Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 5 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 6===

"Come, bon appetit."

Sitting on the vinyl sheet, Lisa nervously opened the basket.

Inside were crooked looking sandwiches and a small water bottle.

"How should I put this...? The sandwiches look really handmade."

"No need to force yourself to search for words of praise. I'm aware that they don't look good. I've never cooked before so this cannot be helped. Come—This is black tea."

Lisa spoke sulkily then poured black tea from the water bottle into a cup.

"Thanks, then I'll begin."

Taking a crooked looking sandwich, I brought it to my mouth."

"...How is the taste?"

Lisa gulped and observed my reaction.

I had picked a tuna salad sandwich. The instant I took a bite, the fresh juices of vegetables and the savory richness of tuna expanded in my mouth.

"It's good."

I said my words almost subconsciously, then stuffed the entire sandwich in my mouth.

"You're not just... being polite?"

"No, it really does taste good. If it's this kind of food, I can eat an unlimited amount of it."

I replied while picking up a second and a third sandwich.

"Really...? Then my efforts are rewarded."

Lisa seemed to sigh in relief and started eating a sandwich too.

"It tastes so good even though you're clearly a beginner. I think you're amazing."

"Because it's just ordinary sandwiches. Anyone can make them taste good by following a recipe."

Lisa turned the head away coldly and replied, but I could sense her joy vaguely from the mood.

Having spent some time together on the sea just now, it seemed Lisa and I had grown much closer than before.

There were also egg sandwiches, fruit sandwiches and others. While we tried out all sorts of flavors, the basket soon became empty before we knew it.

"Hoo~ I'm so full. It's great stuff."

Finishing Lisa's sandwiches, I thanked her.

"I'm glad you're satisfied."

"Now all you need to improve is the appearance."

"—I will hone my culinary skills from now on. Seriously, could you keep that comment to yourself?"

Lisa pouted mildly then started tidying up.

Putting the water bottle and the cups back into the basket, she closed the lid. Watching her, I asked about what was next.

"Then what's next? Want to go for a brief swim to help digestion?"

Immediately, Lisa placed the basket on the vinyl sheet's edge and said solemnly:

"We could do that—But personally, I'd like to hear about your matter now."

Lisa moved closer, shoulder to shoulder with me, then drawing her knees up to her chest, she stared at me. With our bare shoulders touching, I felt my heart speed up.

"My matter?"

"Indeed, I would like to know what is troubling you."

Hearing her say that, I understood she wanted me to explain what I wanted to discuss with her.

"...It's better to save it for later. If I brought it up now, it'll probably ruin the mood and put an end to our special training."

Since what I wanted to discuss was quite a grave matter, it would surely disrupt the current atmosphere if I told her.

However, Lisa shook her head.

"No—Since it is troubling you that seriously, then I must ask you to tell me now all the more. I will listen to your troubles as if I were your lover."

Lisa urged me in a sincere tone of voice.

From her words, I could hear that she truly cared about me. I felt my heart wavering inside.

Most likely from the very start, Lisa was treating this as part of the special training, intending to hear my troubles.

I had said earlier that we had to share joys to look like a couple, then as a couple, it was only natural to share each other's troubles as well.

If Lisa believed that this was a necessary process in order to act more like a couple, I probably should not be too apprehensive.

"So, a lot of the story might be shocking to you... But please hear me out."

"Very well, leave it to me. I shall take on all of your troubles."

Lisa thumped her chest and promised. Seeing that massive bosom wobble intensely, I frantically looked away while starting to confess my secret to her.

Three years ago, I had made a deal with Yggdrasil in order to repel Hekatonkheir that was invading my homeland, thus obtaining data on pre-civilization weapons, most prominently the anti-dragon armaments.

But in exchange, I lost a portion of my memories.

Then during the respective battles against Leviathan and Hrasvelegr, I had sought new power in the same way, losing more of my memories—

I recounted everything in order.

Lisa's face went pale initially and asked me question many times, but later on, she could not say a single word.

The expression on her face resembled not only anger but also sorrow. Staring at me, she listened silently to me.

"—And this is how I can no longer recall any of the past beyond three years ago."

I told her the current state of affairs then voiced my current feelings.

"Initially, I thought it was a price I had to pay to obtain power, so previously, I had already given up on the memories. But Iris, the only one who knows about this, vowed to help me recover my memories no matter what... I've then decided to do everything I can, so—"

"...So that is why you sought me to discuss this."

Lisa finished my sentence.

Her voice was clearly filled with anger.

Despite feeling myself cower for an instant, I still nodded and admitted it.

"That's right."

—Smack!

I felt an impact on my left cheek. Lisa had slapped me.

Normally, I might have dodged reflexively.

But seeing the tears flowing of Lisa's eyes, I could not move at all.

"In any case—whether as lovers or classmates, I have judged this as the appropriate response."

Holding the hand that had slapped me tightly against her chest, Lisa quietly told me.

"...Yeah, I think you're right."

Feeling the numbing pain on my left cheek, I nodded and agreed with Lisa.

"Although Mitsuki-san, who shoulders many mental burdens alone, is also quite a nuisance—Your problem is even worse than hers! Deciding on your own to pay a price, deciding on your own to protect us, deciding on your own to suffer alone... How can you be so selfish!?"

Lisa scolded me harshly, but tears were flowing from her eyes.

"—Sorry."

"Rather than apologize, why didn't you ask for my advice earlier!? At least if you had confessed to me before the Hraesvelgr battle, there might have been another solution, more or less..."

Lisa showed chagrin on her face while her shoulders kept shaking.

"Sorry, it's not that I don't trust you, Lisa, but I absolutely don't want Mitsuki to know... That's why I couldn't speak out lightly."

I apologized to her again.

"If Mitsuki-san learns of this, she will surely be more angry and saddened than me—and hurt far deeper. But even so, I would think that she still hopes you will confess everything to her."

Lisa spoke bitterly then glared at me.

"—Lisa, you think that I should tell Mitsuki too?"

"If I had accepted your request for a discussion as your classmate, I might have insisted on that already. However, I am currently taking the standpoint of your girlfriend... Hence, I will respect your wishes."

Although Lisa did not seem like she accepted my way of doing things, she still said that to me.

"Thank you, Lisa."

"It is too early for thanks. I still haven't offered any suggestions about what you came to me to discuss. Frankly speaking, I never expected such a difficult problem."

Lisa exhaled as though to calm down her turbulent emotions and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

I felt sincerely grateful to Lisa whose eyes had reddened slightly from crying.

"Goodness gracious... It would be troubling if you were satisfied with this. Since you are relying on me, you must set your goal higher. Although it might not be possible immediately, I will try to find clues to help recover your memories, even if it means exhausting all possibilities."

After declaring that, Lisa changed postures, from having her knees drawn to her chest to sitting formally in seiza.

"So—In any case, you should lie down on my lap."

'Huh? W-Why do I have to do that?"

I was troubled to hear such a sudden suggestion. I kept looking back and forth between her pale thighs and her face.

"Just now, I was scolding you as your lover, so next, I will console you. Now then, hurry and lie down."

Lisa pulled my shoulders and had me lie down on the ground with my head on her lap.

The soft feeling of her thighs and the bodily fragrance from her skin was making my heart pound intensely.

Looking up, the majority of my view was dominated by her bosom that was slightly squeezed by her swimsuit.

"Uh... L-Lisa?"

I called her name anxiously. A warm hand immediately rested gently on my forehead.

"Even at the cost of sacrificing precious things, you decided to protect us—I am truly grateful to you. Although it is impossible to call what you did correct... Without you, I might have lost precious family already."

Lisa stroked my head while thanking me in a gentle tone of voice.

"You must be... suffering. Because you've worked so hard from the past all the way to the present, so even if it's just for now, please allow your body and mind to rest. I will stay here by your side."

"Oh..."

Her words permeated into the depths of my heart. I could feel the anxiety sticking to the bottom of my heart gradually disappear.

Lisa stroked my head. Her hand was making me so comfortable that I had to close my eyes.

"You can sleep if you wish. Right now, there is no one in this world who treasures you more than me, your lover, so please rest assured and leave everything to me."

Guiding me like a lullaby, Lisa's gentle words made me fall asleep naturally.

Thus, I slept peacefully on her lap. By the time I woke up, it was already dusk.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v05 131.jpg|thumb]]

"—Sorry, I slept too soundly. Your legs must be numb and it was probably quite boring for you."

Along the way back, I apologized to Lisa who was walking by my side.

Back when I came to, she beamed at me and said "good morning" with a smile. As a result, I accidentally missed the timing to apologize to her.

"I switched postures several times in the process, so I didn't get numb. Also, there were many things to contemplate, so I didn't feel bored either."

Back to her hat and white sundress getup, Lisa replied while facing forward. And of course, I was back in my shirt and pants instead of walking in swimwear.

"Were you thinking of what I discussed with you?"

"Yes, and there was also watching your sleeping face. I don't think I can ever tire of it, you know?"

While walking arm in arm with me as when we started the day, Lisa smiled mischievously with her other hand carrying the empty basket.

"Does my face look that weird?"

"Rather than weird, it would be more apt to call it childish. It's almost like Tia's when she is taking afternoon naps, very adorable."

"Urgh."

I felt extremely embarrassed at the thought that I had shown such a vulnerable expression.

"Fufu, perhaps I should take a photo if there is a chance next time."

"Please, anything but that."

While we were chatting like that, we reached the spot where we met up by the time we realized.

Lisa swiftly released my arm and separated from me.

I felt a little unsettled that Lisa's body warmth, which had accompanied me for the whole day, had left me.

"—This ends today's special training. Thank you for accompanying me."

"Oh no, I'm the one who needs to thank you."

Seeing Lisa thank me solemnly, I scratched my head and responded. Since I was only sleeping for the second half, I felt quite bad about that.

"On my end, I seem to have acquired a grasp on behavior expected of couples. How about you?"

"Well, lemme see... Walking arm in arm naturally on the way back, I think it's progress."

Hearing my reply, Lisa nodded with satisfaction.

"Judging from the way things look, there shouldn't be a problem. Do not forget this kind of feeling. We will continue to practice."

"Huh? More practice?"

"Naturally, we must not get complacent before the real event. Nevertheless, we will probably be using pockets of free time in between preparing for the school festival to revise a bit of what we did today, so it won't take up your time."

Lisa replied confidently with her head high then said with a serious expression:

"In fact, I originally intended to have more training, but right now, your matter is more important. In any case, I will use the weekend to put together all known information regarding Yggdrasil. I believe that dragon still holds the key."

"Yeah, I'll review the lecture notes from all the lessons so far."

Indeed, researching the other party would a basic thing to do, yet until now, I never even thought of investigating Yggdrasil.

Or rather—For some reason, I did not want to investigate.

Perhaps just as Iris pointed out, my trust in Yggdrasil had gotten to ''an unnatural extent''.


—Suspicion, unnecessary.


"...?"

I seemed to hear a tiny voice, so I looked around but there was no one else along the seashore path or on the beach.

"What's the matter?"

Lisa asked curiously.

"No, nothing, I guess it was my imagination."

"...Is that so? Then I shall take my leave here. See you in school on Monday."

"Yeah, see you."

Lisa turned around and left after I replied.

I watched her depart until she vanished on the far end of the road that traced out gentle curves, then started walking to return to Mitsuki's dorm.

But in that instant, my vision suddenly shook.


—Rectification.


"Gah..."

A moment's dizziness.

I steadied my footing immediately and did not allow myself to fall.

Was it the result of sleeping outdoors? I shook my head.

—Huh? Speaking of which, I think I was planning to do something when I get back...

I seemed to have something to investigate, but could not recall what it was.

Whatever, it was probably nothing important. Without dwelling on it deeply, I stopped thinking about it.