Inside the locked alchemy room, I lay on the sofa, and on top of me, Mizera rested with her face close to mine.
「I can’t… even though we’re resting, I can’t move a single step…」
Mizera, sprawled limply over me, murmured softly, her body still radiating heat.
「You knew it was my first time, didn’t you? Hey, weren’t you a bit too enthusiastic?」
「Hm? …Ah…」
「W-wait, don’t tell me you thought you were holding back? What are you, some kind of Lust Emperor…?」
Lust Emperor, that was the guy the potion Yasis gave me was based on when I first got my house, wasn’t it?
For even Mizera to know about him… he must be really famous.
「…Hey, what kind of face am I supposed to make when I come into the alchemy room from now on? I always imagined my first time would be in a bed, you know…」
「Sorry about that… But you said it was fine too, didn’t you?」
「That’s… true. Yes. It was partly my fault for getting swept up in the mood. But still…」
Mizera pointed toward the door.
「Isn’t Master around?」
「Mizera’s not here either, right? Maybe they’re working on alchemy together?」
「…Maybe they’re just focused.」
「If it were my liege, maybe, but Mizera would notice our voices. Don’t tell me they’re making something dangerous and collapsed or something…」
「No… I can hear faint voices from inside. Haaah… Mizera’s down too… Lord really acts fast…」
「「「「Eh?」」」」
Then came a loud banging on the alchemy room door.
Well, as expected of a house built by Darwin.
The door was sturdy, durable, and didn’t budge at all.
「…What are we going to do?」
「What should we do? Maybe if we say we were both focused on our work… it’ll pass?」
「No way… They can probably hear this conversation too, and besides, I can’t move right now… my legs won’t work…」
Ah… right.
That’s why I’d been dozing in happiness, feeling Mizera’s weight on me.
「Hmm… haa. No, it’s no good after all.」
She tried to push herself up with her arms, but couldn’t, and fell back onto me again.
The sensation of her soft chest pressing against me once more was amazing.
「…Come to think of it, your body’s gotten a bit more toned.」
「Hm? Really?」
「Yes… back then, when you were changing clothes, sorry to say, but you looked a little pathetic.」
Ah, the nostalgic tale of our first contact.
Back then, I thought it was all over… but we sure ended up getting along well.
「Well, with all that training and sparring with everyone, I’d hope I’ve tightened up a bit at least. Hey, that tickles.」
「What’s wrong with that? I can’t move anyway, and I’m bored.」
Mizera traced her finger along my body, making a shiver run down my spine.
Then she raised her finger, pretending it was a tiny pair of legs, and began walking it across me while whispering softly, 「Tep tep tep」.
「O-oh…」
「You’re twitching. This is kind of fun.」
「You little… fine then, my turn.」
「Hyaaaah!」
When I ran my finger lightly down her back, she arched with a cry and pulled away, giving me another moment of that soft, pleasant sensation, until pain followed.
「You can’t just do that out of nowhere! You scared me!」
Hey, don’t pull on my ear like that!
And besides, you started it, Mizera!
「Then I’ll do it again.」
「Wait, hold on, hyaaah!」
This time I warned her first, but Mizera still arched her back just the same.
So that’s her weak spot, huh, ow!
「You’re not going to do it again, right? Say you won’t and I’ll let go!」
「Alright, alright, I won’t, I won’t!」
I gave in to the teary-eyed Mizera tugging on my ear and decided to stop for today.
…Though I’d make sure to enjoy it again another time.
「Honestly…」
Her exasperated face softened as she leaned on me again.
For a while, we sat in silence, with only the sound of knocking on the door and Wendy and the others’ voices echoing faintly.
Then Mizera spoke first.
「…So, what happened?」
「What do you mean?」
「You don’t have to hide it. Something happened with Lord-sama, didn’t it?」
I fell silent, unsure whether to tell her or not.
Of course, Mizera had the right to know, but still…
「…About the half-elf?」
「Wha….」
「I could tell. The way you’re being cautious around me means it has something to do with me, doesn’t it?」
Ah…
There’s no helping it.
If she’d already figured out that much, hiding it now would just seem strange.
So, I gathered my thoughts and told her what I’d heard from Origol.
「I see… so that’s why you had such a serious look on your face.」
「Hey, don’t just say “I see” like that…」
「What? Did it make you anxious or something?」
Gnnnn…
You’re absolutely right…
After all that, I started wondering if I could really make Mizera happy, considering everything that happened.
Just a little, though! Barely even worth mentioning!
「You’re such a fool… You always overthink things, you know?」
「Yeah, but still…」
「You don’t have to put up some front. Just stay the way you are, forceful, selfish, single-minded to a fault, yet thoughtful, kind, and strict with others. And a little perverted too. That’s perfectly fine.」
「That doesn’t sound like praise at all!」
Aside from “thoughtful” and “kind”, the rest didn’t sound like compliments!
Wait, am I really like that?
I mean, I’m a grown man, you know…
「I ‘am’ praising you. Because I fell in love with all of that.」
Mizera looked up and smiled, her expression so lovely and full of happiness that I couldn’t help but stare in awe.
When I didn’t respond, she tilted her head slightly, and my face started to heat up.
「Ah, are you blushing?」
「Of course I am. You just said you love me. How could I not?」
「Now that you mention it, you haven’t said it to me yet, have you?」
「…」
Of course, I know it’s important to say those words clearly as a man…
But saying it now, in this situation, is way too embarrassing!
「Hey, you’re not going to say it? You tell everyone else all the time… but not me?」
Mizera’s lips pouted slightly as she acted sulky.
But I could tell! The corner of her mouth was curving up, she was teasing me!
Still… if I don’t say it now, I’ll lose all dignity as a man!
「Ahh… maybe I should just give up on expecting it…」
「I love you…」
「Hm? What was that?」
「I said I love you… I love you, Mizera.」
「……Yeah. I love you too.」
Mizera closed her eyes, smiling softly as if to savor the moment, then gently returned my feelings.
「Fufu. Your face is red, you know?」
「Ah… how careless of me.」
「Oh, don’t be like that. There are still so many sides of you I want to learn about.」
「That’s kind of frustrating…」
「Fufufu. Guess I scored one on you. You’re actually kind of cute sometimes, you know that?」
I’d been confident that I was the more experienced one, so I thought I’d be the one leading…
But it seems I still have a few tricks left myself.
「…By the way, your face has been bright red for a while too, Mizera.」
「Eh!? Since when!?」
「From the part where you said you loved ‘everything’ about me.」
Oh, she was completely red.
Like a little kid who accidentally called their teacher “Mom”.
「That’s not true! No way!」
「It is. As red as Aina’s hair.」
「Nonsense! You’re just saying that because you lost the upper hand!」
「It’s trueee. Want me to show you a mirror?」
「Fine then! Show me!」
Alright, feast your eyes!
Behold your face, red all the way to your ears!
「…!」
「See?」
「M-maybe it just turned red ‘now’!」
「You’re such a bad liar… It’s easy to tell when your skin’s so pale and beautiful, Mizera.」
「Nnnngh…!」
Mizera puffed her cheeks in frustration, and I couldn’t help but grin, yes! I got one back!
Of course, I wasn’t about to stop there.
「There, there. Mizera-chan is so cute.」
「Shut up… Don’t pat my head…」
Her smooth hair brushed against my hand, slightly damp from sweat, giving it a different texture than usual.
Still, the warmth and comfort I felt from her outweighed everything else, so I decided to save the bath for later and simply savored the feeling for now.
-0-
「…Um, Master?」
「Ah… breathing softly… asleep…」
「「「「「「……」」」」」」
We completely forgot about the five waiting outside the door, and Mizera and I fell asleep, our tired bodies finally finding rest.
That night, I realized we hadn’t done anything while in our yukata, so when I hesitantly reached out to them later, everyone seemed far more passionate than usual.
By the next day, I’d burned out completely, pure white and exhausted, so we took the whole day off.
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