Chapter 12 I can Still Hope

He looked at her. At the tears on her cheeks. At her small hands wrapped around his holy sword. Just holding.

"I… apologize, Molly. My body moved on its own. It's just that your mana… it felt identical to the Demon Lord's. You must know I have clashed with it for years. My instincts kicked in before my mind could catch up. I am sorry for pointing my sword at you. You can let go of it."

He looked at her. 

"But I must ask. And I need you to answer honestly. Why? Why tell me this? You could have pretended. Forever, if you wished. I had suspicions, yes, your strength, your stance, the strange pull I feel when you're near but never this. Never the truth. If you had simply… continued being Molly Moriana, the slightly eccentric transfer student, I would have believed you. So why? Why reveal yourself? Why put your life in my hands like this? You could have stayed hidden. Safe. Why give me the power to expose you?"

She didn't let go of his sword. If anything, she held on tighter.

"Because… because I couldn't lie to you, Leon. Not about this. Not about me. I can't trick you into loving a lie. Even if I succeeded. Even if you fell for me. When you finally learned the truth, you wouldn't just hate me. You'd hate yourself for being fooled. I couldn't do that to you. 

I'm a demon. I'm wicked. I'm supposed to be selfish and take what I want and not care about the consequences. But I care about you. About your heart. 

I want your love, Leon. Not through lies. Not through tricks. I want you to look at me, all of me, demon horns and dark magic included and choose me anyway. Or don't. If you can't, if it's too much… I'll leave. I'll never bother you again. You can go back to fighting my dad every week and pretend we never met.

But I couldn't lie to you. Not about this. You deserved the truth. Even if it hurts. Even if it means losing you."

Molly took a shaky breath. 

"So… yeah. That's, like, my whole tragic story. Demon princess, secret crush, dramatic library confession. Super crazy, right? Sooooo… now that all the heavy, dramatic stuff is out in the open… Leon. I will say it again; I'm in love with you. Will you go out with me?"

Her cheeks flushed, but she didn't look away.

"Like, be my boyfriend. Go on dates. Hold hands. Share lunch. All that cute couple stuff." She bit her lip, then added, "I know I'm a demon. But I want to be your girlfriend. So? What do you say, hero? Wanna date a demon?"

The words echoed in his skull like a bell struck too hard.

"Date a demon. Date. A. Demon. I'm stressed enough as it is! I have exams to worry about! Monster subjugation requests piling up! A Demon Lord to clash with every week! And now THIS?! I never dated anyone! What am I supposed to do now?! I'm just too tired and stressed out to think right now.

…She's really cute though."

Leon opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

"I… please, give me a moment... First. I want to be clear about something. I am not mad that you hid being a demon. Shocked, yes. Confused, absolutely. But not angry. You had every reason to hide. Every reason to fear my reaction. And given what you just did, telling me the truth when you didn't have to, I would be a fool to hold deception against you."

"Second…" A flush crept up his cheeks. "I need to be honest with you too. I have zero dating experience. None. Not a single date. Not one. 

I'm the Hero. I've been training, fighting, studying, and clashing with your father since I was old enough to hold a sword. There hasn't been time for… for this. For girls. For romance. As you can see, I can't even find time to study for my own classes. I'm below norm in half my subjects and about to fail.

 If I had a girlfriend, if I tried to date someone, I wouldn't have time. I barely have time to breathe. My schedule is a nightmare of monster subjugation requests, council meetings, training regimens, and weekly trips to your family's castle. I don't even have time to SLEEP properly.

You being a demon is not the problem. I meant what I said, I don't hate your kind, and I don't hate you. The problem is… me. I'm the hero. The Champion of Humanity. I have duties, obligations, expectations crushing me from all sides. All this weight I have to carry, it's just too much sometimes. I can't just—"

 He took another breath.

"I can't give you an answer right now. Not on the spot. This is… a lot. And I need time. Time to think. Is that… okay? Can you give me a little time?"

Molly's face went through many emotions in two seconds. Shock. Confusion. Processing. Realization. Disbelief. Hope. More hope.

  "KYAAAAAA!"

 She bounced on her heels; her arms still wrapped around his sword.

"YOU DIDN'T SAY NO! YOU DIDN'T SAY NO! LEON, YOU DIDN'T SAY NO!"

She was vibrating with joy, her entire body trembling as she squeezed the blade against her chest in an excited, crushing hug.

"THAT MEANS I HAVE A CHANCE! I CAN STILL HOPE! I CAN—"

CRACK. 

A metallic snap echoed through the library.

Molly froze. Leon froze.

She looked down.

In her arms, hugged against her chest, was the upper half of Leon's holy sword. The other half, the bottom half, was still in Leon's hand.

The blade had snapped clean in two.

"Uh-oh… I broke his sword, now I did it. Oops."

Leon stared at the two pieces of his sword. Then at Molly. Then back at the sword. 

"Molly, are you alright? You didn't get hurt?" 

Molly's face went from excited pink to horrified red. "I-I can explain! I got excited and I forgot to—I didn't mean to—it was an accident! I swear!"

"It's fine, Molly. This is just a ceremonial sword, not my actual Holy Blade. It's fine as long as you didn't get hurt."

She flailed her arms in panic and as she moved, the torn edge of her uniform, caught on the broken blade's edge, gave way with a wonderful rip.

Time slowed.

The fabric of her blouse, already stressed from the enthusiastic hugging, split. 

Her chest spilled free in the soft library light, tan skin warm and smooth, her full curves on complete, unobstructed display. There was even a tiny, soft bounce as the last of the fabric gave way.

"OH, MY DARK LORDS, I'M NAK—wait! Wait, wait, wait! He's looking. LEON IS LOOKING! His eyes are so wide. His face is so red. He's not looking away yet. Should I cover up? I should cover up. This is SO embarrassing. My face is literally on fire. But… one more second. Just one more little second. For the MEMORY!"

Her arms, which had been mid-flail, slowed. Her hands, reaching for the torn fabric, paused just long enough, a heartbeat, maybe two, for Leon's stunned gaze to drink in every detail.

His mouth opened. No sound came out.

"…Kyaaaaaa! He's totally looking! This is SO! Kyaaa! I'm a shameless demon! A TOTAL shameless demon! One more second. Okay now cover up you idiot before you die of embarrassment!"

With a theatrical squeak that was only half fake, she yanked the torn remnants of her blouse closed, pressing the fabric against her chest with both arms. Her face was as red as ripe strawberry.

"KYAAAA! Did you see it!"

Leon spun around so fast he nearly tripped over his own feet. He faced the bookshelf now, his back straight, his ears burning so red they practically glowed in the dim light.

"I-I-I DIDN'T SEE-I MEAN I SAW BUT I DIDN'T MEAN TO! I APOLOGIZE! I'M SORRY!"

Molly clutched the torn fabric to her chest, her heart hammering. Behind her flustered expression, a tiny, victorious demon was doing backflips.

Molly looked down at herself. Then, slowly, a grin spread across her face. A wicked, demonic, delighted grin.

"He's blushing. He's STUTTERING! The hero is STUTTERING because he saw my—
KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Ehehe~" A tiny, victorious giggle escaped her. "Leon~? Are you okay over there~? You sound a little flustered~"

"FINE! I'M FINE! PERFECTLY FINE! JUST… ADMIRING… BOOK SPINES!"

Molly bit her lip to keep from squealing again. Her heart was doing backflips. He'd seen her boobs. The hero had seen her boobs. And he was DYING about it.

"Sooooo, Leon, I was just thinking. You know… when you're thinking about whether or not to date me… you should probably take into consideration what you saw just now. I mean, obviously it's not the most important thing! I have a great personality! I'm funny! I'm smart! I helped you study! But like… a boyfriend gets to see that kind of thing. You know. Regularly. If he wants."

She paused for effect.

"So, like… just something to consider. In your free time. I looked super cute today, right? Hope you remember that~! A little food for your thoughts tonight~"

Leon's ears were now so red they looked like they might combust.

"I-I-THAT'S-YOU CAN'T JUST—"

"Can't just what~? I'm just saying~! A view like this could be yours, every day~"

"NO! I MEAN-YES-I MEAN-PLEASE JUST-FIX YOUR CLOTHES!"

"Sure, just... ummm... I could give you another peek?"

 "Molly, use restoration magic, please!"

"Okay, okay, just sayin'~" she sang, still grinning like the cat who got the cream. "Just… give me a sec, 'kay? Don't turn around~ Unless you want to see more~"

Molly muffled her delighted giggle behind her hand.