27. Another Friend

27. Another Friend

When walking with friends, there are times when you lose your purpose and wander the streets.

It’s when one says, ‘I was following you,’ and the other says, ‘I was following you too.’

Priscilla walked forward, so I walked forward too, and when I walked forward, Priscilla walked forward too… After a chain of following each other, we had walked quite a distance before I asked Priscilla.

“Priscilla, where are we going?”

Priscilla’s face was strangely red, perhaps from the long walk. She replied after taking a breath and looking at me, her hands protectively covering her chest.

“… I was going somewhere, but I forgot because Skadi kept touching me! I told you to stop….”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Priscilla said that and then took deep, ragged breaths. I thought, if she disliked it so much, she should have refused earlier, but I didn’t say anything.

Anyway.

I reached out my hand towards the struggling Priscilla.

“Ehet?!”

I pulled Priscilla towards me, making her lean against me. I tightened the tail I had wrapped around her to allow her to lean on me easily. Priscilla naturally hugged me to avoid falling, and soon she was being supported by me.

The distance between us suddenly became closer, and my scent and Priscilla’s scent mingled dizzyingly.

I looked down at Priscilla. Our gazes met.

Suddenly, I noticed her bangs were a little tangled, so I gently reached out and brushed Priscilla’s hair. My hand softly brushed her forehead….

“Ugh….”

“Priscilla?”

Peck.

Priscilla kissed my cheek.

It was quite sudden and surprising, but thinking about it, it seemed to be the result of the training I had done last time to improve her relationship with her sister. After repeating the action of bringing my lips to her position tens of times, it seemed she now automatically kissed me just by taking that posture.

Anyway, it’s a common thing between women, so I decided not to mind. After a moment in that position, Priscilla buried her head in my chest and took a breath. Her inhales and exhales tickled my chest.

“Just for a moment… I’ll stay like this….”

Priscilla said in a voice that seemed to have lost all its strength. It seemed that walking this far had been so tiring that she needed to rest against me.

I had intended to support Priscilla anyway, and staying in this position was no big deal for me with my strong physique. I hugged Priscilla and waited for her to compose herself.

——

“You were going to the library?”

“Yes, I just remembered. Because of… the posture earlier.”

I see. No wonder the direction we were heading was closer to the library. Despite forgetting our destination midway, Priscilla and I arrived at the library without any issues.

As we opened the door, the characteristic scent of books in the library enveloped us. My wolf ears, being sensitive to hearing, could even pick up the hushed whispers from a distant corner.

-Student, your grades are good, wouldn’t it be better to pursue a master’s degree rather than a bachelor’s? I’ll guarantee your employment.

-Uh, I don’t know…?

Passing by commoners I seemed to have seen in the library before, Priscilla approached the librarian and whispered quietly.

“Um, do you happen to know where the ‘Wolf and Lily’ series is?”

“Just a moment. Let’s see… it’s over there.”

The librarian pointed to one of the many bookshelves, and Priscilla ran over with quick steps, pulling out books from the shelf. In the blink of an eye, Priscilla had as many as 5 books in her hands, and then she discreetly returned to complete the borrowing process, as if she shouldn’t be seen by others.

I asked Priscilla, who had returned to me.

“Are you done with your business?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Is that series interesting?”

“…… Yes.”

Priscilla nodded reluctantly. She must have borrowed the books because they were interesting, yet she found it hard to admit.

What a dishonest friend.

I playfully ruffled Priscilla’s hair.

Priscilla, holding the books with both hands, couldn’t resist my touch and could only let out a frustrated cry of ‘Huueng’ after her hair became disheveled.

The area in front of the library was quite crowded. However, strangely, everyone took one look at my face and then hastily fled, so there were no problems with our movement.

Even though there were so many people, the sight of the area around us being a clear circle, as if protected by some barrier, was quite fascinating.

Just as I was about to grab someone and ask why this was happening-

“Found you!”

Someone suddenly blocked our path as we were heading back to the dormitory. The gazes of the people who had been avoiding me earlier now turned towards us.

Her small height, only reaching my chest, her golden hair and eyes, and her inexplicably confident expression.

The princess, whom had been dragged away by the maid about two hours ago, was now blocking me again.

Honestly, the size difference was so great that it was a bit ambiguous to say she was blocking me. Anyway.

… It seems like someone has been blocking my path frequently lately. Am I cursed?

And thinking about what has happened so far, all the people who have appeared before me have asked me for a duel. Starting with Priscilla, then the bald guy, and Priscilla’s sister.

That means this princess is here to ask me for a duel too. Probably with the condition that if I lose, I have to marry her. This was the conclusion I reached through inductive reasoning based on my past experiences.

I feel proud of myself for coming up with such a perfect deduction after so long. My dear sister, look how smart your sister is.

I drew my sword.

Shing-

The pure white blade sparkled in the light. The surroundings grew chilly, and a cold wind blew from somewhere. The familiar chill ignited my fighting spirit.

Feeling my scarf flutter in the sharp, cold wind, I sharpened my senses and looked at my opponent.

The child, whose face was pale and whose limbs were flailing.

The princess shouted.

“W-wait, why are you suddenly drawing your sword! W-well, it’s nice to see you this close, but anyway, put that away! That’s… that’s regicide!”

“Huh?”

However, the battle I had expected was nowhere to be found. The princess was trembling and trying to distance herself from me. Although she was stopped by the wall of onlookers.

At her bewildered expression, I lowered the sword I was holding towards the princess. The sword hit the ground with a clang- sound, and the onlookers, as well as the princess, flinched in fear.

Only Priscilla tilted her head with a question mark floating beside her face.

I turned my head and looked around. From left to right, slowly moving my gaze. The onlookers my eyes landed on all flinched and ran away, and for some reason, only the three of us-Priscilla, the princess, and I-were left in front of the library.

I asked the princess.

“Weren’t you going to fight?”

“No! Why would I suddenly fight you! Is it because of what I threatened you with earlier? I was wrong, I won’t do it again, okay? I was wrong, so please put away that sword! You know it’s regicide if you accidentally hurt me, right? Okay?!”

“Hmm….”

She wasn’t here to fight.

My excitement waned, and I released the pose I had held awkwardly, sheathing my sword. The cold wind was still blowing, but as I put away my sword, the chill subsided compared to before, and my fluttering scarf also drooped limply.

Seeing me sheathe my sword, the princess let out a sigh of relief.

“Then why did you suddenly come to me?”

“Well, actually, I was scolded by my maid for what happened earlier… so I came to apologize to you!”

“Apologize?”

“Yes!”

The princess, whose face had been pale just moments ago, had now returned to her confident expression and said to me with a cute smile. She was truly a child of many expressions.

Soon, the princess apologized to me.

“I’m sorry for suddenly proposing marriage back then! So, about that….”

“About what?”

“Will you be my friend?”

“Friend?”

“Yes!”

The princess looked at me with her golden eyes sparkling, as if she had great expectations. For some reason, her gaze seemed to be fixed on the sword at my waist rather than my face, but I decided to attribute it to her short stature.

“Okay.”

It wasn’t difficult to agree to that. It’s always good to have more friends, so I smiled gently and replied to the princess.

Then, as if she couldn’t believe I had accepted her proposal, the princess’s eyes widened. Soon, the princess shouted at me.

“Can I touch that sword?!”

“No.”

My father always told me that a sword is like a swordsman’s life. I’m sorry, but even if we’re friends, I can’t just hand over my sword carelessly.

As I firmly refused, the princess’s eyes widened, and she began to tremble, on the verge of tears. Seeing the child with tears streaming down her face made me feel guilty….

“Still, no.”

What’s a no is a no.