Chapter 334: An Indescribable Accident!!!
Tsubaki had once been struck by lightning.
Of course, it wasn't the unfortunate natural occurrence of being hit by a bolt during stormy weather.
Rather, in the past, as Sona's servant, she had clashed with Akeno, another servant from Rias's side.
Akeno was a shrine maiden turned devil who specialized in lightning attacks, and during their confrontation, Tsubaki had been electrocuted.
The sensation was like her entire body being instantly paralyzed, as if all her neural signals had gone haywire, leaving her powerless and unable to control her limbs.
Naturally, this was followed by intense pain and spasms.
Now, she was experiencing a similar sensation again, though it was only somewhat comparable.
It still disrupted her neural signals, causing numbness, weakness, and spasms throughout her body.
Her mind went blank, unable to form a single thought.
So, she hadn't expected that the reason why Rias, Ravel, and Sona treasured the perfume so dearly—forbidding anyone from touching it, or even looking at it—was because of how it was made.
Thus, Tsubaki's mind was thrown into utter chaos.
If she had been told about this method of production shortly after they first met—no, even just a few days after she became one of the Demon Gods—she would have undoubtedly glared at them with disgust.
Even with her feelings of loyalty, she would have looked at them as if they were trash.
But now, upon learning how it was made, although Tsubaki felt intensely embarrassed and ashamed, she accepted it.
Because her feelings had transformed; they were no longer the pure loyalty of a subordinate to a ruler.
Her emotions had shifted toward something more akin to love.
Especially after getting to know him better, she found herself falling deeper and deeper.
He, a mere mortal, rivaled the gods!
In a world ruled by deities, he used his wisdom to plan for the future!
In the end, he surpassed the gods!
Faced with such feats, what ordinary girl wouldn't be moved?
Especially after becoming one of his Demon Gods and getting closer to him, this infatuation became utterly unstoppable.
As a teacher, he was responsible, gentle, and witty.
As a lord, he was rigorous, serious, and relentless.
Beyond these two roles, he was simply a pure-hearted young man, equally interested in the opposite sex, which sometimes made him mischievous—and these moments were the perfect opportunities for a girl to draw closer.
If she acted too tsundere or reserved, the chance would slip away, only to be snatched by someone else.
After all, there were too many girls surrounding him, and she wasn't the most dazzling among them.
So, Tsubaki accepted the so-called perfume-making process.
After regaining some composure, she stared at the terrifying object before her—now polished to a glossy sheen by the perfume—and felt a renewed sense of dread.
While applying it, she had to be extremely careful; the slightest misstep could lead to being pierced or torn apart.
That was why she felt somewhat fearful, believing she could never accommodate such a terrifying presence.
Yet, at the same time, she felt a thrill of anticipation, almost wishing for a "careless" moment.
In that case, the relationship would shift from intimate zero-distance contact to a state of negative-distance contact.
In other words, they would merge together, becoming inseparably close.
However, the consequence of this would fill Tsubaki with guilt—the guilt of betraying her close friend.
Although Sona had explicitly stated she wouldn't mind at all and had no issue with Tsubaki also creating perfume, Tsubaki still felt a sense of betrayal and lingering guilt toward her friend.
So, if she were to truly let their relationship progress to that point now, the guilt would only intensify.
She had asked and learned that Sona hadn't yet reached that level of intimate connection either, so she couldn't just rush ahead of Sona.
In fact, her current actions were already a step ahead of Sona's, already more intimate.
When Sona was making perfume, she didn't allow the source of the perfume to come into direct contact with the terrifying thing that was now exposed before them.
It was purely stimulated by hand to collect the perfume.
Additionally, to prevent the exposed thing from releasing contaminants that would severely pollute the perfume, every time the contaminants were about to be released, they would be directed to a specific spot where they would be swallowed up.
This act alone had completely reshaped Shinra Tsubaki's understanding like never before.
So, she couldn't betray Sona. She couldn't let Sona down.
Tsubaki had already gained more than Sona had; she couldn't push her luck any further.
But, but for some reason, a devil inside her was whispering, tempting her not to waste this opportunity.
No, it wasn't that the devil was whispering temptations in her ear—it was as if the devil had taken direct control of her, making her feel somewhat out of control.
Just then, Tsubaki's peripheral vision caught something, and she couldn't help but focus on it. Her body, which had been gradually losing control, instantly froze.
She saw someone—the very person who made her feel so guilty: Sona.
Huh? An illusion? She was gone.
But regardless, the shock of that moment brought Tsubaki back to her senses, and she successfully regained control of her body, so she wouldn't lose control anymore.
Looking again in that direction, she still didn't see Sona. It must have been her imagination.
But just as she was about to look away, half a face peeked out from behind a stone pillar in that spot.
In an instant, their eyes met, and for a moment, both of them froze as if paralyzed.
At the same time, the person Tsubaki longed to get closer to also noticed Sona's appearance.
Then, a transfer Magic was cast.
As a result, Sona was caught off guard and transferred—not away from the place, but right in front of Tsubaki, landing between the two of them.
It was all too sudden; Sona couldn't keep her balance and collapsed into a seated position.
Thus, a coincidental accident occurred, leaving Tsubaki utterly stunned.
By sheer coincidence, what Tsubaki had previously desired was achieved: negative-distance contact.