17 – Playful Teasing (3)
There is nothing as foolish as asking something you heard. But seeing that I often do such foolish things, I seem to be a fool.
“Yeah?”
“…”
Already in a sensitive situation, Yuna stared at me, chewing on her lips meaninglessly when I asked. After contemplating for a while, she suddenly grabbed my collar.
“Come with me for now.”
“Uh… Wait. I can’t get up right now…!”
It’s been a while since I’ve seen her so confident. It’s really nice to see, but the timing couldn’t be worse. However, before I could even come up with an excuse, Yuna grabbed me by the collar and I reluctantly followed her with a composed demeanor. Somehow, it seemed like the roles had reversed, and Eriya followed with interest, but Yuna looked straight at her and said,
“Don’t follow me.”
“…!”
With a commanding word, Eriya literally turned into ice and stopped in her tracks. Yuna’s noble and elegant appearance is truly a sight to behold after such a long time. While I was admiring her silently, Eriya looked at me and flicked her finger.
‘Finally.’
“No, Eriya. It’s not like that…!”
“Just come along.”
Before I could respond to her greeting, my body was quickly dragged out of the classroom. Soon, the light inside dimmed, and the shadows outside quickly enveloped us. I stumbled backward as if I was about to fall, but Yuna walked confidently ahead without a care.
“Hey, Yuna… How far are we going…?”
“Be quiet.”
“Well, I’m actually having a hard time walking right now.”
“Just walk forward.”
“No, actually, it’s not that…”
I held back the reasons I couldn’t mention and the other meaning behind it, as I was pulled by Yuna’s hand. The uncomfortable running continued for a while until we finally reached a deserted corridor, where it came to a halt.
“Yuna, I’m sorry, but just a moment… Ugh.”
“…Could you please be quiet?”
Yuna forcefully pressed my body against the wall and looked around with sharp eyes. The pressure that was lingering had long disappeared, but somehow, I leaned my back against the wall without saying a word, overwhelmed by Yuna’s momentum.
Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve looked into her face without her glasses for so long. Her eyes, devoid of the large lenses, were sharp and cold like a well-honed blade. It felt as though the image of the forgotten villainess had returned.
After looking around for a while, she suddenly glared at me again without any warning. I felt a strange chill, as if my throat was being gripped, and unconsciously, I neatly crossed my arms.
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
“What did they say?”
“Well…”
How should I explain this? There was a way to explain it truthfully, but I felt like Yun-ah’s innocent heart wouldn’t be able to handle it if I told her everything as it was. After thinking for a moment, I blurted out the useless excuse that foolish husbands often make.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t say anything? You looked so flustered! And you were touching and caressing each other like crazy!”
“You saw everything? Did it bother you?”
“Well, wouldn’t it bother you if you were in my position? Standing right there? Don’t you remember what I told you at the library?”
“What? That you’ll pick up after me?”
“Don’t just remember that! I said that I don’t want to be disturbed except for that time, so I’ll make time for your requests. But what is this? Exams are right around the corner, and I already have a ton of studying to do. And you keep coming in every hour and chattering away!”
Yun-ah screamed and quickly looked around. Even though the quiet hallway showed no signs of popularity, she still spoke in a hushed voice.
“…So what did you talk about? Tell me honestly.”
“Honestly?”
“Yeah. Honestly.”
“You asked me when we’re going to have s*x, and I said there’s no plan yet. So I said that if you’re in heat, it might start without permission.”
“…”
Did I say it too honestly? Yun-ah had an almost stunned expression at my shocking words. Well, this is the usual reaction from people, isn’t it? It felt good to step back into the world of common sense that I knew after a long time.
But Yun-ah, who had glimpsed the unconventional side because of me, couldn’t speak for a while and finally managed to say one thing.
“…You said she would be well-behaved in her class.”
“I didn’t know she was like that either.”
“So, why didn’t you know about that…”
Well, yeah. The elf girl who had been silent without uttering a word was actually a lewd elf who wanted to watch humans copulate while reading erotic stories. Why didn’t I know that?
There was a slight sense of injustice, but in any case, it was entirely my fault. I turned to Yuna, who was wearing an angry expression, and asked subtly,
“Are you really angry?”
“…Yeah. I’m really angry.”
“Why?”
“Well… why do you ask if you don’t know?”
Yuna was about to answer immediately but then hesitated, raising her eyes to look at me. The once sharp gaze had softened quite a bit. I fixed Yuna’s disheveled hair little by little, looking slightly tangled, and spoke.
“Did I disturb you a lot while you were studying?”
“Of course.”
“Sorry. Did you not get anything done today?”
“No. It’s not exactly that. But still, compared to my goal… No, what am I saying…”
“Oh, wait. Don’t move. It’s a mess here.”
I shaped my hand like a claw and tidied up the messy area. I thought she would protest again, but surprisingly, Yuna quietly accepted my touch. It felt like calming down a sulking child.
“So, what about it?”
After Yuna had stayed under my hand for a while, she shook off my hand as she combed her hair and repeated her question in a much gentler voice.
“So, do you not need more money now? Did you cover the shortfall in tuition?”
“Oh, that. Well…”
In response to her question, I recalled yesterday’s events. At that time, even the voice ringing in my head stumbled, making it impossible to know the exact amount. Thanks to that, I had to count all those coins one by one in my narrow and shabby dormitory. Perhaps I hadn’t touched so much money in my life until then. Anyway, after doing that, the total amount I earned that day was…
…Exactly, 2900 shillings.
It was an amount exactly 100 shillings short of 3000 shillings.
It wasn’t 3000 shillings, not even 2000 shillings. When I thought about why it was an ambiguous 2900 shillings, the intention was obvious. It might be satisfying, but it probably meant, “Make a bit more effort.” Perhaps the sponsor, caught off guard by my unexpected actions, almost gave away all 3000 shillings, only to regain reason and withdraw 100 shillings.
However, if there was one thing the sponsor overlooked, it was probably that I wasn’t completely penniless. Despite everything, I did have 100 shillings, so, in reality, I had already paid off the insufficient tuition fee yesterday. The professor in charge suspected that I might have sold something to the Ennesic sect, but that’s beside the point.
Anyway, the crucial thing was that I had already settled the repayment, and Yuna was unaware of it. In fact, there was no reason to trouble Yuna just because of money, considering I had already handled the lacking tuition fees. I wasn’t particularly money-oriented, and bothering the busy Yeongae-nim because of it would be a bit too much.
…
What should I do…
Yuna, as if urging my response, looked straight into my eyes, caressing her fingers. Seeing those eyes that somehow felt desolate, I felt like I couldn’t lie at all. After a bit of contemplation, I answered quietly.
“I’ve covered everything.”
“Huh…?”
“The tuition fees, I’ve covered them all. Quite a lot came in.”
“T-true? Already… No, I see… That could happen…”
Yuna seemed extremely flustered, perhaps due to the unexpected answer. Swallowing the prepared response, she repeated the process of bringing up and swallowing the words in her mind, taking a few steps back. Despite her efforts to not reveal emotions, a hint of disappointment reflected on her face.
Finally, I smiled a bit and added.
“…But I lost some on the way.”
“What?”
“My pocket burst while I was on my way. Some money leaked into the sewer. So, I actually need a bit more.”
“What are you saying?”
Yuna asked in utter disbelief. However, as she asked, a hint of a dimple formed on her cheek. She burst into a forced laughter and asked.
“Does that even make sense?”
Certainly, it didn’t make sense. But even so, it wasn’t a baseless lie that could be easily dismissed. Yuna herself seemed to realize that fact, shrugging her shoulders and leaning against the wall.
“What… Yeah. I get it for now. We’ll have to talk about that elf at some point anyway…”
“Well, that’s another story.”
As the momentarily forgotten fact came back to mind, the feeling of a throbbing headache returned. Yeah, that’s right. We should also think about what to do with our lewd elf. When this thought crossed her mind, Yuna anxiously looked around and said,
“…But before that, we should probably change our location. It looks like other people might pass by soon.”
“True. Shall we go to the library then?”
“No, we can’t! That girl might come back to the library… Ah, geez. I can’t go there again… It was such a good place to study.”
Yuna spoke with frustration, even biting her fingers. Suddenly, the image of Ilya approaching without a trace crossed her mind, sending shivers down her spine again.
“That’s true. Is there any other secluded place? Um… Yuna, where do you usually eat?”
“Well… um, what does that have to do with finding a secluded place?”
“Well, we’ll eat somewhere secluded.”
“Ah… no, right? Not at all, really?”
I chuckled at the blatantly obvious lie and got lost in thought. Maybe there’s a good place somewhere. But if we go anywhere, Ilya might come again and do something strange. After thinking for a moment, something came to mind, and I asked,
“Yuna, where do you usually go after classes?”
“Me? I just go straight to the dorm. There’s a lot to study, and there’s nowhere else to go.”
“Is that so?”
The dormitory, huh.
…
…
From Noble mtl dot com
…
Is that okay?
“Then let’s go there.”
“Huh?”
“Lead the way. I’ll follow.”
“Just a moment!”
As I took a step, Yuna grabbed my hand in a panic. I was a bit surprised by her assertive attitude, and Yuna, using both hands, pulled my hand down, saying,
“Are you really coming to my room now?”
“Technically, it’s a dormitory, but well, that’s accurate too.”
“No!”
“Why? There’s no way Illya can sneak in there. We won’t be noticed by anyone, and we can have some privacy. Isn’t that right?”
I presented Yuna with very reasonable reasons while she shouted without thinking. Even if it’s Illya, would he really break into someone else’s dormitory window? Yuna seemed somewhat convinced by my words and mumbled with a wry smile.
“Oh? Come to think of it, that makes sense…”
“Doesn’t it? Then let’s go.”
“No! Still, not my room!”
“How about my room then? It might be a bit shabby, and there might be a lot of eyes on the way, but the lock is properly in place. What do you say?”
“No, that won’t work either!”
“Do you have any other good ideas?”
“Well… but…”
What’s wrong? Was this such a strange story? Unable to understand the English, Yuna looked at me with a disappointed expression. However, she also realized that there was no other sharp alternative as she nervously bit her lip.
“B-but…”
“If… If it happens like that, then you…”
“Me?”
“Ugh…”
As I repeated the last words like a parrot, Yuna couldn’t continue her sentence and just clenched her trembling clothes. After hesitating for a while, she suddenly turned her gaze towards my back. Then, after thinking for a moment, she slowly opened her mouth.
“Okay. Let’s do it like that.”
“Shall we go right away then?”
“…Instead.”
She grabbed my hand again. And with a slightly anxious expression, she looked up at me and said,
“Instead, let’s do it this way.”