I walked Ilyas home and chased away the two sticking to him. Walking side by side, we once again arrived at the intersection that separated our way.
"This is the third time I've been saved by you. I'm thankful, but I feel useless at the same time."
"Don't be, it's a tough world to live in. And as someone with the ability, I'm just doing my best to help."
Ilyas smiled a bit at my words, but his eyes still carried a hint of guilt.
"Can I hold your hand before I leave?"
Confused, I tilted my head, but I still held out my hand for him. Ilyas didn't immediately take it, his hand hovered around my palm for a little bit – feeling its texture. The gesture was ticklish so I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
He gave me a soft smile, then directed my palm to face him. Our hands clasped together.
"I don't know how many people you save with this hand, and you might only consider it as your duty." Ilyas said with a low voice, his fingers moved one by one, interlacing my fingers.
"But one of the lives you saved is in front of you."
Ilyas slowly brought my hand to his lips and gave me the gentlest kiss on the back of my hand.
"And I swear to protect you too."
A determined gaze was visible from beneath his thick eyelashes.
It was so mesmerizing, as if I was sucked into his world.
Ilyas released his grip from my hand and waved to me as he walked away.
"Anyway, see you tomorrow, you can expect the greatest guiding from me."
He then left into the horizon, leaving me alone at the intersection.
"…."
'Huh?'
My mind went blank.
'Huh?'
I didn't know how, but my house's front door was already in front of me.
'Huh...?'
And I somehow had taken off my clothes and was taking a bath under a shower.
'HUHH????!!'
"W-was that a love confession?! From Ilyas? To me?!"
With my mind clearer after being dunked by water, panic started to settle in. I paced around my bathroom with chaotic thoughts in my head.
"I mean, yeah, sure, I'm also one of the love interests in the comic, so it's not impossible for him to fall in love with me, but it's only been two days since we met! Isn't the progress too fast?!"
I slammed my hand on my sink when something clicked in my mind. There's something I missed when I researched this comic.
"Who was the main love interest in the comic again?"
Considering my sister's screams, it's probably this guy I'm currently possessing. So it made sense that the main protagonists had higher affection for each other when they first met! They were destined to be with each other after all!
"No, calm down me, that might just be some kind of flirtatious behavior those romance comics usually use. Fanservice! Yeah, it's a fanservice!"
"..."
I sighed.
"That doesn't make it any better."
Having failed to convince myself, I stepped out of the bathroom.
Denying it made my heart feel worse, so I decided to just follow the flow. There's nothing I could do about what had happened, I just needed to focus on the future and face him when the time comes.
Putting my mind to rest, I boiled a cup of tea and put it on the living room table.
Turning on the TV and picking a film to watch, I planned on buying some snacks to accompany it-
But a drop of red blood dripped down on the floor.
"Haa...."
I gasped for breath as I could feel fluids starting to fill in my lungs. It seemed like I used too much power on the second raid.
Trying my best to stop my bleeding, I closed my eyes as I leaned on the sofa. However, after I finally found a comfortable spot, a loud bang caused by my front door made me opened my eyes.
"E~than~! I bring your favorite sna-"
Wilson stopped speaking when he spotted me lying weakly on the sofa. I gave him a wave of greeting because I currently couldn't speak.
He walked up and crouched in front of me – his gaze serious.
Checking my condition for a bit, he asked.
"How long has this been happening?"
His spot-on question made me feel guilty. Wilson didn't ask the what, he asked the how and why – indicating he wanted to solve the problem fast.
"1 week? 2 weeks? 3?"
I gave him a vague answer by nodding, but Wilson could read me like an open book. He typed something on his phone then turned his eyes to me.
"Scrap the pills I gave you, I'll create something energizing to help your internal wound while stabilizing your wavelength at the same time."
Having no choice, I nodded at his words.
Wilson smiled as he raised his hand to pat my head – the warmth that came with it felt soothing.
"Rest, tell me when the sudden spike is too painful to handle."
Following his lead, I rested my mind. Though sleep never came to me, I felt grateful to have Wilson by my side.
That's the last day I saw Wilson before he locked himself up inside his lab again.
.
.
Wednesday morning, 7:00 A.M.
I now stood in front of one of the most famous gyms in District 2. Both Xain and Cedric stood on my either side.
One looking energetic and one looking lethargic.
"To fire things up, I'll make a bet. Whoever finishes my one-month trial training course will have their wish fulfilled."
"Just one month?"
"Tsk, a full month?"
'These people really don't understand the energy of youth.'
Seeing their uninterested expressions, I wrapped my hands around Xain's shoulder. Trying my best to be dramatic as I explained.
"Imagine this, day after day you always go to gym alone don't you? Don't you wish for great gym partners to accompany you? Now that we are here, for months to come, you'll get us as gym partners. And you know what benefits you could gain from a gym partner? Increased motivation through rivalries. Don't you want to show off your power to us as well? It's now your chance."
"You're getting a gym partner when we do it for a month anyway. He's scamming you out of his offered 'wish', you fool." Cedric interjected with the most spiteful tone I had ever heard.
"Is what he said true Ethan?"
"…"
They both stared at me with dubious eyes, so I released my grip on Xain...
"Excuse me for a second."
And instead, I leaned my elbow on Cedric's shoulder and whispered to him.
"Cedric, if you finish this one-month training, I'll buy you whatever games you like."
"..."
"Plus the DLCs."
"..."
"And one-week off permit to play your games."
We looked at each other in the eye. From the sparkle in his eyes, I knew we had reached a non-verbal deal.
Cedric grinned widely, "What do you mean Xain? Ethan didn't lie, you are just misunderstanding my words. You'll get a great gym partner for months to come."
"Really?!"
He turned his gears around as fast as an F1 racing car. And fortunately, Xain bought that lie.
Seeing their behavior, I held in a sigh that almost came out of my lips.
I could only pray with all my heart that this could run smoothly.