Ch.222222. Two-Way Traffic (4)

Around this point, my mind goes blank.

I don’t know anything. How could I possibly understand!

Just when I thought about patting Charlotte’s head in approval, Renias suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Up to this point, nothing seems strange. Well, she might have something to say and came looking for me.

But this… I really don’t understand. If you asked me to explain why she grabbed my hand and placed it on her head, I wouldn’t have the slightest clue.

“Re-Renias…?”

I cautiously call out our silver rabbit’s… no, my junior’s name.

“…”

Ah. I think I know what’s coming.

The air trapped in her mouth is so abundant that her inner cheeks are puffed up like balloons.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time with Renias by now, and I’ve come to recognize what that expression means.

‘Renias, you’re extremely displeased right now…!’

She makes that face when something bothers her. For example… when I tried to move around or secretly use magic instead of resting at the hospital.

Then Renias would puff up her cheeks and insist on “AB.SO.LUTE.REST.” Thanks to that, whenever I wanted to know what was happening in the world, I had to ask the nurse for a newspaper.

At least I understand that something is bothering her.

But what exactly is she unhappy about…?

Did I do something wrong???

No matter how much I think about it, I can’t recall anything.

Then why is she gripping my hand so tightly? Don’t pull away? But why? It’s not like I was trying to harm Charlotte. We weren’t even pretending to fight or actually fighting!

Renias… what on earth are you upset about…!

“Um… Senior Renias?”

“…”

Meanwhile, Charlotte voiced her confusion.

Hearing Charlotte’s voice, Renias immediately whipped her head around.

Hmm. What’s this about?

Unable to pull my hand away, I could only watch and try to figure out what might appease Renias’s anger(?).

Leaving me resigned to my fate, Renias turned her head sharply and began glaring at Charlotte.

Why are you being so fierce toward Charlotte… Did you two fight?

Her eyebrows are forming such a sharp V-shape that it can’t be interpreted any other way.

“Se-Senior Senia…”

Charlotte, unable to withstand the silver rabbit’s fierce aura, retreated behind Senia who was standing right behind her.

She seems just as confused as I am, but being glared at so openly must have frightened her. Charlotte is a sensitive girl, after all.

Now Renias is shooting laser beams at Senia with her eyes.

She has complaints about Senia too?

‘What on earth is going on?’

My head is filling with question marks.

Why is Renias firmly holding my hand, and why is she glaring at those two as if she’s about to devour them?

This won’t do. Regardless of identifying the cause, I need to free my hand first and ask her what’s wrong so we can resolve this.

If they become estranged because of some strange misunderstanding, that would be a real disaster…!

“Um… Renias? I’d like you to let go of my hand now…”

“Hmph.”

Now she’s glaring at me with displeasure.

Stay calm. I need to think logically…!

“This looks weird. Is there… something special about this posture?”

“No.”

“Then… could you please let go?”

“Hmph.”

“…”

After that, no matter how subtly I ask her to let go, I get the same response.

I’m starting to get a headache trying to figure out what’s going on, but fortunately, I have a friend with exceptional insight standing right in front of me.

‘Please, I’m begging you, Senia…!’

I know nothing.

Not why Renias suddenly appeared. Not why she placed my hand on her silver hair and won’t let go. Not why this usually kind and energetic rabbit-like girl is seemingly wary of you two.

So please figure it out and resolve whatever’s making her angry…

If you guys fight, it won’t be good for the future! This is really not a good sign!

I could only sweat nervously and hope that Senia’s insight would help clear up this misunderstanding.

But then…

Not long after, Senia suddenly started laughing.

“Pfft, hehehe.”

“Senior Senia…?”

Hey, what’s so funny?

This isn’t a laughing matter. You know?

If you become estranged from Renias, Tembris and Arkab will become estranged too, and! Besides that…!

“Pffhahaha…!”

“Senior?”

“…?”

While I’m practically praying with such complicated feelings, why is she laughing so hard she’s holding her stomach?

What’s going on? Seeing her laugh like that, maybe it’s not something to make a fuss about?

“Oh, really.”

In contrast to Senia who’s laughing to the point of tears, the air in Renias’s cheeks still hasn’t deflated.

Her expression remains unchanged, as does her gaze.

But Senia, while maintaining eye contact with Renias, slightly bends her waist and says,

“Puhue?”

“Aww. You adorable thing.”

She gently presses Renias’s cheeks with her palm to deflate them and then caresses the soft cheek flesh…!

Wait, instead of trying to resolve the misunderstanding in this situation, you’re provoking her?! Are you trying to create a feud with the Arkab party?!

Oh. My head is spinning.

Yet Senia continues to smile mischievously.

Sensing impending doom, I quickly removed Renias’s hand and stepped between the two.

“Hey, hey! I’ll figure out what’s going on, so just go back for now, okay?”

“Hmm? Why? I’m just doing this because she’s cute.”

“No… that’s enough, so please go back?”

“Come on, after seeing something like this, how can I just leave? Move aside a bit. I want to talk with Renias too.”

“No. Go back.”

Please go back…!! I’m scared you two might actually start fighting!

After sending that eye signal, Senia finally turned around. Phew, that took years off my life.

‘At least it’s fortunate that the contact time between the two wasn’t that long.’

Charlotte still seems dumbfounded, standing at a distance, but Senia will probably explain things to her.

Seeing Senia returning to Charlotte, I don’t think she’ll come back.

Now I should ask too. I immediately turned and placed my hands on Renias’s shoulders.

“Renias.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Did something happen with them? Did you have a fight?”

This was no time for beating around the bush, so I asked directly.

When our eyes met, Renias flinched for a moment but then insisted there was no fight, pouting her lips and puffing her cheeks again.

“It’s not like that.”

If it’s not like that, then why are you acting this way toward Senia and Charlotte? And why are you behaving like this?

I have so many questions, but now isn’t the atmosphere to probe too deeply.

“Be honest with me. If you fought, there might be a misunderstanding. We should clear it up.”

“There’s no misunderstanding either.”

“Then why are you acting like this today?”

At that, Renias sealed her lips tightly.

She even averted her gaze that had been meeting mine until just now, took a step back, and started fidgeting with her fingers.

Oh. This is maddening. At this rate, I won’t be able to figure out anything.

The back of my neck is starting to ache.

I should at least hear both sides. I turned around to ask Senia what she had found out.

But… that’s when it happened.

“Ah, waaah?”

Right behind me, Renias, who had taken a step back, was flailing her arms and legs, losing her balance.

I don’t know why, but I can tell she’s about to fall.

Instead of continuing to speak, my body moved first.

“Renias!”

And… I experienced déjà vu from the Algenib resort.

“S-Senior…”

“No… I… uh, because it was dangerous…”

I had placed my hand on her waist to catch her from falling, and we ended up in a pose like high-difficulty dance couples in the middle of a ballroom, but on the street.

Close. Once again, we were close enough to feel each other’s breath.

Not only were our breaths touching each other’s skin, but our bodies weren’t far apart either.

The problem, just like then… was our lips.

“Whew. It would be perfect if you just kissed right now.”

Right. This is a public street.

With at least… two more people watching.

***

Though I unintentionally showcased a street waltz, the separation was instantaneous. It was after I caught a glimpse of Renias’s face turning bright red.

Without even time to think further, our bodies separated like lightning.

The woman who had danced the waltz returned her puffed-up cheeks to normal and became a silver rabbit again.

The silver rabbit in a long sweater covered her burning face with both palms, crouched down with her back to everyone, and hung her head low.

The man who had led the waltz initially covered his eyes with his palm, but gradually showed a different reaction.

Unlike the woman, steam wasn’t rising from his face, and he wasn’t crouching down. Instead, he was anxiously wondering if she might be hurt.

Charlotte had already covered her eyes with her tiny hands, though her fingers were spread apart, making it unclear if she was actually covering them or not.

Senia was smiling contentedly… no, mischievously, and teasing them.

“You two could have continued, why stop? It was so entertaining to watch such a high-difficulty dance pose emerge from a co.in.ci.den.tal ice patch.”

“Hiccup!”

It’s obvious whose hiccup that was, but Senia tried to provoke more of those hiccups several times.

Eventually, Junon, unable to watch Renias become the butt of jokes, stepped in to stop it. By now, any embarrassment had long been forgotten.

“Will you be quiet? You know she gets hiccups, so why do you keep playing such mischievous pranks?”

“Why not? People who like each other can joke around, right? Don’t you think so, Charlotte?”

“Ah, y-yes. That could be the case.”

“Besides, hmm. I said those things because I think you two look good together. Isn’t it unfair to blame me?”

“That’s right. It was just a joke because you two match well.”

“Hiccup!”

Regardless of how the involved parties felt, it was a scene that naturally brought a smile to observers’ faces.

Not just Senia, but even Charlotte was showing a subtle smile, seemingly enjoying the situation.

So everyone except for a certain dense person who was only worried about his junior without understanding the situation, and the junior who was paying a rather harsh price for her first bout of jealousy, was enjoying the moment.

“This won’t do. Let’s check at the medical ward. Okay, Renias?”

The girl remained silent.

Her mind, having reached its limit, couldn’t send any signals.

Junon, worried that she might have injured her leg, once again grabbed Renias’s waist and lifted her up.

Long sweater. Because of the outfit Maria had told her to wear, he couldn’t carry her on his back, so once again her waist was exposed.

Thanks to this, the immobilized silver rabbit’s body became filled with heat.

“Um… Renias? Why is your body temperature so high?”

Junon wondered, adding that it definitely couldn’t be a cold.

Charlotte and Senia, watching the two, were quietly giggling.