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“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean— I wasn’t thinking that at all…!”

I didn’t know what she thought she saw, but Alfe had clearly gotten the wrong idea—badly. Either way, I had to stop her.

“Wait, Alfe!”

I jumped off the bed and reached out to catch her hand just as she was about to flee. Alfe looked at Hom and me with teary, confused eyes, glancing between us.

“…I just… I mean…”

Maybe it was Alfe’s gaze, or the awkwardness of the situation, but Hom quietly began adjusting her clothes.

“It’s not what you think. I was just applying some ointment Farah gave me. It’s a traditional demi-human remedy, and it only works when mixed with saliva.”

As I spoke, I picked up the instruction sheet from the edge of the bed and held it out to Alfe. She stared at it, her eyes widening, then looked back and forth between Hom and me once more.

“Oh… It’s true. I totally jumped to conclusions…”

Alfe covered her flushed face with both hands, her cheeks a deep red.

“I’m sorry, Leafa…”

Her voice was quiet, almost deflated. Then, leaning forward, she gently rested her forehead against mine. I could feel her breath, warm and soft against my skin—probably for the same reason her face was burning red.

“…So, Alfe, you came here for something, didn’t you?”

Figuring it was best to play dumb for her sake, I gently changed the subject. At my question, Alfe blinked and lifted her head, locking eyes with me.

“Yeah, I did. I know it’s a lot to ask, but… there’s something I need to beat Senior Melua.”
“If it’s a favor from you, Alfe, I’ll do anything.”

I could tell she was trying to be considerate of me, and that alone made me smile. She didn’t need to hold back—I was happiest when I could be of help to Hom or Alfe in my own way.

“Um, I’d like you to make a cloak for the unit I’m going to use in the tournament—one that can hide its aether flow.”
“If we use an aether-blocking curtain, it’ll be easy enough to make. It’s not much trouble at all.”

For how hesitant Alfe had seemed to bring it up, it turned out to be a fairly simple request. And the reason for it was pretty obvious too.

“Let me guess—you’re worried about Melua’s Pure Eyes?”
“Yeah.”

Alfe nodded with a serious look in her eyes.

“When you activate multi-vision, Pure Eyes can see the aether flow. So I want to hide that as much as possible.”
“Smart thinking.”

Maybe taking off her contact lens had helped her become more attuned to details like that. In that sense, it was a good thing Alfe had freed herself from that old insecurity at this point in time.

“And, um… can I ask for one more thing?”

Maybe because she could tell the first request wasn’t a burden to me, Alfe’s smile returned.

“What is it?”

I smiled as I asked, and Alfe shyly pressed her fingertips together, glancing down toward her feet.

“Well… Leafa, would you really do anything I ask?”¹　
“Of course. Just tell me.”

If it was a request from Alfe, I wanted to grant it, no matter what it was. After all, Alfe was someone special—someone who had said she liked me, not as family, but as something more.

“…Then, you see… I’m feeling a bit tired today, so… I’d like to try that ointment Farah gave you…”²　

Ah, so that was it. I glanced over at Hom, and sure enough, she had already vacated the bed, as if she knew I’d say yes.

“Sure. Where should I apply it?”
“Um… my neck.”

Alfe moved her hair aside to reveal her nape. Usually hidden beneath her hair, her slender, pale neck was now fully exposed.

“It’ll be hard to reach you like that—can you sit on the bed?”
“Okay. Can you do it… while hugging me?”
“Of course.”

I guided Alfe to sit on the bed and scooped some of the ointment onto the tip of my tongue. Since I wouldn’t be able to speak like that, I gently wrapped my arms around her and looked into her eyes from behind.

“Thank you, Leafa.”

She tilted her head to the side, inviting me in. I brought my lips close to her pale nape and gently traced the ointment mixed with saliva onto her skin.

“…Mmh… mm…”

Alfe’s body gave a small shiver, and before long, soft sighs of pleasure began to escape her lips.

“Does it feel good?”
“Mhm. It feels really nice.♡”

I asked between breaths, and Alfe nodded with a ticklish smile.

“Then I’ll keep going.”

The ointment melted smoothly over her flushed skin. As I gently spread it with my tongue, a blissful sigh slipped from Alfe.

“Ah… aah… Leafa… mm…”

The sweet, melting ointment spread over her pale, smooth skin, turning it a soft shade of pink. Whether due to her compatibility with the ointment or something else, it seemed to be affecting Alfe much more strongly than it had Hom.

From where I held her close, I could feel her heartbeat—just a bit faster than usual—through my arms. Maybe the ointment Arna was starting to take effect on me too; I felt warmth spread through my body, bringing with it a sense of calm.

Hom, for her part, seemed to have completely recovered from her fatigue—she was already sound asleep, breathing quietly.

“Farah really gave us something special. We’ll have to thank her.”
“I’ll tell her when I get back to our room.”

Alfe replied dreamily, her eyes closed in contentment, as she gently stroked the hand I had wrapped around her waist.

“Yeah, please do.”

It was such a simple task—just applying ointment. But maybe this was how the demi-humans expressed skinship. Strangely, just feeling her skin against mine made it easy to sense how deeply at ease she was, and that alone made me happy.

Alfe let out a giggle now and then, the kind of sound she used to make when she was little. Hearing it brought a smile to my face, and I became all the more focused on my task.

By the time I’d finished carefully applying the ointment to both sides of her neck, not just her neck but Alfe’s whole body had taken on that soft, warm glow of pink.

“Looks like you’re feeling a lot better now.”
“Yeah.”

Alfe nodded as she ran her fingers through her hair, narrowing her eyes with a look of pure contentment.

“Thank you, Leafa. I love you…”

She wrapped her arms gently around me, and I leaned in to rest my cheek against hers, whispering back, “I love you too, Alfe.”

1. Syl: I think I know where this is going…
2. Syl: Called it!!
3. Syl: There’s even an illustration, what a based author…

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