Chapter 972: Chapter 972: I Love Darling the Most
Bell’s eyes fluttered open slightly in his sleep, and what filled his vision was a stretch of soft, fair skin, supple and smooth, carrying a faint, unfamiliar fragrance. Not only was his face pressed against something impossibly soft, there was also a warm, yielding body snug against his back.
’Artemis is in front of me... and behind me too.’
Now that their relationship was already clearly defined, Bell had gradually shed his more childish reactions. He was no longer as flustered by situations like this as he used to be.
’I fell asleep.’
His memories were intact. He knew exactly why he had lost control and drifted off.
His mental state had reached its threshold. Consecutive breakthroughs, coupled with continuous dungeon expeditions, had pushed his mind into constant, heavy consumption.
The fact that he had been able to grit his teeth through it before, attend the Gods’ Banquet without showing strain, and even calmly discuss world-building with Metria and Shiki Ryougi, all rested on his own recovery ability and that frightening ’adaptability.’
Without such a solid foundation propping him up, he would have collapsed long ago. Bell briefly examined his current mental condition.
’Mm, the recovery is pretty thorough. My body has started adapting to that dangerous state. Next time, I should be able to push past my limits again.’
The boundary between body and mind had to be tempered and expanded through repeated torment. That was the answer Bell had arrived at through constant training.
But this way of breaking through wasn’t without its problems. Especially now that his mental level was already so high, pushing it further required even harsher pressure. Without driving his mind to the absolute edge, there was no way to achieve further growth.
That edge... was sometimes truly unbearable.
’My mental recovery is around eighty percent. Daily matters shouldn’t be an issue, but I still need to fine-tune things.’
There was simply too much that needed to be stabilized after reaching the three-digit range.
If the Seven Desires weren’t an innate power Bell possessed, then in such an unstable state, they would have gone berserk long ago.
’Three months. That should be enough time for me to properly adjust.’
’Ah, and I’ll need to start preparing things on Hestia and the others’ side as well.’
When he thought about it, there was still a lot that needed handling.
But if he had to pinpoint the most important issue, it was probably the time he spent with the girls at home. That mattered more than anything else.
In that sense, Bell was quite glad he had deliberately stretched the timeline.
"Darling~"
Bell lifted his head and saw that Artemis had already opened her eyes. Those wine-red pupils were practically shaped like hearts.
That left Bell a little speechless. It made him feel like some kind of succubus.
Still, setting aside Artemis’s naturally self-enchanting heart-eyes, Bell was honestly happy.
After all, waking up to a stunning beauty gazing at him like that did make his head feel a little light.
"Did I wake you?"
"Not at all."
Artemis’s fingers gently caught in Bell’s hair, pressing him more firmly against her chest. Yet at this moment, she wasn’t filled with desire. What she felt instead was a vague but powerful sense of happiness.
Thinking back to how she had held Bell all night while he was weak and helpless, just recalling it was enough to make that maternal affection surge up uncontrollably.
Her usually cool, quiet Darling was handsome, of course. But Darling when he was so weak and dependent...
That was unbelievably cute too.
In that instant, Artemis finally understood why Hestia and Freya loved clinging to Bell so much, especially at night and in the mornings.
She wanted more time alone with this adorable Bell as well.
"Darling, you can sleep a little longer."
Bell, whose face was being thoroughly smothered, felt utterly helpless. Sleep like this? At this rate, he would probably suffocate halfway through.
The thought made him instinctively want to get up.
But then he suddenly stopped.
Come to think of it, he really hadn’t spent much time with Artemis.
In the past, since the two Artemis couldn’t appear at the same time, they often fought over control of the body. That made it impossible for Bell to properly divide his time between them.
Now that he thought about it carefully, he realized he had spent far too little time with the Artemis from the Type-Moon world.
With that thought, Bell didn’t struggle free. Instead, he buried his face deeper into Artemis’s chest and spoke in a slightly muffled voice.
"Artemis... do you want to be separated from her?"
Artemis clearly hadn’t expected that question. She glanced at her other half, who was still pretending to sleep, then let out a soft laugh.
"I don’t think so. After spending so long with that clumsy idiot who’s terrible with words, I’ve gotten used to it. Sometimes, having another version of myself in this world feels kind of interesting."
"The only downside is having to share Darling’s time with my other half. But that’s also a different kind of experience. Especially since we can share our thoughts and feelings. Watching that girl get all flustered and blush sometimes is pretty fun too."
At the beginning, Artemis probably hadn’t thought this way.
But as time passed and their interactions increased, she gradually grew accustomed to this feeling of being one mind. She even started to accept it as normal.
Sometimes she would seize control of the body and cling to Bell herself. Other times, she would remain within and experience her other half’s shy, earnest affection for Bell.
These were all things Artemis had never experienced before.
And now, she was starting to get used to them.
Used to having another self.
Used to the feeling of the two of them accompanying Bell together.
"What about you, Darling? Do you like me, or the other me?"
It was a question loaded with a rather dangerous undertone, but Bell could answer it clearly now.
"Both of you. I’m not letting either of you go. I want you both."
Artemis wasn’t surprised. She had already known the answer.
Still, hearing Bell say that he ’wanted’ her made her cheeks flush, her heartbeat quickening despite herself.
"Darling is so overbearing."
"But... I can accept that."
Feeling the pure affection and possessiveness from the one she loved most, Artemis felt genuinely happy.
Everything she gave was being returned to her.
Even if it fell a little short of her desire for complete exclusivity, what could she do?
She had truly fallen in love.
"I love Darling the most!"
