Chapter 155: Infantile Regression

Staying up all night was nothing, but draining myself dry left me yawning from exhaustion even while sitting still.

As the sun rose, the dark sky turned a rosy hue. If there had been roosters around, it would’ve been time for them to crow their hearts out.

It was about time for Elaine to wake up, so I glanced towards the tent. Right on cue, it rustled as the flap began to open.

“Mmm…”

Elaine emerged from the tent, rubbing her eyes sleepily. It seemed she hadn’t slept well, perhaps due to last night’s events.

“…Huh?”

Well, she tried to emerge. The area in front of the tent was soaked, and since Elaine had placed her shoes a bit away, she couldn’t step out.

“It’s all wet. Did it rain early this morning?”

“Oh? No, that’s not it… I spilled some water.”

Jessica had indeed spilled quite a bit of fluid last night – enough to make me worry about dehydration. The thought made me chuckle.

“Want some breakfast? It should be ready soon.”

“Yeah… Carry me.”

Since the ground was still wet, I had no choice but to move Elaine myself.

As I picked up Elaine, who had only poked her head out of the tent, I happened to lock eyes with Jessica, who had just returned from the forest after retrieving her clothes.

“You’re unbelievable…!! Ugh…!!”

Enraged by the scene before her, which anyone would misunderstand, Jessica started to say something but suddenly stopped. Then, out of nowhere, she burst into tears.

Caught off guard by her sudden outburst, we were stunned as Jessica pointed an accusing finger at us and shouted:

“I hate you!! I hate you so much!! Waaah!!!”

This childish behavior, completely opposite to her usual composure, left us speechless as we watched Jessica run off somewhere.

“…Is she crazy?”

I couldn’t blame Elaine for saying that. Anyone would think someone had gone mad if they suddenly appeared, burst into tears, and shouted like a child.

“No, it’s not like that. Something happened yesterday. It’s my fault, so I’ll go calm her down.”

“…Okay.”

After setting Elaine down near the campfire, I hurried off in the direction Jessica had run.

Fortunately, Jessica hadn’t gone far. She was crouched on the ground, sniffling.

“Sniff…!!”

Seeing her like this, curled up and crying after running such a short distance, made her seem particularly childlike. I felt a pang of guilt.

“Jessica…”

“D-don’t come near me!! I hate you!! I’m going back home!!”

“We’re not even married yet. What home are you talking about?”

Just like before, she had abandoned her usual polite speech and was shouting like a child.

I’d heard that when people are under extreme stress, their minds can temporarily regress to a childlike state as a defense mechanism. Was this what was happening?

Seeing her in this childlike state, I decided to approach her as if I were comforting a child.

“Jessica… Look at me for a second.”

I bent my knees to meet her eyes. Jessica whipped her head around and punched me in the face.

The sudden blow while I was crouching threw off my balance, and I fell backwards.

Jessica then climbed on top of me and started hitting my chest and face relentlessly.

“Y-you treated me so horribly last night, but you’re so nice to that girl!! How can you call yourself human?! What did I do wrong? Why?!”

The night spent with my dick in her mouth must have really upset her. Despite her clumsy punches, they packed quite a bit of force and actually hurt.

“Am I that much of a joke to you?! What am I to you?! Just some whore to use for your body?! Can’t you love me normally for once?!”

After yelling and hitting me with all her might, Jessica seemed to have vented some of her frustration.

She stopped punching and caught her breath, looking down at me. When she saw my battered face, she flinched and quickly got off me.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… Why did I… Sniff…!!”

I slowly sat up, my body aching, and embraced Jessica as she covered her face and cried.

“I’m sorry… Your reactions when I teased you were just so cute, I got carried away without realizing it…”

“Y-you’re such a jerk…!!”

“You’ve been feeling neglected, haven’t you? I’ll do better from now on. Is there anything you want to do?”

When I asked what she wanted, Jessica hesitated for a moment before speaking carefully.

“…Like a normal date or something…”

“A date? Is there anything else you want to do?”

“M-maybe dance with me for one song at the winter ball…”

“…D-dance?”

While a date was one thing, dancing was a matter of my pride. I couldn’t easily agree, but it didn’t seem like I could get out of this without nodding.

“O-okay… Anything else?”

“And…”

——

“You’re back…?”

When we returned to the tent area with Jessica, Elaine froze mid-sentence.

It must have been quite a shock to see me return not only with a battered face but also carrying Jessica in my arms.

‘Please carry me to the campfire like you did with Miss Elaine.’

That had been Jessica’s final request. Even though it was her own request, Jessica seemed embarrassed and avoided eye contact with Elaine.

“Shall we eat?”

“…Yeah.”

I quickly prepared a meal using our emergency rations, and we sat around the crackling campfire to eat.

Elaine seemed to be feeling much better than yesterday. She ate without my help and consumed a lot more food.

After finishing our meal, we had no reason to stay longer. We packed up the tent, loaded our belongings into the back of the carriage, and prepared to depart.

As we boarded the carriage and I was about to sit next to Elaine, Jessica grabbed my hand and forcibly made me sit next to her instead.

“…”

Watching this silently, Elaine raised her eyebrows in an unusual display of displeasure. As soon as the carriage started moving, she stood up.

Naturally, standing up just as the carriage began to move caused her to stumble, and she “accidentally” fell onto my lap.

I was taken aback by Elaine’s behavior, which was completely out of character for her. But before I could react, I felt a burning gaze from beside me. I turned to see Jessica glaring sharply at both Elaine and me.

“…Elaine, this is dangerous with the carriage moving.”

Instead of replying, Elaine grabbed my arm and wrapped it around her waist.

The position resembled a car’s seatbelt. Elaine stared at me intently, as if urging me to hold her tighter.

Left with no choice, I pulled Elaine close as she wanted. She nodded, seemingly satisfied.

“This way, there’s no problem.”

Worried that Jessica might regress to her childlike state again, I glanced over at her. But Jessica just gripped my hand tighter without saying anything.

The atmosphere felt like the calm before a storm, making me tense. Fortunately, Jessica didn’t start shouting and acting like a child again.

Time passed, and after a few days of peaceful yet not-so-peaceful travel without any bandit or wild animal attacks, we finally returned to the Academy.

Having spent so much time there, the sight of the Academy’s white walls in the distance gave me a sense of coming home.

Well, with my house there now, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call the Academy my second home.

‘Or would it be my third home, counting my hometown on Earth?’

In any case, returning to the Academy after several weeks filled me with excitement.

However, returning to the Academy didn’t improve the current situation.

Although we had somewhat adjusted after a few more days, this carriage, where Elaine and Jessica engaged in a silent battle of nerves, was far from a comfortable place.

The thought that this might continue even after returning to the Academy shattered any nostalgia I felt about coming home.

‘Is this the fate of an alpha male?’

Was this the burden of being a top-tier male that only those who mastered Baldo could achieve?

If it was this suffocating with just the two of them, I couldn’t even imagine how it would be if more women entered the picture.

‘I wonder how this will turn out…’

Despite my concerns, when we got out of the carriage, Elaine announced that she would be leaving the Academy.

In the original story, the details of the matchmaking weren’t described in depth, but there was still one step left in the process.

As with all noble marriages, besides the recognition of the future Sword Saint, the approval of the current Sword Saint was also necessary.

And of course, here, recognition meant proving one’s skills with a sword.

“Since I lost this time… I’ll challenge my father first, and if I fail, Ian will have to challenge him.”

Hearing that her father, being an impatient man, would likely come looking for her himself, I couldn’t help but smile at this unexpected windfall.

“So you’re leaving right away?”

“Yeah… But first, I need to find a new sword…”

Elaine’s sword had been destroyed beyond repair in our fight, leaving her without a weapon since then.

Finding a sword of similar quality to her previous one would take considerable time, meaning the Sword Saint’s visit was likely far in the future.

“I guess this is goodbye for now.”

“…Yeah.”

Elaine emerged from the mansion with her luggage, her head lowered in apparent reluctance. In contrast, Jessica wore the brightest smile I’d seen in a long time.

“Hey, can you bend down for a second?”

“Bend down? L-like this?”

Confused by the sudden request, I obediently lowered my head. Elaine grabbed my collar and pulled me in for a kiss.

“W-what are you doing?!”

Ignoring Jessica’s shocked cry, Elaine continued the kiss for a moment before pulling away. Her face was uncharacteristically red as she spoke in a softer voice than usual.

“The rest… I’ll give you after the matchmaking is over.”