Looks Like Nothing Naughty Happened to You
Looks Like Nothing Naughty Happened to You
After bowing repeatedly and apologizing to the Crown Princess, the incident was smoothed over on the condition that Kir and I join the Student Council.
The Crown Princess then excused herself, saying she had to prepare for her next lecture—adding a terse "Rest well" as she left.
With the expressionless Crown Princess finally gone, I exhaled in relief, thinking I could finally breathe.
But it was far too soon for relief.
"...Yune?"
Just like the Crown Princess. No—even more expressionless than her.
The moment the Crown Princess departed, Kir approached me with the corners of her lips slightly upturned.
Her hand darted toward my face and—
—promptly pinched my cheek and pulled.
-S t r e t c h.
"This is real. What in the world were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that?!"
"Bwehehe... I'b sowwy...."
It hurt so much I nearly teared up, but having just witnessed Kir apologize on my behalf, I held it in and apologized again.
Kir toyed with my cheek for quite a while longer before finally letting go.
"Honestly. Do you even know what you did wrong?"
"Yeah. That, the chest...."
"Right. So even you know that much."
Afterward, Kir gently stroked my stinging, throbbing cheek with her palm.
-Squish squish.
"A boy must never, ever do that sort of thing to a girl. I'm your betrothed... ahem. Your one and only dearest friend, so it's fine. But other women—especially anyone of higher status than you—absolutely not."
"There aren't that many people above my status, you know."
"Which is exactly why you need to be more careful. The Crown Princess, Her Majesty the Empress, and especially your mother—you must never do that to them. All women are wolves, no matter their age. Do it carelessly and they might mistake it for seduction."
"...Fine."
'Wait, why bring Mom into this?'
Kir continued to shower me with perfectly sensible—though occasionally oddly specific—worries for some time.
But no matter how much time passed, the subject I had been bracing myself for never came up.
"...You're not mad about the Student Council thing?"
"Huh?"
"Because of me, you ended up joining the Student Council too. You're not angry about that?"
Figuring I'd rather take the hit first, I asked bluntly.
Kir blinked in surprise for a moment, then chuckled and pulled me into a hug.
"Oh, you. That's what you were worried about?"
"Well, yeah. You're already worn out finishing that two-year successor's curriculum, and now you've got Student Council work on top of it."
"It's fine. Now that it's come to this, I can look after my faction's people a bit."
"Still... I'm sorry, Kir. It's my fault."
"I said it's fine."
After pressing her cheek against mine as I kept apologizing, Kir began rubbing our cheeks together.
"And more than anything, leaving you alone with other women makes me a little uneasy. I really do have to be the one by your side."
"...Okay. Thanks."
Kir then proceeded to lavish me with generous friendship.
The skinship seemed a bit excessive for friendship, but... Kir told me this is how close friends of the opposite sex normally act, so. It must be friendship. Yeah.
* * * * * *
After sticking to me for quite a while longer, Kir hurried out only when the next lecture was just about to start.
"See you at dinner then, Yune! We're eating together tonight, okay?"
"Yeah. Enjoy the rest of your lectures, Kir~."
Unlike me, Kir had a far more packed schedule to handle. I saw her off, then slumped back against the sofa with a deep sigh.
"Pwahhh...."
'I haven't even started hunting for fortuitous encounters yet, and lectures haven't properly begun. Why is everything so exhausting already? Ah... I miss the North.'
I'd spent all my time cooped up at the estate until now.
Having grown accustomed to an uneventful daily routine, this string of incidents was already draining the energy right out of me.
'Can I really become an adventurer like this... Nah. No weakness. I'm a manly man.'
I'd almost let some weak thoughts take hold, but I slapped my cheeks—tap tap—and drove them away.
Just as I was steeling my resolve alone, the Student Council room door slid smoothly open.
"Young Master."
"Ah, Chloe."
The one who entered was Chloe. She must have been waiting for me all this time.
...Come to think of it, I hadn't even managed a proper conversation with Chloe since morning.
Sure, it was only natural for an exclusive butler, but I still felt a little guilty. I patted the seat next to me on the sofa.
"Your legs must hurt from all that waiting. Come sit and rest."
"...."
Normally, Chloe would have hesitated at least once.
But this time, the moment she heard those words, she walked straight over and pressed herself against my side as she sat. Her face was set rigid.
And then.
-Sniff sniff.
"Ack, Chloe?!"
Chloe brought her nose almost right up against my body and started sniffing.
Beginning at the nape of my neck, her nose carefully traced a path downward.
Her refined nose rode down along my collarbone, then to my navel. Then lower still.
When Chloe's head had finally reached the level of my thighs—
-Pause. Sniff sniff.
Chloe's cat ears perked up sharply, as if she'd briefly malfunctioned.
She froze there, sniffed a few more times with great deliberation, then slowly lifted her face back up.
When our eyes met again, Chloe's cheeks were faintly flushed.
"K-Khhm. Ahem. There is no strange scent anywhere on your person, so it seems nothing improper happened to you."
"Anything improper?"
"The Crown Princess, who just exited this room, was reeking of Young Master Yune's saliva from her chest area. And Lady Kir's hands were also saturated with the scent of your saliva. So I was concerned."
"Ah...."
'Now that I think about it, from Chloe's perspective, that must have been really confusing.'
Only then did I understand why Chloe had entered without being called, checked my condition, and gone so far as to sniff me like this.
The scent of my saliva on the Crown Princess's chest and on Kir's hands. Even I would have worried about what kind of absolute circus had broken out in here.
"Well, the thing is...."
To put Chloe at ease, I explained everything that had happened inside, step by step.
There were plenty of unclear patches thanks to being intoxicated by the divine power, but Chloe seemed to grasp it all perfectly—her eyes went round.
"This incident was... caused by the Holy Water I brought you?"
"Huh? How does it become that? No one's blaming you, so don't say that. Getting drunk was an unavoidable accident."
Soon enough, she seemed to be blaming herself—her cat ears drooped and a gloomy expression settled on her face.
-Muttering....
'She looks kind of pitiful.'
She was mumbling something quietly; the shock must have hit her pretty hard.
To comfort her, I stroked Chloe's back.
-Stroke, stroke.
"It's fine. Actually, thanks to you, my legs healed completely, didn't they? Only you could pull that off~ Thank you~."
"But still. No matter that you are the Young Master, surely you would have disliked touching a woman's chest."
"That's the part you were worried about? Don't worry, I'm not bothered at all. Though the Crown Princess was probably mortified and upset."
"...I doubt Her Highness the Crown Princess would dislike it. Or rather, would any female with two lumps on her chest ever dislike it?"
"No, you didn't see her. The Crown Princess went completely stiff-faced and dead serious."
"I am speaking precisely because I did see...."
We had a slight difference of opinion, but given that Chloe's ears perked back up, she seemed to have decided to stop blaming herself.
Afterward, Chloe began vigorously scratching my neck, and we chatted just like usual.
"Really now. This is exactly the kind of trouble that happens when I am not at your side. And yet, as your guard knight, I cannot remain with you during lessons. The Academy's rules are rather strange."
"Right? ...Well, they say we can bring attendants to classes that aren't exclusive to nobles. So let's attend tonight's lecture together."
"The Fire Element Theory course with Professor Flare, was it? Speaking of which, I heard Sir Nibuer is also taking that class."
"Huh. Nibuer is? Now that's genuinely surprising."
"She is an Elf, after all. Perhaps she handles a fire element spirit?"
"You think? When I asked before, she said she's not good at controlling spirits and doesn't like showing it. But then again, Nibuer is quite the hard worker...."
-Press.
"Ah. Chloe. That, just now. The circle motion with your finger. That was nice."
"...Like this?"
"Hhehe, that's the stuff...."
* * * * * *
Time flew by while I talked with Chloe.
'It's already noon. I should go get lunch.'
My next lecture was at one, so grabbing lunch and then heading to the lecture hall would be perfect timing.
"Chloe. Let's go eat lunch together. The Academy has this place called the student dining hall, and their secret menu item is...."
"Ah. Young Master. Please wait a moment."
When I suggested we go eat, Chloe—who had been petting me with both hands—withdrew her hands and started rummaging inside her clothing.
And then.
-Swish.
"...Huh? You have a subspace pouch too?"
"Yes. Her Grace the Grand Duchess lent it to me with instructions to ensure you face no inconveniences whatsoever. Anyway, would you like to open it?"
From beneath her apron, Chloe produced a rather large basket.
She gestured for me to open it.
Curious, I pulled back the cloth covering the top.
"Whoa. Fischbrötchen?"
Inside were sandwiches generously stuffed with smoked salmon. One of my favorite sandwiches.
When I looked up, wondering where sandwiches had come from, Chloe smiled confidently and said,
"I woke up early this morning and made them myself."
"...You made them yourself, Chloe?!"
"Yes."
Chloe said she had made them herself.
In this world, a butler cooking was genuinely earth-shaking news, so I was stunned, but...
"You ate nothing but cookies for both lunch and dinner yesterday, didn't you, Young Master? I grew concerned that you might seek only cookies for lunch today as well, so I attempted to make these... Would you care to try one?"
At Chloe's explanation that she had made them for me, I broke into a bright smile.
'She made my favorite food just for me. How could I not eat this.'
"Yeah. I'll eat. Thank you, Chloe!"
I picked up a sandwich and took a big bite.
And then a festival of flavor erupted in my mouth.
-Crunch. Chew chew.
The rich nuttiness of soft bread. The distinctly savory depth of the generous salmon as it crumbled between my teeth. Fresh lettuce, thinly sliced onion, and other vegetables providing the texture. And a slightly spicy yet sweet-and-sour white sauce that tied everything together harmoniously.
I hadn't expected much from homemade, but the sandwich was easily three times tastier than I'd imagined. Startled, I whipped my head around to look at Chloe.
'W-Why is this so good? Chloe, are you a great cook?'
"Does it suit your taste?"
-Nod nod.
'Yeah. I think it's even better than what the head chef at the estate makes!'
I couldn't speak with my mouth so full, so I conveyed the deliciousness by vigorously nodding my head.
After that, I started wolfing down the sandwich in a hurry.
'Come to think of it, I didn't eat breakfast today. Maybe I'm just hungry? But really, it's way too good.'
"...Fufu. Eat plenty, Yune."
-...Gulp.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Nothing."
"Oh? Then you should hurry up and eat too, Chloe. It's su~per good!"
"No need. Simply watching you eat so happily fills my stomach."
I urged Chloe to eat as well, but she declined and instead watched me eat with a deeply satisfied expression.
Encouraged by Chloe's support, I ended up devouring a full two sandwiches. Normally, even one would have been plenty. It was a monumental overindulgence.
'Eating lunch this fully in spring... I might doze off during afternoon lectures....'