Chapter 58 Alissa
Valerie tried to resist his goodwill but Zavier wasn't taking no for an answer and insisted that she leave this to the three of them. Valerie agreed to him subconsciously or it might even have been her weakness taking over her decision-making abilities. But deep within, she liked the feeling of being cared for that she hadn't felt in a long time. Ever since she had been promoted to an A rank mage and a teacher in the school, she had never been treated as a child again despite the fact that she had been less than 20 years old at the time.
Zavier sent her back to rest and talked to the others about keeping watch. The girls agreed to his suggestion and the night watch was divided into three parts so that all three of them could take ample amount of rest and be prepared for the next day which was bound to be even harder.
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Dahila nodded her head in understanding. She wasn't a girl of many words but her expression showed her gratitude towards Alissa after which she went to her tent to sleep until it was her turn to keep watch.
Zavier on the other hand didn't want to take a rest yet. Even though Alissa had taken the first shift, Zavier couldn't just leave it up to her. She had no magic and no power to hold off her enemies.
So, Zavier wanted to stay by her side during her watch since his perception system didn't require any active skills. It was just his instinct and his senses that he had to rely on. He could do so while resting by the fireside.
Alissa did feel bad that Zavier had not gone to rest and was going to accompany her but, on the inside, she couldn't help but snicker. She finally had the chance to spend some alone time with Zavier which had been the only reason that Alissa had decided to take on this trip and the very reason why she had sounded so happy in the beginning and had been treating the mission like some excursion.
The two of them sat around the campfire that was not very far but fairly centred in between the two tents. This was to keep an eye on the entire camp instead of focusing on a single direction.
There was no need for the awkward silence between the two of them when they sat together around the campfire.
"Zavier, I am afraid."
Zavier was of course able to empathize with her predicament. She was someone who couldn't use a smidge of magic and had been stranded amidst mages who were busy fighting a life and death battle.
Amongst all of them on the mission, Alissa was the most vulnerable target. He felt that even the calm demeanor she had shown until that point was quite commendable considering the circumstances.
If it had been anyone else in her position, and she wasn't screaming her lungs out even that would have been a cause for celebration.
"It's okay to be afraid. But you can rest assured that nothing would happen to you. Miss Valerie is strong enough to protect you."
Alissa looked into his eyes and continued: "I am not afraid that something might happen to me. I am worried that this mission is a huge setup and someone is after you. The illusion from before cannot be a coincidence. Since the target of the illusion was you alone, the goal of those people might be you as well. I can't help but think what would I do if something were to happen to you. The thought scares me to death."
Zavier felt that his entire being had melted from the warmth of her words. This warmth, he had craved it his entire life in the past world and had died hoping that someone would care.
The cosmic consciousness had really given him everything to make up for the past regrets, his current power, his family, his friends and the warmth of all those relationships that made him feel full and satisfied.
Alissa had revealed more of her feelings than she had ever said before and her face had turned red as a tomato. Her face felt hot and the blush spread towards the back of her neck as well.
Zavier could of course feel what that girl was trying to tell him. Even if he acted blind to all her gestures, he still couldn't disregard the fact that she had laid her heart open in front of him.
At the same time Zavier could tell how kind Alissa was. In this time of crisis, she hadn't cared about herself but was worried about his well-being.
He had seen a world where family members didn't care about each other in times of crisis and focused only on their own survival. So, he was in a position to appreciate the kindness and selfless love that Alissa had shown for him.
He couldn't just tell her that he was close to being immortal until the secret of his clones was safe. He was keeping the secret from her, not because he didn't trust her, but because a secret that was between two people could never be safe.
Secrets could only be kept by the dead or by oneself. Secret told to another person was just gossip, it would instantly lose the essence of secrecy.
This was Zavier's life insurance and he couldn't just divulge his biggest secret to anyone else.
Therefore, he did the only thing that he was capable of doing, he reassured her. He reassured her that he couldn't be killed off so easily. He didn't want her to worry about him unnecessarily, not that he didn't feel good about it, he just wanted her to worry more about herself in this precarious situation that they had found themselves in.
"You won't be able to understand how happy it makes me feel that even in this situation you are worried about me. But you should also know that it is the very reason that I am feeling very nervous. The way you are worried about me, don't you think I am worried about you too?"
"Hmm…I know."
Alissa lowered her head trying to hide how shy she was feeling at the moment. She had finally told her loved one how she felt about him and turns out that he felt the same about her. The happiness that she felt at the moment was greater than any euphoric bliss.
"I want you to take care of yourself. As for me, don't bother being worried about me because I have several lifesaving tricks. It isn't very easy to kill me even if the opponent is at the level of the mages that came today. So, you have to promise me that you would not worry about me anymore."
Alissa looked like she wanted to protest after all what kind of girl would not worry about the person that she loves. She couldn't do it even if she wanted to, therefore she only promised what she could.
"I promise you that I will take care of myself but you have to promise me something as well."
"All right. What is it you want me to promise?"
Zavier felt so full of warmth that he would have promised her anything at that moment. He wanted her to be happy no matter what.
"I want you to be safe. I don't care how you do it. When I get back home, it must be with you or I would not go back either and would rather keep you company."