Chapter 81

“Sir Theo, you’re working hard.”

Iris had stepped outside for a short break when she decided to look for Theo. It didn’t take long to find him. There he was, in the training grounds, swinging his sword.

“I had a feeling you’d be here.”

She had heard that Theo had practically been living in the training grounds lately. Figuring this was the most likely place to find him, she came here first….and sure enough, she was right.

Thump, thump—

Her heart pounded a little louder than usual with a pleasant rhythm that seemed to echo in her chest.

Of course, Theo was too focused on his training to even notice her presence. Still, just in case he somehow could hear it, Iris instinctively pressed a hand over her heart, as if trying to quiet the sound.

He’s seriously something else.

Though he used both swordsmanship and magic, he seemed to be devoting himself entirely to swordsmanship these days.

Now that she was taking a closer look, there was no denying it. His figure as he wielded his sword was strikingly masculine.

His broad shoulders, the muscles subtly highlighted under the moonlight…

His handsome face aside, the body he kept hidden beneath his clothes was undeniably that of a man, making her heart race uncontrollably.

I wonder… what it would feel like to be in his arms.

Without even realizing it, Iris found herself thinking about it again.

Had she been suppressing these emotions for too long, only for them to finally burst free?

Or… was I always this much of a pervert?

In a society where physical affection wasn’t exactly seen as indecent, simply imagining being in someone’s arms hardly made her a pervert.

But having never experienced these feelings before, everything felt so new and so unfamiliar that she couldn’t help but feel like she was doing something wrong.

Not that it was truly wrong, but it was certainly a feeling she didn’t want anyone else to notice.

“Oh, Iris. When did you get here?”

As Iris stood there, lost in thought while watching Theo and imagining what it would feel like to be in his arms, he suddenly closed the distance between them in an instant and spoke.

“Eek…!”

Startled, Iris instinctively stepped backward and nearly toppled over in the process.

“Careful…!”

Without hesitation, Theo reached out and pulled her into his arms.

“Uh… ugh, uh…?”

The moment her face pressed against his firm chest, her mind went blank, and she felt as if the world around her was spinning.

Logically, she knew Theo had caught her properly, preventing her from actually falling. But at that moment, she couldn’t help but think that hitting her head on the ground might have been less dizzying than this.

“Are you okay?”

The brief embrace ended as quickly as it had begun, and Theo looked at her with concern.

“Uh, yes… I-I think I’m okay.”

But only Iris knew that she was anything but okay. Her head felt light as if she were floating.

Just now… I was just in his arms, right? Sir Theo’s chest was so firm and warm… No, what am I even thinking? Have I lost my mind?!

She had only thought about being in his arms, then it actually happened.

Of course, Theo had only pulled her in to keep her from falling, but that didn’t matter to Iris.

The only thing that truly mattered was the fact that she had actually been in his embrace.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Your face is red. Do you have a fever? Maybe you almost fell because you’re feeling unwell?”

Theo kept asking questions, but Iris couldn’t hear a word of it.

“Sir Theo, I…”

“Yes, Iris?”

“Could you… hold me just one more time?”

Iris’s face burned bright red, with a bead of sweat trickling down her forehead.

Was her mouth dry, or was she trying to be seductive?

As she kept licking her crimson lips, the sight of her sent Theo’s heart pounding like crazy.

For Theo, who hadn’t even fully registered that he had held her, Iris’s words were like a trigger, forcing the memory to the surface.

“Huh? What? Oh…?”

Come to think of it, they had touched.

In the heat of the moment, he had been too preoccupied with other concerns, but now he clearly remembered the soft, plush sensation that had pressed against his chest before pulling away.

“Uh, no, I mean…”

The memory surfaced before he could stop it, and now, Theo wasn’t the only one with a flushed face.

“Just one more time… please hold me.”

Theo silently gazed at Iris as she cautiously repeated her request.

In the end, he couldn’t resist. He reached out and pulled her tightly into his embrace.

His firm arms, his chest, his shoulders—

Everywhere they touched, she felt nothing but warmth.

Bathed in moonlight, the two of them stood there in the quiet training hall. They said nothing and simply kept listening to the sound of each other’s racing hearts.

Thump— thump— thump— thump—

The pounding was so loud, it was impossible to tell whose heartbeat it was.

“Sir Theo! Are you here?”

Clatter—!

The moment that had seemed like it would last forever came to an abrupt end as the door to the training hall swung open and Estelle appeared.

“Ah…!”

Theo quickly pulled away from Iris and stammered an apology.

“S-Sorry, I’m sorry, Iris…!”

The dreamlike moment had vanished, and reality came rushing back. All Theo could do was stand there, his face still burning, as he apologized to Iris.

***

Crazy, crazy, crazy…! What did I just do?! Am I crazy…?!

Why the hell did I hug Iris?! No, why would I even do something like that?! Am I out of my mind…?!

“What’s going on with you two? Did something happen?”

It was a good thing Estelle had walked in when she did. If she hadn’t, I might have ended up holding Iris all day.

Not that it would have been… necessarily bad—No, what the hell am I thinking?!

“A-Ah, no. Nothing happened. Iris almost fell because of me, that’s all. Haha.”

My words came out awkwardly, but Estelle only tilted her head in curiosity. Then, after noticing Iris’s foot caught on the step, she nodded in understanding.

“Were you practicing swordsmanship?”

“Oh, yes. I just planned to do some light exercises, but I got too focused without realizing it.”

Even as I chatted with Estelle, for some reason, Iris remained silent. She simply stood there and kept staring at me.

“Iris, are you okay?”

It wasn’t until Estelle waved her hand in front of Iris’s eyes—

“A-Ah…! Yes! I’m fine!”

—that she finally snapped out of it. Her voice came out higher than usual, making it painfully obvious that something had, in fact, happened.

Oh, no…

“Wait a second. You two. Something definitely happened, didn’t it?!”

Right. There was no way sharp-eyed Estelle wouldn’t pick up on this.

“N-No, nothing happened…!”

Did Iris even realize that trying so hard to deny it only made it sound more like a lie?

“Whoa, whoa, so something did happen! Sir Theo! What exactly happened?!”

In the end, I had no choice but to face their interrogation.

But seriously, how was I supposed to explain this?

I had only caught her when she almost fell, but somehow, that led to us hugging. Then, Iris asked me to hug her again… so I did.

I mean, doesn’t this sound exactly like a secret relationship getting found out?!

“A-Ah, well… I just… caught her when she almost fell, that’s all.”

“Not a chance! Wait, hold on—did you two hold hands?! Like, while trying to catch her, did you just grab on tight or something?!”

That’s what she’s imagining? Just holding hands?

Sometimes, when I looked at Estelle and Iris, I couldn’t help but wonder. What were these two, really?

They always acted like they knew everything, yet at moments like this, they gave off an almost childlike innocence.

And every time, I found myself thinking the same thing.

“Oh, yeah. That’s right, that’s right…! Somehow, that’s just how it happened. Haha. Right, Iris?”

“H-Huh? Oh… y-yes…”

No, come on, Iris, work with me here.

Lowering her head, her face flushed red. And sure, she looked ridiculously cute like that…

So cute that I almost wanted to hug her again…!

“…We hugged.”

In the end, I was the one who came clean first.

Not that I even knew why I had to say this in the first place.

But for some reason, I had a feeling Estelle would be disappointed if she found out later.

“W-Wait, what?! You—y-you mean, like… a hug?!”

“Well… yeah. It just sort of happened.”

“Then… th-then hug me too…!”

I had been wondering how Estelle would react.

And now I had my answer.

She suddenly stepped forward, pushing herself toward me, and asked me to hug her as well.

“Uh… what?”

“You hugged Iris, so… I want one too…! Hug me too…!”

With her pretty pink lips pressed together and her cheeks flushed a rosy red, she said that…

Tell me. How was I supposed to refuse her?

“…Come here.”

I opened my arms and called Estelle over.

“Hngh…!”

She stepped closer and threw herself into my embrace….only to freeze up like a wooden plank.

“…Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes… I-I’m f-fine…”

Where had the loud, confident woman from moments ago disappeared to?

Now, she simply rested in my arms, barely making a sound. Her voice was growing weaker and weaker like air slowly escaping a balloon.

This was driving me crazy.

I had worked so hard to draw a line, to stick to the original storyline of the game.

And yet, this moment… It shattered all of that completely.

But at the same time, I kept thinking. Did it really matter?

Which only made this night all the more complicated.

“M-Me too… Hug me again too…!”

Time, which had felt like it had stopped, finally started moving again. This time, thanks to Iris’s voice.

“…Should we just hug together?”

Estelle didn’t seem willing to let go, and now Iris was asking for a hug too.

That left me with only one option.

To hold them both at the same time.

…It felt a little strange, sure.

But at this point, I figured….so what?