Chapter 82

“What?!”

“…”

“You’re dating Kyle?!”

“Temporarily.”

“Elin, am I dreaming or something?!”

“No, you’re not.”

“I’m not?!”

I told my friends about what happened yesterday.

When I said we went on a date, they really started grilling me.

Is it that strange…?

What kind of person was I to these two?

“Elin, just slap me once.”

“Really?”

“Quick! This might not be reality?!”

“Well then…”

I was about to stop Elin but hesitated.

I could foresee what would happen to Louise, but Louise who was slandering me deserved to be hit.

SLAP!!!

“GAAACK!!!”

“…”

“Oh.”

Did Elin not properly consider her own strength and Louise’s physique?

She seemed surprised at herself after hitting Louise.

Logically, she’s the Deputy Commander of the Knights… isn’t a difference in strength to be expected?

“Hueeeek….. I’m dying…. Elin, were you trying to kill me?!”

“No, you asked me to hit you….”

“No! Obviously I meant hit me gently!”

“This was gentle?”

Does Louise underestimate knights that much?

I would never have asked a knight to slap me.

I once saw Elin training with the knights…

KWANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

‘Now, bring the next scarecrow.’

‘Yes!’

KWANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It wasn’t just a wooden scarecrow.

They had wrapped it in iron armor and even attached a shield to it…

It was completely shattered.

I really thought, “What the hell?!” when I saw it.

Well, in a world with mana, nothing is impossible but…

I was still really shocked.

The scarecrow’s waist didn’t just bend like a bow, it folded in half!

“Sheesh…”

“That’s what you get.”

“I didn’t know…”

“Idiot.”

I looked at Louise and smiled.

That’s what you get for slandering me like that.

“So… you’re ‘temporarily’ dating Kyle?”

“Yes.”

It’s still temporary for now.

Just trying it out as a test.

I’m not really trying to date him for real yet.

“And you even went on a date yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“Huh… Really…?”

“Yes.”

Why can’t they understand when I’m telling them?

I’ve already said we really did, but they keep asking repeatedly.

I really don’t understand.

“We went out together, ate food, bought clothes, and walked together. And also… we held hands…”

We didn’t do anything particularly special yesterday.

We just went on the same kind of date we had before, but together.

We’re still far from doing things that real couples do.

We’ve just started acting like a couple.

“By the way, what suddenly made you change your mind? You were acting like you wouldn’t accept him.”

“Ah.”

Well, that’s true.

I didn’t expect things to turn out this way either.

Who would have thought I’d accept Kyle’s confession?

Even I didn’t know.

Well, Kyle might have known.

He was so confident after all.

“Well, these things happen. What’s the big deal?”

“That might be true, but…”

“It’s not like we’re really dating anyway. We’re just temporarily dating, so why are you so surprised?”

“…”

“…”

“This is why inexperienced rookies who’ve never dated don’t get it.”

They’re too old-fashioned.

Just look at Kyle, he progressively accepted my request very well.

Unlike these two who spend all day using magic and swords in the castle.

Or is it not that?

Maybe Kyle accepted it well because he’s younger?

He’s definitely younger than the three women sitting here right now, so that might be it.

“Sofia.”

“Oh, Kyle!”

While we were talking, Kyle passed by and called out to me.

The place where we were talking wasn’t a completely enclosed room.

It was a place designed for people to spend time drinking tea, a place where even non-VIPs could spend time.

There were no doors, making it easy to come and go, and there were no windows either.

It was truly an open space in every sense.

“What were you doing?”

“Oh, just talking with friends.”

I met Kyle as he was passing through the first-floor corridor, but there was no problem.

I was technically unemployed right now anyway.

Well, to be precise, my job was being Kyle’s temporary girlfriend.

Because I promised Kyle.

We agreed that I wouldn’t work while we were trying out being lovers.

So there really wasn’t any problem.

“Um… I was just about to go somewhere, would you like to come with me?”

“Sure.”

I don’t know where we’re going, but if Kyle is asking, it must be somewhere good.

I got up from my seat.

I felt sorry for the friends I was talking with, but right now I’m Kyle’s lover.

“Hey, have fun with Elin. If I can come back later, I will.”

“Sure, get lost?”

“What kind of way is that to talk? Anyway, Elin, enjoy your rest with Louise too.”

“… Yes.”

I left the table and ran over to where Kyle was standing.

I couldn’t keep Kyle waiting.

“Sofia.”

“Yes?”

When I stood in front of Kyle, he called my name.

I’m already here, so why is he calling me again?

Did I do something wrong?

“You’re not wearing yesterday’s clothes today.”

“Oh, that?”

I wasn’t wearing the clothes I wore for our date.

I was wearing my usual formal attire, but without the blazer, just the shirt.

I had considered wearing the blazer too, but decided against it.

Wearing the blazer would make it feel like I was working.

I’m not some workaholic who always wants to work.

Of course, working as Kyle’s servant was enjoyable.

It was partly because Kyle treated me so well, but I still enjoyed it.

“You wore it yesterday, why not today?”

“Well… that’s clothes for dates, right? If I’m not on a date, I wouldn’t want to risk getting it dirty.”

What if I spilled tea on it while drinking?

It was a pretty outfit, but not something I wanted to wear that badly.

“So where are you planning to go today?”

“Today I just called you because I wanted to be with you.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted to be with you, Sofia.”

“Uh…”

As always, I haven’t figured out how to respond to Kyle’s sudden statements like this.

This isn’t strange on my part; Kyle is the strange one.

How can a person say things like that every time they open their mouth?

Honestly, it’s too much.

I get so flustered by every word Kyle says.

“Did you not want to be with me?”

“No, that’s not it at all…”

How am I supposed to answer when he says it like that?

I clearly taught him to be polite and considerate of others, but does he still not understand this aspect?

I remembered a line from an animation I saw before.

‘The king does not understand the human heart.’

Of course, I’m not saying Kyle is really at that level.

It’s just a manner of speaking.

“Then what was it like?”

“Well… you see…”

It was an incredibly difficult question to answer.

If I said I wanted to be with him, I felt like I would sound too feminine.

Various other answers came to mind, but I couldn’t easily voice any of them.

“Well…”

No, maybe I was overthinking it.

I could just answer casually.

It might be a bit embarrassing, but Kyle and I are lovers, aren’t we?

There’s nothing wrong with lovers saying slightly embarrassing things to each other, right?

“Yes, I missed you. Ah, no. That’s not it, I wanted to be with you.”

I misspoke for a moment.

What kind of answer is “I missed you” to a question about wanting to be together?

I was embarrassed by my own strange response.

I shouldn’t have given such a weird answer, embarrassing or not.

“…”

“…”

The atmosphere became really awkward.

Neither of us could say anything.

Was my answer that strange…?

I don’t think it was that bad.

“Anyway! I just called you to spend some time together. Were you busy with something?”

“Just having a chat among us women.”

“That’s good then.”

Well, to be honest, conversations among women aren’t nothing.

It’s just that we don’t envy or get jealous of each other, so it wasn’t much.

Real women’s conversations can be quite terrifying.

One slip of the tongue and you could end up alone, ostracized from the group.

Oh, by the way, I’m not talking about myself.

It’s just that when a noble girl at the boarding school made a mistake while talking, the following Monday her desk was covered with curses and insults so bad they might as well have been actual curses.

Well, she was a girl who had been nasty to me, so I just laughed.

“Oh, by the way, do you like couple rings, Sofia?”

“Couple rings?”

“Yes. Not something as fancy as the ring I showed you before.”

I didn’t particularly dislike couple rings.

I’d have to try it with someone to know for sure.

“I’ve never tried it, so I don’t know.”

I neither liked nor disliked them.

“Then would you like to try it this time?”

“What kind?”

If not something like the ruby ring from before, what could he mean?

What would be the non-fancy couple rings Kyle mentioned?

“Well, don’t expect too much. It’s just for the sentiment.”

“Okay.”

I wasn’t expecting much anyway.

We’re just a temporary couple after all.

Kyle isn’t a fool who would give something amazing to a woman he’s dating temporarily as a trial.

Especially not to someone like me.

“It’s okay. I’ll be happy with whatever you give me.”

Ah, maybe not whatever…? Of course, I’d probably be happy with most things Kyle gives me.

But I’d prefer to avoid strange things like reptile carcasses.

Even during my adventurer days, I disliked creepy things.

It’s normal to dislike creepy things anyway.

“Sofia, could you close your eyes for a moment?”

“Sure.”

I closed my eyes as Kyle asked.

What kind of ring is he planning to give me?

Is it going to be something cute and innocent like a flower ring?

Or maybe a candy ring?

Slide…

I felt something being slipped onto my finger.

Unlike what I expected, the temperature was warm.

But despite that, the texture felt like something cold.

Metal…?

What could it be?

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

“Okay.”