Free Web NovelChapter 70: Mika And Ophelia - At Night
Hours later.
It was night when Mika regained his consciousness.
"..."
After he opened his eyes and gazed at the now familiar ceiling, whose whiteness was mixed with the color of the moonlight.
He lifted his upper body up.
"About time you got up."
It was Olivia, who greeted Mika in her usual provoking tone and with her typical smirk.
She was now wearing her white, fluffy and large robe and a golden crown on her head. With crossed arms, she leaned against the door.
[Activating punishment.]
"You could have cut me some slack, you know?" Mika said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"!"
However, he instantly covered his mouth with his hands in surprise.
"Oh~"
Olivia appeared amused by Mika’s tone switch. Her smirk widened and her eyes sharpened.
"Your High- How come, you two sisters only know how to solve things with violence? It doesn’t help either that they have such gorilla-like strength!" he tried to apologize for his way of talking, but there was a switch again, leading to him speaking his inner thoughts aloud.
"Damnit! System! What’s the meaning of this?!" Mika yelled desperately as he ruffled through his hair.
Not much changed, but Mika’s way of speaking was now more casual, even though he was talking to the nation’s queen.
[This is the punishment. Starting now, you will say anything that comes to your mind, even though it is against your will for the next 24 hours.]
"Huh?! Don’t screw with me! You pulled this punishment out of your ass!"
Unbeknownst to him, Olivia was approaching him.
"I don’t know what happened, but I like this attitude more than your stuck-up act. Always talking so politely is so boring, haha!" she stated laughingly.
She leaned closer to him.
"Because you made me laugh, I will pretend like I didn’t hear your previous comments." she whispered, wearing a smile that did not reach her eyes.
"!"
Mika distanced himself from her quickly in fear.
"Well, as much as I want to talk to you about other things, like the power you showed me during our match, I’m just here to escort you." Olivia said with a sigh.
"Escort me? Where are we going?"
"Just get ready and follow me."
Olivia turned her back on him and waited outside.
"And there she goes..."
Knowing it would not do him any good to make her wait, Mika proceeded to hurry up, changed his clothes and left the room.
"This way." Olivia ordered as she took the lead.
"So where are you leading me to? Will it be the training grounds this time?" Mika asked in a sarcastic tone.
Mika’s genuine thoughts shaped his words once again.
"Haha! I can’t remember the last time someone talked so casually with me!"
"As if someone could talk like that with the queen..." Mika muttered.
Olivia just kept on walking ahead of Mika.
"We’re heading to Ophelia."
"Huh, really? I thought that I could only visit her if I won against you." he wondered with raised eyebrows.
"The only condition was to fight me. As if anyone would ever believe that you could even do as much as scratch me, haha!"
"This da-"
Mika shut himself up by pressing his hands on his mouth.
"Here we are."
They stood still as they arrived in front of a rather normal-looking door.
It was a door, which appeared like a door of a normal bedroom, like Mika’s. In addition, it was neither hidden nor was there some sort of blockade. It was located in the middle of a floor.
"Hm, what’s wrong? You can go in." Olivia asked Mika, who was standing there nervously.
"I’m scared, to be honest..." he admitted with an awkward smile.
"Scared?"
It was not because it was the first time seeing Ophelia after the battle at the Desolated Fortress.
"In my current state, I don’t know what will accidentally slip off my tongue..."
Due to the punishment, Mika was forced to speak his thoughts aloud.
"What the heck?"
Olivia tilted her head confused.
"Just get your ass in there. No time to fuss about your groundless anxiety." she ordered as she heaved a sigh.
"Wait-"
Oliva already opened the door and pushed Mika inside, before she closed it again.
"H-hey, let me out!" Mika shouted as he banged against the door.
But then, he heard chains rustling behind him.
"Tone it down. There are people on this floor, who are trying to sleep right now, you know?"
The more Mika turned his neck around, the more he broke out into a cold sweat.
"M-Ms. Ross..." he murmured with a strained smile.
Sitting on her bed was Ophelia.
In her empty and tidy room, she sat there like a princess, who was held hostage. Her back was leaning against the wall and her legs her stretched out.
The moonlight shone on her white nightgown, which gave her a more lady-like impression compared to her usual academy uniform.
"..."
Mika’s expression straightened instantly after he saw the handcuffs around her delicate hands.
"I already heard that you’re awake, but seeing you in person... kind of makes me feel more relieved..." Ophelia said softly as she put her hand on her chest.
Her smile was both faint and gentle. And yet, it warmed Mika’s body.
"You’ve been asleep for a whole month, you know? Do you know how worried we all were?" she complained jokingly.
"..."
"What’s the matter? Your face is beet red."
"S-shut up..."
Mika averted his gaze from her, but his body was honest.
His cheeks were red. His heart beat faster. His eyes got a bit moist.
Ophelia chuckled slightly.
"Come here." she said, patting the spot next to her on the bed.
With his head hung low, he walked to the bed. But instead of sitting next to her, as she suggested, he sat on the bed’s edge in the middle.
"Heh..."
She pulled her legs towards her and rested her head on her knees.
"Do you feel completely rested now?"
Mika nodded his head.
"Did you talk with Zack and the others already?"
He moved his head again.
"What were.."
Ophelia continued asking Mika with a smile on her face, whereas Mika kept silent and only nodded his head to her questions.
"Hey, Mika..."
"..."
"Can you come closer?" she asked with her never-fading warm smile.
"..."
Mika did not respond at first.
"Mika?"
"Do... Do I have to...?"
Be that as it may, he slid over to her and slowly lifted his head up.
"I want to see your face at least once."
She was now sitting on her legs with her arms on her thighs.
"Are you satisfied now...?" he said partly annoyed and quiet.
"..."
Ophelia turned agape when she saw Mika’s face.
He had slightly reddened and moist eyes.
In turn, her eyes narrowed as she smiled even more.
As he was close enough, Ophelia rested her head on his shoulder.
"!"
Mika flinched for a moment.
"I’m glad that you survived." she whispered.
"Damn system...!" he muttered so quietly that even Ophelia did not catch that.
"What are you making me say..."
His voice started to tremble.
"Ms. Ross, I..." he began to speak in an audible tone.
Since he awoke from his long sleep, he tried to prepare himself mentally for this meeting. He tried to make himself ready for the day he would see Ophelia again.
And he promised himself one thing.
"I... I was so scared..." he said as he went for a hug.
When he saw her again, he wanted to try to not...
"I was scared of losing you...!" he continued while small tears rolled down his cheeks.
...cry.
"..."
Ophelia patted his back as she listened to his worries.
"Ms. Ross..."
For him, Ophelia was the first person, to whom he could entrust his secret and who actually believed him aside from his parents.
She was a friend to him.
No. She was even more than a simple friend.
Despite only two months passed since Mika enrolled in Loogam, he and her faced great dangers already and survived them.
As of now, she was the person he could trust the most.
And he let all his pent-up emotions out in front of her. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
It took minutes before he calmed down.
He still embraced her.
"I like being around you, Ophelia."
"?!"
"!"
None of them, even Mika himself, did not expect this statement to come out of Mika’s mouth.
They instantly got off each other and faced different directions.
Mika jumped off the bed and Ophelia covered herself up with the bed sheet.
The two were red from one ear to the other.
"I-I-I should go now, I s-suppose..." Mika said, red as a tomato and sweating heavily.
He smiled to hide his embarrassment.
"..."
Mika’s hand was on the doorknob when Ophelia began to speak.
Her hands were still clenching the sheets, which she lowered so that only her face starting from the nose was visible. However, she could not hide her red cheeks anymore.
And her eyes constantly shifted between him and the wall beside her.
"I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this as your teacher, but..."
Her voice was sheepish and quiet, which was unlike her.
"...I like you, too."
