episode_0228

… hot.

… It’s really hot.

It was so hot that I stopped what I was doing and stretched out on the bed.

As I looked out the window, I saw the sky turning scarlet, as if the sun had already set.

“Ha… .”

I didn’t have the energy to laugh, so I let out a sigh-like sigh and lifted my chest, and Hermel, who was stretched out next to me, turned to look at me.

Hermel seemed to have no energy either, so he opened his mouth with a blank expression. Why do you look at the shape of your mouth? It seemed like he said that.

“No… . I just thought it was summer.”

Hermel blinked blankly at the story about the season that came out of nowhere, then looked at me with half-open eyes and said.

“… Why are we suddenly talking about summer?”

“Oh, I guess it was so unexpected. It’s nothing special… . I’ve been doing this for such a long time, but seeing the sun still up made me think of it, so I just said it.”

“Because I did it early in the morning… . It’s been over 12 hours.”

Over 12 hours… . I blinked at Hermel’s words, then smiled and touched my forehead.

A wet, snapping sound came from my forehead, which had become sticky due to sweat.

“That’s sweat, right?”

“Then what is sweat?”

“So, what is it?”

Hermel and I burst into laughter at the same time at Hermel’s playful laugh.

There was no reason. Just hanging out together made me laugh. The thing that broke the laughter between Hermel and I, who had been laughing for a long time, was none other than the sound of Hermel’s stomach churning.

When I heard the growling sound, I finally felt hungry and sighed heavily.

“Now that I think about it, we haven’t even eaten.”

“You were doing this without even knowing you were hungry? really… .”

“Hmm, hmm… .”

Listening to Hermel’s words, I really felt like an animal crazy with some kind of desire, so I cleared my throat and avoided Hermel’s gaze.

After lying like that for a while, I got up from the bed and stumbled for a moment due to dizziness that made my brain tingle.

“Ugh… .”

“It’s okay… . Ugh… .”

Hermel, seeing me stumbling, tried to get up and stumbled, making the same noise as me.

Hermel and I, who saw that, looked at each other, smiled, and gathered ourselves together.

“ugh… car. Should I wash it first?”

“Is it okay if I don’t eat first? Aren’t you hungry?”

” While living as an adventurer, I once went without food for a day or two. It was only a few hours and it was nothing!”

“I saw you crying earlier… .”

While saying that, I poked Hermel’s stomach with my finger, and Hermel chuckled as if it was tickling, then pulled back and avoided the finger.

“I can tolerate this much. And, I want to wash with Charles more than I want to eat.”

“Really… . What good is this ugly body telling me such happy words? .”

As I said that and smiled bitterly, Hermel came up and lightly kissed me.

“Charles’ body is by no means unattractive.”

After a moment of blinking at those very serious words, I nodded with a small smile.

“Thank you for saying that.”

“I’m serious. You know?”

“I know very well that what Hermel says to me is always sincere.”

You just need to know. Hermel smiled brightly as he said that, and I held his hand and went into the bathroom.

Although it was weak, the magic itself was usable, so as soon as Hermel and I entered the bathroom, we were able to create warm water and wash our bodies without having to heat the water separately.

After lightly rinsing off the sweat, Hermel and I soaked in the bathtub facing each other.

“Ugh… . I wondered why the water was so hot in the middle of summer… . This isn’t that bad… .”

“Right? And if you do this here… .”

I trailed off and waved my hand in the air to cool the air outside the bathtub.

It wasn’t a very difficult spell, so the air in the bathroom dropped to a temperature similar to the end of autumn, and Hermel, who was soaking in the warm water, blinked and let out an exclamation.

“Oh… . This is quite… .”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. For some reason, I can’t explain it in words, but it’s really good.”

Hermel nodded and looked around, then immersed himself up to his neck and closed his eyes.

The drooping figure was so cute that it made me smile, but also strangely sexy, so I licked my lips with my tongue and crawled over to Hermel.

Naturally, the water in the bathtub began to stir, and Hermel opened his eyes due to the water suddenly rising to his chin and blinked as he looked at me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Ah, it’s nothing special… . I just want to be held by Hermel for a while. Is it okay?”

“When did you ask something like that just because you were in charge of permission?”

Hermel, who playfully glared at me and scolded me, soon smiled and stretched out his arms.

“Even if you don’t ask Charles, he will hug you if you come close.”

“Hehe, those are such happy words.”

After saying that, I leaned back against Hermel’s body, and Hermel stretched out his arms, draped them over my shoulders, and hugged me just like that.

I fell into Hermel’s arms and closed my eyes, feeling Hermel’s heartbeat behind my back.

After closing my eyes like that for a while, I heard Hermel’s voice in my ear and opened my eyes.

“Charles.”

“Huh?”

“When I thought about it quietly, it came to mind. If the air can be cooled like this, wouldn’t it have been nice to cool down the room a little while ago?”

After touching my mouth at those words, I lowered my head and answered.

It was “… .”

“Huh? What?”

“It was made as cool as possible… .”

“Ah.”

With this answer, the conversation between me and Hermel stopped for a moment.

It was because I was a little ashamed of the fact that we coveted each other to the point where we didn’t even know we were hungry or that the surroundings were cold.

After a moment of awkwardness, Hermel, who had been quietly holding me, began massaging my breasts with his hands.

“Hermel?”

“Why?”

“You’re not going to do it here again, are you?”

“Ugh… . I thought about it, but even if I do, I still have to eat, right?”

“Hermel, even if we can’t do it, we have to leave tomorrow. Or maybe the rainy season overlaps with the move and I have to come back without being able to play in the sea? and… . If I do it too much, it gets chafed and hurts… .”

It would be more accurate to say that Hermel’s calluses chafed him rather than because he was too rough, but he didn’t say it out loud.

“Ah. hmm… . I see.”

Hermel slowly lowered his hand in a slightly sullen voice, but I took his hand and placed it on my chest.

“Still, what… . I’ll let you touch my breasts.”

“Wow!”

For saying this, I had to have Hermel massage my breasts until I got out of the bathroom.

I almost made it soggy in the bathroom and washed it once more.

* * *

I washed my body, lightly ventilated the room, and washed the soaked mattress, blanket, and pillow.

After tidying up the house to some extent, I was about to put on an apron to start cooking.

“Charles. Let’s eat dinner outside tonight.”

“Would you like to eat dinner outside?”

I thought about Hermel’s words for a moment.

First of all, I’m not saying that because my food isn’t delicious. After making various foods on my own for 10 years, I have come to be able to cook most foods to a high standard.

And Hermel, who had been eating the royal chef’s food for half his life, said that it was delicious when he tried my food, and his eyes sparkled, so I’m sure he wasn’t suggesting that we eat out because of my cooking.

… Probably not? Maybe they just liked it because it was my food… . There was no one to taste it… . As he was blinking and not responding to Hermel’s words, Hermel scratched his head and said,

“I’m not saying that Charles’ food isn’t tasty, so don’t misunderstand! just… . Sometimes even Charles needs to rest. And since I have to buy some things to go on a trip, I thought why not go down to the village for a bit.”

“Ah.”

Realizing the sincerity behind those words, I smiled and lightly pinched Hermel’s cheek.

“You can just say honestly that you want to date.”

“I want to go on a date.”

Seeing Hermel immediately telling me to do it again, I smiled and nodded.

“Okay, okay. You are always welcome to be with Hermel.”

“Hehe, it’s a date with Charles!”

“Fuhu… . Is it that good?”

“Anything I do with Charles is fine!”

I smiled at that surprising answer and said while stroking Hermel’s head.

“Oh, by the way, I don’t know anything about what’s in town other than the grocery store.”

“It’s okay! I’ve been wandering around for a while looking for Charles, so I know at least where everything is!”

“It’s reassuring.”

I feel sorry too. I swallowed back the words that had risen to the top of my chin, put on the straw hat that was hanging next to the door, and held out my hand.

“Shall we go then?”

Hermel blinked at the sight of me wearing a straw hat, then nodded and took my hand.

I walked carefully through the open fields and along the sloping mountain path.

Since it was a road I had been taking consistently for 10 years, I proceeded without any hesitation, and Hermel followed me with his unique and tremendous physical ability.

After walking for about 20 minutes, Hermel and I arrived at the entrance to the village.

Although it was not comparable to a city, it was a large town that could be compared to a city due to the high amount of traffic.

“Something new.”

“Huh? What?”

Hermel, who heard me muttering, tilted his head and asked, and I smiled slightly as I looked at Hermel.

“I was always alone when I came here. however… . Since Hermel is by my side, I can see things that I normally don’t see, and it feels new.”

“Ugh… . really… . It’s against the law to attack without warning… .”

I chuckled at the sight of Hermel’s ears turning red, then took Hermel’s hand and headed towards the village entrance.

It was a very happy summer day that I thought would never happen again.