112 – Stopping the Device.
“The world… is spinning…”
As Noah’s vision swayed back and forth, he blinked his eyes slowly. Someone was speaking to him from the side, but his mind was so disoriented that he couldn’t understand.
“Here, drink this!”
When a cold glass was placed in his hand, Noah lifted the cup to his lips and swallowed its contents with a vacant expression. As the cold water flowed down his throat, his mind snapped awake.
“I’m sorry for giving you something so strong. I thought it was milder…”
“No, it’s fine. I’m okay.”
No one who says they’re fine after drinking alcohol actually is, but thanks to the cold water, Noah’s tone sounded perfectly composed for a moment.
“But…”
“More importantly… I’m feeling a bit tired, so I’ll head up now.”
“Oh… okay! I’ll let the chef know in advance, so make sure to have the hangover soup tomorrow!”
Since the inn served alcohol both day and night, hangover soup was one of the breakfast options. The bartender could tell that Noah would definitely suffer from a hangover the next day, so his face was filled with apologies.
As Noah’s mind, which had been briefly awakened by the cold water, started to cloud over again, he didn’t notice the expression on the woman’s face.
“What was I trying to do? I’m sure… um…”
His sluggish mind interrupted his thoughts. Noah groped through the dark recesses of his memory as if trying to find something that had been covered by a blackout curtain.
“Oh, right. I was going to have a proper conversation with Lian…”
“Heh…”
Noah climbed the stairs with a wobbly face. People who were going up or down automatically avoided him, as his stumbling appearance and the scent of alcohol emanating from him clearly indicated that he was drunk.
“Ah, finally here. hehehehe…”
Even though his appearance was that of a man, his face was nearly the same, and a cute smile spread across it. She hummed a little tune under her breath.
“Stress is really something! It’s like flying away…”
She opened the door with a giggle and went inside.
“Ah, Noah! …You’re back.”
Even though Noah couldn’t be seen coming out of the bathroom, Lian anxiously waited for him with a worried expression on her face. It was like a father waiting for his daughter who had gone out at dawn.
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Lian looked at Noah with a relieved face, but was taken aback by the sudden smell of alcohol.
“Uh, Noah?”
“Liaaan…”
Noah, with his disheveled face, rushed towards Lian. It was a sight similar to Jess rushing towards someone.
Unconsciously, Lian turned her body to the side to avoid him. Before she knew it, his hands were covering his chest, like a child protecting himself.
Noah, who had been waving his hands in the air, took a few steps forward before stopping. Lian retreated with a startled expression on her face.
Thud.
As the bathroom door hit her back, Lian desperately looked towards the door.
“I’ll be caught before I can even get there!”
Lian trembled like a prey about to be hunted by a predator.
“Ugh… it’s hot.”
“Eek…!”
Noah threw his robe on the floor, complaining about the heat, and started unbuttoning his shirt. When a few buttons were undone, a white bandage came into view.
Lian pressed her body against the bathroom door as if lava was rushing towards her. With both hands, she covered her mouth tightly.
Noah prayed fervently inside, hoping that he wouldn’t be noticed and would make it to the bed. But once again, God had forsaken him!
“Oh? It’s Lian… I had something to tell Lian…”
Noah, with a flushed face, started running towards Lian. Lian trembled like a cornered mouse.
Squelch.
“…!”
At that moment, the sound of salvation reached their ears. It was the sound of the bathroom door, which Noah had broken the lock of earlier, being pushed open with great force. Lian hastily opened the door and entered.
“Oh no! This is a dark fantasy world!”
If it were a comedy world, there might have been a place as small as a cleaning closet to catch their breath, but there was nothing here.
Lian was nothing more than a pitiful victim who had walked into their own grave. Like a mouse faced with a cat, Lian trembled and stepped back.
“Ri-an…”
“Uh, Noah. Let’s calm down. First… let’s calm down…”
Lian pretended to calm down, pressing against the bathroom wall as if trying to calm down an excited person. Perhaps thanks to Lian’s efforts, Noah showed a remarkably rational behavior.
Thud.
To prevent their group from being discovered, Lian closed the bathroom door. With trembling voice, Lian spoke with a faint hope.
“No-Noah, are you coming to your senses?”
“…”
“Uh? Noah? Are you okay?”
Noah suddenly bowed their head deeply, bending their legs and squatting down. Worried that something might be wrong, Lian cautiously moved away from the wall and approached Noah.
“Noah, Noah?”
Just as they were about a step away.
“I’m f-fine!”
“Lian!”
Noah jumped up like a rocket and hugged Lian tightly around the waist. Lian stumbled and fell backward.
There had never been a time when my tailbone hurt while embracing a young girl.
“Noah, you always seem to have something on your mind.”
I sank down, all to gain momentum… or so it seemed as if a voice echoed in my ears.
Swoosh, swish.
“N-Noah?”
Noah, who had been hugging my waist, crawled up to my chest like climbing a tree named Lian. Her ripe red face brushed against Lian’s chest.
“Heh-yaaak…”
Lian screamed inwardly, shaking her pupils while raising both hands. Having lived in a world where performing reckless acts could turn you into an experiment, Lian’s actions were similar to an ingrained survival instinct.
“Why, why isn’t anything happening?!”
Usually, when something like this happened, someone would appear and the situation would turn chaotic, or the person being embraced would suddenly make pizza, creating a terrible situation.
“Lian, Liiiaaan… heehee…”
But nothing was happening now! It was strangely abnormal!
The reason was that Noah had a liking for Lian, and Lian also had a liking for Noah. It was because they allowed light skinship to happen when they were in a relationship, even if it was just a slight touch, unlike when giving birth to a new life.
Even unicorns! To the point of accepting it! Lian was an unknown piece of information.
“What’s going on? I felt really terrible just now.”
Because her mood had turned sour, Lian regained her senses momentarily. She barely managed to put her hand down and grabbed Noah’s shoulder.
“Hey Noah… um, it’s getting late, so how about sleeping in bed now…”
“Siiireo… sireosireo!”
“Hee-yaaak!”
Noah made a cute voice and rubbed her face against Lian’s chest. It would have been fine if she had at least dressed properly as usual, but her breasts, clearly visible under the white bandage, made it difficult to regain composure.
In Noah’s childhood gesture, Lian felt as if he was about to lose his mind. Suddenly, Lian’s face turned as red as Noah’s.
But the problem didn’t end there.
“Huhuhu…”
“…?!”
Noah suddenly started crying. Lian froze as if he had been hit by a petrification beam. Noah spoke with a voice soaked in tears.
“Lian… was bad… sniff, just… just suddenly kept a distance from me…”
“Uh… well, yeah. I was bad.”
“Bad, bad Lian.”
Noah nodded, rubbing his warm cheek against Lian’s chest. Unlike usual, his expression was vivid and adorable.
“So cute… really cute.”
Lian began to think of this situation as if it were a situation where a cat that used to swat his hand all the time would approach and act cute.
He thought that was the only way he could maintain his sanity. As if noticing Lian’s trick, Noah blinked and looked up at him.
“Why did you do that?”
“Huh?”
“Why did you keep your distance from me like that?”
“Uh… well…”
Cold sweat started to trickle down Lian’s face. If it were a normal situation, Noah would have had a serious expression, but since he was drunk, his eyes just narrowed.
“…You won’t tell me?”
Saying that, Noah began to sob. Lian’s pupils trembled.
Do you know what happens to a comedic resident who rejects the tears of a pitiful girl?
Physical and social death. (Only for morally upright women.)
As Noah’s tears streamed down and their eyes met, the cold sweat trickling down Lianne’s face increased even more.
“W-well, the thing is…”
In the end, Lianne had no choice but to reveal the truth in the face of Noah’s pitiful tears.
“That… ever since I saw Noah like that in front of the bathroom… I-I’ve been really worried.”
“…Have you grown to hate me?”
Noah asked with a gloomy face, and Lianne hurriedly shook her head, speaking in an anxious voice.
“N-No, quite the opposite. You looked so cute and it made me uncomfortable -… Ah.”
She couldn’t take back the words that spilled out like spilled water. Like spilled water.
A moment of silence passed. With wide eyes, Noah spoke.
“Cute? Me?”
It was a voice that sounded slightly drunk, as if they were surprised. But before they could fully recover, the alcohol buzz took hold of them again.
“Y-yeah, that’s right.”
Lianne had delivered a fatal blow, like when a hamster, a puppy, or a kitten that had been living without knowing they were cute suddenly realized, “Am I cute?”
“Really, really cute.”
“Hee…”
Noah’s mood brightened with those words.
“Then I’ll show you!”
“Huh?”
They froze, stopping the operation of the magic tool.