Chapter 13- Bloom

*Kaede's POV*

Inside her room, Kaede was lying down on her bed in comfortable pajamas ready to go to bed. Her sensual beauty, now in its most careless state had the charm that would drive anyone crazy just taking a glimpse of it.

However, this beauty was now in a dilemma as she looked at her phone's screen with a complicated expression. On it was an opened chat window with a few messages sent from her side that got no answer.

'Ah! Did he think I was acting creepy? He most definitely thinks so! I should've not sent those messages!' She mused as she started rolling around on her bed while making low groans.

She couldn't bear the embarrassment of seeing the messages being ignored. As popular as Kaede was, she never experienced being put on hold. Granted, she didn't think she was above not being answered instantly but she didn't know how to react in a situation where she didn't get a response even after a whole day passed.

A side of her told her that Arthur was simply busy while the other told her that he simply felt that she was being too forceful and that fact alone filled her with dread. After all that happened, she possibly ruined everything.

"Should I send another message apologizing? Ugh! But, what if he thinks I'm just obsessed over it and gets even more creeped out?! But, but, technically, I'm just apologizing so that doesn't sound too obsessive. Or does it? It doesn't! It does! Aaah! I'm losing my mind!" She fought a brutal war with her conscience as she tried to find a way to salvage this situation.

As she was like that, dancing on the fine line between regret and plausible excuses, she suddenly heard the sound of a message reaching her phone which she immediately opened. Surprisingly, it was from Arthur which drew a smile on her face.

"He answered!"

{I'm sorry I couldn't answer on time. I was busy studying the whole day *Awkward laugh emoji*.}

"Oh… So that was the reason he couldn't answer?" Kaede blinked in confusion before she started chuckling.

"Geez, I was really scared for a second there. I'm glad I dodged a bullet!" She murmured before she responded.

{Don't worry about it. But, homework is indeed hectic.} She replied.

A few seconds later, Arthur read the message before he answered as Kaede anticipated it eagerly.

{Yeah, I'm actually struggling to finish these few questions.} 

"Hm… Poor Arthur. Still studying this late at night. I never thought he was this serious about school." 

From what Kaede saw, Arthur didn't really bother with school at all and it showed in his general scores at the end of each semester. So, the fact that he was studying this hard was certainly surprising.

"Does he perhaps need help?"

{Do you need some help, Arthur?}

{Actually… Yes, I'm ashamed to say that I wanted to ask you for help if possible. Is that too much to ask?}

Kaede smiled at his polite answer. She could easily imagine his troubled look and it made her chuckle lightly.

"So cute…"

{Of course not! How can I help you?}

{Really? Thank you so much, Kaede. Well, it's this problem here…}

After that, Arthur explained what he was stuck on. A few minutes later, Kaede sent him the answer she had for the problem.

"Hope this helps him."

***

*Arthru's POV*

After seeing the solution Arthur quickly started copying it like a maniac. He only had a few minutes left before time was over so he wrote faster than he ever wrote before in his life.

He could almost see smoke rising from the piece of paper from how fast he was moving his hand on it. However, he didn't care at all. He needed to finish.

Then, at exactly midnight, Arthur's hands suddenly stopped as he stared wide-eyed at the piece of paper in front of him. His heart was beating loudly and his breathing was ragged.

"I… did it…" Heaving a sigh of relief, Arthur smiled slowly as he put down the Divine Pen, his hand shaking brutally.

[Objective Achieved!]

[You have gained +5 Ink Points, +3 Stamina!]

Seeing the message that said that he achieved the objective, Arthur's smile widened even more. At the same time, Arthur felt the familiar feeling of his stat increasing. This time, however, the feeling wasn't that of strength but rather even more profound.

His exhausted body suddenly started feeling a lot better out of nowhere. All the soreness and tiredness in his muscles were reduced greatly. 

"Wow… So this is how my stamina increases. I can feel even more energy in me! Hahaha! This is so cool!" Exclaiming, he quickly picked up his phone.

{You're a lifesaver, Kaede. Thank you so much! I owe you one! Truly thank you for the help!} Because of his immense happiness, Arthur didn't really think too much about his message. He just wanted to thank Kaede who was akin to his guardian angel who came to save him when he was about to lose hope.

Looking at his phone, Kaede oddly took some time to respond even though she clearly read the message. But, Arthur still waited. After a few moments, he received a reply.

{Of course. Please ask me for help any time you need. I will be glad to help.}

{Thank you. I will ask you whenever I need to. But, is there a way I can repay you? I will feel bad if I use your kindness like this without doing something in return.}

Arthur's consciousness didn't allow him to use people for his benefit without giving back an equivalent.

{You really don't have to, hahah.}

{No, please, I insist.}

{Well, if you insist… Then, would you come for dinner again tomorrow?} She asked.

"Again for dinner?... Is she serious?" Arthur blinked in surprise as he thought carefully about how to respond.

'Well, I was the one who told her that I wanted to repay her so if I refuse, it would just be even more embarrassing.' He thought to himself.

{Well, I guess I can. But, is it really fine?}

{Of course! I will be more than glad to invite you over.}

Arthur sighed with a tired smile before he rested his back on his chair as he stared at his phone.

"Hahah, so I will visit Kaede again. Hopefully, this isn't some kind of rabbit hole I'm jumping into."

After that, Arthur stood up and went to his bed before he lay down. At the same time, he received a message from Kaede.

He was rather surprised that she still wanted to actually talk this late at night but still answered nonetheless. Arthur really enjoyed talking to Kaede and not because she was beautiful or popular -Well, that was a reason for it too- but the main reason was that he truly found her to be an honest and kind person.

She didn't look at him the same way others looked at him and that made him unconsciously feel comfortable with her. 

'Does she really not see me as a foreigner?' Arthur thought to himself. The answer to that question was still a mystery to him. But, for now, perhaps he can just enjoy this first friend he made in his life.

So, in the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, two people chatted casually. Their friendship slowly blooms brighter than they ever thought it could be.