"Alright, Ken, it's your turn."

"Hmm..." It has been five days since I was imprisoned in the Tower, confined by Raphne.

My attempts at persuasion were of no use; I was just waiting for a chance.

"Great, how about here?"

"Ah!" At the moment, we were enjoying a board game similar to chess on the bed.

Although Raphne wouldn't let me leave the room, spending time with her wasn't much different from usual.

Thus, while playing the board game, my hands were freed though I still wore shackles.

"Hehe, gotcha, Ken.

I actually lured you into that position!"

"What?!" With a decisive move, Raphne's next turn completely overturned the situation I had carefully crafted.

Damn, have I no chance against Raphne, who spent a whole year studying this game alone in the Tower?

"I-I lost..."

"Yay!

I won!"

In her joy of victory, Raphne raised her arms and bounced on the bed while sitting down, her bright smile radiating pure happiness.

The bed shook, making it difficult for me to keep my balance.

"So, the winner's prize is mine, right?"

"…Prize?" Did we bet on something like that?

As I pondered, racking my brains to guess what she meant by a prize.

"Gotcha."

"Whoa?" With the rebound of the bed, Raphne threw herself onto me.

Losing my balance under her weight, I toppled backward, ending up lying down on the bed.

And naturally, due to pushing me down, she ended up straddling over me.

Raphne's hair cascaded around my face like a curtain.

"R-Raphne?" There I was, flustered, while she wore a smile.

At that moment, I realized what her prize was.

It was what Raphne had been frequently asking for lately.

"A kiss." Her cheeks were flushed, and her lips shimmered with moisture.

Her eyes glinted like a predator eyeing its prey.

Since crossing that line once, Raphne had often asked for it.

Thankfully, or perhaps awkwardly, we hadn't gone beyond that line.

It seemed as long as I didn't try to push further, that boundary would remain.

Once we started kissing, there was no stopping her.

Thump.

Thump, thump.

As I anxiously waited for her to approach.

Suddenly, Raphne shifted her body and lay properly on the bed, looking exactly like a sleeping Snow White.

Sneaking a glance at me from the corner of her eye, she said,

"This time it's a reward, so...

Ken, you do it." Then she closed her eyes again.

"Me?

Do it?" Until now, it had always been Raphne who initiated the kisses.

But, as a game reward, she wanted me to lead this one.

"...Okay, then." I cautiously approached Raphne, supporting myself with one hand next to her shoulder, gazing down at her.

Her eyes were closed peacefully as if she were asleep, with long and beautiful eyelashes.

Her lips sparkled, curling into a slight smile.

Gulp.

This was the first time I would be the one to initiate a kiss.

My heart raced far more than it ever did when Raphne was the one who came close.

Right, this is just a game reward after all.

Resolving myself, I slowly lowered my face towards Raphne, moving closer... Bringing our lips together...

Clink, creak

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Oh, sorry.

Did I interrupt?” ...Creak, thud.

The tightly closed door of the room opened, and Siegfried, who witnessed our scene, quickly shut the door again.

“W-wait!

Senior!!!

It's not what it looks like!” No, actually, it is exactly what it looks like!

Creak.

“Hmm, is it okay if I come in?"

“Of course!” Siegfried cautiously peeked his face through the gap in the door.

‘…Hold on a second.’ But how did Siegfried get here?

Raphne had definitely taken off the pendant, meaning we are within the range of the curse's influence.

For a normal person, even wanting to come here would be difficult due to the immense pain and fear it causes.

Then, something dawned on me.

‘Ah, the Indomitable Will!’ The unique trait, Indomitable Will.

This trait grants him a strong will and exceptional resistance against mental attacks.

If that’s his only strength, then it makes sense he could withstand Raphne's curse.

“Well then, excuse me.” With my permission, Siegfried entered the room and immediately stated his purpose.

“Ken, I don’t know what's going on.

But if you’re alright with it, let's go.

Everyone else is worried.” From Siegfried’s following words, I understood why he had come here.

Well, it has been five days without any contact, so it's reasonable for others to be concerned.

But.

“Uhm, senior, that’s because….” Although I was grateful, he came to find me, the problem was that I wasn’t free to leave just yet.

“You're taking Ken away?” Raphne's voice echoed coldly.

Upon hearing Siegfried’s words, Raphne rose from her seat, emanating a terrifying aura.

"You are...

Raphne Bell Martinez." As expected, even third-year students knew her name; Siegfried recognized Raphne.

"Judging by the situation...

are you the one keeping Ken here?" Siegfried's gaze changed as he spoke.

His previously indifferent eyes sharpened, glaring at Raphne.

"Ken, answer me.

Do you need help right now?

If so, I will..." He drew the wooden sword hanging at his waist.

"I will rescue you with all my strength." The tip of the wooden sword pointed at Raphne.

They glared fiercely at each other, creating a tension that suggested a battle could break out at any moment.

Siegfried offered his help.

Should I say I need help now?

If a fight broke out and Siegfried won, would that solve the situation?

No, even if we managed to escape this place, it wouldn't resolve Raphne’s feelings.

"Senior, I..." I was about to decline his help for that reason.

I didn't want either of them getting hurt in a pointless battle.

But before I could say anything...

"No...

no, no, no, no!!!" Raphne suddenly began to rampage.

"No one can take Ken away from me!!!" As she shouted this, she suddenly vanished from sight.

BOOM!!!

An incredible roar and gust of wind followed.

Objects around us scattered and rolled on the floor, unable to withstand the pressure.

When I came to my senses, Raphne and Siegfried were clashing with wooden swords.

The wooden sword Raphne held was the one I used during training.

‘…She blocked Raphne’s attack.’ What was surprising was that Siegfried had effortlessly blocked Raphne’s sudden attack.

Raphne had moved at a speed that couldn’t be recognized, thanks to her Innate Skill, Innate Speed.

"As they say, your speed truly lives up to its name...

but your intent to kill is too strong."

“…Ugh.” With a swift movement, Raphne leaped back, startled that her attack had been blocked.

Just a few days ago, Emily, Mary, and even Adrian couldn’t react to her speed.

Now, Raphne seemed to gauge Siegfried’s skill from that exchange and abandoned close combat.

Then, extending a hand forward...

"Ignis Magna." She recited the incantation for a high-level fire spell.

Raphne’s magic surged and swirled towards her fingertips, forming a massive ball of fire.

…

"Tsk. " Siegfried, who had no defence against magic, lost his composed demeanour and hardened his expression, taking up a stance.

It was an aggressive posture, as if he was ready to charge forward at any moment.

He had no intention of fleeing.

He was planning to confront it head-on.

This is dangerous.

“W-Wait, wait, hold on!”

“K-Ken?”

...

If the fight continued any longer, this tower would be in ruins.

I quickly intervened between them, spreading my arms to block Siegfried's path.

Raphne was bewildered, while Siegfried remained silent.

Siegfried relaxed his stern expression and returned to his usual indifferent gaze.

“It's a misunderstanding!

It's a misunderstanding, sir!

I'm fine, so there's no need to fight!” Of course, it was not a misunderstanding at all.

Five days without any news.

The shackles on my feet.

And Raphne's aggressive reaction, as if she didn't want to lose me.

Everything pointed to this being a case of confinement.

“...Hmm, is that so?”

“Yes, yes!

So please put away your sword!”

“If you say so, I understand.” Even knowing this, Siegfried seemed to accept it.

He put away his wooden sword and turned towards the entrance.

“Then, since I've confirmed you're safe, I'll inform the others as well.”

“Sir, if it's all right, could you keep quiet about the tower or about Raphne?”

“Don't worry. I'll just inform them about your well-being," he said.

Then, he opened the door and tried to leave.

Creak.

But suddenly, he stopped as if something had come to mind.

He turned around and looked in our direction.

"...And Raphne." He wasn't looking at me but at Raphne behind me.

With a detached gaze, he spoke to her.

"If you grip something precious too tightly, it will eventually break."

...

With no response from Raphne, he gave a faint smile, opened the door, and stepped out.

Creak, click.

The door closed, leaving a heavy silence behind.

In that uncomfortable quiet, I turned to face Raphne.

She was looking at me with a worried expression.

"Ken..." Her trembling eyes seemed filled with questions and anxiety.

She probably couldn't understand why.

If I had asked Siegfried for help, he would have done whatever it took to help me escape.

Regardless of the outcome of a fight with Raphne, he would have found an opportunity to set me free.

Knowing Siegfried's skills better than anyone, Raphne would certainly understand that.

But instead, I stopped Siegfried and sent him away.

I had voluntarily given up my chance to escape.

She couldn't comprehend that.

That's why I approached Raphne and held her hand.

“I told you.

I will always be by your side.”

“...Huh?” Raphne was surprised by my unexpected words.

“No matter what happens from now on, I won't abandon you.

I'll stay with you.” For the past five days, I had constantly been thinking about how to make my words more convincing.

So, I refused Siegfried's help myself.

With this, Raphne would understand.

She would know that my words are sincere.

“Ken...” Raphne's eyes turned red, and after a long time, she started to tear up, perhaps my sincerity got through to her.

I approached her and gently hugged her, stroking her head carefully.

“Instead, let's make it two more days that we stay in the tower.” Without answering, Raphne just cried in my embrace.

“And after those two days, we'll leave the tower together and go back to the Academy.” If we stay together like this for about a week, she should be satisfied.

“Is that okay?”

“...Yes.”

“I'm sorry.

From now on, I won't try to distance myself.

Please trust me.”

“Sniff...

I’m sorry too.” Fortunately, Raphne seemed to understand.

On the first day of my confinement, she was forceful out of shock, but over these five days, we laughed and talked together, and her mood seemed to have improved significantly.

Let's be careful from now on.

If I make another mistake, the confinement might not end with just a week next time.

Still, this time, Siegfried's sudden visit added more weight to my words.

“Shall we eat now?”

“Sniff, yes...”

"Ken, what do you want to eat?”

"Anything cooked by Raphne would be delicious.” And so, with that slip of the tongue, the confinement episode concluded peacefully.

"Eventually, the curse was broken, wasn’t it?" After a week of confinement in the tower, I returned to the Academy with Raphne.

Raphne, who had been absent for a year, was reassigned to my class, and Adrian, who already knew she had left the tower, called me aside.

The meeting place was the backyard of the Academy's main building.

"Aren't you going to send her back to the tower?”

"The curse was lifted, so there's no longer a reason to confine her.

I thought you would understand.”

Apparently, even for them, it was difficult to justify keeping Raphne, the lady of the prestigious Martinez family, confined in the tower now that the curse was broken.

"Since we can't hide Raphne in the tower anymore, we don't know when her existence might be revealed to the Demon King's Army.”

"...Yes."

"If it comes to a point where she might fall into the hands of the Demon King..." Adrian's face hardened, and he looked at me with a serious expression.

"At that time, I will stop it, even if it means killing Raphne.”

Having delivered those words, Adrian turned and went back to the classroom.

'...The Demon King's Army.' The attacks from the Demon King's Army were a frequent event in the game.

But back then, Raphne was hidden in the tower.

The situation might now differ from the game’s storyline.

But.

This was a decision I had made and carried out.

No matter what happens, I will protect her.

If the Demon King's Army shows up, then I'll just have to defeat them.

With determination, I also moved my steps and went back to the classroom.

"Ken!

Where on earth have you been for the past week?"

"Do you know how worried we were?

You could have at least given us a heads-up…"

As soon as I returned to the Academy after a week, Emily and Mary immediately approached and bombarded me with questions.

"And you even brought Raphne back with you." Emily's eyes cautiously shifted to Raphne, who was standing next to me.

Fortunately, thanks to the pendant's effect, Raphne no longer instilled fear or caused distress in others when she was nearby.

However, there still seemed to be a slight wariness due to lingering remnants of the curse.

"More importantly, Raphne, why are you clinging to Ken like that?"

"Exactly!

I was curious too!

I get that you just came back, but why do you have to stick to him?"

Since Raphne had returned to the Academy after a year, everything felt awkward for her.

The Academy took her situation into consideration and assigned her to my class and even the seat next to mine.

Having been confined to the tower for so long, Raphne felt uneasy being surrounded by many people she hadn't seen in a while, so she clung tightly to my arm.

"Um, Ken." Ignoring their questions, Raphne spoke to me instead.

"Y-Yes?"

"Who are these two?

Can you ask them to go away?"

"W-What did you just say?"

"Excuse me?

What did you just say?"

Raphne's sudden remark stiffened their faces, and the atmosphere quickly turned tense.

'This is troublesome.' Raphne clearly did not get along well with Emily and Mary.

So, I had been worried that this might happen when she returned to the Academy.

But for things to go exactly as I thought…

"Um, don't be like that, Raphne.

They are my friends, so it would be nice if we could all get along…"

"I only need Ken.

Besides, you two are really annoying, so can't you just go away?"

Grit.

I heard the sound of someone grinding their teeth.

It was probably Emily.

"Raphne, you…." With their threatening gazes locked on each other, the situation could erupt into a fight at any moment.

'Darn, I have to defuse this somehow!' Considering that a fight breaking out on the first day of our return to the Academy would be a huge problem, I was about to intervene to stop them.

Creak, bang!

"Ken!!!" The front door of the classroom suddenly burst open, and someone called out my name.

The tension that had been in the air dissipated, and all four of us turned our gazes toward the door.

The first thing that caught my eye was the fluttering pink hair.

"I need you right now!" The person who urgently grabbed my arm and started pulling me was none other than Elise Granville, someone I hadn't expected.

"Huh?"

"Come on, hurry!

It's urgent!"

"Wh-Whoa!" Despite her frail appearance, she showed incredible strength as she tugged me out of the classroom.

The three other girls stared blankly at us as we left.

"K-Ken?"

"W-Wait a minute!"

"…Ah." All they could manage were short, stunned exclamations.

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