Miles POV:

I managed to slip out of the hospital room without waking Jess up and was currently walking down the hallways. Bandages wrapped around my abdomen and arms while I pondered over how long it’d take me to heal.

Lucy’s ability had first sealed my healing, then restricted it. Restricted it to the point I was barely able to take myself out of the critical condition she had put me in. I even passed out next to Izzy, which definitely meant she was going to chew my ears out later.

My jacket hung over my shoulders as I stood in the empty hallway and gazed at my hand. If I had used my ability, it wouldn’t have been a fight...

Probably.

I would have defeated Lucy and moved back to help the others while also reducing the number of casualties we would have suffered. I contemplated on whether constantly hiding was the right thing to do.

‘...’

A small sigh escaped my lips as I found the room I was looking for. I didn’t bother to knock, since I knew that she was waiting for me. I opened it and observed Lucy staring outside the window while she slid a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

My pupils dilated as I observed her true beauty that genuinely couldn't be denied.

“Oh~ Not bad. I like the look~”

I leaned against the open door, and Lucy turned her head to face me. She ran her tongue over her lips, batting her eyelashes at me, only to abruptly wince in pain.

“Let me get straight to it. Why didn’t you make Esmeralda aim for the heart?”

I tapped on my chest, and her smile vanished. I saw a flash of extreme sadness flicker through her eyes. She let out a sigh before furrowing her eyebrows.

“One: Even if I aimed for your heart, that wouldn’t kill you. Two: Esmeralda’s feelings offset my attack in the first place, and three...”

Her words trailed off as a deep shade of red rippled across the bridge of her nose.

“You were always holding back, so I thought to myself... Why don’t I just fight you again?”

Lucy’s lips curved into a crazed smile. Her eyes bulged as she kicked off the bed. I stepped forward and grabbed her speared hand; the force of her strike making the room shake… until she tripped. Her head plopped against my chest, and a pained moan escaped her mouth.

“Easy tiger. We can fight whenever you want, but you need to heal up first~”

“...You’re right, but maybe I can pierce your heart in a different way...”

She mumbled to herself while wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her large breasts against my chest. She looked into my eyes lovingly for a few moments as I grinned.

“Love...”

She blushed deeply and buried her head back into my chest as her body trembled all over. My hand moved by itself, stroking the back of her head gently.

Lucy soon fell asleep standing up, and I let out a soft sigh. It wasn’t everyday I got to hug a beauty like her, but there was someone very important to me who wouldn’t be happy at this scene at all.

I placed her back on the bed and smiled. One defeat wouldn’t suddenly make her change, but it would affect her viewpoint on certain things. I was glad that she didn’t choose to run away like the others; she would be a powerful asset to the King if she was willing to cooperate, of course.

I closed the door behind me when I suddenly saw Esmeralda at the end of the hallway. Our eyes met, and she bolted out of my view.

I dashed forward, catching up to her in no time as I placed my hand against the wall while leaning over her.

“What’s up? You’re not the type to run away like that.”

“Uwahhh!”

‘Huh?’

I took a step back, examining the deep shade of red flashing across her face. Her eyes spun in spirals while her mouth made the cutest, strangest sound I had heard in a long time.

“W-what d-did you... Do to me?!”

She drew her sword against my neck, prompting me to raise my hands. It trembled violently as her erratic breathing showed no signs of calming down.

“Uhh... Are you alright?”

I lightly tapped the blade away and observed her body. It was my first time seeing Esmeralda have such an intense reaction to just... Looking at me?

“S-stop... Getting so CLOSE!!”

She pushed me backwards before sprinting away. I stood there for a few moments, slightly baffled by the whole ordeal. I guess she liked me...? But I just wanted to know if she was doing alright.

“Keuk...”

I looked down at my abdomen and saw fresh blood soaking through the bandages. The sudden movement of dealing with Lucy and chasing after Esmeralda caused some of my wounds to reopen.

‘Dammit...’

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

I wasn’t used to being in pain this way since my healing abilities were quite advanced. The last time I was wounded this badly was a very long time ago.

‘Oh well.’

I shrugged my shoulders and took my time walking back. Many of the nurses, who I bumped into along the way, offered their assistance, but I politely declined.

A few minutes later, I turned another corner and saw Jess standing in the middle of the hallway with her arms folded. Her eyes were slightly puffy, and her cheeks red.

‘...What horrible timing.’

I tried to think of some reasonable explanation, but in the end, I said nothing. She walked up to me and supported me back to my room in silence.

“...”

I sat down on the bed while she closed the door to the room. She took a seat in front of me and lightly placed her hand on top of mine.

“...I...I want to be honest with you...”

Jess looked up at me with such loving eyes that I had no choice but to rub my nose while looking away. Her eyelashes were luscious, her lips slightly plump, and her whole demeanour made my heart thump violently.

She looked...

Phenomenal.

“...Please... Look at me... I-I know I’m not... The prettiest...”

I narrowed my eyes as I stared at her.

“You’re beautiful and I mean it.”

I gripped her hand with a little more force, causing a thick red flush to sweep over her face. Despite this, she didn’t break eye contact with me. Her soft lips parted as she spoke.

“...Thank you... Um... I... I...”

Jess bit her trembling lip, trying to summon every ounce of courage she could to convey her feelings to me.

“I love you. I’ve loved you for a long time... But I was scared. You were my only friend. If I pushed these feelings onto you... Would you accept me?

You always talked to me about other girls... So I thought I had no chance at all... So I guess... I forced myself to think these feelings were nothing... I didn’t want to lose the bond I had with you either... I didn’t want to be alone again...”

I wanted to say something but couldn’t.

“I dedicated my life to duty... To take my mind off of everything I didn’t have... And then... And then you stepped into it. No matter how cold I was to you... You would only ever be warm back to me... Um... So... Um...”

Her eyes darted around the room before resting on me. She hesitated to say another word as I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

“...C-can we be together?... I-If you don’t feel the same... Um... P-please... Don’t stop... Being my friend...”

'...’

I rubbed my nose slightly while I avoided her intense gaze.

“...The truth is... I... Aha... I love you too...”

‘!’

I glanced back at her and saw her pupils dilate. Her mouth fell open as tears streamed down her face. I had forgotten that Jess was used to being disliked by everyone, so she had probably never heard those words before in her life.

I placed my hand against her cheek, ignoring the piercing pain emanating from my abdomen. Her shaking eyes slowly met mine; her open mouth closed, and her lips spread into a bright smile.

“I love you, Jess.”

She jumped into my arms. Her loud sobs made my eyebrows quiver. I pondered over just how much it had been eating her up inside. I genuinely didn’t know she felt that way towards me.

There were moments when I thought it was possible, but she would always regain her composure before I could ever really clarify it. The last thing I wanted to do was get ahead of myself.

I rubbed her back, giving her time to let it all out. My mind shifted to Ma, who I hadn’t seen in a few days; I was worried about her. What if she thought I had been injured badly? What if that made her health worse? I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.

I fanned out my fingers, creating a larger water cat than the one I made in front of Isabelle. It purred loudly while rubbing its cheek against my arm. Jess reluctantly unlinked her arms around me and looked down at the source of the noise.

“Miles?...”

I narrowed my eyes and grasped her hand firmly. She had been completely open with me, so I needed to do the same.

“Jess, we need to talk.”

***

Lyon POV:

I stared down at Comfort from above before shifting my gaze towards the night sky. I couldn’t be away from District 1 for long, but spending one night here wouldn't cause any harm.

‘Master... I did it...’

Everything I had been through flashed through my mind while the stars twinkled in the darkness above. From Mike to Marina to Copycat to Skorr... all the way to Baekan.

I recalled all of it.

A small sigh escaped my lips. It had been a long 10 months, but we made it in the end.

‘They call me King now, but I’m not one.’

I stood there for a long time as the ends of my cloak fluttered along with the gentle breeze. There were no thoughts in my mind, just a feeling of relief that I didn’t let my Master down.

“Lyon?”

My gaze shifted to Ness, who looked up at me from outside Comfort. Her hands were clasped together tightly in front of her chest while we stared into each other’s eyes. Her lip quivered, peeling away the emotionless mask on her face as I dropped down from the sky.

“Did I make you wait long?”

She shook her head, struggling to hold back the tears. I stepped forward and pulled her into a deep hug, not wanting those tears to spill over. Her small hands gripped my back with force; her warmth making my lips form a content smile.

I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but Ness made me feel a little different inside. Looking back, I thought it was because my headspace was cluttered, but maybe... It wasn’t? I didn’t know for sure.

“Lyon... Don’t leave...”

My eyes widened at her shaky voice as I rested my hand against her trembling back. I was reminded that this place wasn’t my home, and one day, I would have to leave. It had never really crossed my mind till Ness said those words to me.

“Ness, let’s head inside. The others are waiting.”

I reluctantly pulled away from the hug while Ness bit down on her lip. I ignored the thumping of my heart and gazed at the Comfort sign that illuminated the street with green hues.

“Lyon, I...”

I grabbed hold of her hand, forcing her words to trail off as she gazed into my confident eyes. I observed the fair amount of freckles on her face rise while her dark ginger hair mixed in with the green light. My lips curved into a soft smile, and her deep hazel eyes quaked.

“Don’t worry, Ness.”

I let go.

And I turned around. The back of my cloak fluttered as I pushed open the door to Comfort. I was greeted by the faces of Jasmine, Len, Marina, Mr Cruiser and even Margaret.

“Well, well, well, the Leader has become a King now.”

“Lyon!!”

“Leo~”

The corners of my mouth rose as I hugged them one by one. Friends... I didn’t realize having them could give you such a pleasant feeling inside.

I stood in front of Margaret, who remained seated. Her eyes examined me briefly before she got up from her chair and whispered into my ear.

“Don’t break my little sister’s heart~”

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks slightly while I shook my head.

“...I'm glad you got everything sorted out.”

“Hmm. Thank you... For keeping your word.”

She sat back down and smiled. Jasmine had already informed me about everything that happened with Margaret, and after seeing the light in her eyes, I was confident that an incident like this wouldn’t happen again. I turned my attention to Mr Cruiser.

I walked over and stretched out my hand toward him. If I hadn’t met him, this whole process would have been a lot harder. I was grateful for his assistance.

“Thank you, Mr Cruiser.”

His lips spread into a wide grin as he shook my hand firmly. I could feel that the weight he had been carrying for so many years had been finally lifted off his shoulders; now replaced with a bright countenance that matched the atmosphere found in this place.

“Zane would be proud.”

“!”

Those words stirred something within me. I bit my lip, quickly wiping the tears trying to escape my eyes.

“...Really?”

“Of course, Lyon.”

He placed his hand on my back, and a wide smile appeared on my face. Jasmine wrapped her arms around my waist, rubbing her cheek against mine while Marina tried to peel her away.

We laughed amongst ourselves as the night continued on.