Clang!
“Ugh… Hmph…!”
Outside, a tremendous shockwave echoed, while inside the room, the sound of heated breaths filled the air.
“Hah… Ugh… Phew… Hnn… Ugh.”
To exhale the breath that had risen to my chin, Rubia’s tongue slipped through my parted lips.
Beneath…
Rubia’s hand traced down my chest, grazing the inside of my thigh, slowly getting deeper, inching closer.
Just one more step.
I felt that if she went just a bit further, something really big would happen, and my body began to resist more violently.
“Ru, Rubia, Hah-! Please… T- that’s too much…!”
Having barely succeeded in pulling my lips away, I exhaled the breath that had filled my chest and shouted.
“Why… why are you suddenly like this…!”
“Huh… Why do you think I’m suddenly like this?”
Rubia muttered with a voice like a growling beast as she tightly grasped my chin.
“Suddenly?”
“Ugh…”
“In this state, smiling at me, teasing me to put on the dog collar, are you the one who should be saying that?”
“It’s not a dog collar… This is a token proving our relationship, and besides, I wasn’t trying to tease—”
“Not a ring, not a bracelet, and definitely not an ordinary necklace. You call this dog collar-like leather choker… a token?”
“W-well…”
Of course, at first, I thought about using a ring.
A ring worn on the ring finger that’s supposed to connect hearts.
The reason I didn’t choose a ring that represents deep bonds was that it didn’t match the direction I decided to take moving forward.
That said, choosing a bracelet wouldn’t work either since I already had two on my arm.
I hadn’t pierced my ears, and ankle bracelets were just plain weird.
So, I settled on the necklace.
Not too flashy as to interfere with combat, but snug against my skin.
This leather’s not just any leather; it’s Tylant’s leather, making it extra durable.
But setting all that aside…
The real reason I chose such a dog collar-like design was…
…I felt it resembled my role as a pet.
Big dogs protect their owners and follow them without question.
And…
They sometimes die before their owners.
Anyway… I wasn’t trying to tease her…
“Honestly, I was… just… not thinking about it…”
“You’re always like this.”
“E-eh… Rubia, could you just relax a bit—”
“Getting drunk and kissing me first, crawling into my arms to sleep, shyly asking me to clean you, looking for me before the Great Sword every morning, promising to protect me for life, and then while saying you’re fighting to protect me, almost die… All while smiling at me, suffering but smiling…”
Rubia expelled the breath she had been holding back without pause.
“You seriously think those were all just mindless actions…?”
“…Uh.”
Uh-oh.
Hearing her list everything makes it sound incredibly tempting…?
“Did you think that as a fellow woman, I’d just brush off such actions? Or did you think that since it’s your body, you wouldn’t even consider any implications?”
“…Well.”
How did she know?
It was… too accurate?
“Do you think I like Noah just because I’m the same gender? Seriously?”
“Ugh, that’s not…”
“You’re more annoying because you know it so well. Then, if the person I like acts like that in this state…”
Clang!
Cutting off her words, Rubia pulled my body and handed me the Great Sword.
Only then did the scenery around us come into view.
The blanket I had wrapped around me was lying on the floor, and the bandages covering my chest had long since come undone, barely covering my lower half.
And… my tail and ears shrank to match my mood…
Is Carpen really crazy…?
Why did he have to show up now…?
Oh, but if that’s the case… Isn’t it possible to break these handcuffs with Blood Aura?
It should be… possible.
Why didn’t he help and just stood there watching? Huh?
Hey, it’s not too late even now—
“What do you think? You know Noah is an adult, right? I mean, you know what I’m talking about.”
Rubia’s voice, crunching her teeth, cut into my thoughts.
“Um… T-that…”
For now, it might be better to let Rubia cool down a bit… right?
“Why? You’re not calling me an adult anymore? Huh? Go ahead, try.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
So embarrassed, I curled up, burying my head in my knees.
Though one arm was still chained and the other held the Great Sword, making for a bizarre pose… it was better than being fully exposed.
“…Ha.”
Seeing me like that, Rubia let out a deep sigh and released my hand bound by the cuffs.
With my wrist hitting the ground, energy gradually returned to my body.
It felt like my whole body was tightly bound and finally freed.
Taking advantage of regained freedom, I hugged my knees tightly and curled up.
At that moment…
Boom!
Another explosion rang out from outside, reverberating through the room.
“…Can’t we just stay inside?”
“That was the last one.”
…I knew already.
I had expanded my senses and confirmed outside.
About a dozen of them.
Seems like Sirin took care of them with ease.
They didn’t seem that strong anyway.
Good, at least.
“Ah, I see…”
An oppressive silence settled in the room.
The only sound was me scratching the grip of the Great Sword with my nails.
Maybe I should have just let Rubia go out?
No, that’s not it.
What if she got hurt? Better this way by a hundredfold.
Still… the atmosphere is a bit… suffocating.
As I sat curled up, contemplating what words to say next, my fingers twitching…
“…I’m sorry. I just suddenly overreacted…”
Rubia’s voice came through, deflated.
“You were surprised…?”
“N-no, it’s fine.”
I was surprised.
My tongue… was just… inappropriately invading.
And her hands… her hands were… really… explicit. So much…
“Noah?”
“Y-yes…?！”
“Are you… hurt? I’m sorry, Noah… It’s just you woke up not long ago and suddenly… did something like this…”
Rubia’s voice, which had been fiery moments ago, had completely cooled down.
Her emotions were erratic, her body fidgety.
She looked scared, trembling with each breath.
Unable to look at me, her gaze wandered elsewhere.
Seeing Rubia trembling with anxiety like this was so pitiful and upsetting.
Is it because she’s seen me die so many times?
Or does she hate herself for acting so violently?
If that’s the case…
I’d feel a bit good to think that I mean that much to her.
It means I’m precious enough to make her feel that anxious.
Of course, it doesn’t mean that using force like just now is right.
However, I’m trying to understand.
If I can’t understand, I want to accept it.
With this pathetic, unrefined body of mine, if I could ease Rubia’s anxiety even a little,
To uplift her spirits and make her smile again…
I would gladly offer myself countless times.
And…
I also want to, just a little bit…
But before that…
I have something I really want to ask Rubia.
I know what the answer will be, but still… I want to confirm it every time.
“Um… Rubia.”
Hearing my slightly subdued voice, Rubia flinched and looked at me.
“Do you… like me?”
“Yes.”
Her response came flying out instinctively without a second’s hesitation, causing a faint smile to escape from me.
Questions like how much, where, or why ever popped into my mind, but I swallowed them down.
I didn’t want to test her.
I didn’t want to confirm it.
I didn’t want to place those feelings on a scale.
I didn’t want to find advantages or impose conditions.
For now, that answer was enough for me.
“I like you too, Rubia.”
After all, I knew that our feelings right now couldn’t be measured or defined by mere words.
“So… um…”
I slightly raised my body and moved closer to Rubia.
“Today, please do what you want…”
After brushing my breath against her lips, I added, “But… just a little gently.”
As I shared a quick kiss…
Click!
Rubia slipped the cuffs she was holding onto my wrist.
“…It’s my first time. I-I’m scared.”
My weakened hand lost grip of the Great Sword, but now, it didn’t matter.
From now on, it should be less embarrassing not to see.
Taking a deep breath to steady my thumping heart,
I climbed onto Rubia, wrapping my arms around her neck.
Though I couldn’t see it, the breath that brushed against my face,
The racing heartbeat,
The scent filling the air,
All let me feel how close we truly were.
And from there, just one more step.
Bending my legs, I tightly wrapped around Rubia’s waist, leaning closer until our noses touched.
How long had it been…?
Rubia, affixed to me, had an awkward reaction to the closeness.
Now she seemed unwilling to continue…?
Really? I’ve said all this… and she’s backing out?
What should I do? Should I try to seduce her this time?
Charlotte’s suggestive lines she hinted at before…?
No, but that seems like it would…
Lower my human dignity.
If I just let it end like this, it’d be even more awkward.
I might lay awake all night out of embarrassment.
I might just die of shame.
Ugh…
Alright! Since we’ve come this far…
I have nothing more to lose…
I’m in! Carpen!! I’m counting on you!!
The tail and ears swaying in rhythm and my heated body lightly tickled.
“Ahem… Phew…”
With both fists raised beside my face.
“Please treat this arrogant me… like a dog… Master.”
Leaning forward slightly…
Woof!
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