Between the Wolf and the Dragon -2-
Between the Wolf and the Dragon -2-
Max is positioned between the wolf and the dragon.
And undeservedly, he's even receiving their gaze.
As if they don't want to see each other, they fix their heads toward Max, making it no small burden.
If only it ended there, how fortunate would that be.
Due to the principle of power, Max was forced into a position to advance the conversation.
"You two are friends, right?"
"No."
"That makes no sense!"
At Max's question, Flora and Ellen convulsively deny it.
Is a strong denial an affirmation? Or a real denial? A conundrum.
"Then how did you end up like this?"
"I came to see oppa. You said I could come anytime."
When Flora answered as if she'd been waiting, Ellen was dumbfounded.
Max is older than Flora Crimsonhowl. So calling him oppa is a correct address following nature.
But from Ellen's perspective, it was an unexpectedly adorable address coming from the mouth of Flora Crimsonhowl, who had been her rival for three years.
"Oh, oppa...? Oppa! What relationship do you have with this vixen!"
Ellen showed curiosity, but Max, who received the question, had no chance to open his mouth.
A 3rd-rank caught between two 5th-ranks is like a shrimp caught between whales. Flora's reaction was faster and she took control of the atmosphere.
"Oppa? Why do you call him oppa?"
"What business is it of yours! Lying about coming to see family, what lewd thing are you planning to do!"
"Ugh, lewd...!? Oppa and I are family! You don't know anything...!"
Flora denied it, but Ellen had a confident look in her eyes.
It was a gaze full of meaning.
The woman before her was neither a wolf nor a milk cow! Flora Crimsonhowl was a fiery fox!
It seemed she was thinking something along those lines.
"This vixen was rambling about marriage in the health room, says what she did."
"I said it's not! We're just family!"
"Don't bother hiding it. Our oppa is pretty decent among men. I can vouch for that since I've been on night drives and to hotels with him."
Ellen knows well what kind of imagination this remark will spark in Flora.
That's why her face flushed with heat. Because she knows shame. Rather, she tends to be more sensitive than others.
Nevertheless, if she could embarrass Flora, she was willing to endure this much humiliation.
See.
Thanks to that, a new side of that haughty girl is revealed, isn't it.
'Huh?'
But what burst out from Ellen's heart wasn't exhilaration but brief embarrassment and surprise.
Flora's expression was indeed new, but it wasn't a delicious face of embarrassment.
"You... did you mess with my family? Surely not coercively?"
From Flora, a pressure was felt as if daring her to babble again.
A presence that would burn her to a crisp depending on the case, making one's mouth go dry.
'This vixen. So she can make a face like this when angry. She'll make a good catch for a husband.'
Ellen gulped down her saliva.
Honestly, she was slightly intimidated. The aura was so eerie that she unconsciously bit her lower lip.
Still, she had no intention of backing down.
If Flora truly came at her, that was what she wanted.
"If I had used coercive means, what would you──"
Just as Ellen was about to drop a bombshell.
Max clapped his hands sharply! to focus their attention.
"Okay. Stop."
Max listened to the conversation and understood the situation between the two.
As a result, his head throbbed with a headache.
'Complicated.'
Flora had informed Ellen that she and Max were family, but she had an attitude of not wanting to detail family matters like her mother's remarriage to Ellen, who didn't care about external affairs.
Ellen seemed to be trying to drag out and then tell the truth that she was working part-time here, delaying as much as possible.
Max's telekinesis reaches out to the computer desk. It brings over a can of candy.
He peels two and puts them in Flora and Ellen's mouths.
"Now, no talking until you finish the candy."
As soon as Max's words fell, the girls acted.
Kkadeuk!
As if they had an agreement, Ellen and Flora crushed the candy with their teeth, chewed it crunchily, and swallowed.
Seeing that they still seemed to have a lot to say, Max was speechless.
"···."
He felt it now and during their exchange, but weren't the two of them subtly well-matched?
"First, listen to me. I'll explain everything one by one. Okay?"
Thanking the two who nodded slightly in affirmation, Max selected the sentences swirling in his head.
"I should tell Ellen first."
"What?"
"Flora and I are family. Though it hasn't been long in terms of time."
"What are you talking about? Is oppa a Crimsonhowl person?"
Before answering, Max asked Flora for permission.
Flora, who had been thinking for a while, nodded with a sullen face.
"Since I cut ties with the family, I never mention it outside, but this is my name."
Max took out his ID and showed it.
Ellen confirmed the 'Steiger' attached to Max's name.
"···No wonder you seemed different from the mercenary I imagined. You're from a wealthy family."
"It has nothing to do with me now, but on the family register, this is it."
"So how are oppa and this vixen family?"
As a Clements, she might know, but Ellen seemed uninterested in troubles between families.
"My father remarried Flora's mother."
"!"
"Though I don't see my father and have cut ties, on paper, Flora and I are family."
"Haah... what a surprise."
Having understood cleanly, Ellen looked down and let out a deep breath.
From the way she carefully rolled her eyes, it seemed she felt she had made a mistake.
"Oppa. I want to ask one too."
"Sure. Anything."
Flora joined the conversation, and Max naturally listened.
"What did you mean earlier by night drives and... ho, hotel?"
He expected the first question to be how they knew each other, but it deviated from expectations.
Just like he did with Flora, Max asked Ellen for permission.
"Ellen. You say this directly. If I do it, it's hard to draw the line on what's okay."
"Hmm."
"Should I just do it?"
"No. Since I spat it out, I'll handle the cleanup."
"Don't provoke unnecessarily."
"···I know that."
Ellen fidgeted with her horns with an embarrassed face and began to spill the facts.
As she explained, it also led to how Max and Ellen knew each other.
She conveyed that she was working part-time.
She briefly told what happened while following a request. The missing parts were filled in by Max's explanations.
When the story came to a period.
The tense atmosphere softened.
"···That's a relief. Really."
At Flora's genuinely relieved appearance, Ellen's eyes twitched.
"What's so relieving."
"Because I'd hate it to death if you got together with oppa and became my sister-in-law."
"Oh~ hearing that, it's a bit appealing now?"
"Don't even dream."
Even though they bickered, the atmosphere wasn't as suffocating as before.
Max also felt relieved.
'I almost died.'
Max left the two bickering and got up to head to the refrigerator.
He brewed coffee and also prepared the iced coffee Ellen likes.
'And Flora... ah.'
Max, who was rummaging through the fridge, lifted his head.
"Flora. Want to step out for a bit?"
The scuffle continuing on the sofa abruptly stopped, and the two looked at Max.
"Huh? Where?"
"There's only coffee in the office, nothing for Flora to drink. Let's go buy something."
Before Flora could answer, she glanced sideways.
Ellen, who received the glance, chuckled.
"You little brat. I have social awareness too. I don't intend to intrude, so go ahead."
Max thanked Ellen, who said she'd watch the office, and put his outerwear back on.
Flora hesitantly followed him out.
As Max went down the stairs, he continued casual conversation with Flora.
"Did the Academy end early today? So you came to see me?"
"Yeah. Sorry for showing up suddenly."
"Why sorry? I said you could come anytime."
Flora's ears perk up.
Strangely, Max's words gave the conviction that he was conveying facts without embellishment.
A completely different feeling from people who spew greasy sentences to try to curry favor.
"···Really?"
"Of course. I've been waiting for you to come since then. Ah! There's also a gift for you and your mother, so take it before you go."
"Gift? Why all of a sudden?"
"How could I just stay still after receiving all those side dishes."
"Mother prepared them. I didn't do anything..."
"Bringing them is labor too. How much strength did your visits give me in this lonely office? And it's not a big gift."
Flora couldn't answer and followed Max into the convenience store.
"Anything you want to drink?"
Flora thought for a moment and grabbed a fruit juice. As she tried to pull out a card, Max quickly went to the counter and paid.
To Flora, who followed him out with a flustered face, Max briefly explained.
"This kind of thing isn't about who has more money in their account. If you had a younger sibling, you'd buy for them too, right? Even if the sibling had more money."
"Ah, I see... I understand."
As they walked back, Flora felt a gaze and looked up to see Ellen watching them from the office window.
Then one piece of information came to mind.
Flora stopped Max's steps with her voice.
"Oppa."
"Huh?"
"There's something I want to ask of you..."