Are you crazy?

“Ehehe….”

Holding Cecil while sitting in the chair felt strange.

The body heat rising from her tightly pressed form, as if she was sad they couldn’t sleep together after separating rooms, was warm, but at the same time, it felt bitter. It was like looking at a child who lacked affection.

As I gently stroked her back, she rubbed her face, buried in my neck, and let out a giggle. Her tied-up hair tickled my neck and shoulder.

I could feel her pounding heartbeat. It seemed to be because Cecil’s chest was pressed so tightly against my soft flesh. The slightly stiff fabric brushing against a sensitive area made my face feel a little hot.

Feeling this sensation from her pure embrace… it was strange. I shouldn’t be feeling this way.

Scolding myself, I looked forward, and Veronica and Claudia, who had been organizing cards, were looking at me with strange expressions.

My face felt hot, and my breathing seemed a little ragged. It probably felt like that because I was being held too tightly, making it hard to breathe. There was also a bit of embarrassment.

Tapping Cecil’s shoulder, who was still embracing me, I opened my mouth.

“Ce-Cecil, that’s… the end now.”

Cecil, with an ‘Already?’ expression, obediently released her arms. I had worried she might keep hugging me, but thankfully, that didn’t happen. Cecil, wiggling down from on top of me, opened her mouth with a flushed face.

“Cecil, if I get first place again, can I hug Shaa-nim again?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Understood!”

When I replied like that, caught off guard, she smiled brightly. Then she returned to her seat. The cards were already divided on the table. Somehow, it was a difficult atmosphere to suggest stopping. Under the unspoken pressure to start, I finally chose a card and placed it down.

…And so, the next round began.

“I won!”

Veronica raised her arms triumphantly. I counted the number of cards in my hand, then stopped thinking.

In the end, I was the one who got the penalty again this time.

Veronica, who had been stroking her chin, made me lie face down on the floor… then she climbed on top of me. Like a chair. But she didn’t sit on my waist; perhaps feeling sorry for me, she sat on my butt.

…Putting aside the strange feeling, I shouldn’t have felt that heavy, but sweat beaded on my skin, and my legs trembled. My severely depleted stamina was starkly apparent.

Veronica patted her butt, saying the chair was shaking, but I had no energy to care about that. After what felt like an hour-long minute, I moved my exhausted body and sat in the chair.

And then… I declared.

“Hah… Haaah… L-let’s go to the next round.”

I couldn’t just keep taking the hits and end it like this. Just once. Let’s win just once and then stop.

“It’s over.”

The winner of the next round was Claudia. This time, I ended up in last place by a single card. It was a shame. If only my turn had come around just once more, I would have avoided last place.

Claudia, resting her chin on her hand, smiled with a satisfied expression.

“What should I make you do? First, why don’t you come over here?”

“…”

What on earth was she going to make me do?

With a miserable heart, I put down the cards in my hand and approached Claudia. Her tail, sticking out between the chair’s backrest, swished with a ‘boong-boong’ sound, expressing unconscious joy.

Claudia, who had watched me approach for a moment, pulled her chair back and patted her thigh. When I shrugged my shoulders, Claudia smiled and said,

“How about sitting facing each other on my thighs and kissing my cheek?”

“Eh.”

Veronica made a strange sound faster than I did. Cecil was looking at Claudia with an envious gaze.

“…I don’t want to kiss you.”

“Then there’s no helping it. Let’s just have a hug too.”

“…Kkeueung.”

Feigning reluctance, I climbed onto Claudia’s firm thighs. After a moment of hesitation, I hugged Claudia’s back, and Claudia’s strong hands pulled me closer. I naturally ended up buried in her ample chest.

…What on earth was supposed to be the penalty?

Rather, in terms of a penalty, wasn’t Veronica’s the closest to a real penalty? I was buried in a warm, soft place for a moment, inhaling a body scent that felt somehow sweet.

Perhaps because of our mingled sweat, it felt a little slippery. I could feel a throbbing sensation from our tightly pressed pelvises. Feeling a strange and peculiar sensation, I released my hands, took a ragged breath, and pulled my face away.

“St-stop…”

“Already?”

“Th-this was already q-quite long.”

Claudia, licking her lips, obediently let me go. Perhaps she thought she could just win again anyway. As I got off Claudia’s thighs, I felt a sharp, stinging gaze. It was Veronica.

…Why is she acting like that again? Did she want to be hugged by Claudia’s chest? Claudia’s chest… it does feel good.

The game, with its indistinguishable penalties and rewards, continued. Then, a knock sounded at the door.

“I’ll go see.”

Claudia, who had stood up as if to faithfully carry out her promise to escort me, opened the Passenger Cabin door and began talking to someone. Not long after, she returned to the table, her hands full of something.

“What is it?”

“They said they were sorry for a problem and left something.”

Come to think of it, the train still wasn’t moving. There should have been major complaints, but it seemed they were appeasing people this way. As if to prove it, the things Claudia set down… looked quite luxurious.

“…There’s alcohol too?”

“It’s probably their way of telling us to drink and sleep quietly.”

Saying that, Claudia chuckled and uncorked the bottle of alcohol. A strong fruity scent wafted out. While I was having the trivial thought of what they might have given to someone who was using an entire carriage if this much was given here, glasses began to be filled one by one.

It was a very natural flow. So much so that no one questioned the drinking.

“Wow, it’s pretty.”

Veronica admired the filled glass, shaking it back and forth. The apricot-colored liquid was striking. I also picked up my filled glass and sniffed its aroma.

Then Claudia quietly whispered to me.

“…Is the Assistant old enough to drink this?”

At Claudia’s question, I looked at Cecil.

She was staring intently at the bottle in Claudia’s hand, her face full of anticipation for when she would get some. It was as if I could hear a ‘banjjak-banjjak’ sound.

…This is where I hesitated. In terms of years, it hadn’t even been a full year, but that was… from a normal human perspective. However, telling that curious face, “You can’t drink this alone,” was… difficult for me.

“…Let’s give her a little.”

“Really?”

Cecil’s glass was filled a little. “Can I drink it?” When I nodded to Cecil, who had asked me with her expression, Cecil began to tilt her glass.

Somehow, I felt nervous.

Cecil, after swallowing a little of the alcohol, immediately made a tearful face.

“…This is strange.”

“Haha, it seems it’s still too early for the Assistant.”

Cecil stuck out her tongue and grimaced. At her cute appearance, I couldn’t help but chuckle and opened the box that came with it. Inside were what appeared to be chocolates and light snacks.

“…There’s chocolate inside.”

“Oh.”

“Chocolate?”

“Is it chocolate?”

Ignoring their varied reactions, I peeled off the round wrapper and confirmed it was indeed chocolate. The alcohol had been a failure, but with the thought that this would definitely be a hit, I put it into Cecil’s mouth, and she stomped her feet, saying it was delicious.

I took out more for Cecil to eat and then started the game with the alcohol. The rather strong drink quickly made me feel tipsy. Being drunk, an unfounded confidence that I could win surged within me.

Perhaps because we were drinking, the game, which had been progressing quickly, slowed down. I held onto my hazy mind and focused on the game.

“Ahahaha, I won!”

Veronica laughed boisterously, giggling. Perhaps due to being drunk, her face was as red as her hair. She stood up from her seat, stood behind me, and patted my shoulder while exhaling rough breaths.

“…It’s not over yet… is it?”

“Puh-hee-hee… Right.”

Because only the first place was decided, it didn’t mean I was in last place.

The game isn’t over until it’s over.

“Shaa is in last place again this time?”

“I… wanted to be first place…”

Claudia, with a slightly flushed face, expressed her regret. Cecil’s face was also a little red, as if she was upset about not getting first place.

Veronica patted my shoulder and chuckled.

“Then… what should I make you do?”

“…”

After mumbling for a moment and finishing her deliberation, Veronica smiled sweetly, unwrapped the remaining chocolate, and put it in my mouth.

And then….

“Feed me the chocolate with your mouth!”

Was she drunk and out of her mind? It was obvious she’d regret it when she sobered up and blame me, but should I accept it? I looked at Claudia, hoping she’d stop it, but she was watching with an even more intrigued expression. Cecil, with a flushed face, looked only at my mouth, as if envious.

…No, isn’t anyone going to stop her?

“Hurry!”

I tasted the sweet and bitter flavor of the chocolate melting from my body heat. I sighed deeply inwardly and turned my body towards Veronica. Perhaps due to being drunk, my body swayed a little.

My eyes met Veronica’s, who was laughing carelessly. She was giggling and opening her mouth, not even realizing what she had asked for.

It was outrageous. Since she asked for it herself, she wouldn’t say anything later, right?

I approached until our breaths met, then boldly kissed Veronica and rolled the chocolate in with my tongue. But Veronica’s tongue, which had come out to meet it, pushed it back.

The chocolate feeding unintentionally turned into a slightly deeper kiss. The melted chocolate and tongues intertwined. With a slurping sound, the increasingly melted chocolate smeared around our mouths.

The sweet and bitter taste of chocolate, the fruity scent, Veronica’s body odor, her soft tongue. And… a slight scent of alcohol.

This… this was chocolate with alcohol in it.

In the end, we kept our lips pressed together… until all the chocolate had melted away.

“…Well, that was good.”

Perhaps the kiss sobered her up a little, Veronica returned to her seat with a face even redder than before.

Sitting in the chair, feigning composure, I felt a little dazed. The cards scattered on the table were blurry.

It felt like I would just keep taking hits and it would end like this. I rummaged through my memories of a past life in my head and thought of a different game.

“…Let’s play a different game.”

With this, I could win too. Because it’s a pure luck-based game.

No matter how bad I am, I’ll pick it at least once.

I tore a piece of paper and made four lottery slips. I wrote numbers on three of them and colored one black.

Yes… the game I was going to propose was… the King’s Game.

With this, even if I don’t pick the King, I can avoid the penalty.

I really am a genius.

I explained the rules to my companions, laughing inwardly.