The night sky dawned on them. Students have already cleared the halls of the academy, but some still roam in the night hours. They've taken the offer to join the student council, and after a few more minutes of arguing with Esmeralda, Linia kicked all of us out of the room. Harold walked with Mina back into the dorm. "Hey Mina, I'm wondering, how did you get so good at combat? Especially your dagger skills." Her skills weren't achievable by any mere prodigy. You'd need hundreds of hours honing your dagger skills if you wanted to get near where Mina was. That's where it confused Harold. How did such a dangerous person get captured, and who taught her those skills?
"Oh, the person who taught me that was..." She tried hard to memorize. Seconds later, she finally remembered. "It was Mr. Gregory-" The sound of a loud gunshot rang in her head, which rattled her brain. The noise was so intoxicating that it caused her to projectile vomit onto the concrete floor. "Uuuueeeehhhhh..." she whimpered as she fell onto the floor. "Mina? Mina? Are you okay? What happened?!" He picked her up, and she limped against his hold. "I-I just want to go s-sleep..." Mina says, her tone sounding exhausted.
Upon reaching their dorm, they showered one after the other. Mina went in first, coming out looking pale. Harold showered right after, coming out to see Mina restless in bed. Lying a distance away from her in the bed, he turned over to speak. "Hey, Mina, what's wrong?" Her response surprised him, though, as she shuffled in bed to snuggle herself between his arms to sleep. Feeling her warmth against his body, he grew a faint blush. "Mina, stop it! We can't do this again!" But those words were ignored as she immediately fell into a slumber, snoring soundly. As her drool pooled against his body, he tried to resist the situation, but deep inside, he secretly really liked doing this with her.
"Excited, aren't you?" Sorrow asked as she appeared on Mina's palm.
He recoiled at the sudden emergence, not expecting Sorrow to be watching them. "Sorrow? You're still awake?!"
"Yeah, I barely sleep. I'm more invested in this romantic moment right now."
Mina stirred in her slumber, happily pressing her face against his chest. Harold tries to push her away, but the strength to do it isn't there. "Why is Mina doing this?" he asked. The affection toward him felt unwarranted. He knew his encounter with her was just by luck, and he knew he wasn't the greatest person in the world. Mina felt special to him, even though they had met recently. It was like he instantly clicked with her the moment they spoke to each other, but even then, he didn't want to go deeper in their bond. The more she resembled a certain person in the past, the more he wanted to avoid her advances. Yet, deep in his heart, he can't commit to avoiding her. "I'll lose Mina as well, but..."
Noticing his sadness in his eyes, Sorrow couldn't understand what was going on in his mind. But she knew things that Harold didn't. "Hey, do you know why Mina snores and drools when she sleeps by you?"
"Doesn't she always do that when she sleeps?"
"Nope, apparently it's always been a silly hidden habit of hers."
"Then why does she do it?" He looked down to see Mina doing exactly what Sorrow referred to: she was snoring and drooling all over him. "I'm kind of used to it at this point..."
"Deep in her heart, she does it when she's around the people she trusts the most. Like her mother, for example."
He looked down at Mina slumbering peacefully. Her gentle snoring in bliss as she cuddled into him. The words made his heart skip a beat. "People she trusts the most...?"
"Yeah, you're the one she trusts the most."
"But why? I'm just some random broke guy who got lucky in finding her."
"Because you were the only one who showed her kindness when she was at her lowest. You were the only one who treated her like a genuine human being. You were the one who saved her from the clutches of slavery. You are the only person she has left in her life. To her, YOU are one of the most precious people to be by her."
Sorrow's words moved him. He understood she most likely lost everything in her life, and he was the only hope she clung to desperately. "Mina..." He didn't take her feelings into consideration when it came to them. He only took his selfish fears into mind, and he felt deeply ashamed because of that.
"Mina has gone through a lot, even if it doesn't seem like it. As I linger in her heart, her trauma eats her away every single day. Even then, she manages to smile despite her cruel reality."
"How is such an innocent person managing to pass by smiling every day if she's suffering that much?"
"That's because she has hope. Hope for a brighter future. Hope is a leading force in this world, meant to be a stability for the people. That doesn't mean Mina is fine, though. She has a determined mind but a fragile heart. So, because of this, I want to ask you for a favor."
"And what's that?" Harold asked.
"Please, love and care for Mina with all your heart."
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In the morning, they walked to class together. Mina, however, acted quite differently than normal. She made distance and tried her hardest not to make eye contact. Harold scratched his head in confusion, observing the odd behavior. "What's up with her? She's been like this ever since she woke up."
Mina walked behind, shuddering as Harold watched her. "Uuuuehhh... H-He's looking at me!" Calling out Sorrow, she spoke in a whisper to her. "Sorrow, please help me!" She begged as she fell behind Harold more and more. "What? What are you freaking out about?" Sorrow responded.
"I-I have something to say..." Mina's tone got even lower, as if her words were being pushed out of her mouth.
"What is it?"
Mina's face turned beet red at this stage, not able to speak her heart properly.
Tired of her hesitation, Sorrow ordered her to speak, "Come on, just say it already."
"I think I love Harold!"
"To be honest, I've already known for a while."
"R-Really?! How did you know!"
"I am bound with your soul, did you not remember? I can see your deepest desires. And one of them is that Harold guy."
"Anyhow, please help me get together with him!" Mina pleaded with desperate eyes, ones that screamed hopelessness. Sorrow let out a deep sigh at the absurdity of her request. "Asking an Artifact for dating advice? How ridiculous does that sound?" Mina's innocent eyes began to well, almost nearing tears on the spot. "O-Okay, fine! I'll do it! I promised myself I'd turn you into a proper lady anyway." Immediately, Mina's reaction brightened up, her smile so pure and happy—it made the entire hallway of people build a fuzzy feeling inside of them. Harold, noticing this, turned around. "Oh? What made you have a drastic change in mood, eh? Are you feeling any better now?" Leaning in with a smile, he felt it was finally the perfect time to interact with her now. But to Harold's surprise, Mina grew a flushed expression the more he approached, causing her to run away at full speed.
Sitting alone in the classroom, the students during passing time entered the room. "I can't believe I ran from Harold like that!" Sorrow rattled in her palm, raising her voice. "That was not ladylike at all! Why would you just suddenly jolt away from him?!" Mina, balling up in embarrassment, cringed at her actions. "I-I'm sorry! It's just, w-when I woke up to us in bed together, I-I couldn't stop thinking about it..." She had butterflies in her stomach when she thought about Harold and her sleeping together in bed, and it would never go away.
"Listen, you love-struck maiden, right now, we'll have to think tactically if you want to get with him. You need to figure out his hobbies, his birthday, and, most importantly, if he has a girlfriend or not! Since you two are literally together 24/7, I figured this information would be easy to get out of him."
"But Sorrow, why do we need to find out those in particular?"
"It's because I have plans for them. The final one is just a safety measure."
Puffing up her cheeks, she is riddled with determination. "O-Okay!"
When Harold entered the classroom he sat next to Mina, leaning on his chair and awaiting class to start. Mina took the opportunity to ask. "Harold! Can you tell me what—ETTTTHHHH?"
The loud absurd noise splurged out of her mouth, confusing Harold. "What?" Mina bit her tongue mid-sentence and now panicked, knowing that she just let out the weirdest noise to Harold. In defeat, she put her head down for the rest of the lecture as Harold watched over her, still confused about what she wanted.
With classes passing by and no luck, they get to the lunchroom where Mina happily spoils herself in Harold's tender care. "Mina, say 'ah' for me." In his request, she gleefully opened her mouth, letting out a sound. Harold puts a spoonful of cheese stew into her mouth, watching as she enjoys the food. "Does it taste good?" He asks. Mina, still with her mouth full, nods.
Wiping down her cheek of residue soup with a napkin, Harold gets out of his seat. "I'm going to the bathroom real quick. I'll be right back." As Harold walks off, Sorrow emerges once more. "MINA! What are you doing?!"
"Uhm..." Looking down in guilt, she knew she was off-track.
"Right now, you're the one who's falling more in love than ever!"
She twirls her finger in her hair. "S-Sorry, but it's hard! I-I can't help but get caught in his charm..." Sorrow's patience starts to run dry, tired of waiting for results. "At this rate, she'll make no progress! I have to put my foot down!"
As Harold comes back, Sorrow rattled herself as she screamed at Harold. "Harold boy! Answer my questions! What are your hobbies?! What is your birthday?! And did you ever have a girlfriend!"
"Oh-um, that's a lot of questions!"
"Just answer!"
"Okay... well, for my hobbies, I like beating up bad guys for fun. Oh, maybe go to my favorite underground monster fighting ring! I also like cooking."
Sorrow's hope dwindles. "Well, at least he has one normal hobby... maybe Mina could participate in cooking with him?"
"My birthday? It's on October 26th."
"That's the same day as my birthday!" Mina exclaims in surprise.
Sorrow's hope cracks into bits, seeing how her second plan isn't going to work. "Bringing him a grand surprise on his birthday plan is out the window..."
"Oh, and I did have a girlfriend before."
A flicker of crimson flashes in Mina's eyes from the information. Her eyebrow twitching and heavy bloodlust leaks out of her, only being hidden by Sorrow's presence.
"But sadly, we broke up... I didn't even think it was a genuine relationship in the first place."
The rage that instilled Mina subsides momentarily, causing Sorrow to let out a deep breath. "Calm down Mina, that took way too much effort to hold back your bloodlust!"
"But there was a girl that I truly loved back then, way before I met my ex."
A surge of bloodlust piled into her soul, her eyes fully crimson this time. A demonic aura cracked the surrounding air, making it hard for even Sorrow to breathe. Sorrow thought this was going to get out of hand, but the look on Harold's face eased the tension. "But sadly, I'll never see her ever again." he said with a somber look. Mina plopped her face on the table, letting out a deep sigh of relief. She did note that Harold appeared somewhat distraught at the recollection, but the relief of no contenders left eased her mind.
In stealth, Kin bumped Mina from behind, saying, "Boo!"
Mina squealed at the top of her lungs, catching the eyes of the entire lunchroom.