76. Library

76. Library

Three tails walking down the street.

Two small children, and one adult next to them.

That was referring to us heading to the library. Actually, only Iris was a real child here.

I idly placed my hand on little Claire’s head and stroked it. The texture of the fine golden strands transmitted through my fingertips. It was addictive.

“….”

Claire, who was walking close to me, flinched but accepted my touch. Her face was strangely red, perhaps it was just my imagination.

It wasn’t just Claire clinging to me. Iris, an even smaller child than Claire, was also walking, holding my hand tightly with her tiny hand. It was cute to see her taking short steps to match the strides of her older sisters.

-Freya, may I touch your tail?

-Are you crazy?! My tail belongs to Sister!!

Meanwhile, Priscilla was talking to Freya while freely stroking Henir’s and my tails. She seemed unable to hide her joy at the current situation with so many fluffy tails.

Henir… well, she seemed to have a peculiar expression, not exactly pleased about her tail being touched, yet resigned to it. In conclusion, she didn’t seem happy.

“… Young Lady?”

I once overheard my father telling my sister, ‘As nobles, always lead by example for your subordinates.’ I, like my sister, was a noble and Henir’s superior, so it was my duty to cheer her up.

I reached out my hand.

“Young Lady…?”

My hand headed towards Henir’s abdomen, the same spot I had massaged to relieve her tension before. I placed my hand slightly below her navel.

“Th-that’s-“

Even just placing my hand there, I could feel her well-trained, firm muscles. But with this much force, she couldn’t stop my hand; I gently pushed Henir’s muscles, pressing on her abdomen.

“Ah, Young Lady…!”

This wasn’t just a place for massage. For some reason, when pressed, it felt like my insides were being squeezed, and my mood automatically improved.

Gently placing my fingertips there and pressing firmly. After a moment, as the pressure of my hand slowly released, she would relax her body and then I would apply pressure again, pressing the skin. By applying and releasing pressure like pulling a tug-of-war rope, pressing this spot- See, isn’t Henir enjoying it too?

“Hngh….”

-Wow, her tail is wagging so much!

Priscilla shouted from behind, looking at Henir’s tail. Even though her tail was hitting her face as it wagged, she seemed to like it, indicating she wasn’t just a little fond of tails.

“Hngh…!”

Henir sank to the ground. Her legs were trembling, and she was gritting her teeth as if trying to suppress a sound.

Since she wasn’t saying “stop,” it was clear Henir was enjoying it. If so, should I make her feel even better?

The moment I reached out-

“Sis!!!”

“Huh?”

“Don’t, no!!”

Freya urgently blocked my path. She grabbed my arm, which was reaching for Henir, and pulled with all her might, looking quite pathetic.

“What’s wrong?”

“J-just stop it!”

“It’s just a massage?”

“Th-that’s… Anyway, stop it!”

Why is she acting like this when it’s just a mood-boosting massage?

Besides, wasn’t it Freya herself who gave me massages every day when we were in the North? I still remember Freya’s face as she massaged my naked body with a dazed expression.

-Freya, is this a massage…? Oof!

-Of course. Sister, you just need to entrust your body to me. Hehe….

Perhaps this is also due to puberty. Her mood swings and temper have increased. I hid my worried expression and replied to Freya.

“Okay. I won’t do it.”

“Don’t do it to anyone else, okay?!”

“Yes, yes.”

I patted Freya’s head. Only then did Freya seem relieved and started following me again. Although she couldn’t cling to me due to the no-physical-contact rule.

-Hye….

-Are you okay?

-I-I’m okay….

Henir was panting heavily, sitting on the ground. Priscilla, who had been touching her tail, asked if she was okay, and soon Henir stood up with wobbly legs and started walking again.

Shall we move again then? We’ve already wasted a lot of time going to the library.

“Iris.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s go.”

Perhaps something occurred to Iris after seeing Henir, as she was stroking her own abdomen with her small hands. I pulled Iris along, and thus we started walking again.

“… Iris? What are you doing?”

… After walking for a while, I felt a strange sensation below and looked down to see Iris pressing on my abdomen. It felt like a kitten clumsily kneading.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“You probably wanted to try what I did to Henir. That’s not how you give a massage. I’ll show you, here….”

I pulled Iris’s hand. To find the correct spot, apply the correct pressure, and push correctly. At some point, I felt a pressing sensation in my abdomen.

“Ngh.”

“Sister?”

“Y-yes, that’s how you do it. Do you understand now?”

Iris wiggled her hand a few times, then started pressing my belly again as before. Only this time, it was more accurate and more pleasant.

“You’re doing great. Great… Hngh-“

I flinched and looked at Iris. Iris’s eyes sparkled, and she started pressing me harder, and then-

“Hey!!! What are you doing to Sister!!!”

Freya stopped Iris. Iris looked up at Freya with a tearful face. Her red eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

“But Sister told me to try…?”

“You were doing it on purpose from the middle!”

“No… Sister!”

Iris turned to me, her voice pleading for help. Feeling like a mother mediating between children, I hugged Iris and said.

“Freya, you shouldn’t bully the child. What’s the age difference, why are you fighting?”

“It’s not like that- Hey! You just laughed at me!”

“Freya!”

I looked at Iris. Iris wasn’t laughing at Freya; she was just clinging to me, tearfully scared of the situation.

“Freya, this is a warning. If you bother Iris again, I’ll really get angry this time…”

“Grrr…!”

Freya clenched her fists and trembled. If I weren’t here, she looked like she would have beaten Iris to a pulp.

Puberty is truly a frightening thing. The child who was so good in the North has become like this. I feel fortunate that I didn’t go through puberty myself.

And so, we started walking again with a slightly chilly atmosphere. I could hear Freya muttering from behind.

-I’ll get it back somehow… somehow!

It was a determined cry.

——

The Academy streets were bustling with restoration work. The reason for no classes recently was that they were busy repairing the buildings that had been destroyed before, leading to a suspension of classes.

It’s the capital of the empire, not some other place, yet it’s taking so long to repair the buildings.

“Why are so many buildings destroyed?”

“Skadi destroyed them, you know.”

Priscilla said.

“No, I don’t think I destroyed these.”

The auction house wasn’t on the way to the library in the first place. Even if I ran around chasing Henir, I had no memory of destroying places like this.

“Maybe you just forgot?”

“Is that so?”

Come to think of it, no one would remember every single thing they destroyed. I must have forgotten after destroying it.

The Academy was lively with many people due to the restoration work. While looking around, I suddenly saw a child I met yesterday.

“Ah, there’s the child Freya apologized to yesterday.”

“… Ugh.”

Leaving Freya, who was gagging, behind, I looked at the child. A blonde young lady, her name was probably Ariel. The very child Freya apologized to with food in her mouth.

Next to her, an unknown young lady who had been sitting behind Ariel at the time was talking to Ariel, holding some food in her hand.

-Ariel, you want to eat this, right?

-Gasp…! Th-that’s a special limited apple pie…! Give it to me! Quickly!

-I’ll give it to you if you kiss my cheek. How about it?

-What….

-Don’t you want it? Then I’ll eat it. Nom nom nom.

-I-I’ll do it! I’ll do it!

-Mmm~ The pie is already in my mouth, so what should we do?

They seem to be getting along better than yesterday.

Just like Freya yesterday, the two young ladies exchanged the pie with their mouths, and Freya, seeing the scene, turned her head away in disgust.

And so, we started walking again.

“Claire?”

“Mmm?!”

“Why is your face so red?”

“Ah, no….”

Claire had been silent since I was making Henir feel good earlier. Worried she might have a cold, I asked, but Claire shook her head vigorously, as if to say it wasn’t the case.

Claire whispered quietly into my ear, as if embarrassed.

“Um, well.”

“Yes.”

“… Can I touch your belly later too?”

Ah, so that’s why.

She seemed very interested in Freya’s special massage. I smiled and nodded at Claire.

“Sure. I’ll let you touch it as much as you want later.”

And so, after walking for a while. We finally-

“Your Highness?”

“Edel?”

Arrived at the library.

The maid who was doing something was an added bonus.