@invegold || x
“No, of course not! Gonta doesn’t- a gentleman does not make jokes about things like that, anyway...” Her response shocks him, if he is to be honest - he’s consumed plenty of books and movies about gentleman heroes, but normally when they confess their love... well, normally the lady swoons and graciously accepts the genteel fellow’s advances because of how respectful they are.
Of course, Iruma is anything but a heroine from one of those pieces, but he hadn’t considered that possibility. He’s never confessed his true feelings to anyone like this, after all. His cheeks become rosy, his chest pounding at a nerve-wracking jackhammer speed. This wasn’t what he had expected, what he had planned - for a child who was raised feral in the woods, he sure does plan things methodically.
Nervous energy evident on his face, he interlocks his fingers and stares into them as if he is reading his palms to discover the outcome of the situation. Embarrassed, his words come out slow and clunky. Every syllable enunciated as if it meant something more than the surface. “Iruma-san, I... Gonta enjoys your company very much! Both as a fellow purveyor of the sciences, and... and as a very good friend. You remind Gonta of the orchid mantis... aggressive, but very pretty! Iruma-san, I like you!”
