Ch.70Addiction.

The second floor of an inn—clean, sophisticated, and expensive but worth every penny.

Derin hummed a tune as she slipped out of her room.

I wonder how Elin is doing?

To be honest, there was some jealousy. She wanted to monopolize Crow for herself.

She hoped they could progress to a deeper relationship—marriage, having children.

Of course, that seemed nearly impossible at this point.

He already had many women around him.

Lael, the late-joining Elin, and even Riano who pretended to be his teacher while living together—it was truly a complicated situation.

And Crow didn’t seem likely to choose just one person.

He was foolishly kind and would worry about hurting any of them.

That’s why she gave Elin a chance.

She felt uneasy about Elin falling behind, and there was no point in competing among themselves.

But who would have thought?

That she was actually the one falling behind.

Wondering if Elin had returned, Derin headed to her room and swallowed hard at the scene visible through the crack in the door.

Unbelievable…!

Elin and Crow were sitting on the bed, kissing each other.

Not just once or twice…

Smooch. Smooch. Smooch. Smooch.

Her face burned hot at the sight of those consecutive kisses.

Derin held her breath and committed the scene to memory.

She knew she shouldn’t be doing this, but she simply couldn’t look away.

Then suddenly, her body moved on its own.

* * * * *

Creeeeak—

At the sudden sound of the door opening, Elin and I, in the middle of kissing, turned our heads as if on cue.

Derin—Derin was standing there.

And her face was completely flushed.

Seeing her, Elin gasped, swallowing her breath.

As if she had committed some crime.

I wasn’t sure what was happening…

But I had a feeling a storm was brewing.

As Derin began walking toward us, Elin’s hand, intertwined with mine, tightened its grip.

Was she going to get angry?

I thought so for a moment, but looking at Derin’s expression, that didn’t seem to be the case.

She looked dejected.

Then what…?

As I was wondering, Derin arrived in front of us.

“Elin! I’m sorry!”

She bowed her head deeply.

Both Elin and I were taken aback by her sudden action.

Derin added:

“I didn’t mean to interrupt, but somehow… No, that’s just an excuse. I’m really sorry.”

“N-no… I should be the one apologizing. I only meant to kiss his cheek… but when I heard you’d already kissed him on the lips, I got impatient…”

I had expected a fight to break out, but they were just apologizing to each other. It was puzzling yet somehow heartwarming to see them getting along.

But were they always this close?

No matter how I thought about it, that wasn’t the case.

Derin had a certain playfulness, a mischievous side.

And Elin, with her strong pride, couldn’t go along with Derin’s teasing.

They were comrades who could trust each other in battle, but personally, their relationship was rather awkward—an ambiguous relationship even within the same party.

Well, they’ve both changed so much since then, so it’s only natural that they’d get closer.

Anyway, with Derin’s intrusion, there were now three people in Elin’s room.

“T-then I’ll leave…”

As Derin said that and tried to leave the room, Elin suddenly jumped up from the bed and grabbed Derin’s wrist.

Derin turned her head in surprise, and Elin faced her with an equally surprised expression. It seemed her body had moved on its own.

An awkward silence fell between them.

Elin was the first to break it.

“D-Derin, don’t you want to do it too?!”

“Huh? W-what?”

“K-kissing!”

At the word “kissing,” Derin’s eyes widened, and Elin hung her head as if she had nothing more to say.

Silence fell again.

This time, Derin made the first move.

Silently, she approached and sat down on the bed next to me.

I looked at Derin, and when our eyes met, she startled and turned away.

Her ears were already completely red, showing how embarrassed she was by the situation.

Elin, who had been staring blankly at Derin, took the seat on my other side.

Already shy by nature, she had become even more so since Derin’s appearance, and now couldn’t even lift her head.

Sitting between them, my heart fluttered.

Rather than the soft, fluffy feeling I had with Riano, this felt fresh and exciting, like new lovers just starting to date.

And not knowing what would happen next added curiosity to the mix.

“So… what are you two going to do?”

I decided to watch and see how they would respond.

But despite my question, they just fidgeted without answering.

They had been so proactive when alone, but together, they seemed too embarrassed.

Looking back and forth between them, I turned to Derin and gently caressed her cheek.

As Elin had said, Derin was the only one who hadn’t kissed me yet, and I thought breaking the ice might get a response.

She seemed less shy than Elin, so I figured if Derin took the initiative, Elin might follow suit.

Startled by my touch, Derin lifted her head and met my eyes.

Various emotions seemed to flicker in her eyes.

Excitement, happiness, embarrassment, jealousy, and love.

“Derin, are you okay?”

At my question, she gave a small nod and closed her eyes. Her beautiful eyes disappeared, and her long eyelashes lowered.

Taking her silent consent, I tilted my face slightly to create a better angle for kissing.

Experience and instinct guided my actions.

My lips moved toward her thin, beautiful lips, and when they touched, I closed my eyes.

Having just kissed Elin, I could feel the subtle differences despite the similar sensation.

While Elin’s lips were somewhat plump and soft, Derin’s were thin and moist.

As we kissed, I opened my eyes slightly, curious about her expression.

Her eyes were peacefully closed, but her hands were clenched into fists, hovering in the air as if unsure what to do.

Finding her cute, I wrapped one hand around her fist.

Her fist naturally unclenched, and our fingers intertwined.

Feeling it would be a waste to leave my other hand idle, I gently cupped the back of her head and pulled her slightly toward me. This pressed our lips together over a wider area.

Finally, with a soft smacking sound, I pulled my lips away.

“Haa… haa…”

Derin exhaled roughly, looking at me with half-lidded eyes.

She exuded a strangely captivating aura.

“Derin.”

When I called her name, she slowly leaned forward and buried her face in my chest.

I stroked her hair as she remained in that position.

First kiss—she seemed really nervous.

After some time passed and Derin’s breathing returned to normal, she raised herself up.

And at the same time…

Tug.

I felt Elin pulling on my sleeve.

I knew why she was doing this without having to ask, so I turned my body slightly toward Elin.

To make it easier to kiss. And to show that I would only look at her during the kiss.

Our lips met, and despite having kissed countless times just moments ago, it felt new after kissing Derin once.

Perhaps because her lips were plumper, they felt more adhesive and softer.

After our lips had been touching for a moment, Elin wrapped her arms around my neck. This brought our bodies closer together, and her soft chest pressed against mine.

Stimulated by Derin’s actions, she had begun to move.

I naturally embraced her waist—a waist so thin it made me wonder if she was eating properly.

After exchanging body heat with our lips connected for a long time, we pulled apart at the same moment, as if by agreement.

We looked at each other and smiled.

Then, noticing it had gotten dark outside, I checked the time on the magical device on my wrist.

A little time left…?

Riano had said she would be waiting today, and there was still some time left until the hour I had set for myself to return.

Derin seemed to hesitate as she watched me check the time. But when I didn’t move, she relaxed and embraced my waist from the side.

One of her arms slipped between my chest and hers, and I felt the soft sensation.

Lips meeting lips.

Conveying feelings to each other.

When lips parted, looking at each other and smiling.

A truly blissful time.

But as always, good times pass quickly.

It was already time to return to the workshop.