<p>"Ah, damn it." I muttered after seeing the dice total land exactly on five. I had only one penalty space six squares back, and the odds of hitting it three times in a row while rolling two dice were absurdly low. Yet here I was.</p>
"Ugh..." I wasn't exactly a board game expert, but I hadn't expected the gap between us to grow this wide. I had no real intention of beating her, but after patiently teaching her that each face of the die had a different number, watching myself lose so badly now felt embarrassing.
I reached for the drink on the table, throat suddenly dry, but she got there first and took the straw in her mouth. Glug... glug... Every time she swallowed the cool liquid, I felt my own thirst ease. The reason was simple.
"My turn again?"
"Yeah, it is."
"...Hehe."
Tap. Roll, roll, roll...
It was because we were connected right now, sharing every emotion and sensation. That was also why playing a board game with just the two of us didn't feel boring. The amount of information we exchanged while linked was on another level. It still felt strange, even to me, despite this being my own ability. I had never had the chance to experience it calmly during training with the Field Team Leader; I was always too busy getting hit or trying not to get hit.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to dislike the feeling of sharing emotions with me, so things were going according to plan so far.
"Same number again. You said I get to roll one more time, right?"
"Again?"
"But those are the rules you taught me, Counselor."
"...Yeah, that's right."
She glanced up at me sideways, picked up the dice, and after shifting uncomfortably on my lap, leaned her back fully against my chest.
"..."
Normally I would have panicked and pushed her away, but the reason I wasn't reacting even though she was this close was because she currently looked like a small child who could fit completely in my arms. Her current appearance was probably because my mental image of board games was tied to something children played. She had already changed forms multiple times to tempt me, so it wasn't just about matching my ideal type.
Still, was it really okay to just sit here playing board games like this...?
"Counselor, you're thinking about something else."
My doubts and slight frustration must have reached her, because she grabbed my sleeve with her tiny hand and tugged, demanding I focus on the game.
"Ah... sorry. Is it my turn?"
"Mm, no. I already reached the finish."
"Huh?"
I had thought there was still a chance to turn things around, but the dice she had rolled again showed five and six. Her piece was already sitting at the goal.
"Does that mean... I win again?"
"Yeah. Congratulations."
"Yay~!"
The faint spark of joy rising in my chest was clearly hers, yet even as she threw both hands up and smiled brightly, the feeling itself was surprisingly small. Throughout the game her emotions had barely fluctuated. Still, the fact that she could feel genuine happiness at winning was enough to give me hope.
"Counselor, you're really bad at board games."
"You're just good at them. And I had terrible luck this time."
"Ehehe... Is that it? Then can you win the next round?"
"...Ugh."
We had already played three rounds. I had only won the very first one by a hair because she was still learning the rules. The gap was widening with every game.
Don't overthink it. It's just a simple game that relies on luck. I was just unlucky, that's all.
"Alright... How about we play with a wager this time?"
"A wager?"
"We each bet one thing we want. The loser has to grant the winner's request. As long as it's nothing too difficult for either of us. Sounds more fun that way, right?"
At my suggestion she was already imagining what she would ask for, acting as if victory was certain. The good news was that while she could feel everything I felt, only I could read the actual content of her thoughts.
She won't ask me to let her go outside, will she...?
"Just so you know, I can't grant any requests about going outside."
"Uuu..."
I wished she would stop looking so dejected in that child's form. It made me feel guilty.
"Then I want to eat the food you cook again, Counselor."
"If it's just that... sure."
"What about you, Counselor?"
She gave up the difficult request surprisingly easily and asked what I wanted. She looked confident she would win, but at least she was polite enough to ask.
"I'll tell you after the game. And again, no cheating. Got it?"
"Okay. By the way, this form is really comfortable."
"Huh...?"
"I mean, every time I got close before, you always tried to push me away. But now you're talking to me so gently."
Well... she looked exactly like a little kid right now. Even her atmosphere and tone had shifted to match the appearance. Those long, pale-purple strands of hair and eyes that looked like they belonged to a cartoon character made it impossible not to speak softly.
"So you really do prefer this look?"
"...Of course not."
"Yeah... You didn't even look flustered. I have nothing else to say."
Wait, I didn't make a weird face just now, did I? Hold on...
"Wait a second. You can tell when your appearance changes?"
"Huh? Of course I—"
"...?"
"...Huh?"
She froze as if something had broken, then reached up and grabbed both of my cheeks with her small hands. Her tiny fingers squirmed against my face for a moment before she spoke in a voice that sent a chill down my spine.
"Counselor, what are you talking about? I've been in this form the whole time."
"What...?"
She was still wearing the face of a child, yet the voice that came out was completely mature and calm.
"Counselor... are you okay?"
"...That's right. No, was it?"
A sudden dizziness hit me. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my fingers to my temple. By the time I opened them again, the small body that had fit so easily in my arms had changed.
The biggest reason I knew before I even saw it was the soft, heavy sensation pressing firmly against my chest and the firm thighs now wrapped tightly around my waist.
"...That's right, Counselor. Are you really going to keep your eyes closed when your favorite version of me is right in front of you?"
I tried to push her away with one hand on instinct, but she didn't budge. The fact that her small frame refused to move only made my head throb harder.
"Ugh... Sorry."
I had no choice but to open my eyes. Through the curtain of pale-purple hair hanging beside my face, I saw her now looking up at me from deep within my embrace. Her arms were locked around my neck as if she never wanted to let go, and with every movement the curves of her adult body pressed even closer against mine. A sweet, feminine scent rose from the deep cleavage of her dress, and I desperately tried to suppress the reaction in my lower body.
Then something unexpected happened.
"Huu...?"
The seductive smile on her face suddenly twisted into a blank, dazed expression. Both cheeks flushed bright red.
"Why... am I...? It feels good... Huh...? Why?"
Startled, she quickly let go of my neck and pulled away. Without even caring that I was watching, she lightly squeezed her own large breasts through the dress a few times with one hand while the other rubbed her lower abdomen. When she couldn't recreate the same sensation, she bit her lip in confusion.
...Thanks to my training with the Field Team Leader, the connection hadn't broken even when she had been about to charm me. That meant the sensation she had just felt was mine. She had pressed those heavy breasts—almost perfectly copied from Harpy—against my chest, and blood had rushed downward. When a man's body was stimulated by soft, warm feminine flesh, there was no helping the reaction. She had simply received that same stimulation through our link and was now completely flustered.
Thanks to that, I had regained control without needing to use the restraint around her neck. But...
She was still touching herself.
"If you touch your chest like that in front of other people... of course it's embarrassing."
"Embarrassing...? Ah, right now... I'm embarrassed...? Embarrassed?"
Her lewd hand movements finally stopped, but her breathing grew heavier and the blush on her face deepened.
"Eut, why...?"
The way she unconsciously touched herself in front of me was embarrassing even for me to watch. She was now genuinely feeling that shame because of our connection. Of course, that was the correct reaction in this situation.
"Ah, don't tell me..."
I finally understood. I hadn't meant for this to happen, but she was learning through my emotions—both sexual arousal and shame. The reason she was so flustered was because she had never felt anything even remotely similar before.
"...Counselor... help me... I'm feeling strange..."
"...!"
Strange, she said. Even now, with tears faintly welling in her eyes, she looked at me with a dangerously seductive expression. Still... ignoring a request for help was far too difficult for me.
"...Just wait a moment."
The solution was simple. The unfamiliar feelings she were experiencing right now were mine. If I could quickly calm my mind...
"Haa, haa..."
"..."
She leaned forward with both hands on the table, breathing hard. From this angle her deep cleavage was pushed right in front of my eyes. The unconscious, everyday eroticism of her showing such an embarrassed expression was far more stimulating than when she deliberately tried to seduce me. It came with a small sense of guilt, like I was secretly peeking, which only made it worse.
I had gone on too long. Honestly, I just couldn't tear my eyes away from the deep valley created by breasts that large.
If I put it in there, it would definitely feel good...
"Haaht... Ah...?"
"...Ah."
The moment that dark thought crossed my mind, she swayed and collapsed onto the floor. A wave of worry washed over me and instantly cooled my arousal. Thanks to that, the commotion didn't last long.
"Haa... haa... Thank you... Counselor."
When I took her hand and helped her up, she thanked me obediently. But she hesitated before leaning toward me again, as if instinctively sensing danger.
During our connection her emotions had barely fluctuated. I had thought it was because the board game was boring. But maybe emotions themselves were unfamiliar to her. Of course, she had never needed them for instinct or feeding. Learning emotions, huh...
"You remember the wager, right?"