Princess, Do You Perhaps Know the Definition of a Holiday?
After receiving the clothes I had ordered from the tailor, Saturday morning arrived.
Surprisingly, the princess’s private tutor actually received weekends off.
I had naturally assumed I would have to stay glued to the princess’s side every single day… This job was even sweeter than I expected.
So I was about to head out to look for a game console, but…
“Princess, didn’t you clearly say today was a holiday?”
“Yes, that’s right. You don’t need to worry about me at all today or tomorrow. Just rest well.”
The fact that the princess was already inside my room made it impossible not to worry.
“Princess, do you perhaps know the definition of a holiday?”
“Hmm? Is this a lesson too?”
“Yes… Well, let’s go with that.”
Since I was already receiving far more salary than I deserved, I resigned myself to working even on my day off.
“Hmm… Isn’t a holiday a day when you don’t work and just rest?”
“You know it well, Princess.”
As expected, the princess was such an elite student that she already knew without being taught.
But then why on earth—
“…If it’s a holiday, may I ask why you’re lying on my stomach?”
I looked down at the small crown of her head resting atop my belly.
Where in the world was there a holiday that involved lending your stomach to a student?
Just put me to work instead.
“Hmm? Hehe… It feels nice to lie on a soft, warm stomach.”
“And what about my feelings…?”
“Do you dislike it, Teacher?”
The princess, using my stomach as a pillow, gazed up at me with wide, sparkling eyes.
Those bright, glistening eyes reminded me so much of a cat on the verge of being abandoned that I couldn’t bring myself to say anything harsh.
“I don’t… dislike it.”
“Hehe… I like it too.”
“I never said I liked it.”
Whether I said it or not, the princess rubbed her cheek against my stomach.
The soft touch of her cheek wasn’t unpleasant, so I simply lay sprawled on the bed.
I wondered if it was all right to show such an undignified sight in front of the princess…
Then again, the princess clinging to her tutor like this could also be considered undignified.
We had an unspoken agreement to overlook each other’s disgraceful behavior. It was even.
It was definitely not because of the slight pressure and warm sensation I felt on my stomach that I remained sprawled there.
I glanced downward at the princess.
She had no intention of moving, happily burying her face in my stomach with a blissful expression.
Haa… I couldn’t possibly push away someone as precious as the princess by force.
Even if I could push her, I doubted I had the strength to do it.
Since I wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon anyway, I gently stroked her hair.
“Mmm… Teacher. Do you know this is the first time you’ve ever stroked my hair? I always stroked yours.”
Was that true?
I suppose it was.
“There’s a height difference. Normally I’d have to stand on my tiptoes to reach your head. It’s tiring.”
“If I bend down at the waist, will you stroke my hair like this normally?”
“Uh… Sure.”
Compared to giving a kiss on the cheek as a reward, stroking her hair seemed far less likely to rob my lips of their peace.
Thinking that, I decided it might be nice to stroke her hair from time to time.
Above all, my heart had been pounding so violently whenever I kissed the princess lately that it was becoming a problem.
After a few more exchanges, another silence fell.
It wasn’t an awkward silence. It was the kind that came from fully savoring a lazy weekend afternoon, leaving no room for words.
After spending about a week with the princess, I had come to a realization.
The princess was a total homebody who loved rolling around in bed more than anything.
“Princess, on such a nice day, don’t you feel like going somewhere?”
“Where would I go on a nice day? The best thing is basking lazily in the sunlight from bed.”
She’s not a cat… I thought, but given her appearance and the cold attitude she usually showed the servants, she really did seem like one.
She only acted like a puppy when she was with me.
“So how long are you planning to stay like this?”
“I could stay like this all day.”
“I can’t, so I’d appreciate it if you got off soon…”
Why was she suddenly talking like the President of the United States?
The princess could lie down all day, but my stomach—which had already endured this for over two hours—was starting to cramp.
“I understand. Then…”
The princess lifted her head from my stomach.
Finally free, I thought.
Squeeze.
The princess pulled me straight into her arms.
Of course I had no strength to resist, so I helplessly sank into her soft embrace.
The mass of warmth pressing against my face made it hard to breathe.
“Mmph…!”
“Let’s stay like this and sleep a little, Teacher.”
“Hah…! Did you forget we just woke up from a nap?”
Despite my protest, the princess was already slipping back into sleep mode.
We had literally just woken up from napping with my stomach as her pillow.
And now she wanted to sleep again?
More importantly, I couldn’t stand the sight of the two water balloons completely filling my vision.
“This won’t do. Wake up, Princess.”
“Why…?”
When I poked her cheek with my finger, the princess knitted her brows.
I couldn’t exactly tell her it was because I found it difficult to look at her chest, so I made up an excuse.
“To become a magnificent Demon King, you can’t live so lazily. Look at His Majesty—he’s working hard on paperwork in his office even today.”
“It’s not very convincing when you say that while wearing cute animal pajamas…”
“Ugh, this is…”
The reason I was still wearing animal pajamas was simply because they were comfortable.
I had hated them at first, but somehow I had fallen for their softness without realizing it.
Now I couldn’t sleep without them. I had completely surrendered to the pajamas.
“And you didn’t wear them again because they felt uncomfortable, right?”
The princess suddenly poked my chest.
Since I wasn’t wearing a bra, she scored a direct hit on bare skin.
“Eep… That’s not because they’re uncomfortable… It’s just more comfortable in my own room!”
“I get it, I get it. So I’ll sleep just a little more…”
“Don’t commit sexual harassment so naturally and then fall asleep!”
Even after that, it took another thirty minutes to get the princess up.
“Ughhh…. So what exactly did you want to do with me that you woke me up so desperately?”
“First of all, I didn’t wake you because I wanted to do something with you, and I didn’t wake you that desperately either.”
I corrected the princess, who had woken up with a refreshed face and immediately started talking nonsense.
“Hmm~ Was that so?”
“Yes. And it’s strange that you’re even in my room in the first place.”
“Is it strange?”
The princess, who had been stretching, tilted her head.
“Of course it’s strange… Normally students don’t come to their teacher’s room to take naps together.”
“Normally teachers don’t give their students kisses on the cheek either, so isn’t it about the same?”
I wanted to argue what exactly was the same about that.
But since I really had been the one to suggest the cheek kiss, I had nothing to say.
Just what had past me been thinking…?
Thanks to the mess past me left behind, my heart was in danger every single day.
When I pressed a hand to my head, the princess grabbed it.
Then, fiddling with my fingers, she slipped hers between mine.
Having created what could only be called a perfect finger lock, the princess smiled sweetly.
It was a smile so beautiful it made me clutch my heart without thinking.
“I’m doing this because I like you, Teacher. Don’t you feel the same?”
“W-what?! Just now, w-what did you…”
“Ahaha, why are you so flustered, Teacher?”
Cutely.
The princess who whispered that took hold of my chin and made me meet her eyes.
She drew so close that our lips would have touched if either of us moved even slightly forward. Her eyes curved into soft arcs.
“I meant that I like you as a student likes their teacher, of course. Did you misunderstand?”
“…Huh?”
Anyone would have seen that as completely sincere!
To act like it wasn’t now…
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
…My heart refused to calm down.
Did this princess actually like me romantically?
At our first meeting she had suddenly asked for a kiss, so I had wondered if she had mistaken me for some courtesan using the title of tutor.
But nearly a week had passed and she still hadn’t tried to pounce on me, so maybe she wasn’t after my body after all.
If she simply pressed me down with force, I wouldn’t be able to resist. No matter how much I cried and reported it, she could crush everything with her authority.
Yet she continued this light but persistent skinship. Did she really just want to be with me?
Such thoughts crossed my mind.
What exactly had I done for the princess…?
At this point I was starting to worry.
If the princess seriously confessed her feelings, would I be able to firmly reject her?
It might be a disqualification as a teacher, but honestly, I thought I would hesitate.
With that appearance and that wealth.
She played pranks often—actually, a lot—but she still treated a mere tutor far better than I deserved.
There probably wasn’t a single man in the world who wouldn’t fall for her.
“All right~ Then where do you want to go, Teacher? Normally I’d need more rest since it’s tiring, but since you want to, I’ll specially accompany you.”
While I was lost in such worries, the princess smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.
That innocent smile pricked my conscience.
That’s right… What kind of grown adult has weird fantasies about a student?
Even though eighteen was considered adulthood in this world, nineteen still looked like nothing more than a child in my eyes.
I steadied my momentarily shaken heart.
I was a tutor.
The princess was my student.
I had a mission to raise her into the next Demon King.
Even if the princess harbored impure feelings toward me, I had to be an adult who could firmly reject her.
After brainwashing myself like that, I managed my expression.
I put a little distance between us so she wouldn’t hear my racing heartbeat.
“If you rest any longer here, exactly how long are you planning to rest…? And you really don’t need to come with me.”
There was no need to drag the princess along just to buy a game console.
That was the surface reason.
In truth, having the princess nearby seemed like it would only worsen the impure feelings I had developed lately.
However.
“Why are you like this, Teacher~? Where in the world does a teacher leave their student behind? You have to take responsibility for your student all the way to the grave.”
“There are plenty of cases where teachers leave students behind! So stop rubbing your cheek on me! And what do you mean responsibility to the grave? That’s going way too far!”
The princess clung to me like a leech, acting cute in a way that really didn’t suit her.
Since I couldn’t possibly win with strength, I was helplessly subjected to merciless cheek-rubbing.
My cheeks were burning so hot they felt ready to explode.
“Anyway, wherever you’re going, take me with you. Okay?”
“Fine, fine. Just get off me a little…”
In the end, I reluctantly allowed the princess to accompany me.
…Was it really against my will?
At this point, even I wasn’t sure anymore.
“I’m going to buy a game console.”
“A game console…?”
As expected, the princess seemed to be hearing the word for the first time and made a puzzled face.
“Yes. It’s a kind of indoor entertainment. It’s traded at ridiculously high prices on the market. Thanks to the compensation you gave me, Princess, I think I’ll finally be able to buy one.”
“Ah, that’s wonderful! As expected, it was good that I stayed a woman, right?”
“……”
I couldn’t answer the princess, who was innocently smiling and stroking my head.
At the beginning, it had definitely been about the money.
I had essentially sold my gender for money.
Still, since I would be able to return to being a man after some time, I hadn’t thought much of it.
But now…
I was scared.
I was scared that the moment I returned to being a man, the princess’s warm gaze would turn ice-cold.
I was scared we would become nothing more than a strictly formal teacher and student.
Before I knew it, I had begun worrying about such things.
…To think I was actually hesitating about returning to being a man because of something like that.
I had clearly lost my mind.
In the end, unable to give her an answer, I simply smiled and changed the subject.
“Then shall we head to the auction house together, Princess?”
“Yes!”
Still, maybe playing games would help me sort out my thoughts a little.
With that faint hope, I headed for the auction house—naturally holding the princess’s hand tightly the whole way.