Bed Communication…?

Once the ordered appetizers arrived and the drinks were served… it was truly just Claudia and me left alone.

As expected of a place frequently visited by nobles or wealthy individuals seeking discreet encounters… it was incredibly quiet.

…Which meant we were awkwardly just looking at each other, gauging the mood.

To be precise… I was the one gauging the mood, and an awkwardness emanated from Claudia.

It felt strange because the person who would normally be sitting right next to me, pestering me, was now sitting stiffly far away, not even facing me.

No, it’s not that I preferred her clinging to me like before… it’s just… a little disappointing, I guess?

Right, wasn’t the point of coming here for a drink to get rid of this atmosphere?

Looking at the price list, I boldly ordered a bottle of alcohol and poured it into Claudia’s glass with a trickle.

A reddish-purple liquid, almost crimson, shimmered in the elegant glass.

“Ah, thank you.”

Claudia took the bottle, careful not to let our hands touch, and filled my glass.

This subtle distance.

I still didn’t like it.

We lightly clinked glasses, and I swallowed the alcohol.

Even though I chose the cheapest one among them, it tasted quite good.

Well… of course it would, given the price.

Quietly sipping my drink and picking at some appetizers, I slowly started to feel tipsy.

I blew at the hair tickling my face and looked at Claudia, who was sipping her drink little by little.

…If it doesn’t taste good, just say so.

Instead of my empty glass, I took Claudia’s glass and poured its contents into mine.

“Sha, Shaa?”

“No… if it doesn’t taste good, just say so….”

Then, this time, Claudia took my glass and gulped down all the alcohol in it. Some of the drink she couldn’t swallow flowed down her neck, slightly dampening her breast.

“…It’s delicious.”

“….”

It somehow looked like we had fought.

…For now, I refilled the empty glass.

Claudia and I had swapped glasses, but perhaps because I was drunk, I didn’t really care.

Did she drink it out of spite?

I watched Claudia, who wasn’t touching the newly filled glass, for a moment, then picked up my glass and moved closer to her.

Seeing Claudia’s visibly flustered face was somehow… amusing.

Claudia was cornered.

I speared an appetizer with a fork and brought it to her mouth.

“Eat.”

“… Shaa. You seem a bit drunk, don’t you?”

“Not at all.”

No way. I’m perfectly fine.

I rubbed the sweet fruit against Claudia’s unyielding lips.

Before long, she reluctantly opened her mouth under my insistence, and when I put the fruit in, I felt satisfied, as if I had accomplished something.

Feeling good, I chuckled and picked at an appetizer with my fork.

And a glass of alcohol.

I felt really good.

As I chewed on the fork, I saw Claudia sigh and swallow her drink.

She looked a little frustrated, and her face seemed very flushed, perhaps already drunk.

Her breathing also seemed a bit ragged.

“That’s what happens when you drink too fast.”

I speared an appetizer with my fork and offered it to Claudia.

Claudia looked at me with troubled eyes.

She eventually opened her mouth, allowing me to safely put the appetizer in.

“….”

Claudia chewed on the appetizer, glanced at me, then swallowed it and opened her mouth.

I wondered if she needed a new appetizer, but that wasn’t it.

“…Why are you suddenly like this? You used to detest it when I got close, didn’t you?”

“Detest… I don’t think I did…?”

Did I?

…Perhaps I did, subtly.

In case I might be found out… without realizing it.

Claudia’s words continued.

…It was an unexpected story.

“I’ll be honest.”

“Yes?”

Claudia blushed, looking somewhat awkward.

“…My heat cycle has come.”

“…Ah.”

“If you keep… getting close like this… it’ll be difficult… for me.”

With my body stiff, I lowered my head and looked closely at Claudia… her pants were bulging.

Feeling embarrassed, I moved back slightly, and Claudia chuckled, almost growling.

“…I said I wouldn’t touch you until Shaa wanted to… but seeing you keep provoking me… could it be that you want to now?”

Then Claudia suddenly came closer. I felt a sticky scent along with heat. Along with Claudia’s body scent.

Heat rushed to my face, making it flush.

This time, it was I who stepped back, not Claudia.

“Ah, ah, no?!”

Then Claudia grinned and retreated.

“…Alright then… don’t provoke me. Even now… it’s incredibly difficult.”

“…Understood.”

At Claudia’s words, I obediently picked up my glass and returned to the opposite seat.

As I quietly sipped my drink… my gaze kept drifting towards Claudia’s lower half.

…It was still prominently swollen.

I felt unnecessarily guilty.

For having provoked Claudia without knowing that.

…No, but I don’t think I did *that* kind of thing… Ugh… I don’t know.

“…It still hasn’t gone down?”

“…Hmm, do you really… have to ask that? It makes me more conscious of it…?”

“Ahaha….”

I knew well the pain of *that* not subsiding… but the memory of the pressure *that* hard thing received was… very faded now.

But… if it’s a heat cycle, it must be more intense than for an ordinary male, right?

Thinking that, I felt like I had done something terrible to Claudia.

Meanwhile, Claudia emptied her glass, crossed her arms, and straightened her body.

As if meditating.

I refilled her empty glass until it shimmered and watched her for a moment.

Her chest heaved with every ragged breath.

However… the heat concentrated in her lower body didn’t easily calm down, constantly throbbing. The front part… was slightly damp, as if wet.

…Seeing her trying to keep the promise she made with me.

I felt ashamed of myself for deceiving Claudia.

Wouldn’t it be right for me to take responsibility?

Before that… I’d have to see how Claudia treats me after I reveal the truth, though.

I waited until Claudia opened her eyes.

To hide my embarrassment, I sipped a little more alcohol. Before long, Claudia opened her eyes.

…That place still looked firm.

I took a deep breath and opened my mouth. My exhaled breath was hot, perhaps from the alcohol.

“Um… Claudia.”

Claudia’s gaze met mine. Her eyes seemed to hold a longing.

“It’s… Dia, isn’t it?”

I wondered if I was allowed to call Claudia by her nickname now.

“…Claudia, I have something to tell you.”

“Hmm….”

She seemed quite displeased that I wasn’t using her nickname, but seeing my serious demeanor, Claudia nodded, as if telling me to speak.

“…It, it might be a hard truth to believe, but.”

It was somehow difficult to start speaking.

Because I was caught, so I had no choice.

Because I needed it, so it was unavoidable.

Was it because this was the first time I was revealing my identity voluntarily, not for those reasons?

It took a long time of mumbling before I found the courage to speak.

Claudia quietly waited for me to speak.

“Actually, I… no, I’m not Shaa, I’m Astarote Asha herself….”

Claudia said nothing.

Was she surprised, disbelieving, or perhaps dismissing it as nonsense?

If so… would she believe me if I told her what happened between Claudia and me?

When I brought up a past story, Claudia waved her hand.

“…It’s okay. You don’t have to go that far, I believe you… I do.”

“…You can speak comfortably, just like you did with Shaa… It’s fine. I don’t really mind anyway.”

“Then I won’t hold back.”

Then she grinned and said,

“Are you going to call me Dia again now?”

I fumbled for a moment, not understanding Claudia’s words, then finally managed to answer.

“…You don’t seem very surprised.”

“Well… I thought it might be the case, you know? Lord Astaroth suddenly disappeared, and an assistant appeared as if fallen from the sky.”

Claudia took a sip of her drink and continued speaking.

“It’s strange, isn’t it, for someone who never left his post for so long to abandon his livelihood and wander outside for such a long time?”

…Given that she specifically calls him Lord Astaroth, it seems she’s not entirely without complaints.

If she had vaguely noticed… isn’t that a bit strange?

“Then it seems you had quite a few opportunities to ask during that time… why didn’t you ask? You said you were suspicious.”

Claudia let out a small laugh.

“You wouldn’t have thought that I didn’t ask precisely because you didn’t know that, would you?”

“Huh?”

What… what does that mean?

If I looked in a mirror now, I would surely have a stupid expression on my face.

Seeing my face, Claudia, as if frustrated, drank all the alcohol in her glass.

I quietly refilled her glass.

“…So, for me… it was more advantageous for you to be Shaa than Lord Astaroth.”

“….”

So… she wanted to get closer?

I sipped my drink, watching Claudia, who was saying something I couldn’t understand.

Even while saying such things, Claudia’s lower body was still stiff, I thought.

Does that mean… Claudia doesn’t care whether I’m Asha or Shaa?

…Then, should I take responsibility for Claudia being in this state…?

My drunken head spun.