episode_0054

In the quiet silence, where their slightly excited breaths could not be hidden, their gazes intertwined.

She had gotten them into this situation as a joke, but now that it had come to this, her eyes trembled faintly with bewilderment, unsure of how to resolve it.

“Come to think of it… I haven’t given you a reward, have I?”

“A re-reward?”

Killua’s face, as she looked down at me, was flushed so red that she couldn’t make excuses or hide it.

She hesitated for a moment, then, as belated embarrassment welled up, she scratched her innocent cheek and continued in a small voice.

“Because thanks to your brave sacrifice, I defeated that monster and saved my life… shouldn’t I give you a reward for that?”

“A reward…”

At her words, I swallowed hard.

In this situation, in this atmosphere, the intention behind her words was clear.

“I’ll… I’ll grant you one wish.”

Killua, perhaps embarrassed to say it herself, bit her lower lip lightly and spoke in a trembling voice, as if she already knew the answer that would come from my mouth.

“If it’s a wish… anything is acceptable?”

I, too, couldn’t believe her dizzying offer in this situation, so I asked back in a voice just as trembling as hers.

Then, Killua, her face flushed so red it couldn’t get any redder, swallowed hard and slowly nodded her head.

“Then… though it’s presumptuous… how about a wish to do something with Killua-nim?”

“To do something with me… what exactly are you talking about?”

The pounding heartbeat, strong enough to be felt through our closely pressed groins, and her already feverish body temperature seemed to tell me that my answer was correct.

“Sexual intercourse between a man and a woman.”

I, too, suppressed the pounding of my heart, which felt like it would burst at any moment in the face of this unbelievable and embarrassing reality, and spoke my wish with difficulty.

“……!!”

Upon hearing my wish, Killua’s face, as red as a tomato, stiffened as if a stop button had been pressed.

“Heh… heheh…”

But that was only for a moment; her stiff, rigid expression softened like ice cream melting under the summer sun, and she began to let out a silly laugh.

“Well, now… you know that’s a really presumptuous wish, right?”

After that, with a smug expression, as if to regain control of their relationship, she looked down at me, who had made an overly presumptuous wish.

“Our Jazel is so simple~ You could have asked for the strongest magic to be taught~ or for mana operation methods to be passed on~ There were so many better wishes, weren’t there?”

As she said that, her heart was pounding wildly, as if anticipating what was to come.

“But the only wish you make is for me and… s-s-sexual intercourse…”

Following that, when she spoke the word ‘sexual intercourse’, she stammered and fumbled like a broken machine, trailing off so faintly that it was almost inaudible if one didn’t concentrate.

I silently watched Killua, who was acting and speaking in a way that clearly showed her inner thoughts, unbefitting her reputation as a White Mage. This time, I lightly moved my waist.

“Eek!?”

Killua, who had been calmly denigrating me, suddenly recoiled with a startled jolt of her waist when I moved.

“You’re like a freshly caught fish.”

“You… you really…”

When I described her with a simple phrase, Killua looked down at me, as if indignant.

“If my wish is too burdensome… you can refuse it.”

It wasn’t sincere.

“It was a presumptuous wish, but I’m not so heartless as to disregard the courage you showed in expressing it, you know?”

Killua’s previous remarks and actions, when she was criticizing me, were also not sincere.

She began to unbuckle her pants right in front of me, as if to grant the wish I had made.

“Hello!”

At that moment, a sudden, boisterous greeting loudly echoed through the room.

Ariel, carrying a sack filled with various foodstuffs, medicinal herbs, and letters from the villagers on her shoulder, burst through the door at an unexpected moment, vigorously waving her arms at us as she appeared.

“Huh?”

“Wh-what!?”

At the sudden appearance of the unexpected intruder, Killua and I were startled.

“Oh… was this a bad time?”

I was lying down, my upper body exposed as I had taken off my shirt, and Killua was on top of my groin, slightly lifting her waist to unbuckle her pants.

Fortunately, from Ariel’s angle, Killua’s hand unbuckling her pants wasn’t clearly visible, but it was still a scene that strongly suggested an unusual atmosphere.

“U-u-u-aah! Don’t misunderstand!”

The startled Killua, right before Ariel’s eyes, abruptly overturned the bowl she had placed on my head, spilling all the medicinal herbs it contained onto my chest.

A pained cry escaped me!!

Unlike when it was poured out scoop by scoop, all the medicinal herbs poured down at once, and the icy chill that pierced my chest like a sharp, keen dagger made me let out a twisted scream.

However, Killua skillfully condensed mana into one hand, creating a warmth stronger and smoother than usual.

As she placed that hand directly onto my chest, which was now covered in medicinal herbs, the herbs on my chest quickly heated up and gently seeped beneath my skin.

“See… see? It’s treatment. Treatment.”

Killua, looking unusually flustered, let out an awkward laugh and vigorously shook the hand she had placed on my chest.

“Heh… is that so? I thought… you two were in *that* kind of relationship!”

Ariel, with an innocent, good-natured smile in her eyes, made a gesture with her left hand implying sexual intercourse.

Stung by her surprisingly blatant and open gesture, Killua and I both flushed beet red simultaneously.

“Honestly, if there’s a man and a woman alone in such a secluded mountain cabin… wouldn’t it be natural? No. If there are two men and one woman… surely…!?”

“Stop! That’s enough fantasizing!”

Unable to listen to her mumblings that repeatedly produced false information through strange fantasies, Killua let out a sharp yell, silencing her.

At that, Ariel gave a playful, knowing smile with her eyes, as if it had all been a joke.

“We’re not in any kind of relationship, so don’t imagine strange things!”

Killua, who had been on my body for the massage, quickly got up, brushed herself off, and warned the suddenly visiting Ariel.

Whistle~

But Ariel, with a significant smile in her eyes, lightly whistled and pointed to Killua’s waist.

At Ariel’s fingertip, undergarments were just barely visible due to the unbuckled belt and slightly lowered zipper.

“Th-this… when did this come undone!?”

Killua, visibly flustered, quickly rebuckled what she had undone.

“What’s going on since morning…”

I, too, who had my rare golden opportunity interrupted thanks to Ariel’s unnecessary disturbance, mumbled softly and sat up from my lying position.

“I came to repay my saviors!”

Ariel proudly shook the sack filled with foodstuffs and medicinal herbs.

“And the letters from the villagers who miss Killua-nim and Jazel are a bonus!”

“Th-that’s… thanks for now.”

Ariel’s actions of bringing letters from the villagers, foodstuffs, and medicinal herbs from early morning were appreciated.

However, Killua, displeased with the sudden discord interrupting their peaceful daily life, explicitly frowned.

“Still, wasn’t there no need to come so early in the morning?”

I complained about Ariel’s early morning appearance on Killua’s behalf.

Killua, standing by my side, also nodded slightly as if agreeing with my opinion.

“Because… I’m here to help you all starting today!”

Ariel proudly spread her arms as if she had brought a magnificent gift, declaring her voluntary service to us.

At her sudden, audacious, and confident declaration, Killua and I looked at each other with bewildered expressions.

And using subtle hand gestures and glances towards each other, we gestured to ask if either of us had made such a request to Ariel.

But the result was a single question mark.

Neither of us had ever requested or asked Ariel for her service.

Because even without her, Killua, the hero, and I were living our days peacefully without any problems or deficiencies.

“Once Jazel’s treatment is finished, you’ll be leaving the village, right?”

“Ah… well. Right?”

Although Rai had apologized and we had accepted her apology, resolving the conflict…

Still, it was something anyone could expect: that we wouldn’t stay in the village with Rai, who had sought to take our lives.

“Because I feel this is the only way I can fully repay the favor I received before you leave the village!”

Ariel’s declaration of service, as she came bursting into the hero’s house with all sorts of foodstuffs and medicinal herbs from early morning, had her own reasonable justification.

Although we didn’t want her help, it was difficult to heartlessly refuse it.

“Cooking, cleaning, laundry. I’m confident in all of them, so just leave it to me!”

Ariel vigorously raised her thumb, as if proud of her own abilities, and strongly appealed her domestic skills.

At her strong appeal, Killua and I looked at each other simultaneously, without needing to be prompted.

Killua was also sending a look that said it would be hard to refuse… and I, too, sent a look towards Killua that said it would be hard to refuse.

“Ah… I brought this just in case… I think it might be useful! A courtesy ribbon!”

Ariel, who chuckled softly at our mirror-like actions, pulled a pink ribbon from her pocket as if it were a trump card.

“If you tie this to the doorknob, I won’t disturb your very private time and space…”

“N-no… no need!”

Killua, listening to the explanation of the pink ribbon’s purpose, let out a sharp yell, cutting her off.

At that, Ariel burst out laughing as if amused by the situation, and hung the pink ribbon she had taken out next to the door, as if to imply it would certainly be used someday.

“Anyway… you’ll allow it, right?”

At her question, Killua sighed softly, pinched the bridge of her nose, and fell into thought for a moment.

Having no particular reason to refuse or deny, she sighed softly once more, then slowly nodded her head.

“Alright. We’ll be in your care.”

“Yes! You won’t regret it!”

As if she had made an excellent choice, Ariel displayed a bright smile and vigorously raised her thumb.