"Why is it so hard?!" Lily muttered in frustration as she burned another pancake.
She had burned so many that she had long lost count, which made her more frustrated as she believed that she had already gotten the hang of it before.
"Stop complaining and give it to me!" Roran spoke as he took the pan from her hands.
Lily grimaced as she cursed her inability to do such simple tasks.
She was about to retort, but his comment stopped her. "Just sit back, they will be ready in a few minutes."
She had to admit defeat, so she complied as she sat and waited patiently for her boyfriend to be done cooking.
After they were ready, Lily and Roran had a delicious breakfast.
No delicious was an understatement, the pancakes Roran had cooked probably rivaled the ones created by the best chefs in the world.
"You… really can do anything, huh?... it's like you are the complete opposite of me," Lily spoke, her tone carrying a hint of sadness.
"Don't blame yourself. After all, I am the one meant to do these things, not you," he reassured.
"That—that isn't true! We are a couple, aren't we? We should share the burden! You shouldn't be the one that does everything!" she countered.
Roran sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. "But it is true. I am the one trained for these things, you weren't meant to lift a finger, yet loo—"
"Don't," she interrupted him, her voice clearly angry. "Don't you dare start talking about statuses. We are equals."
"We both know that's not right," Roran sighed.
She wanted to argue but, in the end, decided against the idea. It seemed that there was still no changing her boyfriend's mind.
"Never mind that. Take off your shirt," she spoke. Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire
Roran raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it early for this sort of thing?"
"Just do it!" she commanded.
He sighed as he complied.
"Don't move," she spoke as she got behind him and placed her delicate hands against his rough back.
"You complained that your back was stiff, didn't you? You should take a moment to relax," she spoke as she gently massaged his back.
He wanted to tell her not to bother, but alas, it seemed that his back was stiffer than he thought, so he didn't manage to utter the words.
Lily quietly used her hands to massage his back—a back that bore numerous wounds.
"...I'm sorry," she whispered guiltily.
Roran scoffed as he heard her words. "For what, exactly?"
"For being a burden."
He couldn't suppress a small smile. "It is impossible for you to be a burden."
"... Why? Why are you with me despite knowing my past?" she asked.
He took a deep breath. "Three reasons. First and foremost, I love you. Second, I owe my life to you and your family. And third, it was their final request."
"You've already saved my life numerous times. That debt is paid long ago."
"No," he answered firmly. "You and your family saved me without expecting anything in return. I am a long way from paying that debt."
Lily sighed as she got closer and embraced him. "It's not my family. It's our family. You are one of us."
Feeling her breasts push tightly against his naked back, Roran felt his blood getting hotter.
"Oh? Are you suddenly getting aroused?" she teased.
He took a deep breath. "I mean… we can skip one day of lectures, right?" he asked as he got up from his chair and picked her up.
"Sure," she whispered as she brought her lips next to his.
*****
Collapsing on the bed, her hair messy, Lily spoke, "Now I feel much better."
Roran cracked his neck. "Same."
"Oh, come on! Can't you show a bit more emotion?!" she complained.
"This is something that I am actively trying not to do. The more emotions I have, the more unnecessary thoughts. Why do you think I drink so much? It helps with both the emotions and the thoughts," he explained.
She put her hand on his shoulder and forced him to lay down. "Still, you're human and need to rest from time to time."
"I will rest when I die," he spoke coldly.
"Why do you bother so much? Your goal can't simply be to keep me alive."
"But it is. And to do that, I need more strength. To get that strength, one needs to cast aside all feelings."
Lily sighed as she poked his cheek. "But to do that would mean that you have to cast me aside, you know?"
He grimaced. "You know that isn't happening."
She got on top of him. "Then it means you can't cast aside all emotions. So, you're human, and as such, you must rest from time to time."
"I can't, especially not with you and what you want to achieve. Keeping you alive would be an incredibly hard thing to do," he spoke as he met her golden eyes.
"You're already stronger than me, so—"
"We both know that isn't true," he interrupted instantly. "We've just made it appear as though you're weak. Even Zack wasn't able to tell what kind of blessing you have, Lily."
"That is true…" she admitted. "But I'm talking about emotional strength, not literal strength. In that aspect, you have me beat."
He wanted to retort but was stopped as she had brought her lips next to his, silencing him.
After a moment, Lily raised her head. "I hope you've recovered enough. We can talk about the other stuff later."
It seemed that she wasn't satisfied with just one round.
"This is going to be a long day," Roran muttered.
*****
Zaroth was experiencing an unknown phenomenon.
He shifted his gaze from Elysia, who was currently hosting the lecture, to his left, where Zack was supposed to be. Though, it seemed that he had skipped today's lecture—most likely because he had a fight in the tournament today.
Zaroth then shifted his gaze to his right, where Roran and Lily were supposed to be, but they also seemed to be skipping.
He had somehow found himself alone, separated from his friend group, attending the lectures, which was strange since he was usually the one who skipped them.
He sighed as he muttered, "Without them, it's a bit lonely."
But his mood didn't stay down for long as he returned his gaze to Elysia, at least he was able to appreciate her beauty up close.
She was the reason he had made the decision to never skip the first lecture of the day after all.