15. Fresh and Fragrant
I suddenly felt like even my breathing was becoming labored. It wasn’t unusual for a girl like Kefir to shed a few strands of hair; I found a few of her fallen hairs on my clothes every night. But the problem was: the strands on Kefir’s shoulder were definitely not hers!
If they were mine, I could at least blush and move on, but let’s not forget that I had been separated from Kefir all day and hadn’t had the chance to bury my head in her shoulder and sniff her neck. More importantly, the hair color was all wrong!
“……”
Taking advantage of the fact that Kefir wasn’t paying attention to me, I held my breath and carefully focused: these were a few strands of flesh-colored hair, soft and smooth, glinting slightly in the sunlight. While they were most likely from a girl, at this moment, I couldn’t think too much about it.
I was a healthy, mature man, and I had a fiancée!
In the next moment, I quietly leaned in to investigate, but just then, Kefir turned her head, and our eyes met. We almost kissed! Kefir must have thought I was some lecherous scoundrel trying to act up in public; she hurriedly pushed me away, her little face flushed with embarrassment.
“W-What were you just trying to do!? Are you some brat who enjoys teasing girls, still not fully grown?”
“Of course not!”
I quickly defended myself, feeling that Kefir’s words were particularly sharp today, even though we had done similar things in private before.
Since my rogue behavior had been discovered by Kefir, I felt it was only right to be honest with her.
“I just suddenly noticed that there seemed to be some… hair on your shoulder.”
Kefir’s eyes widened in surprise, and she immediately looked at her shoulder. Upon discovering the strands, she quickly brushed them off.
Fortunately, even though Kefir acted as if she had been “caught in the act,” her response finally put my mind at ease.
“Ah… um… this is hair from that little fox beastman, Zelus. I ran into her on the way here and petted her a bit, so it must have fallen on my shoulder then, hahaha…”
Ah, that roundabout, ambiguous situation—I’m just a little virgin, and yet I’m being made to feel like a cowardly bear fox regarding my feelings for Ke Fei Er. Hmph, when I’m around, he acts all strange, but when he sees Ke Fei Er, he’s all over her, even leaving his body hair on her shoulder… Don’t just cling to someone else’s wife!
I’m quite annoyed, but thankfully, Ke Fei Er doesn’t seem to want to elaborate further and takes my hand again.
“So, what should we do next…”
“Look for the identity of that figure who often runs around the Austro-Hungarian tribe’s temple and sneaks over to meet with Adéfu.”
As I say this, I glance at the script in my hand. Coincidentally, just a moment ago, my script clearly stated what we should be doing now.
[The chief of the Austro-Hungarian tribe hopes that Oujili can handle the recent incidents!]
It feels like… the chief’s reasoning here is exactly the same as Adéfu’s—both are due to “inconvenience,” and they want a third party like me to investigate. Although I’m definitely being used as a pawn, this time we’re not at a loss because…
[The Austro-Hungarian tribe has a self-disciplined fairy!]
The script is just as it was before, as the Moon Fairy said: every decent kingdom has self-disciplined fairies, and the continuous reminders in the script indicate that Prussia has self-disciplined fairies, and the Austro-Hungarian tribe… has one too.
If I’m going to work, then let’s work; as long as I have enough standing to stay here and search for the self-disciplined fairy, I’m guaranteed to profit.
With that thought, I look at Ke Fei Er: “In any case, we’re helping out, but we can’t waste this great opportunity. Ke Fei Er, the Austro-Hungarian tribe also has a self-disciplined fairy.”
“…”
Ke Fei Er’s hand, which I was holding, trembled slightly, but she didn’t respond much.
“That means, staying here won’t cost us anything. We’re currently on the fifth level. Just like with Adéfu, if we can resolve this matter, we might be able to negotiate terms to communicate with that chief. At that point, we could just ask about the fairy, and that pretentious chief might reveal something.”
Ke Fei Er still didn’t respond immediately, and for some reason, I felt that she seemed a bit tense at that moment. Indeed, the feeling I had when I first saw her wasn’t an illusion; something about Ke Fei Er today is definitely off.
But looking at the script, Ke Fei Er doesn’t seem troubled by anything.
Just as I was about to ask, Ke Fei Er turned around, released my hand, and asked me an even stranger question.
“Oujili, is it really okay for us to ‘snatch’ the fairy like this?”
“It’s not snatching…”
I facepalmed. If Ke Fei Er is worried about this, then that’s a bit too naive. “Don’t make it sound like we’re forcibly taking a woman. Even if we find the self-disciplined fairy and she doesn’t agree, we wouldn’t do anything to her, right? Rather, we should take the opportunity to remind them that the fairy sent by Nilu… might also show up.”
“Even if we can’t obtain the other party’s power, at least we should help them avoid Nilu’s retaliation.”
As the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race. If this invitation doesn’t work, there will always be a second chance. The fairy meant for Ke Fei Er won’t just run away; all I need to do is ensure they aren’t harmed, destroyed, or retaliated against by Nilu.
With that said…
“Ke Fei Er, do you understand? Of course… if you’re unwilling, I won’t…”
Before I could finish, Ke Fei Er covered my mouth with her hand.
In that moment, the strange feeling I had about her seemed to dissipate significantly.
“How I decide, I will know. Don’t ask me now.”
“Well, of course, you decide, and I’ll follow your lead.”
“Very well.” Ke Fei Er placed her hands on her hips and gave me a meaningful smile. “Now I need to head back. You can wander around outside for a bit before coming back.”
Huh? Wait a minute, we’ve been holding hands to go back; shouldn’t we be heading back together and maybe even going on a date?
—
Although, Ke Fei’er’s next words immediately sealed my lips even tighter.
“I’m going to take a shower first! You wait for me outside!”
Having said that, as if to retaliate for my lack of understanding, Ke Fei’er twisted my waist, and at the moment I yelped and jumped up, she turned and ran away.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that today Ke Fei’er was a bit more lively, a bit… irritable, and… proactive?
Hiss… But just the thought of seeing a freshly washed and fragrant Ke Fei’er waiting for me when I got back…
Hehe, who cares? What could possibly be more important than my wife?
—