I had decided to spend the festival day with Presia, but ultimately, this was just my own wishful thinking.
If it turns out that Presia has no intention of leaving her room during the festival, or even if she does, has no plan to spend time with me, then I would’ve just been building castles in the air.
Besides, though she doesn’t have any specific classes to teach, as a professor in the Department of Magic, she might have other schedules to attend to.
Therefore, to arrange a meeting with Presia, I headed over to Magic Building 707.
“Boss?”
True to expectation, it was pitch dark inside Room 707 even in the middle of the day due to the blackout curtains.
Presia, their owner, seemed to be asleep, and both Bear and Tokki were just slumped under the sofa.
Still, upon hearing the creaky sound of the door opening, both Bear and Tokki turned their heads toward me.
Though my intention was to wake Presia up since I had come for business, I decided to just raise my hand and give a quiet greeting for now.
Skipping about with light steps, Bear and Tokki came over and, unable to speak, happily circled around me to extend their welcome.
Even as I moved around cautiously, ensuring I didn’t accidentally step on the two little ones playing around me, I approached Presia.
Under the soft glow of the small magic lamp, I knelt down in front of the couch.
“Hmm…”
At my soft stroke of her hair, Presia stirred in her sleep, murmuring softly and shifting her small body on the narrow sofa.
“Boss. Could you wake up for a moment?”
I felt guilty shaking her awake, so I chose to gently stroke her hair and softly call out to her.
If it were Anne, she’d only wake up if I shook her shoulder and shouted loudly, but Presia, even in her sleep, heard my gentle voice and slowly returned from dreamland.
Even though her eyes opened, the heavy eyelids and the blurred focus suggested she was still drowsy.
Presia’s green eyes, which felt like looking out onto a vast blue meadow, finally found me and locked on.
“Wwwhoom…”
Then, like a spoiled child, Presia stretched out her small arms toward me while still lying on the sofa, trying to be cutesy.
A sight I would rarely see if she were fully awake. Lately, when she was lost to her drowsiness, she would act like a child her age.
Actually, it’s debatable whether calling her a child her age is appropriate since she is only two years younger than me.
Picking up the large Presia and placing her on the sofa, I sat next to her quickly to prevent her from falling over as soon as she sat up.
Leaning over, Presia rested her small face on my shoulder.
“No, it’s fine.”
Though Presia wasn’t someone who could use magic to conjure the tea, Bear, who had climbed onto the table, was offering a teapot toward me. Today, I had come to decline Bear’s offer.
I had only managed to snatch a little bit of time before Presia booked out her schedule, and so I had to leave soon.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to sit down and leisurely drink tea.
“Boss? I came here because I had something to say.”
I lightly shook her, who was still leaning on me, to wake her up.
But as my only response were slight sighs, it seemed she had fallen asleep again.
Even though I tried speaking a little louder, unlike waking Anne, Presia showed no signs of waking.
Though she had been easy to wake earlier with my soft voice, it appeared that the return journey to dreamland had only made her sleep deeper.
Just as I was considering leaving and coming back later, Tokki from under the sofa looked up at me, cradling a small box.
The box in Tokki’s arms contained cream puffs from a famous pastry shop that had opened its doors even before dawn.
Even though Tokki had inanimate eyes, the anticipation in the large and bright eyes looking up at me was palpable.
Just as I was about to politely decline, my gaze flickered to the table where Bear was perched, helplessly playing with the teacup.
The forlorn eyes of Bear, despite being an doll, were pitiful to see.
“… I’ll have just one cup, please.”
I couldn’t bring myself to go home and leave Bear and Tokki’s hopeful faces like this.
At the mere mention of the request, both Bear and Tokki’s happiness became evident.
There you go, with them so happy, even delaying today’s schedule a little wouldn’t hurt.
Bear immediately placed a teacup in front of me and deftly poured the tea, while Tokki hopped onto the table, using the sofa as a stepping stone, and brought out the cream puffs.
“I’ll enjoy them.”
Even though it hadn’t been permitted by the owner, Presia, but encouraged by Bear and Tokki, I hesitantly took one.
Still, could I really pass up the temptation of these rare cream puffs?
Given the student situation, it was impossible to stand in line from weekdays and the store didn’t even open on the weekend, so there was no way to get it easily.
Even if Presia would be angry upon waking, …
Sorry, Tokki. Looks like you’ll have to take the blame for me.
If she asks me, I’ll have no choice but to sell out your name.
Of course, the option of refusing didn’t even exist.
Ignoring the second glance cast by Tokki’s bright eyes, this cream puff was really something I wanted to try.
However, with Presia leaning against me, it was rather uncomfortable to drink tea and eat cream puffs, so I slightly rearranged my seat and placed Presia to lie on my thighs.
Come to think of it, I had lain on Selian’s lap like this before.
I gently tidied Presia’s tousled hair and slowly reached out.
Before I could indulge in the fine cream puff, I thought I should prepare myself in an appropriate way.
I first took a sip of the tea prepared by Bear to cleanse my palate.
The dry mouth was now full of the aroma of tea.
Still, I didn’t rush straight to the cream puff.
If I were to eat it immediately, the tea’s fragrance may ruin the true taste of the cream puff.
Hence, I waited for a moment, enjoying the aroma of the tea.
And when I felt the tea taste had mostly faded from my mouth, my hand finally moved slowly towards the cream puff.
Too large to eat in one bite.
If I had my previous man-sized mouth, I would have carelessly shoved the whole thing into my mouth, but now the smaller mouth meant that I had to take several bites.
I carefully held the cream puff with both hands and gently brought it towards my mouth.
And finally, with my small mouth, I took a delicate bite.
The satisfying crunch of the outer shell was delightful, and the sweetness of the custard filling immediately filled my mouth.
The cream’s flavor was incredibly rich, to the point where I could no longer recall the tea I had just sipped on.
Even the little cream left around my mouth seemed too precious to waste, so I carefully wiped it off with my finger and licked it.
There were still two more bites left on the cream puff in my hands.
Had I been a man, I would have finished it all in one bite, but now, occasionally, being a woman isn’t too bad. It might sound pitiful, but honestly, this is a heavenly flavor that anyone coming here would end up thinking the same thing.
First hate me if you must, but at least try this cream puff before you do. If you even can.
As I thought of all sorts of thoughts over this one cream puff and ate it bit by bit, I had finished it before I realized.
I fully enjoyed the sweetness lingering in my mouth, then took another sip of tea to cleanse it once more.
There were two cream puffs that Tokki brought out from the box, so one was still left.
But I wasn’t shameless enough to take the last one.
Though, it was odd to talk about shame when I already ate one without the host’s permission.
Thus, instead of eating the remaining cream puff myself, I brought it close to Presia’s mouth, who was comfortably lying on my thigh.
“As soon as you don’t wake up, I’ll eat the last one too?”
Finally, Presia stirred at the touch of the cream puff on her mouth, and I could feel her movement through my thigh.
“Wha… What are you doing?”
Though her words were unclear with the cream puff in her mouth, I somewhat understood what she wanted to say.
“When I was enjoying the second bite, I saw your peeking glance.”
“…You saw it?”
Presia’s face turned red as she seemed embarrassed about being caught sneaking a peek.
But isn’t it more embarrassing considering I was the one who secretly ate the cream puff?
“I’m sorry. Since you wanted it so much, but I ate it without permission…”
How badly would you want something to secretly watch me eating it?
And even while doing so, she was thoughtful enough not to disturb me.
It’s baffling why I always seem to have such incredibly considerate people around me.
“No, actually, I bought it for Alicia… though I received it as a gift and kept it.”
“Such a cream puff, not only is the price steep, but it’s also hard to get one. You must receive a lot of gifts in your position.”
“That… Yes?”
I suddenly remembered Professor Ferent.
Ferent, who only keeps strange herbal candies in his office instead of such high-quality cream puffs. I guess it’s because he’s trying to not appear like a middle-aged man that he only receives those sorts of gifts.
“Ah, there’s some cream on your mouth.”
Due to the forceful offer, the cream spilled out as she bit, leaving a trace on the side of her mouth.
I wasn’t a lecherous person to snatch the cream puff out of her hand and eat it, and I couldn’t properly wipe her mouth either since she was holding it. Hence, I gently cleaned the cream stuck on the corner of her mouth with my finger, then licked it off.
“Mm.”
Despite the outer shell of the cream puff, the sweetness of the cream inside was truly indescribable.
Worried that Presia might notice my greedy disposition, I quickly wiped the expression off my face and looked at her reaction.
However, for some reason, Presia was blushing furiously and staring at me wide-eyed.
“Boss?”
Calling her, she only stared at me vacantly, then looked down at the cream puff in her hands.
As I began to question why she wasn’t responding,
“Manager… W-wah!”
She suddenly covered my mouth with her hands before I could call her again. Naturally, still holding the cream puff.
In other words, my mouth was suppressed by the cream puff she had already bitten into.
“El, Elisia! Have it! I’ve had enough with this one bite!”
Looks like Presia had already figured out my greedy nature, despite my efforts to hide it.
Anyway, behaving so openly, it would be strange not to notice.
As she removed her hands from the cream puff stuffed into my mouth, the puff started to slip down as I clumsily bit it, resulting in the cream smudging around my lips. I quickly licked it all off with my tongue.
“Heh heh…”
Seeing my action, Presia was staring at me so intently that I felt a bit embarrassed and gave a sheepish laugh.
But I didn’t want to make a fool of myself further, so I quickly ate the cream puff in two bites.
“Alright, boss. Here, have a sip of tea.”
I quickly redirected Presia’s attention by offering her some tea.
There was only one cup Bear had poured, and it was one I had already sipped on, so I brought it to her mouth.
However, Presia didn’t take the cup but only put her lips to it.
Seeing her act in such a childlike manner, I couldn’t help but smile and slowly tilted the cup for her.
Having just woken up and then ate the cream puff suddenly, her throat must have been rather dry, as Presia emptied the half-full teacup completely.
As soon as she placed the cup back on the table, I noticed Bear attempting to refill the empty cup, which reminded me of the original reason for my visit.
I raised my hand to signal Bear that it was fine while speaking to Presia.
“Ah, by the way, boss.”
“Huh?”
“If you don’t have anything special planned on the Celestial Festival, would you like to spend the day with me?”
“O-of course! It’s the fourth day, right? I’ve cleared that day’s schedule on purpose so don’t worry!”
“Huh, that’s a relief. I was worried you might be busy. By any chance… aren’t you making unnecessary trouble for me?”
I questioned if she had gone to unnecessary lengths just for me.
Given Presia’s pure-hearted and considerate nature, that possibility wasn’t out of the blue.
“It’s not that much of a trouble.”
“Ho ho. So on the fourth day, we’ll spend the day together, alright? We’ve made a promise.”
“Yes, a promise.”
Only after confirming and linking our pinkies as proof, did I leave to catch up with my late schedule.
…
Did I mention the fourth day, though?
No matter, since I mentioned it first, Presia must have followed up on it.
