Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Spirits React to Human Emotions
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Pine Granasia felt an uncomfortable sensation as she watched her spirit.
"Stop, Whitey... Stop."
The man sprawled flat on the floor and the white wolf.
Whitey lifted Licht's helmet with her paws, licking only the burned areas intently.
"Huff, huff."
Whitey panted roughly over and over.
She had already pinned Licht down and was rubbing her scent all over him from above.
'...He's mine.'
Pine lay beside them, biting her lip.
Two people—a man and a woman—forced to stay close due to the short length of the handcuffs.
Pine was content just being by Licht's side.
Being next to him made time fly by, filling her with a sense of peace.
But now, an unwelcome intruder had made one side of her chest throb painfully.
Whitey was a female too, wasn't she? Was the saying that animals love handsome men coming true?
Her own spirit was blatantly fawning over Licht.
A haughty wolf who ignored everyone else—why was she acting like this?
'Whitey... please... stop...'
Pine felt like her territory was being invaded.
Licht's face was already glistening with saliva; another female was taking over the spots she applied ointment to every day.
"It tickles. You can stop now, Whitey."
Come to think of it, the spirit's behavior was odd.
Just moments ago, she had been playfully gnawing on Licht's legs or hands, acting like it was all a game.
But after staring at his face for a long time, Whitey had pounced on him just like when she was first summoned.
If it was joy at seeing him again, that would make sense.
'This feels weird...'
It was almost like she was the one licking Licht with her tongue—a strange sense of déjà vu.
Spirits reacted to their master's emotions. Maybe Whitey was worried about his burn scars.
Dogs licked wounds to heal them, after all.
"Stop licking... Whitey... you're like an anteater...?"
"Whiiiine."
She wouldn't listen to her master's commands.
Was this how Licht felt watching over Blackie?
Her face burned hotter, and she wanted to crawl into a hole.
Just as Blackie resembled Licht, Whitey resembled Pine herself.
"Your eyes are pretty, Whitey."
His praise for her spirit made a weight thud heavily in her chest.
An oppressive feeling that she couldn't get up from the floor.
Golden eyes that gleamed, fur and tail as white as snow in winter.
"You're finally awake."
"..."
She caught herself imagining something indecent: what if she were the one straddling him in Whitey's place?
At that moment, as if reacting to Pine's emotions, Whitey hopped off the man.
"Pine...?"
Licht finally managed to sit up. She resented him for cooing sweetly at another female.
"...Did you like it?"
Words contrary to her true feelings spilled out like thorns. Why did she keep doing this?
It was all because of this man named Licht. Not because of her.
"Yeah, I like dogs."
Pine bit her lower lip.
Whitey wagged her tail furiously as he gently stroked her head, panting with her ears flattened.
"That's not what I meant, Licht."
Why was he so oblivious? Pine fiddled with the choker around her neck as if to retort.
"...You flirt."
She hated him. He'd put a choker on her, invited her as his partner to the social hall—shouldn't he do something for her?
She'd even worried about him getting into danger inside the academy.
Pine's gaze grew icier by the moment.
True to being the daughter of Locke Granasia, it felt just like when he was around.
"Then, should I do the same for you?"
His large, rough hand suddenly touched her head.
A bumpy, hard texture. Clearly from gripping a sword for years.
Stronger than anyone, yet gentler than anyone.
"Eek..."
She had wanted him to pet her, but his touch always felt too stimulating.
A good scent wafted from him. Maybe because she'd marked him thoroughly just before, or so she thought.
But beneath it was the alluring scent of the man himself.
It numbed her reason. Her ears folded back involuntarily, her tail twitching wildly—it was mortifying. Pine swallowed hard.
"Pine, is it okay to get jealous of a spirit?"
"I... I did bad. So... don't touch my ears... anymore..."
Even squeezing her eyes shut, his voice pierced her ears with a tingling ring.
Why was this happening? Was it some epidemic? Or because the handcuffs brought them too close?
She felt like she'd cross a line without realizing it if this kept up.
Even covering her face with her arms couldn't hide it; her burning cheeks were infuriating.
"...If you're satisfied now, let's really find a way out of this room."
Pet me more.
Instead of the honest plea, a wistful sigh escaped as his hand left her.
Pine's reactions were strange.
"2:11 PM... Should we set the clock to this?"
She showed no response even as I fiddled with the clock hands. She acted like a broken wind-up doll.
"..."
"Pine?"
Her wolf ears folded like paper corners, head bowed low.
"Hic."
Her hands clung tightly to my arm, refusing to let go.
It couldn't be from the head pat—she wasn't startled before.
We've done it plenty of times. No reason for it to change now.
'Did I touch her ears too much...?'
They were so soft and squishy—I couldn't help it. It was an act of God.
Neatly groomed and pretty; maybe it felt that way because it was Pine.
They seemed different from other beastkin ears.
"Licht... th-this clock... overlapping time."
With a cute hiccup, Pine finally spoke.
2:11 PM. The hour and minute hands overlapped.
Come to think of it, why not write it as 2:11?
It contradicted the "night with a blue moon" description.
Maybe 02:11 AM was wrong.
Just in case, I tried other times when hands overlapped, moving toward night.
7:37 PM, 9:49 PM, and finally...
"...Setting it to midnight opens it."
12:00 AM.
Click. The bottom of the wall clock popped open.
So that's how it was. The speech pattern seemed familiar.
The Heavenly Demon and Dennis's speech patterns.
Maybe those two planned this escape room game.
"Licht... is this a cloth scrap?"
A small piece of fabric came out of the clock. While I read the note, Pine snatched it first.
"Let's have Whitey sniff it out."
A wolf's nose was sharper than a human's.
Pine had a good nose too, but there must be a reason to use the spirit.
I didn't want to hand her another mystery cloth of unknown origin either.
"Grrr..."
Whitey sniffed the cloth scrap a few times, then growled at the curtains beside us.
"The source of this scrap must be those curtains."
The color matched, the pattern was nearly identical, and there were even scissors marks.
The moment I reached for the nearby curtain.
"Ah, whoa! S-slowly..."
Clank. A metallic sound echoed through the room.
I forgot. We're still handcuffed together.
The curtain I reached for was right behind where Pine stood.
My hand ended up next to her head as a result.
"..."
At this breath-close distance, Pine bit her lower lip in tension.
I only meant to pull the curtain aside.
The ample presence felt below. My gaze and balance were pulled like magnets; I couldn't continue.
"...Gasp."
Each hiccup made Pine's body jolt, our reflected faces flushing without needing to compete who first.
"...Licht."
Pine bit her lower lip. Was it because our bodies touched?
Or was she dissatisfied with the situation?
Her trembling breaths made my heart race.
I leaned my face closer to hers. Her golden eyes widened like balloons.
No one was watching anyway.
What expression would the Pine I knew make if I stole those quietly mumbling lips?
Just as our breaths were about to mingle as one.
Another interrupter barged in.
A mischievous male voice echoed through the room, as if someone was watching from somewhere.
I didn't want it to end like this.
Lately, Pine's jealousy had been intensifying; I wanted to soothe her.
"Pine, believe me with this."
Instead of going forward, I tilted my head up and lightly nipped one of her wolf ears with my lips.
No kiss, but this should be fine.
Only the soft, squishy texture lingered on my lips.
A ticklish sensation that kept tugging my mouth upward.
"...Ahh!"
As the brief yet eternal moment ended, Pine's legs gave out. She covered her face with both hands and sank down.
With a scream unlike any I'd heard from her before.
Time passed, and Pine and I escaped the room.
"Licht, what on earth did you do in there to get disqualified?"
Tell me about it. Why were we disqualified?
Technically, we were ejected for rule violation. Something about no longer being broadcast-safe.
"Laplace was watching, so it would've been fine if you hadn't done anything too weird..."
The blue-haired man sighed as he looked at us.
Dennis used the master key to unlock our handcuffs and added to the story.
"...Hic, gasp."
Pine had been hiccupping nonstop since earlier, chugging water to settle her stomach.
"Drink slowly..."
She was always like this. She didn't get startled or embarrassed when she initiated it herself.
"As expected of Licht—you didn't unlock the cuffs on purpose. Perfect timing."
"Pardon...?"
Dennis stared at us intently, then broke into a huge grin.
Didn't unlock on purpose? What did that mean...?
"Huh? Did you not solve the clock puzzle?"
"We did...?"
I furrowed my brow at the odd feeling.
All we got from the clock was the curtain scrap.
"...Ah, sorry. I forgot to put the key in your room."
No way. Not from Dennis, the original protagonist.
He wouldn't make that mistake.
"Mardol, did you see the key by any chance?"
I asked her, who was drinking water while wearing the master piece.
"I-I definitely didn't see any star-shaped key..."
Pine, don't drink water with the glass helmet on. It's spilling everywhere.
So she was the culprit. She must have a reason for lying that I didn't know.
"...Understood."
I'd committed the crime of ravishing her ear too, so I decided to keep quiet.
"Oh, right. Licht."
As my mind tangled like a ball of yarn on how to cheer her up.
"Big Bro Locke is at the academy right now."
One piece of bad news arrived.
The Wolf King who bit the sun and swallowed the moon.
"His Majesty the Emperor...?"
He was reportedly desperate to find me.