When I entered the dormitory, I felt something was off.
“Hmm? Why is it so quiet?”
Normally, Lily would come running to me the moment I entered. But now, the dormitory was eerily silent.
“Lily?”
Calling out her name brought no response.
I moved from the entrance into the main room, but Lily was nowhere to be seen. After checking the restroom too, I concluded that Lily wasn’t in the dormitory.
“Did she go out for an evening stroll?”
Though it’s a bit early, it’s possible that Lily went out hunting anticipating my return.
Deciding to wait patiently, I laid down on the bed.
As I lay still, various thoughts began to arise.
“What about tomorrow’s date?”
“What should we eat? Sweet Love? It might be boring since we’ve done that before…”
“Where should we go? Last time we only looked around without really enjoying ourselves.”
“What’s my ring size? Ah! I could naturally find out by comparing hand sizes with her. That seems like a good, natural approach.”
“Kissing… we’ll probably do a lot of that, right? Should I buy some lip balm?”
“What should I wear… well, there’s no need to worry. I only have two outfits anyway.”
I suddenly realized that all my thoughts had been focused solely on my date with Lily since she came into my life. Before meeting her, when I was lying around like this, I would often ponder about life’s injustices. But now, I found myself happily thinking only about Lily.
“I must really like her…”
Each of these small things seemed to be a change that began with meeting Lily.
“Speaking of which, where should I give her the ring? Sweet Love… hmm, not quite right. Ah! The park would be perfect. The sunset there is beautiful. We could naturally end up there after the date.”
“What should I say when I give it to her? Make a love confession? That’s a given.”
“But what kind of tone should I use? Something smooth? Sweet? Cool?”
Deciding not to just think about it, I sat up and practiced the lines I had hastily prepared.
“To the world, you are the most… mmm…”
A chill ran down to the soles of my feet, and I began pounding on the bed.
“H-Hem… uh… I… love… you…? Kya! Too embarrassing!”
“Your inner… aaaagh!”
“Am I crazy?!”
Though I repeatedly banged my head on the wall like it would make a thudding sound, since my target was a bed, it only sank in.
As my embarrassment reached its limit and my heated head calmed down, I heard a faint laugh.
“Hmm?”
At first, I thought it might be the wind.
“Could the soundproofing magic allow wind sounds to penetrate?”
That was unlikely. This was definitely a laugh, which meant…
“Someone is in this room!”
Silently moving toward the source of the sound, I found it was coming from the stove cabinet.
“Kee… keekeek… kee…”
Just in case, I grabbed the steak knife tucked underneath the cabinet with my left hand and gripped the cabinet door with my right. Then…
SLAM!
“Who’s ther- ah?”
Inside the cabinet was a cat. Yes, a cat. A cute one with black fur and crimson eyes.
“Lily?!”
“Meow~”
Lily leapt down from the cabinet, tapped my head once, and landed gracefully on the floor. When I turned around, there was Lily in human form, covering her mouth and belly with her hands.
“Hoo… hoo… hoohee…”
“Lily, what…?”
Seeing my dumbfounded expression, Lily spoke with a grin.
“I love you, kye?”
At that moment, I felt a dizzying sensation. Struggling to speak with my trembling jaw…
“Ser-seriously? Did you hear everything?”
Without a word, Lily only smiled. Through this silent response, I realized the truth and felt my whole body, especially my face, flush hot with sweat.
“Uh… no… no… what should I do…?”
My head spun, and my words failed to come together. Eventually…
I slumped to the floor and silently lamented.
“Ah, I could really use a mouse hole right about now.”
Mouse, if you could at least let me stick my face in, that would be great…
—
Currently, Lily was embracing me from behind as if to soothe my mortified self, gently patting my head.
“Can you forgive me?”
“I’m not mad.”
“Uh-huh, I’m sorry.”
“I said I’m not mad!”
“Uh-huh, I’m sorry.”
“…”
“Sorry, sorry. Can you forgive me, please?”
“It’s not like I’m mad…”
There was no way Lily was going to acknowledge that I wasn’t mad.
At first, I felt a bit irked, but the soft sensation from my neck to my shoulder melted my heart.
Is Lily’s skin really this smooth?
Eventually, I slightly slipped out of Lily’s embrace, turned around, and hugged her. Then, I leaned forward and lightly pecked Lily’s lips.
Looking at the bewildered Lily, I casually threw out an explanation.
“We used to do it at the orphanage. When someone was upset, we would hug each other and do a ‘kiss of reconciliation.'”
“Kiss of reconciliation… wait. So your first kiss was-”
Uh oh, her eyes are turning red again.
Quickly continuing,
“As I said before, Lily is my first kiss. I avoided situations where my heart might be hurt.”
Next, I happily added,
“Since we’ve done the ‘kiss of reconciliation,’ that’s the end of apologies. I’m already kind of hungry, Lily.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Hmm… how about we just make something with what’s here?”
“Why? Are you worried I’d be bothered? You don’t have to be worried about that. Hunting old ones is as easy as pie for me-”
“I don’t want to be apart from Lily.”
“Then shall we eat what’s here? Let’s see if there’s anything good?”
Heehee… you’re changing the subject already.
What a cute outsider.
The standard-issue refrigerator included with the dormitory was small in size but reliable in performance. Not only a refrigeration spell, but also a preservation spell was cast within it, allowing semi-permanent storage.
This refrigerator…
When I opened the fridge door, I froze. Inside, all that was left were water, milk, cereal, and an uneaten chocolate bar.
“Um…”
Is this really how lightly I’ve been living?
Standing beside me, Lily scrutinized the interior of the refrigerator, then after a moment’s thought, reached out and picked up something.
“Lily?”
It was the uneaten chocolate bar I had left in there, thinking I’d eat it someday…
Gobble.
“Why are you eating that?!”
After chewing a few times, Lily swallowed the chocolate bar.
“I thought it was something you had eaten…”
That doesn’t even make sense…
Lost for words, I stood there dumbfounded, and Lily disappeared with a quick “Wait here.”
Lily only disappears like that when she goes out hunting.
‘After saying I didn’t want to eat what was here…”
Alone, I reflected on the time spent with Lily. Of course, it was important, but it couldn’t compare to the time spent with her.
Ultimately, returning to the bed to wallow in thought…
‘No, isn’t this my chance?’
I judged this to be the most appropriate time to read the Necronomicon with Lily absent, and slowly reached into my pocket-
“I’m back!”
“N-Never thought you’d return so quickly-”
Startled by the sudden voice, I hurriedly withdrew my hand from my pocket and turned around to find my eyes widening.
Lily was holding something in both hands.
Lily was holding what appeared to be groceries in both hands. Bags, baskets, large packages, and even floating boxes following behind her.
“What is all that?”
“Groceries!”
Lily emptied the contents of the baskets, bags, and boxes into the refrigerator.
A fleeting glance revealed vegetables, meats, fruits, even street foods and desserts.
There were also some strange creatures of unknown origin, but surely Lily wouldn’t poison me, right?
“What did you get all that from?”
“Didn’t I? Most came from the market we visited last time.”
Come to think of it, those street foods were all things I had taken notice of. Did she realize where my eyes had gone during our last date?
“Ah, I paid the proper price, don’t worry.”
Suddenly, I became uneasy. Lily, who offered ornate jewels when settling the bill at restaurants. Did she do something like that again?
The thought of the market prices became a little worrisome.
“We’ve got all the ingredients. Let’s get started on cooking then?”
When Lily spun her body, an apron appeared under her evening gown. The cuteness arising from that imbalance made it hard to manage my expression.
“If I could help-”
“Patient stays seated!”
“I’m not a patient anymore?”
In response to my retort, Lily whirled her eyes around for a moment before answering.
“Hmm… Ah! Men aren’t supposed to enter the kitchen!”
What a gender-biased, outdated statement. Even the nobility these days refrain from saying things like that…
But ultimately, since it was for my sake, it felt wrong to keep refusing.
“Alright. I’ll stay seated.”
“Good. Is there anything you want to eat? Tell me.”
“Hmm… Nothing in particular.”
Knowing only a few types of food since the orphanage days, I barely knew the names of the dishes.
“Good? Then I’ll make a meal based on my recommendation.”
“Sure, that’s fine.”
Lily took out a bunch of ingredients and…
Snap
Whoosh!
Summoned black flames.
“What? Are you really going to cook with that?”
“Sure, what’s the problem?”
“…Is that really okay?”
“Hmm, are you worried I’ll burn it? Don’t worry. I can perfectly control the heat. In fact, it’s more practical than that gas burner?”
If that’s true, then it’s fortunate.
Lily’s sight of stir-frying ingredients on a frying pan above such flames was quite strange.
Then a sudden playful impulse drove me from behind Lily.
And after carefully timing…
‘Now!’
I wrapped my arms around Lily’s slender waist from the back.
“Tch! Wh-what are you suddenly doing?”
“I said I don’t want to be apart from you.”
“That’s true… but are you going to keep doing this?”
“Is it bothering you?”
At that, Lily slowly turned her head around.
“I don’t mind…”
I’ve got permission.
Even as I held her in a bear hug, I buried my nose in Lily’s neck.
It was quite pleasant to be so tightly attached.
“Shall I push your hair aside?”
Lily’s long hair began to move, curling and settling over her right shoulder.
Though it remained somewhat unruly due to its length, the fragrance it released tickled my nose.
Thanks to the hair being swept aside, I could cuddle freely without any barriers.
It felt different from hugging her from the front, lacking the overwhelming softness, but being able to hold her like this made it feel even more intimate.
And with Lily’s bottom pressing against my lower half…
Hem, my blood began to flow south.
Though I worried that she might’ve noticed, the current position, where I could fully feel Lily against my whole body, was too pleasant to let go.
Especially since I could feel Lily’s heartbeat more strongly due to the lack of obstacles.
Thump thump thump
‘Wow… it’s beating so fast.’
Thinking that this rapid beat was due to me made my own heartbeat race in sync.
“Uh… Aser… my neck, your breathing…”
Her neck seemed ticklish. After briefly lifting my face, I moved my lips closer and…
“Whoosh~”
“Kyaa?!”
Whoosh!
A jet of black flame shot up to the ceiling after I blew onto her neck, covered halfway by her hair.
Though Lily managed to lower the flame in a panic, the ingredients in the frying pan were already…
A brief silence followed. Then shortly after,
“A-ser…”
Lily turned around with a chilling smile.
“I’m sorry…”
—
After some time passed, Lily finally calmed down and returned to cooking.
It was surprisingly delicious.
