Growburn Village – Suspicion (1)

“Looks like you have no intention of waking up.”

I gazed at Karlson, who was exhausted and asleep beside me.

Karlson seemed extremely tired, still lost in dreamland even after I finished washing up.

Yesterday, he had been all smiles when I came to him with a request, but he’d also been so eager, worried he might not satisfy me.

At first glance, I thought he had a delinquent, punkish style like Doran, judging by his appearance and speech.

First impressions aren’t always accurate, but they do reveal something.

Contrary to my expectations, he turned out to be neat and considerate.

Moreover, he’s a well-mannered guy who stubbornly insists on using honorifics.

Thanks to him, I learned not to judge people solely by their appearance.

“Hmm….”

Looking at his peacefully sleeping face like this, he seems kinda cute?

It’s already been ten years since I started living in this body.

Playing various roles for fun has made my way of thinking completely feminine.

At this rate, I might even fall into genuine emotional love, not just physical.

‘Ah, should I poke him just once?’

-Poke.

“…Ugh.”

When I impulsively jabbed Karlson’s cheek, he began to open his eyes.

‘This might look bad.’

I quickly pulled my body back for the act.

Being clingy next to someone sleeping would seem too affectionate.

“Haaam….”

Karlson yawned as he woke up and noticed me staring at him.

“Oh? You’re already awake. Let me see….”

He immediately reached out and stroked my waist.

“Eek?!”

A tingling sensation shot through me, making my body jerk.

It was a physiological reaction when cold fingers touched my side.

“Are you okay? You worked hard yesterday.”

“Wh-where are you touching?!”

-Thud!

I swatted his hand away and hastily got off the bed.

Then, grabbing the clothes scattered by the bed, I yelled at him for no reason.

“Hurry up and get ready. You woke up late-your friends must be waiting.”

“Haha, my apologies.”

“…Just know it.”

I tried to put on my clothes but immediately hit a snag.

Looking at the clothes, they were all smeared with semen, completely unwearable.

Not just the ones I wore, but even the spare clothes were stained-proof of how relentlessly I’d been fucked in various positions.

First, I needed to clean them.

-Whoosh.

I lightly waved my hand, making the clothes look brand new.

“Huh? Did you just use magic?”

Karlson looked surprised as the stains vanished from the clothes.

“Uh….”

I’d used magic without thinking. He probably wouldn’t tell anyone, so it should be fine.

Maybe?

“I know a little. …Keep it a secret, okay?”

“Haha, we sure have a lot of ‘secrets’ between us, don’t we?”

Karlson started giggling, likely remembering yesterday’s events.

“What happened yesterday was a mistake because I was drunk-“

“Of course. You ‘mistakenly’ asked me to fuck you.”

This bastard?

Karlson clearly got a taste for teasing me.

Even though I’d intended it to some extent, his skill at getting under my skin was no joke.

But maybe this makes the situation feel more vivid? Could even be better.

“Y-you….”

I pointed at him angrily, trembling as if furious.

But since Karlson was telling the truth, I couldn’t do anything.

“Hey, shouldn’t you hurry to your friends before it gets late?”

“…Just you wait.”

-Thump.

In the end, I left behind an empty threat and stepped out of the room.

“Ugh!”

Standing in the hallway, I stretched lightly to loosen up.

‘This isn’t bad.’

Enjoying things with this kind of dynamic seems fun.

Seeing the other person flustered by my prickly attitude is entertaining. Plus, I could tell Karlson fell for me at first sight.

But that ice queen who put up walls is actually sexually frustrated. Once you stick his dick in, she becomes helpless.

After just one round of sex, the image Karlson had of me vanished like a sandcastle before waves, leaving me trembling without a comeback when teased.

Karlson must be feeling amazing too after being with me.

The thrill of stealing someone else’s girl is a bonus.

“Hmm?”

I heard faint murmuring from downstairs.

‘I should hurry.’

If I’m any later, Annie might scold me.

I moved my feet toward the stairs.

-Tap, tap, tap, tap.

Quickly descending the stairs, I saw Annie and Jade eating breakfast together in one corner of the inn’s first floor.

“Annie, the breakfast isn’t bad, right? It’s similar to Academy food.”

“The Academy… Is Academy life already a memory for us? Not exactly a good one, though.”

Their luggage was piled beside them. Probably packed to leave right after eating.

Also, untouched food was prepared on the table for those who hadn’t arrived yet.

Such considerate friends.

“Rena and Karlson-ssi are late. Still asleep? Feels wrong to finish eating without them….”

“Sorry, kept you waiting?”

“Eek?!”

When I suddenly appeared beside her, Annie jumped, shoulders jerking.

“G-geez! Speak of the devil?”

“I must’ve drunk too much yesterday. Overslept.”

“Just sit down already. Let’s eat together before it gets cold.”

Annie patted the chair next to her.

Meanwhile, Jade beside her spoke with concern.

“Rena, how much did you drink…. Drinking until blackout is dangerous.”

“I’ll be careful next time. Thanks.”

A nice attitude, worrying about a girl…

But the dangerous thing already happened, didn’t it?

If you were worried, you should’ve stayed at the drinking party to take care of me.

I tried to hold out until the Holy Kingdom but failed.

Hmph. This is all Jade’s fault for stealing my chance to enjoy monsters.

I picked up the slightly cold, hardened bread and started eating.

At least the bread itself wasn’t bad-chewable enough.

‘I wonder if anyone will notice what happened with Karlson?’

Getting caught would make me nervous but also add thrilling fun.

-Creak, thud, thud.

Mid-meal, the sound of wood creaking made me look toward the stairs.

Karlson was coming down, neatly dressed.

So now we’ll all have breakfast together.

‘Oh?’

Seeing Karlson’s face gave me a fun idea.

Since he teased me earlier, I should pay him back properly.

**

-Slurp.

Annie paused her spoon mid-air while eating soup and watched Rena.

Rena’s face looked haggard with fatigue as she dipped bread into soup. She even seemed to have dark circles under her eyes.

‘Just how much did she drink yesterday?’

Annie briefly recalled last night.

The taste of beer Annie tried for the first time with her friends last night was different from expectations.

“Here goes!”

Annie chugged the beer in front of her.

But she immediately regretted it.

“Ugh… ughhh…. Why do people drink this?”

Seeing others chug it made her think it was heavenly….

In reality, it was bitter with an indescribably peculiar taste.

“Still refreshing, right? Jade’s enjoying it.”

“That’s true but….”

Still, swallowing it brought the beer’s coolness and carbonation rushing down her throat, refreshing her insides.

The biggest problem was that the more she drank, the dizzier she became.

“Ugh…. Rena’s face is blurry….”

“Oh no… Did I make you drink too much for your first time?”

Rena pinched Annie’s cheeks with both hands to sober her up.

“Eeeh… S-stop iiiit….”

Annie flailed her hands in weak resistance, but Rena only smiled cutely and kept squishing her face.

“…I can’t take it either.”

-Thump.

Jade suddenly face-planted onto the table.

Pretending otherwise, but he was in no better state than Annie.

“Oh dear, we should stop here. Better get some sleep.”

Seeing this, Rena ended the drinking session and helped us to our rooms.

‘I thought she went to sleep after taking me back….’

Clearly, Rena kept drinking after that.

-Creak, thud, thud.

As Annie reminisced, the sound of wood creaking reached her ears.

Looking toward the stairs, she saw Karlson descending.

“Seems I overslept due to accumulated fatigue. Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

Karlson approached Rena’s group and bowed apologetically.

“No need to apologize. Rena was late too.”

“Y-yeah.”

At Annie’s remark, Rena scratched her cheek awkwardly.

“Haha, is that so?”

Karlson brightened upon seeing the untouched food on the table.

“Huh? Did you prepare this for me?”

“I felt bad we couldn’t eat together yesterday. Join us.”

“Then, thank you for the meal.”

Thus, the four of them shared a meal together for the first time.

“….”

Amidst the quiet eating, Annie sensed a strange vibe at the table.

‘What’s up with these two?’

Rena kept turning her head to avoid Karlson’s gaze.

Meanwhile, Karlson couldn’t hide his smirking smile as he glanced at her.

Annie found it hard to swallow her food in this weird atmosphere.

‘Does Jade sense it too?’

She peeked at Jade, wondering if she was the only one feeling this.

“Jade, slow down a bit.”

“Sorry, I’m hungry, so it’s going down easy.”

But Jade, likely hungry from morning training, kept shoveling food into his mouth.

Annie had no choice but to fret alone.

‘What’s going on? Did something happen between them last night?’

They couldn’t act like this overnight for no reason.

Then what could a man and woman do together at an inn at night…

Annie’s mind naturally conjured images of them making love.

Karlson-ssi mounting Rena, thrusting his hips.

In that scenario, she’s pinned under his toned body, crying.

They whisper sweet nothings and kiss-

‘Have I lost my mind?!’

Annie shook her head violently, startled by her own imagination.

There’s no way Rena would do that with Jade around.

Ever since eavesdropping on that dorm incident, lewd thoughts kept popping up.

“Annie? What’s wrong?”

Rena looked surprised at her frantic head-shaking.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Just felt like something was stuck in my hair.”

At Annie’s hastily fabricated excuse, Rena ruffled through her red hair with both hands.

Naturally, there was nothing there.

“Hmm… Doesn’t seem like anything’s there.”

“Oh, r-really? Thanks….”

Suspecting a dear friend over a feeling is wrong.

Annie quickly banished the distracting thoughts.

Watching them, Karlson suddenly offered a piece of bread from his plate.

“Want some of mine?”

“Why would I eat what you’ve been eating….”

When Rena recoiled and pushed the bread away, Karlson withdrew his hand.

“Haha! Understood.”

The real chaos happened next.

Jade had started eating early, so his plate was almost empty.

Noticing this, Rena said,

“You’re done already. Want some of mine?”

-Dunk, swipe.

She dipped her bread into soup and held it to Jade’s mouth.

“Huh? Wha?”

Jade hesitated briefly but didn’t seem to mind, taking it into his mouth.

-Munch, munch.

“Tastes good. Thanks for sharing.”

“Tell me if you’re still hungry. I’ll give you more.”

Jade and Rena created a warm atmosphere.

-Bang!

“Gah! Karlson-ssi, what’s wrong?”

Annie clutched her startled chest as Karlson suddenly slammed the table.

“…Ah, I put too much force when setting down my fork. I’ll be careful.”

Karlson claimed it was an accident but glared at Jade and Rena with burning eyes.

Rena, contrary to before, smiled while looking at Karlson.

‘Everyone’s acting weird today. What’s going on?’

Annie couldn’t keep up with this dizzying situation.