Chapter 79: Everything Fits

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“Ian, we have an errand to run, so we’ll be going now.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Ian… not that way, this way…”

Sugar took Ian’s hand and adjusted the position of her fork, only then was Ian able to successfully put the lettuce into her mouth.

“You’ve been acting strange since earlier. Um… is it because of the double room?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Ian?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“…”

Sugar was taken aback by the unexpectedly serious reaction. She wasn’t the type to be easily startled—rather, she was the type to startle others.

Noticing how out of it Ian seemed, Sugar hesitated for a moment before making up her mind and speaking.

“I-Ian… if you’re that worried about the double room… then…”

“Oh, yeah.”

“You could… share a room… with Riley…”

“Then Sugar would kill me!”

“Huh?”

At that moment, Ian suddenly shouted and jumped up from her seat. The eyes of the students in the cafeteria all turned toward her.

“Ah… sorry… Sugar… I was just lost in thought. Did I say something?”

“…No. You didn’t say anything.”

Sugar replied, her cheeks slightly flushed while Riley, who was standing next to her, looked unconvinced.

“Your reputation, you know.”

“Shut up…”

After whispering to each other, they turned their attention back to Ian.

“Anyway, Ian, we have to go take care of something…”

“Oh, yeah, yeah. You can go ahead. I still have a lot left to eat.”

She had only eaten a single piece of lettuce, her tray still full of food.

“…Then, see you in the afternoon class.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Leaving Ian, who was once again zoning out, behind, they exited the cafeteria.

“We need to have a proper talk after class today…”

“Don’t kill her. I don’t want to visit you in the royal dungeon.”

“Hey!”

‘Was I acting that weird the other day?’, Sugar wondered.

The way Ian had reacted, almost like a seizure, replayed in her mind. It was hard to see oneself objectively, but seeing others’ reactions made embarrassment bubble up within her.

Sugar pushed down those feelings and walked ahead. She had a mission—revenge on Riley.

She already had the perfect place in mind.

She had seen it while wandering near the greenhouse. There was a gazebo along the forest path—a Western-style pavilion.

It was tucked behind the herbal greenhouse, so people rarely passed by. A great location. She would have to use it more often.

“Hey, Sugar. You said you had something to do with me alone, so why here?”

“There’s a spot behind the greenhouse.”

“…”

A secluded place, she was definitely planning something. Riley steeled himself.

Once they entered the forest path, a serene-looking gazebo came into view. Its wooden pillars and roof were faded in color, and it was covered in ivy that had just started sprouting new leaves for spring.

“This way. Over here.”

“…What are you trying to do?”

Once inside the gazebo, Sugar hesitated before speaking.

“You know… thinking about it, ever since we reunited I haven’t really done anything for you. If anything, you’ve just been the one accepting me… But you don’t seem like you want to use your wish ticket either…”

Even though she had told him not to use it herself?

Riley remained silent, listening.

“So… I thought about what I could do for you. Something that wouldn’t make you feel burdened but would still be helpful… And I realized, ‘this’ is something I’ve never done for you before. It’s simple and doesn’t take long. It’s perfect.”

Sugar sat down on the long bench inside the gazebo. Not in the center, but at the edge. There was a reason for that.

“Come here, Riley. Lie down.”

As she sat, her thighs naturally spread slightly on the bench, causing her stockings to stretch and lighten in color. Sugar patted those suggestive thighs while looking at Riley.

Riley’s expression stiffened.

“What the hell are you—”

“It—it’s nothing weird! This is what I want to do.”

Sugar quickly pulled out a case from under her cloak and flipped open the lid.

Inside were thin wooden sticks—some even had soft cotton tips.

“That’s…”

Not anything inappropriate, at least. A perfectly innocent activity.

But one that would let her torment a part of his body as much as she wanted and at the same time, allow for some casual physical contact.

An act that fit everything.

“A set of ear picks. I’m going to clean your ears. Hehe…”

She could emphasize her ‘big-sisterly’ side. She could take care of Riley. And at the same time, satisfy her desire for revenge.

What a terrifying act!

The moment lunch break started, she had rushed to the shopping district to buy it. She had liked the picture on the packaging—a grinning elf giving a thumbs-up. In this world, elves were the race most obsessed with ear cleaning.

Since they lived on the border between the desert and the forest, they were always exposed to sandstorms. Plus, their large ears made frequent cleaning a necessity.

And so, Sugar had prepared an ear-cleaning set from the eastern desert.

With this, she could easily torment Riley’s ears. She could whisper into them all she wanted under the excuse of cleaning and she could even give him a lap pillow. She could already picture him trembling.

It wasn’t even an inappropriate act. Sugar smirked evilly in her mind while keeping her usual kind smile outwardly.

“Hmm? Come on, hurry up.”

“…”

She tapped her thigh again and Riley hesitantly approached, looking doubtful.

He sat on the bench.

“Hey, Sugar.”

“What?”

“You… Never mind. Are you even good at this?”

“I’ve never done it for anyone else before… but I’ve done it on my own ears a few times. Do you not want to? I’ll be as gentle as possible.”

Riley remained silent, staring at her.

More precisely, at her thighs. The plump thighs that she kept fidgeting with for some reason.

“Riley, it’s okay. Come on, don’t be shy. I want to do this for you.”

Her sweet, coaxing voice clouded his judgment.

It would feel nice to lie down… No, that wasn’t it. This was purely for cleaning purposes, nothing more.

Riley clenched his eyes shut and leaned down.

‘Ah. Soft.’

“Hehe… it tickles.”

His head pressed against her thighs, sinking in slightly. His golden hair brushed against the fine stocking fabric, sending a ticklish sensation up Sugar’s legs and making her giggle.

“Now, lie on your side.”

Currently, they were facing each other—an unusual perspective. Sugar looking down, Riley looking up. She quite liked the reversal.

Soon, Riley rolled onto his side, facing away from her. Just as expected. Out of his sight, Sugar smirked mischievously.

Though… this was kind of embarrassing.

She could feel his cheek pressed against her thigh. His breath seemed to graze her skin, making her unconsciously purse her lips.

“A-alright, I’m starting now…”

‘Calm down, no need to get flustered. I’m an understanding, caring older sister figure. This is nothing.’

Determined, Sugar gently touched Riley’s ear.

Slow, soft strokes.

She massaged his ear first, knowing that inserting the ear pick too suddenly might startle him.

Her small, warm hands rubbed his earlobe gently—an incredibly sensitive spot. She kneaded it slightly between her thumb and forefinger, then moved on to massage the whole ear.

A pleasant, scratchy sound accompanied her motions. The initial tension in Riley’s body slowly eased.

“Alright, I’m inserting it now.”

Not waiting for an answer, she slid the ear pick inside.

Thus began the meticulous cleaning.

The only sounds in the gazebo were their quiet breaths and the gentle scraping of the wooden tool.

“…Does it feel good?”

Her whisper was soothing.

“…Yeah.”

A quiet chuckle tickled his ear.

“Next, the cotton swab.”

Sugar slid the white cotton tip of the ear cleaner into the back of Riley’s ear canal. The soft texture and the sound—like stepping on freshly fallen snow—filled his ear completely.

“Fluffy… fluffy…”

Muttering the onomatopoeia, she leisurely twirled the ear cleaner clockwise, then counterclockwise, over and over again. Occasionally, she stirred it inside his ear canal, inserting and withdrawing it repeatedly.

The ear cleaning was nearing its end.

Now, the real revenge would begin.

‘Hehehe…’

“This is the finishing touch…”

Pulling out the cotton tip, Sugar slightly leaned forward and peered down. Riley’s ear had naturally turned red from the continuous stimulation.

She blew a soft breath toward it.

How about that? No matter how he reacted, she could just brush it off with, “It’s all part of ear cleaning.” Come at me, if you dare.

“…Huh?”

But unexpectedly, there was no reaction. Riley just lay there quietly.

That was strange. That wasn’t like him at all.

Sugar quickly examined Riley. His eyes were closed, and he was lying there calmly. If she listened closely, she could hear the steady rhythm of his breathing.

“…No way… is he asleep?”

There was no need to say “no way.”, ear cleaning was a relaxing activity. It made people sleepy. It wasn’t unusual to doze off in the middle of it—just like how people nod off at a hair salon. The sensation could lull someone into a deep sleep.

‘But what about my plan?!’

Blowing more air into his ear repeatedly, or saying, “Now, let’s switch to the other side~” just to see Riley’s flustered expression—

That was the plan!

“…What the heck…”

Disappointed, Sugar poked Riley’s cheek with her finger. Even then, he didn’t budge, which only added to her frustration.

‘Idiot.’

However, contrary to what she thought—Riley was actually awake.

He was just pretending to sleep.

No matter what Sugar had planned, no matter what tricks she pulled, he had decided to shut it all down by pretending to be asleep from the very start.

He had a rough idea of what she was up to. Using ear cleaning as an excuse to blow air into his ear, making him turn his face toward her stomach while switching sides just to see him get embarrassed—something along those lines. It was obvious.

‘So childish.’

A little bit of ear-blowing? He could endure that much. He was an adult now, he had already endured plenty of Sugar’s teasing before.

The best way to deal with pranks was to ignore them. The whole point of a prank was to get a reaction out of the other person.

So, if he refused to react—if he blatantly ignored her—she would get discouraged.

Just look at her now. She was visibly disappointed that her prank had failed, yet she couldn’t wake him up, so she was at a loss for what to do. Any moment now, she’d give up and leave.

“…Riley? You’re really asleep… right?”

She… was going to leave… right?

Something was off. Sugar was gently placing her hand on top of his. Something about it felt different. Then, she started rubbing. Intertwining her fingers with his, slowly pressing them together.

This much was fine, she did this often.

But the atmosphere felt strange.

‘…What is this?’

Riley tensed up slightly but maintained his steady breathing.

“You’re really sleeping, huh? Then I’m gonna test something.”

‘What?’

Sugar grabbed his hand and guided it somewhere.

Still keeping his eyes shut, Riley had no idea what was happening.

All he could tell was that the magic-infused warmth he was touching belonged to Sugar. And that the texture—somewhat rough yet soft at the same time—was oddly captivating.

She made him grasp a warm, soft mass. It was so plush that his fingers sank into it.

‘Wait… this… no way…’

The place where Sugar had guided his hand wasn’t far, right near Riley’s head. Where was his head resting right now?

The answer was obvious.

‘W-w-what—!’

“You’re really asleep? For real?”

“…”

“Maybe… you’re pretending so you can keep touching me? Is that it?”

‘That’s absolutely not it!’

After making him squeeze for a moment, she then gently rubbed his hand against it. Slowly, carefully. As if letting him feel the full texture of her stockings.

The soft, springy flesh deformed under ‘Sugar-overlaid-on-Riley’s-hand’ as it moved. Depending on the angle, the fabric shimmered faintly.

Riley, with his eyes closed, couldn’t see any of this. He could only imagine based on the sensations in his hand.

“Riley. Don’t you want to open your eyes? Don’t you want to see? Your hand is… my, my, my, my…”

Sugar suddenly shut her mouth. Even she found it too embarrassing to finish her sentence.

“…Fine. I’ll just assume you’re really asleep.”

He was awake, gritting his teeth to endure.

Perhaps out of respect for his “effort,” Sugar finally let go of his hand. Instead, she started stroking his hair. His strands were thicker than hers, but still soft enough for her fingers to glide through effortlessly.

“Sleep well, Riley.”

Whether she had caught on to his act or not—whether she was simply playing along or genuinely believed he was asleep—her face was completely red as she continued petting him with an enigmatic smile.

And so, Riley, who had completely missed his chance to wake up was only able to finally get up when Leon, holding a book and some writing materials, called out to him with a puzzled look that practically screamed, “What the hell are you doing?”