"Awwww…"
Cobalt was still hiding in shame after his sudden outburst, meanwhile Arabelle was evidently Awwww-ing from the other room.
How could I have gotten it so wrong…?
Whatever she was busy with, he didn't think about it for a second. Instead, he just kept repeating the same words, over, and over.
How…
There's not a single woman in the whole world who wouldn't be jealous of Arabelle's unworldly ability to stay looking youthful. Hell—even Cobalt was, if only a little.
Coming back out of the bedroom, the twenty (and a half) year old girl (woman) sighed to herself as she threw a heavy blanket and pillow onto the floor.
Plat—
"Uh—"
"I left these out for you on the floor… Right under a hole in the roof."
"Figures…"
"Sorry about that."
"No, no it's fine…"
Cobalt for some reason felt like he deserved this.
"Aren't you upset with me for thinking you were a little kid this whole time?"
Arebelle kicked the sopping mess of fabrics on the floor against the wall with another plat.
"You lost some brownie points with me, but… Just don't go calling me weird names like that again and we're fine. The word 'loli' just sounds gross and I'm not sure why."
Arabelle was right—that word was pretty gross.
Wait, hold on…
Did Arabelle seriously just say "brownie points"...?
Cobalt couldn't conceal the grin on his face.
She may be older than me, but that doesn't make her any less cute.
So she wasn't mad after all…
"Ahh—Look, so…"
Looking at the sopping blanket on the floor, Arabelle awkwardly kicked at the ground. Did she feel bad about letting them get wet?
"That was careless, so you know, like… My bed's like really big so… You know, I mean you can like… Since everywhere else is like covered in water…"
Wait—Was she seriously inviting him to bed?!
No, that couldn't be, right?!
Cobalt's heart wasn't ready!!! He couldn't—!!!
"Cobalt, you're… You're making a face."
Eh…?
"It's not that big of a deal! L-Like I said, it's reeeally big. It's like three totally separate beds, so you can just hug the edge, and I'll stick to the corner… It-It'll be fine."
She was clearly really nervous asking this. Would it be wrong to accept her offer?
"I… I couldn't, Arabelle. I really appreciate it, but—"
"You asked about it earlier, remember? Don't pretend it bothers you when it was the first thing you said when I showed you my room."
Cobalt felt his heart sink.
"Was it really... The first thing...?"
Thinking back… It actually was. How low could he be…?
"That was just a joke, Arabelle, I really didn't mean to—"
She cut him off, coming closer to him.
"Look, Cobalt, you… You already had two ribs broken, I don't want you to catch a cold, too. So… Just get in. Before I change my mind."
There was no arguing with that, was there?
He could see her bed from across the hall. When he woke up from it, it was really soft, after all…
Not enormous like she made it out to be, but… Probably Queen-sized at the least.
"Come on… Let's get to bed now so we don't sleep in tomorrow. I have somewhere special I need us to go, somewhere outside of the Tomb."
Wordlessly, he had no choice but to follow her. He didn't want to take advantage of her hospitality, sure, but if he kept abstaining from her offer any more than he already has, it would probably only get more uncomfortable. It was nice of her to share, but that didn't stop the weird feelings in his head…
Tomorrow, I'll apologize for asking about it… I'll say sorry for acting all awkward too.
"And Cobalt… If you do anything while I'm sleeping, I swear to the Cross."
A nervous laugh bitterly escaped his trembling lips.
"W—Wouldn't dream of it…"
『End of Act One』