(POV: Ais)
Strong.
That was my first impression of him when I saw him fighting Anakitty and Raul. After which, I fought him myself, and the impression remains the same.
He was strong.
That impression only got stronger the more I saw him fight. I want to know how he can get so strong, so I invited him to train with me.
But the more time I spend with him, the more I get to know him. The more new things I discover about him. Arin was lazy sometimes, and he was also a spoiled person.
But I like spoiling him also. When he lay on my lap, and I brushed my hand through his extremely soft hair, it strangely brought calmness to me. Now I understand why Riveria gives so many lap pillows. Bringing peace to my broken heart, which longed to meet my mother every second.
But he is improving so quickly. If he becomes stronger than me, then does that mean I will not be able to give him lap pillows? I worry about that future.
I finally brought that question up with him, and he just laughed. I was upset with him. It is an extremely important thing for me. Why is he laughing?
"I am sorry, Ais." He apologized. "Don't pout. You can give me as many lap pillows as you want. In fact, I like it when you do that."
"Really?" I asked him. He nodded his head gently. and I
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was happy.
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He is still strong. But he is also gentle and kind.
When he protected me from Gorran's attack, at that moment, when he stood in front of me. He seemed like one of those heroes' mothers always told me about.
And I also knew at that moment that he would surely surpass me someday.
Which gives me conflicted feelings. On one side, I wanted him to be strong so that no one could harm him. But I also did not want to be left behind, either.
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And that's why I have decided to become strong enough to stay by his side.
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Strong. Gentle. Kind. These words keep repeating in my head when I think about Arin.
But there is another thing on my mind.
Lately, Riveria has been acting strangely as well. She smiles a lot more when she is talking with Arin, which is a very rare occurrence. Even I, who spend a lot of time with her, have only seen laughter like that only a couple of times, and she also makes that special tea he likes without him asking for it every time.
"Riveria," I said during one of the snack times that we were having. "You're acting strange."
"Strange? How so?" she asked, not looking up from her book.
I tilted my head, trying to find the right words. "You're... softer. Like when you give me lap pillows, but different. Your face gets red sometimes when Arin thanks you."
Riveria's hands stilled. "That's—you are just imagining things."
"And yesterday you spent twenty minutes explaining a basic spell to him that he already knew," I continued.
Arin chuckled from where he sat. "Ais, I think you're embarrassing her."
"Am I?" I looked between them, confused. "But I'm just saying what I see. Riveria, you treat him like I treat him when he's tired and needs lap pillows. Do you want to give him lap pillows too?"
Riveria's face turned a shade of red.
"Ais!"
"What? Is that bad?" I asked, slightly confused. " We could take turns," I said earnestly, since I wanted Riveria to feel happy too. "His hair is very soft. Very comfortable to pet."
"That's not—you can't just—" Riveria stammered, looking flustered in a way I'd never seen before. Again, so strange.
I blinked at her reaction. "Did I say something wrong? You look like when Tiona eats too many spicy snacks."
Arin was trying hard not to laugh. "Ais, maybe we should go back to our training now."
"Okay," I agreed easily, still not understanding why Riveria looked so embarrassed.
Maybe I should ask Arin about it. He's good at explaining things I don't understand.
But I was happy. More people caring about Arin meant he'd be safer.
"Oye! Ais-tan!" I heard Loki shout and looked towards her.
"What is it, Loki?" I asked her. Riviera says yelling without reason is a stupid thing to do. Did Loki become stupid?
"You are thinking something rude, aren't you? Anyway, why are you spacing out? We are on a date so focus on me ok, Ais-tan?"
Loki said as we were making rounds around the city, since she wanted to go out.
"We are not on a date; I am simply on escort duty, completing my punishment," I explained. I also wanted to go in the dungeon with Arin.
"Eh? Why are you pouting, Ais-tan? Do you not like my company?"
"No," I told her the truth. Since lying is bad. Loki suddenly clutched her hand at her chest. Seemingly in pain. I was confused. Should she not clutch her head instead of her chest? If she became stupid?
"GAH! Ais-tan, that broke my heart. You know." Loki continued her theatrics like usual. But her next words were something I was unable to ignore.
"Oh! I knew it because of that brat, Arin. Right? I swear I am going to poke that needle in his neck next time he comes for a status update. Hehe–hi!!!, Ais-tan, why are you drawing your sword? You know I am your patron god, right?"
Loki backed off from me. I was joking though. But no one seems to get my jokes for some reason, except Riviera.
Such a shame.
"Anyway, let's go get some Jagarmarukun. Ais-tan." Loki started to walk away, and I hurriedly ran after her.
"You are so easy, Ais-tan. Following after me like a child who got a promise of a treat from an uncle." What does she mean by that? Jagarmarukun is not just a snack.
It is a treasure.
I wonder how Arin is doing in the dungeon. He is getting stronger day by day. I will also try my best on this expedition. I will fight Amphisbaena and
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I will level up.
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"No." Riviera's word dashed my hope of leveling up.
"But why?" I asked her, obviously upset.
" I know you are reckless, Ais. But I had hoped that you had matured, since you have not done anything too out of line recently." That's just because I was busy observing Arin.
"Besides, you are just a level 4 right now. Fighting against a foe like Amphisbaena is stupidity. Even more so since you can't swim." Riviera words made sense. But
"Whose fault is it that I can't swim?" I said in a quiet voice.
"What did you say?" Riviera asked, her beautiful eyes glaring sharply at me.
"N-Nothing." It was enough to remind me that I can't ever go against her. I really don't want to experience that sensation of drowning helplessly.
"Haa.. But I can understand your desire to grow. So let's do it like this." I looked at her, Hope coming together in my heart.
"It will be you and me against the Amphisbaena. Remember, I will only keep it from running away or hiding in the water; the rest will be up to you. If we defeat it like this, I am more than sure enough, that you will be able to level up."
Naturally, a small smile came upon my face. I knew it. Riveria is just like Arin. Strong and Kind.
"Thank you, Riveria." I just wanted to convey that I am really grateful to her, not just for this time. But from the very moment we met.
"Oh? At least give me a warning before you hug me like this." Riviera's troubled voice fell in my ears, as she wrapped her warm hands around me, but I didn't care. Since I knew she would never be truly angry with me.
Because she is the older sister figure I never had.
I promise I will get strong and I will protect Riveria and Arin and all the people I care about. I will never let this world take them away from me.
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Like it took my mom.
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"Now, until then, we are going to revise all the information there is about Amphisbaena." Riviera's announced.
I take back my word.
She is definitely not as kind as Arin.