I Like You More

But...

For some reason, amid the pain and pleasure of oxygen deprivation, Sampo trembled as he looked into the Trailblazer's eyes.

To his surprise, he realized that something about her seemed different.

She still had the same hairstyle and outfit as before, yet she looked a little colder now, carrying an aura that brooked no argument.

It wasn't an illusion. It definitely wasn't an illusion.

Sampo breathed rapidly, gazing hungrily at Stelle, who was pressing him down, like a goldfish fished out by its owner—struggling only in hopes of taking another breath of oxygen.

Stelle loosened her grip slightly, but her hand did not move from Sampo's throat.

The web between her thumb and forefinger still fit perfectly against Sampo's bobbing Adam's apple—a feature that displayed masculine strength, yet now rested in Stelle's palm, as though declaring the fact of his submission.

Her other hand still tingled from the slap she had just given Sampo. With this free hand, she gently brushed aside his disheveled bangs, her fingertips trailing down from his forehead.

Between his brows, the tip of his nose, his lips.

Swept up by an inexplicable emotion, Sampo trembled all over as he accepted the Trailblazer's faint, almost absent touches.

"And what about you, Sampo?"

The girl still looked down at him from above. The force of her presence when she asked the question was impossible to ignore.

He liked her. Of course he did.

The man had finally recovered a little strength. Stelle was firmly sitting on top of him; she was not heavy, and her weight did not hinder his breathing. Besides, the hand around his throat barely had any force behind it.

Rather than being unable to breathe because he was choked, Sampo had held his breath himself out of sheer excitement.

Now, he carefully adjusted his breathing, and the way he looked at Stelle could almost be described as reverent.

He liked the Trailblazer!

He had liked her before, and he liked her even more now!

Just a casual glance and the slightest touch from her were enough to make him tremble as he accepted them with gratitude. Not to mention how blissful he would be if the Trailblazer treated him in an even more excessive manner.

"I like you, Stelle."

Sampo's voice was very soft. He looked earnestly at the Trailblazer, expressing his feelings word by word.

"I like you."

Not "I like you too." Not "I like you because you like me."

Trailblazer, my feelings for you are not a matter of "because, therefore."

Stelle wore an expression that said, "As expected of me. There's nothing I can't do."

Sampo was unexpectedly easy to handle.

Since that was the case, she would make an exception and "reward" him one more time. But she could not reward him too much—this would be the last time.

Thus, the Trailblazer smiled as she pushed herself upright. Her fingers brushed across Sampo's cheek, and as hope filled his eyes, the curve of her lips deepened. Her palm fluttered like a butterfly, carrying a dizzying gust of wind as it landed on Sampo's face without warning.

She slapped him again.

Though it was somewhat difficult to say aloud, the phrase "I slapped someone" sounded awfully bold.

But the expression of the person getting hit clearly said he was enjoying it.

Stelle lowered her head and saw that Sampo's innocent, drooping puppy eyes were practically sparkling with little stars. She restrained the itch in her hand and the urge to lovingly slap Sampo again, forcing herself to switch off the Elation Switch in her mind.

"Aha, have I finished the conquest?"

"You have, but Aha suggests that you run now."

Aha's voice sounded exceptionally cheerful. "Gepard is already rushing from the Restricted Zone to the Upper District. If you don't leave the Goethe Grand Hotel within five minutes and he catches you and Sampo in bed together, you won't be able to conquer Gepard. In other words, I won't be able to provide you with any scripts either."

Stelle: ...

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching the author instead. It may have simply been renamed!

There were way too many things wrong with that one short sentence!

But Stelle truly had no time to complain now.

She returned to her normal self, but still did her best to maintain the aura she had just had. Before getting off Sampo, she even had enough composure left to lean down and whisper by the man's ear.

"Be good and wait for me to come back to Belobog next time. If you miss me, send me a message. If I see it, I'll definitely reply, okay?"

Without caring about Sampo's reaction, she gave his forehead a little kiss, then immediately rolled off the bed, grabbed the coat from the hanger, opened the door, and strode away.

Aha: Oh my, is this really the sort of heartless woman who puts her clothes back on and refuses to recognize anyone that my personally chosen Emanator of Elation can be?

Stelle: You're so noisy, Aha. I wanted to complain about that just now—what do you mean, "catching us in bed"? That sounds awful. I'm not dating either of them, so don't make it sound like I'm cheating, okay?

Aha: Fine. You just want to give every grown man and woman a home. If you date no one, that means you can date everyone. Is that it?

Stelle nodded, no longer paying attention to Aha's words in her mind. With utmost urgency, she took the stairs of the Goethe Grand Hotel three at a time.

Looking into the distance, she indeed saw a familiar figure gradually appearing around the corner, dressed in the blue-and-white uniform of the Silvermane Guards.

Gepard had finally finished dealing with the trouble Sampo had caused for him and was now rushing toward the Goethe Grand Hotel at top speed.

He had always felt that Sampo was up to no good. Everything he said seemed to suggest that he intended to devour the little Trailblazer whole. Yet unlike Sampo, he did not have freedom over his time. He had been forced to handle official business earlier, but his heart had remained suspended, afraid that something might happen to Stelle.

Now that the trouble had finally been dealt with, he hurried toward the Goethe Grand Hotel as fast as he could fly.

Unfortunately, despite all of Gepard's calculations, he never imagined that the one exception would be Sampo.

Inside the hotel.

Sampo was still lying on the bed, not yet recovered from the shock. The faint fragrance still lingered in the air—it was the Trailblazer's scent.

The sensation of the Trailblazer's gentle kiss still remained on his forehead. It had been so light, so soft, like a feather slowly brushing across his heart, leaving him unbearably itchy inside.

From what the Trailblazer had said just now, was she leaving again? Was she about to warp off somewhere else?

Why had Star left in such a hurry? After hastily leaving him with a kiss, she had fluttered away.

After teasing old Sampo, she had flown off like a little bird, flapping her wings without looking back as she headed for a distant sky he could never reach.

The man closed his eyes, his heart filled with emotions he could neither name nor explain.

It was fine. Even if she returned to the sky, what did it matter?

Old Sampo would always be here. He would wait for her return in Belobog.

Besides, he could board the Star Rail and go look for her.

Thinking of everything that had just happened, Sampo had no desire to get out of bed for the time being. He maintained the position in which the Trailblazer had pinned him down, closed his eyes, and endlessly replayed every moment in his mind, as though doing so could make the scene happen again.

Upper District.

"Are you all right, Star?"

Gepard nervously circled Star once, only letting out a sigh of relief after seeing that she was unharmed.

"I'm fine. Better than fine."

Star smiled as she let Gepard inspect her.

Gepard was not as secretly sultry as Sampo. Unless she had no other choice, she really did not want to activate the Elation Switch.

Whenever she activated the Elation Switch, she felt as though she became a completely different person. What happened afterward was always hazy; she could only vaguely remember the general outline, as if she had been watching a movie. There was no real sense that she had actually done those things herself.

If possible, she still wanted to win them over through her own will.

As Star thought this, she looked back at the Goethe Grand Hotel's windows and suddenly realized that if Sampo got out of bed and stood by the window right now, he could very well see her together with Gepard.

With that thought, Star pursed her lips, feeling strangely guilty, as though she had been caught doing something wrong.

She glanced around, grabbed Gepard, and quickly ducked into the cable car station leading to Boulder Town.