So I thought.
So I thought.
"Hmm hm hm~."
A cheerful humming.
The source is Elin's room.
She closes her eyes in satisfaction while combing her hair.
She turns her head to check if her hair is neatly arranged.
"Have I gotten a bit prettier lately?"
She mutters to herself while looking in the mirror.
A smile escapes her for no reason.
This has been happening more often recently.
If you had to name the cause... .
Elin puts strength into her eyes.
She opens her eyes wide, making them square.
She adjusts her facial muscles to strike what she thinks is a deadly expression.
"Ahem. Ahem. Ah. Ah."
On top of that, she clears her throat and tries to make her voice as low as possible.
She imagines.
The image of Cheol-min.
Opening her mouth, she recites what Cheol-min said verbatim.
"I don't have any big wishes. I just hope every day can be as happy as today. Together with Elin, forever."
Ah, it's so cheesy.
But I like it.
"Eek!"
Her face flushes, and it feels so ticklish.
"Hehehehe!"
Laughter spills out like a fool.
Unable to contain herself, she dives onto the bed.
She rolls around, wrapping herself in the blanket.
But the laughter won't stop, so she buries her nose in the pillow.
"Wuaaaaah!"
She screams into it and kicks her legs wildly, but the ticklish feeling won't go away at all.
"Ugh!"
Elin stops laughing abruptly and stands up in one go, still wrapped like a rolled-up mat.
She stands in front of the mirror again and looks at herself.
"That proposal back then wasn't official, right?"
Since Elin has been passive that day, there has been no progress between her and Cheol-min.
They say life is all about timing, so why does she keep avoiding it?
"You idiot! Idiot!"
Thump! Thump!
She gives herself a couple of bonks on the head.
If this continues, they might end up in an ambiguous relationship where nothing is clear.
"Ugh! Tomorrow, I'll properly approach him! How long am I going to be shy? The only thing that's changed is that I heard Min's confession!"
Elin clenches her fist and makes a resolution.
"But... he'll propose again properly, right? When will he do it? Will he give me a ring? Ugh! I can't wait!"
Unable to hold back, her happy fantasy begins to spin.
"Ugh!"
She dives into bed again.
Roll roll roll.
As she's rolling on the bed, someone knocks on the door.
Knock knock knock.
"I'm sorry! I'll be quiet!"
She thought she was being too noisy and getting a warning, but there was another reason.
"It's me, Elin."
"Min?! W-what's up?"
She never expected Cheol-min to come looking for her.
'Maybe Mom prepared a late-night snack? Or an errand?'
Her mind races, but her thoughts aren't coherent.
No one is watching from inside the room, but Elin is flustered and doesn't know what to do.
She frantically tries to fix her bangs, but her palms are sweaty.
"I wanted to talk for a bit. Can you spare me some time?"
Hearing Cheol-min's serious voice, her heart starts pounding for no reason.
"Uh-huh~! Wait a minute!"
"I'll wait outside. Take your time."
Footsteps slowly fade away.
At least she bought some time.
"W-what's my state right now?"
She hurriedly looks in the mirror.
"What the! Why do I look so ugly?"
Just a moment ago, she was an ultra-beautiful girl, but now her appearance is a mess.
Getting excited for nothing.
Why did she have to roll on the bed?
But this is no time for regrets.
What's done is done.
The urgent priority is to look as naturally pretty as possible, without looking too made-up.
"Help me! Everything in the world!"
Outside the gate, by the wall.
Cheol-min was standing there leaning against it.
A slightly chilly wind was blowing.
He had his hands in his pockets, fidgeting.
The dull touch at his fingertips.
For a moment, Cheol-min stopped moving, and gradually, his ears were turning red.
Creak—.
"Ah, you were right here."
Elin opened the door and looked at Cheol-min.
A style that exudes a subtly alluring atmosphere.
Clothes a bit loose fitting, stimulating protective instincts.
Her hair swept to one side looks casually sensual.
Her half-lidded eyes somehow carry a decadent scent.
It was different from Elin's usual self, making it striking.
"Ah, um."
Cheol-min was at a loss for words.
'Ah, maybe he doesn't like this kind of vibe?'
Elin worried whether choosing such a daring fashion was a mistake.
"You look different from usual, so I guess I was a bit surprised."
Cheol-min's following words.
"Pretty. Really pretty."
She feels like she's melting away.
Her worries were needless.
She's very happy, but Elin instead bowed her head deeply.
She didn't know what expression she was making.
She couldn't even say thank you.
If she opened her mouth, she felt like she would blurt out nonsense without meaning to.
But she wanted to express her gratitude.
So Elin ran over and grabbed Cheol-min's arm, hugging it.
"!"
Both froze for a moment.
Cheol-min looked up, calculated the direction the clouds were moving, and then spoke.
"Should we walk?"
Without a word, she nodded, and he took her hand.
They walked slowly.
After a while, she seemed to calm down.
"About why I called you out today."
Cheol-min stood facing Elin.
Thump thump.
Her heartbeat pounds in her ears.
"A few days ago, you asked me what I want to do, right?"
"Yeah, I did."
With her head deeply bowed, she can't meet Cheol-min's eyes, but Elin finds this situation extremely thrilling.
Her eyes, fixed on the tops of her feet, are wide open, and her breathing feels rough.
"I kept thinking about that... ."
The more Cheol-min hesitates, the harder it is for Elin to bear.
But the words that came out of his mouth were different from her expectations.
"Seems like I said something that could be misunderstood."
"Huh?"
Her body stiffens.
Her mind goes cold in an instant, and she can't understand a single word Cheol-min says.
'So everything up until now was my illusion? Then Min doesn't like me?'
Cheol-min's story wasn't over.
"Actually, after that day, you seemed to be avoiding me, so I was worried."
'As I thought. It was because of my actions. I should have properly conveyed my feelings. I should have just pretended not to know. Because I was overthinking it... .'
"I thought about why that might be, and I think it was probably my fault. I'm sorry!"
Elin's heart feels like it's being torn to shreds.
'So this is how terrible it feels to be rejected.'
"Elin?"
When Elin didn't respond, Cheol-min reached out a hand.
She grabbed that hand with her other hand.
Elin looked up and stared straight at Cheol-min.
"I'm sorry, I just had a misunderstanding. Was it uncomfortable for you?"
"Huh?"
"But still, we can go back to being friends like before, right?"
"What are you talking about?"
At Cheol-min's seemingly clueless response, Elin bit her lip hard.
"Elin, why are you crying?"
"Ah?"
A warm stream flows down her cheeks.
'So I really liked Min this much.'
"Wait! Wait!"
"?"
Cheol-min wiped her eyes, looking flustered.
"I think there's a huge misunderstanding here. I haven't finished talking yet?"
"What?"
"Back then, I said it without thinking, but since it came out unconsciously, that was my true feelings."
Cheol-min reached into his pants pocket.
"Thinking about it again, having said something like that and just letting it slide, I must be a real idiot, right?"
Then he knelt on one knee.
"Can you ask that question again?"
Elin could no longer control the amount of water flowing from her eyes.
"Ugh... Min, what do you want?"
Cheol-min took a small box out of his pocket.
"I don't have any big wishes. I just hope every day can be as happy as today. Together with Elin, forever. What about you, Elin?"
"Ugh... sniffle. Ughhhh... ."
"Will you answer me?"
"Yes... Yes!"
Cheol-min held up the ring.
Even though tears blurred her vision, Elin bravely extended her left hand to Cheol-min.
Slide.
The ring fit perfectly on Elin's ring finger.
"Ah, the size. I was worried it might not fit."
Cheol-min looked up at Elin.
"Ugh..."
Her crying face was remarkably beautiful.
He pulled Elin close, wrapping his arms around her waist from below.
When he stood up fully, Elin's feet left the ground.
The two spun around in place, celebrating each other.
You could call it a moonlit waltz.
After savoring the moment for a while, they returned home, and Elin boasted to her parents.
"Mom! I got proposed to! Look at the ring! It's so pretty!"
Marie-ssi and Thomas-ssi's reaction was "We knew it."
"Oh my! You're finally getting married!"
"Heheh. Now we're really family!"
Marriage.
Not immediately, but it's right around the corner.
She looks forward to what will happen as they prepare together.
Fuck this.
Isekai is the best.
Flap flap—.
Liliya is flying toward the Demon King's Castle.
She had lunged at Cassius, who had transformed into a human girl, and got hit, sent flying, and lost consciousness.
When she opened her eyes, her butt was stuck in a rock.
Cassius was long gone.
Liliya had been covered in dust and sand from the wind.
"How long was I out?"
She pulled her tightly wedged rear out with a grunt.
"Eek!"
Thud!
She fell flat on the ground.
"Ugh... Hey! Cassius!"
Whew~.
Only the sound of the wind returns.
Flap flap.
She flew up and looked around.
"Gone. Completely vanished."
She searched for a long time to see where he went, but there wasn't even a trace left.
"Can't be helped. I guess I'll head back to the Demon King's Castle for now."
And so she flew, arriving at the present.
Creak—.
"Aish, my shoulders. Hey~! Old Man Hank-nim~! Are you here?"
The interior of the Demon King's Castle is dark, relying on the light seeping through small windows.
"Not like we're playing hide and seek, what is this."
Unable to see properly, Liliya finds it quite inconvenient.
"There you are."
"What is it, Old Man? Are you a child of darkness? Why are you hiding in that corner like that? You need to go outside and soak up some sun to live long, you know."
"I just came back in, actually... But forget that. Did you find the Demon King? And why did you come back alone? What about Cassius?"
The old man expressed bewilderment.
"I came back because of that too. That idiot Cassius drank a transformation potion, got all excited, and disappeared on his own."
Liliya shook her head in lamentation.
"And what have you been doing?"
"Ah, well... I was messing around with Cassius, got subdued, and was unconscious for a while?"
Old Man Hank-nim put a hand to his forehead.
"Right. Never mind that. If Cassius went off to find the Demon King, that's fine. What's the problem?"
"Huh? Don't you think he's unreliable?"
"Someone who was unconscious for months is worried about others?"
"Huh? Has it been that long since we left?"
Liliya realized why her joints were so stiff.
"Yeah. If you're that worried, you should be chasing after Cassius, not coming back empty-handed, acting all high and mighty."
"I have no idea where he went... Heh..."
The old man didn't even bother to respond, feeling resigned.
Are these the future of the Demon King's army?
When the Demon King returns in haste, other forces will gather.
Please, let there be sane ones among the demons who haven't gathered yet.
Hank prayed earnestly.
"Old Man, where are you going? Help me!"
"Oh, you hussy! Handle that yourself!"
At the old man's outburst, Liliya became sullen.
"Tch... Can't be helped."
Flap flap.
Liliya couldn't trust Cassius.
That's why she decided to chase after Cassius.
And if she happened to find the Demon King first, even better.