It took me three days to finally be able to walk normally again. After experiencing the effects of the coma, I vowed not to feel the same thing for a second time.
Coming out of the room that had locked me up for ten days, I walked towards the reception room to ask about Lichtalia because as I remembered, in the duel against Ifrit, she was severely injured.
From the nurse on duty at the reception desk, I now know various information about Lichtalia.
Thanks to the increasingly developed magic, Lichtalia was saved and also in the same treatment period as me. The spell used by Ifrit was very powerful, to be able to survive after being hit by that attack showed extraordinary endurance.
After knocking on the door for a few times, a soft voice was heard from inside the room, "Is that you, Vivianne? Come in, the door is unlocked."
Entering slowly, I saw Lichtalia sitting in a wheelchair while watching the scenery outside her room window.
I didn't mean to disturb the peace she was currently feeling, but it would be unethical to come in without telling her that I wasn't Vivianne. So I decided to speak up and break her concentration as she looked out the window with a peaceful gaze.
"Excuse me, Class Prefect. It's me, Ace, not Vivianne. I came here to check on you."
As soon as Lichtalia heard my voice, the girl immediately turned her head towards me and was about to get up from her wheelchair. But I could still see that Lichtalia had not fully recovered and I didn't want her to get injured or anything, so I quickly moved and tried to stop her movement.
I held her body that felt so weak and said, "Don't push yourself, Class Prefect. You still haven't fully recovered, right? You don't need to rush to get up."
At that moment, I felt a warm hug. Lichtalia took the opportunity when the distance between us was so close and immediately hugged me. At first, I was a little surprised and wanted to make a joke, but I immediately changed my mind after hearing sobs in my ears.
"I'm sorry, Ace. I was too weak and couldn't protect you. I heard everything from Vivianne. You ended up in a coma fighting that demon alone."
I stroked her soft hair and said, "I also want to apologize for not being able to fulfil your wish of fighting Desmond one-on-one."
Lichtalia replied to my words with a question accompanied by sobs, "I don't care about that anymore. What I care about now is your condition. How could you still choose to stay in the arena after asking Principal Merlin to get me out of the arena? Why didn't you come out with me? If you had, you wouldn't have had to end up in a coma. This time you were lucky enough to only be in a coma for a week. What if you don't wake up for years? Haven't you thought about that? Don't you understand how terrible it would be if that happened?"
My heart felt warm hearing the concern of the girl next to me. Moving my body and getting out of her embrace, I looked at her beautiful face filled with tears and moved my finger to wipe the tears from her cheek.
"I'm sorry for making you angry and worried, Lichtalia. But I won't be satisfied if I don't beat him with my own hands. To anyone who dares to hurt the people I love, I will not hesitate even if it means risking my life."
I now comprehend my feelings for Lichtalia. It may have been love at first sight, or her attitude and actions towards me that melted my heart, I can't deny that this girl has stolen my heart.
I saw her cheeks turn red and Lichtalia lowered her face, feeling embarrassed.
Due to the encouraging environment, I unintentionally confessed my feelings to her. I didn't anticipate her reciprocating my feelings, I simply wanted to uplift her spirits, and her cheerful smile returned to her face.
Standing a little distance away, I said with a big smile on my face, "I'm glad to see you looking much better than you did back then. You'll probably be fully recovered in less than a week. I don't want to disturb your recovery, so I'll be back tomorrow. See you later, Class Prefect."
I turned to leave the room, but Lichtalia grabbed my hand, halting my movement as if she didn't want me to go.
"Ace, I don't understand anything about love and affection. Everything that's been on my mind all this time is spells. But, I also can't deny that I feel comfortable and happy every time we're together. I don't know if this is love or not. Therefore, would you like to explore this strange feeling together?"
I was silent for a moment. What I just heard wasn't just an illusion, right? To make sure, I asked Lichtalia, "Lichtalia, did you just ask me to go out with you?"
Her face was very red hearing my question but she didn't look away and nodded.
Approaching her, I knelt down and kissed her hand like a knight kissing his princess.
Smiling happily, I said, "If that's what my girl asks for, then I'll gladly accept it."
Lichtalia laughed happily and I, who saw her laughing freely like that, also smiled happily.
Our eyes met and a burning feeling filled our chests. Neither of us realized who started it first, but our lips moved closer until a passionate kiss occurred.
Our lips and tongues met, moving wildly in a passionate feeling. When our lips and tongues finally parted to take a breath, that was when we realized two other figures were looking at us with expressions of surprises and excitement.
Vivianne and Rilyco visited Lichtalia to check her condition's progress. However, they were surprised by the unexpected developments.
Pulling Rilyco's hand, who was currently peeking between her fingers, Vivianne, feeling awkward with the scene in front of her, immediately walked out of the room while saying, "Sorry for interrupting!"