“Cute.”
“……”
“Eli, you’re incredibly cute.”
Eliya’s head started spinning.
She wanted to faint from embarrassment instead.
But that voice and those words were so pleasant to hear that her heart raced.
“U-uh, uhh…”
She had never felt like this in her life.
What expression should she make? What should she say?
She had no idea how to react.
Cute.
Cute.
Cute? Me?
No way.
She’d never thought about that even once in her life.
It felt strange, almost absurd.
Cute? No way.
That word was meant for the puppies wriggling around her right now.
Could she really be considered cute?
Was she saying she was just like them?
Her thoughts were tangled like a messy ball of yarn.
Amidst it all, the scene that popped up was Judas’s gaze, which had always watched her.
That gaze, always smiling regardless of what she did, observing closely, was definitely a loving gaze.
It was no different than how he looked at those cute little creatures.
Yes, for a very long time, he had found her cute.
He just hadn’t said it.
Realizing this truth didn’t give her any clue to wriggle out of her embarrassment.
Instead, it only made her feel more shy.
Not just today, but thinking about how he found her cute all this time made her feel like she would melt.
Cute. Oh my.
He really thought she was cute.
But what does cute even mean?
It means wanting to protect her, wanting to do anything and everything for her – isn’t that blind, devoted love? How is it different? Ugh, she didn’t know.
Judas didn’t let Eliya off the hook.
He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye, and said it again.
“Cute.”
“…W-why are you suddenly, suddenly saying that….”
Eliya squirmed.
She turned to face him, then hid in his arms.
Judas stroked her head and said, “Are you trying to be cuter?”
“Why are you doing this….”
“Saying that something cute is cute, why not?”
“You didn’t say things like this usually….”
“Well, that’s true. But it suddenly came to mind. Are you sad I never said that before?”
“That’s not it….”
Judas cupped Eliya’s face with both hands, lifting it to look at him.
Her round, warm cheeks squished.
Seeing that, Judas grinned mischievously.
“Still cute.”
“Ugh… don’t….”
“I don’t want to stop. I’m going to keep saying it. Cute. Cute Eli.”
“Uugh….”
Eliya thought she couldn’t just take this lying down.
The best defense is a good offense.
In situations like this, she needed to actively bring him down.
“You know? Yuda is cute too! The way you smile holding those puppies and how scared they cling to you is cute!”
If it were the usual Judas, he might have flinched and backed down at this attack.
However, he was now sure of his upper hand.
Eliya’s sharp, small counterattack left no mark on him.
“Nope, nah. Eli is way cuter.”
“Ugh….”
Eventually, Eliya had no choice but to raise the white flag.
There was no way for her to tackle this situation head-on with who she was right now.
But what if she didn’t tackle it head-on?
No, there was no need to counterattack.
Realizing that, Eliya used magic.
Teleport.
Just run away.
“…Huh?”
Left alone, Judas was stunned, then burst into laughter.
“Oh, you really are cute. Did you just run away because you were embarrassed?”
It was ridiculous.
Could she really think she could escape?
Though clever, she sometimes showed this endearingly quirky side.
Judas didn’t bother to look for her.
If she stayed in place, she would come back on her own.
“…Hah!”
As he thought, Eliya really did come back.
She teleported and landed right into his embrace.
Judas held up his left hand in front of her flustered face.
There it was, the wedding ring on his ring finger.
It wasn’t just any ring.
It was an artifact.
An artifact that could summon Eliya to him without her consent.
“Where do you think you’re running off to, cutie?”
“……”
Eliya felt a sense of embarrassment.
A self-contradiction.
She had fallen victim to the artifact she herself had given him.
Judas found it irresistibly amusing.
Really, he couldn’t help it.
This was such a delightful and enjoyable situation he couldn’t help but laugh.
Seeing the woman he loves stumbling over her words because she was overwhelmed by the word ‘cute’ was indescribably lovely.
Just watching her made happiness bloom in his heart.
Even as she complained about it, it was clear she secretly loved it too, unable to make sense of her fluster.
And this was the woman who held the world beneath her feet.
Yet, just one compliment about being cute left her dazed.
He simply couldn’t resist finding her cute.
Judas pressed his lips against the crown of Eliya’s head, hidden in his arms.
“You really are doing all these cute things on purpose.”
“……”
Their bodies were warm and pressed together.
He could feel her heart pounding powerfully.
Knowing how much he liked it, he just couldn’t help but find her cute.
Judas gently grasped her chin.
Even though Eliya was shy and avoided his gaze, his hand guided her chin up.
He gently pressed his lips against hers.
Eliya squeezed her eyes shut, clutching his clothes tightly as she leaned into him.
Her breath was all fluttery.
As he slowly pulled back, their saliva connected briefly.
Seeing Eliya’s reddened face and glistening eyes made Judas feel an odd thrill and excitement.
It was a strange feeling.
Just how embarrassed could she be to the point of tears?
Even stranger was this sense of excitement.
Being called cute seemed like a description far removed from any sexual allure.
Yet looking at this cute girl, Judas suddenly felt some sadistic sexual impulse bubble up.
Unconsciously, he licked his lips and swallowed.
Eliya watched him and swallowed too.
For some reason, she felt nervous.
The heat of embarrassment and shame coursed through her body, but as soon as she saw Judas’s tongue, it spread all the way to her toes.
This heat was different from mere embarrassment.
It was a strange feeling.
Receiving cuteness wasn’t quite an intimate exchange according to sexual acts.
Yet, she felt her lower abdomen heating up, and her breath quickening with excitement.
She wanted to be cuddled in an even richer way.
It somewhat resembled a peculiar sexual masochism.
The hands gripping his clothes were subtly pulling him closer.
As if hoping he would come nearer, deeper.
They both sensed the sticky desires that glimmered in each other’s eyes.
As their gazes met, they gently pushed aside the puppies that were stuck to them.
And then, their figures disappeared from the barn.
They arrived at a dark space.
Eliya’s Cage, carved out of the mountain.
A secluded space where no one could enter and no sound could escape, just the two of them.
Coming here meant Eliya wanted a strong stimulus.
As soon as they arrived, they clung to each other and made their way to the bed.
So on the bed, they showered each other with cuteness and received an abundance of cuteness in return.
*
Judas was standing before a field.
In the broad plains north of the Sky Palace where the Emperor and national affairs resided.
Not an artificially cultivated place like a garden, but a place preserving the natural state as much as possible, it served as a playground for Yuel.
And when he brought the puppy family along, they too started to use it.
Right now, at that plain, the puppies were frolicking around Yuel, bouncing joyfully.
The mother dog followed around to care for her puppies.
Judas turned to Eliya, leaning beside him, and said, “It might be a bit late, but don’t you think we need to name them?”
“Hmm, you’re right. We can’t just keep calling them dog, puppy.”
What sounds good?
“How about Judas? Any thoughts?”
“Uh….”
Judas stared attentively at the puppies playing with Yuel and the mother dog.
They had a mix of black and white fur.
Their faces were unique, with black fur growing only around their eyes.
To Judas’s perspective, it resembled very large dots.
“One has two dots symmetrically. Another has one asymmetrical dot. That one has yellow fur on its cheek. And the last one is not black but entirely yellow…”
Considering the mother dog had black and white fur, it seemed the father dog must have had yellow fur.
Anyway, Judas finally concluded.
“One has a white base, so with black dots on its face, let’s call it ‘I-dot’ and another with one dot ‘One-dot’, the one with yellow on the cheek ‘Three-dot’, and the completely yellow one ‘Yellow-dot’. How about that?”
“……”
Eliya hesitated.
She needed to decide whether to keep his innocent naming sense intact or not.
First, let’s ask what she wanted to know.
“…Then, what about the mother dog?”
“Oh, I didn’t think of that.”
“……”
“Since she’s the biggest, how about ‘King-dot’?”
“……”
After a while, she finally decided.
To carefully challenge his sensibility without hurting his innocence.
“That seems a bit… lacking in sincerity.”
“Is that so…?”
Judas also somewhat agreed with the critique.
It hurt his heart to have his excellent naming sense dismissed.
“Do you have any names in mind, Eliya?”
“Hmm. Name, name….”
Eliya tilted her head while looking at the dogs and suddenly blurted out, “Erzebeth?”
“…That sounds like it should have ‘de Bevel’ at the end.”
In truth, she didn’t have any other alternative.
After a few discussions, they finally settled on the name Judas had suggested first.
It was the moment the spotted family came into being.
Eliya hated to admit it, but she had to acknowledge it.
Even if it wasn’t accurate to call them spotted, there was no description that resonated more than that name.
“Hmm. I like it.”
Seeing Judas pleased, Eliya quickly felt the same way.
In moments like these, it was impossible to tell who was cute to whom.
Meanwhile, having named them, Judas began to think of the next step.
“Training… should we try it?”
Like, offering a paw when asked.
Or sit when told to.
That kind of thing.
He thought he might give it a try.
No special reason, just wanted to.
“Shall we train them?”
“Yes. That would be cute.”
Eliya readily agreed.
“Still, they probably won’t be as cute as Eli.”
“…What? What do you mean all of a sudden?”
Burying her face in his arm, she lightly bumped her forehead against his bicep.
Every time she spoke, she showed such a cute side that he couldn’t help it.
Anyway.
“If we’re going to train them, we need treats that can grab their attention.”
“That’s true. It’s easier to train any creature with food.”
A slightly different perspective, but they reached the same conclusion.
Both decided to prepare food that puppies would like to try training them.
“But can we even get those wild ones to gather in one place?”
Eliya asked, and Judas couldn’t answer.
It seemed it wasn’t going to be easy from the very start of their training.
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