Chapter 133: The Mysterious Girl A (2)

Ｒe‍ad oｎ ̃K̂&a;t‍Réad​​i​​&n;ｇＣaf&e;

Translator Note

Again, I guess a minor homophobia warning? Not as in your face as the previous warning but still.

“Leon. Do you happen to have someone you like?”

“Huh…?”

It was a question he never imagined he’d hear at this time and place, so Leon asked back, feeling a bit dazed.

“Is there someone you hold in your heart?”

What’s the intention behind this question?

Especially coming from a girl to a guy, it felt strange.

Leon didn’t want to lie to her. Maybe it was because of the guilt he already felt towards Anne, but he didn’t want to hide the truth nor tell a lie.

After a bit of hesitation, he quietly opened his mouth.

“…I’m not sure if I should say I hold them in my heart, but there is someone my gaze keeps drifting towards.”

“So, you’re saying you like them?”

“I’m… not sure. I guess that might be the case.”

“Don’t like them.”

“Huh?”

The words felt like they pierced through his chest, cutting the conversation short.

“Don’t like that person.”

She was firm. It was a stark contrast to her delicate and shy demeanor up until now. She seemed so resolute that it felt like he was facing a completely different person.

‘What could her intention be?’ Leon, feeling somewhat tense, looked at her mask.

Then, as if realizing what she had just said, the girl jumped up.

“Ah! That! It’s just a woman’s intuition! Intuition! I’m actually quite good at astrology…! It’s like I’m guided by the stars, haha… So, I have a good sense about these things, and I just felt like Leon shouldn’t keep liking that person.”

“Ah, I see…”

It felt like she was rambling, but she wasn’t entirely wrong. This feeling was something he shouldn’t hold onto.

Once again, thoughts of Ian flooded his mind, and he felt like he was sinking into a swamp. At the same time, his curiosity about the girl in front of him grew. If only her expression was visible, it would be easier to understand her.

What does her face look like behind that mask?

“Anyway, since we’ve become friends… I was worried, so I thought I’d tell you…”

“Yes, friends…”

“That’s right, friends…”

The atmosphere felt strange. Was her face flushed? Or was she uncomfortable? Leon looked around to change the subject.

Then, something caught his eye. A newspaper on the table next to them. Whether someone left it after reading or the café owner placed it there, the headline seemed quite interesting.

[Adventurer Praline Returns from the ‘Broken Land’… Sets New Longest Distance Record]

‘Come to think of it, I think I overheard a conversation about this earlier on campus. It’s quite a remarkable story. To return alive from that insane place, having set a new record for the longest distance explored.’

Leon was also interested in the rare materials that could only be obtained there.

“Ah, have you heard about this? It’s in the news here.”

“Huh?”

“There’s a newspaper here…”

It’s the perfect topic. No mage would dislike this story.

Feeling relieved to have found a suitable topic, Leon reached for the newspaper. But he didn’t grab it properly, and it slipped out of his hand, falling to the floor.

“Ah, I’ll pick it up.”

It fell right towards Anne, and she willingly bent down to pick it up.

“Hmm… It’s a bit far…”

Just then, someone opened the café door, and the newspaper flew away.

It slipped right under Leon’s seat.

“Ah. Stay there. I’ll get it since I’m already down here.”

Anne crawled under the table, reaching towards Leon’s seat.

“Ugh… I can’t reach it… Just a second…”

She pressed her body against Leon’s legs, trying to reach, but her chest was in the way, making it hard to grab.

“Ugh… Hah…”

“…”

What on earth is happening to the girl who crawled under the table to pick up the newspaper? Leon just fixed his gaze on the table and waited quietly.

Squirm, squirm. Soft, soft. The sensation of her hugging his legs was incredibly stimulating. If he looked down, he felt like something uncontrollable would happen, so he clenched his teeth and kept his eyes on the table.

“Could you spread your legs a bit? The newspaper seems to be stuck deep…”

“……”

Leon spread his legs like a trembling aspen. Immediately, he felt her presence pushing through.

A little, just a little curious, he glanced down.

A woman with her face pressed close to his lower body, groaning.

He quickly snapped back to reality and looked away.

‘Let’s count prime numbers…’

2, 3, 5, 7… As he counted, he felt grateful that she was wearing a mask.

“Hah… Huh… Got it…”

After struggling for a while, Anne finally emerged. Her hair slightly damp with sweat. With each breath, her chest rose and fell, making her shirt seem dangerously tight.

“Here, take it. What were you going to say?”

“Well, the first page of the newspaper—”

Just as Anne handed the newspaper over and Leon was about to start the conversation.

Tick, something snapped.

It wasn’t a sound you’d expect in a café, so he listened carefully for a moment.

He quickly realized what the sound was.

-Swish!

Something flew past Leon’s side. The sound of fabric tearing, and something small flying at high speed.

Leon instinctively caught it.

“…What’s this?”

Looking at it, it was a white button. A small button that likely belonged to a shirt.

And when he looked forward, he saw Anne holding her chest.

Through the gaps in her delicate hands, through the gaps in her shirt, her inner self was clearly revealed. A white, smooth skin that seemed ready to spill out clearly contrasting the black lingerie.

The woman’s ears, not covered by the mask, were bright red.

“Ah… Uh…”

Leon’s mind froze. It felt like he had been hit by a mind-altering spell, unable to think. White, soft, fluffy, overflowing, squishy… His ability to think rapidly deteriorated, and he couldn’t form a coherent thought.

“D-don’t look…”

Her voice, trembling and shy, brought him back to his senses. Not just her ears, but her neck was also red, and she seemed at a loss. The heat seemed to spread to her chest, turning it a peach color.

Leon stuttered as he took off his cloak.

“H-here, cover yourself with this.”

Anne covered herself with it, then took off her own cloak to adjust her clothes. She looked a bit ridiculous wrapped in the cloak, but it was much better than having her chest fully exposed.

Anne handed the cloak back. Leon took it, bowing his head deeply.

“I’m sorry. Let’s go back for today.”

The thought of having committed another impropriety made him apologize instinctively. Of course, it was beyond his control, but that’s just how he was. He had a tendency to blame himself.

Seeing a woman’s intimate parts was his fault, no matter the circumstances.

Then Anne tilted her head.

“Huh…? Why? It was my carelessness… I’m the one who should apologize for showing you such an embarrassing sight.”

She seemed very embarrassed, covering her already masked face.

“It was just an accident… Please forget about it.”

After taking some time to compose themselves they knew they couldn’t stay like this so they decided to leave.

As they left the café, Anne let out a soft laugh.

“Huh… Sorry. It’s just… the situation was so absurd…”

“I agree. Ah, not in a bad way—”

“I know. It’s really okay…”

Her gentle voice was pleasant to hear. Perhaps it was the aftereffect of the shocking experience, but her soothing voice was comforting.

Her voice making him feel somewhat drowsy, he listened as she spoke again.

“Even though there was an accident… I still had fun today. Thank you for becoming my friend, Leon.”

“Thank you too. I feel like I didn’t treat you well enough… Could we meet again sometime?”

“Of course. But there’s no need to talk about treating me well or anything.”

She came closer. A pleasant fragrance wafted over, a familiar floral scent.

“We’re friends, after all.”

Leon felt like he wanted to know more about her. A remarkable woman who gave him shocking experiences every time they met. A mysterious student wearing a mask.

What could she be hiding inside?

‘Wait… Am I starting to feel attracted to this woman?’

The moment he reached that conclusion, he was overwhelmed with relief.

That’s right. This is the kind of feeling I should have towards a woman, the feelings I have for ‘that person’ are just a delusion because my mind isn’t clear.

He consoled himself, thinking that he just didn’t know because he had never been interested in romance with women before.

Leon, brushing off his chest, smiled softly and waved to Anne.

.

.

.

‘Aaaaaah!!’

Not even a few hours had passed since then.

Leon let out a silent scream as he looked at Ian lying on the same bed.

***************

After returning to the dorm, he lay in his empty room, reminiscing about the day’s events, when Ian, with a slightly flushed face, came in.

“Welcome back, Ian.”

Leon greeted him with a more relaxed mind than in the morning. He hadn’t spoken to Ian all day, so he must have felt a bit lonely.

“Where did you go?”

“Ah… I had some business in the shopping district.”

“I see.”

“Leon. There’s something I want to say. Do you have a moment?”

“Huh?”

Feeling a bit scared, Leon readily agreed.

“It’s just… I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately, you have seemed stressed lately… I’ve been worried.”

“Ian, it seems I’ve caused you worry again, my apologies. Some of my worries have been resolved, so I’m fine now.”

“Really…?”

Then, Ian suddenly climbed into the bed.

“Leon, whenever you’re going through a tough time, you can always lean on those around you. Especially me… Can you trust and rely on me more? I’ll accept you no matter what.”

Ian thought she had made a mistake earlier that day.

She had blurted out something like, “Do you have someone you like? Don’t like them!” and regretted it. Seeing Leon smiling at the café, the words just spilled out.

It was true that he shouldn’t like Riley, but sitting there as a woman, she just felt like she didn’t want Leon to have someone he liked.

And she regretted it. She had said something that might have hurt her friend, who was already struggling. She knew that Leon shouldn’t harbor such feelings.

Even if your sexual orientation is wrong, we’ll still be friends.

You have Anne as a new friend, and you also have Ian, who fully supports you.

With that in mind, he spoke.

And one sentence echoed in Leon’s mind for a long time.

I’ll accept you no matter what— I’ll accept you no matter what— I’ll accept you no matter what—…

“Let’s sleep together today. I’ll pat you until you fall asleep…”

As he naturally lay down beside him, Leon was too stunned to refuse.

And so, on one side of his head was the masked woman. On the other side was the purple-eyed descendant of the Saint.

There was no end to his torment.

***************

Even though closing time was approaching, there was a group sitting leisurely in a corner of the café.

One of them, Sugar, quietly opened her mouth and put a dessert in.

Originally, she had come to the shopping district with Riley to decorate the Sugar Mill with flowers. While they were looking around, a black-haired man and woman passed by.

One was Leon. Well, that’s not important.

The other was the problem. Her Holiness, who had dyed her originally shiny platinum hair black and was wearing a mask to hide her face, was strolling around in male attire.

What on earth was she doing, being so reckless?

As long as she wasn’t openly revealing her body and face, the perception distortion would keep her safe. In Leon’s uncertain mind, he just thought, “A woman with similar magic to Ian.”

Not knowing this, Sugar followed them out of worry. The meaningful conversation she had overheard at the Sugar Mill also bothered her. She wondered why her best friend had changed out of her male attire.

Following them to a secluded spot in the café, she saw an incredible sight as she devoured an “Ultra Super Deluxe Combo Parfait.”

Ian, bending down to pick up the fallen newspaper. The aftermath causing her to scream and her shirt to burst open, revealing her black bra and cleavage.

Having seen it often in the Holy City, Sugar wasn’t too surprised.

The problem was the man sitting next to her.

Sugar, holding the spoon she was about to eat with, looked at Riley. He had been whispering with Sugar and watching Ian and Leon, so he must have seen the incredible sight too.

And as expected, Riley’s gaze was fixed on the two.

Riley was sweating bullets but didn’t react. He just rolled his eyes to look at Sugar. A wise move, as reacting strongly would provoke the woman.

“Heh…”

Of course, the fact that he had “seen” it didn’t just disappear.

Sugar gave him a steady look.

Slowly eating the parfait, she took Riley’s hand with her other hand and brought it to her neck, letting him touch the choker. As if to remind him of the accessory filled with the creator’s tastes.

They stayed like that until closing time.