Chapter 20: Chapter 20 • Echoes of a Relieved Heart
Light was very sensitive about this.
"Are you all right, Asia-chan?" Light walked over to her, helping her up.
Asia, who had accepted his kindness by taking his hand to stand up, showed a genuine, sweet smile: "Yes, Light-sama, I'm perfectly fine."
"Mm, I mean, has anything happened to you recently?" Light asked and added: "I've noticed that something seems to have happened to you; I just can't say exactly what."
Raynare, Kalawarna and Mittelt, hearing this, looked at Light in surprise.
They had spent the whole day with Asia, but hadn't been able to notice anything different about her.
"Indeed, it seems that nothing can be hidden from you, Light-sama." Asia gave an embarrassed giggle. She scrunched up her face and an embarrassed smile appeared as she began to tell them: "Actually, something did happen. Just today, very early in the morning, when I woke up to go to the bathroom..."
Little by little, she began to recount everything that had happened in her bathroom and talked about how she couldn't understand why she had had that reaction.
"I see," Light listened to what she said calmly without interrupting. Seeing that she had stopped talking, he said: "Well, I must know why."
"Really?" Asia's eyes twinkled. She wanted to know why, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure it out...
There was a strangeness about it - pondering her own feelings and yet being confused as to the origin of her tears, which had been so abundant that day...
In all honesty, she felt a bit silly and stupid too for not being able to understand something that should be simple, since it was about herself.
"Sometimes, Asia," Light said in her almost hypnotic voice, "events or situations that are subconsciously significant to someone can trigger intense emotions without the person involved immediately realizing why they are reacting in this way."
"Really?" Asia asked. "Then why did I act this way?"
"Well, if I had to guess." Light paused. Rubbing her head affectionately, he smiled a little at her: "Your crying can be a healthy way of releasing repressed or uncomfortable emotions. You said that before this, you were thinking about how happy you currently were to have your own home and that it was, in some ways, the best thing that had happened to you in years. About how you could eat when you were hungry, or sleep in a warm, cozy bed when you were sleepy, right?"
"Yes." Asia nodded, feeling warm in her heart as she received Light's affection and care.
"So, my guess is that when you found yourself in this situation," Light touched her face, "your emotions overflowed and you needed to find an outlet. And the outlet was crying. Now, didn't you say that you feel lighter and freer?"
"Yes, yes!" Asia exclaimed, feeling enlightened, but blushing a little as her face was touched by Light. A little shyly, she murmured: "So that's it... It makes sense if that's the case... Am I selfish for having that reaction? A bad person for having so many emotions repressed like that?"
"Asia, what are you saying?" Light scolded. "Of course not! You're human too, of course you have your desires that need to be fulfilled. From what I know about your past, I know that you barely had a good life. Although you say you weren't unhappy, that doesn't mean you were happy either. Do you understand me?"
"I think so," Asia replied.
She became pensive again.
A while later, she looked into his eyes again.
"Can I hug you?" Asia felt that, for the first time, she was being extremely selfish. But she simply wanted a hug at that moment.
"Of course." Light replied, then wrapped her in his embrace.
With her face on Light's chest, Asia began to sniffle softly. Yes, she was crying, but she didn't look sad or unhappy. This time, she was crying, and she knew why.
Yes, she was happy, she just felt so happy that she cried now. In fact, she even felt a little fear in the depths of her soul. It was strange, wasn't it? I mean, she had only just discovered these feelings of happiness, but she had already become so attached to it that she was afraid it might just end...
Perhaps she was too tired from the training, or didn't get enough sleep; in the end, Asia fell asleep in Light's arms.
Seeing that she had fallen asleep, Light signaled to Kalawarna and said softly, "Take her to her room to get some sleep."
"Yes," Kalawarna replied, taking Asia into his arms.
After Kalawarna left with Asia, Light could feel Raynare's intense gaze on the back of his head.
Turning around, Light looked at her. "Yes?"
"Nothing, no..." Raynare said evasively. "I just think you're too nice to Asia-chan."
"Jealous?" Light smiled.
"What nonsense are you talking?" She quickly denied it. "Me, jealous of Asia-chan? Hahaha, what a funny joke..."
"You know you're not being convincing at all, right?" Light laughed.
Raynare quickly changed the subject. "How did you notice what Asia was going through?"
Of course, when she asked that question, it was because she herself couldn't understand it and wanted to.
"Changing the subject?" Light laughed again, but satisfied her curiosity: "Well, I just know. When I saw her, I noticed a significant change in her. Whether it was in her expression or even in her aura itself, which seemed softer and freer."
"Now that you've said it..." Raynare recapped the day she had spent with Asia.
In fact, if she'd thought about it or paid more attention, she might have been able to see it too.
However, she didn't understand that she was only able to understand this now because she had been warned by Light about where the X factor of the problem lay. If it hadn't been for that, perhaps even if she had paid more attention to Asia, she would still have remained oblivious to her changes. Perhaps she would even notice, but she wouldn't be able to say what had changed or why.
"By the way, Light-sama," Raynare became extremely serious.
Seeing her like that, Light put on a serious expression too. "Yes?"
"I think Azazel-sama has started to get suspicious..."
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