Ch.112112. Not Exactly a Pleasant Experience

Alkine was a rather introverted person.

It wasn’t that she disliked being involved with people, but she didn’t particularly enjoy approaching others to become friends.

Whether it was due to the etiquette education she had received since childhood or simply her inherent nature was unclear, but the result was that others were literally distant beings to her.

Meanwhile, she was extremely capable.

After taking the position of student council president and standing before everyone, she essentially couldn’t meet anyone who could become her friend.

Her relationships were broad but extremely shallow in depth.

Because of this, she felt emptiness in her academy life.

There were no lectures, and everyone else was off attending their classes. There wasn’t much to do for leisure alone at the academy either.

To alleviate this boredom, she performed her role as student council president more diligently.

Not realizing that this created an atmosphere that made her even harder to approach.

Add to that her solemn demeanor, and she ultimately became the lofty student council president.

It became established fact that no one could stand beside her.

Of course, compared to Celia, who was truly introverted, Alkine’s level of introversion was nothing… but anyway.

This established fact was something she herself was fully aware of and acknowledged.

As a result, getting close to others had become no easy task.

That had been the case, but…

“What are you doing? It’s your turn now, Ms. Alkine.”

How did this relationship come to be? Honestly, it was absurd.

Celia Rubetia. The Imperial Princess.

Of course, from Alkine’s perspective, she wasn’t someone completely out of reach.

After all, she was the daughter of a duke and the academy’s student council president.

Compared to others, she certainly had plenty of ways to create connections.

But she was convinced that a relationship built on those two factors could never look like this.

“Ah, no. You just did it, so wouldn’t it be awkward if I went right after you…?”

“I suppose. Then we’d be indirectly kissing each other. Wait a moment. I’ll wipe it clean for you right away.”

Isn’t that right? How could such a conversation happen in a relationship built on rank and authority?

Who would have thought? That she would be having this kind of conversation about taking turns stealing a kiss from a man, with none other than the Imperial Princess.

“Hey, what are you wiping it with?”

“Don’t worry. It’s the handkerchief I usually use, but I haven’t used it today.”

“Didn’t you use it after eating earlier?”

“I don’t think so?”

“You don’t think so?”

What more could she think about the situation now that it had come to this?

All she could do was listen to Ludion and Celia’s conversation and let out a hollow laugh.

Celia’s expression as she returned after thoroughly wiping Ludion’s lips looked several times happier than usual.

Of course it would. This had been Celia’s goal from the beginning.

It was probably because Celia had told her about sharing her… first kiss with Ludion, but to suggest subduing him and stealing a kiss.

It was quite a shocking proposal, and at first, she wanted to refuse. But then…

-“Be honest. Haven’t you thought about wanting to do it again?”

…why had this shameless proposal seemed so sweet?

In the end, she couldn’t refuse and ended up here.

It was by chance, but somehow they had subdued Ludion, and Celia had gone first to steal his lips.

The final conversation with the bewildered Ludion was truly a sight to behold.

-“Celia. This really isn’t right.”

-“You say that, but your body isn’t resisting?”

-“Hey, that’s…!”

The boldness with which Celia silenced Ludion’s attempt to speak was impressive enough to captivate even another woman.

The fact that she would have to do the same thing next created some pressure, but having come this far, retreating due to pressure wasn’t an option.

…Even if it had been, she wouldn’t have chosen it.

Steeling herself, she slowly approached him.

“Senior Alkine. Do you really think this kind of relationship development is right?”

She had approached with somewhat serious intentions, but seeing him babbling in front of her, she understood why Celia had simply silenced him with her lips.

Because if they started talking, she might waver and quickly become embarrassed.

So, without responding, she silenced his mouth with hers, just like Celia had done.

“Ah, mmph.”

Feeling the sensation she had been craving, she felt ecstatic.

She had wanted to try it again, but she hadn’t expected it to be this satisfying.

Had she ever felt such satisfaction before?

“My goodness… Did I look like that too? Seeing it from a third-person perspective, it seems a bit…”

Celia’s voice, now saying such things, was barely audible. It felt so good.

Just as she was hoping this sensation would continue for at least a few more minutes…

There was a favorability response.

[Favorability limit is released through a specific action.]

[Accumulated favorability under restriction is now applied.]

[Favorability increases by 9.]

[Current Favorability: 48/100]

[You have achieved 40 Favorability!]

[You gain a special reward and exclusive stat.]

[You receive the ‘Behavioral Causality Manipulation’ bonus as a favorability reward.]

[Exclusive stat ‘Providence’ increases.]

[Current Providence value: 3]

[Providence value has reached 3. Related knowledge will be granted.]

[Caution: This will be accompanied by considerable pain.]

…Huh?

Too many words appeared at once for her to read them all, but the last part definitely caught her eye.

Related knowledge.

And considerable pain.

‘Pain…?’

It was like a fear of the unknown.

Not understanding what would bring pain made it impossible to gauge its intensity, which made it even more frightening.

But fortunately, Celia, her senior in favorability, was here.

Alkine reluctantly pulled away from Ludion and immediately called out to Celia.

“Celia.”

“You stopped sooner than I expected.”

“That’s not important… It says it’s going to grant related knowledge, but does this hurt a lot?”

“…Ah. That.”

She had hoped for a response saying it was nothing, but Celia hesitated to answer.

At the same time, her expression turned sour, as if she had bitten into something bitter.

The answer was as good as received.

///

Having my lips forcibly taken wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.

…Let me correct that. It wasn’t bad.

…Let me correct again. Actually, it felt good.

But how should I put it… It felt like being devoured while tied up, so it wasn’t something I could simply enjoy.

But it’s not like I could take the initiative from my side, and I’m not the type who could do that anyway, so from my position, it was actually fortunate that they expressed their desires this way.

Maintaining a cowardly passive attitude is the right move.

It can’t be helped. I still don’t have the courage to dive into this chaos.

Celia, Alkine. If it had been just one of them, I might have found the courage to approach them with this level of affection.

‘But two is a bit much.’

I had thought it would be easy after seeing harems in manga and novels, but when actually faced with such a situation, there’s surprisingly significant resistance.

Of course, if I had to choose between liking it or not, I like it! Isn’t that obvious?

I really do like it… but… um… is this really okay? That’s the feeling I get.

Now that things have escalated this far, I need to change my mindset. But I think I’ll need a bit more time for that.

“Can you still not move?”

The instigator of this situation asked me such a question while I was lost in thought.

Hearing her words, I realized my body had already regained its freedom.

“No, I’m fine now.”

“That’s a shame. I was thinking of doing it one more time secretly.”

…I hope that what just happened didn’t release some kind of limit.

A rampaging Celia would be troublesome.

For now, my body, which had started moving normally again, showed no particular issues.

With that normal body, I glanced at the building where we had just been.

“Will she be okay?”

“Probably not.”

“Is it that painful?”

“I told you before. It’s a pain I never want to experience again.”

Currently, Alkine was enduring the pain alone inside that building.

I know what’s happening.

Celia had already told me about experiencing something like this before.

“Well, I told her to contact us when she regains consciousness, so shall we take a walk for now?”

Celia said this nonchalantly as she pulled my hand.

“When she regains consciousness.” She seems certain that Alkine will faint.

Somehow I feel like Alkine might be able to endure it… well, if she really does, we’ll hear from her soon.

Since there’s nothing to do hanging around here, I decided to follow her suggestion and go for a walk.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a date, just the two of us.”

“What do you mean ‘a while’? It’s been two days at most.”

“Ludion. For me, even that feels long.”

Although the area is surrounded by forest and there isn’t much to see, it might be nice to appreciate the forest’s atmosphere that we usually pass by in a hurry.

With such a light heart, I began walking with Celia.

Having no idea what was happening with Alkine’s situation.