Gift (1)
Gift (1)
While Yune was deep in that peaceful slumber.
"Haa...."
Yune's fiancée, Kir, who was taking a separate curriculum for successors—unlike Yune—let out a heavy sigh.
The cause was, of course, Yune.
She recalled the events from around lunchtime once more.
'...Was that what I think it was? Even Yune has never done anything like that to me before.'
Kir had reluctantly persuaded the academy chancellor with her mother Duchess Schmut's influence, all due to the Crown Princess's coercion(?).
Yune, hopelessly oblivious about male-female relationships but at least perceptive in other matters, guessed the backstory behind Schmut's visit to the academy and apologized to her.
Of course, Kir thought Yune had done nothing wrong and told him not to worry, but Yune seemed so genuinely sorry that he attempted something he had never tried before.
-Since I'm grateful, a gift for you, Kir.
'...No matter how I think about it, he was trying to kiss me, right? I can't possibly be mistaken about this. What? Yune, to me, all of a sudden?'
Yune had intended to give Kir a kiss on the cheek, just as he'd heard from Duchess Schmut.
But from her perspective, looking slightly down at Yune, it definitely appeared as if he was trying to kiss her on the lips.
She inevitably fell into a misunderstanding: that Yune had tried to kiss her lips. In other words, that he had tried to give her his first kiss.
Perhaps because of that, the mere memory of Yune bringing his lips toward her made her heart pound as if it would burst, leaving her utterly flustered.
But there was a separate incident that truly set her heart ablaze.
'...Yune climbing on top of me—that was incredibly lewd and cute.'
That was the incident where Yune and she fell together.
Kir, who had fallen over in shock thinking Yune was about to kiss her. And Yune, who had been leaning on her, fell along with her.
As she recalled the sight of Yune, who had mistakenly thought he'd knocked her down, climbing on all fours on top of her and looking down with desperate eyes, her face flushed hot.
In the Empire, that position was reserved for loving couples during their nightly activities. And unlike the typical cowgirl position, it involved the man climbing on top of the woman.
'Yune being on top of me might not be so bad. Just looking up at him struggling and panting would be enough for three plates of bread....'
"......."
As befitted a teenage girl in the prime of her sexual drive, Kir was indulging in indecent fantasies inspired by that image.
Ultimately, she wasted time lost in such fantasies until all her lectures were over.
Not only could she not concentrate on the lectures at all, but she was so distracted that she didn't even notice when the Crown Princess spoke to her after everything had finished.
"Kirschblüte? ...Ahem. Ahem. Kirschblüte."
"...What is it, Your Highness the Crown Princess?"
"Well, first, wipe the drool from the corner of your mouth. Is that any way for a student council member who must set an example to behave?"
"......."
-Wipe, wipe.
Despite the lectures being over, Kir, still lost in fantasy, only came to her senses after the Crown Princess pointedly cleared her throat to give her a hint.
After wiping the sloppily dripped drool as if nothing had happened, Kir looked at the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess looked at her and spoke with worry in her voice.
"The lectures ended some time ago... But are you feeling unwell? If you're feeling indisposed, I can escort you to the infirmary."
"There's no need. I was merely lost in contemplation."
"Your face is rather red for that. And you seemed utterly unable to concentrate on the lectures."
"...Ahem. It was simply very deep contemplation."
But since Kir couldn't exactly answer the Crown Princess with 'I lost track of time fantasizing about Yune,' she brushed it off with a suitable excuse.
Whether she believed Kir's excuse or felt she shouldn't pry any deeper, the Crown Princess nodded at her words.
"I see. Anyway, I must thank you once more for handling the student council matter, even going so far as to call upon Duchess Schmut. If you have any requests, please let me know."
'...After all that coercion? How underhanded.'
"There's no need. I simply did what was necessary."
"...Hoo. Understood."
Afterward, the Crown Princess attempted to convey her gratitude and sincerity to Kir, but upon hearing this, Kir refused with a cold expression, as if her pleasant smile from just moments ago was a lie.
Seeing that, the Crown Princess sighed, thinking that reconciling with Kir wouldn't be easy.
Kir looked up at her with an indifferent gaze and subtly tried to get up and leave.
"Then I shall take my leave...."
-Squish.
"......."
Kir was on the verge of standing up and leaving the lecture hall.
But her expression stiffened, and she awkwardly sat back down in her seat.
"Hm? What's wrong? All the lectures are over."
"How could I presume to leave before Your Highness the Crown Princess?"
"This is the academy, not the Imperial Household, and right now it's just you and me here, so you needn't worry about such...."
"...Please, rise first. I beg you."
"Oh... Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, then."
So Kir even invoked the request she had earlier turned down to get the Crown Princess to leave first.
Hearing that, the Crown Princess wondered what on earth was going on but left the room first...
Once Kir confirmed that the Crown Princess had closed the lecture hall door and left, she secretly pulled a handkerchief from her breast and waddled toward the bathroom.
'No, I thought it was just drool. I really thought it was just drool....'
* * * * * *
Meanwhile, Yune had decided to take a short nap in his room before Kir arrived.
Perhaps because so many events had piled up that proved too much for the greenhouse-reared Yune, leaving him far more exhausted than expected, he fell into a sleep so deep he wouldn't have noticed if someone carried him off.
"Hmnya... Mar, you're the best...."
-Knock, knock. Creeeak.
"Young master. I'm entering... Oh dear. You're asleep. I shall return tomorrow."
"Uhehe...."
"...How adorable. Knowing our innocent young master, he must surely be having a truly wholesome and bright dream. May you have sweet dreams."
Yune was so deeply asleep, like an infant who had exhausted all its energy, that he didn't even notice when Nibuer, having finished her lectures, came in and left.
Yune took a nap so long that if Erengard had seen him, she would have fretted, 'How will you sleep at night if you nap like this?'
And in the end, Yune's long slumber continued uninterrupted until Kir, having finished her lectures, stopped by her own dormitory to change clothes and came over.
-Knock, knock. Creeak.
"Sorry I'm late. So... Huh? Yune, are you asleep?"
The moment she opened Yune's door, Kir noticed the soft, rhythmic breathing coming from the bed.
Soon, she found Yune sleeping on the bed with a peaceful expression.
"...!!?"
'Th-this brat, why is he sleeping in this position again!?'
Yune was asleep in a pose that looked exactly like a cat seeking affection.
Seeing that defenseless figure with even his bellybutton completely exposed, Kir flinched in surprise and darted her eyes around.
'...What is this? Is he doing this on purpose?'
In truth, Yune had simply stopped mid-motion while mimicking an action from his dream, but there was no way Kir could know what he was dreaming.
Having seen a defenseless posture that, no matter how you looked at it, seemed contrived enough to be seducing someone, Kir cautiously reached out her hand toward Yune...
'No. There's no way Yune would do that. Goodness.'
"Yune, wake up~! It's time for dinner~!"
-Shake, shake.
Suppressing the wicked obscene demon that kept rearing its head in her heart, Kir grabbed Yune's shoulders and began shaking him vigorously.
"Huh, hnnng...."
"What will you do if you can't sleep at night? Wake up, quickly!"
"Hueh...?"
As she shook him roughly, Yune's clothes shifted, threatening to reveal all sorts of things.
Fortunately, before the hem of his clothes could ride up further and expose anything improper, or the scent of his skin wafting from the fluttering fabric could sever her reason, she managed to wake Yune up.
"Ki, Kir...?"
"I know you're a heavy sleeper, but what do you think you're doing napping until dinnertime?"
"Where's Mar...? Huh? Wasn't I in the Northern Region...?"
"Are you still sleep-talking? Goodness. When did you fall asleep? You haven't been napping ever since you came back, have you?"
Afterward, Kir nagged Yune relentlessly, as if venting her frustration at him for testing her reason all day.
She kept at it until Yune forgot all his dreams and came to his senses.
* * * * * *
Kir shook me awake from my deep slumber.
With Kir nagging me about how I could nap for so long, I could only nod quietly. Even I thought that napping for four hours was a bit much.
'Did I sleep for almost four hours? Even I think that's a lot. What am I going to do tonight....'
"Sorry...."
"There's nothing to be sorry about, but just because you came to the academy doesn't mean you can completely let yourself go. Got it?"
"Got it... Huh?"
Thanks to all that nagging, I finally shook off the drowsiness and my head cleared.
The first thought that came to me once I came to my senses was...
'Huh. She's not scolding me about the lunchtime incident, surprisingly.'
Kir was only chiding me for oversleeping and wasn't mentioning the incident where I knocked her down at lunch at all.
As if she wasn't angry about that in the slightest.
"...Kir, aren't you mad?"
"Huh? Oh, did I seem angry to you?"
"No... Well, at lunch, I knocked you over, Kir. You were glaring at me so intensely, I thought you were really furious. You even told me we'd settle it later."
"Pfft. What, were you worried about something like that? You really are a boy, Yune, to keep something like that in your heart. I wasn't angry about that, so don't worry."
I asked first, figuring it's better to be the one to bring it up, but Kir answered that she wasn't angry at all.
Hearing that, a sigh of relief escaped my lips unbidden.
"What the heck~. Do you know how scared I was because I thought you were mad at me, Kir? I even prepared a gift to give you while apologizing."
"...A gift?"
"Yep! Oh, right. I'll give it to you now! Can you close your eyes for a sec?"
"......."
At my words about giving her a gift, Kir sucked in a short, surprised breath.
Soon, Kir gently closed her eyes as I'd asked.
'No, why is she puckering her lips? Does she have something stuck in her teeth?'
...It was a bit odd how she was sort of pushing her lips out, but anyway.
Afterward, I rummaged through my subspace pouch and took out the gift for Kir.
That gift was none other than...
"...Kir, you can open your eyes now!"
"...? Huh?"
"Ta-da~! A gift!!"
Naturally, it was the treasure chest Chloe and I had found in the Department of Knight Studies' bathhouse.
A box made of luxurious wood, clearly containing something extraordinary at a glance.
"...This was the gift you were talking about?"
"Yep!"
But Kir looked down at the chest with a dumbfounded face, and then let out a sigh so deep it could have bored a hole in the ground, as if she was terribly disappointed.
'Huh. She doesn't like it? Even though she hasn't even seen what's inside yet?'