Renge was speechless. Or at least, that was the impression I got. As soon as I said the words, my face got so hot I felt like I might explode, and I felt tears run down my cheeks. I covered my face, wiping the tears with my sleeve.
I-I said it. I really said it. No, I did think I didn’t want to say nothing and then regret it! This is just so I can be satisfied with myself! So, even if—
“…All right.”
…Huh?
“…You, what?” I muttered.
“Ah, erm, uh…”
Oh. Renge’s blushing.
Wait, of course he’s blushing! I just proposed to him! Just like Shida did to Nakona. Though I guess I wasn’t that pompous. I think! Aaaah! Ababababa!
“E-Erm… Wait a second…wh-what?” he asked.
My legs started shaking.
Gosh, I wanna go home…! Let me shut myself off in my room and never get out of bed! Oh, I wish I could bury myself! Actually, I have a well right here, maybe I’ll just dive in there! It’s a pretty big well! Ooh, I don’t mind if you say no, just let me go home, so I don’t have to look you in the eye again!
“T-Tina, you want to…?” he asked.
“Nnng!” I was too embarrassed to talk.
“…E-Erm, it’s just…my age… Despite how I look, I’m over 3,000 years old. I’m like an old man, in human terms!”
“With how you look, those…e-excuses won’t work. Plus, I’m not human anyway! Don’t place human expectations on the way I live.”
“How I look…?”
“I-It’s just, if you can’t see me romantically, just tell me and get it over with!” I said in self-abandonment.
Just make it a clean break and turn me down!
“I…erm, I do see you…that way…”
“You do…?” I felt my jaw drop.
“It’s just that…my personality. I’m like this, and all I’m good for is destroying things, and I can’t protect anything. I’m gloomy, and I don’t have any hobbies or friends! I’ve never been romantic with any girl, and I don’t have the first idea about how to go about it, either. There’s nothing about me that you’d…l-like. Marrying me won’t be fun, and I don’t even know how to be in a relationship. You’d be better off with someone else for sure, so I feel like I should turn you down. But if I turned you down, you’d get hurt, and if I don’t reject you, we’d have to get into a relationship…and if you marry me, you’d just—”
H-He’s so negative…! As negative as I was in my past life! I get how he feels, though!
“I-It’s not like I’ve ever had a boyfriend before, either!” I admitted.
“Th-Then that’s all the more reason you shouldn’t have me be your first boyfriend…”
“But you’re the one I fell for. A-And, well, we can figure out what we’re supposed to do as a couple later!”
“E-Erm, uh, yeah…?”
“J-Just tell me…how you feel about me!” I shouted.
…What the heck am I saying?! Wouldn’t it be easier to just back down?! He already pretty much turned me down. Why did I ask him that?! Why can’t I stop myself?!
“I-I love you!” Renge shouted back.
Huh?! Eh? What? Wait, really?
“Y-You do…?” I asked.
“I mean, if I had to choose between whether I love or hate you…”
“Oh… You mean it like that…” I felt the wind go out of my sails.
So it’s not like that… I guess he doesn’t see me as a girl. I suppose he loves me as a friend…or like, a little sister?
“…N-No, I didn’t mean that,” Renge suddenly said.
“No?”
“When I see you talking to other men, it…it makes me want to burn that man to a crisp.”
“…What?”
“I’m okay when you talk to Marcus, but…” Renge said, turning dejected. “When I see the Elf of the Sun or the other workers in Deshmel talk to you, it makes the pit of my stomach simmer…”
Is it just me, or did he say something really crazy just now?
“It makes me want to reduce them to ashes…and I don’t feel that way with other people…”
“R-R-R-R-Really…”
That’s a pretty absurd thing to say. E-Erm, but, wait, does this mean…?
“A-Are you saying that you were, hm, that you were j-jealous?”
“I-I think…?”
“Then, hm…”
I did feel like his degree of jealousy was a bit excessive, but him being jealous meant that he was interested in me as a girl. And that did make me feel a bit giddy.
Can I really think that? That Renge really…feels that way about me?
“But are you sure you want me?” Renge asked. “I mean, I’m a Mythical, and you’re a demi-human. Our lifespans are different…”
Huh? Wait, is he being bashful? Why is he being so shy about it?
“My lifespan… You mean, I’ll pass away before you do, right? But, hm… I want to…try having a family together…to have kids with you…”
“Aah…” Renge’s mouth fell open.
I felt my face go red.
Aaaaaah, what did I just say to him?! How could I say something like that?! B-But, it’s just…
“I-If we have kids together, you’ll have a family! And then, you won’t be lonely anymore!”
Renge’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“A-And, I won’t be your only family! If you marry me, Dad will be your father-in-law, and Nakona will be your sister-in-law, and René and Moné will be your little siblings-in-law!”
Renge remained speechless.
“So, um…”
Gosh, this is no good. I can’t even look you in the face. But still, ever since that day sixteen years ago, when you saved me, you’ve always reached out to help me. So this time…
“Let’s…live together,” I said.
His eyes went wide and his brow furrowed. I couldn’t see half of his face over his scarf, but his emotions and feelings were visible just from his eyes. He gripped my extended hand, clenching back.
“…Let’s live together. You, and me,” he said, and drew his face closer to mine.
Renge’s face was approaching me—and I could feel my own face burn up. But I didn’t want to run. Not now… So I closed my eyes. His forehead pressed against the circlet on mine.
Huh? This…isn’t a kiss?