Flirting From the Morning
“Aaah……”
I woke up to a low, pained groan. Even without opening my eyes, I knew exactly who it belonged to. But what on earth was she doing right in front of me……?
Sleep had already fled, yet I deliberately kept my eyes shut and waited in silence.
“Ugh……!”
Ilena only continued to let out tormented whimpers and sighs, doing nothing else. Unable to wait any longer, I asked,
“What are you doing?”
“Kyaaah!”
When I opened my eyes, I found Ilena trembling in shock.
“Why are you so surprised? I only asked what you were doing.”
“Y-You! You were already awake?”
“Thanks to you making all that noise in front of me.”
“If you were up, you should’ve said something! Why lie there pretending to sleep?”
“You looked like you were about to do something.”
I sat up slowly and asked,
“What were you trying to do?”
“I-I was going to wake you.”
“Then why didn’t you? Why just stand there?”
“I-I don’t know…… For some reason, I couldn’t wake you the way I used to.”
Ilena averted her gaze, cheeks flushed. I grabbed her arm and pulled her in.
“Come here.”
“Kyaaah……!”
She tumbled helplessly into my arms. The soft, warm sensation of holding her first thing in the morning. Trapped against me, Ilena squirmed lightly.
“W-What are you doing? Let go.”
“Alright.”
The moment she asked, I released her. Ilena froze, eyes wide.
“Huh……?”
“What? You told me to let go, so I did.”
“W-Well, yes, but……”
Her voice carried a trace of disappointment. She stared at me wordlessly.
“More.”
“More?”
Instead of answering, she gave a small nod. What was I supposed to do with this adorable demon? I pulled her back into a tight embrace.
“Wah……!”
Startled by the sudden hug, Ilena soon wrapped her arms around mine in return.
“It feels…… strange. But also kind of nice.”
“I feel the same.”
“You feel strange too?”
“Yeah. It’s weird, but……”
She glanced back at me over her shoulder, her gaze warm. I hugged her even tighter.
“I want to do this every morning. I’ll just stay in bed until you wake me.”
“Ugh, no way. You should be able to get up on your own!”
“I can if I have to. But I like it when you wake me.”
“Hehe, acting like a spoiled child.”
Just then—
“You two up yet?”
“Kyaaah……!”
Ilena shoved me back onto the bed and the door swung open. Mother had grown tired of waiting.
“Oh my, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were having a lovely moment. I’ve interrupted……”
“N-No, Mother! It’s not like that!”
“Finish what you were doing and come out. I’ll have breakfast ready.”
“M-Mother……!”
Ilena scrambled to her feet, but Mother had already closed the door behind her.
“Honestly…… You, stop dawdling and get up already!”
“I don’t think I can.”
“What? You were perfectly fine just a second ago!”
“Someone pushed me back down.”
“That’s no excuse……!”
Still sprawled across the bed, I lifted my head slightly and said with a sly smile,
“There’s a very effective way to get me up.”
“What way?”
“Here.”
I tapped my right cheek with a finger.
“Why there……?”
When she didn’t understand, I tapped my lips next.
“Wha……!”
This time she clearly got the message. Instead of my cheek, however, she smacked my leg with a loud slap.
“G-Get up already! What exactly are you asking me to do?”
“Ow. Now I really can’t get up after that hit.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“Hurry up and do it. Otherwise I’m skipping breakfast and sleeping all day.”
“You seem different today. Were you always like this……?”
I’d said all I needed to. Now I simply closed my eyes and waited.
“Good grief……”
Though my eyes were shut, I could clearly hear the soft rustle of Ilena approaching. The moment stretched, tense and expectant.
Press.
A gentle touch landed somewhere completely unexpected. When I opened my eyes, Ilena was looking down at me, her face faintly flushed.
“Why my forehead instead of my cheek?”
“M-My cheek felt too embarrassing.”
“And the forehead isn’t……? After you devoured my lips like that yesterday?”
“Aah……! That’s enough! Get up already!!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Ilena hurled a soft pillow straight at my face.
“Hehe……”
Throughout breakfast, Mother’s smile never faded.
“Mother, what has you so amused?”
“What else? Just looking at your faces makes me happy.”
“Our faces……?”
Curious, I glanced at Ilena. Our eyes met, and she beamed. I couldn’t help smiling back.
“Hehe…… Yes, that expression right there is a joy to behold.”
I had a feeling I knew what she meant. But that meant my face looked like that too? Somehow it felt a little embarrassing.
After breakfast, Ilena, heading off to work at Hesed’s farm, said her goodbyes first.
“I’ll be off to work then. Please take care today, Mother.”
“Of course. Thank you for coming by this morning as well. What about lunch?”
“I’ll probably come back to eat. Dipe will join us too.”
Dipe, with nothing else to do, planned to sleep soundly until lunch. She still hadn’t fully adjusted to her newly grown body, so she spent half the day resting. There was a limit to how much magic power she could replenish through eating alone; eventually Ilena or Tiphereth would have to supply her directly.
“Well then, you too.”
Ilena gave me a meaningful look.
“See you later.”
“Hehe…… Yeah!”
When I waved, Ilena smiled brightly and turned away. The moment she was out of earshot, Mother asked,
“So, when should I prepare the wedding?”
“Cough……!”
“Why that reaction? I’m curious what happened last night for things to have progressed so quickly.”
“Nothing much happened.”
“Nothing much, my foot. Your mouth may lie, but your face certainly doesn’t.”
What exactly did my face look like? It was frustrating not being able to check in a mirror.
“We’ve agreed to meet. That’s all.”
“Agreed to meet? Is that it? Why not just get married already?”
“Marriage is still too soon. Have you forgotten we’ve only been reunited for less than a week?”
“Nonsense. The best time to act is when the spark first ignites. No matter how passionate a relationship, it cools over time. And then the nights grow quieter too……”
How could she say such things so casually? Was this what experience looked like? Then again, I was the very fruit of the love between Mother and Father.
“Well, as your mother, I couldn’t be happier. My son returns home, helps with the work, and even finds himself a wonderful partner……”
“I’m just as surprised. She seems to be adjusting well already.”
“It’s nice having less work to do. I’m glad I lived long enough to see this.”
“What do you mean, ‘glad you lived long enough’……?”
“If I can see just one more thing, I’ll have no regrets left.”
I had a pretty good idea what that one thing was.
“You want to see your grandchild.”
“You know me well! If you understand, then hurry up and make it happen. I don’t know how much longer I have.”
“You’ll live a long, long time. From now on I’ll stay right here and take care of you.”
“Oh, you unfilial boy. I just want to hold my grandchild already.”
Though her words were grumbling, her expression was unmistakably content. Together we headed into the shed to fetch the farming tools. But……
Something felt off about the air inside.
The door was properly closed, and all the tools were in their usual places. Yet my instincts screamed that something was wrong.
“Mother, please go on ahead to the field.”
“Hm? Why?”
“Looking at the tools made me think of Father. I got a little sentimental.”
“Ah……”
Mother nodded and left the shed first.
“Take your time.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t be too late.”
Missing Father was just an excuse. I waited quietly until Mother was far enough away that she wouldn’t overhear. Then, once I judged the moment right, I spoke toward the dark corner.
“What are you doing in there, Silvia?”
“……What about you?”
The intruder hidden in the shadows slowly stepped forward.
“What are you doing here, Roen?”
Once a member of the Hero’s party, the first to leave it. The dark elf assassin, Silvia.