Depths of the Otherworldly Labyrinth (WN) – Chapter 134

Who did Aikawa Uzunami like the most…

The answer was—

“Wh-who could it be…? Hidaki is my sister… Oh, right, didn’t I have at least one person like that in my original world…? Someone… Huh? Do I not have anyone…? W-well, then, that leaves—”

—Rustiara?

Rustiara was the only possibility.
I liked Rustiara Fuziaze the best. I was certain of that ever since the incident the night before the Christmas festival.

However, because I repeatedly deconstructed and reconstructed the skill “???”, my feelings no longer maintained their original form. While anger remained, the heart-pounding feeling of love was gone. Only warped emotional remnants were left.

Even though my reason knew I liked Rustiara, my emotions couldn’t catch up. I just couldn’t find myself feeling affection for that wild girl.

No matter how much I thought about it, the emotion that welled up was anger rather than love.
My anger towards the skill that toyed with my emotions arose with the highest priority.

“Kuh… It’s more serious than I thought… This is bad…”

Because of that, Aikawa Uzunami couldn’t be confident that he liked Rustiara.

Furthermore, even if I solved that, the biggest problem still remained.
My primary objective was to resolve the romantic entanglement. The ideal resolution for me was to become romantically involved with someone. However, I didn’t think that Rustiara liked me. Rather, I was even anxious about whether she had any romantic feelings at all. If what people say is true, Rustiara is three years old. Normally, her emotions would still be underdeveloped.

I pondered.

My own feelings and Rustiara’s feelings. Both were ambiguous.
Therefore, I felt the need to confirm both of them as soon as possible.

I had learned to act promptly and was determined. And I swore that I would not lie to myself and would speak honestly about how things were.

With newfound resolve, I headed not to my own room, but to Rustiara’s room.

I would meet her, talk to her, and confirm.
I should act before regretting it.

Walking quickly, I reached Rustiara’s room and knocked.

“It’s me. I have something I want to talk about.”
“Hm, hm? You can come in—”

A sleepy voice replied.
I entered the room without hesitation.

My heart pounded a little at the thought of a girl’s room, but it was only the first day. Like my own room, it was furnished minimally and had no feminine characteristics.

In front of one of those pieces of furniture—a wooden desk—Rustiara was scribbling with a quill pen.

Rustiara was illuminated by the candlelight on the desk. Seeing her, I blushed.
She had taken off her usual outerwear and was in just a light layer.
However, since Rustiara didn’t seem to mind, I tried to do the same.

“What are you writing…?”

Curious about what Rustiara was so absorbed in, I spoke to her.

“Fufu. Thanks for asking. This is my journal. If I accumulate enough, I plan to turn it into a hero’s tale someday—”
“Oh, that sounds interesting.”
“Therefore, to preserve the adventures of Hero Rustiara for posterity, I’m sacrificing my sleep like this.”
“Can I see it from behind for a moment? We can talk later.”
“Sure, sure—”

Rustiara continued writing, frowning with “umumum.”
I watched her. For now, I decided I would wait until she finished today’s entry.

Rustiara and I were companions, but also close friends. Silence didn’t bother me, and just being together was enjoyable.
During the wait, I took out a drink from my Inventory. I offered Rustiara a drink too, and we slowly waited for time to pass.

Then, a strange period of time, which felt neither short nor long, passed, and Rustiara finished writing.

“Whew, I’ve finally reached a good stopping point.”
“Good work.”

Rustiara stood up and stretched her body, rotating her shoulders.
She seemed a little tired. If I looked closely, I could see faint dark circles under her eyes, marring her supreme beauty.
She even seemed to be swaying a little. And this was Rustiara.

“Rustiara, are you tired…?”
“Hm, well, somewhat.”

Her reply felt weak.

I pondered.
Perhaps I shouldn’t tell Rustiara, who was tired, something that would likely tire her more.

However, I decided to convey at least the minimum necessary. The reason Rustiara was so exhausted now was because she had been fighting continuously since the Christmas festival ended.
First, I had to apologize for causing the situation.

“Hey. About, um, the Christmas festival…”
“Christmas festival?”
“I’m sorry, Rustiara. Despite saying so much in that grand cathedral, I ended up unable to fulfill any of my responsibilities… I’m truly sorry.”
“…Haha, well, you can’t do everything, can you? Kanami isn’t a hero, right?”

However, Rustiara smiled and told me not to worry.
It was nostalgic. Until the Christmas festival began, I had been saved by Rustiara’s cheerfulness.

“That’s right. I’m not a hero…”
“Kanami isn’t a hero, but you did your best as the ‘Protagonist’ of my story. Kanami taught me ‘how to be myself.’ For that alone, I’m overflowing with gratitude.”
“But afterwards, I couldn’t protect you from the Fuziaze pursuers… Moreover—”
“—The contract was ‘to entertain me.’ You weren’t asked to be a ‘hero.’ Rather, that’s my role, so don’t take it from me.”

Rustiara didn’t give me an opening to apologize.
Realizing she didn’t want an apology, I calmed myself and nodded.

“I see… Understood. I won’t say it again. I’ll just say thank you.”

Rustiara accepted my words of gratitude with satisfaction.
Then, Rustiara and I smiled at each other.

I understood.
Since we are companions, helping each other is natural, and being apologized to is troublesome for her. That’s what Rustiara thought. I admired her noble way of thinking.

A period of silent smiling flowed between us.

It was a comfortable time.
After all, I felt most at ease when I was with Rustiara.

It was at that very moment.
Rustiara made a mischievous face and deliberately spoke out.

“—Ah! Right, when I lost my memories, I promised to do whatever you said! Or something like that!?”
“Eh? Eh? Whatever I said? Did we promise something like that…?”

I dug through my memories. And then I found it.
We had indeed made a promise. It was when I registered for the tournament with Rowen.

“We were betting on whether you’d take me out of Valfala, right? Hehe, I won that, didn’t I?”
“Ah, yes… You did say that, but isn’t that a bit unfair…?”
“No! A promise is a promise. Hmm, what should I have you do…?”

The comfort I had been feeling instantly dissipated.
Just remembering Rustiara’s past transgressions made my head ache.

“Hmm, I can’t think of anything…”
“If you can’t think of anything, how about we just forget about it?”
“Wait, wait, wait. I’ll think of something now!”

Rustiara seemed flustered, trying to squeeze something out of her head.
I couldn’t stop breaking out in a cold sweat. I knew that whatever Rustiara thought of after agonizing over it wouldn’t be good.

And then, the answer that the wild Rustiara came up with after thinking hard was—

“—Then, how about a hug?”

—It was unexpected.

A childish request that completely didn’t suit her.

“H-huh? A hug…?”

I replied with a blank voice.

“Yeah, a hug. Hold me tight. Like, you know, how the protagonist in a story does with the heroine.”
“W-why?! Why a hug!?”

Rustiara started earnestly demonstrating with gestures. I was perplexed by this uncharacteristic request.

“Um, how should I put it…? It’s an arc in hero’s tales, you see. I want to try it once for reference when I write a hero’s tale someday, you know?”
“Ah, for reference in your hero’s tale…”

I looked at Rustiara’s journal on the table.
This writing was probably one of her dreams. If I was cooperating with that, my embarrassment would be somewhat lessened. However, it was still embarrassing.

As I hesitated to answer, Rustiara’s face became a little disappointed.

“I-if you can’t, I won’t force you, but…”
“I didn’t say I couldn’t. It’s not a big deal. Ah, that much! That much is fine!”

To my own surprise, I didn’t want to see Rustiara look sad.
While I had been keeping my distance, my heart had been racing, and now that I was talking to her face-to-face, I could feel my heartbeat quickening.

“Y-you don’t have to get that fired up…? This is just a test, you know…”
“Ah, it’s a test. Let’s make it a test…”

Rustiara and I confirmed with each other calmly.

This was a test.
We must not misunderstand.
This was for the story she was writing.

Telling myself this, I slowly reached out and embraced Rustiara’s body.

I didn’t know how to do it well. But, desperately recalling the works I had seen in my original world, I tried to reproduce a scene from a hero’s tale as much as possible, the way Rustiara desired.

I placed my left hand on the back of Rustiara’s head and pulled her closer.
To avoid looking at each other, which would be embarrassing, I placed her head next to mine. Our ears were so close they almost touched, and we were in a position to hear each other’s heartbeats. The feel of Rustiara’s body transmitted through our fingertips and torsos.

The scent of Rustiara’s hair tickled my nose, and the pulsating sound of our heartbeats echoed through our entire bodies. A softness smoother than silk and softer than marshmallows was transmitted through our skin.
Of course, because we were embracing, Rustiara’s chest was pressed against mine. Rustiara’s breath brushed against my ear, and her beautiful lips flashed in my mind.

The blood circulating through my body began to heat up, and my heartbeat grew stronger.
Gradually, gradually, the pounding in my chest swelled—

—This is bad.

I had embraced her on impulse, but I was reaching my limit.
Still feeling embarrassed, I tried to push Rustiara away—

“With this… I won’t feel lonely anymore…?”

Her voice was as calm as a gentle breeze.
Rustiara seemed completely relieved, as if she had overcome a storm. Hearing her voice for the first time, I stopped pushing her away.

And I realized that Rustiara had been pushing herself much harder than I had thought.
Even if she smiled and said, “Don’t worry,” it was undeniable that she had a difficult time after being separated from me by Fuziaze.

Thinking that this would relieve her, I held Rustiara tighter.
After letting out a small sound, Rustiara murmured softly.

“Ah, finally… With this, one chapter of my story can have a happy ending…”

The tension in Rustiara’s body melted away.
And she entrusted her whole being to me. I accepted its full weight.

This was the moment her fierce battle finally ended. Sensing the hardship of that battle, I resolved to stay like this until Rustiara was satisfied.

Vowing that nothing would disturb us, I wore down all my nerves, pushing away the skill “???”.

And then, while embracing, time ticked forward.
Immeasurable, ethereal time passed by gently.

Rustiara quietly said, “Thank you,” and separated herself slightly from me.
As our closely connected bodies separated, the lingering echoes of our heartbeats receded.

We were now close enough to see each other’s faces—and—we snapped back to reality.

“—!”
“—!”

We had only intended to try it as an extension of a trivial verbal agreement. Yet, we both realized we had been embracing each other like lovers.

Rustiara’s eyes widened, and her ears turned red.
I was probably in the same state.

“Uh, no, um, what is it? Watching this sort of thing is fine, but doing it is tough!”

Rustiara began to deny the act, as if making excuses.

“Ah, ahh. It’s common in stories, but it feels strange now that it’s over! After all, is this all it is as a test?! Just a test!!”

I cooperated, piling excuses upon excuses.

“Yeah, it’s just a test! Wow, it’s not something you should do even as a test!”
“Right!”

With those words, we fell silent.
Incidentally, our ears were red, and we were grasping each other’s shoulders.

If I moved, I felt like something might explode, so I couldn’t budge at all.
I had no idea what to say or do next. Rustiara was probably in the same boat.

Another kind of unmeasurable time passed, different from the ethereal time before, a time filled with awkwardness.

A long time passed, and the candlelight on the table flickered.
Seeing that the candle was about to burn out, Rustiara finally couldn’t hold it in and shouted.

“—Wh-what is this! What is this!!”

Her face bright red like an apple, she shook my shoulders back and forth.
I wanted to scream just like Rustiara. But I couldn’t.

The skill “???” was lurking nearby.
I was convinced that it would activate if I let my guard down even slightly. The skill “???” was that close.

I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t let it activate here, in order to protect the embers of my emotions that I was finally starting to regain.

Consumed by the effort of controlling my raging emotions, I couldn’t move a single step or utter a single word.
Meanwhile, Rustiara continued to wave me around wildly, burying her face in her hands.

“No… this isn’t right…!! This won’t do…!!”

She shook her head, denying everything as if spitting it out from her stomach.

I couldn’t bear to watch the runaway Rustiara anymore and, with the awkwardness of a rusty machine, reached out to touch her.

“D-don’t look! Kanami, don’t look at me!!”

However, Rustiara swatted my hand away, refusing to be touched.

I was pushed away, creating distance.
Just enough for our faces to be visible to each other.

Rustiara’s face was contorted.
I was perplexed by her expression, which was neither a smile nor a cry.

“Aaahhh, ahhh, that’s it!”

Rustiara hid her face with both hands, turned her back, and ran.
Then, she skillfully climbed up the side of the ship and fled outside.

I pursued her with “Dimension” for a while but understood Rustiara’s intention for fleeing and immediately dispelled the magic.

At the same time, the candle in the room flickered out.
I was left alone in Rustiara’s room.

My feelings and Rustiara’s feelings.
The feelings of two people were confirmed.

The initial objective was achieved.
It was the greatest result possible. However, it was also undeniably an excessive result.

I still couldn’t move.
If I stirred my emotions even slightly now, the skill “???” would activate.

Therefore, I could only stand there, my outstretched hand still held out from where I was pushed away.

The protagonist was hugged tightly by a three-year-old girl and then made to flee.