The words that spilled so naturally out of him supposedly didn’t sound heavy.
It was like those light jests, so it was easy for her to miss it — that’s how it was supposed to be.
However, Eleanor didn’t ask him to repeat those words, nor did she laugh it off.
She just stared up at him in shock.
“Lufure-sama…”
She called him, but wasn’t able to continue on.
The surprise on her face gradually faded away. She pursed her lips and scrunched her brows in return, seemingly disturbed.
It was Lufure’s turn to be dumbfounded when he saw her being like that.
‘I wonder what kind of face I’m making right now.’
He himself didn’t have any idea what his current expression was.
Probably looking strained. He also felt he was smiling.
All he could see was Eleanor. His lips unconsciously bent, but he wasn’t sure what kind of shape it was.
Eleanor fell silent and Lufure didn’t say a single word. Silence filled their surroundings.
The wind also stopped, and the trees no longer rustled while swaying. The stillness painfully pierced Lufure.
It would have been better if she had laughed it off.
On the contrary, there were no traces of jest in her face and she listened seriously — and it made him happy.
He already knew the answer right from the start.
“…I’m sorry.”
After a long period of silence, she finally uttered those words, her voice carrying sincerity at par with the seriousness of her face.
Lufure loosened up when he heard the answer that he had been expecting.
His lips were bent in a smile, but only he himself knew that he wasn’t smiling.
“…What the heck. You’re just Eleanor, and yet you dare to be dissatisfied with me?”
He snorted and turned his face away to hide his expression.
The pain increased when he could no longer see Eleanor.
He inwardly cursed, but he tried to gloss over it by raising his voice.
“ Sigh, you really don’t know what’s good, huh! You’re never gonna find a guy as great as me, you know!”
“…Yeah.”
Those words were meant to be a joke, but she unexpectedly agreed.
“I also agree. You’re always fooling around, but today, I realized just what a splendid deity Lufure-sama is.”
Her stupidly honest words rang in his ears.
He didn’t want to listen, but the silence was broken by her resounding voice.
“You’re weakened and yet you still came to our rescue. The other deities already abandoned the humans, but I saw how Lufure-sama can’t do the same. You’re normally so cheeky that it’s super annoying — but it made me realize that yes, Lufure-sama, you truly are a deity.”
She didn’t know when to stop talking.
Lufure couldn’t even say a word and just gritted his teeth.
He also thought of her as a cheeky and annoying girl.
She normally fooled around — and yet during these times, she…
“I am really happy that you considered making me your Saintess… If I heard about it some other time, then I probably accepted it with joy.”
‘Some other time’
Would things really change if it was some other time?
If he confessed earlier, if he met her earlier… or perhaps, if he changed his attitude and took care of her like a proper deity…
Countless regrets swirled inside his mind.
However, all of these were pointless.
There was no such thing as ‘some other time’.
If it wasn’t like “this”, Lufure probably wouldn’t think about having Eleanor as his saintess.
That’s why he understood her answer.
“But I already have Kami-sama — Crail-sama.”
There was a trace of bewilderment in her expression, but her voice was firm as she uttered those words.
“I am just a substitute Saintess, so honestly, I’m not even sure until when I can stay here in the Shrine — still, I want to be of help to Kami-sama as long as I’m here.”
“…”
“That’s why I can’t be Lufure-sama’s Saintess….Thank you. I’m sorry.”
Her voice, brimming with sincerity enough to make him feel fed up, faded into the night sky.
Lufure clenched his fists and wordlessly bit his lips for a moment.
‘….Ugh’
Their first encounter was when she became the saintess candidate for “that person”.
This girl hadn’t been chosen but was instead forced into her position, and yet she continued to serve as the Saintess of the abhorred, ugly “Incompetent God”. He was curious as to what kind of person she was, so he went to see her.
If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t be interested in a human girl that almost didn’t have any magical energy within her.
He wouldn’t carry this torch for her if she was someone who would change her deity in a heartbeat after being proposed to.
‘I~diot.’
He inwardly said those words, but it was unclear who he was referring to. He shook his head imperceptibly.
He then turned once again to face Eleanor.
‘… making an expression that doesn’t suit you.’
Her face was grave as if she was brooding over this. Lufure grimaced.
He was happy that she was serious about this. This girl was odious for not choosing him. He was jealous, envious of that person.
There were a lot of things he wanted to say, but —
“…Why are you taking this so seriously!! Aren’t you stupid!?”
The tense atmosphere and the stillness of the night was broken.
He was back to his usual joking tone.
His expression was back to the cheeky brat that he was.
Eleanor blinked in exasperation when he dauntlessly smirked at her.
“…Huh?”
“Of course it’s a joke! Who on earth will choose a powerless girl like you for a Saintess, huh! I’m not thinking seriously about it!”
“Huh? Eh? Lufure-sama?!”
“You’re so serious that it scared me! You’re too dumb for being so dense that a joke can’t get to you!”
He purposely raised his voice and energetically spat those words— finally, Eleanor’s bewildered expression changed.
Her eyes widened in disbelief — it was the expression that Lufure was familiar with.
“W-whaaaat!? Joke!? And here I am answering you so seriously! What’s with that attitude, huh!?”
Eleanor’s shoulders stiffened in anger, but contrary to her, Lufure’s body loosened up.
This frustratingly comfortable and familiar atmosphere filled the night air.
The silence was completely broken.
“Shaddup!! It’s your fault for being so gullible!”
“You’re in the wrong for deceiving me!! Eh, wait!!”
Lufure ignored her as he turned his back on her.
He kicked the ground and his body floated in the air.
He looked down at Eleanor as she made a fuss, and he snorted.
“Who will wait for you, huh!?”
He spat those words out.
He then shouted again, pouring all his heart, his affections, frustrations, his regrets for losing and all the countless emotions that he couldn’t put into words into his voice.
“You’re so gonna regret that you rejected me!!! Ha~g!!!”
The stars were brightly shining when he looked up.
He rushed towards the sky, disappearing among the stars.
The colors of the stars that blurred around him were beautiful.
Too beautiful that it irritated him.
“ [email protected] $%!!!”
There was no way he could say that she was far more beautiful than the stars.
–––
T/N: Ow Lufure… 🙁
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