Chapter 101: Delicious Taste

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Squishy squishy.

“Hey… Riley…”

Squish squish.

“Why are you suddenly…”

My cheeks are being squished.

Riley is thoroughly enjoying the soft, plump cheeks of Sugar. It’s not a joke. His expression is endlessly serious. The angle of his eyebrows sharper than what Sugar is used to seeing.

After squishing her cheeks, Riley then scratches Sugar’s chin, rubs her earlobes, and gives her entire head a firm massage.

“Hee… feels good…”

Sugar melts away. It’s not anything inappropriate, so she honestly expresses her feelings. It feels like she’s stepped into a facial massage shop, and her body relaxes completely.

“Riley… it feels good, but why all of a sudden? Should I do it for you too?”

“I’m curious about what’s going on in your head.”

“What are you talking about…”

While expressing her confusion, she quietly enjoys his touch.

‘Yes, this is the kind of affection I wanted.’

‘Well, it’s not that I dislike anything beyond this… but it’s not like I like it either…’

A few days ago, Sugar felt disappointed—no, she didn’t!—that Riley didn’t stimulate her, so it seems she decided to erase that memory.

In the meantime, the mental healing center she trusted has closed, leaving her quite disappointed. She thought she could easily cast away her worries through mental training. When she visited again recently, the place was cordoned off with a “No Entry” sign.

‘They told me to come back! What happened! Were they just quacks after all?!’

All she saw was a flyer on one wall that read, “Because you are alone, you are lonely. Because you are lonely, you are weak.”

But in the end, they left her alone. What a contradiction.

‘Is enlightenment something you find alone… within yourself, after all…’

As she rambled on about something incomprehensible, Riley quietly took Sugar to a café. After giving her a parfait, she brightened up quickly.

Anyway, Sugar, disappointed that one of her event spots had vanished, melted under Riley’s touch while still thinking.

It’s better to honestly grow stronger. This world is reality. There are no treasure chests or anything like that. What kind of lunatic would hide treasure chests all over the school or the castle? There might be some occasionally, but at least it wouldn’t be the kind of thing Sugar knows about.

‘Reality…’

Sugar grabbed one of Riley’s hands that was squishing her cheek. She put his index finger in her mouth and lightly bit it. Not enough to hurt. She kept nibbling on it.

Riley’s expression began to change.

“Want to give it a try?”

“I’m not picking a fight! I just… wanted to feel something real.”

“Then it should be the opposite.”

This time, Riley bit Sugar’s finger. She flinched for a moment.

“Does it hurt?”

When Riley asked, she blushed and shook her head. She was just a little startled. The warmth in his breath, the sensation of being bitten, made her feel shy for some reason.

Soon, Riley let go of her finger. Sugar brought it to her mouth and bit the spot where he had bitten her.

“Hmm… it feels different when you do it compared to when I do it…”

“…”

Riley narrowed his eyes and watched her.

Then, he pulled out a lollipop from his pocket and put it in Sugar’s mouth.

He’s trying to regain his self-control again. Sigh, you mischievous thing. Just eat the candy. That’s the sentiment.

“Another candy? Did Professor Hubert give it to you? You get them often.”

“That guy. I think he’s targeting me.”

“What? Riley. What do you mean–”

“He wants to make me his assistant. That’s what I think.”

“Ah.”

“He’s been talking about starting a business lately, it’s a candy that changes flavors. It’s still a prototype, but he wants me to give him some feedback.”

“Oh! If that’s the case.”

Sugar, full of curiosity, rolled the candy around in her mouth. At first, it tasted like strawberry. As she rolled it around, the flavor definitely seemed to change.

“It’s gotten smoother… melon? It tastes like melon.”

“After strawberry comes melon…”

Riley wrote it down in his notebook.

“Hmm… next is lemon? It’s gotten refreshing. Next is… chocolate? The flavors are going wild. This is fun. Next is… grape. It’s rich and delicious. After that… ah.”

Hehe. Sugar laughed and looked at Riley.

“Riley. Ah–”

Sugar took the candy out of her mouth and offered it to Riley.

The wet surface glistened. It looked sticky from the melted sugar.

“Why are you offering me something with your saliva on it?”

“It’s your favorite flavor. Try it.”

Huh? We’re close enough for this, aren’t we?

The whispered words carried an unclear intention. To Riley, Sugar was always a woman who was hard to figure out. She would cling to him, but when he touched her, she would get shy and create distance. Why doesn’t she feel shy when she does it herself? To others, it might seem flirtatious, but it was always puzzling.

Anyway, it’s not something to refuse. Riley willingly opened his mouth.

Hmm. Orange.

He immediately wrote it down in his notebook.

“Next? What’s the next flavor?”

“Something delicious.”

“What’s that? I want to try it too.”

Sugar pointed to her mouth with her finger and opened it slightly.

As if asking him to put it in right now.

“…stick out your tongue.”

Following Riley’s request, Sugar stuck out her bright red tongue. Then Riley rubbed the candy on its warm, sticky surface, leisurely rubbing the candy, onto Sugar’s tongue and enjoying the sight.

The red, transparent candy melted into syrup, and the syrup soaked into Sugar’s tongue. Sugar licked it up, savoring the mix of Riley’s saliva and the sweet syrup.

“Heh. Hehehe.”

“What are you laughing about?”

Riley chuckled and slowly rubbed the candy. Sugar was the one moving her tongue. She pressed the tip of her tongue against the candy and licked it side to side. Then, following Riley’s movements, up and down. Each movement made a wet sound.

They locked eyes, exchanged glances, and leisurely enjoyed their dessert time.

“Slurp… chew… mmm…”

Soon, Sugar sucked on the candy with her lips—chuchu—and then put it in her mouth. Her lips were moist and shiny.

“What flavor is it now?”

“Something delicious.”

In response to Riley’s question, Sugar opened her mouth wide, as if telling him to take it out if he wanted to know. Her pink lips emitted a sweet scent, and her smile was mischievous. Sugar, thinking it was just sharing candy, smiled without any shyness.

Seeing her like that, Riley felt a competitive urge. He popped the candy out and put it in his own mouth.

But Sugar also felt competitive. Lately, she’s been on the receiving end but originally, she had a nature to outdo Riley.

In the end, the two took turns mixing their saliva until only the stick of the candy remained.

***************

Lately, walking through the shopping district feels chaotic. Sugar often sees Sky Island officials or defense forces inspecting shops. It made her wonder if something had happened, but she just hoped it gets resolved well.

In reality, it’s because of the healing center incident, they’re inspecting each business to see if there are any disguised heretics like them.

Unaware of this, Sugar fiddled with Riley’s hand as they headed to Steele. The four of them were on their way back after having lunch.

“How did everyone do on the test today?”

“As expected, Ian… bringing it up now so we don’t get indigestion while eating.”

“No… why would that cause indigestion?”

At Steele, aside from the comprehensive end-of-term exams, professors occasionally give pop quizzes at their discretion and today’s topic was about the latter.

But out of nowhere, Sugar, who had slumped down, started crying. It’s the sorrow of being in the lower ranks among the upper and middle ranks.

“I’m here so you all can live… don’t be too hard on me…”

“Pathetic! Suddenly so pathetic! We didn’t even say anything!”

“Idiot. Study, just study.”

Amid the usual clamor, one person walked quietly, looking at the ground. Even while chatting, Ian suddenly leaned toward Leon.

“Leon? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I just have something to think about. Please continue your conversation.”

Now, Leon is with the three of them almost every day.

At the beginning of the semester, he clearly dreamed of a quiet school life. How did it end up like this? It’s exhausting.

But it’s not a bad feeling. Although the gatherings are unintentional, being together in the noise makes worries seem to fly away.

Thinking that, his expression hardened again. The problem is that he visited the healing center a few days ago. Since then, whenever he thinks about his mother, his chest aches.

It’s as if she’s telling him he shouldn’t feel happiness. A bright school life, daily life with friends. She’s telling him to throw all that away. It’s a terribly lonely demand, but it also eases his guilt.

“Really? If something’s bothering you, be sure to tell me.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

While feeling grateful for the person next to him who is kind to his unstable and naive self, guilt piled up again.

‘…What? Why do I feel guilty?’

What is there to feel guilty about?

Lately, Leon has been feeling strange around Ian. Denying it, he’s barely maintaining his already strained mind. One side is thinking about his mother, the other about the child of the saint, giving him a headache.

Occasionally, he feels like running away somewhere far.

.

.

.

“Huh? Something’s stuck here?”

On the Steele grounds. In front of the main building’s bulletin board, birds are perched. It’s a sign that a new official notice has been posted.

Curious, Sugar ran over to check the content and then ran back.

“There’s something here too…?”

“What? What is it?”

“They’re saying we’re having a physical exam? There’s a notice.”

“Isn’t the timing a bit off?”

It’s not the month they enrolled, it’s deep into spring. It’s an awkward time.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter. If it happens, it happens. If not, then not.

At that moment.

“Physical exam… you say?”

“Ah.”

Seeing Ian ask uneasily, Sugar and Riley let out a sigh.

Leon is just puzzled by the three’s reactions.