Having passed out, Koutarou came to when the sun was starting to set.
Ouch, that hurt...
What had woken him up was the pain for the injuries he had gotten from being beat up by the unpopular boys alliance members. If not for that, he would have been out a little while longer.
There were also one, no, two, more things that had helped with waking Koutarou up.
“Is Koutarou alright!? Will he be ok!? He won't die will he!?”
“Yes, he is alright. It seems they held back when they hit him.”
“I, I see... The fool... he could surely beat those guys with ease. Why didn't he put up a fight...?”
“That's the kind of person he is. That's just how our Satomi-sama is.”
“I already know that! I just needed an outlet for my anger!”�
“If you don't like it, then you should stay by his side.”
“I will. I will protect him!”
“I have never heard of a princess protecting her knight though.”
“I will simply do as I please!! Am I wrong!?”
“As you wish, my princess.”
What had helped to wake Koutarou up were two nearby voices, and upon hearing them after waking up from the pain, Koutarou's mind cleared up.
Is that Theia... and Ruth-san?
By the time he could remember whom those voices belonged to, he got a sense of his surroundings. He was currently lying down on something flat and wooden with something warm and soft as a pillow. Even with his eyes closed he could tell that his surroundings were dim, but strangely enough he wasn't feeling cold. It might have been thanks to the two presences nearby.
“Mm, Mmmm...”
Koutarou opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times. Since the day was nearing its end it wasn't particularly bright. But he did it to clear his mind.
“It seems he has woken up.”
“I-I see.”
Upon opening his eyes, Koutarou saw Ruth's face in front of him. He could also see Theia standing a little bit behind her. Theia was turned towards the side and wasn't looking at Koutarou. She was gazing at the setting sun.
“Good morning, Ruth-san. And Theia too.”
Koutarou looked around while saying his greetings. He was on the school's rooftop, lying on a bench. The warm and soft pillow he had felt had been Ruth's lap. After confirming his surroundings he looked back at Ruth and Theia.
“I am glad you are alright, Satomi-sama.”
“You are really unsightly.”
Ruth was smiling, but Theia was in a bad mood and sulking. Both their words and gestures were opposite.
“I have nothing I can say... ey up.”
Koutarou smiled wryly and pulled himself up.
“Owowow.”
His wounds began hurting right away. His injuries from yesterday’s fight still hadn't healed, and he instinctively showed a pained expression.
“Y-You fool! Just stay down! Your wounds hurt, right!?”
Theia who had been sulking hurriedly reached her hands out towards Koutarou. She grabbed Koutarou's shoulders and pushed him back down. She looked very worried and her bad mood from before was nowhere to be seen.
“I'm alright, Theia. You don't need to worry that much.”
“I-I am not worrying! I am just amazed!”
Theia finally noticed what she was doing when Koutarou pointed it out. She hurriedly removed her hands from him and showed a sulking expression once more.
“What are you blushing for?”
“S-Shut up, I'm not blushing!”
Shaken, Theia's voice faltered. Hearing her voice, Ruth gave her a helping hand.
“I will ask again, but how are you feeling, Satomi-sama?”
“Eh? Ah, I think I'm fine, I'm sorry for making you worry.”
“Phew...”
Thanks to Ruth's question, Koutarou's attention shifted and Theia let out a sigh of relief.
What am I so shaken for... this is just like normal...
Theia repeated that to herself, but she wasn't able to calm down.
“Well then, let's go home. Before it gets cold, the sun is setting after all.”
Completely unaware of Theia's feelings, Koutarou slowly got up. The places where he had been hit hurt, but it wasn't to the point where he couldn't move. Freezing on the rooftop was a bigger problem than that.
“Ah, w-wait!”
However, Theia grabbed the hem of Koutarou's clothes as he started moving.
“Theia?”
Koutarou stopped and looked at Theia. And upon being watched by Koutarou, Theia's face instantly turned red.
“What is it?”
“Ah, u-uhm... eh...”
Theia moved her mouth, but she couldn't say anything. Eventually she looked down and turned towards Ruth for help.
“Ruth, please... I can't continue, any f-further than this...”
“Yes, your highness.”
Ruth nodded at Theia, stood up, turned towards Koutarou and smiled. Unlike Theia, Ruth was just like always.
“Actually, Satomi-sama we came to give you chocolate.”
“Chocolate!? You did, Ruth-san!? Is this for real!?”
Upon hearing that Koutarou would get chocolate from Ruth, he forgot about his grudge over being hit and instinctively leaned in towards Ruth.
Koutarou...
Seeing Koutarou like that, Theia's expression brightened up slightly. However, she quickly hid that and looked at Koutarou with a sulking expression.
“Koutarou, are you happy that you'll get chocolate from Ruth?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Koutarou answered Theia and nodded like it was the obvious answer. He was happy to get chocolate from Ruth.
“Ruth is an alien you know? Are you fine with that?”
Theia continued to question Koutarou, it was like she was confirming Koutarou's feelings one at a time.
“What's that supposed to mean?”
Does he not mind that Ruth is an alien? Koutarou understood what her words meant, but he couldn't understand the intentions behind her question.
“Ruth is an alien, and a noble, even if her chocolate was a true love chocolate, and you became lovers, it might be hard to make a family... is what I mean.”
“Ah, so that's what you mean.”
Upon understanding the question, Koutarou closely examined it.
Because of her position, and we can't get along any better than already, would I still be happy to get chocolate, is what she means. Then...
Fortunately, Koutarou came up with answer right away.
“I would be happy. I would to get a true love chocolate, even if it's from an alien, a monster, a robot or anything really.”
More accurately, she got an answer for her question regarding the future.
Koutarou had been happy when he got the insignia of rank from Charl. The same was true when Alaia entrusted him with Signaltin. It didn't matter who he or the other person were. He was happy people gave him something out of trust or gratitude.
That's why his answer was the same this time.
“...Eh? R-Really...?”
Theia was puzzled by Koutarou's answer. And as she was puzzled, she began putting expectations on Koutarou.
He won't mind, even if it's an alien...? Can you be happy even if it's me and Ruth...?
Theia wanted to know of Koutarou's real intentions. It might have been an obvious answer for Koutarou, but it was more important than anything.
“What do you mean by really... Theia, you were the one who told me.”
Koutarou put his hand on his hips and smiled wryly.
“Eh? W-What did I say?”
“That what's important isn't the sword itself.”