I stood there, reeling from the wave of unexpected emotions pouring out of Zwei-san. She gave her head a small shake, as if shaking off a daze, and stepped toward me. She must have reined in her magic power, because by the time she was standing right in front of me, I couldn't read her at all.
"My apologies, Miyama-sama. I have shown you something truly unsightly."
"Oh, no, it's fine. Really. But..."
Looking at her now, I almost wondered if I had imagined those earlier feelings. With her sharp, narrow eyes, Zwei-san looked exactly like she always did—like she was glaring daggers at me. Her cool, formal way of speaking only reinforced that piercing atmosphere, though I didn't feel the same bone-chilling dread I had moments ago.
"Zwei-san... This is a bit sudden, but I have a request. It might be rude, but could you stop suppressing your magic power for a second?"
"Understood."
Despite the odd request, she complied instantly. As she released her hold on her magic power, my Sympathy Magic picked up a signal that hit me like a physical weight—an affection so vast and heavy it felt like it might actually crush me.
I knew it. Only feelings of goodwill were coming through. It wasn't just a friendly vibe; she liked me to an almost startling degree.
And yet, she was still glaring. My brain was having trouble reconciling the two. Every assumption I'd made about her following us to keep a suspicious eye on a stranger had just crumbled into dust.
"Um, er, Zwei-san."
"Yes?"
"Why... why did you decide to come along with us?"
Steeling myself to ask, I watched as she shifted her gaze slightly, checking to see that Raz-san and the others were out of earshot. Then, she whispered in a low voice.
"I thought it might be presumptuous, but... Miyama-sama, you looked so pale. I came along thinking that if I were by your side, I could support you immediately if you collapsed."
"..."
So that was it. I had been breaking out in a cold sweat because I was terrified of her, but she had looked at me and assumed I was having a medical emergency. She’d spent the entire night hovering behind me just so she could catch me if I fainted. The "concerning matter" she had mentioned wasn't about my behavior—it was about my health.
I felt a massive wave of guilt. She had been acting out of pure kindness this whole time, while I was busy worrying that she was a cold-blooded enforcer.
"Miyama-sama? Are you alright? Your complexion still does not look favorable. I shall explain things to Razulia and the others, so why don't you take a rest?"
Even now, she was glaring, but her words and the emotions behind them were nothing but genuine concern.
"Um... Er... Zwei-san."
"Yes?"
"I'm so sorry!" I blurted out, bowing my head low.
From her perspective, my sudden outburst was completely inexplicable, and she tilted her head in utter bewilderment.
So, I confessed. I told her everything: how I’d misunderstood her as a scary person, how I thought she hated me, and how I’d baselessly suspected she was following me to drive me away. I laid it all out, hiding nothing.
When I finally finished my long explanation, I timidly looked up at her. I expected her to be angry—it would have been justified—but her expression hadn't changed at all. I wondered for a second if she even cared, but then...
"I see. I understand the situat—!?"
Her knees suddenly buckled, and she collapsed.
"Zwei-san! Are you okay?!"
"Zwei! Pull yourself together!"
As I frantically called out, Ein-san appeared and caught her by the shoulders. Although Zwei-san’s face was still a mask, she had turned a ghostly shade of blue. She looked at Ein-san with a trembling voice.
"E-Ein... I am finished. Though I did not know it, I have made Kaito-sama fear me. He must hate me now..."
"I don't hate you! Honestly, I don't!"
"A-Ahhh... Kaito-sama... I am so sorry. It is not like that at all. I never intended to make Kaito-sama afraid. I was hoping we could get along and I believed I was being friendly but my consideration was lacking. If I may offer a defense, I wasn't glaring at Kaito-sama, but rather I was nervous and trying to prevent my expression from crumbling, and as a result, my face became stiff. I understand it is an excuse, but I never intended for this to—"
"W-Wait a second! I can't keep up! How are you even talking right now?"
"Calm down, Zwei," Ein-san interjected. "You are a magical doll, so you are capable of speaking like that, but Kaito-sama cannot actually understand you."
She was speaking like a machine gun—a rapid-fire stream of words without a single breath. I couldn't catch half of it, but the desperate need to apologize and explain herself came through clearly. She was absolutely devastated to learn she’d been frightening me. I had to do something to cheer her up.
"Zwei-san, please. It was my fault for misunderstanding in the first place! I would never hate you. In fact, I want us to become much closer."
"Huh? What?"
"We had a major misunderstanding, but that's over now. We can focus on getting to know each other from here on out. So, Zwei-san..."
"Y-Yes!"
"Please give me another chance to really know you. I want to learn more about you, and I want to get closer to your heart. So, can we... can we keep being friends?"
"I... yes... if that is what Kaito-sama wishes..."
Phew. I managed to fix the situation.
Wait.
Hold on.
Calm down. What did I just say? Did I just... did I just hit on her? "Closer to your heart"? And when exactly did I grab both of her hands in mine?
Dear Mother, Father—It seems that whenever I panic, I start blurting out the most embarrassing romantic lines imaginable. Now that I'm looking back on it with a clear head, I feel like my face is going to spontaneously combust. Seriously... is it too late for a do-over?