That Damn Kidnapper!
Some time passed.
“...”
“...”
Era sat directly across from me, chin propped in her hand, staring at me without a word. Her black eyes never wavered.
“...What are you doing?”
“Observing His Highness the Prince~”
She breathed in and out—slow, even, without a single blink.
“Ugh...”
I unconsciously averted my gaze from those sparkling eyes. I squeezed my own shut and turned my head, staying like that for a moment before thinking, Has she looked away yet? and cracking one eye open.
“...Hehe.”
“I caught your eye~”
“......”
Doesn’t this girl ever get tired of staring?
“...Hey.”
“Yes?”
“Is there something on my face?”
“Nooo~”
“Then why do you keep staring at me? Huh?”
“Because I want to look at you.”
Era answered with such brazen confidence that I was left speechless.
“...Hah.”
She was so shameless I couldn’t even find the words to respond.
“...Stop looking. It’s bothering me.”
“Hmm... I don’t want to.”
“...?”
“...Huh?”
“Why? Am I not allowed to look?”
Era tilted her head, the picture of pure innocence.
“...I never said you weren’t allowed.”
“Then it’s fine if I look, right?”
“...No, that’s not what I—”
“Hehe~”
Era cupped both cheeks in her hands.
“When I look at Your Highness’s face, it makes me feel all tingly right here~”
“......”
This girl is unbelievable.
I deliberately turned my gaze to the side.
“...Enough. Don’t look.”
“...Your Highness.”
“...What.”
“If you turn your head, I get to see your side profile.”
“......!”
I quickly faced forward again, only for her to say,
“If you look forward, I get to see your front.”
“......”
“If you look up, I can see your neck—”
“Hey!”
“Yesss~”
...There it was again—that innocent, I-don’t-know-anything smile.
Insane...
No matter which way I turned, it was hopeless.
...What the hell was I supposed to do?
I whipped my bound hands up and covered my face.
“Uh... Eh?”
“Now you can’t see, right?”
“Ehhh...”
Era let out a sulky whine, sounding genuinely upset.
“Ooo... Show meee...”
“...No?”
“Ehh...?”
“You told me not to look and when I said no, you got mad! It’s the same thing!”
“......You’re acting like a child.”
Who are you to talk?
This damn kidnapper.
“...That’s mean.”
I spread my fingers just a sliver and peeked through.
“Puuu...”
What I saw was Era with her lips pushed out in a pout.
...She really was sulking.
“...Are you mad?”
“You have to ask?”
“...”
She really was upset. For some reason, I felt a little bad. It was like the guilt of winning an argument against a three-year-old and feeling smug about it.
“...Okay, okay. I’ll move my hands.”
“Pii—”
I lowered my hands in defeat, but Era still didn’t look satisfied.
“...Tch.”
She seemed seriously offended.
“...Stop sulking. I’m sorry, alright? Hm?”
“...Are you really sorry?”
“Yeah, really.”
In truth I wasn’t all that sorry. Looking at Era now, the feeling wasn’t so much guilt as...
“Hmm...”
She was kind of cute.
...? What the hell was I thinking?
I had momentarily forgotten the reality of the situation.
This girl was the one who had kidnapped me. I was the hostage. I couldn’t let myself get swept up in her pace—
“Then could you grant me one request?”
A request...?
“...What is it.”
“Your Highness.”
“Tonight.”
“...?”
Era spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Can I sleep next to you?”
“......Cough!!”
I doubted my ears for a second. What did she just say?
“...What?”
“At night. Next to you. I want to sleep there.”
Each word was crystal clear.
Oh. I didn’t mishear.
“...No.”
I cut her off firmly.
“Why not?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“Because it’ll be cold. For Your Highness.”
I glanced around the room. Wind whistled through the gaps in the windows. There was only one blanket, thin and ragged.
...Well, it was true that it would be cold.
“...I’m not cold.”
“Not right now~ But at night this place gets really cold. The drafts are terrible.”
“Still no.”
“There’s only one blanket...”
Era pouted her lips slightly.
“What if Your Highness freezes to death?”
“I won’t die.”
“...But you’ll still be cold, won’t you?”
“...Your Highness... right...?”
“......”
“Fine! Stop it... We can... we can share it.”
The words tumbled out before I could stop them. Half a second later I realized what I’d said.
Wait a minute.
Something was very wrong here.
Era rested her cheeks in both hands and smiled slyly, eyes curving into crescents.
“Then you’ll have to stay right next to me, Your Highness~”
“......!!!”
It’s a trap! And I dug it myself...!
“...No, wait. That’s—”
“Your Highness was the one who suggested we share.”
“...!”
“It wasn’t me who said it~ It was Your Highness~”
Era wiggled her finger.
“You remember, don’t you?”
“......”
This damn kidnapper is something else...
“...Forget it. Just sleep by yourself.”
“Hmm?”
Era’s face suddenly fell.
“...Why? Your Highness said we should sleep together.”
“When did I—”
“We. Can. Share. It.”
She repeated my words exactly, syllable by syllable.
“...!”
“If we share the blanket, you have to be next to me.”
Era beamed again, bright and innocent.
“You have to take responsibility for what you said, Your Highness.”
“......”
There was no escape.
=================
“Lie down this way, Your Highness~”
In the end, Era lay down beside me. We split the single blanket in half.
“...I’ll only say this once.”
“Keep. A proper. Distance. While sleeping.”
“Yesss~”
The condition was maintaining a reasonable distance. Era nodded obediently. Almost too obediently—it made me suspicious. But what could I do?
Still, my worries proved pointless.
“...Zzz... Zzz...”
Within five minutes of pressing her back against me, Era was fast asleep.
...Huh?
I felt strangely hollow at how quickly she’d drifted off. After insisting so much on sleeping next to me, she’d passed out the moment she lay down?
“...”
...Well, whatever. It was fine.
“Good is good, I guess...”
I stared at the ceiling.
It really... was such a bizarre day.
And since I’d been possessed in this world,
it would probably stay bizarre from now on...
In the original story, Leon should be flirting with the heroines and living the dream right about now...
I had no idea what kind of situation this was.
===============
About twenty minutes later.
Swish—
I felt something stirring beside me and turned my head.
“...?”
Era was slowly inching toward me in her sleep. Unconsciously. Very, very slowly. But unmistakably in my direction.
Hey.
I shifted my body to the opposite side.
She can’t follow me here.
Ten minutes later.
Swish—
...She followed again.
What... does she have a tracking device or something?
No matter how many times I moved, she followed. Eventually she was pressed right up against me.
...After repeating the cycle, I finally hit a dead end.
Thud.
It’s the wall.
There was nowhere left to go. Era’s head had somehow come to rest on my shoulder.
“...Zzz... Zzz...”
Her breathing was perfectly even. She really was asleep.
She’s actually sleeping...?
I glanced down at her face.
She really is asleep.
It was a completely different expression from the one she wore during the day. Back then her face always looked like she was holding something back, restraining herself. Now every feature had relaxed.
She’s just a kid.
Like this, she seemed like an entirely different person from the wicked girl who had kidnapped me.
Sss— Hoo... Sss— Hoo...
Every breath made her thin stomach rise and fall. Her slightly flushed lips and beautiful black hair spilled across her face—
Enough. Look away. Now.
...Staring any longer felt far too dangerous.
After all, this was how I’d ended up in this mess after leaving those comments.
“...Done.”
I tried to turn my gaze away, but at that exact moment—
Swish— Era rolled over.
Swish. Her head lifted.
“......?”
“......?!”
Her face was suddenly right in front of mine.
“E... Ehh...!”
Less than a handspan away. Era stared at me with eyes still hazy from sleep.
“Uh... Uhh...”
It took her about two seconds to focus. Her dark pupils slowly sharpened on me.
Insane...
I couldn’t move. More precisely, the wall behind my back left me nowhere to retreat.
“...”
“...”
Five seconds of silence stretched between us.
“Um...”
Era spoke first.
“...Your Highness.”
“...”
“Did you watch me sleeping?”
“...You were the one crawling toward me.”
“But you did watch, didn’t you?”
Era slowly sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes with the back of her hand.
“No?”
Her jet-black hair was a tangled mess.
“...I had no choice. It was right in front of my face.”
“How long did you watch?”
“...Just a moment.”
“Liar~”
“I really only looked for a second.”
“Then why...”
Era looked at me. Even half-asleep, her gaze was sharp.
“...is your face so red, Your. Highness?”
Cold sweat broke out on my back.
“...It’s not red.”
“It is red~”
“How can you even tell in a dark room?”
“Do I need to see it to know?”
Era smiled faintly. With those still-sleepy eyes, only the corners of her mouth slowly curved upward, and the expression somehow suited her.
“Hehe~”
“...Stop laughing.”
“Your Highness.”
Swish— She leaned in closer, elbow braced on the floor, pushing her face toward mine. Closer than before.
Uh...? Uhhh?
Hey, hey, hey hey hey hey!!!
My heart slammed against my ribs. Era’s obsidian eyes stared straight into mine. Our noses were so close our breaths mingled.
Did this girl even understand how dangerous this distance was?
“Hmmm...”
“Did I sleep prettily?”
“What...?”
“I’m embarrassed too, you know...”
“It’s my first time showing someone how I sleep...”
“So what’s the answer?”
“...Go to sleep.”
“If you answer, I’ll sleep.”
“...Just sleep already.”
“If. You. An. Swer. Me. I’ll. Sleep.”
She enunciated each syllable with deliberate clarity.
“...Ughhh.”
And as if that weren’t enough, she fixed those large eyes on me and waited.
Oh, come on...
What was she trying to do to someone who literally had a wall at their back?
“...You slept prettily.”
Era froze.
“......Yes?”
“I said you slept prettily. You heard me.”
...God, this was mortifying.
“......”
Era hung her head. Her ears flushed bright red. The blush seemed to spread all the way down her neck.
“......”
“......”
For a long while neither of us could speak. We simply sat there, both red-faced, heads bowed.
“...U-um, what do I do...”
“...What do you mean?”
“It’s Your Highness’s fault for being too... honest...”
“...?”
“My heart is...”
Era tapped her chest lightly.
“...It’s pounding so hard.”
“......”
What the hell did I even do?
Swish— Without another sound, Era returned to her spot and lay down. This time with her back to me.
“Uuu...”
I watched her back. She kept squirming and wriggling beneath the blanket, as if throwing a silent tantrum.
Why did I say that?
“U... Hehe...”
At least she looks happy.
Then it was fine, I supposed.
====================
The night passed, and morning arrived with the sun high in the sky.
“Hmm~ Hmm hmm~ Hmm~”
Era hummed while stirring a pot of porridge. The tune was small and off-key, but she seemed even more cheerful than last night.
I leaned against the wall, exhausted from staying awake the entire night.
I didn’t sleep at all.
Swish— Era carried the bowl over and sat in front of me. She stirred the porridge once, then stared intently at my face.
“Your Highness, you have dark circles~”
“...I know.”
“Couldn’t sleep because of me?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Liar~”
“...!”
I wished she would stop automatically assuming I was lying.
Era set the bowl down and looked at me. Even right after waking up, her eyes were clear.
“Your Highness.”
“...”
“Last night.”
“...What.”
Era spoke softly.
“I was nervous.”
“...?”
“...About what.”
“My heart.”
She glanced down at her chest, then back at me.
“It kept... pounding and trembling.”
“......”
“...So.”
“So?”
“Why are you telling me that?”
Era looked at me for a moment, then smiled with her usual “hehe.”
“I was wondering if Your Highness felt the same~”
Swish. She scooped up a spoonful of porridge and held it to my lips.
“Eat. It’s getting cold.”
“...I’ll eat it myself.”
“Your hands are tied, remember?”
“...!”
When had she tied them again?
“Ah~”
Era wiggled the spoon playfully in front of my mouth.
“...Ah.”
In the end I opened my mouth. It was plain white porridge with no bark mixed in.
“...Ugh.”
It wasn’t particularly good. Just warm and bland.
“Is it good?”
“...It’s alright.”
“Hehe.”
Era scooped another spoonful.
“Ah~”
“......”
“Your Highness, ah~”
“...Hey.”
“Yesss~?”
“...You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you.”
“Doing what?”
“Everything.”
“......Hihi.”
She didn’t answer. Instead she simply held the spoon to my lips again.
“...Ah~”
She was smiling. So brightly.
“...”
I tried to calm my burning face and thought to myself.
This... this...
This damn kidnapper!