A Night Fully of Love

Upon arriving at the city (the capital of the kingdom of Azurath), we saw food stalls, merchants, an amazing park, children playing, and more. The girls, Rei, and Piko all looked astonished—even I did—although I have to admit I got distracted watching Aria.
When we reached the royal castle, King Edward, who had arrived in another carriage, invited us inside.
Once inside, we were amazed at how huge it was; it had everything one could imagine in a castle.
Suddenly, a girl’s voice was heard.
“Daaad! You’re back!” exclaimed the king’s daughter (the princess).
She was about my age, maybe even younger. When I turned my head, I realized Rei had instantly fallen head over heels for her. And it made sense—she was beautiful. The king noticed Rei’s expression.
“Is there something about my daughter?” the king asked with a slightly displeased smile.“N-no… nothing at all,” Rei replied, embarrassed.“Hello, my name is Cicilia, and I am the princess of the kingdom of Azurath,” the princess said.
We all kneeled out of respect.
“If anyone needs anything, don’t hesitate to ask,” said the princess.“If I may, could I use the library?” I asked without hesitation.“Kaoru! Don’t be rude, you just met her,” Aria murmured.“I’d like to take advantage of the opportunity,” I explained.“Of course! But before that, we’d like to speak with you,” the princess exclaimed.
So they took us to the audience hall, where they explained that Guildmaster Robert had told them about us. Having learned of our exploits, they summoned us to help resolve and investigate the monster problem. Recently, more and more had been appearing. Although they had managed so far, if we didn’t fix the problem, sooner or later it could become a real threat.
We gladly accepted, but since it was already late, they let us stay at the castle. I took the chance to go to the library to research the dark man, but I couldn’t find anything. Suddenly, I noticed a book on ancient summoning.
It made me remember and wonder: Why am I here? Who summoned me? From the very beginning, my desire for revenge hadn’t allowed me to think about that.
Upon examining it, I realized a page was missing from the book—specifically, the one with the summoning instructions. What I did know was that it required a massive amount of mana. So much that around seventy-five high-level mages were needed. But according to reports, there had been no news of seventy-five people attempting such a ritual. Which led me to wonder: Who could possibly have that much power?
I decided not to dwell on it, so I looked for books on teleportation magic, but found nothing. I wanted to know how that man had come to my world. Remembering that day, anger welled up in me and I began to release a great amount of mana—but suddenly Aria appeared, telling me it was time for dinner.
I calmed down and left the library. When I stepped out, Aria asked if something was wrong, but I flatly answered that everything was fine. Concerned, she decided to leave it at that.
When I arrived at the dining hall, everyone was already seated.
“We were waiting for you,” they all exclaimed.“I see you’re very interested in books,” the king said.
I chose not to reply and went to sit with my food. After a peaceful dinner conversation, we all went to bed. But there was one problem: there were five of us, but only three rooms.“How can such a huge castle have only three bedrooms?” I muttered, frustrated.
After discussing it for a while, it was decided that Lysbeth and Nara would share, Aria would sleep with Piko, and I would share with Rei. Aria offered to sleep in my room, but I refused out of respect. I think that was a bad decision. I found Piko sleeping between us, while Rei tossed and turned as if he were still in the middle of a fight.
So I decided to step out onto the balcony for some air. I gazed at the stars, my mind full of confusion over these feelings for Aria. And speaking of her, before I realized it, she greeted me from behind. I jumped in surprise.
“What were you talking about?” she asked, her face glowing in the moonlight.“N-nothing important,” I muttered, embarrassed.“You can’t sleep either?” I asked.“No… there are so many things on my mind,” she explained, shyly.
I decided not to press, assuming she couldn’t sleep because of the village, though it didn’t seem to be that.
After explaining why I wasn’t asleep either, we ended up deciding to stay there together. Being so close, we could feel each other’s heartbeats, and in a brief slip, my hand brushed against hers. Her skin was so soft, her hair silky and shiny, her scent refreshing.
“H-hold my hand,” Aria murmured shyly.“W-what?” I asked, just as embarrassed.“Well… if you don’t want to, that’s fine,” she said, sounding a little sad.“Ahhh, alright… but just for a moment.”
I took her hand, feeling her heartbeat—it was so strong it seemed like it would leap out of her chest.
“Kaoru… if you ever have any problem or worry, remember I’m with you. I don’t want you to fight alone now that you have me,” Aria whispered.
When she said that, I felt overwhelming happiness, a calming peace. Nodding, I drifted off to sleep, forgetting that I was still holding her hand.
“And for the first time since I arrived here… revenge did not cross my mind, but rather… happiness.”