“Are you sure this jacket you’re wearing now isn’t El’s?”
Only then did I realize that the clothes had also changed.
In the first place, the jacket I was currently wearing, which Yuli borrowed from me during our summer vacation trip, was actually a school uniform, so aside from some torn parts, it looked exactly the same, and I had forgotten again.
“Hm?”
Upon Selian’s words, Yuli carefully examined the jacket she was wearing by turning her body from side to side.
“Oh… Um… Yeah, it seems so. How did this get swapped?”
“I’m sorry. I must have accidentally taken your jacket, Yuli, and that’s why they got swapped.”
I took off the jacket I was wearing and handed it to Yuli.
After receiving her jacket back from me, Yuli, for some reason, hesitated while awkwardly trying to take off the one I had lent her.
“Yuli.”
When Selian called Yuli’s name, Yuli finally removed the jacket and handed it back to me.
Was it because we were swapping jackets back and forth until evening? When I put on the jacket, it smelled just like Yuli usually did, as if she were standing right next to me, teasing my nose.
I subtly sniffed a couple of times, trying to keep it quiet so the two wouldn’t hear, but both Selian and Yuli were already looking at me intently.
Their stares made me feel uncomfortable, and I quickly realized I might have come off as a pervert, so I stopped immediately.
“Alright, Yuli, shall we talk for a moment?”
“Eh… Oh, okay?”
The jacket returned to its rightful owner, and Selian spoke to Yuli once more.
She was probably going to continue the conversation about the punishment from this morning.
Yuli seemed to sense something was wrong from Selian’s expression and voice, as she looked flustered.
“I, I’ll be inside for a bit.”
Linne, who had been lurking around with popcorn like always, probably sensing the tension in the air, switched to stealth mode and disappeared.
Now, only me, Yuli, and Selian were left in the waiting room.
To give them space to talk freely, I stepped back—not just one, but several steps—moving to a corner of the waiting room.
This way, the two of them should be able to talk without being conscious of me.
Absolutely, this was not about being scared or running away like Linne would.
—
“Hmm… I kind of thought that might happen.”
“Hehe… Yeah, right? El just fought our dad in a sparring match.”
Because I moved aside, thankfully, their conversation seemed to be going well.
Thinking it was about time to return to my original spot, I started moving closer when Selian’s voice interrupted again.
“…But, you didn’t really enter the bathroom with El, did you…?”
“Huh!”
No, the conversation wasn’t over yet. I’ll… I mean, I’ll give them more space.
“Still about the punishment…?”
“Hey, hold on!”
Even though I’m not sure what part of entering a bathroom with me involves a punishment, as soon as the mention of punishment came up, Yuli loudly interrupted.
I instinctively stopped in my tracks, startled, hearing her exclamation while retreating to the corner.
Thinking to turn back and check what was happening, I felt a sudden weight press against my back before I could.
Glancing back out of reflex, I saw that Yuli, who had just been scolded by Selian, had hugged me from behind.
“Yuli…?”
Though I called out her name in confusion, Yuli ignored me, instead wrapping her arms around my waist and staying quietly hugged to me.
“Yuli! El is confused…”
“Mew!”
Selian tried to stop Yuli’s sudden actions, but before she could, Yuli’s hands quickly moved from my waist and wrapped around my chest.
“Uh… Yuli…?”
“It’s ridiculous! We all agreed on the rules…!”
“Oh, come on. Friends can joke around this much, right?”
Yuli’s mischievous voice echoed as she played with my chest. Even though Selian was watching, such suspicious behavior needed to be avoided.
“Isn’t that right, El?”
“Mm… Well, of course… Heh… Huh!”
But Selian was watching silently, observing me and Yuli.
She looked like she was deep in thought.
I worried that maybe I was reacting too sensitively to Yuli’s teasing, and perhaps Selian was starting to suspect something from my uneasy demeanor.
To avoid being suspected by Selian, I unconsciously tried to suppress my reactions and forced myself to look calm.
“Huff… Huff…”
Even after Yuli finally let go of me, I tried to catch my breath while still checking Selian’s expression, but she still seemed to be deep in thought about something.
“Alright, alright! It’s Selian’s turn now. This kind of harmless joking among friends can certainly happen, right?”
Ignoring my fatigue, Yuli pushed Selian toward me.
“Could I get at least a moment to breathe…? Eek?”
Selian, looking a bit out of touch, was pulled by Yuli toward my chest.
And just like Yuli before, Selian started teasing me, disregarding my silent pleas.
“Well, I’ll be off then! This was just fooling around, so there’ll be no punishment, right?”
“Yes, just joking around…”
Yuli swiftly escaped, kicking the door open and running out while leaving Selian and me alone in the waiting room.
“I, I! Don’t leave me behind!”
—
After being teased by Yuli and then Selian in quick succession, I felt so drained that I collapsed onto the floor, trying to catch my breath.
Selian, who was just moments ago irritated about Yuli needing punishment, now looked at me with an unexpectedly gentle expression after teasing me.
At least, if sacrificing myself helped mend the rift between them, that was fortunate in its own way.
Stumbling over to the sofa, I rested my back against it.
As my head hung low, my gaze fell on my chest, which Yuli and Selian had played with.
Looking up, I noticed Selian’s slightly larger chest.
Why do those two like playing with my chest?
Though they clearly mean it differently, is liking chests something shared by both men and women alike?
I’ve been living as a woman for quite some time now, but I still don’t understand women’s psychology well.
Certainly, I personally do like women’s chests.
But that’s because I’m a man, not because I share the same meaning as Selian or Yuli would.
“El? Staring too intensely will make me feel shy even if it’s me…”
Realizing Selian was calling out to me, I snapped out of my thoughts.
Lost in musings about chests, I must have been staring at Selian’s a little too openly.
…Now I really look like a pervert.
“S, Sorry! I didn’t realize…”
Thankfully, being a woman herself, Selian didn’t seem offended.
“Uh… Well…”
“What?”
“Since I’m the only one teasing, it seems unfair. Why don’t you try teasing me, El?”
“Huh?”
“What I mean is, El can also touch my chest.”
…
What Selian said was completely unexpected.
She must be considering it because I was openly staring at her chest earlier.
This is probably her considerate gesture, coming from her fair-minded personality as someone raised to be a hero candidate.
But if I bluntly accept this offer, I’d just end up as nothing more than a perverted creep taking advantage of her innocence.
“No, don’t worry about it. I wasn’t thinking anything in particular—I just happened to stare thoughtlessly.”
“Nuh-uh! El has to touch my chest too!”
“Shh, quiet!”
She shouted without any bashfulness, so I forced myself to stand despite wobbly legs and rushed over to cover her mouth.
Thankfully, the waiting room door was securely shut, so it seemed only I heard Selian’s embarrassing words.
“Phew…”
But Selian didn’t stop her insistence. She kept urging me in a loud voice.
Of course, this was a suggestion I couldn’t accept, so I repeatedly refused her shouts.
Even if it means being questioned, I can’t compromise the last remnants of my chivalrous conscience.
“…There you go, because El made a mistake first.”
In response to my continued refusal, Selian suddenly looked upset, glaring at me with an almost intimidating tone as she placed her hand in her pocket.
Always so upright, it was strange seeing Selian standing there like a delinquent.
Is she really this mad? It’s hard to believe.
“Selian…?”
“Touch me already.”
“No way.”
Even as she acted tough and spoke with a scary voice, no meant no, so I closed my eyes firmly and answered with a resolute tone.
“Yes, fine…”
?
Something seemed off about Selian’s tone. Opening my eyes curiously, I saw my hands slowly lifting on their own.
Stop!
I managed to stop the movement of my hands, which were moving without my knowledge, and sighed in relief.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and touch me.”
But as if the moment of stopping was a lie, my hands began moving again toward Selian’s chest.
What the… Is my libido really this pent up?
To the point of taking advantage of an innocent girl’s consideration?
Am I a pervert consumed by lust?
I managed to stop my hands again, putting all my superhuman patience into it.
‘Don’t you want to touch? If the person herself allows it, what’s the problem? Just close your eyes and touch.’
…My inner voice was egging me on.
I feel so pathetic about myself right now.
An assassin, a hero, and yet I can’t even control my own body, my own lust like this?
It’s truly embarrassing.
‘You want to touch too, don’t you? She allows your hands, you want to touch. This is utterly natural.’
Even as my inner voice pushed me further, my hands again moved toward her chest but stopped just short.
I can’t fall, not even if my inner voice tempts me.
‘Touch!’
No!
‘Touch!’
No!
After battling with my inner voice for a while, my hands were trembling helplessly, caught between two actions.
But if I only listen to my inner voice and act on instinct, if I’m swept away by lust and can’t control myself, would I be any different from an animal?
I’m not a dog in heat—I’m human!
‘Ah, just touch already!’
Thud…
…Huh?
