Chapter 53: Ask Politely
Chronicle, having extracted enough amusement from the morning’s events to last him several centuries, finally withdrew his attention and settled into meditation.
Before doing so, he left Ivaline with a single instruction.
Ask politely.
Ivaline nodded.
The nod came a heartbeat too fast, a little too stiff — the way one agrees before fully understanding.
She fidgeted.
The new clothes still felt… strange.
They were lighter than what she was used to. Cleaner. Fabric that didn’t itch, didn’t cling, didn’t smell faintly of old dye and smoke. When she moved, they moved with her instead of resisting.
She tugged lightly at her sleeve, then stopped herself, fingers curling inward.
Ray noticed.
And his heart betrayed him immediately.
She’s nervous…
The way she shifted her weight.
The way her eyes flicked toward him, then away.
The hesitation before she spoke.
She’s expecting my answer.
His pulse spiked so violently it startled him.
No—no, this is bad. This is really bad.
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“Um… Brave-sama?”
That was it.
That was the moment.
Everything he had feared crystallized into certainty.
“HOLD.”
Ray thrust his hand out sharply, palm forward, as if stopping an oncoming carriage — or perhaps a fate he was not ready to face.
The word came out harsher than intended.
Ivaline froze.
Ray turned away half a step and inhaled.
Once.
Twice.
Calm down.
You knew this might happen.
You have a duty.
He clenched his jaw.
He knew it might look cruel.
He knew it might hurt her.
But there was a world to save.
Battles yet unfought.
People waiting on him to be something greater than a man who indulged his own heart.
He could not accept her feelings.
“I’m sorry,” he said at last, forcing the words through his throat.
“I know what you’re about to say.”
His fingers curled tight.
“And I can’t accept that.”
“…Huh?”
Ivaline’s voice was small.
She didn’t recoil.
She didn’t tremble.
She simply… stopped.
Not from rejection.
From pure, honest confusion.
Ray didn’t see that.
He was too busy wrestling with the storm inside his chest — guilt, resolve, regret, responsibility — all of it crashing together.
This is necessary, he told himself.
Painful, but necessary.
Meanwhile, Ivaline tilted her head slightly.
How does he know what I’m about to say?
Chronicle, mid-withdrawal, paused.
Ah.
The dots connected effortlessly.
Ray’s posture.
His expression.
The timing.
…So that’s what he thinks.
A quiet, almost fond mental sigh.
Then, gently — without judgment, without mockery — Chronicle nudged Ivaline with a suggestion.
Ask this instead.
She blinked once.
Then looked back up.
“O Brave-sama.”
Ray flinched internally.
“…Yes?” he replied, voice already weakened, bracing for impact.
“You don’t think I was going to confess my love to you, right?”
“…Because that wasn’t my intention.”
“…Eh?”
“I just wanted to ask for your guidance.”
“In the way of the sword.”
“…Eh?”
“So, I followed you since dawn.”
Ray’s brain began to short-circuit.
“But I only decided to ask just now.”
“EYYYYYYY—?!”
The Brave Hero shattered.
Mentally.
Spiritually.
Catastrophically.
All the tension he had built up collapsed into dust. His knees nearly gave out as realization struck with merciless clarity.
Chronicle, now fully withdrawn, recorded calmly:
Misunderstanding resolved.
Subject: Ray E. Shine
Status: Emotionally annihilated.
