I See You

I managed to sleep just fine that night after our little talk. To think that Charlotte sees me like her family makes me incredibly happy, and before I knew it, we were back in the other world with Charlotte's mother and aunt. Of course I had to dress myself, but Charlotte did help with my bra as usual.

"Okay, you ready, Shiro?"

"Yes." With everyone taking their places, Mell speaks to me as she brings her hand to the side of my face as Charlotte once again places her hand on my shoulder.

By this point, I'm used to the idea that I won't be able to kill her mother, so I'm not too nervous. The only thing that's making me nervous now is knowing that I'll be subjected to that same pain again...

However, the moment Mell took off my mask, locking eyes with me, instead of experiencing the same scorching pain like every other time, instead it's a lot more dull. The pain is still there, but I don't feel the urge to try and contain it and clench my chest in pain. It's... bearable?

"Oh? Well would you look at that~" Mell is the first to speak as she continues to stare into my eyes.

"What?" Charlotte herself begins to question what's going on, but I can guess what it's about.

"Her mana's finally stabilizing now."

"Th-then does that mean she doesn't need the mask?!" Excited, Charlotte raises her voice as I feel her grip on my shoulder tighten.

"Fufu, probably no. I can still feel her mana trying to go for my neck. It's more like it's a consistent stream now rather than coming at me in waves like before."

"In a way that sounds worse..." Luna spoke up next as I would like to agree with her, but being able to not feel as much pain as before is such a new experience that I'd much rather have this than like before.

"You think I'll be able to see?" Charlotte spoke next as a sharp stinging pain assaults my chest. Does she mean that she wants to look at my eyes directly?

"It's not too hard to deal with, but are you sure about this, Charlotte?"

"Yes!" Charlotte seems far too keen on seeing me, which only makes this pain even worse... I don't want to hurt her... But despite my thoughts, I can't seem to put it into words.

"Alright. I'll take the load for now and slowly let you take over. Let me know if it gets too much."

"Okay."

Before I know it, Charlotte moved next to her mother as they both look me in the eyes. I feel my face heating up more and more as my eyes dart between both Charlotte and her mother.

"...Beautiful." Charlotte spoke first which only made my chest tighten even more, making it even more difficult to say anything.

"Fufu, her eyes are quite stunning, right?"

"Yes..."

"Let me see!" Luna ended up coming around from behind me as now all three of them were now in front of me. "Ahh~ They're like little rubies!"

"Hahh~ Okay, you ready, Charlotte? Luna, you also get ready."

"Okay."

I cannot see what's actually happening, but now having all three of them in front of me, I'm noticing something different from each of them. I still feel the strong, intimidating aura coming from Mell, and when I look at Luna, I still feel that small, burning pain in my chest. However, when I lock eyes with Charlotte, I get a different reaction. It's not that it's painful, but it's definitely a lot more warm than when I look at the others.

"How do you two feel?" Mell speaks up first. I guess she's done doing whatever it was she was doing?

"I feel a bit of her mana coming after my neck, like you said, but it's not too bad." Luna speaks up as I feel as though her words line up with what I'm feeling. Could it be the more painful I feel the more likely I am to hurt them?

"Good, what about you, Charlotte?"

"I... I don't feel anything, I think." Charlotte looks at me in surprise, her eyes wide open as I also couldn't believe what she said. And almost instantly, my chest grew lighter and the tight feeling inside me vanished.

"Y-you don't feel anything?!" In my surprise, I end up yelling that out to Charlotte, my body growing warmer and lighter by the second.

"Yes!"

Hearing her confirm it once more with a bright smile on her face, I couldn't contain my excitement as I end up leaping straight at her, wrapping my arms around her as she also does the same. The moment I close my eyes, I feel tears begin to leak out between the cracks before streaming down my cheeks and dripping into Charlotte's shirt.

"You did it, Shiro."

"Nn!"

We remain like this for a few more moments before we pull apart from one another as I once again look directly into her eyes. Seeing her smile like this only makes me smile even more as I feel the urge to hug her once more.

"Quite interesting though~" But breaking the silence was her mother Mell as we both look over to her and Luna. And the moment I do, I feel the sudden pain come back as I notice Luna's face also contorts for a second before returning to normal.

"S-so it's only Charlotte?" Luna, after composing herself asks the question.

"My guess is that her mana doesn't perceive Charlotte as a threat." I'm still a bit clueless to all this mana talk, but I'm glad that part of me doesn't want to hurt Charlotte. I feel like a massive weight has been lifted from my chest. "Her mana's still very powerful, so I'd suggest her still wear the mask when going out."

"Okay. Thanks mom."