The Heart That Wouldn't Slow Down
Stepping through the door was none but Estella herself.
“Hehehe….”
On the bed, Lahan sat with a sheepish look, scratching his cheek, when the man suddenly jerked his chin toward the figure standing there.
“So? What brings you here?”
At Lahan’s question, Estella answered with hesitant, fidgeting hands clasped together.
“It’s… just… well, I happened to be passing by…”
“……”
Letting out a long sigh, Lahan remained seated and then pointed one finger at the door, signaling her to step inside.
Startled, Estella glanced at his finger, then approached the bed with careful, tentative steps.
Lahan looked up at her once she reached him and finally spoke.
“I was actually about to come looking for you first.”
“Huh? Me? Why?”
Lahan’s sudden words left Estella tilting her head in confusion.
When he saw her puzzled expression, Lahan paused briefly before answering.
“You know why I came here to stay long-term. You know why you came, too.”
At the significance of his words, Estella again checked his face, then nodded slowly with a tiny voice.
“Yes… I know.”
“Exactly. Whether it’s a quest for mystery or whatever, right now we’re short on money in reality. We only have about ten silver left.”
Estella standing before him probably hadn’t thought any money remained. If she had, they wouldn’t have been kicked out of the inn they were staying at.
If they had any, she might not have needed to borrow from him.
“……I’m sorry.”
Seeing her awkwardly apologize, head bowed, Lahan rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.
“No need to apologize. I didn’t bring it up to hear you say that.”
“Lahan…!”
Estella looked at him with grateful, slightly tearful eyes.
Lahan cleared his throat softly, touched by her expression.
“Let’s earn money here for the time being. That way we can go on our journey.”
“Yes…! I’ll do whatever you say, Lahan! Just tell me what to do!”
She cupped her hands under her chin and pumped them up and down repeatedly.
Lahan couldn’t help but smile.
“Good. Starting tomorrow, let’s check the adventurer guild for quests we can complete right away. The receptionist said they usually open after ten in the morning, right?”
“Yes! That’s right. Most adventurer guilds open at ten!”
“Perfect. I’ve confirmed the basics. But let me ask one more thing—do dungeons exist here?”
Estella clapped her hands together and answered eagerly.
“Yes! You don’t have to just hunt the monsters listed on the quest! You can make decent money by collecting monster parts or magic stones from dungeons!”
“That’s fortunate. So the guild quests are the best way to earn first, and dungeons are second best. Of course, if there’s a dungeon quest that lets you do both at the same time, that’s a double win.”
“Double win…?”
“It’s just a simple way of saying you catch two birds with one stone. You get two benefits at once.”
Since he had no idea what an old-world proverb would mean here, Lahan explained it simply to the bewildered Estella.
“Oh! I get it! Double win!”
“Good. Remember that, it’s useful.”
“Yes!”
She kept nodding in front of his face, adorable as anything.
It was like raising a well-behaved daughter who always listened.
……If only there weren’t those bouncy, firm breasts that shook every time she nodded.
Maybe he was thinking that.
“Ah. Lahan, you were peeking at my chest again, weren’t you?”
“Cough!”
Estella caught on—again—and flashed an impish, teasing smile like a mischievous girl.
She didn’t seem to mind Lahan’s gaze at all.
“Hee~ What’s that? Do you really like women’s chests that much…?”
“What are you saying! Stop grabbing my chest already…!”
Even though she herself felt a little embarrassed, Estella’s playful eyes gleamed as she lifted her breasts from below, just like before.
The way she swayed them gently from below to above with her own hand was incredibly provocative and stirred something deep inside him.
Blushing, Estella’s cheeks and even her neck had turned slightly pink.
“H-heh… Lahan really does love breasts….”
“……”
Even knowing what she was doing, she deliberately added one more killing blow to the words.
The reason was simple: she herself felt both the shameful thrill of the lewd, provocative act and the intense embarrassment all at once.
In the end, Lahan turned his head away, squeezed his eyes shut tight, and tried to escape the sight.
But Estella didn’t seem to stop. No, rather, she seemed even more stimulated and bolder because of his reaction.
Lahan’s actions only fanned the flames higher inside her.
“Can I… touch them once?”
Estella asked out of nowhere.
In her eyes, Lahan was a complete novice who had never properly dated a woman.
She had never met a man either, growing up in the all-female Witch’s Forest, but she could easily tell that teasing him like this made him look endlessly flustered, unlike his usual calm self.
……Something about her own bold claim felt weaker than usual.
She drew her voluptuous body closer to the Lahan who was sitting on the bed, even as she felt embarrassed herself.
Her sweet fragrance grew stronger with every step, and Lahan’s face flushed redder.
“Hey, stop….”
“No~.”
Even though he told her to stop, Lahan couldn’t push her away strongly. Embarrassed himself, Estella covered her mouth with a playful smile and then draped her body over his knees.
“……!”
The soft, feminine thigh pressing against him made Lahan let out a sound of pure shock—the first time he had ever heard such a noise.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
His racing heart pounded wildly as he stared at Estella’s seductive, provocative form, completely lost in the sensation.
Even though it was the medieval era, why did she smell like shampoo-like fragrant soap? Had she used some kind of magic to achieve that?
Still turning his head away, Lahan kept his eyes tightly shut, simply frozen in place.
“Lahan.”
The voice calling his name from above his knees was so sweet and tender it made his throat tighten.
Lahan unconsciously swallowed the saliva gathering in his mouth.
That was when.
“Hehe…!”
Estella suddenly covered her mouth and started laughing.
“……?”
Lahan slowly opened his tightly shut eyes and looked up at Estella sitting on his knees in front of him.
He realized she was laughing at how flustered he looked, unable to hold back her cuteness.
“AHAHAHAHA! Lahan, you’re so cute~”
“………”
Lahan stayed silent for a few seconds, then suddenly his face turned beet red with overwhelming shame and embarrassment.
“Y-you…! Estella…!”
“AHAHA~!”
Estella, still laughing on his knees, covered one hand over her mouth while the other rested on his shoulder.
That was the moment.
The playful image of Estella teasing him and the overwhelming wave of shame and embarrassment shattered Lahan’s composure completely.
“Huh?”
Confused by the sudden trembling of the knees above her and the complete silence, Estella stopped laughing and looked at Lahan again.
When he saw her gaze, Lahan’s head drooped deeply.
“Lahan?”
Fearing she had gone too far, Estella called his name again, but suddenly startled herself.
Lahan suddenly grabbed her waist and wrist, pulled her face right in front of his nose, and flipped her onto the bed.
“……!!”
Her black hair fanned out across the white sheets like a fan, accentuating her dark locks.
“L-Lahan….”
Still dazed, Estella stammered.
With a very serious, intense gaze completely different from his usual one, Lahan climbed over her and firmly grabbed her wrist while speaking in a low, deep voice that sounded frightening.
“Don’t stimulate me anymore.”
“…….”
He leaned closer to her earlobe and added.
“Or I might just… take you right now.”
“W-what…?”
Estella’s face instantly turned bright red, like a firework exploding.
Swallowing hard, she could be heard gulping audibly.
Lahan lifted his head, removing his lips and face from near her ear.
Then he looked down at her from his position still straddling her and spoke quietly.
“……This is your last warning. If you tease me again, I won’t be as gentle next time.”
“Y-yes, nnnhep…! Hic!”
After saying that, Lahan stood up alone on the bed and turned away, heading toward the door of the room without a word.
He quietly opened the door and completely disappeared.
Clack.
The sound of the door closing echoed. Alone on the bed, Estella stared blankly at the ceiling for a while.
Finally, she sat up, the same way she had sat next to Lahan earlier, and slowly brought one hand to her chest.
The beat of her heart under her palm…
……thumped wildly and loudly, far louder than she had expected.