Ch.205205. Harvesting Sweet Peaches.

I had planned to just go for a simple walk, but I ended up receiving a confession.

I went with a “whatever happens, happens” approach, but I suppose it’s good that I brought an early and definite conclusion to something that needed to happen eventually.

No, the word “conclusion” isn’t really appropriate for relationships…

“By the way, Vine… are you really okay with this body that Ellie messed with as she pleased, making me groan in pain every night?”

“…Pardon?”

“Well… even though I was reconstructed back to my original body after returning from corruption… the sensitivity and all the memories remain… Yes. That was painful.”

“…Ah.”

“Well… after some time, those sensations became duller… and disappeared while dealing with various issues, but they still pop up periodically.”

“Periodically…”

“Hmm… remember those days when I told you not to come in?”

Thinking about it carefully.

Despite our short time together, there was once when Ellie wasn’t around.

There was a day when Yuri asked me not to look after her and said she’d prefer if I went to bed early.

“Well… I didn’t do any of those strange things you might be imagining. It’s just… how should I put it? I visit places I frequented when I was corrupted, or places where I was rescued, and reflecting on them helps me feel a bit better…”

“…Yuri.”

“Yeah. It’s nothing much. Of-of course I didn’t do anything lewd…! Ah… I did… Well, I didn’t do it when you were around!”

“That’s not what matters… Are you okay now?”

“Uh, yeah…? Because Ellie is here…?”

“What…? But Ellie is the perpetrator…?”

“Master… is here now. It’s somewhat reassuring. It’s strange to say the person responsible for my corruption is reassuring… Oh, Vine, since you came, the intervals have gotten much longer, you know? It used to be once every two weeks. Now I can endure for about a month? Ah… well, and now that Ellie is here, I have someone who can help me deal with these things. It’s just complicated, but ultimately reassuring.”

“I really don’t understand…”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting you to understand. I just… actually, I wanted to tell you everything as it is. Because you’re my lover… Master is not.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Under heaven, there is only one Master. Ugh… it’s been so long since I’ve said that. I started calling Ellie ‘Master’ again after we began dating. You’re the first to hear this.”

“…This is also the first time I’m seeing you like this in front of me… Even when you fell in Eden, it wasn’t this bad…?”

“I told you. I’d show you everything, just as it is.”

“…I’ll have to scold Ellie severely when we get home.”

“I’ll stop you.”

“…I’m scolding her because of you, so don’t worry.”

“That’s exactly why I’ll stop you. Besides, today is my day, right? Focus on me, not Master, Vine.”

“…Really, honestly.”

“Hehe. Master, Master… I can only say this to you and Ellie. You know it’s a secret, right?”

“…This is too public a place for it to be a secret.”

“Hehe. I put up a barrier. No one could have heard us.”

“…Lip reading.”

“…Eek.”

“Sigh… Shall we head back?”

“…Ugh.”

“At least people can’t do ventriloquism. And they’re not nearby either. They’re far away, how could they have understood?”

“Um, yeah…?”

“How sloppy.”

“I-I’m not sloppy!”

Yuri finally comes to her senses and gets angry.

“…Sloppy.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Fool.”

“I said I’m not!”

Then, whispering in her ear.

“■■■■─”

And with that.

Her cheeks and ears turning red.

“No, no, no, no, no! I’m not! That’s not true! N-not yet, not yet Master…!”

“Master?”

“H-hic… E-Ellie…”

“What about Ellie?”

“…She didn’t touch the inside.”

“Ah… so that part is true?”

“…Ugh.”

“…A different inside.”

“What?”

“N-no…! Forget it! Forget it!”

“I-I didn’t hear anything…”

“Ugh… Later, I’ll tell you everything! J-just…!”

“Yes, well…”

With embarrassed Yuri holding my wrist, we walked around the lake, around the city.

Before we knew it, it had become a date, going here and there.

I’m not sure if “memories” is the right word for recollections of when she was corrupted.

We visited places she said she goes to whenever those cycles come, had dinner.

We had already eaten sushi for lunch, so we couldn’t go back to the same sushi restaurant.

As we wandered around, we found a restaurant that would serve us and quickly finished our meal there.

Even on a Monday, evenings are crowded.

For restaurants with narrow spaces between tables, it’s better to finish quickly.

So after eating, we wondered where to go next.

“…This place again?”

“Why? I told you it’s my special spot!”

“…The night view is beautiful, but don’t you think it would have been better if you had confessed here earlier?”

“Hmmmm… that would have been difficult. This place, I found it shortly after being freed from corruption…”

“…Ah.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay… Well. If it weren’t for the corruption, I wouldn’t have met Master… And it’s already in the past. Dwelling too much on past events… becomes poison for moving forward. Such things need to be cleared away at the right time. I’ve forgiven Master too… Yes. To be honest… I’ve fallen into desire again, haven’t I…?”

“…I really don’t understand.”

“Hehe. It’s complicated, right? Yes… the woman you’ll come to love has very, very complicated relationships with women? Don’t worry. I’m still a virgin.”

“…What?”

“Is it okay to talk about this here? No one can hear us anyway.”

“…No way.”

“That’s right. What I meant earlier by ‘Master left something to eat’ was this.”

“You were so embarrassed just a while ago, dragging me around.”

“There’s no one here. Hehe. Plus a double barrier. This time I’ve put up a barrier that optically hides us too. Don’t worry…”

“…Don’t tell me, you.”

“I should have told them I’d be staying out tonight.”

“…So sloppy.”

“Huh? Oh my, my, my. Vine, our Vine. I want to find out if your nickname ‘bidet’ is really true.”

“…I’m not a bidet?”

“From what I’ve heard from Yunseul, if that’s not a bidet, what is it?”

“Ha. Wouldn’t that nickname be more fitting for you, Yuri?”

“Really? Want to try it out?”

“Says the unemployed one.”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes. Our Vine-bidet.”

We glared at each other.

The truly sloppy one is her, how could I possibly lose?

Thinking that while looking at her, it was quite funny.

“Pfft.”

“Puhehe…”

We burst into laughter simultaneously.

“Really, how can you be so cute even when being serious?”

“Me? Did you just call me cute?”

“Yes. You’re cute.”

“You should remember. The first person to enter Eden and corrupt you was me.”

“But I was tied up then! And I was young too. You just shook my weak, reed-like heart a little and smeared it with the mud at the bottom? Then covered my whole body in mud and let it rot?”

“I’m the Vine you feared. Not someone you can call sloppy.”

“Ohhh… Thinking about that time, ouch… The memory of being hit… my wrists being scraped, ugh, it hurts- it hurts- Vine- Vine is killing me…”

“If that’s your strategy to evoke sympathy, it won’t work this time.”

“…Hiing.”

“That still won’t work. Show some lover-like cuteness instead.”

“Eh…? I love you. Mwah-“

“Pfft.”

“Why are you laughing!”

“Who’s the cute one here?”

“Huh? But Vine is cuter!”

“That’s my line.”

The argument continued until nightfall.

The night air was still chilly, so I was held in Yuri’s embrace as we headed home.

* * *

“Ellie…? Why is it so quiet?”

“Everyone went to their family homes.”

Family homes…?

“Why…?”

“Actually, only Blanc went home… Ah, Arin also went home because her test results came out… Seohyun too. They’re students, so it can’t be helped. And Hyewon is working overtime.”

“…You didn’t chase them out?”

“Chase them out? Why would I do that?”

“Huh? So there are only three of us here now…?”

“I guess…? Well, Hyewon said she’d sleep at the association. She said she has a lot to process.”

“Process…? Post-event processing… Ah.”

“Right. She needs to investigate… the New New Eden.”

“Ah…”

“She said she’d finish by Friday… but she might not come back. I should go help her on Thursday or something.”

“That’s really the reason…?”

“What? Did you think I was being considerate about what you two would be doing at night?”

“No, no… I never thought that…?”

When I questioned her, Ellie said:

“Hey, Yuri. Handle it properly.”

“Uh, what…?”

“And you told him everything, didn’t you?”

“W-what…?”

“About our relationship.”

“…Yes, Master.”

“Sigh…”

“I didn’t tell him everything…”

Ellie, who had been sighing, looked at me and said:

“Vine. It couldn’t be helped. Actually, I… didn’t want it to be like this either, but I have to take responsibility. When I said I wanted to take responsibility.”

“…That doesn’t sound right?”

“What?”

“I heard it a bit differently… Responsibility…”

“…Heheh.”

“…Yuri.”

“Y-yes…?”

“Formal speech.”

“Y-yes…!”

She was saying “Master, Master” so well earlier.

But now, in front of me and the person herself, she seems embarrassed again.

As she blushed:

“Yes… I said I’d take responsibility, but you have to pay the price for what you handed over, Yuri.”

“T-that…”

“I told you to go find your love.”

“…Ugh.”

“Did you confess?”

“Yes…”

“Good. Vine, take her and wash up.”

“Uh, yeah…?”

“Yuri, move.”

“Y-yes…!”

Yuri, who was embarrassed but still carried me in a princess hold to the bathroom, is really…

…unable to be honest, I’d say.

After washing up, Ellie put us straight into Yuri’s room.

On the desk were two drinks and sweet candy.

“…But we’ve only been lovers for how long…”

“I don’t know. B-but… because Master ordered it…! Hmph. Sloppy Vine…! I’ll go first…!”

I was pounced on.

I pounced.

Thoroughly.