The Mirror's Truth
Ah, I bit my lip.
"...Right. I understand this is your way of relieving stress."
"Hic..."
Urgh... my legs.
I hadn't raised my voice at all. I'd only muttered quietly enough that it shouldn't have carried through the silent house, yet the girl already nestled in my arms seemed to lose all strength in her legs. She twisted and leaned her full weight against me.
Of course, I knew this wasn't from any sense of responsibility or regret. So I didn't stop voicing my thoughts.
"But does that give you the right to cause trouble for other people just to satisfy your own urges? You need to hold back."
"Ha... but..."
"But what? Look at your face right now."
I grabbed her chin and turned her toward the mirror beside the shoe rack.
"Hyaah..."
The reflection showed her desperately trying—and failing—to suppress a vulgar smile as the corners of her mouth trembled nonstop. Her cheeks and the tips of her ears were flushed deep red. Her eyes, once sharp enough to make me wary at our first meeting, were now completely unfocused and slack.
"This is definitely not a situation where you should be smiling."
"Haa... haa..."
She had turned her back to me in a feeble attempt to hide, but even she couldn't deny what the mirror revealed.
This disheveled appearance... is that really me? It feels unpleasant... but why is my heart pounding so hard...?
"You already know, don't you? Pretending not to at this point?"
"..!!"
I pressed my fingers into both of her cheeks, kneading them like dough. Her expression grew even more undone. She was allowing herself to show a face no woman should ever reveal in front of a man—especially one of the opposite sex. Yet the more ridiculous and ugly her reflection became, the more uncontrollably delighted she looked.
I leaned in close to her ear and gave her the answer once more.
"Like I said earlier, it's because you're..."
"..."
"...a hopeless pervert."
"!!"
Ah... ah, ugh... u-urgh...
Her shoulders and lips trembled violently. Her face wore the expression I should have been making—the look of someone who had done something irreversible. But more than that—
"..."
So I could make a face like this too.
It wasn't only her reflection that looked different. My own eyes and mouth, usually forced into a smile, now rested calmly. My gaze no longer darted anxiously; it stayed fixed on one point. I suddenly thought I looked better than usual. Then—
"Wait... don't tell me..."
I noticed her standing in that awkward, half-crouched posture people get when they desperately need the bathroom, her entire face flushed far redder than before. I couldn't help but flinch.
"...Ah... uwaah..."
The way her lips quivered as she stood there helplessly didn't look like acting. She seemed just as shocked as I was that things had gone this far.
Really... I suspected, but...
"Don't tell me you actually came?"
"..!!"
Thud!
The moment I released her chin, she collapsed onto the floor between the shoes.
"..."
She neither confirmed nor denied it, but the way her hips twitched and continued to tremble faintly was more than enough confirmation.
No... from that reaction, it's practically certain.
"Hah."
I reached out to help her up, then stopped. My gaze had dropped to my own pants, now unmistakably tented. In this surreal moment, I found myself wondering—
If it's now... would anything be okay? If it's now, could I set aside the usual mask of the good, patient boy and do whatever I want...?
"..."
Normally, I would have suppressed the impulse. I had spent my life enduring through sheer force of habit, always finding excuses to run away no matter what state she was in. I had always done so. But now I wondered if I really had to. If I had properly gotten angry at her crossing the line, if I had corrected her properly instead of being underestimated... maybe Nero wouldn't have had to suffer.
"Huu... a-eut?"
During her collapse, the rabbit-ear headband on her head had slipped. I silently fixed it for her. She looked up at me with wide, slightly frightened eyes. Then her gaze met my reflection in the mirror, and she let out a short, dazed breath.
"...Ah."
I slowly leaned down until my lips were right beside her ear and asked kindly,
"What do you want?"
"..."
Actually, that question was too vague. I already knew what she wanted. A more precise question would be better.
"...Tell me how you want me to treat you."
"You're... smiling..."
Even to that gentle question, she only murmured blankly.
...Smiling?
I glanced at the mirror again.
"..."
Surprisingly, I really was smiling. My eyes were endlessly calm, but my mouth curved upward in a way I had never seen on myself before. It wasn't a smile born of joy, happiness, or gratitude. Nor was it the awkward, forced smile I usually wore. How to describe it...
Should I call it... pleased?
"Say it with your own mouth."
Or perhaps... delighted.
What I did know for certain was that this feeling wasn't unpleasant.
"It would be wise to speak while I'm still giving you the chance."
"...Y-yes..."
When I casually patted her bare shoulder, she reacted as if burned, her body going rigid. She had even slipped into formal speech. I wondered if this was really all right.
"Please... command me... to crawl... all the way to the bedroom... Hng..."
"...Good answer."
When I stroked her head, she trembled again, looking genuinely happy—like some small animal. It was almost cute.
"U-urgh... hngh..."
Truthfully, I had already heard her true desire the moment I asked the second time. She probably understood too—that I wasn't asking because I didn't know, but because I wanted to hear those shameful words from her own lips.
"Haa... hng... haa..."
"You're already panting like that just from saying it?"
"I'm... sorry..."
She possessed a natural talent for dominating others, yet she was so intoxicated by being dominated that she forgot that fact entirely. It looked unnatural. But thinking about it, perhaps it made perfect sense. Nothing is more boring than something too easy, and nothing is more thrilling than something forbidden. That was why she—who could create a flawless paradise for herself with a single thought—was now trembling and soaking the floor at my every word.
Of course, the biggest reason was simply that she was a pervert.
Even though we weren't on the same team, she was technically my junior at work and the same age. For someone like that to speak so formally while in this state... not just anyone could do it. Finding pleasure in destroying her own worth—I had never even heard of such a thing.
"Ah, but I'm sorry. Thanks to you, I still haven't had a chance to wash up."
"...Gulp..."
Even so... she would probably be happy about this too.
"So could you wait right here in the entrance for a bit? It feels wrong to just let a pervert who came so pathetically from being scolded into my house like it's nothing. I'll think about it."
"...Y-yes... yes..."
Just minutes ago she had boldly walked into my living room. Now she was trapped in this narrow entrance hall, even though no new walls had been built. All because of a few words from me.
This feeling of controlling the situation was something I had never experienced before. It was unfamiliar, but not unpleasant. In fact, I thought it was rather nice.
"The door is open, so if you want to leave, I won't stop you."
"...Ah..."
"While I'm washing up, think it over carefully. Whether you're really okay with this."
I suspected she wouldn't leave, but this was my final courtesy. Though perhaps such kindness wasn't necessary... If she changed her mind and left before I finished, I could pretend none of this happened. Of course, I would still demand an apology. But if she stayed until the end, I would take it as permission to do whatever I pleased. That was why I told her to think it through.
"A-ah."
She really... left... huh.
The gaze clinging to my back was incredibly sticky.
...Don't tell me she's interpreting this as some kind of neglect play too?