“Elisa. First, calm down.”
I couldn’t help but gasp as I looked at the purple hair that started to sway like in a cartoon. The magic was strong enough to make even me, who was relatively insensitive to magic, flinch. The eerie aura surrounding me made my whole body tingle.
“But… while I was sleeping…”
“You’re misunderstanding something. Millia came in without permission while I was asleep.”
“Johann… You’re being too rough…”
What kind of dream was she having? I seriously contemplated whether to give Millia a flick on the forehead to wake her from her sleep-talking or roll her off the bed.
As long as she kept sleep-talking, we wouldn’t escape this pit of misunderstanding.
Thoughts were fleeting, and decisions had to be swift.
Without hesitation, I rolled Millia onto the floor.
Thud!
Just in case of unforeseen variables, I covered Millia’s head with the blanket and walked straight to Elisa. She seemed startled by my confident approach, shrinking her body and looking up at me.
“Elisa.”
“Yes, yes?”
“Do I look like the kind of man who would speak out of both sides of my mouth?”
“W-Well…”
Before Elisa could retort, I pulled her into a hug. Her face pressed against my chest, and I could feel the weight of something soft and heavy pressing against my abdomen.
It felt nice… but now was not the time to be focusing on that.
“Elisa. I understand your feelings, but I’d like you to calm down. It’s not the first time Millia is being spoiled by me.”
“But…”
“How about we go for a walk instead? I don’t know if the two of us can go…”
[Contractor, complete bad guy…]
“A-A walk…?”
“Yeah.”
“B-But Millia…”
“It seems she wants to sleep even more, so it’s best to leave her be.”
I glanced slyly at Millia out of the corner of my eye and then looked back down at Elisa. Elisa had slightly lifted her face from being buried in my chest, exposing only her eyes as she stared up at me.
She’s cute. I released Elisa from my embrace and said,
“Can I take a quick shower? I haven’t had the chance to wash up with all this chaos…”
“Yes, yes… you can go…”
“If you want to wait in the room, you can.”
…This is getting intense. I felt Elisa’s hot gaze directed at my lower body and looked down.
Ah, I wasn’t wearing pants. I debated whether to at least pretend to cover myself with my hands but decided to stay as I was. I’ve never dated anyone, so I didn’t know, but isn’t it weird to be shy around your lover?
“W-Well, I’ll just sit on the bed…”
I walked over to the bed, gave Elisa a glance, and headed to the adjoining private bathroom. I needed to wash up quickly. I usually shower quickly anyway, so I washed up and came out when—
“Johann…? Elisa…?”
As I stepped out, my third trial approached.
As soon as I opened the door, my eyes met Karina, who was standing in front of my room. Her odd-colored eyes stared keenly at me. The look in her eyes was begging for an explanation.
Meeting Karina at that timing was the moment I deeply understood the meaning of what my grandmother from the northern region once said.
“Ah, hello…”
“Good morning, Karina. Would you like to go for a walk together?”
I had to press forward. If I didn’t take Karina along before she could ask something, things might get more tangled, so hurry…
“Johann, what on earth is going on…? Why is Elisa in the same room as you…?”
“Elisa came to find me for a morning walk, so I was about to change clothes and head out. I was going to ask you too, but this works out well.”
I calmly explained the situation. In moments like these, maintaining a brazen attitude was the way to survive. Karina looked up at me with a doubtful expression before narrowing her eyes and asking,
“Is that really true?”
“It’s true.”
“Elisa, is that really true…?”
Elisa, please work along with me here. Thankfully, Elisa nodded as if agreeing with my words.
“Yes, yes… It’s a rare day off, so I wanted to go for a walk together…”
“Seeing you here at this time, it seems you weren’t planning to go for a walk too?”
“Well, sort of…”
“Then let’s take a stroll around Yeomyeong-gwan before breakfast is ready.”
The moment I finished my sentence, Karina’s soft hand grabbed my free hand. The warmth tickling my palm felt unexpectedly delightful. Before I knew it, I was holding Karina’s hand.
“Let’s go. Morning walk.”
“…Please pay attention to me too…”
“Elisa. Karina. Then let’s get going…”
“I want to go too!”
The feeling of soft arms wrapping around my neck along with a heavy weight crashed onto me. I turned my head to see Millia in her pajamas, clinging to my back. Millia glared at me with a petulant expression and exclaimed,
“Meanie! You’re trying to go for a walk without me!”
“I get it, so just get down.”
“No! You’re just trying to go for a walk without me!”
“I’ll wait for you, so change your clothes first. You’re not planning to go outside in that getup, right?”
I coldly pointed out Millia’s outfit, making her get off me. Millia, dressed in a negligee and pumpkin pants, pointed at me and shouted.
“You have to wait! You got that?!”
“Fine, so hurry up and change.”
“I’ll be right back!”
“Pfft, Millia really is like a kid…”
I watched Millia dash off to her room and chuckled, while Karina, with a charming smile, passed a remark.
Karina stared at the spot where Millia disappeared, looking cute, then suddenly looked up at me and asked.
“…But where did Millia come from?”
—————–
“Millia. I’m not a horse.”
“But I wanted to ride!”
What age is she wanting to ride like that? I slapped her legs, which were pressing against my thighs, making a smack sound. Instead of a response, a short scream echoed through the garden.
“Ouch! That hurts!”
“I hit you to make it hurt.”
“That’s too much… You could at least let me ride a little…”
“Are you a child?”
“I am a child!”
Didn’t she just ask me to call her ‘older sister’ the other day?
I sighed at Millia’s increasingly childish behavior.
…Why does it seem like her mental age keeps dropping?
If there was a recording device here, I’d want to broadcast it to Millia’s friends right away.
I wonder what kind of reactions they would have.
“Millia… So Johann doesn’t see Millia as a woman.”
Yeah, Karina, please give a sharp word about Millia… Huh?
I looked at Karina, who spoke contrary to my thoughts. It seemed like she hadn’t noticed my gaze as she looked up at Millia, tilting her head.
“But… I like it this way.”
Millia’s sulky voice interrupted Karina. I adjusted my posture to ensure Millia wouldn’t fall off, as thoughts of her past crossed my mind.
I couldn’t help but feel I had been too harsh on her. After all, she was a child who had been abused by her parents and then sacrificed.
It’s only natural for a child who has never received parental love to crave affection.
“…Just don’t get too rowdy, okay?”
“Okay!”
…Was this intentional?
I pondered whether Millia’s previous behavior was an act or genuine as we resumed our walk. At this rate, we’d arrive after breakfast time.
“You seem really kind, Johann…”
“Even though Johann looks a bit scary… he’s actually a really warm person.”
Why are compliments suddenly flying at me from both sides?
I tried to say something but ended up shutting my mouth and quietly accepting their praise raining down on me.
What could I do when they wanted to say this? I should just listen quietly. They weren’t cursing at me anyway.
As we continued under a warm atmosphere incongruous with the slightly chilly early spring breeze, Elisa, who was quietly fidgeting with my hand, spoke up.
“I heard that men can’t help but get excited when they see women… but you seem so calm?”
“Yeah, yeah. Johann seems to look at women like they’re rocks!”
“…”
When I looked at the only one who hadn’t spoken, the odd-eyed saintess, she was gazing at me with a meaningful smile.
…Ah.
“It’s not like that for me. It’s just… I’m holding back because I have important matters to attend to.”
“B-But I heard that men like big breasts…”
Elisa subtly lifted one side of her chest.
The size that could rival Millia’s head, changing shape based on her hand, was a sight no man could take their eyes off; however, I desperately averted my gaze.
“Johann, you’re interested, right…?”
“It wouldn’t be a lie to say I have some interest, but I should warn you that it’s a bit dangerous to do that outside.”
“There’s no one else here, is there… You can touch if you want…”
“There might be someone from Yeomyeong-gwan watching us.”
“The people here all already know, so it should be alright…?”
“Has it already spread that far?”
“It’s already all over. The servants at Yeomyeong-gwan are public officials.”
“Uh-huh! I bragged to Ashley about it!”
“…I really hope you can hold back at the academy.”
If word gets out at the academy, it could become a huge problem.
Especially in the Theology Department.
I sighed at the thought of the insane students from the Theology Department.
Weekdays are truly terrifying.
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