"Come on! Ayanokouji-sama!"
In the forest not far from the open space, Otto clenched his right hand and stared seriously at the two surrounded by fireflies.
All of this had been planned. This was the final step of confession, the right time and place.
In Ayanokouji's understanding, a surprising and beautiful scene like this could enhance the confession atmosphere and further increase the chances of success.
Although the chances of success were already very high before, he believed that it was best to increase the likelihood to almost 100%, so he chose to let Otto do this.
Otto had a Divine Protection that allowed him to communicate with animals, making it easy for him to complete such a task.
In the sea of fireflies, Emilia saw a sight she had never seen before, and a smile of joy unconsciously appeared on her face.
She reached out her slender fingers, and the fireflies flowed from the gap between her fingertips.
It gave her a feeling of being in a dream.
It took a few seconds for Emilia to fully recover from her surroundings, and she continued to think about the legend of fireflies that Ayanokouji had mentioned to her earlier.
But the two were not yet a couple...
Wait a minute, did Ayanokouji just say something!?
Emilia then realized that Ayanokouji had just said he liked a girl like her...
Wasn't this basically a confession!?
'Is this a confession? It is a confession! What should I do? Accept it? Wait, wait, wait, if I misunderstand, will I be very embarrassed!' Emilia was happy but more nervous.
"Emilia, I want to tell you something."
Ayanokouji could feel the helpless emotions in Emilia's heart. He knew it was time for him to take the next step.
If he confessed his love now, the chances of success were basically close to 100%. He thought Emilia would become more inseparable from him in the future, and his words and actions could also have a greater impact on Emilia.
"What?" Emilia asked, but there wasn't much doubt in her heart, but she was nervous.
Now she basically guessed what Ayanokouji was going to say, but she was still confused about something.
"Can you..." Ayanokouji initially wanted to say, "Can I ask if you're willing to date me?", but before he spoke, Emilia suddenly extended her index finger and gently landed it on his lips.
'What's going on? Did she guess that I was about to confess my love and she wanted to stop me from saying it? She shouldn't have a chance to refuse.'
Emilia's behavior caught Ayanokouji off guard. Although he was usually very good at using other people's moods and emotions to control their behavior, having lived in the White Room since he was a child, he didn't know enough about the emotions of love.
That's why he chose Emilia.
'Should I come up with a backup plan?' Ayanokouji was puzzled by Emilia's current behavior.
"Wait a minute! Let me, let me speak first!" Emilia's eyes slightly avoided, but in the end, as if she had made a very important decision, she focused on him, looking very serious in her purple eyes.
"Please tell me." Ayanokouji's eyes were also fixed on her face.
"Wait a minute, let me calm my emotions first." That look made Emilia's face turn very red, and her heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
"Ayanokouji, can you and I become a couple?"
As Emilia uttered the first sentence, her voice was very loud, but the second part of her sentence was so soft that only she could hear it, and even she could feel that her voice wasn't as loud as her own heartbeat.
"Sorry Emilia, I didn't hear the second part of the sentence clearly."
"I, I said..." Emilia's eyes shifted elsewhere out of embarrassment, but eventually returned to Ayanokouji's face.
She took a deep breath and then shouted loudly!
"I like Ayanokouji! Can you and I become a couple?"
At this moment, Emilia felt more nervous than when she attended the royal selection meeting.
Ayanokouji listened to her words and thought for a moment. Although he was sure Emilia had a crush on him, Emilia's first confession to him was not planned.
"Are we going to be a couple? It's a bit strange to talk like this. The way to say it should be like 'Can you date me?' now." Ayanokouji said without expression.
"Ah? Is that so? In that case, Ayanokouji, can you, you, you... can you date me?" Emilia gathered her last bit of courage and said very seriously. She closed her eyes as she spoke, afraid to see Ayanokouji's facial expression.
"Emilia, do you like me?" Ayanokouji asked, seemingly verifying a certain fact.
"I, I said so, then, that's for sure..."
Ayanokouji's response surprised Emilia.
"I understand."
"I'm very, very sorry for saying strange words... Just by looking at these fireflies, I feel like I have to express my inner thoughts now..."
Emilia bit her lip, her clenched hands placed behind her back in confusion, and there was a hint of disappointment in her heart. Ayanokouji hadn't made any statement yet, maybe because he wanted to hide his confession.
'Of course, you're still sentimental... Someone like me... But at least I finally said what I think.' Emilia thought to herself, she could feel her body heating up, as if there was a fire burning inside her, "If Ayanokouji rejects me, it's okay..."
"Okay."
Ayanokouji guessed what Emilia was thinking and chose to say the right words at the right time.
"Really...? You agree?" Emilia suddenly came to her senses.
She had initially unconsciously thought that Ayanokouji would reject her, but she realized that the other party seemed to have just agreed.
"Huh? Really?!"
"Yes, that's right."
"Ayanokouji, do you like me?"
"Yes, I like Emilia, not by the same name, but with you standing in front of me." Ayanokouji said lightly, "I was originally prepared to confess my feelings, but I could be loved by Emilia."
He spoke these words without any expression on his face, as if he was reading a prepared statement. In fact, that was the case. Perhaps using a more sincere expression and tone could make his attitude more real, but it was also very difficult for him, who was almost omnipotent, and it seemed unnecessary now.
Facing Emilia's question, Ayanokouji didn't think about anything in his mind, but directly said his answer, and wouldn't think about anything related to it anymore.
"I, I..."
Listening to Ayanokouji's confession, Emilia reached out to cover her face, and tears seemed to flow in her eyes.
For her, Ayanokouji's response was like confirming herself.
This was the first time Emilia felt love from someone else. It wasn't just Puck's care as an elder.
"Ayanokouji, what do you like about me? I clearly have many shortcomings... Others see me as a witch..."
Emilia still had a sense of inferiority in her heart, making her unconsciously feel that she wouldn't be loved by others.
Ayanokouji picked up on this.
"From the beginning to the end, what I like is you, Emilia. Because it's you, then what I like is the whole you, including your flaws, but also your strengths. You didn't hesitate when facing the Demon Beasts, your courage in protecting the villagers, and your cuteness and humor in everyday life..."
These were the words Ayanokouji had prepared for a long time. He had prepared different answers for different reactions.
"Why did you suddenly say that?" Emilia was very shy and began to wonder how red her face was now.
"Sorry, I'm just saying the truth."
"In that case, are we a couple now?" Emilia looked back at Ayanokouji's face again, "You said... The legend of fireflies in your country... Lovers who see a swarm of fireflies will stay together forever, right?"
"Yes."
After hearing the ridiculous lie she made from Emilia's mouth, Ayanokouji nodded without hesitation.
At the same time, beautiful fireworks bloomed in the sky, adding romance between the two.
"Did you prepare this?" Emilia raised her head and looked at the sky and asked hesitantly. She knew fireworks shouldn't appear in the Sanctuary.
"Yes, I originally planned to use these fireworks as a trump card when confessing my love." Ayanokouji said.
"But there are actually fireworks stored in the Sanctuary, I didn't know."
The camera changed. In the village, Roswaal released fire magic in a certain direction in the sky. This was the command given to him by Ayanokouji today, instructing him to move in a fixed direction at the moment of the beautiful fire magic, and every step of his plan was very accurate.
Roswaal himself didn't know the reason, but because he couldn't violate the words of others, he could only do it.
❀❀❀
"Roswaal-sama, it seems like you're treated like fireworks."
Besides Roswaal, Ram mercilessly told him this fact.
"It seems so."
Roswaal clenched his hands and stared at the sky with narrowed eyes.
Whether it was Beatrice, Emilia, or Echidna, they were all very interested in Ayanokouji. Although this person had extraordinary abilities, he truly had an extraordinary charm.
❰❱SKY SCREEN❰❱
Ayanokouji reached out and hugged Emilia tightly. This was the second hug between the two, but its meaning was very different from the previous one.
A smile spread across Emilia's face, she opened her arms, hugged tightly, and buried her head in Ayanokouji's chest.
Ayanokouji held Emilia, raised his head, and looked ahead.
'Emilia's face should be full of smiles right now. She feels very happy because of the double satisfaction of love and self-esteem.'
'What expression does she imagine I have now? Maybe she imagines a happy and joyful smile on my face, but sorry, Emilia, I can't make an expression like that, I don't understand love and don't understand the relationship between men and women, it's something that wasn't taught in the White Room. What awaits at the end, who knows, but in the near future, I will definitely know the answer, but it only tells me the answer, it no longer has any meaning.'
'For me, you are just a tool, a textbook that allows me to understand relevant knowledge. This relationship can last at least until the Sanctuary is liberated, but when I finish reading, this task will also end. Is it possible for you, Beatrice, or anyone else around you to be irreplaceable? No, it's impossible, no matter who it is, they are just tools.'
There was never any change in expression on his face.