I Was Confessed to by the Golden Sun

67 – Love

“So, what are we going for now?”

According to Francis, Noah himself had a connection to the ruins, which were the focal point of the eighth episode.

Further research was still needed because the information was somewhat lacking.

“We’ll assault the princess and destroy her research facilities, and if possible, we’ll target the princess herself.”

That’s why we chose to carry out the planned assault on the princess’s research facility. Besides, it might make Francis’s research easier if we can obtain other Humunculus models along the way.

Leaving the episodes unfinished and hanging would surely cause trouble later.

The thought was to finish it quickly when we had the time.

“So, how much longer do we have to ride in this carriage? I’m getting bored.”

“We have to go to the royal medical center, so honestly, we still have quite a way to go.”

“Ugh… I’m so bored…”

Of course, thanks to that, Lucia continued to ride in the carriage, and she was clearly getting fed up.

But it couldn’t be helped since there were no train tracks laid there, making rapid means of transportation impossible. Buses were also unsuitable due to the rough terrain, so a carriage powered by magic as an auxiliary power source was our best option.

“Of course, it’s unavoidable that it slows us down.”

No matter how much they claimed that using magic as an auxiliary power source helped pull the carriage, its performance was naturally inferior to those that utilized magical engines and mechanical devices for their entire power source.

“Jack, let’s have fun together…”

“…Something seems off about your tone.”

“Do you think so…?”

Watching Lucia, who seemed somewhat absent-minded, half-cuddle my arm with a carefree attitude, I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry.

It felt like I was dragging her along for no good reason, even though she had no real stake in this.

Honestly, when I thought about it, I had taken her with me for almost everything up to now.

“Most of the episodes, I really took Lucia with me…”

The reason I took her with me was not only because she was reliable but also because she stuck to me so persistently.

As I looked at her like that, I smiled slightly and conveyed my feelings.

“I’m really grateful that you’ve been with me, Lucia.”

In response, Lucia’s blank eyes regained their brightness, and her lips began to quiver.

As she trembled her hands as if she wanted to hold me, I extended my arms so she could easily embrace me.

Lucia, who had entered my outstretched arms, snuggled comfortably against me.

“hehehe… I feel so good.”

She giggled while completely hugging my entire body as if she wanted to never let go.

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Naturally, her strong embrace pressed against my whole body, and I tried to maintain some distance, but it was a challenging task to escape from Lucia’s firm hold.

Partially giving up, I accepted her embrace and silently sang the national anthem in my mind, and then, I heard Lucia’s laughter mixed with a smile faintly in my ear.

“While we’re like this, it reminds me of when we first met on the train, you bounced so much back then.”

Thinking back on it, our positions had changed from facing each other to sitting side by side, but everything from the degree of shaking to the interior was quite similar.

“Alright, then let’s give it a try.”

As we briefly reminisced about the past, Lucia’s lips lightly touched and then separated from my mouth.

It was an awkwardly short exchange that couldn’t even be called a kiss, and unfortunately, it wasn’t a tongue that entered my mouth during that moment.

“It’s candy, lemon flavor.”

“hehehe, I gave you that candy to get closer to you. It’s still tasty, isn’t it?”

It was the catalyst for bringing us closer, and now the lemon candy that my body had naturally become responsive to.

As I rolled the round, tangy sweet in my mouth, I enjoyed the feeling that surged.

With a bold expression, Lucia, who had proudly poked my cheek, enthusiastically prodded my cheeks.

“You made the right choice meeting me, didn’t you? If it weren’t for me, you probably wouldn’t have had an interest in lemon candy for the rest of your life.”

“Honestly, I think meeting Lucia is luckier than lemon candy.”

“..Huh?”

Lucia’s sunny and grateful expression was as if she understood my gratitude, and I tightly held her close, pinching her cheek to bend her cute nose.

“Why are you suddenly doing this?”

In accordance with that, Lucia, who had stepped back, leaned against the carriage.

I pushed her further towards the carriage wall as she had nowhere else to retreat.

At that moment, she seemed to take it as a signal, closed her eyes, and quietly extended her lips forward.

“…Huh?”

I pulled my head back.

Lucia, who had extended her lips like a duck, opened her eyes in surprise when she realized that the anticipated sensation didn’t transmit to her lips.

“Uh…!”

Although she had no intention of being affectionate, she blushed and stared at me defiantly.

“Did you expect it? You seem to have had high expectations based on your expression.”

“No way! I didn’t expect it at all!”

“Why would someone like you extend your lips like a duck?”

“That’s… just because my lips were itchy!”

Lucia, who was hastily making excuses about her itchy lips, even though she thought it was a bit too much, clenched her head and stammered.

Since she had already started talking, she couldn’t back down due to her pride, and she wore an expression that seemed to say she couldn’t back down for any reason.

“It’s so obvious, you pervert.”

“Ah…I’m not like that, am I? If anyone thinks like that, it’s you!”

After touching her pride a few more times, she turned her gaze toward me with a sense of shame.

Still, as I continued to silently stare at her, Lucia eventually lost her temper and revealed the truth.

“Geez! I wanted to kiss you! Are you satisfied now?”

Then, with an indignant expression, she quickly turned her head away, but her cuteness made me gaze at her intently and sit closer to her.

Lucia made a disgruntled sound and moved away from me in her adjacent seat.

Even releasing the hand I had been holding onto, she clearly expressed her irritation.

“Are you mad?”

“I don’t know.”

But when I approached her and playfully hugged her, Lucia couldn’t help but give in and offered her arm.

I took possession of one of her arms, leaned my head against her shoulder, and said, “Heh.”

Experiencing a type of physical intimacy she had never encountered before, she tensed up from her shoulder down to her entire body.

“If I get a little sleepy here, I should sleep in this position. It’s really comfortable.”

“Are you comfortable like this? My shoulders hurt…”

“Do you want me to switch places with you? I’m actually quite comfortable.”

“…It’s totally fine.”

Anyone who has lent their shoulder to someone else knows the feeling. It’s quite pleasant, but it can be awkward for the one being leaned on. After all, it’s not every day a part of your body, especially your head, which is considered one of the heaviest parts of the human body, is fully supported by someone else. If it weren’t uncomfortable, that would be even stranger.

“Still, I offer my shoulder willingly for a reason.”

Well, it’s because the person leaning on me is so endearing that I overlook these trivial discomforts. Just look at Lucía; despite her earlier grumbling, I adjusted my shoulder position to make her more comfortable. She looked at me with a mischievous smile, her eyes sparkling.

“Feeling good? Your smile seems to say so.”

“I’m leaning on Lucía. How else would I be?”

“hehehe…”

Perhaps that wasn’t the answer she was seeking, but Lucía seemed quite pleased with my response. She turned her face slightly toward me, still leaning on my shoulder, and giggled softly.

“Am I that lovable? I always lose my composure around you.”

As if that weren’t enough, Lucía started subtly questioning me about her own charm. Her eyes were filled with anticipation, making me want to tease her, but I refrained, fearing the consequences.

“I absolutely adore it. Just seeing your face puts me in a great mood.”

I conveyed my genuine feelings, and Lucía’s face lit up with a smile upon hearing my words.

I’ve repeated that I adore her so many times; is it still as meaningful every time? I wonder if I can elicit a different reaction each time I express my love for her.

“hahahaha, I feel happy every time I see your face too. I love you so much…!”

And with each declaration of love, the content of her affectionate words varied, always surprising me. How can she say such loving words without any hesitation?

“I’ve tried to express my feelings like that too.”

I’ve attempted to convey my emotions in a similar manner, but for some reason, the words “I love you” never seem to come out.

“Hm, I… like you too.”

Despite my attempts to say it differently this time, I ended up drifting off at the end.

“hehehe, uhuh.. I like you too. Let’s stay together.”

Of course, Lucia was happy with just that, but I couldn’t help but feel uneasy as if the exchange itself was not enough.

-Shh!

Perhaps expressing my feelings with a barrage of “I love you”s wasn’t able to fully convey my heart.

Now she was clinging to me like a cicada on my body, continuously giving me light kisses on the cheek.

The more she did that, the more my guilt grew for no reason.

“Lucia.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Do you not feel weird when you say you love me? Like it’s cringey or something..”

“Why would it be cringey to say I love you?”

“..No, it’s nothing.”

Yeah, honestly, there’s no need to feel cringey when we both love each other, like Lucia said.

I took a deep breath and looked into Lucia’s eyes, my heart trembling.

“hehehe, your eyes are so pretty.”

As I said that, innocent and affectionate eyes filled with infinite love came into view.

If she had ears and a tail, she would probably be wagging them wildly right now.

“I love you.”

With that, the words containing my feelings that I had pondered over and finally spat out.

“Eueee???”

In the end, I completely broke Lucia.