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Crystal couldn't believe that even after Dixie had clearly molested her to such an extent, Emilia still had no negative impression of the girl at all. 'Isn't she a bit too pure?!'
Of course, Emilia's intention behind putting forth such a question was to make the heroine acknowledge her own feelings. After all, that was the only thing really standing in the way of her happiness.
Unfortunately for her, Crystal preferred to tackle problems step by step, and even though her eventual goal was to get together with Emilia, her sights were firmly locked on to separating her from Randy first.
Until she had finished that step, Crystal refused to mess up by admitting anything that would probably just prove to be fruitless.
The heroine wasn't blind, and could clearly see that Emilia was both 'aroused' and 'curious', though to what extent the girl was aware of her own state was up for debate. If all she had wanted to do was to be the first one to fuck her, Crystal knew she could easily do so right now.
However, what Crystal sought was not Emilia's virginity, but her heart. Of course, both would be the best, but she would rather not lose her chances of obtaining the latter just because she rushed to obtain the former.
Crystal tried her best to think of a solution. 'T-Think Crystal, think! Emilia is obviously hot and bothered right now, and is probably very susceptible to suggestions. I-I have to weigh my words carefully!'
"Well?"
The heroine cleared her throat, trying her best to sound calm. "T-There are many factors that go into choosing a partner. Like I said, you can't rush these things, but I know you won't be satisfied with such an answer. So let me give you an easy solution!"
Crystal bashfully avoided Emilia's curious gaze, her voice trembling slightly. "Um, i-in the future, there will be s-someone who will always take care of you, always l-love you, and always put your needs, wants, and even thoughts over their own well-being. At that time, you will know without me telling you!"
Emilia smiled as the heroine gazed at her apprehensively, and leaned forward a little to gently peck her on the lips. "To think that my heroine of justice is so smart and wise, I don't know about my own future partner, but I know who your future will be!"
"H-Huh? Who?!"
"Me, of course! I'll never let anyone else marry you! Un, if you don't want to marry me, little sister, you can only stay single forever!"
Crystal couldn't help but get embarrassed. "I-If you keep saying things like that all the time, people will misunderstand that you like girls!"
Emilia grinned. Was she finally catching on? Well, better late than never. "I do think girls are very cute. I like them very much! Is it wrong?"
Crystal would have to be weapons-grade stupid to say something like 'it's disgusting' at this point in time, so she nodded furiously. "Y-Y-You can, of course you can!"
After a while, though, she couldn't help but doubt it a little. "D-Do you even know what 'like' means? Do you really prefer them over boys?"
Emilia nodded. "Mhm. I do."
Crystal knew she should wait. She knew this wasn't the right time, and it might even ruin everything for her later, but in the end, she couldn't help it. "W-Well, w-which girl do you like the most, then?"
Emilia pretended to think for a while, making Crystal's heart beat like a drum for almost a minute straight.
If Emilia had to answer it seriously from the bottom of the heart, perhaps it had to be Cynthia, despite all her flaws. After all, there would be no more her if not for her, so how could she not like her more than anyone else?
Cynthia, who had previously isolated herself when Emilia kept focusing too much on boring cooking, came back as soon as she sensed her partner think of herself. Hearing her thoughts, she chuckled smugly. "Fufu, of course it's me! Who can you like more than me? The best looking, smartest, and I have supported you the most. Who asked you such a stupid question? This dumbo?"
There was no way she could admit that to Crystal, even if she knew about Cynthia, which she did not. Poor Cynthia might explode from her overflowing smugness, and Emilia didn't want to kill her, after all. Moreover, this silly little partner of hers was too fun to tease, so how could she just admit it?
Just as the heroine felt like her heart was ready to explode, being in bed together with her crush, almost glued together, as she waited for her 'judgement', Emilia finally opened her lips. "It's probably Dixie, right? She's very cute, and always takes care of me. I like her a lot."
Crystal felt as if her heart was being crushed by a rock, though she still managed to maintain her smile. "I-Is that so…"
Although she knew it somewhere in her heart, the heroine couldn't help but sigh. 'As expected. When it comes to boys, I won't even be in the race. But even if prefers girls… It'll always be Dixie first.'
She couldn't help but feel a little gloomy. 'If she really likes her so much more, why tease me all the time?!'
Emilia chuckled, as if she could read her like an open book. "Are you jealous, Crystal? Did it hurt you to hear that I like someone else?"
Of course, Crystal immediately panicked. "N-NO! I didn't even say anything?!"
Emilia sighed. "Then why did you get so sad?"
"I-I…"
Although she thought the heroine was adorable, Emilia still pulled her closer till their noses were touching each other. "Fufu… well, Crystal is so cute when she's jealous, and so cute even when she's gloomy! Ah, but looking at you being all sad, I can't really bear it too much, no matter how cute it is, you know?"
Crystal stared at her, dumbfounded.
Emilia pouted. "Aw, don't look like I bullied you. Okay, it's my fault. Then, how about we do something so that you don't feel like you're losing out to Dixie?"
"E-Eh?"
"Why do you look so surprised? You're jealous, right?"
And then, Emilia gently pressed her soft lips against Crystal's, and the heroine's mind exploded.
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~ To be continued ~
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Bonus chapter for 1,250 powerstones.
Thank you for all your support! :>