Madoka flinched at the mention of her name. Misa smiled wryly.
"Madoka said she had something to tell you. I'm just the moral support. Anyway, I'll give you two some space!"
Misa gave Madoka a supportive pat on the shoulder and slipped out of the room before I could protest. I was left alone with a blushing, trembling Madoka.
"..."
"..."
The silence stretched for minutes. Finally, Madoka couldn't take the tension. She looked up, her eyes filled with a sudden, sharp resolve.
"Axel-kun... do you remember when we first met?"
"When we first met? Yeah. The day after I arrived at Mahora. You and Misa were being hassled by some thugs on the way to Eva's, and I stepped in."
I remembered those guys. Takahata had chased them off again during Negi's welcoming party. I heard they eventually got expelled.
"If you hadn't helped me then, things would have been bad. And again when they cornered us later..."
She seemed to relax as she talked, her voice returning to its normal rhythm.
"We went shopping together, ate beef bowls... Oh, and that time we met at the supermarket and it turned into a giant sukiyaki party because the whole class showed up."
"Yeah," I chuckled. "That was a disaster."
"And having lunch every day with Naba-san, the Class Rep, and Satomi..."
"Misa and Shina teased you almost every single day, too."
"Hehe, yeah. And Naba-san's cooking was so good it made me frustrated, so I started practicing my own cooking."
"So that's why your lunches have been getting better lately. I wondered why you stopped buying pre-made meals."
"Exactly. Though... I'm still nowhere near Naba-san's level."
It would take more than practice to catch up to Chizuru. She had the soul of a chef and years of experience feeding a household.
"Anyway, a lot has happened... but, you know, today... Asakura and the others pulled us away so 'Bookworm-chan' could confess to Negi-kun. And then I ended up with Asuna and Sakurazaki-san... and we saw it. We saw her confess. I was so shocked. I didn't think she had that much courage. And then... I realized that it was pathetic of me to keep running away from my own feelings."
Madoka stood up and walked toward me. She leaned in, her face inches from mine. Her cheeks were flushed deep red, but her expression wasn't that of a middle schooler—it was the face of a woman in love.
At this point, even I couldn't play dumb. I knew exactly what was coming.
"Axel Almar-kun... I... I love you."
She leaned in the rest of the way, and her lips pressed against mine.
Character Sheet: Axel Almar
LV: 38 | PP: 625
Melee: 262 | Ranged: 282 | Skill: 272
Defense: 272 | Evade: 302 | Hit: 322
SP: 462
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consume SP to increase Slime performance)
Growth Type: Balanced/Special
Terrain: Air: S | Land: S | Sea: S | Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accel (SP 4)
Effort (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Hit (SP 30)
Awaken (SP 32)
Love (SP 48)
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9, SP Regen, Concentration)
Telekinesis Lv. 10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv. 9
In-fight Lv. 9
Morale Limit Break
Geass (Gray)
Magic (Fire, Shadow, Summoning)
Dark Magic
???
Kills: 376
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