“Here is fine,” Gondul said, activating a teleportation square in a corner of the schoolyard.
She was severely worn out after all the fighting, and was off to get checked out at an underworld hospital. She could have easily let the medical team handle the teleportation spell, but she insisted on doing it herself.
Rossweisse and I had gone with her to see her off.
“…”
“…”
Silence hung suspended in the air, neither Rossweisse nor her grandmother speaking up. All of a sudden, I sensed several presences rushing toward us—children. Lirenkus was among them.
“““Ms. Rossweisse!””” they called out sadly.
“Ms. Gondul!”
“Are you really going?”
“Are you coming back?”
“I want to learn more about magic!”
“I want to be able to use it like you do!”
Gondul reached down to pat the children’s heads. “I’ll be back. And I’m sure Rossweisse will, too.”
Hearing this, the children’s faces lit up with the brightest of smiles.
“Rose,” Gondul said, looking her granddaughter in the eye. “The path you’ve chosen to take and the knowledge you’ve gained may be different from the rest of our family, but they aren’t wrong. Look here…” She gestured to the smiling children. “These smiles are the result of all your hard work. They’re only possible because of the person you’ve become. You should be proud of yourself… You’re my pride and joy.”
Rossweisse covered her mouth with one hand, desperately trying to keep her emotions in check.
“…Yes. Thank you,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
With that, Gondul channeled more magic into the teleportation circle.
“Well, I’ll be off… Ah, yes.” Just before making the jump, she turned around as if suddenly remembering something. “Be a good boyfriend and take care of Rossweisse for me,” she said, winking my way.
“Um…”
I started to shake my head, but Gondul’s smile was unwavering.
“It’s reassuring to know she’s in your hands.”
With that, she disappeared in a burst of light.
…
It turned out to be an awkward farewell… I let out a forced chuckle, while Rossweisse’s face had turned bright red.
“U-um, Rossweisse?” I called.
“…B-b-b… Er. B-but you were so amazing! A-and…it made me really happy when you chased after me.”
“Of course. I’d always be here to protect you,” I answered.
Rossweisse stared down at her feet. “U-um… What if we went to a two-hundred-yen store sometime?”
A two-hundred-yen store…? Yeah, that sounded about right.
“Sure thing,” I answered with a warm grin.
She smiled back in turn.
A moment later, the children started teasing the both of us.
“Are you gonna kiss? Hey, are you gonna kiss?”
“The Breast Dragon is going to kiss someone other than the Switch Princess!”
“I ain’t gonna go kissin’ him! Ain’t no way! Not me!” Rossweisse answered in a fluster, her country accent returning in full force.
✦ ✦ ✦
After seeing off Gondul, we went to assist in the town’s recovery efforts.
…Finally, it was just me and Rias, clearing rubble around the school. So much had happened lately, and I hadn’t had a chance to ask her out on a real date.
…All the same, I wanted to shorten the distance between us.
…
I paused to catch my breath, then addressed Rias while she lifted a huge pile of rubble with her demon powers.
“…U-um, I don’t know how best to say this… Er…” I hesitated. “I’ve made a decision… But I wanted to double-check with you first, if that’s okay…”
She turned to me with a puzzled look. “What is it?”
…Just go ahead and say it, Issei Hyoudou! If you can’t take the plunge here, you won’t be worthy of calling yourself the Red Dragon Emperor! You’ve been wanting to say this forever, so go ahead! There’s no telling when you’ll have another chance!
Reprimanding myself, I brought my nerves under control.
“…Do you mind if we speak more casually when it’s just the two of us…? I just want to chat like normal…”
The next moment, the debris Rias was lifting came crashing down. She looked dazed, like I had caught her by surprise—but a second later, her eyes glistened with emotion.
“—. Yeah.”
…All right! I did a mental fist-pump.
“Thanks, Rias.”
“No, I’m happy. I love you, Issei.”
We took each other’s hands, staring into each other’s eyes.
“Me too. I love you as well.”
We were finally talking normally! Seeing as she was older than me, and my master to boot, I was a little intimidated at first! But now that we were talking, it felt like the most natural thing in the world! I had been dying for this sort of conversation!
I was glad I had come out with that… Because I did love her…! And I wanted to be closer to her.
At that moment, someone cleared their throat a short distance away.
Rias and I startled—and spotted Chairwoman Sona.
Had she seen all that?! Did she sneak up on us or something?!
Embarrassed, Rias and I quickly let go of each other’s hands!
“Shall we build a monument to you two here on the school grounds?” she asked in a flat voice.
““No need!”” Rias and I answered as one.