You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 73

I sat up straight, looking at Doel’s face with the curiosity of a parent wondering if their child had a hidden lover. Doel tilted his head to one side and slowly opened his mouth.

“Why so suddenly?”

His avoidance of the question suggested there might be something. I smiled, narrowing my eyes and pouting my lips.

“It’s nothing, just curious since we’re close. Anyway, do you?”

His red lips hesitated, opening and closing repeatedly. In reality, only a brief moment of silence passed, but to me, it felt quite long. Doel’s black eyelashes blinked rapidly a few times before stopping. His brown eyes sparkled beautifully like glass beads in the light.

“I do.”

“Really?”

I jumped up from my seat in surprise. It should be something to be happy about, but I’m not sure if I’m happy or what I’m feeling. I shook my head quickly, like a bird shaking off water, to clear my confused thoughts, then leaned forward, bringing my face close to Doel’s. He seemed uncomfortable, slowly leaning back as he nodded slowly.

“Who is it?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

It must be Karhan, so he can’t say! The difference in status between Doel, a commoner, and Karhan, a duke of the empire, was quite significant, so it made sense to keep it a secret. Though it was a bit slow, I felt the story was progressing. I smiled, wrinkling my nose, and glanced at Doel from the corner of my eye with a mischievous smirk.

“I got it. Let’s keep it a secret!”

“Should I thank you for keeping it a secret…?”

“Come on, what’s with the thanks between friends? It’s fine. I’ll cheer you on from the sidelines.”

I winked, blinking rapidly, and Doel burst into a cheerful laugh, as if he found me incorrigible. He chuckled, swallowing his laughter, and raised his head. His face was full of joy. I never knew talking about relationships with friends could be this fun.

It was enough to almost cover up the nagging feeling in my heart.

After a long time, I had a meal with Doel and we chatted about various things. I even joined in cursing his troublesome superior. Listening to his pent-up complaints, it seemed like a truly awful superior. He said that even the times he was suddenly called away while with me were all because of that bastard.

After a good, refreshing conversation, the mealtime passed quickly. Doel had to return to finish his training, so we parted with reluctance in our hearts.

Before long, the sun set and bluish moonlight streamed into the room.

Karhan had sent a servant to tell me to wait up as he had something to say. However, with nothing particular to do, I lay quietly on the bed with my eyes wide open. If I got sleepy, I’d blame it on Karhan for coming late, I thought as I pulled the blanket up over my shoulders and curled up into a ball.

Just as drowsiness began to tickle my feet, the door opened quietly. Only one person could enter here without knocking or a servant’s announcement – Karhan.

Karhan entered carefully and approached silently, trying not to make any footsteps. He slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning his upper body towards me. As his weight settled, the soft mattress sank down on one side. Karhan’s large hand familiarly brushed through my hair.

“We need to prepare for a journey.”

“A journey?”

What journey all of a sudden? A journey for me, who had always been in the mansion. My drowsiness completely disappeared. I blinked rapidly and looked at Karhan, and his lips curved into a smile.

“We need to meet the elves.”

“Elves? There are elves?”

I took a deep breath in surprise. By elves, did he mean the race with pointed ears that lives with nature, often appearing in fantasy worlds? My heart raced at the mention of these fairy-tale creatures.

Karhan’s fingers, which had been stroking my hair, moved down slightly to brush my eyes. My eyes naturally half-closed. It’s getting in the way of looking at him. I raised my hand to grasp Karhan’s wrist as he was rubbing my face.

“When are we going?”

“I’m thinking about the day after tomorrow.”

It was a faster schedule than I expected, but I nodded since I didn’t have anything special to prepare anyway. In response, Karhan lowered his head again and pressed his lips firmly against my forehead, as if stamping a seal. I furrowed my brows at the unfamiliar soft sensation.

Why is he doing this when I haven’t even done anything difficult this time?

“Hey. Is kissing on the forehead like, some kind of greeting that means ‘take care’ or something?”

I asked as politely as possible, wondering if this might be a cultural custom of this country that I didn’t know about. After a moment of silence, Karhan nodded slightly and answered.

“…You could say that. It means ‘have sweet dreams,’ or ‘take care.’ Just think of it as a light greeting.”

“I see.”

What an affectionate country, I thought. Friends even help each other out like that, and they kiss as a casual greeting. How is a foreigner like me supposed to survive with my heart pounding like this?

Rather than having my heart flutter every time, I thought it might be better to get used to skinship quickly, so I sat up. I wiggled my fingers at Karhan, who had moved a bit away.

“Come closer.”

Though his expression was puzzled, Karhan obediently came closer to me. I reached out to hold both his cheeks and slowly pulled him down so as not to startle him. If this really was the culture of this world, he followed along like a doll.

Having come this far, I couldn’t back down now. I closed my eyes tight, puckered my lips, and firmly pressed them against his forehead, just as he had done to me.

There was a soft smacking sound as my lips separated. It was a bit embarrassing, but he said it was the culture of this country. I smiled brightly, my eyebrows curving.

“Good night to you too, Karhan.”

Karhan’s expression after receiving the greeting was somewhat strange. Unlike usual, he nodded slowly and got up from his seat leisurely. His appearance reminded me of a sloth, and laughter escaped my lips. It was a complete contrast to his usually quick and efficient demeanor.

🐤

Given two days, I worked hard to build up my stamina so as not to hinder the journey in any way. Actually, I could have just transformed into a bird and ridden on Karhan, but I insisted on going out into the world in human form.

Just like when we had gone on a secret trip to the Sabon region, we prepared minimal luggage on an ordinary horse. Of course, because of me in human form, there was a bit more luggage than last time. Now, with only the departure left, Karhan and Claude’s conversation was dragging on. Bored, I stood in front of the horse and met its gaze.

Its long black eyelashes and large, round eyes shone with intelligence. I lowered my head to bring my face closer to the horse’s. As I did so, my reflection appeared convex in its protruding eyeballs. Fascinated by this, I opened my eyes wide and moved closer and closer.

And then, snap, pain arrived.

“Ow! Let go!”

The horse, which had been blinking its eyes innocently, revealed its true nature. Perhaps mistaking my hair for straw, it suddenly opened its mouth wide and took a big bite, then started chewing slowly. Caught off guard by my hair being grabbed, I panicked and quickly grabbed the horse’s nose, trying to push it away.

“Stop it! Stop!!”

The horse’s jaw strength was no joke, making it difficult to immediately pull my hair free. Afraid of getting my hand bitten if I resisted too forcefully, I couldn’t fight back vigorously. As I was struggling and grunting with the horse, I heard Karhan’s voice.

“Why are you fighting again?”

“Does this look like fighting to you, Karhan?”

And what do you mean by ‘again’? If a stranger heard that, they’d think I was always getting into fights. While defending my head and struggling hard, I managed to glare at Karhan, who patted the horse’s head and whispered:

“I’ll give you different food. Let go of this now.”

The horse, which had stubbornly ignored my pleas to stop, immediately opened its mouth at Karhan’s gentle coaxing. My hair was left heavy and unpleasant, soaked with the horse’s saliva. That hypocritical horse. I raised my head, narrowed my eyes, and glared at the horse’s eyes, which were still pretending innocence.

Claude, who had witnessed the whole situation, brought water and a towel to roughly wash my hair. Having been delayed longer than expected, we hurriedly cleaned up and prepared to mount the horse.

Alright, now you can bring my horse! I looked at Claude with sparkling eyes, but he shifted his gaze to the horse that had just bitten me. No, my horse. The horse I’m supposed to ride! I looked around for another horse, but there was only one in sight. Puzzled, I tilted my head and looked at Karhan.

“Where’s my horse?”

“Do you know how to ride a horse?”

“Ah, no…”

I didn’t know how to ride. There was a chance to try during a school trip, but being poor, I had only watched from afar. Still, I thought I might manage somehow since it was an animal. Unable to give a proper answer, I just stared at the horse, and Karhan approached, offering his hand.

“I’ll give you a boost, so climb up without worry.”

I carefully grabbed the horse’s saddle and put strength into my feet, jumping up as if leaping. Thanks to Karhan supporting my bottom with his hand, I was able to mount without difficulty. After safely settling my bottom and getting into position, Karhan suddenly climbed up behind me. I felt his large body pressing close against my back.

The firm arm wedged between my waist moved strongly, pulling the reins. As we started moving and my body swayed, I quickly closed my eyes tight and leaned back against Karhan. If I had been alone, I would surely have lost my balance and fallen off.

As the speed seemed to increase, I could pleasantly hear the neat sound of hooves and the cool wind brushing past my ears. It felt too fast to open my eyes right away, but thanks to Karhan holding me securely, I wasn’t afraid.

I narrowed my eyes against the cool breeze and looked ahead. I could see the lush forest, the endless sky, and clouds floating leisurely above. My mood lightened, and a smile naturally spread across my face. I turned my head slightly to look at Karhan, and his eyes were also curved more gently than usual.

Wanting to quietly feel nature, I didn’t say anything. We galloped through the forest path without rest until sunset, until the horse tired. Before we knew it, the red sun was halfway hidden beyond the horizon, peeking out with just its head.