How to Cool Down a Heated Body
How to Cool Down a Heated Body
Yune staggered in, his face flushed bright red.
The heavy atmosphere that had been lingering between the two women evaporated in an instant the moment he plopped himself down right next to Kir.
"Yune...? Have you been drinking?"
"Drinking~? Kihiht. No way that could be~."
Yune mumbled, the corners of his lips far looser than usual.
His pronunciation was so slurred it was barely intelligible, which, in a way, served as the perfect answer to her question.
'I don't smell any alcohol though...? And there's no way Yune would ever drink.'
He looked drunk to anyone watching, but Kir, who knew about his pathological hatred of bitter tastes, doubted alcohol was the cause.
Soon, she began to interrogate him thoroughly about what he had done to end up in this state.
It didn't take long for Kir to extract the information that Yune had drunk Holy Water.
The Crown Princess let out a small exclamation, as if something had just clicked.
"Oh. Now that I think of it, I heard Yune has been learning fire element magic. I've heard that some mages occasionally have adverse reactions to Divine Power. It seems Young Lord Yune has that kind of constitution."
"A constitution that gets intoxicated by Divine Power... I've never heard of such a thing before."
"It's my first time seeing it in person, as well. Haa...."
An unbidden sigh escaped the Crown Princess.
As if infected, Kir let out a heavy sigh of her own.
But Yune, acting as if he knew nothing, just leaned his head on Kir's shoulder and grinned goofily.
Kir carefully stroked his head.
'He even gets drunk on Divine Power. Just how defenseless does this kid need to be before he's satisfied?'
"Lady Crown Princess, I apologize, but may we stay in the student council room until Yune comes to his senses?"
"Do so. No, please do. If Yune were to leave like this, it would look as though I forced alcohol on him."
"Puuu... I'm not drunk, I tell you! I didn't drink alcohol!"
'...He's adorable.'
"Sure. Sure."
And so, with the Crown Princess's consent—she too was afraid of what people would think if Yune walked out of the student council room in this state—Yune was allowed to stay until his intoxication subsided.
* * * * * *
"...."
-Staring.
The atmosphere suddenly went quiet.
This was because the two women were completely absorbed in gazing at Yune's heated, reddened face.
'I guess Yune needs someone to accompany him even when he goes to places like the Temple... Ah. He's adorable. This is a sight I want to put in a cage and keep for myself.'
Seeing Yune smack his lips as if thirsty, Kir worried for him while simultaneously burning with a dark possessiveness.
'...To be engaged to a boy like that. I'm envious of Kirschblüte....'
The Crown Princess kept looking at Yune, who was glued to Kir, swallowing her envy internally.
After all, Yune was currently showing an expression he had never once directed at her.
Sensing that gaze, Kir pulled Yune's shoulder a little closer, half in pride, half in warning.
-Squeeze.
"Hm? Kir?"
Yune, who had been giggling to himself while indulging in silly fantasies, was jolted back to reality by the sensation.
-Nuzzle, nuzzle.
"So, like, Kir? What were you talking about?"
Yune asked, rubbing his cheek against Kir's shoulder.
Hearing his even more garbled pronunciation, Kir thought, 'He's cute, but I want to be the only one who sees Yune like this. Let's put him to sleep quickly,' and brushed the question off.
"Um... just this and that? More importantly, Yune. Aren't you sleepy? Want to sleep a bit?"
"Huh? I'm not sleepy at all. Hehe."
Perhaps because it wasn't even lunchtime yet, Yune showed no intention of falling asleep.
He soon started steering the conversation at his own pace, far more than usual.
"Kir, have you tried Holy Water~? It's, like, suuuper tasty?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Right! You promised to let me massage you! I'll do it right now!"
"I'll take you up on that later."
"Okay! Anyway, isn't it hot? The Imperial Capital is great, but it's way too hot, you know? By the way, Kir, have you tried Holy Water? The Holy Water is...."
"Sure, sure."
The topics kept jumping around, as if Yune's already whimsical personality had been amplified several times over.
Kir just smiled and stroked him gently as he circled back around and started repeating the same stories.
'When my mother does this, it's annoying, but when Yune does it, it's so cute.'
"Puh-haa~ Ah! If it's hot, I can just take off my cloak for a bit!"
'...Well, a cloak is fine.'
"Sure."
Normally, he would have used his specialty, ice magic, to cool himself down, but Yune kept complaining about the heat without even thinking of that.
Ultimately, to cool his burning body, Yune naturally shrugged off the red cloak he had draped over his shoulders.
-Flutter.
The cloak fluttered down behind Kir.
Because it was red and especially eye-catching, both Kir and the Crown Princess's gazes naturally followed its trajectory.
Kir turned her head back to look behind her, while the Crown Princess, seated opposite her, looked straight ahead.
And then.
"So hot~."
-Fidget, fidget.
At the exact moment he threw off his cloak, Yune's hand rapidly undid the buttons on his top.
Even intoxicated by Divine Power, he seemed to retain enough awareness not to strip in front of the Crown Princess. He only unfastened two or three buttons...
But that was more than enough for his chest to be subtly exposed.
"...!!?"
Unlike Kir, who had been looking over the back of the sofa and missed the action, the Crown Princess was facing Yune and saw his fair, delicate skin immediately.
Faced with the morally transgressive and confusing situation of having seen a man's bare skin—and right in front of his fiancée, no less—the Crown Princess's brain momentarily short-circuited.
'Huh? Why is Yune's top...? Ah. He unbuttoned it. Unlike women's chests, which are lumps of fat, a man's is so flat and lewd... N-No! What kind of scandalous thought is this, looking at a man who has a fiancée?!'
The Crown Princess, who had been staring blankly at that chest for a brief moment, whipped her head away with an incredibly violent cough the second her rationality returned.
"Cough, cough! Cough!!"
A cough loaded with the meaning, 'Do something about your fiancé right this instant.'
Hearing it, Kir turned her head back forward.
"Lady Crown Princess? Did you get something caught in your..."
And then. The moment she turned, she saw Yune flapping the front of his clothes to blow air inside.
Kir instantly understood why the Crown Princess was acting that way, and what had happened in the few seconds she had looked away.
"Y-Yune!? Button your clothes up right now! Your chest is showing!!"
"Huh~? But I'm hot, I said~."
"Just hurry up! It's not like I'm the only one here! It's fine when you're with me, but you can't show this side of yourself to the Lady Crown Princess!"
'He's allowed to show that side of himself when it's just the two of them...? ...I'm jealous. I'm seriously jealous.'
While Yune grumbled internally before doing up his front, Kir kept him covered with the cloak.
Meanwhile, the Crown Princess kept her head turned to the side, ruminating on the sight she had just witnessed.
'Why can't I find a cute fiancé like that somewhere...?'
* * * * * *
After the commotion had passed.
"...I apologize for causing a scene, Lady Crown Princess."
"It's fine. I— I saw nothing, so you may rest easy."
"......Thank you."
The two of them managed to salvage the situation somehow.
Thoroughly drained, the Crown Princess downed her now-cold coffee in one gulp.
"I clearly called you here for a serious conversation, but the mood for that has been completely ruined."
"I apologize for our Yune, Lady Crown Princess."
"Don't be. It couldn't be helped. In any case, I shall take my leave now. Please convey the story about the student council to Young Lord Yune."
"...Thank you for your consideration."
"Think nothing of it. Take your time until Yune wakes up, and...."
The Crown Princess rose, wanting to make herself scarce, as she felt something similar might happen again if she stayed with him while he was intoxicated.
At that, Yune finally looked at her.
"Huh~? Lady Crown Princess, you called me here and you're leaving~? What did you call me for, anyway~?"
The Magical Girl Wand was deeply wedged between her chest, invisible from below. Because of his intoxication-fueled good mood, Yune spoke without his usual curtness.
That voice, dripping with Yune's unique, natural cuteness, made the Crown Princess's eyes waver for a moment.
But then.
'...Huh? Wait a moment. Isn't this a chance?'
Realizing that now, while Yune—who had been so wary of her—was acting friendly, was the perfect opportunity to talk to him,
the Crown Princess turned on her heel back toward Yune.
"Hm hm. Yune. What do you think of the Academy?"
"Huh?"
"The Academy has, until now...."
The Crown Princess then repeated to Yune the explanation she had given Kir. She kept it as concise as possible, so that even Yune, giggling and intoxicated by Divine Power, could understand it at once.
"So, basically... you want to make it so there are no people at the Academy who torment the commoners?"
"It's slightly different from that... but yes, let's go with that."
Yune had summarized it further and drawn his own conclusion.
This was thanks to the fact that the effects of the Holy Water were gradually fading, and Yune's reason had returned to some degree. He wasn't completely sober yet—still quite tipsy.
Finding it curious that the conversation was flowing better than expected and that Yune's pronunciation had grown slightly clearer, the Crown Princess bent down and offered Yune her hand.
"Anyway. It seems you've recovered your senses somewhat, so I will ask with all seriousness. Yunes von Nordkirchen. Would you become the Vice Student Council President and assist me?"
"Ah...."
But the moment those words ended, Yune's expression crumpled into a frown.
Because the Crown Princess had bent forward slightly, thrusting her upper body out, and the Magical Girl Wand that had been hidden from view came directly into his line of sight.
"Lady Crown Princess. Yune is still not in his right mind, so...."
"Kir, no."
Yune shot to his feet.
His pupils were still slightly unfocused, but they burned with resolute will.
"Lady Crown Princess. I will never, ever join the student council as long as you are the Student Council President."