I remembered the advice of my old friend, Leto.
As befitted someone who boasted such an illustrious history with women, he had also found himself tangled up in all manner of romantic disputes. Thoroughly sick of it all, Leto would sometimes tell me what I needed to watch out for, and one of his most representative lessons was this.
‘Be careful when someone asks what kind of relationship you have.’
Whether it came from the mouth of a woman with whom your relationship was ambiguous or from someone else entirely, he had said it was always a question to be wary of.
By coincidence, Avian had just thrown that incomprehensible dilemma at me.
I had no idea what her intentions were.
But right now, I was realizing that Leto’s warnings were not always correct.
Because I had nothing to hide.
What kind of relationship did we have?
Today was the first time Senior Luna and I had gone out alone together. Naturally, we were senior and junior.
Or perhaps I should say there was a little more intimacy between us than that.
Still, I had one question.
Avian had always possessed a rather timid and docile temperament.
Of course, she occasionally showed a fierce side. She had not grown up in surroundings comfortable enough to let her simply endure whatever happened to her without resistance.
Even so, I had never expected her to use such a pointed tone from the very moment they met.
Perhaps now that she had recovered from her malnutrition, she had gained a little pride along with her health.
Or maybe she had finally gone through the growth she had been putting off all this time and was now experiencing a…