It was time to carry out the plans I had originally intended.
Since it wasn’t too far and I didn’t think it would take a long time, I packed a simple bag for a one-night, two-day trip.
In fact, apart from the assassin outfit I packed just in case, there wasn’t anything particularly important.
The last time I had been there was indeed on the first day of school when the Ajit was cleared out by the Deretia Family.
At that time, I had to hide from others’ eyes, so I secretly ran back all night, but this time, I had plenty of time, so I decided to take it easy and ride in a carriage.
Clatter!
Unlike the expensive magical carriage I rode to visit my friends’ mansion, this cheap carriage, which was wedged between others, jolted and shook, causing the impact to shoot directly up through my buttocks each time it moved.
Realizing I was starting to miss my friends’ carriage, I had no choice but to admit that I had become quite a materialist.
Still, since the distance wasn’t too far, I comforted myself with the thought that I wouldn’t have to endure it for long when I suddenly felt someone’s gaze upon me.
The carriage itself wasn’t wide, and there were only four people inside, including me.
Knowing my senses couldn’t be lying, I lifted my head to find the owner of the gaze.
In fact, without needing to search, I met the eyes of a woman who was staring directly at me as soon as I lifted my head.
She was sitting directly across from me, looking at me intently.
Trying to ignore it, thinking it was just a brief moment of eye contact, her gaze didn’t waver from me.
I felt uncomfortable being so openly stared at.
I frowned, indirectly expressing my dissatisfaction with why she was staring at me instead of unnecessarily provoking her.
However, the woman didn’t seem to care about my expression and instead smiled, getting up from her seat to sit next to me.
The already cramped carriage became even more uncomfortable with her sitting next to me, squeezing in next to my piled luggage.
The man who had been sitting next to me, sketching something, frowned at her actions before standing up and moving to the seat where she had originally been to continue what he was doing.
“Miss. You aren’t from Dephel, are you? What business do you have going there?”
The woman, who I had just met for the first time by coincidence as we happened to be in the same carriage, had no sense of etiquette as she pressed her large chest against my arm and started chatting.
No matter how beautiful she was, I wouldn’t be inclined to like someone who acted so suddenly and rudely, even if I was a man.
Instead of answering, I shifted slightly in my seat to distance myself from her as much as possible.
However, unfazed by my frown or my movements, she came even closer when I moved away.
“Hehe. You’re quite cute. You seem young at a glance; how old are you?”
It was amusing to see a woman who seemed to be about my age comment that I looked like a baby, but her actions were anything but funny.
Ignoring her words, I tried to move away again, but having reached the end of the seat, I had no place left to shift.
After pondering several times whether I should just get up and argue, her actions grew bolder.
Swish.
“Eek!”
Even though I was wearing pants, I unexpectedly let out a startled sound at the hand that slid up my thigh without my consent and glared at her.
“C-Could you please be quiet?”
The man who had moved to the other seat spoke irritably and then returned to his business.
“What kind of rude thing is this?”
I scolded her in the quietest tone I could manage so the man wouldn’t hear.
“Hey, don’t overreact so much. We’re both women, and we have some time before we get to Dephel. I just wanted to get a bit friendlier.”
I stopped to consider whether it was normal for women to engage in such intimacy as she casually placed her hand on my thigh.
When I thought about how sometimes Yuli or Selian would naturally set their hands on my thigh, this level of skinship did seem quite common among women.
“Your manners are lacking. I don’t like this, so please stop.”
But such ordinary behavior only works when there is a certain level of intimacy between the parties involved.
“Come on, don’t be so sensitive. You really look quite young; just how old are you?”
Even though I rejected her, she continued to keep her hand on my thigh and rambled on.
Since there wasn’t any more contact and we had about an hour left until we reached Dephel, I thought if I talked back just a little, she might calm down a bit.
“…I’m 18.”
“Wow! You’re younger than I expected!”
It was amusing to hear someone who looked like they were only a few years older than me call me a baby.
However, the moment I turned my head to check her age unwittingly, I discovered something unexpected.
Pointed ears slightly visible through her green hair.
“An elf?”
“Hehe. Surprised, huh?”
Of course, it was surprising. Elves are fewer in number than humans and are typically hard to meet due to their particular reclusiveness.
She had a reason for calling me young earlier. From the perspective of an elf who lives for hundreds of years, I, who have only lived for 18 years, must appear like a snot-nosed kid.
Of course, I couldn’t guess just how old the elf sitting in front of me was. I wondered if she might be hundreds of years old, but I couldn’t be sure.
Feeling my fantasies about elves crumble as they acted like middle-aged men was disheartening.
“Hmm? Interested in my ears?”
As she raised her hand and moved her hair behind her ears, the distinctive pointed ears of an elf came fully into view.
Wanting to say something but feeling like I would lose if I did, I stayed silent. Maybe my expression revealed it all because she smiled slyly.
“Want to touch them once?”
It was a tempting suggestion.
When would I ever have the chance to touch an elf’s ears? Since this elf had clamped her hands on my thigh, was it wrong if I did this much?
“Well, just this once…”
I slowly moved my hand towards her ear while finding excuses.
“Be gentle with them since ears are sensitive, okay?”
As my hand approached her pointed ear, I gently touched the tip.
“Ah!”
I was so startled by her sudden voice that I quickly withdrew my hand.
The man sitting across from us glared for a moment before returning to his work, while the other woman next to him looked at me silently with a blushing face.
“Could you touch them a little more… gently?”
Her voice, softer than before, made me a bit embarrassed, but my curiosity about her ears was stronger.
Since she said they were sensitive, I placed my fingers more carefully over her ear this time.
“Ahh…”
Fortunately, she didn’t make a loud noise like before.
I lightly bent her ear and rubbed it with my fingers, touching the elf’s ear.
How long did I spend touching it?
It was somewhat interesting, but I realized that aside from being pointed, there wasn’t much different about it compared to a human’s ear, and soon enough, my interest waned.
Having satisfied my curiosity, I lowered my hand but felt so awkward that I didn’t know how to respond.
However, the one to break that awkwardness was the elf, who had just taken a deep breath.
“Hehe. Since you’ve touched my ears now, does that mean we’re friends?”
The elf, who was more blatant in her thigh stroking than earlier, didn’t cross any further lines, so I didn’t particularly stop her.
It seemed she was satisfied with that, as she quietly kept stroking my thigh until we reached our destination.
*
“It was nice meeting you. I don’t know what you came to Dephel for, but let’s meet again if we have the chance.”
“…Well, I’m not sure if there will be another opportunity to meet.”
Only after we arrived at our destination did the elf finally remove her hand from my thigh as she got off the carriage to say goodbye.
Although we had grown somewhat closer, she still felt like a burden to me.
Since I was only going to be in Dephel for a day or two, there was little possibility of meeting her again.
The other woman who had boarded the carriage with us was probably part of the elf’s group, and as they entered the city side by side, the elf turned back, appearing to have something left to say to me.
Then she leaned in closely, and coming near my ear, she whispered in a small voice.
“Elven ears are sensitive erogenous zones, so next time, be gentler when you touch them.”
As I was left bewildered by her words, the elf quickly returned to her party.
There, the elf’s hand grabbed the butt of the woman tightly beside her, who, in turn, snuggled in closely as if to embrace her while they began walking together.
No way, isn’t this a total psycho perverted lesbian?!
