Her heart was still beating like it would explode any second now.
It's not the feeling she's used to, nor is it something she felt like a flutter from before…
It's more intense.
VERY intense.
Her face felt very hot.
She needs to release this foreign feeling from her chest.
She knew what to do.
Training would fix this.
Swinging her sword always fixes everything.
***
The abandoned lot behind the camp was a perfect place to practice.
It was dark and empty, with a wide open space to move around.
There will be no witnesses to her lashing out here.
It's a perfect place to calm herself down.
*Shing!*
Aurelia fastly drew her broadsword strapped to her waist as she started moving.
She performed an array of advanced techniques even Nero would have a hard time perceiving even with his leveled up Greater Instinct.
*Whaaap!*
Yes, this was what she knew.
This is what she's used to doing.
Although it felt vague due to her broken memories, the familiar sensation of the blade cutting the air was slowly calming her down.
*Whoosh!*
Her second swing split through the air with a flash.
*Slash!*
Then another horizontal swing bisected it into four.
*Shisssh!*
Followed by a piercing thrust.
Each of her movements were precise, deadly and sharp.
This was who she was supposed to be.
A cold warrior.
A Valkyrie whose sole purpose is to protect her Lord and kill their enemies.
She's… not some sort of teenage girl who's supposed to blush like it's the spring of her life.
No.
That's not like her.
That slight fluttering in her heart before… THAT, she accepted.
Making new memories with her Lord was precious to her.
And she was fond of their memories, yes.
But that was only because they have a summon and the summoner relationship.
But that's all.
And nothing else.
*Whoosh! Slash! Whoosh!*
She increased the speed of her strike as if forcing herself to believe those thoughts.
*Whoosh! Waaap! Wisshh!*
The repetitive motions should've calmed her by now.
*Slash! Wooshhh! Slash!*
It should've cleared her head.
*Slash! Waappp! Slash!...*
And yet,
"Haaahhh… haaahhh…"
All she could think about was the look in his eyes.
The way he looked at her as something more.
Although she didn't comment about it and would often ignore those look as something more of an adoration from the very beginning…
But what if… it's something "more"?
The way his eyes looked joyful every time he looks at her.
That unnatural cold look he gave off when that Marcus guy was about to touch her.
If their lips were to touch at that moment…
What would've happened after that?
She didn't know.
And for the first time… she felt afraid of something she doesn't know.
But what she knew, however, was the fact that the more she thought about it…
*SLASH!!!*
The more fired her heart became.
She swung harder as if she wanted to cut her own thoughts.
But then,
*Shiver…*
"..."
Her hands.
They were… trembling.
The broadsword trembled in her grip.
"W-What..."
*THUMP! THUMP!*
Her heart almost escaped from her chest.
*THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!*
Even harder now.
The sound of her heart beating drowned the sound of everything around her.
Everything else faded away.
The night sounds.
The distant voices from the camp.
Her own breathing.
All she could hear was her own heartbeat.
Her face became tomato red.
Not just a faint blush from before.
This was clearly a full-scale, face-on-fire, *what-the-hell-is-happening-to-me?" kind of red.
"I can't... I can't…"
She unconsciously dropped her sword as she tightly clutched her chest.
She looks like she's about to suffer from a cardiac arrest.
The beating was just so loud she thought her heart might literally explode.
It's so intense she couldn't even think straight.
*THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!*
"Stop… Just stop…"
Breathe in…
Breathe out…
Breathe in…
She forced herself to breathe slowly.
Once at a time…
Like she was preparing for a meditation instead of forcing herself to forget about it.
And gradually, the intense beating in her chest began to calm.
A few minutes later, her breathing finally became even.
The world around her came back into focus.
"... Aurelia?"
"!!!"
The familiar voice made her head snap back towards where it came from.
And then,
*THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!*
It came back again.
And there, Nero stood at the edge of the lot while holding a pair of steaming bowls in both his hands.
He had a concerned expression.
And that look, immediately calmed her heart even for just a bit… just enough to regain the control of her emotions.
That's right, he's just concerned because she suddenly disappeared without saying anything.
Nothing else.
Her thoughts immediately cooled.
She then quickly picked up her sword and although her face still had a faint trace of red.
"Lord Nero, I apologize for the sudden disappearance. What brought you here?"
"You forgot this."
He held up the bowl.
"Yui said you gave away your dinner, but I figured you should actually eat something… are you okay?"
"... Yes.*
The smell hit her as he walked closer.
It's some kind of soup with something on it.
Warm, rich and completely unfamiliar.
*Grumble…*
Embarrassingly, her stomach chose that moment to growl loudly… it was loud enough to wake up the dead.
"..."
"...I-I do not require sustenance at this time."
"Your stomach and drool disagrees."
Nero held out the bowl with a slight chuckle.
"Come on, it's surprisingly good, actually. That's a high praise for camp food."
Aurelia hesitated.
Taking the bowl would mean getting close to him again.
And after what had just happened…
"..."
But her Lord is standing there with that patient expression… It's like he had all the time in the world just to wait for her.
Like he wasn't bothered by her weird behavior.
She then finally reached out and took the bowl.
Their fingers brushed for just a second.
*Thump!*
There it was again.
But a bit softer this time.
It's less terrifying than what she experienced a while ago.
"..."
She then lifted the spoon and took a careful bite.
"Mhhm…"
The taste slowly spread across her mouth.
It's warm… and quite savory.
It's comforting in a way she couldn't describe.
Her golden eyes slightly widened.
This was... quite good.
She took another spoonful, and then another.
"Good, right?" Nero grinned at the angel devouring the porridge.
She nodded while eating.
It was a nice moment.
Another memory to cherish…
"I love it."
And she needed to say that.
The moment they spent together might be little, but it was definitely warm…
"..."
And when the day finally comes she could figure out what that terrifying intense beating was all about…
"Told you so, want mine?"
"... Only if L-Lord Nero graces it."
Until then,
"You sure love your food, huh."
*Thump!*
"I-I shall repay this kindness somehow…"
She would keep this heartbeat to herself for now.
***
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