Bonus Short Stories
You Pervert!
Rio had finished his chores for the day in the stone house and was taking a breather on the sofa in the living room. Draped in his favorite blanket, he felt a light drowsiness overcome him and napped for half an hour or so.
“Hmm...?”
At some point in time, Aishia and Latifa had sat down on either side of him and fallen asleep against his shoulders. It was just the three of them in the living room.
...I can’t get up at this rate.
Seeing the two of them sleeping so soundly made him reluctant to stand up and wake them. But at the same time, they’d have cricks in their necks if they continued to sleep like this.
Maybe I should carry them to bed instead? Rio pondered.
“Oh, you’re awake, Rio,” Celia said, walking in along with Sara.
“Yes. Where has everyone else gone?” Rio asked, looking around the living room.
“We were just having tea in Orphia’s room, but we ran out of snacks, so we came out to restock,” Sara replied with a giggle.
“I see. While you’re here, could you take this blanket off of me? I can’t seem to move right now.”
“Sure, hold on.” At Rio’s request, Celia approached to take the blanket off him.
“...Mm. Morning.” Aishia slowly blinked her eyes open.
“Morning, Aishia. Still sleepy?” Rio asked, watching Aishia rub her eyes.
“Yeah...” Aishia nodded, still half asleep.
“Can you change into your spirit form and enter me for a moment? I’m going to carry Latifa to bed.”
“All right.” Aishia immediately disappeared. With that, Rio was free to move.
“Okay. I’m going to take Latifa to bed, then.” He turned to her and lifted her up in his arms in a familiar manner. Latifa’s mouth relaxed into a happy smile as she entrusted herself to Rio.
“She sleeps so happily.” Celia watched Latifa’s sleeping face and smiled.
“She sometimes feigns it, though,” Sara said with a sigh.
“She is a fox werebeast, after all,” Celia laughed in amusement.
“I’ll be going, then,” Rio said, and started walking towards Latifa’s room. Meanwhile, Sara went to grab snacks from the kitchen and headed back to Orphia’s room with Celia. Orphia and Alma were waiting inside.
“Welcome back, you two,” Orphia called out to the two of them with a warm smile.
“...What’s with the blanket?” Alma asked, seeing Celia.
“Ah, it’s Rio’s...”
The blanket was still warm from Rio’s body heat; she had folded it while Sara had gone to get the snacks. Rio hadn’t returned, so she ended up carrying it with her—almost as though she couldn’t bear to part with it. Sara, Orphia, and Alma’s gazes naturally gathered on the blanket.
“Now that I think about it, there was no need to bring it with me. Rio might be back already, so I should go leave it in the living room,” Celia said with a high pitch to her voice. She felt embarrassed for some reason.
“Hehe, why don’t you take the opportunity to try sleeping with Rio’s blanket? It’s still warm, right? I’m sure it’d feel wonderful,” Orphia said to Celia with a mischievous smile.
Celia blinked a few times before blushing red. “Huh? I-I can’t do that!”
“Then how about you, Sara? Alma?” Orphia asked the two of them.
“W-What are you saying, Orphia?” Sara asked bashfully, seemingly shaken by that. Alma pretended that she hadn’t heard to avoid digging her own grave.
“Really? Then I’ll borrow it and sleep with it,” Orphia giggled, looking at Celia.
“Y-You can’t do that! Pervert!” Celia hugged the blanket to herself tightly.
“Hehe, it was just a joke,” Orphia said in amusement.
“...Geez.” Celia’s cheeks remained scarlet as she pouted.
“Orphia looks serious, but she can be quite the prankster,” Sara sighed tiredly.
The longer she held onto it, the more likely the conversation would take a strange turn. That thought made Celia stand up. “Ahaha... I’m going to leave the blanket in the living room. Rio might be back by now.”
“Too bad for you, Sara.”
“It’s not like that!”
Leaving the bickering girls behind her, Celia returned to the living room alone.
“Rio’s still not here...”
No one was in the living room. Celia headed towards the sofa Rio had been sleeping on earlier. She was about to place it down on the sofa, when—
“...Hmph.”
The warmth of the blanket was so comforting, she hesitated to let go. Celia stared at it. After several seconds, she suddenly hugged it close and buried her face in the blanket.
“...Warm.”
And it also smelled like Rio, probably. Sara and Latifa would know for sure...
Wait, what am I doing?! Stop! Now I’m the pervert!
Celia snapped out of it and hurriedly brought the blanket away from her face. But even then, she couldn’t help yearn for that warmth, feeling envious of Aishia and Latifa, who always clung to Rio without reserve.
“O-One more time, just one...”
Celia gently brought the blanket close to her face again. But when the door to Latifa’s room opened with a clack! she flinched upright and froze.
“...Huh? Professor? You’re still here.”
Rio cocked his head curiously at Celia standing alone in the living room. Thankfully, he hadn’t seen any of what Celia had herself dubbed perverted.
Celia exhaled in relief and controlled her thumping heart as much as she could to give a calm answer. “Y-Yeah. I accidentally took your blanket to Orphia’s room, so I was bringing it back.”
One Scene of the Banquet
On the first night of the banquet hosted by the Kingdom of Galarc, when Satsuki was first introduced, Miharu stood beside Rio with Liselotte, the three of them moving together.
There was a constant stream of nobility coming to greet them, so they had yet to move since the beginning of the banquet, receiving one noble after another on the upper floor.
The main guest of the night was the hero, Satsuki, so she had been gathering the most attention, but Miharu had gathered nearly as much attention from the nobles. While part of the reason was because she was Satsuki’s friend, her elegant beauty also played a large part.
“Goodness me, what a wonderful sight. That black hair on such a maiden...”
“Indeed. Both Lady Satsuki’s radiance and Lady Miharu’s elegance—there must be plenty of young men falling for them.”
The middle-aged nobles with families praised Miharu in awe. Many of the nobles had fallen for her exotic beauty, which was rarely seen in the Strahl region, and were staring at her with heated gazes. But at the same time, Rio was garnering envy for being waited upon by both Miharu and Liselotte, one of the most beautiful bachelorettes of the Galarc Kingdom.
The gazes I can feel... are probably not just my imagination.
Rio could guess the reason behind most of those gazes and mustered a pained smile. Liselotte must have noticed, too, but she was used to such situations and looked perfectly calm. Meanwhile, Miharu hadn’t seemed to notice the heated gazes yet.
“What’s the matter, Haruto?” Miharu immediately noticed Rio looking at her and spoke up. He was a little surprised at how aware Miharu had been of his gaze, but smiled anyway.
“It’s nothing. Are you tired?”
“I’m fine,” Miharu replied with a grin. Seeing her smile from close-up made an indescribable emotion swell within Rio. Whether it was Amakawa Haruto or Rio’s, he didn’t know.
“That’s good to hear,” Rio replied with a smile, hiding the feelings residing in his heart.
Magic Words to Make Omurice Taste Better
Not long before Miharu was to attend the banquet at the Galarc Kingdom, Rio had left the stone house on his own, so Miharu, Latifa, and Celia prepared lunch a little later than usual. Once he returned, Rio waited in the dining room for them to finish cooking.
“Thanks for waiting, Onii-chan!”
Latifa appeared with a tray, accompanied by Miharu and Celia.
“Ta-da! Onii-chan’s favorite—omurice! Miharu taught Celia and I how to make it in a delicious way! What do you think?” Latifa showed off the omurice on the tray with a carefree smile.
“Thank you—it looks delicious. And thanks to Miharu and Professor Celia too.”
“I-It was nothing. I was just a little curious about how it was made after hearing omurice was your favorite and finding it delicious when I tried it. I didn’t do anything in particular,” Celia replied shyly to Rio’s gratitude.
“That’s not true. Celia made most of the chicken rice.” Miharu added with a giggle.
“Hey hey, Onii-chan. Can I put ketchup on top of your omurice?” Latifa asked, eyes sparkling.
“Yeah, sure.” Rio nodded easily. Latifa proceeded to write “I love you” in ketchup over the soft, half-cooked egg.
“Done. It’s filled with our love, so make sure you eat it all up!” Latifa grinned, looking into Rio’s face. Celia and Miharu both looked embarrassed at her words.
“Got it,” Rio replied awkwardly. He picked up the spoon to hide his embarrassment.
“Ah, wait! This isn’t finished yet,” Latifa called out.
“...Huh? Really? Didn’t Miharu just say it was complete?” Celia cocked her head, looking at Miharu.
“Yes. Because we still haven’t said the magic words to make it taste even better,” Latifa huffed proudly and puffed up her modest, still-developing chest.
“Magic words...?” As a sorcerer, Celia’s eyes widened in interest.
“Hehehe! I’m going to say them now, before it gets cold.” Latifa grinned mischievously.
“Make it delicious, ruff ruff kyun!”
Her fox ears twitched as she used both hands to make a heart shape and poured her love into the omurice.
“W-What... is that...?” Celia asked, her face a deep red.
“They’re magic words to add love to the omurice. Now it’s your turn, you two! Let’s see...”
Latifa brought her face up to Celia and Miharu’s ears, whispering something into them. She was probably teaching them the magic words.
“N-No way! I can’t say something that embarrassing!” Celia was taken aback, still flushed red. Miharu tried to smile to cover her shyness.
“I-It’s a little too much for me too...”
“Hmph, I can’t believe you two won’t give Onii-chan their love.” Latifa pouted a little.
“I-I didn’t say that!” Celia objected in a fluster.
“Really? Then let’s see you do what I taught you, Celia.”
“Ugh...”
“Professor, there’s no need to force yourself to do it.” Rio tried to offer a lifeline to Celia, who had effectively dug her own grave.
“I... I’m not forcing myself. M-Make it delicious, lovey-dovey kyun.”
With a bright red face and whisper of a voice, Celia made a heart shape with her hands. But she soon reached the limit of embarrassment she could take and buried her face in her hands with a groan.
Latifa excitedly turned to Miharu. “Now it’s your turn!”
“Umm...” Miharu was doused in anxiety, her voice more high-pitched than usual.
“That’s enough. You’re upsetting Miharu, so just leave it at that. Miharu, you don’t have to go along with her,” Rio sighed tiredly, then picked up the spoon to begin to eat.
“Ah, w-wait a minute!” Miharu called out to stop Rio.
“I-I’d feel bad for Celia if I-I was the only one who didn’t do it... So... M-Make it delicious, moe moe, kyun... Wah.” Miharu mumbled, making a heart with her hands.
Elemental Admission
In Japan, somewhere in the city...
It was springtime, and pale pink petals danced in the wind during the entrance ceremony for schools. Haruto was visiting the campus of the parent university of his affiliated school.
He wasn’t there because he was starting his tenure at university, but he was there to celebrate his upperclassman’s entrance.
“Congratulations, Satsuki.”
On the afternoon of the entrance ceremony, he waited a little earlier than their meetup time to offer words of congratulations to Satsuki, who arrived later.
“Thank you, Haruto. What do you think of my hakama? Does it suit me?” Satsuki giggled, lifting her arms lightly to show off her hakama.
“Yes, it’s beautiful. Both the hakama and you in it,” Haruto praised with a wide smile.
Satsuki’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment, before she turned her slightly reproachful eyes to Haruto. “...You sure don’t have any hesitation saying things like that. And yet, it doesn’t sound smug or fake at all.”
“Umm, did I say something wrong?” Haruto asked awkwardly at Satsuki’s gaze.
“Nope, you were completely on point. Thanks.” Satsuki sighed lightly but thanked him happily anyway.
“But if you say that to every girl, you may make some people misunderstand your intent, so make sure you choose who you say it to even if it’s just flattery,” she pointed a finger at Haruto and added.
“It wasn’t flattery. And I said it because it’s you, Satsuki.”
“...” Satsuki blinked for a few moments before turning her face diagonally away from Haruto.
“I really will misunderstand, stupid,” she muttered so that Haruto couldn’t hear.
“...Satsuki?” Haruto called out to her, wondering what was wrong.
“It’s nothing, I’m just fed up with your inability to learn. Are Miharu and the others still on their way here?” Satsuki stated bluntly, looking around at their surroundings.
“Y-Yeah. There’s still a little while before the meetup time.” Haruto winced a little, glancing at the public clock nearby.
“Hmm. I guess we’re on our own until then,” Satsuki said casually.
“So it seems,” Haruto replied normally.
Satsuki pouted a little before she suddenly watched the people passing by and turned to Haruto. “...By the way, does it feel like we’re being stared at?” They were currently within the university campus, on the grounds right next to the affiliated school Haruto attended. Because of that, there were fewer people visiting for the entrance ceremony, but there were still bustling groups here and there.
“Isn’t it because of you, Satsuki?”
“Me?”
“Because you’re beautiful in your hakama,” said Haruto.
“...T-That’s not true!” Satsuki was clearly embarrassed, but she must have been discontent with being the only one feeling embarrassed. “There aren’t many chances to be alone with a girl in a hakama. Good for you, right Haruto?” she asked him with a glare.
“Yes, indeed,” Haruto agreed with an amused chuckle.
“...For some reason, I just want to see you looking embarrassed, even if it’s the last thing I do.” Satsuki puffed up her cheeks and stared at Haruto.
“Why? Please, don’t.”
“Take that!” Satsuki cheekily hugged Haruto’s arm as he backed away warily. They were the spitting image of lovers, making the male students passing by glare at them with envy.
“Wha—Satsuki?!” Haruto finally felt embarrassed and blushed.
“It’s rare to be hugged by a girl in a hakama, so isn’t this great? If you want, I’ll even wear it again—just for you,” Satsuki said, looking at Haruto with a carefree smile.
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