Ch.370370. The Next Step? (1)

In his eyes, frost descended. His exposed flesh was not soft but muscular. He seemed like someone with solid bones, not rubber, firmly attached inside.

Thorough and meticulous. A person like an iron fortress, giving no openings, with a rigid image rather than a soft one.

That would have been the general impression most people had of the man called Junon.

However, this formula was not the correct answer.

“Oppa~”

“…”

“What’s wrong? You haven’t said anything for a while.”

“…”

Renias was linking arms deeply with him, and he looked troubled by even that slight friction.

Gone was his iron fortress image as he sweated profusely and struggled to speak.

“Um, Renias?”

“Ah! There you go again. I told you to call me Reni.”

He was so flustered that he even forgot his intention to use her nickname. Well, although he had experienced this a few times before, it was something he still couldn’t quite get used to, so it couldn’t be helped.

“…R-right. Reni. There’s something I’d like to ask, if that’s okay?”

“Yes! What is it~?”

“Linking arms is nice, but I’d rather hold your hand like before.”

Indeed, as far as excuses go, it was quite a clever move.

With their arms linked, he couldn’t escape from her soft flesh pressing against his solid muscles. If he needed to separate somehow, holding hands while walking couldn’t overlap with linking arms, so Junon was avoiding the crisis through a change in posture.

“Hmm… why?”

“Ahem. It’s a bit hot. I’m starting to sweat…”

“Sweat?”

“When our arms are linked, I keep getting warmer. If I start sweating, it might smell.”

It was already a rather muggy summer day. A posture that directly transferred body heat would cause sweating in this weather, and sweat could create an unpleasant odor. As proof, he was visibly sweating, so it didn’t seem like a mere excuse.

Of course, Junon’s sweat wasn’t actually because of the summer heat.

“If that’s the reason, I won’t let go.”

“R-Reni.”

“But I don’t mind if you smell sweaty! Hehe. What’s wrong with your scent?”

“That’s… I mind it.”

“I don’t care~! I’m going to stay like this all the way home. Unless… you don’t like me clinging to you?”

Her strategy was obvious, but he probably hadn’t noticed it. Renias threw out a statement that Junon couldn’t possibly dodge, completely shattering his plan.

If he said he disliked it, that would create its own headache. But the friction with the abundant flesh reaching to her ears was causing problems for someone who came from such a Confucian country!

But was he the type of man to give up so easily? When one plan fails, he always has a Plan B.

*Swish*

“Ahem. This way, I won’t sweat, and we won’t be separated, so it’s fine, right?”

Having extracted his arm from between the two soft mounds that formed a pretty valley, Junon switched to walking side by side with Renias.

It was a posture that maintained a distance that Renias wouldn’t dislike while completely eliminating contact with dangerous areas. Plus, he could still hold her hand firmly—truly an excellent compromise.

And if he added one more sweetener:

“I just remembered. During the Real Winter Parade, we walked like this too.”

He presented a rational basis with the sweetener of old memories.

Or perhaps he was betting everything on turning her question back on her to escape the crisis.

‘Tch. I guess there’s no choice?’

She had been enjoying seeing her oppa show that face after so long.

It had been a very long time for Renias. That face he occasionally showed when flustered, always otherwise perfect and composed.

This time too, she had been excited at the thought of making him flustered by suddenly grabbing his arm, but that joy was short-lived. Like an eel, he slipped away with his quick response, and this time she had to back down.

“Hmm. Fine. Since oppa wants to walk this way.”

“Th-thanks for understanding…”

Junon’s face showed relief, as if he could finally breathe easy.

Of course, this wasn’t the end.

The silver rabbit always waits. She would identify the nature of a woman’s weapons to see her flustered lover’s face more often and use them without hesitation.

Each time, Junon would raise his shield, but it was questionable how long he could keep blocking.

But… a variable emerged here.

Sometimes, weapons can misfire if used incorrectly. A weapon wielded in the wrong direction by its user… tends to cause unexpected accidents.

***

*Gulp.*

Junon swallowed dryly. This was actually a rare sight.

Even on the battlefield. Even when standing at the center of a party with his comrades’ lives at stake. Even in situations where, as a commander, numerous imperial soldiers’ lives hung in the balance, he had never been this nervous.

For a man with enough composure to thoroughly anticipate his next move to be nervous?

It meant he couldn’t find the right answer. The right answer to solve the huge problem that had arisen yesterday!

‘This is dangerous.’

Even though the schedule had been completely twisted, it had clearly been a successful day.

He had assured Renias that what he was worried about wouldn’t happen, and eliminated any possibility by giving her a ring.

It was also a moment when he became confident that there would be no more troubles ahead, having successfully completed his proposal.

However, an enormous problem had arisen:

Renias was making him uncomfortable with her impulsive actions, just like before!

“Ah, oppa. Wait a moment.”

“W-what is it?”

“We still have time, right? Before you go out, give me a hug.”

Yes. Exactly this situation.

This was impossible to solve. Even with learning and experience, this was an unsolvable problem!

*Squish.*

It was just opening his arms and embracing her. It was just her burrowing into his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist…

But this soft sensation, felt so vividly, gives a man considerable crisis. Enough to make his body stiffen automatically!

“What’s this? Aren’t you going to hug me back?”

It was unfair. When the world’s most lovable girlfriend shows such a pretty face, it’s impossible to refuse casually.

No. It was impossible to refuse from the start. She asked for a hug before he left for work because they had some time and hadn’t seen each other in a while—how could he refuse that?

He couldn’t pull away, nor could he voice this out loud. No clever solution came to mind for overcoming this enormous trial.

Meanwhile, his stiff arms, despite his brain screaming not to, were already firmly embracing her body that had entered his chest.

*Squish*

Thanks to that, the sensation felt even more vivid. The very soft female chest tissue felt even through clothes.

What were the lyrics to the national anthem again? Oh, forgotten? Then the Buddhist scriptures? Ah, those too?

This was bad. There was no room to regain composure…! He needed to separate quickly.

“…Is this enough?”

“Mmm. Just a little more~”

“No. We’ll be in big trouble if we’re late.”

At that, Renias puffed her cheeks with air, but when he cleared his throat and tapped his wristwatch, she seemed to understand there was no choice and quickly deflated them.

He felt somewhat relieved at the thought that he’d be okay until he returned in the evening.

“It’s a bit disappointing, but that’s okay. I’ll come to your lecture hall later with a packed lunch.”

“…!”

But the relief was short-lived. Junon’s face stiffened again.

‘Oh. You stupid fool. Why did you forget that?’

It wasn’t until after work. Renias would definitely come to the academy during lunch or snack time. With a homemade lunch box she prepared with care!

“In exchange, you have to love me more during the time we’re apart, okay?”

*Smooch*

“See you later, oppa.”

“Y-yeah…”

With a kiss on the cheek, Junon left through the front door, saying he was really going to be late now.

The person who had elicited the reaction knew best how much his face had been colored with embarrassment.

Renias watched Junon’s retreating figure with a satisfied smile. There was nothing more enjoyable than seeing Junon flustered, just as she wanted.

But even this didn’t feel like a 100% success.

“Hmm… but oppa avoids things too well.”

That’s right. Junon was too smart, and whenever he saw even a small opening, he was the type to slip through it.

Yesterday too, he deliberately switched from linking arms to wrapping his arm around her waist, and in bed, he subtly avoided contact by saying he wanted to be the one to hold her.

In a way, hadn’t he slipped away like an eel?

This time, fortunately, she had succeeded in completely blocking his escape route, but what about next time? After developing countermeasures, he would predictably create holes to escape through each time, leaving no opportunity to tease him.

“If this is what dating is…”

Renias’s gaze shifted to a book.

[Thump Thump! The Encyclopedia of Dating to Marriage Success!]

“No, no. This definitely isn’t it. I should throw this away right now. Hmph.”

The book that hadn’t helped—or rather, had only hindered—was tossed into the trash.

That would mean she couldn’t get information about dating anymore, but…

“I can just ask Lumia!”

What really helped with dating Junon wasn’t books but people. It was more reliable to find someone with dating experience and ask them directly.

.

.

.

“Hmm~ Hmm~♬”

—Welcome, Miss Reni.

A little later, Renias visited the duke’s residence and waved to the servants in greeting.

She was always a smiling young lady, but today her smile was particularly bright. It wasn’t the intense or sharp expression she had when exercising recently.

‘Something must have happened to the young lady?’

‘Yeah. One hundred percent. For sure.’

Signals were exchanged through eye contact unknown to their mistress. The maids who had been watching Renias for a long time could only tilt their heads at their mistress’s appearance, which contrasted with yesterday, not knowing what would happen next.

***

“So senior, you understand what weapon I was talking about… but Junon senior keeps slipping away?”

“That’s exactly it!”

Renias was impressed that Lumia, who immediately understood after hearing the story, was indeed the right advisor.

But then…

“If he runs away, you should push harder!”

“P-push harder?”

“Yes! You need to push so firmly that he can’t even think of escaping… Huh? Renias senior, your face is a bit red. Are you okay?”

“Huh?! Ah, y-yes…!”

If she pushed harder from here, the next step would be only that…?

She couldn’t hide the feeling that things were progressing too quickly.