By Zephyria 
I pressed the soft mound of his lips firmly, then parted the seam with my tongue. When I accepted it without resistance, the thing that had been exploring my mouth, lightly tapping the tender flesh, slipped out and swept over my lower lip. Finally, Ardian, who had pressed and released my lips like stamping a seal, smiled right in front of my nose.
“…Who was that human child earlier?”
“Curious?”
He stalled instead of properly answering my question, so I pulled his tie a little tighter. Ardian, who grinned brightly, rubbed and stroked my cheek with his thumb as he spoke.
“She’s the daughter of Duke Blest. She was my fiancée, but since Duke Blest went to prison, it’s currently annulled. Besides, what she liked wasn’t ‘me’ from the start.”
So, what she remembers is Ardian before ‘Adam’ stole his body. It was the opposite situation from mine. From her perspective, not knowing the full circumstances, her fiancé’s attitude suddenly changed one day, and the engagement was annulled.
“I see.”
I had nothing more to say about that. I let go of the tie I was holding, turned my body, and Ardian also adjusted the slipping tie and followed behind me. Returning to the banquet hall, Zeon and Herman were still in the same spot, but Tom was nowhere to be seen.
“He said he was going to the cafe, but where did he go?”
“…Ah. Two of you are here first.”
Zeon and Herman turned to look this way. Herman glanced at the empty area near my chest, then glared at the tie in Ardian’s hand before letting out a sigh with his chin propped up.
“Tom seemed to be going to do ‘the same thing as you’.”
The same thing as me… Ah. He means the tie.
“If we wait a bit longer, he’ll probably come, right?”
Saying that, Herman turned away with a disinterested look. Zeon, who had been blankly trying to grasp the situation, suddenly seemed to remember something, let out an “Ah,” quickly took off his tie, and draped it around my neck.
“Ray. I adore you deeply.”
If he had a tail, it would probably be spinning like a propeller behind his back right about now. I sensed that Zeon’s ‘adoration’ was closer to deeply respecting and revering from the heart rather than simply loving, so I intended to accept it.
But a hand that intervened snatched it away in an instant.
“…! Please give it back!”
“What are you asking me to give back?”
When Zeon got angry, Ardian tilted his head shamelessly. The tie in his hand crumbled away into dust as if melting.
“I’m not holding anything.”
Zeon looked back at me with eyes welling up as if wronged. Well, I had just done the same thing, so I had nothing to say. I subtly avoided Zeon’s gaze, and just then, Tom appeared.
“Guys…”
But somehow, his mood seemed dark and gloomy. He said he went to give a tie, but the tie was still fastened. He clearly looked sullen, as if things hadn’t gone well. Seeing Tom approaching with his shoulders slumped, Herman laughed awkwardly.
“She didn’t accept it?”
Tom’s face contorted, becoming even more crestfallen than before.
It seemed that was the correct answer.
Anyway, we moved to the Ifrit Cafe, and Herman stuck by Tom’s side, coaxing him that it was okay to spill what happened. Even so, Tom hesitated and didn’t open his mouth until we arrived at the cafe, where he finally burst into tears he’d been holding back and started pouring out every little detail.
“I was going to give it to Ibelia… but she said she doesn’t feel the same way and wouldn’t accept it. Waaah! She said she doesn’t want to date yet and wants to focus on her work… But maybe she just said that because I’m not good enough? My skills are mediocre, my face is mediocre.”
I hadn’t known, but it seemed Tom’s crush was Ibelia.
I hadn’t sensed any hint of that at all.
Anyway, knowing Ibelia’s personality, there likely wasn’t any lie in those words. Ibelia was the typical diligent student who focused solely on her studies.
I heard she became an excellent Spirit Summoner specializing in Elemental Summoning Magic through steady effort and is highly regarded in the Spirit Research Society. If she joined there, she really wouldn’t have time for dating.
“You’re not lacking at your level. Not just anyone gets a Red Class qualification, right?”
“Is that so…?”
“Eat something delicious and cheer up.”
“Mm-hmm…”
Nodding at Herman’s consolation, Tom began stuffing his mouth with the new menu item, ‘Spirit’s Fiery Spaghetti,’ with all his might. Seeing him eat it deliciously despite saying it was spicy and hot made me hungry too, so I twirled the noodles with a fork and put them in my mouth.
It was delicious.
After filling our stomachs and killing time listening to their chatter like an audience member, evening came. Returning to the dormitory, I started packing first. Both Ardian and I aren’t the type to live with piled-up luggage, so there wasn’t much to pack.
Ardian, who had finished packing long ago and was sitting on the bed watching me, touched my earlobe and acted clingy. Something suddenly occurred to me, so I looked back at him.
“Come to think of it, you.”
“Hmm?”
“You don’t remember about Herman? Or are you pretending not to know?”
“About what?”
“That guy is Matra’s reincarnation, right?”
Matra was the loyal servant who stayed by my side without leaving for a moment when I was a Sealed Soul. He nagged a lot about this and that. It was strange that he, who had watched the world while sealed within me, wouldn’t know Matra.
Thinking that was because I had overlooked one fact.
“Ah. Is that the dog that was always barking by your side? I don’t remember the details. The time when you were a Sealed Soul was so long ago. I’ve passed by too many people since then… Just properly remembering you alone was overwhelming enough for me.”
“…That makes sense.”
I had recalled old memories all at once due to a previous incident, so those memories were vivid. In contrast, Ardian had lived through the vast passage of time, remembering as he went, so the old memories piled up over time would have faded and been forgotten. It was different from me.
“I didn’t want to lose you, so I kept recalling, remembering, and making an effort. I even used Magic to bind and permanently preserve memories related to the Sealed Soul and those needed for the future. If I hadn’t sorted out memories unimportant to me, I would have truly gone mad.”
The gaze looking at me deepened. After meeting that gaze for a while, I muttered as I put the last piece of clothing into the suitcase.
“How foolish.”
The affection, obsession, and possessiveness I feel for him are probably a drop in the bucket compared to what he feels for me. It was a strong emotion that made me feel I could never catch up.
Not that it’s burdensome, but…
There is a slight anxiety that follows from not being able to catch up.
“It’s because I’m foolish that I could have you.”
Ardian’s eyes narrowed into crescents. That smile, captivating no matter when you see it, sometimes overlapped with the appearances of Gilbert or Adam. Especially with Adam, since the shell Adam had crafted to suit my tastes and Ardian looked particularly similar, it happened more.
And when they overlapped, I was reminded anew that the man before me was the same person as the two men who had passed by.
Ardian got off the bed, knelt on one knee, approached, and left a kiss. As I was about to quietly accept it, he kissed my cheek, the bridge of my nose, and my eyelids, then whispered secretly.
“Can I?”
“…When have you ever listened to me?”
“That’s true too.”
Ardian smirked mischievously.
He was the type who wouldn’t say no until the very end.
I grabbed his collar and pulled him in, pressing my lips to his. He opened his closed lips as if he had been waiting and accepted me, and while engrossed in the kiss, I climbed on top of Ardian.
Ardian, leaning his back against the side of the bed, tilted his head back and looked up at me. Looking down at him from above felt quite good. When I quietly raised the corner of my mouth, Ardian smiled back too, then his mischievous hand groped up my lower back.
“It’s strange. I feel like I’m feeding you well, so why aren’t you gaining weight?”
I grow taller with what I eat and gain muscle with how much I move; there’s no place for fat to accumulate. When I measured recently, I was already over 178cm. I think I might grow a little more. Ardian has also grown bigger than before, so the fact that I have to look up at him hasn’t changed.
I popped open the buttons of his clothes.
“Was that your preference? A plump, round body?”
“It’s because you’re always complaining about being physically exhausted.”
…No, that’s more your problem than mine…
I had a lot to say, but the words wouldn’t come out as if my throat was blocked. I raised one eyebrow and glared, and Ardian, who kissed me as if acting cute, hugged me and laid me down on the bed.
“You know, Ray. Starting today, there are no classes, so we can rest for a while now.”
“……”
“Today… you won’t faint in the middle, right?”
The arrogant, beautiful eyes looking down at me again gleamed with a sinister light.