Category: Novel Translations

It was eight in the morning when I saw Ilias off on his way to work and began cleaning the house. This wasn’t something I ever saw myself doing back when I lived in Japan, but recently I think that I’ve gotten into the habit. I had the day off from my part-time waiting job, so I was leisurely passing time. It was a pain to have to work too much — four shifts a week was the perfect balance. My body can’t bring itself to work five times a week anymore. Ahh, if the weather’s good today, maybe I’ll wash the sheets. The temperature in this world was always constantly chilly, but the weather changed every day. It’d been really cloudy lately, so I was kind of hyped for the first sunny day in a while. I peeled the sheets off and threw them into the washing machine, then splashed water on top.

In this fantasy other world, the Kingdom of Selentia (the name of which I had just recently memorized) had developed in a mysterious way. Rather than using electricity, gas, or water power, they used magic stones. In terms of advancements, this country used magic stones for processing materials and for teleportation, so I had no idea what evolution of technology they were advancing towards. The toilets tossed waste directly into the processing plant using that teleportation technology, which I thought was pretty awesome. That said, they still hadn’t made anything resembling a washing machine in this mysterious Kingdom, so laundry had to be washed using a washboard and tub. In this day and age, to have to scrub and scrape at your laundry using a washboard… was something the people living today couldn’t even imagine.

By the time I finished my sole task of hanging the sheets up to dry, it was already past 11 o’clock. What should I eat for lunch… I pondered, and as I made my way to the kitchen, a paper bag caught my eye from where it sat atop the table. That was the bag Ilias used to carry his bento lunch with him every day. This world didn’t have a tradition of bringing food from home, so the first man to carry a bento lunch here had to have been Ilias, no doubt. Though it shocked people in the beginning, the act of making your own food seemed to have boomed, and about three days later another knight brought his own bento. For bento-making to become super popular among the noble knights was way too big of an image gap that I couldn’t help but crack up.

Yet despite having sparked that boom in bento-making, this bento had just been forgotten here… I guess I could eat this instead of lunch, but then I thought about how Ilias had told me that it made him happy how I gave him this bento every day. I’m in a good mood today, so how about I specially deliver it to him? Damn, I’m really such a great guy. With the bento in hand, I grinned to myself as I headed toward the castle where Ilias worked.

The only problem about getting to Ilias’s workplace was that you needed to sign in once or something like that, according to what he’d told me. I was somewhere within the castle walls in a room that could have been a knight’s station, or maybe some sort of official’s office, I don’t know. Either way, this white-themed, high-ceiling room had a crazily stylish desk sitting within it… This sure was that Northern European interior design I’d been told about, I thought while nodding.

Next up was the castle gate, which also towered up high. Although the gates were open, the two knights stiffly guarding the entrance at both sides made me think that it probably wouldn’t be that easy to pass through here — and I was exactly right.

The moment he caught sight of me, the closest knight approached and asked what I was here for. When I explained that I was a relation of the knight Ilias and that I was running an errand for him, the guard gave me the stink eye — yep, he was pissed off. You’re supposed to be keeping peace, so is it really okay for you to take that kind of attitude with a normal upstanding citizen like me? I did all I could to hold back, only because picking a fight here would make Ilias’s reputation suffer. Seeing that I was so stubbornly refusing to leave, the other knight came over as if wondering what was going on, surrounding me.

“What is the matter?”

“This guy won’t shut up about how he has a relation inside of the Knight Order.”

“A relation? With whom?”

“Ilias Garland.”

“Ilias, you mean the Captain of the 7th Division? You, there’s no resemblance at all between you and he.”

“… I’m his wife.”

“That’s a straight-up lie, lying liar. Oi, you, I know you wanna get closer to the knights and all, but you’d better stop telling lies.”

“Fine, I get it already. Then if you would, please take this over to him for me.”

“It is forbidden to receive gift donations, I’m sorry.”

“Off you go, now. Move along!”

In what freaking world would you consider a bento as a ‘gift donation’?! Though the second guy who’d come over was decent, I wish this knobhead who’d talked to me first would just F off…! It would be a waste of time to stay here any longer, and even though I couldn’t say it, I was already feeling like I just wanted to go home already. Stewing in frustration, I glanced over at the castle. There I saw that two knights had walked out and approached in this direction. Seriously, more knights? I’ve already had more than enough of them… I diverted my gaze and started walking off, but for some reason, the other guys noticed me and dashed over. I startled, my gaze snapping back toward them only to meet some faces that I had seen before.

“Azusa-san! What’s going on, for you to be in a place like this?”

“Uhyoooo-! Azusa-san is as pretty as ever today!”

“Oh, aren’t you guys Ilias’s…”

Subordinates, right. These two are the ones who had come running over during that incident with that lout a while back. I had forgotten their names, but seeing some familiar faces put me more at ease. Just as you would expect, these guys with their doggy-like Captain were also doggy-like people, and behind them I saw their tails wagging back and forth at full power. I pasted a smile on my face and told them that I had come over to bring the bento that Ilias had forgotten, but was now just going home. The two then noticed the gatekeepers, who’d been pushed back during the conversation. Their tails dropped, their gaze seeming to carry an authoritative threat. They turned once again to face forward, the two hands of these subordinates jumping up to grab my shoulders, making me flinch. That surprised me…!

“Since this person is Sir Ilias’s family, please leave this matter to us from here on.”

“This person is the wife of our division’s Captain. This person has the same right to enter as a Knight Captain — or rather, even more right to enter.”

You guys, so you can show that kind of Knight-like attitude too, huh… Since the first impression I had gotten was of them running over and wagging their tails, this image had solidified in my mind, so I could only apologize to them from the bottom of my heart. Perhaps because they’d been blown away by these imposing subordinates, the two gatekeepers meekly nodded their heads and opened the way.

And here we saw the fascinating phenomenon of two knight subordinates transforming back into excitable doggies. As if slinging me over their shoulders and carrying me away, they safely escorted me to within the castle walls.

At this time Ilias would be overseeing practice drills, they told me. Having to barge in while he was working, especially during something like drill training, sure put me under a lot of pressure. The only practice drills I could imagine were things like firemen scaling walls or the Japan Self Defence Force doing marathons.As I passed through the doors to the training area, I lightly wondered if they would be doing sword-swinging practice, but the spectacle unfolding before my eyes was beyond what I could have imagined.

In this round and open room, the sounds of sand being kicked and dull metal clashes reverberated in the air. The source of those sounds were the six knights swinging their swords in the center. Though I think it must’ve been a 3vs3 simulation battle, it was a hair-raising sight. The only 3v3 matches I’d seen before were for things like basketball… is it really okay to use swords here? Won’t they get hurt? When I saw Ilias ward off an attack to his head by deflecting with his sword, anxiety ran through me.

“There’s no need to worry. The swords in the practice room have all been dulled.”

“Sir Ilias, you’re so strong! Seriously awesome—!”

“The match should be decided at any moment now.”

“That’s technique number 9! Keep an eye out—!”

The knight at my right provided commentary with a calm smile, and the knight to my left cheered while excitedly pumping his fists in the air. As I listened to this stereo playback, somehow a slight smile grew over my face, and I began to watch the battle closely. “Looks like it’s ending soon,” they said, and just as expected, Ilias’s opponent began to retreat. What had ended up cutting down his opponent, whom I recognized as another one of Ilias’s subordinates, were the remaining two Knights who moved at Ilias’s signal. And thus, his opponent was easily felled.

The only one left was the leader, whom Ilias had been fighting. He took a hit from Ilias’s sword, and the glancing strike against his leg caused his form to crumble. I thought that Ilias’s win was now certain, yet contrary to what I thought, synchronized curses of “Cowardly!” and “Oh, you’re askin’ for it!” erupted from either side of me. I finally understood what was happening when I saw the opponent kick up sand in Ilias’s eyes, blinding him. The instant Ilias thrust his left arm up to cover his eyes, the opponent mercilessly sunk his blade into it, but in the next moment, the sword was flung into the air. When the sword clattered to the ground, catching everyone’s attention, Ilias called out with a commanding voice, “Alright, that’s enough,” marking the end of the simulated battle.

“Ilias…!”

I was so overcome with worry that, unable to just stand still, I called out his name, making surprise flash over his expression and eyes. He brightened up with excitement, flowers blooming in the air around him — until he suddenly seemed to grow vigilant, glancing around the area before rushing over toward me.

“Azusa! Why are—”

“Your arm!! Is your arm okay?!”

“Huh? My arm?”

“Just now! At the end!!”

In contrast to how frantic I was, Ilias turned his left arm to look around his elbow as if he’d forgotten. A dark red line stood out just below his elbow, and when you looked above at his forearm, there was another similar bruise. It looked like it was really painful, and it had started swelling up, but Ilias only said that it wasn’t such a serious wound. The hell is he saying, are you freaking kidding me?! You wanna stay hurt or something?! I just stared at him, having lost whatever I wanted to say, but the two subordinates picked up on what I was feeling and spoke up, asking him to go to the medic’s office. Ilias tried to refuse, saying that it was only a scratch and not broken, and more importantly, Azusa — but before he could finish, I shouted over him, “I’ll go along too!” Thus, it was decided that Ilias would go see the medic while I accompanied him.

Without any hesitation, Ilias opened the door to the medic office, which didn’t have any sign identifying it. “Is it okay to go in here?” I asked, gingerly looking into the room, and Ilias said from behind me, “It’s fine.” With that permission, I stepped inside while murmuring ‘Please excuse me’, and Ilias followed after me, closing the door behind him.

The inside looked pretty much like a Large Edition version of a school nurse’s office; besides having medicine cabinets, there were also several beds with their own curtain enclosures. Ilias went over to the cabinets to set things up, but even though he was the one who was injured, I couldn’t do anything except watch. Even though I came with him to attend to him, I was completely clueless about how to treat an injury, so there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen any topical treatment stuff like Mercurochrome recently, though I don’t know how good it’d be for this… Well, there’s no such thing as Mercurochrome in this world anyway, so I shouldn’t even mention it.¹ When I noticed that Ilias had started shrugging off his top in order to treat his wounds, I picked up the poultice that he had left on the desk.

“I’ll stick it on.”

“…Then, may I trouble you for the help?”

He had stripped even his shirt, and his torso, with its wide shoulders, was tightly rippling with muscle. He exuded a manly sex appeal that a spindly and weak guy like me could never match up to, but on his arms and on his back were many scars of wounds that had healed but never faded. “They’re my medals of honor,” he said, laughing as he looked at them. “Is that what they are?” I casually replied, but inside, I was struck once more by the realization that being a knight inevitably came with the risk of being in danger.

“Azusa? What…?”

When I looked up at Ilias and saw him staring at me with a confused expression, I realized that my hands had stopped. I tried to brush it off with a quick ‘Sorry’ and continue my work, but he sent me a questioning glance, and I resigned myself to not deceiving him.

“I was just thinking that, you’re… really a knight, Ilias.”

He made a face that said ‘I understand the words you just said, but I don’t get what you actually mean’. Though I couldn’t calm down under his piercing stare, I picked up where I left off with my task.

“I knew that fighting was part of your job, but… yeah. I can’t stand it if you get hurt.”

“Azusa…”

“It’s not like I want you to quit being a knight or anything. You become especially cool when you take pride in your job, and I like it, so…”

I pasted the poultice onto the swollen dark red lines covering his arm. To him, being wounded was an everyday, common occurrence, but to me, the bruises on his body were large wounds that rarely ever happened. Someday, a serious injury might come along to break up this everyday life of his. Maybe he might even die during one of his missions… Now that I’m looking at reality, this really is something that I have to try to endure.

I’d put myself in a bad mood. As I stared fixedly at the bruises and fell silent, Ilias let out a soft sigh and stroked my head. When I lifted my head, I saw Ilias with a tender smile on his face.

“You don’t have to worry. I’ll never lose. Because you’re here, I’ll surely never lose.”

“Ilias…”

“I’m really no good, am I. To have made you carry such an expression on your face… I must train even more and become stronger. That way, you won’t have to carry such worry for me.”

Just because he said it didn’t mean it would happen, I thought, but the fact that he considered me so highly that he wanted to get stronger for my sake made me unable to think badly of it. Two emotions warred within me, and as I glimpsed at Ilias, speechless, he swooped in to press soft kisses on my eyelids, making the happiness drown out my worry.

“Guh…”

“I thought so… It does hurt, right…?”

Ilias suddenly let out a groan, clamping his mouth shut and turning his face away. You might be trying to control it, but doesn’t it still really hurt…? To my question, Ilias replied with No’s and Uh’s, but he couldn’t even properly form the syllables in his mouth. If the cheat I got wasn’t just some language ability, but a healing one instead, it would’ve been really great. It’ll hurt if I touch it, so I can’t even rub his wounds… Isn’t there anything else I could do? Oh wait, there was that thing my parent’s did a lot when I was a kid. But even when they did it, it’s not like anything happened… No, it got across that they cared, right? It was going to get better soon, so you didn’t have to be sad? Should I do it? Shall I do it…? After several seconds of intense worry, I finally looked up and saw Ilias’s eyebrows knotted in pain. With that image in front of me, my body moved on its own.

“P-pain, pain, fly away…”

I did it perfectly, right down to the hand motions. When I got to the ‘Fly away~’, I waved my hand in the direction of the day after tomorrow. I did it to perfection, but this was something that I really shouldn’t have done, damn it!!!

Such a suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper embarrassing thing to do! You frigging moron!!!

Why did I do this? I was thinking about how I wanted to help him, and what came to mind was to help him make the pain fly away~~, but ya really shoulda thought it through much more, isn’t that right, Azusa-kun…!

Sure enough, the speechless Ilias was looking at me with blank eyes. Stop, don’t look at me with those eyes of yours…!

“Azusa… What just…?”

“I’m begging you, forget this happened…! Pretend you didn’t see anything…!”

“No… There’s no way I can! What was that motion just now?”

“That’s, uh… it was just a thought, but I… was trying to… make the hurt, uh, fly away… or something along those lines…”

“Make the hurt, fly away…”

Stop… Don’t repeat it…! I’m begging you! It was a mistake for an almost 30-year-old man like me to say that thing. The only people who can get away with saying stuff like that are parents with young children, or nursery school teachers…it’s definitely not the sort of line that a man should be delivering to another man who happens to be a big and brawny knight. Overcome with humiliation, I covered my face with my hands, and suddenly, I was hugged. I couldn’t process what the heck was going on anymore, but I felt like I heard Ilias whisper into my ear, “You’re just too adorable today.”

“Wha — Ili, mmph—”

I had frantically thrust out my hand to push his face away, but my words were cut short. Something warm pressed into my mouth — it was his tongue entwining with mine. My mouth attempted to close from the surprise, but the full and thorough kiss made my jaw slacken. Saliva overflowed and ran down the corner of my mouth; the kiss was so intense that I couldn’t even breathe, making my head spin with dizziness. I desperately pounded on his chest, and once he released me, I gasped fresh air into my lungs — but I didn’t even have enough time to stabilize my breathing before my shoulder was pushed, making my body fall backwards. After feeling the softness at my back and seeing the ceiling above me, I figured out that I had fallen on top of a bed. I heard the sound of the curtain rail being pulled shut, making everything just a bit dimmer and separating us from the outside world. And then, when Ilias returned to me as if this was the most natural thing in the world, I frantically asked him to wait.

“W — what the heck’re you doing?!”

“It’s because of what you did, Azusa.”

“I don’t get what you mean, make it simple! Explain it to me!”

“I’d be glad to… After feeling how much you were thinking of me, and even demonstrating it to me with your actions, it made me overwhelmingly happy. And in those circumstances, when you made such a sweet movement while saying ‘Pain, fly—’”

You don’t have to tell the whole world about it…! Overcome with embarrassment, I covered his mouth with my hands before he could say more. Though I glared at him, Ilias looked back at me with a cool expression and moved my hand from his mouth so that he could kiss my fingertips.

“Adorable.”

Even when our lips met, sloppy kissing noises filling the air, he refused to take his eyes off of me. Under that heated gaze, I, too, felt a rising heat within me. Without saying anything more, I felt him press me down onto the bed as he brought my fingertips into his mouth, his tongue sliding between my fingers.

“Mph, wai — ah!”

“Azusa… I love you, Azusa…”

“We’re in the medic’s office, in case you forgot…”

“There won’t be anyone coming in at this hour, so it’s alright.”

“But… ngh-”

“It’ll be fine; the door’s locked.”

“Guh…”

“Azusa…”

“If someone comes, we’re calling it quits, alright…!”

“Very well,” Ilias said, pressing a kiss to the back of my hand. This image of princely demeanor was the only damn princely thing about him – I clearly saw the way he smiled, a carnivorous knight peeking through that polite facade.

“Nn, ah….!”

I bit into Ilias’s necktie to try and stifle my voice, but it felt like he was pushing his fingers deeper inside of me than usual, so I couldn’t help but let out the moans. Once he’d finished slicking me up with the ointment, he picked up my body and dropped me onto his lap. Gravity’s pull made me sink down easily on his cock until I had all of it inside me, my skin pressing down on his and feeling like it was burning. I wrapped my arms around Ilias’s neck, clinging to him. The moment I locked gazes with his glinting blue eyes, he started thrusting inside of me.

“Aah… Azusa…you feel so incredible.”

With my hips shaking loosely, the necktie that I’d hastily clenched between my teeth became soaked with drool, making it useless. I’d been hoping that we would stop as soon as someone came by, but then I considered – in my current state, with my top half completely undisturbed and only my lower half partially undressed, my pants hanging from one leg, I’d be the only one struck by the circumstances.

Every time my body swayed, my nipples rubbed against my clothes, making them swell and tingle. It’d be more comfortable if he just took my clothes off me, but right now there’s no way I could say that… more than anything, I knew that Ilias was aroused by the sight of me like this, even if he didn’t say it. Letting out a strange and unusual breath, he began pushing up, reaching deeper inside me than he had ever gone before.

“—ngh!! So deep…!”

Unable to bear it, I opened my mouth, and the necktie flopped and fell to my cock.

“Mmph–”

I let out a shout at the next thrust, and was so mortified I felt like I might as well blow up right here. But it was too late; though I was already out of breath, Ilias, who wasn’t even winded, began thrusting at a rhythmic pace.

“Nngh, ah, ahn, wai–”

“Incredible, you’re even tighter around me than usual…!”

“Nuh, what?! Ah, aah!”

Every time he struck inside me, a pleasure like lightning coursed through me. What the hell is this? What the hell is this?! I felt like I was going to get swallowed up by this overwhelming feeling, one I’d never felt before.

“Nuh, aah, ah, ahn, I’m scared…!”

“It’s alright, it’s not scary.”

“No way, ah, ngh, aaaah!”

Rather than trying to get help, my body decided to just give up… As I collapsed, Ilias hugged me strongly. Every time he thrust inside me, the strange and pleasurable feeling ran through me, and it felt like I was going to lose myself in it.

“Haa, I’m going to come…!”

“Ah, aah! Aah, ha, ah!”

Ilias spoke in a husky, assertive voice, his speed increasing. As my body trembled and shook, I couldn’t help but think, hurry up and spill inside me.

“Kuh, ——ngh, I’m coming…!”

“Ngh, ah, stop, ah, I’m coming, aaaaah!”

From beginning to end, including the cleanup afterward, the entire thing lasted about 30 minutes.

Even though only that little time had passed, what a freakin’ dense amount of time… I’d also gotten turned on by that thrill of ‘what if someone comes?’ and ‘we’re doing it in this kind of place?’ As for Ilias, I guess considering he’d just finished battling, he’d been raring to go from the beginning. That’s why, that excitement of ‘no way… we’re really going to do it in your workplace!’ took a nosedive, and all I felt now was guilt.

And yet, my partner-in-crime, so to speak, was now very energetically chomping down his bento.

“Your bento just really is so delicious.”

“Is that right… guess I’m glad, then…”

“Want to eat some too, Azusa?”

“No need… I don’t wanna take your meal. I’ll wait ‘til I get home to eat…”

Food eaten after exercise sure tastes great, eh. As long as Ilias was satisfied, that was good enough for me. My body was aching like hell, so just let me rest over here ‘til his break’s over. I guess Ilias had been starving ‘til now judging by the way he shoveled food in his face, but when he finished, he promptly returned to his usual, serious, Mr Knight appearance. Minus his necktie. “I brought a spare, so don’t worry about it,” Ilias said with a gentle smile – but of course I’m gonna worry about it, idiot.

That said, after seeing with my own eyes how difficult the life of a knight really was – much more difficult than I’d previously thought – I grew sweeter to the idea of compromising. I normally wouldn’t put myself in the position he’d had me in, but I suppose I could consider it as a reward for him. But really, we should only do that kind of thing at home, please.

Shortly after that lunch break, Ilias offered to accompany me back to the front gate on my way home. I gratefully accepted, and the two of us exited the medical ward. There wasn’t much traffic on our way back to the entrance, and the fact that I didn’t see that many people made my feelings of guilt dissipate a little. But just as I let my guard down, a voice called out from behind. Ilias corrected his posture and turned around, and I, caught up in his reaction, also turned around. From the way he looked, it seemed that standing before us was a superior officer.

“Captain Garland, there is news of the matter of this morning’s simulated battle.”

“Sir.”

After he saluted, our eyes met. His gaze gave off the feeling of ‘I’m in trouble’ so strongly that it killed the smile on my face.

“It’s alright. I can get back by myself.”

“Sorry…”

“…And who is this?”

“Sir. I’m his wife, Azusa. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“A pleasure to meet you as well.”

I forced a smile on my face and bowed my head. Since this was a superior officer, I understood that certain things had to be done. What exactly those ‘things’ were, I had no idea, but I supposed that it might be something that only those of the knight order understood. After being sent out with a “Be careful on your way home”, I returned on the path I’d taken to come in, and after turning a corner I encountered the two subordinates again, waiting for me at the entrance.

“Aaaaaaaazusa-san…!!”

The hell’s with the shouting…? As soon as our eyes met, the two subordinates flushed bright red. Wondering what was up with them, I came closer. For some reason, the mellow guy wouldn’t meet my eyes. He just fidgeted, his face turned to the floor. What’s up with that…? Looking for an explanation, I turned to the lighthearted one, but he instead also looked nervous and burst out with, “Where’s Ilias-san?!”

“He got snatched up by a superior.”

“Eeeh?! That sucks… What about you, Azusa-san? Are you headin’ back?”

“Yep, I got things to do after all.”

“Th — then let us see you off at the gate!”

“Eh? It’s fine. You guys have work, don’t you?”

“No! Right now, Azusa-san is…! It’s seriously no good…!!”

“…….Ha?”

I don’t get it. “Let’s go!” the lighthearted subordinate said, starting to walk. Bewildered, I ended up sandwiched between him and the mellow subordinate, who had huddled close while still keeping his face turned to the ground. Why were they doing this? In any case, was this subordinate who kept his eyes glued to the dirt doing okay? I asked aloud if he was alright, and he responded with an exaggerated jolt of his shoulders.

“Uh, um…! I, I’m just, not very used to it…!”

“Eh?”

“That is, um, the two of us, we didn’t have the intentions of eavesdropping at all! But, that is, it was impossible not to…! I couldn’t… help but hear…!”

Eh…? No, wait…?

“Though saying that I lost my composure over such a matter feels so pathetic… Azusa-san, became so much more enchanting than before…!”

Y-y-you’re kidding me…?! They heard me and Ilias as we………?! When I came?! Oh god, I’m going to die of embarrassment. I’d rather just outright die.

When they realized I had totally gone blank, the subordinates tried to talk to me, but not a single word registered in my head. I swore in my heart: I will never come back here, ever again.

To have done the dirty with your husband at his workplace, then to be asked about it point-blank by his subordinates who’d overheard the whole damn thing… Whatever the hell a living person is supposed to do after that, I have no damn clue.

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Author’s Note

After this, the subordinate-chan claims to his boss, “Azusa-san really is way too damn sexy, ain’t he!”

And his boss replies, “Is that so?” while returning a smile filled with satisfaction.

Previous Chapter | Index | Sequel

Omake ~A short story about crossing over~

Translator’s Note: This chapter contains attempted non-con. I’ve marked the beginning and end of this scene with footnotes. If you’re uncomfortable reading this, click on them to skip this scene.

 

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“Thank you for waiting. Here is today’s recommended set.”

I placed the dishes in front of a brawny middle-aged man whose clothes clearly marked him as a mercenary. An evaluating gaze scanned me from the top of my head to the soles of my feet, but I didn’t pay it any particular mind and stepped back─or at least I tried to, before he grabbed my hand.

“Hey, pretty face. What’s your name?”

“I’m afraid that my job is to serve your food, sir. Offering my name is unnecessary.”

“Oh, you can serve me all night tonight.”

“Sir, this isn’t that kind of establishment.”

Seriously, again? I don’t even know how many times I’ve gone through this in just one month anymore. Give me a break…

…Were thoughts I let out only in the privacy of my own mind. On the outside, I had my polite business smile still pasted on my face as I casually pushed back my hair, showing off the jewel dangling from my left ear.

The man made a surprised face, but that was all; the next moment, his grip tightened and I was yanked forward.

I lost my balance and barely avoided falling into the food, while my elbow hit the table with a loud smack and caused a glass full of water to tip over. Though the entire restaurant floor had been quite noisy, the shrill screech of glass shattering on the ground made all eyes swivel toward us.

“You think I give a shit if you’re married? That makes it even better.”

“Sir, please stop. This is causing trouble for me.”

The reason why I didn’t immediately shoot him down and just went along to this point was because I had already learnt a lot from my first experience. They would usually back off after I flashed the earring, but it seemed that the opponent this time was a difficult one─even my awkward, or rather, disdainful tone seemed to spur him on.

Just why does this have to happen to me? I’m not the only waiter here─my coworker’s a girl and moreover, she’s a big-busted chick wearing clothes so scanty it’s a sexual harassment case waiting to happen! Even if I’ve already been told that this is a world where gender doesn’t matter, for some guy to call out to me, a man, for a one-night stand─it’s still fucking weird, isn’t it…?!

“Sorry~ This boy’s husband is a member of the Knight Order aaand~ he easily gets suuuuuper, deeply, jealous, you know~? If he finds out about what you’re doing, he’ll crush you to a pulp so badly that you won’t be able to go back to work tomorrow, so, can you let him go?”

Calling out as she made her way to us─massive tits a-bouncing and all, was my senior at work, Tanya. The valley of those mountains, each probably the size of my head, was even more emphasized when she intentionally leaned forward and stuck them out for the whole world to see. It was such a waste, really. With her pink twintails and loli-like face, she’d be supremely adorable…if only she wasn’t taller than Ilias…

As I was thinking such rude things about the person who just intervened for my sake like a piece of trash, Tanya motioned for us to go. I pulled my hand back and gave a slight bow before I was pulled over to the kitchen.

“I owe you one, Tanya.”

“A-chan! Tanya is really mad, you know.”

“Ah? Ho-How come…?”

My business face is absolutely perfect, so there was no way my thoughts about her being a busty loli-faced giantess would have leaked through. However, I couldn’t come up with anything else even after going through all the possible things that could piss her off in my head…I gave up and asked the person herself.

Tanya let go of the hand she had grabbed earlier, then pulled me into a crushing hug.

Guh…Tanya, please spare me…You’re using way too much strength…I can’t breathe…! These words I wanted to shout out ended up being smothered as my face was buried into her outrageous chest.

“Because, A-chan is a beauty! Tanya’s the one who’s supposed to serve the seats with dangerous customers! We promised, didn’t we?!”

So that was why…A girl was angry out of worry for my safety─for some reason, I feel like I’m having a personal crisis right now? What did she say again? Ha…haha…I don’t really get it…?

To keep my sanity and swiftly-diminishing pride as a man from flying away, I desperately zoned her out and pretended I didn’t hear anything.

 

Half a year had quickly passed by since the time Ilias appeared back into my life and brought me to his world.

I learned what he’d been up to while we were separated─that guy got a promotion after serving at the fort for a year, and got relocated to the capital. He could’ve lived at the knight dormitory with no fuss or hassle, but he chose to look for a house near his workplace so that we could live together. He also prepared an exquisite earring that cost who-knows-how-many months of his salary, and which I was now wearing on my left ear.

Proof of one’s marriage in Japan was commonly a ring on your left hand, but over here it was a pair of earrings shared by the couple. I had thought that it was something we should discuss together but…the next thing I knew, Ilias was taking out an earring out of nowhere and putting it on me, just like that. He actually has a bit of a black-bellied side to him, doesn’t he…

That said, it would’ve still ended up on my ear though, discussion or no discussion.

The new home for our happily married life was a cozy place which wasn’t all that big, but size wasn’t its selling point─it was accessibility. The castle where that guy worked was just a ten minute walk away, and the district where the guild, inn, and food shops densely congregated was just on the next block. The clincher, however, was that Mr. Ilias thought that it looked like the kind of place I would like, that kind of 10/10 full marks response.

Knights, so to speak, were pretty much the same as civil public servants, so Ilias came back from work at a precise time. The occasional night shifts only happened once or twice a month, and thankfully he always had the next day off. It was a rather lifeless white-collar work culture, but to a corporate slave like me, it looked absolutely blinding.

“You had entirely taken care of me during our time together in Nippon so this time, I’ll be the one to take care of you,” Ilias had said. Thus, as per his wishes, I changed my occupation to his housewife─or more accurately, a NEET. ¹

I was unbearably happy when he told me that I didn’t have to work, but that only went so far as a week. The compactness of the house meant that if I wanted to clean I’d be done as soon as I’d started, and as for cooking, I could only get fired up about it in the mornings and evenings when Ilias was there to eat with me. And above all, it was so dreadfully boring in the afternoons that I slowly died inside. I didn’t have a TV or my smartphone or anything else to kill time. I might as well just go work…!

At first I tried to sound it out with Ilias by asking if there were any menial job positions at his workplace, but he was absolutely against it. Well, I’d already imagined that if it came to physical fitness, it might be impossible for me, but for him to oppose it that much… ouch.

In the end, he finally relented on the condition that the job should only be part-time and during the day. With that consent, I started working in the guild establishment’s mess hall as part of the waiting staff. There were other places such as taverns which were closer to our home, but their operating hours were at night, so they were a no-go. Just like that, two months after living in another world as an apartment wife, I succeeded in returning to the workforce.

Once I started working, I finally fully understood the reason why Ilias had been so excited when we’d gone to that family restaurant.

Even a noob like me knew the basics of customer service, but unfortunately, for the people of this world, those basics seemed to be quite advanced to them. When the girl who was already working there, Tanya─that is, the pink-haired, twin-tailed, well-endowed giantess─started to guide me on the job, I still remember getting blown away with shock.

She spoke to the customers without any respect, and when I saw how she forcefully tossed the plates overflowing with food onto the table, I ended up being the one instructing her instead of the other way around. At that time, she got attached to me for some reason and started calling me by a nickname without my permission, but since I thought it would be troublesome to do anything about it, I just let her be.

Well, that’s the story of how I began my career as a waiter, but it seems that I’m probably going to end up suffocated to death by my senior not too long after getting the job.

“Tanya, that’s enough. Azusa’s about to die.”

“Eh?! Nooo, A-chan! Are you okay?!”

From afar came the voice of Death, but it was actually just the owner. I was finally released and as I coughed violently, Tanya fretted while going ‘Who could have done such a terrible thing~?!’. The me who didn’t tsukkomi back ‘You did!’ at her, was seriously admirable.

“How many times has this happened this month? Azusa sure is popular!”

Cough. “I’m not happy getting solicited for one night stands by men at all.”

“A-chan’s pretty face makes you wanna do lewd things so it can’t be helped~”

“The hell are you saying? Just what part of me seems lewd, seriously.”

“Hmmm~ Your fair white skin~ and your tiny-ness~ and how you’re a married wifey, maybe?”

“Hah…haha…ha─oh hey, some orders are ready.”

“Thanks~!”

I know you intended to compliment me, but each one of those “praises” feels like a knife to my gut, Tanya. I glossed over my frustration and put the dishes Master had given me onto a tray, which I then brought out to the dining floor.

 

“Thank you for your hard work!”

It was steadily getting darker outside when my shift ended. I changed out of my uniform and into my personal clothes, then left the guild.

It’d been a while since I’d last helped wash the dishes… If I didn’t hurry and finish shopping before going home, Ilias would end up having to wait for me. He let me go work when I asked, despite looking so reluctant, so I wanted to keep the housework in order at the very least.

I was too preoccupied with pondering tonight’s dinner that I was late in noticing that someone was calling out to me. When I startled and looked back, I could vaguely see the troublesome customer from before standing within the gap between two buildings that led to a back alley.

Hey, this guy is probably real bad fucking news, my instincts warned.

A really weird thing was that apparently, in this world, I was a lot of guys’ type. I can no longer count how many times I was called out at work because of this, though thankfully they all stopped at the sight of my earring. Since people didn’t marry lightly here, the ones who did were paid a lot of special attention. I had thought that was fine or whatever, but I had been naive… ²

“Hey, stop playing hard to get. Let’s play just for one time, okay?”

“I already told you earlier, I refuse.”

“I’ll make you feel good, c’mon; wouldn’t it be great to try something bigger than your husband’s?”

“It doesn’t feel great to be held by a man at all.”

“So you’re the bottom? You’ve got a wet, loose hole down there just begging for a dick to come fill it up, then.” ³

“……ha?”

Okay, I can’t deny that I might be the ‘woman’ of my relationship, but don’t you dare think that I don’t have my pride as a man, too. Who’s fucking ‘wet and loose’, damn it?!

I knew that giving him a death glare would backfire on me, but I just couldn’t stop it. To no one’s surprise, a sleazy smile began spreading on the man’s face upon seeing my reaction.

“Oooh, that face you’re making sure is nice. The disgusted expression from earlier was quite good, but this rebellious face of yours is irresistable.”

“Fuck off, you sick pervert.”

Even though I provoked him, I was aware of my odds of beating him in a fight. That was why I had to make sure we stayed here in the main street where there were other people around. If he were to pull me to that alley…

He began to pant heavily like a maniac about to commit a crime─the hell, is he getting turned on? So fucking gross…!! My face instinctively warped like I was about to get the hell away from him, which must’ve set him off because the next thing I knew, he had already caught my arm in a vice-like grip.

“Wha─?! Shit, get the fuck away from me…!!”

I frantically tried to pull away from him while yelling, but the difference in our strengths was clear. There was just no way that a delicate, former salaryman who worked indoors would be able to win against a freakin’ mercenary.

As he started dragging me away from the street and towards the alley despite my desperate resistance, I began to feel afraid and whipped my head around to find someone for help. The surrounding townspeople, however, only looked on with worried expressions.

Are you kidding me?!

Though I’d do the same if I were just watching from the side, too…But can’t there be at least one person who’s willing to help me out here?!?! In the end, nobody stepped up and I was taken into the alley, where I was shoved against the wall of a dead-end. My head felt muddled when I realized that the situation was probably completely hopeless.

You’re kidding me… am I really going to get raped here? By a man? Buttons went flying off as he ripped my shirt─it was an ero doujin-like development, but it was no longer funny when I was the victim. An attempt to struggle rewarded me with a blow to the stomach, knocking the winds out of me and leaving me too weak to stop him as he gripped both my hands above me so I wouldn’t be able to move.

“You shitty…!”

The only thing I could do left was glare at the man and refuse to cower. I had a rule to never get into fights I couldn’t win, but at times when it couldn’t be avoided, I would absolutely never give in. It seemed that this attitude of mine appealed to him; his face split into a shit-eating grin, and suddenly─⁴

The sharp edge of a sword pressed against the side of the man’s neck from behind.

“Move any closer, and you’ll be cut open.”

“The fuck are you…!”

“You really want to die, it seems.”

Those words coming from a voice colder than any I’d ever heard before was followed by a drop of blood trickling from a red line on the man’s neck. The man clicked his tongue and finally let go of me, and when he looked behind him, seemed surprised that the person holding a blade to his neck was a knight.

“You think it’s okay for a knight to do something like this…?!”

“Something like this? I am only fulfilling my duty of protecting an upstanding citizen from a brute.”

“Yeah? You think there’s some sorta crime going on here?”

“Indeed. I figure the crime is that a man has torn apart my wife’s clothes.”

“Urk─no way, you’re…?!”

“Captain!”

The sounds of clanking footsteps came from the back, and when the rest of the knights joined, the hopeless situation had completely turned around.

“Azusa! Thank god…!”

“Ilias… you made it just in time.”

Though─what the heck, I knew that the other guys who came must’ve been in the same group as Ilias, but to think Ilias was actually their captain… That startled me… This Knight Captain-dono didn’t spare another glance at the man he’d just tied up and immediately came over to wrap me up in his embrace.

“How many times must I say it, Azusa… since you’re so captivating, you have to be more careful…!”

Ahh, he said it, that thing he’d been telling me at least once a day. I would always fire back ‘I’m not captivating, jeez’, but now that I was the idiot who’d just gotten jumped, I no longer had any right to give him lip.

“… Sorry. I was wrong.”

Ilias startled at my meek apology and swiftly released me to grab both of my shoulders and peer into my face. When I saw on his expression his unsaid worry that I was being so docile because I had just been assaulted, I hurriedly shook my head.

“That’s not it! This only happened because I hadn’t been paying enough attention, so that’s why I’m properly apologizing!”

“Azusa…! No, it isn’t your fault that everyone finds you so attractive.”

“What’re you…?”

“Letting you walk around late night was also a fault in my judgment… I’m sorry, Azusa…”

“Hey, are you even listening to what I’m saying?”

“To walk home alone is truly far too dangerous, after all. From now on, I’ll pick you up after work.”

“What?! No way, that’s not gonna happen! And besides, you can’t do that anyway since you have night shifts.”

“During the times where I cannot go, I shall send a subordinate in my stead.”

“Uh…. huh?”

“Alright, it’s decided, Azusa.”

Ilias wagged his tail at full power as if saying ‘Praise me, praise me’, and I couldn’t bring myself to refute him. It would definitely make going home utterly embarrassing, but more than that, the thought of involving these subordinates with whom I had absolutely no relation with made me feel so damn sorry for them…

“We’ll be allowed to accompany the Captain’s wife back…?!”

“Awesomeeee! I’m so glad that I chose to follow Sir Ilias!”

Huh? Uuuummm…. Huhhh? Something weird’s going on here, right?? While tightening the ropes around the convict, Ilias smiled at his subordinates as if saying ‘alright, that’s enough’─hey, just why does this scene look like you’re giving away ‘Accompany Azusa’ tickets as a reward for your minions, dear husband of mine?

Watching them, I was able to take a clear look at Sir Ilias’s integrity. Well… I guess this can be considered one way of his to show he loves me, so I’ll accept it…?

 

“A-chaaaaaan~! Your husband’s here to pick you up~♡♡♡”

Tanya’s voice resounded from the serving floor, making not only the people in the dining area but also the people in the line checkout turn around.

“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. Shall we go?”

My dear husband held his hand out to me while releasing a sparkling aura. It was embarrassing, so I smacked it away and walked off. Ilias only lit up with an elated smile in response and followed after me.

“Azusa-chan sure is tsundere today, too~”

I resolutely ignored the girl at the counter as I passed by; even if she’s giggling under her breath really annoyingly, I’ll lose if I make any kind of reaction!

And more importantly, just who taught her the word ‘tsundere’?! It has to be Ilias, right?! Aaaaah…!!! Just what’d I do to deserve being treated like this!! After we’d left the guild, I looked back to glower at Ilias who, just as I thought, was wearing such a friggin’ happy smile on his face.

“For Azusa to be here and willing to be my partner in this world… I still feel as if I’m dreaming.”

“─tch, what’s with you, jeez!…I love you too, okay?!”

Today, too, in this other world, my husband and I enjoy our peaceful days together.

 

---

 

Author’s Note

I truly apologize for leaving this story for a year just before it was complete…!

Nevertheless, thank you for your warm thoughts and applause! I’m truly happy…!!

The main story ends at chapter 19, but I added a story about what happens afterward as a bonus (omake).

Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter

 

Now that he was wearing armor instead of his usual apron, Ilias looked incredibly cool—this much was undeniable.

We’d had sex till we both turned into a mess, took a bath together, then went to sleep. The morning after, I stayed in bed and watched a certain perky, energetic someone get dressed.  As for me, I was completely exhausted and spent, and I couldn’t even move from the waist down; the stamina of a knight was seriously crazy…

“Azusa… I truly…”

“I already told you; it’s okay. More importantly—once you get teleported back, make sure you take care of yourself.”

In truth, it wasn’t actually ‘okay’. But it’s not as if I could just tell him to not go, so I had no choice but to speak as if it didn’t affect me.

Ilias turned downcast at my words.

I continued watching as he dispiritedly fastened his sword to his waist. Though he had been swinging around a 2-liter plastic water bottle every day while saying it was for training, I worried over whether that was actually enough. Would he still be able to fight properly once he returned?

He became the picture of a gallant, dashing knight once he had finished getting ready. Especially when he took a knee by my bedside and pressed a kiss to the back of my hand, it looked just like in those fairytales—save for the fact that this princess was only wearing a t-shirt and boxer shorts, so I looked like an out-of-place joke more than anything.

“Azusa… for everything until now, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have no words to express how truly grateful I am..”

“……. I also… feel glad that I was able to meet you.”

Under the gaze of those blue eyes looking up at me, my true feelings unintentionally slipped. I hadn’t planned to say such a thing, and in the first place—did I actually think that stuff? I doubted and questioned myself inside, but once those few words came out, I couldn’t stop the rest from escaping.

“I really enjoyed it, this kind of life where I had someone important to me to keep in mind. It was the first time that I thought… that living with someone else could be so comforting. I wouldn’t feel that way if it were with anyone other than you, Ilias.”

He had become a part of my life, and the thought that after today, I wouldn’t be able to meet him anymore… was devastating. This wasn’t like a long-distance relationship—it was losing him forever, as if he had died. It really made me glad that he didn’t just suddenly leave without a goodbye… We had time to prepare ourselves mentally, and I was grateful for that.

“Since you were able to change me this much, once you go back, you absolutely…”

Can be happy. Will be happy, with someone that isn’t me.

It’d be fine, wouldn’t it? It should be. Ilias finding happiness in his original world would be a good thing. But…I couldn’t get those words out.

Even though he was finally able to go back after much difficulty, why can’t I wish him happiness? I finally couldn’t keep his gaze and looked away; right then, an impact coursed through my body. It took me several seconds to realize that Ilias had stood up and embraced me.

“It was the same way for me. The only person who can make me feel this kind of happiness is Azusa alone… No matter what may happen, I swore to be with you.”

“Ili…as…”

“I love you… I truly love you, with all of my heart.”

Warm droplets came falling from above, and despite myself, I couldn’t help but smile. Come on, again? It’s unfair how guys as handsome as this one can make even crying look pretty. Irked by that, both of my hands moved at lightning speed to lightly smack his cheeks before pinching them.

“You sure are an idiot for making a vow to a man like me. Even if you want to take it back, I won’t allow it.”

It’s impossible, after all. Giving the person I love my blessings to be happy with somebody else and being satisfied with just that… is something that I can’t do.

Instead, I want to be a shackle that binds you.

 

It happened suddenly.

Ilias had finally stopped crying so I released his cheeks. At that moment—a magic array emerged beneath his feet.

This was not the first time I had seen this; it was my third time, in fact. And yet, I was still taken aback and could only stare dumbly at the sight in front of me.

Within the glowing, blue-lit formation that was surrounded by whirling gusts of wind, Ilias’s expression wobbled into a desperate smile as he called out my name.

“I’ve cried in front of you far too many times… In these last moments, at least…I won’t.”

“Ilias…!”

This can’t be—

It’s happening. He’s really going back.

Bathed in surging light, Ilias knelt down on one knee and drew his sword. He turned the point of his sword skyward, both of his hands gripping the handle and holding it at chest height, then turned towards me with a gaze so intense it seemed to pierce right through me.

“To have met you is the greatest joy of my life; it is my pride. I will be to Azusa ever faithful and loyal, and hereby so swear to devote my fidelity to you..”

Even if I didn’t know what he was doing or what it meant, I understood that it represented something special; this surely wasn’t something that was just fine to do on a whim.

I only belatedly realized that his silhouette was steadily waning as he spoke—he was nearly on the brink of vanishing. With unsteady feet I took a step forward.

A transparent barrier around the edges of the formation blocked me from getting any closer.

Strong blasts of wind spun in-between the barrier and the luminous array, yet none of it got to where I was; my side was entirely still and calm—as if we were already in two separate, fundamentally different spaces.

 

Undeterred, I pressed both of my hands to this invisible barrier and cried out his name. He rushed to meet me with eyes full of overwhelming despair.

“Don’t—Ilias, no…don’t do this! Don’t, no, don’t go—don’t leave me, you dumbass!”

“Azusa—”

“I—I’m also…I’m also in love with you, so don’t go…Don’t leave me behind! Don’t you dare go, no, don’t leave me…I love you, you idiot, so don’t, no—Ilias, don’t leave—take me with you!!”

“Azusa! Azusa!!”

His voice was muffled as he cried out my name, and his hands rose up to press against the barrier as if wanting to meet mine before everything was swallowed up by blinding, white light.

In the next moment, when my vision cleared, no traces of what just happened remained.

There was only me inside an apartment that looked the same as always, as if nobody else had ever been there at all.

My voice sounding terribly hoarse, I called out a name but no response ever came.

Slowly, downwards, I slid to the floor. Just like the tears that wouldn’t stop falling.

On that day, I cried more than I’d ever cried in my entire life.

 

I had thought that there was no way I could stand to keep living in this apartment. It had only been for a short period of half a year, but any place I stood drew up memories of the time we lived together—the doorway where I first found him, the hallway where he would send me off to work with a hug, the kitchen where he always stood, the shower where he drenched and stripped me, the sofa where he would lazily pass the time watching his housewife tv shows, and the bed where he would always be lying beside me the moment I woke up in the mornings.

My mood sank even lower when I realized that all of the things meant for two people now had to go back to being just for one.

Nevertheless, time moved on as it always did, and each day bled into the other in a never-ending cycle of dragging myself back and forth between the apartment and the office. My job became my refuge; to distract myself from the memories, I began to spend less and less time at home and sank deeper into work. My face, which never had that much expression in the first place, hardened into a cold block of stone.

Mita asked me to go out drinking countless times, perhaps out of worry, but I just simply couldn’t will up any enthusiasm to ‘have some fun’ so I ended up rejecting him every time.

It had been the peak of summer, and then the seasons changed to fall, then winter.

When I’d decided that I’d had enough of it and that I should forget him, I took out his belongings—the clothes we bought together for him, and even that cup we made a detour for after he looked at it at the apartment store display with such fervent eyes, but when it was time to haul and throw them all away, I found myself incapable of moving an inch.

I was obviously able to endure seeing him weep in front of me, and yet…now that he was gone, I couldn’t keep it together when I thought about how all that was left of him was only these. I couldn’t do it. Just looking at them made me so miserable I wanted to get them out of my sight for good, but my gut was telling me that I would absolutely regret it if I did.

It was the same for the apartment itself, and that was why I couldn’t move out, even now. I really… loved him. There wasn’t anyone else that I could love as much as I loved him.

Somewhere along the way, the sadness dissolved into nothing until only a gaping hole inside of me remained.

 

“I’m home.”

Half a year was still not long enough for me to get rid of this habit, so only silence greeted me back as I spoke to an empty, dark room.

I locked the door, took off my shoes, turned on the light for the hall, then went inside my apartment. The evening new program was talking about the economic effects of Valentines when I turned the TV on.

Oh, that’s right…It’s already February, isn’t it… I didn’t go back to my parents’ house this year for the holidays, and I had shut myself in for the end of last year and the beginning of the new year, so I suppose my awareness of the date had grown dull.

My body felt so exhausted that I didn’t even have the energy to eat a meal, so I tossed the convenience store bento I’d just bought over onto the table—my bag, my coat, and my suit jacket following after. My body I threw onto the sofa, which was then promptly assaulted by a sudden bout of drowsiness. Letting out a yawn I couldn’t stifle, I loosened my tie while my eyes closed just a bit…and my consciousness sank into oblivion.

 

There was that voice I recalled from my memories, and my body was gently shaken. I want to keep sleeping, though… I turned over, clearly communicating to leave me alone, but I was shaken again. Annoyed by that persistent disturbance, I cracked my eyes open, and in front of me was an unbelievable sight.

“Azusa, you’ll catch a cold in a place like this.”

“…… Eh?”

I rubbed at my eyes, obviously seeing things, but when I looked up again—there he still was. Ilias, kneeling in front of me and wearing the same outfit he had when we were separated, though his hair looked much longer than before.

So I’ve finally hit the point where I’m seeing hallucinations…Shit.

The Ilias that had been cooked up by my delusions caressed my cheek with so much love and tenderness in his touch, though my face was still a frozen block of ice after withdrawing into myself for so long.

“You’ve lost so much weight… The bags beneath your eyes are terrible. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting for such a long time…”

“Um…Ilias?”

I tried calling out his name without knowing why, and he replied, “What is it?”

Is it really…?

It really was him.

But why—why would he be here…?

“Azusa, I just have one thing I wanted to ask. The words you spoke during the teleportation, do you still mean them, even now?”

“The words I spoke…?”

“ ‘Take me with you’, was what you told to me.”

I yelled them while crying wretchedly, I recalled. That’s right, I’d said that when I saw him fading away.

Rather than leaving me behind by myself, I wanted him to bring me with him—but such a thing just wasn’t possible, I knew, so I no longer cared about anything and lived as if I were dead…but if he’s saying that he can make it happen, then there was absolutely nothing in this world I wanted more than to go with him.

He waited patiently as I sifted through my emotions, looking steadily at me with a serious look on his face. When I finally told him that my feelings hadn’t changed, his expression immediately changed, and—

With no explanation whatsoever, I was asked to give my left hand which I reflexively presented palms up. He flipped it around, then took out from his pocket something with a dull, silver glint under the lights. As he slipped it onto my ring finger, all thoughts that had been circulating in my head halted to a complete stop.

“The arrangements took a while, but I finally came back. Azusa, let’s get married.”

It was a sweeter voice than I’d ever heard. Something seemed to overflow inside me; my throat had clogged up and my voice wouldn’t come out, so I wordlessly nodded my head up and down countless times. Tears started to come out at some point.

Ilias exhaled as if relieved by my answer, and as he smiled, wiped away my tears and said, “Thank you.”

“I had decided that I absolutely wanted to propose the way that it is done in your world. That I let you feel such loneliness during this half a year, I apologize.”

“For—for real…! You’re… damn late…!”

“It was my wrong. From here on, I’ll never let you experience such a feeling again. Though even if you were to say no, I don’t think I would be capable of letting you go.”

He captured me with a mischievous smile, and I wound up smiling, too. At that moment, the magical formation that I had seen on that day suddenly appeared beneath our feet. Unlike before, I felt the wind stirring beneath my feet as well, for this time I was within the circle.

“It’s time. Azusa, let’s make the leap.”

“Thi—this, what am I supposed to be doing…?!”

“It’s alright, just hold on to me.”

I was about to stand when he picked me up into his arms. Startled, I clung to Ilias who then turned to me with a satisfied smile.

“Thank you, Azusa. I will absolutely make you happy.”

He vowed with such a bright smile, looking the happiest that I’ve ever seen him. This guy really loved me that much, though I also shared that same lovesickness.

“What’re you saying—I’ll be the one who’s going to make you happy, Ilias.”

He looked stumped with my reply, before bursting out laughing. ‘Excuse me, what the hell’s so funny?!’ I said, but it didn’t have any weight since I was laughing right along with him.

Aah, really…All it takes to make me happy is just being with him.

It was worth waiting half a year.

As the light around us devoured the familiar surroundings in sight, Ilias who was holding on to me remained clearly visible. I understood right then how it meant that I’d be able to stay with him from here on after. Though I felt some loneliness over leaving this world in which I had lived until now, I couldn’t help but look forward to the extraordinary future waiting for me. There, I’d be staying at the side of the person I love—there was really nothing greater than that.

I had picked up a strange knight, and now I was going to another world to marry him.

 

 

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Translator’s Note

This is the final chapter of PSK’s main story. Thanks to everyone for reading Taro-sensei’s amazing story, and thanks for your patience!

Make sure to continue reading chapter 20, the first omake! I’ll be releasing the second omake and the first chapter of the sequel sometime in the future. Please look forward to it!

 

Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter

Advisory Notice
This chapter contains explicit content.

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“Azusa, are you off for the weekend?”

Rising over the sounds of the TV, this question of Ilias’s came up while I was having dinner. I looked over at him in response; there it was again—that weak, slightly lonely-looking smile that had always been on his face ever since we returned from the inn. But since this tiny smile was something he had already put his all into mustering up, no matter how fragile and flimsy it was, I decided not to mention anything about this mood of his aloud. I nodded at his question whilst chewing on my rice, and he smiled. “I see.”

Only the background noise of the TV playing kept the room from being utterly silent after that. Though he didn’t particularly say anything else, I knew without a doubt—the subject he really wanted to bring up was the one we didn’t want to broach the most. It was only after I’d finished my meal and had a moment to take a breath did Ilias reveal that it’d been exactly as I’d thought: earlier in the day, his home country had contacted him again.

“I received a report which said that everything was ready. The teleportation sequence is scheduled for the day after tomorrow.”

“The day after tomorrow… Saturday, huh. So it’s already here…”

“…… Yes, it is.”

Watching his expression steadily darken somehow affected my own emotions, so I exhaled to shake off that mood and reached out to ruffle his hair.

“Why’re you making that face? Smile!”

“Azusa…”

“You’re finally going home, right? You really held on, didn’t you…”

Ilias suddenly captured my wrist. For a split second, I wondered if he’d been bothered by his hair getting messed with just before he brought my hand over to his mouth and pressed a kiss on my fingers.

“Azusa… I don’t think I can’t go through with it.”

“…… Ilias—”

“On the day after tomorrow, if you weren’t by my side anymore… I wouldn’t be able bear it.”

He tugged at my wrist to pull me closer, and my body fell into his chest. As I stifled a cry, I coiled my arms around his wide back, gently colliding against him.

“I wish I could bring you with me… if such a thing were possible.”

His arms around me tightened while he spoke those words that were surely his true thoughts. That’s right; if that were only possible, it would be the best…But, we both knew it wasn’t. If he were able to do it, then he probably would’ve proposed it straight away.

“Ilias.”

His shoulders jumped when I spoke up. The strong grip around me loosened, and as he looked down towards me, I wiped at his tear-damp cheeks with my fingers before pressing a kiss on his slightly trembling lips.

“Let’s spend tomorrow together. We’ll pass time lazily until noon; then we’ll go shopping, and we’ll make some curry. You’ll be the onion-chopper, Ilias.”

“But Azusa, your work…”

“As if I’d rather go to work than stay together a little while longer with someone I’ve lived with for half a year. It’s not like I’m an honor student.”

I grinned at him, and though he was still crying, Ilias smiled back. It’ll be okay, I told myself. During times when he’s crying like this, I can stay strong.

 

 

We went to the supermarket and bought ingredients, just as we had done so many times before. The first time Ilias had come here, he’d used his puppy eyes on me to let him push the cart. It’d been January back then, back when it was so damn cold. Those days were completely different to now, when we had to keep the air conditioner blasting all day long.

I absentmindedly recalled such things while the guy standing next to me picked out potatoes. It didn’t feel real that this would be the last time we would ever buy groceries here, or that this would be the last time we would make the trip back home to the apartment together. But even if I couldn’t believe it, I wanted to commit to memory this precious remaining time we had left—thus, my eyes followed Ilias wherever he went.

We returned home and started prepping everything for the curry. I was aware that I was being more excited than usual—just the mundane sight of this guy shedding tears while chopping onions had me guffawing out loud. Even though this wasn’t anything special, I was having a lot of fun somehow, and Ilias laughed along in amusement as if influenced by my mood. I wrapped my arm around his waist from behind while he stirred the pot, uncharacteristically acting spoiled as I told him that I wanted to hurry up and eat.

Once the meal was done, we idly passed time on the sofa. The sunset’s glow flooded the room, the time saying that evening was soon approaching—yet even so, I was reluctant to leave his side. I went ahead and rested my head against his shoulder. Ilias didn’t seem surprised by my sudden behavior at all, and though he had been watching the TV as some plot or another carried on, he even gently combed my hair with his fingers.

“Wouldn’t it be better if time could just stay like this forever…?”

His voice was low as a whisper while he spoke with a dipped head, and I replied with silence. Though I said nothing, he understood that I wanted him to continue, and so he did.

“When I learned that I had been blown away to another world, I had cursed my misfortune—but that was wrong. This experience was a necessity in order for me to grasp within my hands something utterly irreplaceable to me. Once I realized that, I started to appreciate it more and more. I’ve received so many things from you, Azusa. Your knowledge, your way of thinking, your values, and your feelings—all of those had become the things which nourished me. But, if you were no longer to be by my side, those would all turn into shackles.”

I stopped breathing. Alarmed, I raised my face to look at him, yet against my expectations he was simply smiling calmly. He enveloped my cheeks within his hands, his graceful face coming closer.

“But that’s a good thing, Azusa. It means that I will never forget you. You will always be together with me, inside of my heart. Even if tomorrow I return to the world where I was meant to be, I shall never love anyone else. All of me is devoted to Azusa, and Azusa alone. This I so swear.”

“You… are you an idiot, or what…”

Everything in front of my eyes blurred. Just how was it that Ilias could so easily say the words I wished to hear from him the most?

I wanted to be the only person in Ilias’s heart, the person most important to him. But in actuality, even if I held him in my heart, we would no longer be able to contact each other after he had returned. So, from this moment on, I didn’t know what would happen. I didn’t know if he might find a lover after his return, and similarly didn’t know if he would forget all about someone like me, who didn’t have any charm at all.

But instead of going in circles fretting over that, what I should focus on was that all of these words came from his own mouth. For him to say it out aloud even while knowing my personality, it must be because he wanted me to believe in it—to believe in him. He’s really such a can-do guy, seriously. I couldn’t get a hold of my surging emotions, and just like a child, I started crying, big fat dollops of tears rolling down my cheeks. Startled by the sight of me in that state, Ilias immediately smiled as if to stave off my tears.

“It’s as you say. I’m a great big idiot.”

He dropped a kiss on my cheek with a light smacking sound, then brushed at my tears with his lips. Despite looking so damn pleased with himself, he was still so unbearably cool every time he did something like this, and I couldn’t help but love that gentleness of his.

My cheeks, eyelids, and forehead—he traced them all with his lips, and as he continued over the rest of my face, my gaze twined together with his before our lips melted into one. I opened my mouth several sweet, light kisses after to let our tongues tangle even further, winding my arms around his back to hold him closer while he, on the other hand, moved his hand from around my cheek to the back of my head. This was a kiss with no mood at all behind it and yet, I was already panting heavily as if driven by an unquenchable, insatiable lust for him.

His other hand slowly slid down to my back, gently stroking it—that feeling alone was enough to send me tingling with sparks of pleasure. What would become of me once the guy who’d made my body this way was gone? While I was in the middle of pondering that thought, I suddenly found myself lying on top of the sofa.

“Azusa, I want to hold you.”

Seeing him give me that confirmation after he had already pushed me down, I couldn’t help but laugh—pffft. Ilias gave me a look of confusion when I let out that inappropriate spurt of laughter.

I silently chided myself to be more serious, then brought my arms upwards to encircle around his neck.

“Mhm, I also want you to hold me.”

The phantom tail sprung up for the first time in a while, nearly wildly wagging itself into pieces at my agreement.

Lately, I really had to wonder whether this guy had been concealing this doggy-like face all this time, or if it was just me seeing his face as this sparkling and handsome one that I’d fallen in love with. Either way, Ilias’s entire being beamed with happiness, and he once again pounced upon me.

“Hngh, ah…”

The way he sucked on my tongue like this, then softly bit it and caressed it all over with his own left me weak and boneless—these sensations he stoked inside me felt so utterly good that something like ‘my pride as a man’ was worth zilch when compared to it. I couldn’t care less if anyone thought I was becoming like a woman.

My mind had already turned into a muddled mess as we devoured each other’s breaths, and so when I finally realized that my hoodie had ridden up, revealing my chest, my body pricked up on its own.

My nipples instantly hardened at his touch, as they always did. Ilias, however, didn’t play with them like usual today—though his hands were groping here and there, kneading the surrounding area and tracing circles along the areola, he was unmistakably avoiding them.

This slow, deliberate teasing frustrated me to no end, but he ignored how I squirmed and rubbed against him in desperation. I couldn’t even speak with my lips held captive; when finally released, they were already rendered useless as they desperately gasped in oxygen—flapping uselessly like a fish on land, panting shallowly like a dog.

And yet despite all that, I must’ve gotten the message across with my eyes since this guy started smiling.

“What’s wrong, Azusa?”

“Haa, haa… ah, nn!”

“Mm? You want me to touch you, do you?”

I jerked a nod, but he only grazed a light touch over them. At that cocktease of a caress, I shook my head forcefully side to side.

“You don’t want me to touch, is it?”

“More, touch it… more…!”

Shit, he has the nerve to put on such a composed face…! I thrust my chest forward demandingly, before he finally concurred by pinching at a nipple—sending such a strong stimulus throughout my body that my hips could only jerk up in response.

As his tongue swiped over the other nipple and his other hand moved slowly down to my lower body, moans kept spilling out of my half-open mouth at the satisfaction of having been given what I had wanted. I stroked his head as he suckled my chest, then shuddered when his hand made contact with that part of mine down below.

I raised my hips to make it easier to strip me, and he quickly pulled both my underwear and sweatpants off—my dick popped out instantly, standing erect and steadily dripping. As if he wanted to smear the leaking precome, Ilias started pumping my dick with his hand in the way I had become familiar with, before I stopped his hand with my own. He looked over at me in surprise.

“It’s fine to, there…”

“What do you mean…?”

Ilias tilted his head, not getting what I meant. To clarify—I grabbed his hand and pulled it further back, and the moment his fingers hit that narrow place, I heard the sound of a sharp intake of breath.

“Lube’s, in the drawer on that shelf, the second one.”

“But—wait, we,”

“Go on and get it already.”

“But… Azusa…”

“That’s enough; it’s fine, so hurry up. I want to feel you inside me now.”

I knew he wouldn’t refuse if I begged him for it—sure enough, he nodded and got up.

After retrieving the item from the drawer and returning back, Ilias began prepping with a skillfulness I didn’t think he’d have, considering that this was his first time using it in this world. Liquid was poured into his warm palms, and he lathered it all over both hands to warm it up.

I didn’t need him to be that considerate, though. The person you’re doing this with is a fellow man, so you don’t have to be so hesitant, just slather it on—when I told him aloud to just put it in, he nodded in understanding and pushed his slick, wet fingers inside me.

“Unf, ah, aah…!”

I groaned at the pressure. Ilias might have misunderstood something in my voice because more lube was added, dribbling down his inserted fingers, and causing me to shiver at the sudden feeling of coldness. When he moved, the graphic sounds of wet squelches echoed in the room, and all of it just made me more agitated and excited.

“Breathe out.”

It was then that I realized I was unconsciously keeping my breath in, and I exhaled when Ilias reminded me; his fingers moved leisurely, steadily at the same time. These slow, unraveling sensations were unbearable… I wish he’d just thrust them in all at once instead. When he embraces me this gently, my mind gets all mushy and soft for some reason I don’t understand.

In the end, forget about speaking coherently; even just closing my mouth was no longer possible in my state, and I couldn’t even bother wondering if I was already drooling with how sloppily open it was. Even my vision couldn’t focus so I could only blearily see Ilias’s figure. The one thing that remained clear among all of this was Ilias’s touch, which made me throb without end.

At some point, the number of fingers inside me had increased. The two moved roughly, and when they struck my prostate, the voice I let out was about an octave higher.

“Are you feeling good…?”

“Aah, ah…! It feels, good, ah…!”

Though he asked me a question, my brain felt like it was covered in a hazy shroud and I couldn’t reply well. The reason I wasn’t able answer him properly though, was mostly due to the fact that right when I was speaking, he grazed right against the spot that felt good—it was absolutely done on purpose, I swear. I balefully glared at him, and the tears that had been gathering at the corners of my eyes now dripped down.

“Don’t rush,” Ilias said, smiling wryly as he inserted the third finger. I don’t know for sure, but maybe it was because the tension had left me that my ass began to loosen up. He did it gently and slowly, without burdening me in any way; I guess it might’ve been all for my sake, but to me, it just felt like I’d been put on hold.

I wanted more, I wanted to really feel it. I couldn’t help but fantasize about how he was so big, he could just wreck me—as I thought about how perverted I had become to be having this kind of thoughts, my body continued moving on its own. My torso raised up a bit, and I heard an intake of breath when my hand grasped Ilias’s cock through his pants.

“Hurry up—I want, this.”

When I whispered that after bringing my face close to his ear, I heard the faint clicking sound of a tongue unsticking from a dry mouth. He yanked his fingers out all at once, his eyebrows furrowing, and as I looked up at him I could see him breathing unevenly, see him roughly tug at his pants to loosen them. Shivers of anticipation ran through me at the sight of him losing his composure.

I wanted to see his expression become even wilder—as if cornering my prey, I hooked my arms beneath my knees and spread my legs, letting him see.

“Ilias, hurry…!”

Even I had never heard myself use that voice ever in my life before, so I could only imagine how it sounded to him. His reply was just a smile, but with eyes so ferocious he seized my hips and raised them up a bit—without warning, his thick and enormous part penetrated me.

“Uu—aaaah…!”

It obviously couldn’t be easy to take in something that damn huge; I could only breathe in without reacting to the apologies raining down from above me—and on top of all that, the cock inside me was still pushing deeper in.

My eyes flew wide open from the overwhelming pressure. Right before my eyes was Ilias’s expression as he ground his teeth, trying to endure, and seeing that brought a surge of happiness racing through me. Even though I should have been suffering, my face shamefully softened instead.

“Azusa… it’s foul play to make that kind of face…”

His face slowly drew closer, and my eyes naturally slid shut before a soft kiss fell upon my lips. For a short while, there was only our mouths moving as one, smacking together as his tongue gently sucked at me, and then we parted.

“It’s far too arousing… I can’t stand it!”

The thickest part of his cockhead thrust deep inside me at the same time he spoke.

“Hy—aaaahh…!!”

Everything in front of my eyes blanked out for a moment with so much mass inside me. But regardless of the state I was in, the rest went in smoothly after the thickest part had breached the passage—and thus, at some point, Ilias had filled up the distance between us, and hot, burning skin pressed tightly against mine.

“It’s all in.”

“For real? …Haha, I’m happy.”

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Ah, nn… I’m fine, so just, start moving.”

I wrapped my legs around his hips which had been moving slowly in circles and without further ado—pushed myself forward into his cock all on my own, then moaned loudly as he hit me so deep inside.

“You, just when did you become so lewd?”

“Ah, ahh, it’s, ngh, all because of, you…!”

“Azusa…”

“Hya, ah, it feels good, ah, hurry and, fuck me—”

“Tch, how naughty…!”

I kept moving, unable to stop, when Ilias stilled my hips with his hands then adjusted our positions. Just when I realized he was holding them in place, he started pistoning into me—quick, shallow thrusts at first, before gradually driving deeper and deeper inside me until I became a creature only capable of letting out vowel sounds in time with every hard push and every drawn-out pull.

“Ah, ahn, ah, hyaa!”

He pulled out until his cock had nearly popped out, then thrust all the way inside to hit that spot that my back arched from the mounting pleasure. My brain couldn’t even think about holding back my voice anymore.

“Ilia, as, Ilias…!”

I wanted to be closer to him—I held out my arms, and he smiled and brought his body closer. With my arms encircling around his neck to hug him close, he once again captured my lips with his, the steady rhythm of his full thrusts quickening. My head swayed back and forth without any support as our bodies rocked together faster and faster.

Ilias might have been nearing the end; with a strained expression on his face, he reached a hand between our bodies to grasp and work my cock.

“Ahn, ah, no, hya, I can’t…!”

Unable to endure the dual sensations from the front and back, I tried to beg him by shaking my head, but his only response was to raise the corner of his mouth. Aaah, are you serious, why the hell does this feel so damn good… I just might explode when I come if this kept up; it’s just too much.

“Love you…! Azusa, I love you! I love you…!!”

Something warm fell from above and landed on my cheek, slowly sliding down and making it appear as if I was the one crying. I wanted to caress him and tell him not to cry at that time, really; unfortunately—

“I’m coming…! Ah, aah, I’m coming…!!!”

My climax crashed over me, and at that moment all that left my mouth were loud and panting moans.

 

 

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Translator’s Note

Azusa… Ilias… T_T

Thanks everyone for your patience. Agent Psyx worked hard to edit this chapter… So much ero, so many feelings…

The next chapter is the final one. Of the main story, at least. There are two omake chapters after that, and there is also a 10-chapter sequel. I really love Taro-sensei’s writing, so I’m glad that there is still more to come…! 。・；´∧｀；・。

Also – the translator of the BL novel Screen Partner very kindly recommended Taro-sensei’s Picked up a Strange Knight on their recent update. I’m very grateful T_T The story that Kleep is translating, Screen Partner, is another amazing story with great characters and spicy smut. It’s about a (straight) Taiwanese actor who fell into debt and went into the gay porn industry, where he meets and works with an experienced (straight) Japanese AV actor. Sparks start flying between them, but then somehow without realizing it they start liking each other and… Kyaa!! It’s so good! The details of the industry are very realistic and the smut is godly level. And somehow, it becomes so sweet (^q^) Also it seems that the author is so knowledgeable about Japanese AV… lol. I really recommend you all to read it too! Psyx and I really enjoy it!!

Be prepared with your tissues for the next and concluding chapter of Taro-sensei’s wonderful story. Please look forward to it.

Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter

Advisory Notice
This chapter contains explicit content.

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This was the first time I’d ever felt like bursting into tears the very moment I woke up. Pressed tight against Ilias’s chest within a fluffy futon, what greeted me upon opening my eyes were the unmistakable signs of his bitter suffering last night: there were deep, dark shadows underneath his eyes, and little Ilias who had risen up because of a certain natural morning phenomenon was even bigger than usual. Fuck, I did something terrible to him…Stirring him up so thoroughly, only to pass out and leave him hanging right before we could get to the good part…For a man, there was absolutely nothing more painful than that.

But more intense than the guilt of having committed an unforgivable sin was the gut-wrenching shame I felt when I recalled the unbelievable things I’d blurted… Aaaah! No more, no more—first, let’s get my priorities straight. Number one was definitely my terrible hangover. Feeling a wave of nausea rising up from my stomach, I immediately hurtled out of the futon and rushed to the toilet with no time to spare for concerns about disturbing him awake.

Forget about breakfast—I was feeling so wretched I was practically about to keel over any second now. Ilias, who had been roused by my clamoring, came over and gently rubbed my back while I desperately chugged down medicine.

“Really… I have no words to express how sorry I am…”

I would go on my knees in a dogeza right now if I could, but I might barf all over the place if I actually did it. That was why I could only settle for apologizing weakly from where I was draped over a chair, drained and exhausted.

“Don’t worry about it. If I can be together with Azusa then anything will make me happy.”

“Wuuu… Mister Ilias, you’re so amazing, super handsome… I’ll try my best to do something by tonight…”

 

Eventually, it was already 3pm by the time we were able to head out. For the sake of the guy who had skipped meals just to tend to me, we went over to a store that sold freshly-picked, earthy foods for an extremely late lunch. After eating we strolled for a bit, and somehow we found ourselves back near the inn. There was a fireworks display that started at around 7pm, so I decided that dinner could wait after we had finished watching them. With that, we returned to the inn.

We first took a bath to wash off the sweat we had worked up on our walk. Once we had changed into our yukatas, I switched off the lights and cooler and sat beside Ilias by the window. Why did you turn them off? Even though we’d just taken a bath, we’re going to start sweating again. I ignored these remarks of his, and rather than say ‘Are you a girl?!’ I stressed to him that this was the way that people enjoyed fireworks. Setting the atmosphere was important.

Moonlight illuminated the dim interior of the room, and from the wide-open window a breeze billowed in. If only wind chimes had been hanging, it would have been perfect.

We listened to the ambient sounds of the distant clamor carried by the breeze when light suddenly shot up into the heavens. Bright and vivid fireworks bloomed like flowers against the pitch black sky, followed by the delayed boom of the explosions that echoed after their wake.

“It’s starting.”

“This, is…”

Ilias gaped in blank amazement at the fireworks that rose up and burst one by one. It’d been several years since the last time I had watched fireworks in person like this, too. It was real nice after all. For a short while, there was only silence between us as we continued to gaze up at the sky.

 

“They’re beautiful… yet fleeting.”

At Ilias’s whisper about halfway through, I turned to glance at him and locked gazes with blue eyes that were staring straight at me. He laughed right then, and the sound felt lonely more than anything.

It must be because watching the fireworks had put me in a sentimental mood, since I couldn’t find it in me to make some sassy retort to those awfully poetic words for some reason. In fact, I couldn’t say anything at all—it felt as if there was something stuck in my windpipe, so I just scooted closer to his side without a sound.

“It’s as if I’m watching Azusa, and… it makes me want to cry.”

“What’re you talking about? You sound like I’m about to die.”

“It’s the fleetingness of it.”

He reached out and held my face, enveloping my cheeks with his hands, and his eyes were so near I could see the fireworks being reflected in them. Those eyes that were now a mysterious hue of blue and green were locked on one and one thing only—me. I realized right then that I had completely monopolized him, and with this realization came the desire to kiss him. Perhaps he had the same thought as well; we were slowly drawing closer and closer together.

The moment I closed my eyes, my lips met with a soft warmth before they were licked wet and gently opened. My hips shuddered in response to something slipping inside and delving further into my mouth, and the obscene noises he made while sucking on my tongue left me shivering from shoulders down to my spine.

It felt good… it’d been a while since the last time I’d felt this. More—I wanted more. As I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging tight to his body, he hugged me in response with one of his hands slithering upwards to stroke my back.

Our sweat-slick chests were pressed hot against each other, the skin scorched with sensual pleasure. More, I wanted us to touch more, but our clothing were in the way. Perhaps sensing those thoughts of mine, Ilias moved the arm he had curled around my back over to my shoulder and tugged the yukata aside with just one hand.

“Haa, nnn…. ah.”

Though I was already in a desperate struggle to gasp in mouthful after mouthful of air, Ilias waited for no one as he started dropping kisses along the nape of my neck, leaving behind a trail of deep marks across the skin. Each sucking sensation brought a jolt to my spine, each nip followed by a gentle caress of his tongue. His lips quickly traveled past my collarbone to  my exposed shoulder.

“Ah… h!”

Normally, him doing this kind of thing wasn’t anything special, but today it was more than enough to make me feel good. My hips were already trembling uncontrollably and my fingers were completely twined into his hair without me realizing when or how they got there. I wanted to tell him to stop, but I also wanted to tell him to keep going—these conflicting thoughts, however, had no chance of forming into coherent words while moans continued to leak out unbidden from my wide open mouth.

He slowly pushed me down with gentle yet unyielding force until I was lying on the tatami, the futon just a few steps away from us utterly disregarded; the precious moments it would take to move over there were better off spent doing much more important things.

Ilias rose up on top of me before once again laving my body with soft, light kisses. My neck, collarbone, shoulders, chest, navel—his lips traced them all without leaving a single spot untouched. His touch made me feel like I was melting, more so than they’d ever made me feel before, and somehow it brought tears to my eyes.

The hand that had been kneading my nipple slowly slid down. Roaming lower and lower, it went—stroking my stomach, then inching even further down to that part that was already staining my underwear wet with precome. Ilias gently squeezed my dick through the cloth then began working on the shaft; as his fingers skidded over the glans of my cock, each slide made my hips spasm in sheer abandon. But though I was feeling it more than usual, the stimulation he was giving me wasn’t enough; I wanted him to touch me properly.

“That’s—enough…”

“You want me to stop, even when you’re this wet?”

“No, that’s not… what I want…!”

Hurry and touch me more. I appealed to him with my eyes, and he smiled in understanding. Pulling my underwear halfway down my ankles, he finally grasped my cock in his hand and started pumping it, switching between a slow and fast pace. I couldn’t stop the noises coming out from me each time he moved, dazed as I was that I belatedly noticed the foreign intrusion at my behind. Ilias’s finger had actually breached my hole.

“Hya?! Ah, ahh!”

I let out a high-pitched voice upon feeling it slide in deeper inside of me. Once his entire finger had entered, he waited until he felt that I had gotten accustomed to the sensation before curling his finger and moving into my deepest parts. He immediately rubbed against my prostate—my entire body lit up with pleasure as he grazed against that place before getting racked by violent tremors. He had stopped being careful by the time he put the second one in, and by then I had lost all sense of reason.

“Nha, ah, ya, it’s so good…!”

Earnest words from deep within me bypassed my overwhelmed brain and went straight out of my mouth unfiltered. Ilias looked like he was at his wits’ end, but also laughed so happily. I loved it. Just when I thought that I was getting close, he inserted the third finger. There’s no way they’re all going to fit, I wanted to tell him, but after thinking about how there was something even bigger that was going to come next, I had to get used to this size first if I wanted that to enter me. If only we had some lotion…Not bringing such a practical thing with me was a real blunder. As I pondered over any substitutes we could use, I suddenly remembered the bottle of hand cream I brought with me despite not having any use for it in this kind of weather.

“Ah, Ilias—wait—”

“What is it?”

“My, ahh, my bag… cut it—! Handcre—eeea?!”

Stop moving your fingers while I’m talking! I ended up making a weird sound since he kept rubbing that sensitive part inside me while I tried to talk… In the end, I was still caught in-between clashing desires of wanting to escape from his clutches and wanting him to stroke it even more. Ilias managed to grasp what I meant even though my words were incomprehensible at best in that state; pulling out his fingers, he disappeared to the back of the room in a flash. The sudden emptiness made my hole throb with aching desire for something to fill it up again.

“Haa, haa…”

I prayed for him to come back quickly as I regulated my breathing, and soon enough he returned bearing a generous amount of cream which he used to coat his fingers.

“Fua…!”

Two digits were thrust inside with no hesitation at all—but this time, the slide was smooth and not as painful. In the brief intervals where the sound of the fireworks ceased, the slick and wet noises made a feeling of shame spark up inside of me but I couldn’t dwell on it properly with Ilias playing with that spot that felt so good over and over and over again. With each thrust and each stroke, I could feel my thoughts slowly scattering away piece by piece.

“Is it fine to put it in?”

At my nod of approval, Ilias withdrew his fingers and pulled open the front of his disheveled yukata. He stripped off his underwear which revealed his thick and aroused cock in plain view—thoughts of how it would be going inside of me had me gulping my saliva.

Ilias let out a small smile upon seeing what state I was in. He covered my body and pressed his dick snugly against the entrance of my hole… and then, stopped moving. As I looked over at him to see what was wrong, my eyes collided with his serious gaze.

“Azusa… I… the way I feel for you—”

I pressed a finger against his lips before he could say anything more, which he obviously hadn’t expected me to do from the alarmed expression on his face. What I was thinking though, was that: yeah, it was normal to say those kinds of words while in this situation…However, how about you get to the action first and then say it—though in this kind of atmosphere, I didn’t retort that way.

“Haa, that’s enough—don’t say them… for my sake.”

His eyes widened after I spoke those words  while tracing his lips with my fingers. He must be so confused, right? Yesterday I had acted so spoiled towards him, yet now I selfishly stopped him when he tried to say such sweet words… My disturbed breathing gradually settled down, and I could finally speak again.

“Once you leave, once you’re gone and I’m left here alone, would I be able to live on if you say those words right now? That’s why…don’t. Please.”

“I can’t… I’m sorry, but I must say them. I cannot just pretend my feelings aren’t right here. Not when I’m truly in love with—”

“Ilias!”

I raised my voice and cut him off, then chewed my lips as I shook my head repeatedly.

“I’m begging you… Please…I’m already like this, what more if you…I won’t be able to handle it. I’m already this weak because of you so please, take responsibility.”

None of what I was saying made any sense, I knew.

I said before that it was so that we could go back to our previous lives without any lingering attachments tying us both down, but the truth was, that was only an excuse. I was in fact carving out an escape route for myself to keep myself from getting hurt. If he didn’t put his feelings into words, then I wouldn’t know them, wouldn’t know for sure.

Once I’m left behind with only an empty apartment and a life without him, then I could say to myself: ‘You were just deluding yourself. He didn’t actually have feelings for you’. So that I would be able to convince myself of that, so that I wouldn’t spend the rest of my days clinging to his memories…he must never say them. I knew just how selfish I was being. Disregarding his feelings and forcing him to swallow his words like this, deceiving him with my words and acting so troublesome…I felt so guilty.

And yet… even so, a part of me wanted to hear those words. A part of me was screaming that I wanted to convey my own feelings for him…Really, this whole thing was hilarious. What was I, a maiden?

“… I get it.”

Both relief and sadness welled up inside of me when I heard his words of agreement. Though I should’ve been thanking him with a smile, all I could see in front of my eyes was a blur. I was just feeling more sensitive today than usual—that’s absolutely the only reason why these tears were slipping from my eyes. I wasn’t crying because of this conversation, or what I’d driven him to say.

Right then, I suddenly became aware again of the hot thing gently pressed to my back, and remembered that we had just been in the middle of something. I wanted to continue from where we left off so bad, but I had just refused his confession…Reason and desire crashed against each other in a tangle of thoughts, and perhaps because I was too preoccupied with this internal conflict, I was caught unprepared when his cock softly brushed against my hole. Torturous, teasing sparks instantly traversed across my whole body.

“Put it in, Ilias.”

“But… but you…!”

“It’s not like you’re forcing me. I want this. I’m the one who invited you—this is all on me, so come on, please…hurry up, put it in me…”

He wavered for a while, not knowing what to do, but in the end nodded with a face that looked like it was on the verge of tears. Then, he thrusted inside me.

“—ngh! Ha—”

Pushing past the tight entrance of my body, the mass of his engorged dick made my breath stop. It felt so painful, and bitter, and uncomfortable… but I clenched my teeth, not allowing a single sound of complaint reach my mouth. As I desperately endured the feeling of something so gigantic penetrating me, droplets of Ilias’s sweat dripped onto my chest while he heaved a labored breath.

“Ngh, Azusa… you need to loosen up…!”

“Haa, yo…you’re asking for, impossib—ah, nn!”

If it can’t get in then just let it out! I huffed and puffed and tried to loosen up; only when it seemed like it was time did Ilias force his cock deeper inside of me.

“Hya?!”

“I’ve put it all in.”

Ilias moved not an inch until I had settled down, save for his fingers that gently stroked my head, as if combing through my hair, while I panted. As he had himself propped on his elbows, his face was quite very close to mine, and in such proximity the smell of his body mixed with his sweat was overwhelming when it was carried over to me by the crisp night air. I buried myself into that scent, adjusting my breathing, before I finally readied myself and urged him to continue with my eyes.

“If it gets too much, tell me.”

“Haa, if I say so, nn—will you stop?”

When I asked that question with a grin, Ilias blinked several times as if surprised before returning the same smile.

“If that happens, I’ll be more careful to make you feel even better.”

The radiance of the fireworks provided some backlighting, and yet I couldn’t see a thing due to the mist in my eyes, the sensation of him licking at me, and the way his smell was addling my senses. All of my insides and even my breath froze in wait when he slowly began to move—though he was slow and gentle, there were still some twinges of discomfort which I quickly suppressed. Gradually he quickened, and the slapping sounds of skin hitting skin and wet slurping noises soon filled the air in a staggering rhythm.

“Ah, nn, aah, a…h!”

Moans kept on leaking out from me with every thrust; his fingers were utterly incomparable to his length, his size, his reach inside right now, as well as the wave of ecstasy that was currently washing over me at the moment. And then, as our bodies rocked back and forth, he persistently struck at that spot inside me that had me melting in pure bliss.

“Ha, ah, Ili–as…!”

“Nh, haa, are you alright?”

“Ah, aah, nha, don’t, there!”

I felt I would go crazy if he kept thrusting against that place, but even when I begged him to stop, his movements showed no hints of ceasing and grew wilder instead. I had no choice left but wrap my arms around his back and cling on.

“Even if you tell me to stop, you aren’t letting go of my hips, Azusa.”

He smiled at me with squinting, glittering eyes—it was then that I noticed the legs I had unconsciously twined around his waist, locking him inside me, and my face heated up. It was a little too late to be all shy about it after the deed was done, but still, having it told aloud was quite embarrassing.

“Does it feel good?”

His breath brushed against my ear erotically as he whispered to me in a voice thick with desire.

“Hey, don’t tighten up…!”

Ilias spoke in a voice that didn’t allow any room for argument, and bit by bit he pulled out his cock before plunging it all the way back in. Whether it was because I was getting close to the edge or because of the way he was vigorously thrusting into me, my body shuddered violently.

“Too… fast! Ilias… nn, hya, an, ah, Ilias…!”

I had long since lost control of my body, so it wasn’t particularly surprising that I was unaware of my nails digging deep into Ilias’s back.

Aah, it feels good…I like it—I like it, you know? I like you… so, that’s why, stay by my side.

Since you’re such a cool yet gentle guy… once you leave me, soon enough you’ll find someone else to take the place I have now. I know that, I understand that, but… I can’t stand it. I hate it.

Despite thinking about how I don’t want to let you go so much, even I can’t let myself be that selfish…so, please, I’m begging you, even when you return to the other world—

“Don’t become someone else’s.”

The words that I had unintentionally let loose from the bottom of my heart were drowned out by the sound of the fireworks.

 

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Author’s Note

I rewrote this so many times… Emotional scenes sure do whittle down my spiritual power for writing…

I corrected some typos…! How embarrassing… Thank you very much ><

 

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Translator’s Note

Here is the moment everyone has been waiting for.

You know… you know? I really think there’s no one who puts as much effort into translating R18 scenes as Psyx and I do…

Our Editor-sama is now working full-time so she only has a small bit of free time. Even so, she’s doing her best to help make this translation look beautiful!!

Thanks very much to our amazing Agent Psyx, and thanks very much to our wonderful author-sama Taro-sensei!!

I’m about to be late to work, so I’ll leave it off here. The next chapter contains more explicit content (and more tears), so be prepared. Thank you for reading. Please look forward to it.

 

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