In the alleyway, frost spread at a visible speed, and in the blink of an eye, the surroundings transformed into a scene of ice and snow.
Aiden stared in disbelief at Cerise, who lowered her head with black energy radiating from her body.
Her once pure ice-blue hair was gradually becoming tainted with a murky layer.
[Master, Cerise’s instability level is continuously rising. She’s about to break through the Critical Value!]
Ruby fluttered anxiously around Aiden’s side.
As someone destined to become a Witch and destroy the world through her future corruption, Cerise indeed had an instability value.
If left unchecked, she could blacken prematurely, and what the world would become then was uncertain, but Aiden’s mission would definitely end in failure.
[What should I do?]
Aiden hurriedly asked, it was his first time witnessing a magician’s corruption firsthand.
[Master, all this began because of you, so naturally it must also end because of you.]
At Ruby’s reminder, Aiden suddenly realized that Cerise might have misunderstood something.
Ignoring Cerise’s aversion to males, he placed both hands on her shoulders and gently shook her.
“Cerise, wake up!”
The movement sent a piercing pain from the injured shoulder, so sharp that Aiden nearly shed tears.
Yet he didn’t give up and continued calling her name.
“Why can’t I protect anything…”
Cerise covered her cheek, her voice choked as she murmured to herself.
Only then did Aiden understand—the direct cause of Cerise’s blackening was seeing him hurt.
Hastily, he reassured her:
“I’m fine, it’s just a minor injury.”
Still, Cerise remained dazed, showing no sign of improvement.
“Huff…”
Aiden took a deep breath.
If this kept up, the entire block might become an ice sculpture.
Gritting his teeth, he gently pulled Cerise into his arms, pressed close to her ear, and spoke softly.
“I’m fine. Thank you, Cerise. You saved me—you don’t need to blame yourself.”
“It’s all my fault… I came to help Aiden, but in the end, it was Aiden who saved me… I’m so stupid…”
Feeling the warmth of her breath brush past his ear, Cerise slowly lifted her head.
Seeing Aiden so close, she muttered to herself:
“Aren’t we friends? Friends help each other, don’t they?”
Aiden’s hands remained on Cerise’s shoulders as he looked into her confused eyes, serious.
“Friends… friends… friends?”
Cerise was momentarily stunned, softly repeating the word “friends.”
As her emotions gradually stabilized, the frost around them began to retreat.
A disaster was averted.
Like waking from a dream, she looked at the black-haired youth before her.
“Aiden, what just happened to me?”
“It’s nothing. Cerise, you just…”
Aiden forced a smile to comfort her, but before he could finish, his vision darkened, and his body weakened, collapsing sideways.
He had used Magic Adrenaline moments ago; his body was already extremely weak, and with a shoulder injury that pierced through, it was impressive he lasted this long.
Aiden felt like he had just had a very strange dream.
In it, he lay on a soft white cloud, a gentle breeze brushing his cheek, tickling lightly.
A faint, elegant fragrance wafted through the air, a feeling both wonderful and peculiar.
Perhaps sensing it wasn’t comfortable enough, Aiden lazily turned over and buried his face into that gentle place, subconsciously rubbing his cheek against it.
“Mm…”
A sudden female breathy sound broke the silence.
Aiden immediately realized something was wrong.
Where was any female beside him?
Unless you counted Ruby, the holographic spirit…
He snapped his eyes open, and before him was a stunningly beautiful face with a faint blush.
Ice-blue hair fell softly, brushing his cheek, carrying both fragrance and a ticklish sensation.
This posture was… a lap pillow?
Maya!
Aiden was instantly shocked.
Cerise hated males, and having such an intimate act in his dream could only tank their affinity.
“Ugh~”
He instinctively tried to turn to the side but accidentally pulled on his shoulder wound, the pain causing him to grimace.
“Aiden, don’t move. Your injury isn’t healed yet.”
Cerise hurriedly steadied his body, her voice gentle.
Just like that, Aiden was softly pressed back onto her lap.
The motion lifted a corner of Cerise’s short skirt, faintly revealing a patch of white that, combined with her black thigh-high stockings, formed a clear boundary.
Aiden swallowed unconsciously, quickly averting his gaze.
To hide his embarrassment, he asked:
“What happened to me?”
“You fainted earlier. I gave your wound some basic treatment, but it’s serious. My Healer Magic isn’t very advanced, so I could only prevent it from getting worse for now.”
Cerise explained, her voice growing softer.
“I was afraid of disturbing your wound, so I dared not move you. I could only… keep this posture, hoping it would be more comfortable for you.”
Though still the icy beauty she always was, Cerise’s cheeks flushed faintly at her words.
But the evening had grown dark, and with the dim backlight, Aiden hadn’t noticed.
“Thank you…”
Aiden smiled awkwardly.
Comfortable was an understatement; this was the best sleep he’d had since arriving in this world.
But it was inappropriate to stay in this position, so he tried to sit up.
Cerise wanted him to stay still, but Aiden insisted—after all, lying on a girl’s lap for too long was too embarrassing.
Sitting up, Aiden looked around and realized they were still in that alley.
The students and young men had vanished without a trace, and he didn’t care to ask.
“How long was I unconscious?”
“Just over an hour.”
Cerise thought for a moment.
[One hour, twenty-five minutes, and thirty-six seconds.]
Ruby corrected from the side, adding with no small pride:
[Cerise has been keeping this lap pillow position to take care of Master the whole time.]
Aiden was surprised.
Cerise, who hated men, had made such a gesture?
He checked his injury; it still hurt, but the wound had been properly bandaged.
“Thank you for your treatment, Cerise.”
“It’s clearly my fault… If not for me, Aiden wouldn’t have suffered this unexpected disaster. I wanted to save you, but in the end, you saved me.”
Cerise pursed her lips, lowering her head as her voice wavered.
“Why do the things I want to do always fail? Why do all my hopes end in disappointment? I’m just a jinx…”
“What are you saying? Why blame yourself for others’ faults? ‘It takes two to clap,’ or ‘flies don’t bite flawless eggs’—those are the most irresponsible excuses.”
Aiden shook his head firmly.
“It was clearly those guys’ violence. Why should you blame yourself? Do you think it will make you feel better? Or that I’d be happy hearing it?”
“I don’t know…”
Cerise hesitated, moving her lips.
“Cerise, this isn’t your fault, nor mine. It’s theirs. Remember, never waste yourself; that only emboldens those people.”
Aiden lifted her chin, looking earnestly into her eyes.
“You’re a good girl. You must have confidence. Say no to injustice. Whatever you believe in, even if everyone opposes, carry it through. No one can interfere with your life.”
In the Destroyed Worldline, Cerise’s suffering from betrayal and isolation led her to shoulder all the blame, which caused her to become a Witch.
This time, Aiden vowed, that tragedy would never happen again.
“Aiden…”
Cerise’s eyes shimmered with a different light as she nodded softly.
“Mm, I understand…”
“That’s better.”
Aiden smiled, patting Cerise’s shoulder as he stood and glanced at the sky.
“It’s late, we should head back.”
He instinctively reached out to Cerise, but immediately hesitated—she hated physical contact with men.
Before Aiden could retract his hand, Cerise reached out and took his hand, using his strength to stand.
However, from kneeling so long and giving Aiden a lap pillow, her thigh tingled and suddenly went numb.
Her legs buckled, and she instantly lost balance.
“Ah!”
Cerise let out a panicked cry, stumbling backward uncontrollably.
Just as she was about to fall, a strong hand caught her, pulling her into Aiden’s embrace.
In that moment, Cerise’s cheeks flamed red, flushed all the way to her ears, like a sunset glow.
Her hands pressed firmly against Aiden’s chest, solid and firm, even feeling the strong heartbeat beneath.
“Sorry, your legs must be tired. I was really rude earlier; I could have just helped you down.”
Aiden gently supported Cerise, apologizing quietly.
He referred to resting on her lap.
“I-I’m fine!”
Cerise shook her head hurriedly, as if to urgently deny something.
Then, in a soft voice barely above a whisper, she added:
“Can’t I do something for you…?”
Aiden didn’t catch the last words clearly but carefully held her, letting her gradually adjust to the position.
“I’m fine now.”
After a while, Cerise said quietly with a flushed face.
Aiden nodded, naturally releasing his grip.
Once out of Aiden’s arms, Cerise’s blush faded somewhat, but a strange feeling of melancholy surged inside her.
She had never felt this way before and didn’t understand why, standing there blankly.
“Huff… I’m exhausted…”
With the incident over, Aiden stretched out habitually but accidentally pulled on his wound again.
Though he suppressed a cry, the painful expression on his face was keenly noticed by Cerise.
“Aiden, your injury… my home is nearby, and I have a full set of medical supplies. Come with me; I’ll treat your wound carefully so it doesn’t get infected.”
Cerise suddenly remembered Aiden’s injury, worry returning to her expression.
“No need… I can treat it myself at home.”
Hearing she wanted to go to Cerise’s place, Aiden thought the progress was too fast and instinctively wanted to refuse.
“No! You have to listen to me. This is not a small matter.”
But Cerise’s attitude was firmer than Aiden expected—uncompromising.
At this moment, she displayed the presence of an Upper-Class Magician.
The old Cerise would have hesitated and not dared to do this.
But encouraged by Aiden, she was determined to follow her heart and walk her own path, no matter what others said.
“Alright…”
Faced with Cerise’s sudden assertiveness, Aiden instinctively gave in and obediently nodded.
Hey, hey, hey, the confidence I gave you wasn’t meant for this kind of situation…