Ah oh fuck. Oh shit. Balls.

He's... um... looking at me.

What the shit?! What am I even doing here? I was following the flow... but...

Now I'm lying right next to Elijah in my under-slip and panties.

Why did I choose here?

I was trying desperately to seize the initiative at the time... I got a good spot.

And I slept straight after.

There was some minor dissatisfaction in me at the time, though. Just because...

I wanted to do the things Celia and Dad did that one time.

Fah! I want to boil up, but the breeze is so cool.

My heart is racing so much...

I was seen right through by master’s master.

Have I really become like one of those... sluts? I cannot deny my feelings after all... nobody has ever been so kind, made me change so much.

What an idiot I am. Dad gave me a lecture before I left about the dangers of listening to a crush. How a girl can be taken advantage of. He was so serious and concerned looking, but almost had a sense of... resignation.

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But then... Kako, with a wry smile, whispered in my ear that nothing can stop love. She hugged me like never before. It was weird.

And Seria-chan too... even Aria gives me a kindly expression when my head isn't focused and I act like a dreamy maiden.

There is almost... when he fell asleep... when we were all caught out by master's master... there was almost a tacit understanding that we wouldn't try to argue with each other over this...

Ah no! He's smiling at me! I'll explodeeeee! I shut my eyes harder!

Ah! Ah! My eyes shoot back open! I'm busted... noooo...

All because... he is ruffling my head again.

But this time, his grasp doesn't stop, and runs down the side of my face gently.

His hand is big and warm and soft.

So different from Dad's calloused hand. It's never held a sword, or trained much.

He's no warrior. And yet... maybe that is precisely why? I was always surrounded by warriors. I wasn't so dense as not realise some of them viewed me as something other than a child. Some of them only never made a move on me as they were scared of dad. I hated it... and that's why I even planned that farce in the guild with Kaede-chan.

Saulm save me from this!

Do I want to be saved... though...?

No.

I close my eyes and breath out wildly in resignation.

Then... he lets go of my face.

I open my eyes again and he has a difficult expression for some reason...

What? No... please carry on...

I then realise Aria's big blue eyes are open and twitching next to me.

Seria's too. She is sat up and smiling scarily.

I burn up properly now. We're all a bunch of liars, huh? I think we did all sleep but...

Maybe we're all sensitive to the one we love? Hahh... what a useless bunch of idiots.

I think I understand Dad's warning. Swooning maidens are way more dangerous than any monster, both to themselves and everyone else.

What a heavy mess... fuck...