"Do you remember my name?"
Del blinked his large, innocent eyes in response to Andrea's question. He wrote down his response in a notebook.
[The Gods told me. Andrea Sloane]
Andrea didn't know how to react so he scratched his eyebrows.
Really... is he hearing the words of the gods? He thought it was just the Tribal chief's bullshit. He had assumed that his belief in being an angel from heaven was from the brainwashing by the chief. But now, did the gods really tell him?
"By any chance... Do you remember the names of the Crown Prince, the Grand Duke, the priest, or the Magic Tower lord?"
However, Del looked puzzled at this question. His attitude conveyed that he had no connection with such people.
"Does that mean only my name remains in your memory?"
As Andrea thought that, he felt a warm and comforting sensation in his chest, almost making his heart feel tight.
There's no way anyone could have told him in advance. No one in the world knew Andrea's real name. A former guild member who used to be friends with knew his full name, Andrea Sloane, but after he chose suicide after failing his mission, no one else knew his name. Except for the fake Del Narcissus.
Even if he considered that only the name "Andrea Sloane" remained after he lost all his memories, it felt strange. And even if he considered that the gods really revealed it, it felt strange. Either way, it felt like Andrea was someone who had a great impact on Del.
But that didn't make sense. In Andrea's opinion, he wasn't even in Del's mind. The real Del Narcissus was literally unaware of Andrea's existence, and the fake Del Narcissus caught Andrea off guard and ran away.
Del put the notebook and pen in his pocket and excitedly ran forward. There was an oasis, the foundation of Sablum Village. In Sablum, they referred to that oasis as the "Fountain of Life."
Although the Fountain of Life was not far from where Andrea and Del walked, just running a little made Del breathe heavily. His complexion turned unusually pale, so Andrea had to make Del sit under a tree.
"Your stamina has weakened a lot."
Andrea mumbled, offering water to Del. After Del drank the water from the canteen and wiped his wet mouth with the back of his hand, he took out the notebook.
[This is also the divine punishment. Sometimes I vomit blood and faint.]
Andrea looked seriously at the notebook. Could the food provided by the people of Sablum be poisoned? He glanced at the Fountain of Life suspiciously but quickly shook his head. It couldn't be the water; everyone in the village drank from there. So, then...
It was when he was considering another possibility, Del tugged hard on the hem of Andrea's clothes. When he turned around, Andrea saw Del looking at something with a pleased expression. Andrea shifted his gaze to where Del's gaze was directed
Andrea saw two small chubby desert mice sitting side by side, drinking from the spring. Without much interest in those small creatures. Andrea turned his gaze back to Del.
Del's green eyes were sparkling as if he had seen something very precious. His long and delicate eyelashes trembled with excitement. Come to think of it, even when they spent time for a while, Del would look at stray dogs or cats on the street with affectionate eyes. Perhaps he liked small and cute things.
"Do you like desert mice?"
Andrea asked softly, and Del's eyes lit up, scribbling something in his notebook.
[ Are these two mates? This is the first time I've seen that even animals mate]
Aha. It seemed that Del was moved by the friendly behavior of desert mice that resembled a married couple or lovers. Del wrote next,
[Andrea is my mate too]
"...Huh?"
[My male protagonist.]
Andrea, to hide his bewildered feelings, chose his words carefully while covering his mouth with his hand.
It seemed clear that Del had lost his memory. According to the information source, Del had feelings for the Crown Prince. He was the one who proposed first. But unexpectedly, a mate? A male protagonist?
"It must be because of your memory loss Del. We weren't mates."
Del furrowed his brow as if unable to understand Andrea's words.
[We are mates. Andrea likes me. The favorabilty is already 52.]
What is 52? Andrea, who had no idea about "52" tilted his head.
Suddenly, Del grabbed Andrea's hand. When Andrea looked up in surprise, Del approached with an expectant expression. And then.....aren't those lips adorable and cute?
Andrea felt as if his mind had been bleached white for a moment. His pink eyes shook aimlessly.
"Del... what are you doing right now?"
To Andrea's question, Del hesitated for a while, then wrote something in the notebook.
[Mates kiss each other and hug. They touch each other's bodies and make babies. They say it's a way of expressing love. According to my teacher.]
Andrea was speechless and remained quiet for a while. Meanwhile, the desert mouse couple, who had introduced the topic of 'mates', had already gone somewhere.
When Andrea didn't say or do anything. Del seemed restless and bit his lips, probably feeling nervous. Because of this, his red lips looked even more redder and swollen, making him look lustful.
There has never been a moment of sexual tension between Andrea and Del. Except for the time when Andrea accidentally stumbled upon Del secretly masturbating in the bathroom.
Of course, he had bathed Del's naked body and washed it...
Even when they rode the horses together, there was a slightly strange atmosphere...
No, no. Andrea was absolutely certain that he had never seen the fake Del Narcissus in that way. He thought so.
"Del, it seems like there's some misunderstanding...I'm not your mate."
At this point, Andrea realized that he needed to talk about their previous relationship. For Del, who had lost his memories, everything would have been confusing.
"I already told you, I have someone I like..."
He hesitated to say the next words. Andrea finally spoke.
"You didn't want to be with me. So you lied to me and ran away. I came all the way here searching for you. If you hadn't lost your memory, you might have run away again as soon as you saw me..."
Before he could finish speaking, something soft and warm touched my cheek. The sound of lips being pressed together struck my ears like a thunderbolt.
Andrea stared at Del with a dumbfounded expression. Del was looking at Andrea provocatively. It was as if his eyes were asking, "Do you want to continue talking nonsense?"
"Del...?"
Clear and vivid emerald eyes looked above Andrea's head and then down. Then, joy filled those eyes. Andrea stared at it as if fascinated.
Del wrote something in the notebook and held it towards Andrea. What was written on the paper:
[Andrea is lying! You like me!]
***
A kiss on the cheek increased Andrea's favorability. It only went up by 2, but it was an undeniable fact that it had increased. The skinship of lovers had definitely worked.
As the Teacher had instructed, it was right for people who liked each other to explore each other's bodies and hearts. As a result, my heart had been pounding for over an hour, as Andrea's favorability had increased.
But why did Andrea keep lying that he liked someone else? Did he give up, thinking that a human doesn't fit with me, an angel?
I couldn't concentrate in class and kept spinning my pen, lost in thought. The teacher smiled kindly.
"Angel, do you have any concerns?"
I was at the teacher's house for the common language lessons, held three times a week. Although I should have been studying the textbook, I decided to ask this question first.
[Teacher, you told me about mates the other day.]
The teacher kindly corrected the wrong spelling and asked me to continue.
[After kissing, should we touch each other's chests and more?]
*Cough! Cough!*
Suddenly, the teacher coughed violently, as if hearing something surprising.