Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are Are So Dangerous! [BL]-Chapter 252: Sunlight and Secrets

The air had turned a bit somber.

And honestly, Rocco himself had been feeling restless lately...

"Alright, Georgio. Let’s play. We’ll chase away all the gloom with some fun!"

"Huh?"

Georgio blinked, tilting his head in confusion.

Rocco only smirked.

He had been feeling frustrated over the whole Laxus situation.

Georgio also seemed a little worn out. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Blowing off some steam together sounded like the perfect plan.

That said, Georgio was physically tired, so running around playing tag was out of the question.

They’d have to stick to something more relaxing.

"Alright then—get over here, Georgio. We’re playing."

"A-ah, o-okay?"

As Georgio watched in bewilderment, Rocco rummaged through a large storage box, pulling out art supplies, stuffed animals, blankets, and even pillows.

Then, he turned to Georgio with a grin.

"What do you wanna do? My recommendations are—Playing camping or Sunbathing."

"Guh—!!"

"Georgio?! What happened?!"

The moment Rocco happily held up a stuffed animal and a pillow, Georgio clutched his chest like he’d been struck by Cupid’s arrow and collapsed dramatically onto the floor.

Panicked, Rocco scurried over and shook him.

"Georgio! Georgio! Are you okay?!"

"Ugh... Ahhh..."

"What? What’s wrong?!"

Rocco leaned in closer to hear him.

With one hand still clutching his chest, Georgio finally muttered,

"My exhaustion just... disappeared... That was so healing..."

"I HAVEN’T EVEN DONE ANYTHING YET?!"

...

Side by side, they lay down in the sunniest spot by the window.

A warm blanket covered them, and Georgio absentmindedly ran his fingers through Rocco’s hair.

The slow, soothing motions made Rocco way too sleepy.

He fought to stay awake and reached out, gently patting Georgio’s head in return.

When he glanced up, he found Georgio gazing down at him with the softest, most peaceful smile he’d ever seen.

The moment their eyes met, Rocco’s heart skipped a beat.

Georgio wasn’t wearing his usual playful smirk—there was something softer, more serious in his gaze.

"You’ve got something on your mind, don’t you, Master?"

"Hweh?! W-what’s with that all of a sudden?!"

Georgio poked at Rocco’s cheek, puffing it up slightly as he spoke.

The sudden question made Rocco jerk back in surprise, but Georgio only chuckled.

"I mean, you’ve been making these cute little pouty faces for a while now. And lately, you’ve been spacing out and mumbling ’Laxus, Laxus’ under your breath."

Rocco froze.

W-what...?!

It was true that lately, he hadn’t been able to shake off thoughts of Laxus—those words from their last conversation had been haunting him.

But he had tried to keep it cool, to make sure no one noticed his turmoil.

And yet—he had been absentmindedly whispering Laxus’s name?! He had been moping in plain sight?!

Disaster.

He had completely failed at looking composed.

Rocco slumped forward in defeat, only for Georgio to keep prodding at his puffed-up cheek.

"That’s why I figured you were gonna come to me for advice about that scheming, perverted bastard—cough, cough—I mean, a certain someone. But you never did."

Georgio pouted slightly.

"I was waiting, you know? I was a little sad that you didn’t come talk to me."

His sulking expression made Rocco’s chest tighten with guilt.

So it had been that obvious.

He had wanted to keep everyone from worrying, but all he had done was make them worry even more.

What was the point of pretending to be fine if he was failing so badly at it?

Feeling remorseful, Rocco nuzzled against Georgio in apology.

Georgio only grinned and said, "Ehehe, it’s okay~."

"But," Georgio added, his voice gentler this time, "I still care, y’know? So if something’s bothering you, I want you to tell me."

Rocco hesitated.

The warmth in Georgio’s voice made it impossible to refuse.

He had already worried Georgio more than enough—he should talk.

He swallowed and took a moment to think before whispering his question.

"...Georgio. Uh... do you have someone you don’t want to hate you?"

Georgio blinked in surprise.

His large hand, which had been absentmindedly stroking Rocco’s hair, stopped moving.

His face showed clear confusion at the unexpected question.

Then, after a short hum of thought, he nodded.

"Of course! I definitely don’t want you to hate me, Master!"

"Huh—ME?!"

Georgio nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

It wasn’t the kind of answer Rocco had been expecting, but... well, he figured he might as well keep going.

"Then," Rocco asked, furrowing his brow, "why don’t you want me to hate you?"

Georgio blinked again.

This time, he didn’t hesitate.

With an easy, matter-of-fact voice, he answered,

"Huh? Well, duh—because I like you, of course."

His tone was so casual—like he was stating a universal fact.

Rocco sucked in a breath.

It wasn’t exactly an unexpected answer.

Rocco had already assumed as much, so he wasn’t particularly surprised.

And yet... for some reason, hearing someone else say it felt different from when he simply thought about it himself.

Laxus’s face flashed in his mind, along with the conversation they’d had before.

When he had admitted that he didn’t want to be hated, Laxus had asked him why.

The answer was obvious—because he liked Laxus.

Anyone would want to be liked by someone they cared about, right?

But... something felt off.

Georgio had just said the same thing: I like you, so I don’t want to be hated by you.

And yet... Rocco’s feelings from before didn’t seem to match that statement exactly.

"Hmm... Oh! Georgio, you like Ragar too, don’t you?"

"Huh? Hmm, well, yeah, I do like Ragar."

Georgio blinked at the sudden question, his body swaying slightly as he answered in a relaxed, cheerful tone.

"Then," Rocco continued eagerly, eyes shining, "that means you don’t want Ragar to hate you either, right? Because you like him?"

For a moment, the hazy discomfort in Rocco’s chest started to clear.

If Georgio nodded in agreement, then everything would make sense.

Maybe he was just overthinking things.

If Georgio gave the same answer, then the feelings he had toward Laxus—the confusion, the unease—wouldn’t be anything special.