༺ Puppy in Love ༻
Dragging my haggard body, I entered the academy dormitory, and a familiar scene greeted me.
“Phew…”
The bed that Kania had prepared for me, along with the black cat doll she had gifted me.
Irina’s puppy love tree sapling had unexpectedly bloomed.
And my treasured belongings in my bag, as well as the extravagant decorations that boasted luxury on the outside.
Even the documents containing information about a scandal that could have turned the Empire upside down for a month if exposed, and the bribes that would soon become funds for a charitable foundation, all prepared in case of emergencies, were things I saw every day, but today they seemed more welcoming, after an unusually exhausting day.
“…They’ve piled up quite a bit.”
As I carefully surveyed the room, my attention was suddenly drawn to an overflowing mailbox.
“F-Frey, just a moment.”
“…Huh?”
Guided by my unwarranted curiosity about the novel requests that might have arrived that day, I headed towards the mailbox, but Irina blocked my path.
“What’s the matter, Irina?”
“Just wait a moment, just wait.”
I wondered what was going on and tilted my head, and Irina began rummaging through the mailbox.
“It’s okay now. You can look.”
After a brief moment.
Irina, holding a letter adorned with pink hues and heart patterns, pointed towards the mailbox with a composed expression.
“………”
“Frey?”
At first, I was concerned about the letter Irina was holding, but my focus naturally shifted as I looked at her.
“Why… why are you like this?”
Her clothes and body were battered from battling the Secret Lord
“Sit down.”
“…Huh?”
I cautiously guided the bewildered Irina to sit on the bed.
“If it hurts, you have to say so. What will you do if you pretend otherwise?”
I picked up the medicine and bandages by the bed and spoke, while Irina quietly lowered her head.
“…You don’t need to be kind to someone like me.”
“What?”
And then, she began saying something rather strange.
Irina considered herself useless? If the imperial mages were to hear that, they would be shocked to the point of fainting.
“Failed to cast the curse of death, depleted mana, unable to bear the penalty on your behalf, and I couldn’t even catch the Secret Lord…”
“No, that’s not…”
“No matter how I think about it, I’m just too incompetent…!”
As I lightly tapped the disheartened Irina’s side while she mumbled with her head down, she started trembling.
“The wound seems severe, not fatal, but it could be a serious injury.”
“I-It’s okay. This kind of wound is nothing compared to the ones I got on the battlefield… ugh!”
Once again, I tapped Irina’s side as she insisted she was fine, and sighed as I observed her trembling.
“I’ll just check the wound for a moment.”
“Fine, fine…!”
“If I don’t check, you’ll just wrap it up with a bandage and move on, right? Do you think I don’t know you?”
Having spent so much time on the battlefield, Irina had grown desensitized to injuries.
For most severe wounds, she would merely wrap them up with a bandage a few times and move on.
“…Sigh.”
That’s why, even though I had to insist a bit when I lifted her clothes, I found that the wound was more severe than I had thought.
No, it was beyond severe.
Irina’s side was, quite literally, torn to shreds.
Was the Secret Lord that strong? No, it must be because Irina, who fought so tenaciously with only magic scrolls, was truly amazing.
After all, during the last attack, the Secret Lord had demonstrated a terrifying power.
“Fr-Frey. I’ll get treatment, so please, for now, my clothes…”
“Wait a moment.”
“…Hic!”
With that thought in mind, I carefully began applying medicine to her wound.
It was a high-grade healing potion I had prepared for my own injuries, so it should alleviate some of the pain until she received professional treatment.
– Whoosh…
And if I infused a little of my own life force, it should help even more.
“Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!”
“Oops.”
However, Irina’s brows furrowed, and she emitted a pained groan.
Well, with a wound this severe, even a high-grade potion would understandably cause a stinging sensation.
“Just bear with it a little, Irina. Once I treat this…”
Although I couldn’t leave the wound untreated, and tried to console her with a gentle voice, I…
“…Oh no.”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words as I discovered equally serious injuries all over her body, not just the one on her side.
“Irina, how on earth were you enduring the pain?”
“This, this much is… nothing, really…”
After staring blankly at her body for a while, I asked in a hushed voice, and she replied, her face turning red.
“No, Frey. I’m embarrassed, so please, my clothes first…”
“I have no choice.”
It was frustrating that Irina was making excuses when her injuries were this severe.
She’s become desensitized to such things after spending decades on the battlefield.
Perhaps she naturally believed that something like this was insignificant and that I wouldn’t notice.
– Swish…
“Fr-Frey? What’s this…?”
“Just rest for a moment. I’ll be done soon.”
With that in mind, I picked up the sleep-inducing herb Kania had prepared and held it to Irina’s nose.
Even with my insomnia, smelling it made me fall asleep quickly, so Irina would probably be snoring soon as well.
Where did Kania even acquire such a potent herb?
“Uh, umm…”
Irina, with her clothes now disheveled, began to groan with a dazed look in her eyes.
“Please… Put my clothes back on…”
“Do you want me to apply the potion to your clothes? If we leave it like this, it will only get worse. There aren’t any clinics open at this late hour, either.”
“Okay, it’s fine…!”
Irina continued to resist, so I stuffed a handful of sleeping pills into her nose, and finally, her eyes began to close.
“I… I don’t know…”
“Irina.”
As she fell asleep, I gently stroked her head and whispered softly.
“Thank you so much for fighting today.”
With that, Irina fell asleep.
Did she hear me?
“…hmm.”
Seeing her closed eyes and faint smile, fortunately, it seemed she had heard me.
– Swiftly…
“…Ugh.”
But when I touched her body, her smile stiffened a bit.
…Is it just my imagination?
.
.
.
.
“…Phew.”
As I applied medicine to every part of Irina’s body, dawn was nearing its end.
“Haah, ugh…”
“Will she be okay?”
As I applied the last drops of potion to her remaining injuries, Irina let out a faint groan.
“Her cheeks are hot, and her body is trembling… it’s quite a sight.”
Despite being in a deep sleep, she was still in pain, which made me wonder just how much she had been suffering.
– Swiftly, smoothly.
As I thought about that, I gently and meticulously treated her wounds with the medicine, looking around the room with a perplexed expression.
“What’s going on?”
I suddenly felt a presence in the room.
Kania had definitely said that she would be late today.
Serena had asked me for a strange favor and then disappeared somewhere. Considering that she hadn’t answered my question and left, it must have been urgent, but I wondered what had happened?
Anyway, Ferloche had returned to the church with the church members, and Clana should have been in her dormitory… so why did I sense a presence?
“Meow.”
“…Aha.”
As I looked around the room while pondering, a cat doll approached and nestled next to Irina.
“Was it you?”
I was on edge, thinking a thief might have appeared, but it was just the cat doll.
What a relief…
– Thud!
“…..?”
I heard the sound of wings flapping outside the window, and when I looked up, a scene that made me sigh involuntarily unfolded.
“What are these guys doing…?”
Serena’s white owl, Ferloche’s dove, and Clana’s canary were all there.
Although the canary was slightly apart from the other two birds, observing their behavior, the three birds were huddled together, perched on the window frame.
But wasn’t Clana’s canary bound to her? No, I had broken the bond once before… so it must have been severed.
“…This isn’t a zoo.”
But I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
With them huddled together and watching me like that, it felt like I was being monitored.
I do like animals, but isn’t this a bit too much?
Right now, I had to focus on Irina, who was seriously wounded.
“Shoo, go away. I can’t play with you now.”
Eventually, I stood up and waved my hand, but they didn’t even flinch.
For some reason, the canary backed away a little with a start, but then wobbled.
“…..Sigh.”
Thinking that I should teach their owners some discipline, I lowered the window blinds.
“Haaah…”
Carefully lifting the cat doll off the bed, I continued applying the potion to Irina’s wounds.
“Phew…”
With all the remaining potion used up and Irina’s wounds treated, I exhaled and lay down beside her.
“Now, we’ll have some free time for a while.”
Since the third main quest was over, there would be plenty of leisurely days before the start of the second year.
Of course, it was merely a temporary calm before the storm of the more challenging second year, but having ample time to rest was a blessing.
Should I go on a short vacation? Or should I wear the Robe of Deception and do some good deeds?
Of course, I need to prepare diligently for the major events that will happen in the second year, and I should visit the western continent too.
Still, recharging was necessary.
In a long-distance race, if you sprint at full speed from start to finish, you’ll exhaust yourself before reaching the halfway point.
“Well, let’s get some sleep…”
So, it seems like it’s time to sleep now.
I still have to deal with the aftermath of the slave market, and I also need to handle Serena’s strange experience and the secret head of the family.
It may be a bit late, but I need to close my eyes now…
[Announcement!]
“…?”
As I was thinking about this, a system window suddenly appeared in front of me.
What’s going on? What’s happening all of a sudden…
Ah.
[The Third Ordeal of the System has begun!]
Damn it, Demon God.
.
.
.
.
“Uhm…”
Irina, who had her eyes closed for a while, quietly opened them.
“Frey.”
Irina, who got up from her spot, looked at Frey, who was fast asleep beside her.
“Are you asleep?”
As she said that, she poked his sleeping cheek with her finger, but there was no sign of him waking up.
Evidently, he had fallen into a deep sleep.
“Haah…”
Irina murmured as she looked down at Frey.
“I told you, sleeping pills don’t work on me.”
Ever since she was young, Irina had been making potions with various herbs, and to her, a sleeping herb was nothing but a bitter-tasting plant.
Nonetheless, with a stern expression from Frey, she found herself unintentionally pretending to fall asleep, perhaps out of a touch of selfishness.
“You dummy.”
She couldn’t help but fully feel the warmth of Frey’s hands, exploring every corner of her body.
“…Dummy.”
As a result, Irina placed her hand on her racing heart, looked at Frey with trembling eyes, and spoke.
“Why are you so kind to someone like me…”
Then, she cautiously reached out to him and began to murmur.
“Really, how can I repay this favor?”
Lying in bed, Irina interlocked her hand with Frey’s, closed her eyes, and squeezed his hand.
Shuuu…
As time passed, a bead appeared in their locked hands, and Irina carefully picked it up and began to examine it.
“…Ugh.”
The bead was quite murky.
Within the bead that should have only contained Frey’s silver color and her own red color, other hues had infiltrated.
“Why only me…”
Initially, she thought that someone else had made a contract with him before her.
However, upon closer inspection, it became apparent that more than one person had dedicated their soul to him before her.
Moreover, seeing the black color mixed in, which was definitely not there when she first drew the bead, it seemed that Kania had done something when she returned Frey’s soul, which resided within her, back to him.
“I’m always late, aren’t I…?”
She thought that the Blood Oath would at least show some sincerity, even if it wasn’t enough.
However, as it turned out, everyone was basically giving their sincerity to Frey.
“Why on earth…”
At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to repay her debt, let alone atone for her sins.
Although she managed to bypass one penalty through a trick, his life still had only two years left.
How could she repay the favor within that time?
What on earth should she do…
“……Ah.”
As Irina racked her brain, a potential solution suddenly came to her mind.
The thing needed to completely finish the ‘Blood Oath’.
The thing that could make him, who was completely exhausted, happy.
And then.
“Ah, no one has given their chastity to Frey yet, right…?”
Most importantly, something that no one had done for Frey yet.
“…Huh.”
Irina’s hand, entwined with Frey’s, began to tremble.
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