Chapter 749: A Novice in Love's Misunderstanding
Chapter 749: A Novice in Love's Misunderstanding
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, no! Not at all! It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. A-Anyway, after hearing what happened, my friend and I put our heads together, and we started to wonder… if maybe the reason you couldn’t make it last time was because you were intentionally trying to avoid me…”
“That’s absolutely not it.”
“Y-Yes! I know now that I was worrying for nothing! I believe you wouldn’t do that! But at the time… Ah! A-And this is my friend’s story! My friend’s!”
As I spoke with sincerity, she replied with a look that said it was okay, then frantically waved her hands and changed her tune.
Elder Sister. I think you just blew your ‘friend’s story’ cover, didn’t you?
That’s what I thought, but being the gentleman I am, I didn’t say it out loud.
“Ah, yes. Sorry for interrupting. So?”
“Y-Yes. So, um. We started talking about whether her boyfriend’s feelings for her might have cooled off. To be honest, my friend had been playing a little hard to get before that, and she mentioned that she might have overdone it a bit. And there were a few other things that seemed to point to it…”
E-Elder Sister…
Listening to her voice grow smaller and smaller, I started to feel more and more pity for her.
Elder Sister. I know you’re a novice at this, but you can’t just come out and admit you were playing hard to get!
Well, of course, she was saying it under the pretense of it being her friend’s story!
And when she says ‘other things that seemed to point to it,’ she’s talking about me rejecting Alicia, isn’t she!
Her naivete, so contrary to her appearance, was enough to make me want to press my hand to my forehead.
Was it my fault for flustering this already inexperienced woman?
“Anyway, the conclusion is this: after talking with your friend, you realized our situation was similar and you got anxious.”
I felt that if she continued this story any longer, her image as an experienced woman of the world would be damaged beyond repair, so I quickly cut her off and summarized.
Of course, in my mind, the image of the experienced Elder Sister Rachel had long since vanished, but she might still think I was fooled.
At least if she believed that, I could continue to see her cute, earnest efforts.
A bad personality? What are you talking about! What’s so wrong with wanting to see more of my woman’s cute side!
“Y-Yes…”
At my words, she nodded with an embarrassed expression.
In short, her story boiled down to this:
She had consulted her friend about our situation.
And the conclusion they came to after putting their heads together was that my feelings for Elder Sister Rachel might have cooled.
…It feels a bit rude to say this about someone I don’t even know, but… could it be that this friend she consulted also has very little dating experience?
“I’m sorry for making you worry. But it’s absolutely not like that.”
“Y-Yes… I believe you.”
Perhaps thinking she’d navigated the conversation well, she averted her gaze in embarrassment, but a shy smile still played on her lips.
Seeing that smile, a question reflexively popped out of my mouth.
“Still, your friend is in a tough spot. Who is she? Is it someone I know?”
I know. The opportunity to tease her was just too perfect, and I couldn’t help myself.
“W-Whaat?! A-Ah! Yes! Um! You remember when you were pulled over to the guide’s desk and made to wait? There was that person who said something strange, right? The one who asked if you were just toying with her.”
“Ah, right. Yes, there was.”
“That’s her. Really, she has a boyfriend of her own, but she still teases me like that sometimes.”
My surprise attack flustered her for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. Seizing the opportunity, she spoke as if to completely bury the misunderstanding from last time.
Of course, it was unlikely she had suddenly developed such quick reflexes, so she must have actually consulted that person.
And by telling the truth, she probably figured she could completely clear up the misunderstanding from that day.
But since I had never for a moment thought she was in that kind of relationship with the adventurer, her words led me to a completely different conclusion.
I see. So that’s how it is. In other words, she doesn’t actually have a boyfriend either.
If my memory served me right, she was a woman who was playful and seemed to have a cheerful, easygoing personality.
And she was beautiful enough to be exploring the 5th floor.
She seemed like she’d be quite popular with men, but she was single, and if she was giving that kind of advice, did that mean she also had little dating experience?
Well, not that it was important right now.
Besides, all of it applied to Elder Sister Rachel, too.
Being nice, being pretty, being popular with men, and having no dating experience—all of it.
“You two seemed close. It was nice to see.”
“Hehe. Her jokes can be a bit much sometimes, though.”
“……”
“……”
With that, the conversation ended, and we fell into a brief silence, just looking at each other.
“Anyway, I’m glad we cleared up our misunderstanding.”
“Y-Yes, it is…”
As I said that, Elder Sister Rachel glanced back at the bed before quickly turning her gaze forward again and lowering her head.
Then, she began to fidget with the hands resting neatly on her thighs, pointlessly smoothing the hem of her skirt.
Is she nervous at the thought of finally achieving the real purpose of our visit here?
We had been talking for quite a while, but it seemed her tension hadn't eased.
Well, considering I’d been saying things that kept throwing her into a panic, I guess it was only natural.
“Elder Sister Rachel.”
“Yes… Guwon…”
I placed my hands over hers as they fidgeted on her thighs and called her name, looking straight into her eyes.
She lifted her head and met my gaze, her reply unable to hide the fluttering of her heart.
“Well, now that we’ve cleared up the misunderstanding, I was thinking we could get to the main event.”
“Gasp… Y-Yes. The main event…”
A quick glance.
Her cheeks flushed crimson, and her eyes darted toward the bed once more.
“I’ve been thinking hard about how I can earn your trust.”
But I mercilessly crushed her expectations and started talking about the dog, which had been my original intention.
“…Huh?”
Needless to say, her expression went completely blank.
“…W-Wait. Wait a minute, Guwon.”
“Yes? What is it?”
She pressed one hand to her forehead as if she couldn’t comprehend the situation, while extending the other toward my mouth to stop me from speaking.
When I paused with a look of pure innocence, as if I had no idea what was wrong, she stared at me with eyes full of suspicion.
“M-Maybe… just maybe. Guwon, are you… teasing me right now?”
Oops. Looks like I’ve been found out.
“What do you think?”
“……”
When I answered her question with a question, she took a deep breath, trying not to panic, and desperately worked her brain.
“Uuuugh!”
And finally, she seemed to have reached the conclusion that I had been toying with her this whole time.
Not just now, but from the very beginning, when I had set sex aside to clear up the misunderstanding through conversation.
“E-Elder Sister?”
Seeing her bury her face in her thighs and kick her feet, I started to think I might have gone a little too far.
I mean, we had to clear up the misunderstanding anyway, and I had to talk about the dog at some point, so I just thought I’d have a little fun with it at the same time.
I placed a hand on her back, leaned in close, and called her name. In response, she thrust an open palm toward me.
“Whoa?!”
Before her hand could even touch me, my body floated into the air and was gently laid on the bed, spread-eagled.
Was that… a wind spirit?
“Hee, hehehe…”
A slightly suspicious laugh escaped her lips as she straightened up.
“If it’s come to this! I’ll teach you exactly what you’re supposed to do when you come to a place like this!”
As she shot to her feet and shouted at me, her eyes looked like they were spinning from the sheer panic.
Well, this wasn't a cartoon, so they weren't literally spinning.
In any case, the realization that she, who had tried so hard to act experienced while bringing me here, had actually been the butt of my joke, and the fact that she had no idea what to do now, seemed to have thrown her into a complete panic.
But for her to say something like that even in her panicked state, it seemed she had no intention of giving up her act as an experienced older woman.
I couldn’t tell if her mental fortitude was strong or weak.
In any case, for me, who wanted to keep seeing her cute, earnest efforts, it was a fortunate turn of events.
“W-What you’re supposed to do when you come to a place like this?”
Therefore, it was only natural for me to pretend to be flustered by her actions.
Since she was in a panic, she probably wouldn’t notice that I was just playing along.
Though, I couldn’t be sure what would happen later, when she calmed down and looked back on this rationally.
“That’s right! Do you get it?! When you come to a place like this with a girl you like, the first thing you do is!”
“The first thing?”
“T-The first thing is…!”
Come on, Elder Sister. Don’t get all shy now after shouting with such confidence.
You’re already acting bolder than usual because you’re panicking, so just push a little harder!
“Y-You push the other person down like this! Y-You push them down and…!”
As if my encouragement had reached her, she practically jumped on top of me, planting her hands on either side of my head and looking down at me.
But her eyes were completely unfocused, as if she were looking at something other than my face.
Nine times out of ten, her mind was just so full of thoughts that she wasn't really seeing anything.
Having gotten this far, she froze, unable to continue.
Well, she probably never imagined things would turn out this way, and it was unlikely that someone as bad at improvising as her could do anything more.
She must have just thrown caution to the wind, but it was amazing she’d even done this much.
I decided to stop just watching and lend a hand.
The teasing had gotten a bit out of hand because of the serious conversation we’d had, but that didn’t change the fact that what was about to happen would be the first time Elder Sister Rachel and I were officially together.
I couldn’t let our first time be completely devoid of mood.
“Like this, you mean?”
I wrapped my arms around her and rolled us over half a turn.
Now I was the one looking down at her, the complete opposite of our previous position.
“Y-Yes! Like thi—mmph!”
Still not free from her panic, she tried to say something as if to instruct me, but I covered her lips with mine.
Slowly, as if to ease her tension. I took my time, giving her panic a chance to subside.
As our tongues and lips moved slowly, tangling together in a deep, sticky kiss, I could feel the tension gradually leaving her body.
“I’m sorry. For teasing you like that.”
“N-No. You must have been curious about how I ended up with such a strange misunderstanding…”
After the long kiss ended, I pulled my lips away slightly and apologized. Elder Sister Rachel replied in a much calmer voice than before.
She didn’t seem embarrassed by her recent actions, which suggested she hadn’t fully regained her senses, but I had to admit she was much more composed.
“Thank you. Then…”
“Ah, w-wait a minute!”
I thanked her for her understanding and was about to get started in earnest, but she suddenly stopped me with an urgent look on her face.
“What is it?”
“W-Well…”
As I tilted my head, she hesitated for a moment, then brought a hand to her chest and wrapped her necktie around her finger.
Twirling the tie, she looked at me with a seductive gaze and opened her mouth.
“N-No matter how attractive I am, you can’t just pounce on me. Calmly. Understand?”
Watching her say that, giving me glimpses of her cleavage past the twirling necktie, I had a thought.
This woman… she actually practiced.
To be able to act like this when she wasn’t even fully calm yet. Just how much did she practice?