Pinned so forcefully onto the bed by Mei, Sylvia quickly realized that today was likely going to end very badly for her.
She had honestly thought she could escape her fate by staying on the Herta Space Station. Who could have guessed that Stelle would drag her straight down into the abyss with a single move?
Fine. I'm putting a mark next to your name. Sylvia silently nursed her grudge in her heart. On the surface, however, she didn't dare try to deflect or change the subject.
It wasn't as if she couldn't see that Acheron's hair had already turned stark white. If she delayed things with any more pointless chatter, she was terrified she might get sliced in half on the spot.
"About that... Stelle was the one who insisted on calling me that. Because..."
Sylvia genuinely wanted to explain herself. But after rambling on for a bit, all she met was Mei's crimson gaze staring intently down at her.
Then came the response:
"Mm."
"..."
That's it?
Sylvia had thought Mei would say a lot more. She had even mentally prepared a whole speech on how to prove the truth of the matter. Yet, Mei had merely given that single, noncommittal grunt.
The sudden lack of tension left Sylvia completely tongue-tied, utterly at a loss for words.
But things moved quickly after that.
Mei reached out, grabbed the pajamas Sylvia had just changed out of, and swiftly bound Sylvia's wrists with a few deft movements. Her slender fingers pinched Sylvia's chin, and those vivid red eyes rapidly loomed larger in Sylvia's vision.
From mere inches away, Mei spoke:
"Suddenly, I'm rather glad I came back."
"Uh... ah? Wh-what do you mean?"
By now, Sylvia's cheeks were flushed crimson, and she found herself too embarrassed to look Mei directly in the eye.
Given the current situation, she had become a helpless fish on the chopping board. She figured there was no escaping being thoroughly "prepared" by Mei in every imaginable way today.
"It's nothing. You only need to know one thing: from now on, I will never let you leave my side again."
Beneath Mei's calm eyes lay a deeply suppressed well of emotion.
She didn't actually suspect that anything inappropriate had happened between Sylvia and Stelle. Judging by how the two of them usually interacted, they clearly hadn't crossed any lines.
But that wasn't the issue.
Sylvia seemed to carry around some sort of bizarre magnet. Even though she didn't intentionally behave in a provocative or flirtatious manner, she still effortlessly attracted all kinds of girls to her side.
What made matters even more troublesome was that Sylvia's power relied heavily on this unique trait to some extent.
At first, Mei hadn't minded. She viewed it much like the members of the Stellaron Hunters did—it was nothing more than offering a little bit of assistance to a harmless girl.
Later on, Mei hadn't paid it too much mind either. She was incredibly grateful to Sylvia for her kindness, and after so many years of wandering and traveling, even her memories were on the verge of being eroded away into nothingness by IX. Mei had long since stopped caring deeply about most things.
Mei had assumed she wouldn't care much about this, especially since Sylvia's behavior showed that she cherished her deeply as well. That should have been more than enough.
Mei was a very rational person.
She was a Self-Annihilator, and though the negative side effects of the Nihility were currently being suppressed by Sylvia's peculiar abilities, Mei knew she couldn't simply halt her exploration of it.
In the future, as her strength grew and she plunged deeper into the Nihility, there was no guarantee that the ring would continue to function as effectively as it did now. Even Sylvia couldn't provide a definitive answer to that.
Furthermore, Mei herself didn't want Sylvia to come into excessive contact with the Nihility.
Therefore, even though her feelings for Sylvia were growing more intense, she truly hadn't harbored any desire to keep her entirely to herself.
Unfortunately, things hadn't gone as planned.
As the power of the ring gradually took effect, Mei began to slowly reclaim her memories, and along with them, the emotions that should have been buried forever began to spark back to life, piece by piece.
While this was undoubtedly a good thing for Mei, it also caused an inevitable sense of possessiveness to bloom within her. As much as she loathed to admit it, that was the reality.
With her emotions waking up, Mei found herself overwhelmed by feelings she had been deprived of for far too long.
Having been emotionally detached for such a vast span of time, the sudden intrusion of such intense passion threw her off balance.
It made Mei lose her usual rationality. And as time went on, she was only becoming less and less rational.
Well...
Sylvia's various moments of being "unruly" probably played a significant role in that as well.
"..."
The crimson of Mei's eyes made it impossible for Sylvia to read her exact thoughts, but the tone of those words told her clearly that Mei was entirely serious.
Without giving Sylvia a single moment to agree or disagree, Mei leaned down and sealed her lips, seemingly content to let her eyes do the rest of the talking.
In that instant, a flurry of keywords like 'confinement', 'yandere', and 'heavy control' flashed wildly through Sylvia's mind.
Mei isn't planning to just assimilate me into the Nihility, is she...?
Under Mei's relentless advance, Sylvia's mind even began to conjure up some bizarre, tragic ending for herself.
But very quickly, under the expert touch of Mei's hands, Sylvia's consciousness began to drift, and she found herself completely melting into Mei's embrace.
It wasn't until much later that a sudden jolt ran through Sylvia, allowing her to claw back a tiny shred of sanity.
Mei, whose hair remained stark white, slightly loosened her hold on Sylvia.
"Haha... Your reaction just now was truly amusing. Whatever made you think I was going to find a place to lock you up and never let you out?"
Mei looked down with an amused expression at the flushed Sylvia. At this moment, Sylvia looked utterly pitiful, weak, and helpless—as if Mei had genuinely done something terrible to her.
"While we were at it, you were begging for mercy and acting so spoiled. You looked so adorable like that. Perhaps we really should try it out sometime in the future?"
"..."
Sylvia's already flushed face burned even hotter. Hearing Mei tease her like this, how could she not realize that her imagination had run completely wild?
Wait, did I really do something that embarrassing just now?!
Sylvia pursed her lips, her chest heaving violently beneath Mei as her emotions swirled. Honestly, whose fault was this anyway?!
"...Isn't this all because of the strange things you said earlier?! Saying stuff like 'I'll never let you leave my side again' with such a serious face... of course I was going to take it literally!"
The silence, filled only by the sound of heavy breathing, was entirely too humiliating. Sylvia instinctively chose to be stubborn, hoping she could at least last a couple of rounds by being completely unreasonable.
"No, that part was entirely true."
The smile on Mei's face widened. Beneath her, Sylvia's pupils trembled as she stared back, her expression shifting as rapidly as a stage actor changing masks.
"Wh-what do you mean by that?!"
"Exactly what I said."
"..."
"And you still claim you aren't planning to lock me up?!"
"Heh."
Mei had originally intended to explain herself. But seeing Sylvia's terrified expression, she found it utterly adorable. She decided it could wait until afterward.
Keeping the misunderstanding alive for now just made her look far too tempting to tease.
"What is that 'heh' supposed to mean?! Mei?! You—mmph!!"
Sylvia's mouth was blocked by Mei once again. Only this time, it was silenced by a few fingers.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL