MY ONE-DAY DELAYED ANSWER TO HIS CONFESSION

Let's skip to my most favorite hour of the day.

Lunch!!!

I'm busy chomping down the quarter-pounder aloha burger while Rikkun is beside me, talking to the blonde beautiful girl in front of us; who appeared to be our new English teacher and the substitute of Mr. Kent in History Class.

About our substitute teacher… We thought that Necchan had some plot armor and alive, but it was a false alarm. At first, we were so shocked to see Lord Freya, but it just happens that it was only Mrs. Martha Fontaine von Noctis; Jeannette/Necchan's mother. It's really hard for all of us to distinguish her from our deceased friend.

"I was already a teacher here in Dradecim National High before I had a comatose. I originally planned to have my daughter Jeannette enter this school..." Mrs. Noctis said.

"You can teach in Mirose Grande to have it all easier. Now you have to ride a bus every day." Rikkun said.

"Uh-uh." Mrs. Noctis waved her index finger to Rikkun. "I told you that I will facilitate your training! I still have to teach you how to use your God Core and your newly-acquired Weapon Gem. That is why my husband allowed me to work here again in this school."

Back during the holiday break, Mrs. Noctis became Rikkun's private tutor regarding on Gate Guardian matters. It's only natural for him to strive to become stronger since he's now the leader of the Aether Crusade. He may lack power and experience, but the whole group trusts his leadership skills. Still, he has a lot to learn.

And oh! Mrs. Noctis is the past Lord Freya. The Goddess Core of Freya must have recorded her appearance and used it as the default "image of beauty". When she went into a coma, Necchan inherited the Goddess Core as the successor. Considering that she is a retired goddess, no one can deny the fact that she's extremely smart and powerful.

"There's another thing." Mrs. Noctis made a smile that is about to release good news. "You said that you are on a quest on finding twelve God Cores. It just happens that my niece owns one."

"Really!?" Rikkun smiled with joy. "Who is it?"

I don't know why Rikkun is so happy about it. What's with the twelve God Cores anyway?

Mrs. Noctis showed a picture on her phone. It was a cute teenager with golden-blonde long hair and pink eyes. She's really beautiful in that black maid dress with lots of pink and white ribbons. If you look at the picture from a far distance, I'm sure you will mistake her as Jeannette again.

"He's Eliseo Fontaine. Don't let his cute looks fool you, he has the Goddess Core of Venus!"

"H-He!?" Rikkun and I exclaimed as we pushed our faces closer to our substitute teacher. "A boy, wielding a Goddess Core of feminine beauty?"

God and Goddess Cores are complete mystery and acts in mysterious ways. When the Goddess Core of Freya was passed to Rikkun, it converted itself into the God Core of Freyr. I've never heard of a Goddess Core being compatible with a 'man' without converting itself to new one.

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Well, there was one case about Helena Efilion. Heushac's older sister used to possess the God Core of Zeus. So did Helena grew a dic- No, no, no... I think she stayed as a woman even after obtaining divinity.

Mrs. Noctis ignored our question and continued to discuss. "He's currently residing in the Brightmore Town. It's quite a long ride, but if you managed to recruit him in the Aether Crusade, everything will be worth it!"

"B-Brightmore Town!?" The two of us exclaimed again.

Rikkun and I looked at each other with the same surprised face and wide eyes.

"...R-Rikkun…" I muttered while trembling.

With just an eye contact, I relayed the message: "I don't wanna go back to that place!"

Rikkun's eyes are silently saying "Me too."

But we don't have much of a choice. Something is telling me that Rikkun will do what it takes to collect a God Core. He's clearly hiding something. I'm going to ask later.

<>

Afternoon came. The bell rang from the tallest floor of the campus. In our room, students are now packing up, ready to go home. But some of my classmates preferred to stay on their seats and have a buddy chit-chat time with their friends.

"...Ummm… Rikkun…" I pinched my friend's sleeve. "Can I have a moment, please?"

"Sure." Rikkun answered casually. "What do you want to talk about?"

"The God Cores… Why are you searching for them?"

Rikkun made a deep sigh. He straightened his back and glared at me with his emerald eyes.

"I had a grim , and that involves the safety of the whole universe. In order to save everything, we have to collect twelve God Cores."

Something doesn't feel right. I may be an idiot, but I still have a woman's intuition. So I held his hand tight and gave him a serious gaze.

"Something is telling me that it's not everything. I know if you're hiding something, Rikkun. Because I'm a psychic. I'm a witch!"

"Uh… I originally planned on telling everything once we're halfway through, but... " Rikkun made a smile as he scratched his head. "Fine, I'll tell you everything…"

Rikkun inhaled deeply as he tried to explain everything to me.

"The universe will blink out of existence once the Frozen Soul wakes up. And the only thing to prevent it is to sing the . And you… You are the only one who can sing it."

"M-Me!?" I covered my mouth with my hands.

The is an omnipotent spell capable of granting all the singer's wishes. But it has one flaw. It will consume the soul of the caster and delete her existence. Being the one who can sing it, I have a great responsibility in my hands.

But I…

...I'm scared…

I don't know if I can really do it.

"The Outsider said that the only way to prevent the drawback of the is to collect twelve God Cores. That is why I'm searching for it." The handsome blonde smiled at me and patted my head. "We still have a lot of time to search for it. We have a one-year deadline. That's quite a lot of time."

"B-But when the time comes and we failed to gather twelve God Cores… I will still have to sing it, right?... I have to do it even if the song erases me."

"I will never let that song erase your existence." Rikkun gave me an honest stare.

There's a look in his eyes telling he'll never leave me. Why is he always too concerned about my wellbeing, even though I have made a terrible thing on him? I humiliated (accidentally) him in front of all the students in Dradecim National High. And yet...

"Rikkun… Do you hate me? I shamelessly rejected you, but… you're still talking that you're going to save me..."

"Idiot." Rikkun smiled as he started to pat my head. "Why would I hate you? I don't care if you rejected my feelings. All that matters is that you're here with me... Actions speak louder than words after all."

W-W-Whaaat!? He heard what I said last night! He's just pretending to be asleep at that time!

My face is now all-red, so I bowed to hide it. What's happening to my heart? It's beating so fast now, like an engine ready to explode! I hope he's not hearing my throbbing chest.

If I have to confess, the perfect time will be now! I think his school reputation would go back to normal if I gave my "Yes" to his confession even if it's one-day delayed! He knew what I said last night anyway! Go, Tiara, go! Don't chicken out!

As the man I secretly love was about to turn his back, I covered his right hand with my warm fingers.

"Rikkun!"

I mustered my courage to press my face towards him. His face is now rosy-red, blushing like mine. The two of us easily got lost on each other's eyes.

"Rikkun… I..."