episode_0024

Face-to-face.

In English, it would be Lion versus Noodle…

Setting aside such absurd thoughts, I asked Mei Luina, who was indulging in the blissful act of caressing her royal milk jugs for my tranquility and stability.

“Mei Luina, should we gather you and the others in one place? Is it better for you to move, or for the others to come here?”

Mei Luina’s royal milk jugs, which seemed to embody the word “bliss,” provided me with an ecstatic sensation that made it impossible for me to let go, even as I posed this question.

Thus, I could only ask while gently stroking the royal happiness lumps with both hands, absorbing peace and joy through my palms, awaiting Mei Luina’s response.

Squelch, squelch. Squeeze, squeeze. Squish. Squeeeze. Swoosh. Swish.

“……”

“……”

“……”

“…Ah, it seems the mind-reading function is off again.”

However, no matter how long I waited, all I heard were the sounds of the royal milk jugs being caressed, and Mei Luina’s answer did not return. It took me a full three minutes to realize that the mind-reading function was turned off now. It seemed to have shut down along with Yangji’s fainting earlier.

[User’s will confirmed. You can now listen to the target’s inner thoughts.]

As I silently wished to hear Mei Luina’s inner thoughts, the familiar notification popped up, and I was finally able to hear her response that I had never been able to hear before…

*Sob* *Sniff* *Huff* *♥♥♥* Oh, you’re so freely caressing yourself ♥♥♥ Ah, I’m not resisting ♥♥♥ So, so sensitive ♥♥♥♥

Ah.

It was only after hearing her ecstatic moans that I realized what I was doing was an act to obtain my own happiness and peace, simultaneously indulging in her massive sensory nerves known as the royal milk jugs. At the same time, I felt a sensation, something important being drawn out from my body, something I could recognize having experienced once before, and swiftly removed my hands from her soft, warm royal milk reservoir.

[Warning! The user’s energy level is running low. Complete depletion may lead to a state of complete incapacitation.]

As soon as I let go, an alert that I could only see right before passing out popped up in the corner of my vision.

If I had kept at it a little longer, would I have ended up fainting with my hands and face buried in Mei Luina’s royal milk jugs again?

“Hmm… not too bad, huh?”

Mei Luina’s squishy happiness dispenser never fails to provide a fresh and always enjoyable experience, no matter how much I indulge in it all day long.

So experiencing a happy spiral of falling asleep while caressing her royal milk jugs, then waking up, and falling asleep again, all with my face and chest pressed against them, didn’t seem so bad after all.

“No, what am I even thinking.”

I quickly snapped out of it, still able to feel her scent, her mating pheromones, and warmth lingering on my hands as I lightly slapped my cheeks to regain my composure.

The reason I initially thought about facing her was to prevent myself from fainting during treatment, but saying it’s okay to faint and then indulging in sleep is just plain nonsensical.

Thinking it’s okay to faint while just a few minutes ago I considered the possibility of dying if surprise inspections came into the information department while I was unconscious, was truly a foolish thing to do.

That’s how terrifying Mei Luina’s royal milk jugs are, making me think such thoughts. I’ll have to stay completely alert when I indulge in them in the future.

While I was regaining my senses, Mei Luina seemed to have moved away from the lingering feeling of having her chest caressed, as she responded to my earlier question with another question.

“Um… you mentioned gathering the three of us in one place. How will the relocation process work?”

For some reason, her inquiry carried an expectant tone and inflection.

However, since I couldn’t grasp what she was expecting, I set aside my doubts about why Mei Luina asked this question and simply answered hers.

“The bed is movable, so are you just going to drag the entire bed over here?”

[Um… Then please move the others here. I’m comfortable staying here.]

In response to my answer, for some reason Mei Luina asked Dain Adamas and Mir Ryuin to be moved here with a regretful tone.

Once again, not catching why Mei Luina was feeling regretful, I simply acknowledged and got up from my seat to bring the other two here.

“Then I’ll bring Dain Adamas and Mir Ryuin here. Mei Luina, please wait for a moment.”

[Oh, yes. Please go ahead…!]

Leaving behind Mei Luina’s farewell, as I was about to take a step, a desperate voice from behind grabbed my ankle as if realizing something urgent that had been forgotten.

“Wait a moment! Stay, Miss! I, um, I need to ask you something over there!”

“What is it?”

Pausing for a moment and turning to face Mei Luina, she hesitated for a moment, then, as if a bomb disposal expert beginning to dismantle a time bomb, she let out a determined breath and asked me a question.

“U-um, did you, by any chance, hear what I said earlier… when you collapsed onto my chest and fainted?”

“When was that?”

“W-well… When you collapsed onto my chest and fainted…”

What did I say at that time? But until now, even though I’ve been used as an emotional trash can, confidently saying this and that without being affected at all, why is she now watching my every move? Her expectant tone when asking the question, her regretful tone in response to my answer, and now this question, Mei Luina seemed to be hiding something from me. However, since I couldn’t figure out what she was hiding, I swallowed my doubts and answered Mei Luina’s question.

“I was completely unconscious, so I didn’t hear anything. What did I say?”

“Oh, no! I didn’t say anything! Just nonsense! You don’t have to worry about it! Please hurry and bring the others here!”

What is this, really? If Mei Luina reacted like that, what on earth did I say? Did I make some kind of joke after falling suddenly, burying my face in her chest?

I can let other insults and criticisms slide, but I can never forgive a joke like that. However, whether I entertained such suspicion or not, it would only remain as doubt. I couldn’t know if Mei Luina truly said those words when I fainted.

Putting aside my unease, I briefly left the sickroom, determined to ask Mei Luina about today’s events the next time I made her faint.

***

“Huh. Even moving the bed is quite a task.”

Mei Luina’s sickroom, which used to feel spacious and airy due to being empty, was now crowded with three high-end hospital beds.

Lying on these three beds were the three heroes representing this era and world: Mei Luina, Dain Adamas, and Mir Ryuin.

Just their gathering alone was enough to cause a stir worldwide, given their influence and standing surpassing that of the head of the Association of Awakened Individuals who managed all awakened individuals.

Thinking about them convulsing and fainting at my mere gesture made me feel like I had become an incredibly special person. Of course, it was just a feeling, and the truly special individuals were the three before me. The connection between us, the saviors of this world, would vanish once the curse was cured. Our bond would be nothing more than a dream.

“Huh.”

Realizing this reality, my excitement at facing the most remarkable lineup in the world subsided, and I became calm enough to meet their gaze. Formerly, they were connections I could never have welcomed.

Mei Luina, who used to be my emotional dumpster, Dain Adamas, who used to be my punching bag, and Mir Ryu, who conducted numerous experiments to satisfy her intellectual curiosity by turning me into a forced subject.

Perfect “A” and “B”… No, not even “B.” The relationship between me and these girls, who were in the perfect positions of “A” and “B,” has now completely reversed.

Now, I’m the “A.” Of course, since the other party is the other party, I have to be careful when being domineering.

It was a face-to-face meeting to establish guidelines for this domineering behavior.

[User’s will confirmed. You can now hear the inner thoughts of the target.]

In my mind, when I wished to hear the inner thoughts of the three people, a familiar notification appeared.

“Alright. Let’s get started then.”

And so, the face-to-face meeting began.