"Lea!"

It was night.

Ariel stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the young girl who had just snuck into the room. Her voice was full of indignation as she said,

“Where have you been?”

“Uh… Ariel?”

Lea, who had just entered, shrank back instinctively, blinking in surprise as she nervously asked,

“Why are you here?”

“Shouldn’t I be here? Is that strange?”

Ariel frowned slightly, confused by Lea’s question.

After all, this was Lea’s room.

Santa Maria College had single-occupancy dormitories. If someone unexpectedly appeared in Lea’s room, it would certainly be unusual and could even escalate into a serious issue that alarmed the professors.

But Ariel was different.

Thanks to her persistent efforts, her close relationship with Lea had earned her a spare key to the room long ago. Not only could she show up here unannounced, but she also visited almost every day.

Yet now, something about Lea felt... off.

Ariel’s sharp gaze turned hawk-like as she scrutinized Lea from head to toe.

The girl before her looked the same as always, showing no visible changes.

But Ariel’s keen intuition picked up on the subtleties.

For instance, tonight, under the glow of the room’s light, Lea’s usually endearing face appeared unusually flushed—her cheeks carried a rosy hue and sheen, reminiscent of a ripe apple that made one want to take a bite.

“Lea…”

“Y-Yes?”

“Why are your cheeks so red?”

“Eh? Are they?”

A flicker of panic lit up in Lea’s eyes as she instinctively raised her hands to touch her face.

Sure enough, her palms were met with unexpected warmth.

Ugh…

Why… Why is this happening?

I even waited so long before coming back.

“Lea, you didn’t…!”

Noticing Lea’s flustered reaction, Ariel became even more certain of her suspicions. Her expression darkened.

“You didn’t sneak off behind my back to—”

“…”

Lea’s heart skipped a beat.

This is bad. So bad.

My secret meeting with Moen Campbell, Ariel’s least favorite person… is she onto me?

“—to go play in the snow without me!”

“Eh?”

“Hmph! As if you could fool me. I know that you grew up in the South. Seeing all this snow must’ve made you unable to resist!”

Ariel placed her hands on her hips and flashed a smug grin that practically screamed, *What a genius I am!*

“Your cheeks are so red from the cold—looks like you had a great time!”

“…”

“But!”

Ariel’s face switched to a stern glare as she huffed,

“You didn’t even invite me. That’s way too rude!”

“I… I didn’t want to disturb you,” Lea murmured while tugging at the edge of her skirt, forcing a feeble smile.

“You seemed so busy lately…”

“Even if I were busy, I’d still make time to hang out with you! And today, you even skipped class, leaving me alone! I was so bored I ended up falling asleep in Professor Pulan’s lecture and got caught!”

Ariel gritted her teeth in frustration.

“Do you have any idea how badly he chewed me out?”

“… Sorry about that.”

“As if a simple apology could make up for it! What’s the point of saying sorry if you don’t even have the guts to accompany it with some compensation?! Come here and let me squeeze you, you milk cow! Only then will I find the release I so desperately need!”

“Ahhh! Wait, Ariel—no!”

“Muahaha! Scream all you want. Even if your voice cracks, no one will come to save you. The louder you scream, the more fun it is for me!”

As if she’d done this countless times before, Ariel wiggled her fingers wildly, targeting Lea’s ticklish spots while preparing to escalate her “punishment” to her best friend.

As usual, it didn’t take long for Lea to yield under Ariel’s relentless assault. Tears of laughter welled up in her eyes as she squirmed, trying to plead for mercy.

But just as Ariel’s wandering hands inched closer to certain sensitive areas—

“Don’t!”

With an unexpected force, Lea pushed Ariel away, causing her to stumble back a few steps and freeze in shock.

“L-Lea?”

Lea had… pushed her?

Why?

Was she crossing a line?

No, they’d done this countless times before without a hitch. Compared to their past antics, tonight’s teasing wasn’t even that bad.

“I… I’m sorry…”

Lea realized her overreaction and panicked right away, her hands unsure of where to go.

“Are… Are you okay, Ariel?”

“You’ve got bored of me, haven’t you?” Ariel exclaimed, her voice full of grievance.

“You’ve finally grown tired of me… Is it because of my flat chest?”

“No, no, no! Of course not.”

Lea frantically denied the accusation, waving her hands in confusion.

“How could I possibly hate you, Ariel?”

Of course, she didn’t hate Ariel.

But when Ariel reached for her in that overly familiar way, Lea couldn’t stop herself from recalling that scene earlier…

That scene she had accidentally witnessed earlier in the day.

And the mere thought of it caused her heart to race.

Ugh…

Moen Campbell, that scumbag…!

“I don’t hate you, Ariel. It’s just… I'm not feeling well.”

“Not feeling well?”

Ariel’s delicately arched brows furrowed as her prior irritation melted into concern. She leaned closer, her worry evident.

“Are you okay?”

“Really, it’s nothing,” Lea said, shaking her head weakly. “It's not a big deal.”

“You weren’t out in the snow too long and caught a cold, were you?”

Ariel raised a hand to Lea’s forehead to check her temperature.

“Whoa. You’re burning up!”

“How can you be so careless, like some naive little kid?” Ariel scolded, yet her tone was laced with concern.

Lea wasn’t on the path of a martial artist, meaning her physical constitution was weaker than the most. Catching a cold wasn’t unusual for someone like her.

But still, Lea behaving this recklessly? It just didn’t seem like her.

Wait, why was she even overthinking this?

Knowing Lea and her pure nature, there’s no way she’d outright lie about something like this.

Ariel shook her head, brushing away the odd thoughts. She grabbed Lea and tucked her snugly into bed like wrapping a package.

“Just rest already! You should’ve used your Holy Light magic ages ago to heal something as trivial as this!”

“It’s nothing serious…” Lea insisted but quickly fell silent, seeing Ariel’s stubborn determination.

“Even if it’s minor, you need proper rest!” Ariel shot back, making sure Lea was securely cocooned in the blanket before clapping her hands in satisfaction.

“Alright, I’ll leave now so you can sleep in peace.”

“Mm…” Lea mumbled softly.

But just as Ariel turned to go, Lea’s arm suddenly reached out from the bed.

“Ariel, take this.”

“What’s this…?”

Ariel’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the handful of banknotes Lea extended toward her.

“That’s… so much money! Where did you get this?”

“It’s... support funds from the church,” Lea explained, her voice slightly hesitant.

“Support funds? But during your trial, wasn’t the church supposed to refrain from helping you?”

“They still provide small amounts of financial aid.”

“I see… I thought the church was heartless enough to cut you off completely.”

Ariel nodded, seemingly convinced. However, she hesitated, biting her lip before saying,

“Still, giving me all this—what about yourself? You’ve already lent me so much. I can’t take—”

“Ariel.”

Lea puffed her cheeks, feigning anger as she interrupted,

“Are you seriously thinking this way? Do you not trust our bond at all?”

“Lea…”

The determination in Lea’s adorable expression stirred a warm feeling inside Ariel.

She’s right. With their relationship, was there any room for such reservations?

“Thank you, Lea.”

Ariel drew in a deep breath, accepting the money while firmly grasping Lea’s hand. Her gaze was unshakable.

“Trust me, I’ll make sure you become the Saintess!”

“Mm.”

“And when that happens… there’s something I want to tell you.” Ariel’s voice trembled slightly, a mix of mischief and shyness flashing in her eyes.

“Mm.”

“For now, get some rest. Bye!” Ariel waved cheerfully as she left the room.

“… Mm.”

Ariel turned off the light, dimming the room into darkness.

But Lea lay wide-eyed, staring at the dark ceiling.

Ariel’s impassioned declaration—meant to deepen their bond, as per the original story—somehow didn’t weigh on her mind this time.

“Saintess… huh?”

She murmured softly to herself.

It had always been her goal.

But ever since meeting Moen Campbell, she had unwittingly crossed boundaries unbecoming of a Saintess—again and again.

If this continued…

“Dear Goddess…”

Lea clasped her hands together, her quiet prayers reaching toward the heavens.

“Will you forgive… such a Lea?”