Chapter 44
“Aaaaaaaah!!!”
“…Plia. Is that really okay?”
“Yeah. He won’t die.”
“…So long as he doesn’t die?”
It’s only tteokbokki.
He’s the weird one, wobbling around just because he ate something spicy.
They say spiciness is a kind of pain, but you’re a Swordmaster and you can’t handle this?
Of course, I can’t handle it either, so I don’t eat it.
“If you don’t finish all of that, I might be a little sad.”
“Plia, you…!”
“You’re not going to leave the special dish I made just for you, are you?”
“…Damn it!”
Just in case he decided to leave any, I’d gotten ahead of him.
Now he had no choice but to eat it.
“Hehe…”
“Wow, Plia, that’s cruel.”
“Hm?”
“Ah… It’s nothing. More importantly, this is delicious.”
“Right?”
Arin and I were having cream tteokbokki.
They had something that looked like ready-made sauce, so I decided to try it.
Well, they have all sorts of things.
It was even tastier than I expected.
Fantasy worlds are amazing.
“Sss… Haa…”
He really might die at this rate.
“I was joking, so just eat as much as you can and leave the rest. Here, have some milk.”
The moment I handed him the milk, Ian snatched it and started drinking.
He drank like someone who’d found an oasis in the desert. It was almost pitiful.
…Come to think of it, the Hero was supposed to be unable to handle spicy food, too.
Must be genetic.
Should I throw away what’s left?
“Phew… Thanks, Plia.”
Just as I was wondering what to do with the leftovers,
“It’s nothing… Wait, why are you eating that again?”
Ian started eating the tteokbokki again.
He looked like he was dying from the heat with every bite.
“Like you said, I can’t leave something you made for me.”
“Ugh…”
This guy’s flirting with me again…
-Flush
“…Hmph. Then finish it all.”
Like that’s going to make me fall for you.
I was so annoyed my face turned red.
“Sigh… You don’t even notice me, do you? You’re so busy with your romance, you don’t even look my way…”
“Th-that’s not it!”
Romance?! What are you talking about…
“Pout… Fine. You two have a beautiful love story.”
“I told you, it’s not like that yet!”
“Yet?”
Oops.
“Heehee. ‘Yet,’ huh… So you’re saying you’ll date later?”
“That’s not what I…”
“Really? That’s a relief. It means I just have to try a little harder to win you over. I love you, Plia.”
“Aaaagh…”
Why! Why does it always end up like this?!
“Plia, you have to invite me to your wedding, okay?”
“Then we’d better get married soon. Let’s get married, Plia.”
“…I said stop!”
How long are you going to keep this up?!
…
“Ah, Plia’s completely sulking now.”
“Um, Plia? I’ll stop, so could you come out?”
In the end, I couldn’t take it anymore and fled to the bed.
I wrapped myself up tightly in the blanket.
Introducing: Bagworm Plia!
“…She’s not coming out.”
“Isn’t this kind of cute in its own way? I could just kidnap her.”
I thought I heard something strange, but decided to ignore it. Ignore it.
“Plia. We’ll stop teasing you, so please come out!”
“Bleh.”
Hmph. You brought this on yourself.
I’m absolutely not coming out.
“What should we do, Ian?”
“…If she won’t come out…”
Hm? I have a bad feeling about this…
“There!”
“Eek?!”
Ian suddenly lifted the blanket.
The problem was, I was inside it…
He lifted me up, rolled up like a mat.
“Wait, wait, wait?! Put me down! I said put me down!”
“You climbed in there yourself, didn’t you? You’ll have to deal with the consequences.”
“Don’t!”
I-in this position?!
“Up, up we go~”
“Eek?! Y-you lunatic!”
Did he just throw me? Up in the air?
Ian tossed me upward like a ball, playing catch with me while I was rolled up in the blanket.
Is he actually insane?
“Wow… Ian, that’s really cruel.”
“Hm?”
“It’s nothing.”
Arin had been muttering to herself, but one look from Ian shut her right up.
Don’t just stand there—help me!
He’d wrapped the blanket around me so tightly that it was hard to wriggle free.
But if I used force, I might tear the expensive blanket.
Or maybe it was already halfway torn?
I’d done this to myself. Literally…
“Hic… Stop…”
I’m going to die of embarrassment…
“Up, up~”
“Um, Ian…? Maybe you should stop?”
“Why?”
“Well…”
“The blanket…”
-Rip, rip.
With an ominous sound, the blanket suddenly tore in midair.
And me?
-Bam!
“Pl… Plia?”
“Plia! Are you okay?!”
Naturally, I fell straight down.
…I’m going to kill you all.
…
It was cute how Plia immediately hid under a blanket after I teased her a little.
So I thought I’d tease her just a bit more, but…
-Rip, rip.
I failed to control my strength, and the blanket suddenly tore in midair.
‘…Huh?’
Was a blanket really supposed to tear that easily?
I wondered, but that wasn’t important.
-Bam!
While I was distracted for a moment, Plia fell headfirst to the floor.
“Pl… Plia?”
“Plia! Are you okay?!”
Plia looked awful lying on the floor.
Her hair was a mess.
Her cheeks were red.
There were tears in the corners of her eyes.
And her expression was absolutely furious.
She’s so damn cute… No, that’s not it!
‘If I don’t run now, I’m going to die!’
My instincts were warning me. If I didn’t run now, I was going to die.
As if to prove my instincts right, Plia began staggering to her feet.
“P-Plia? I didn’t mean to do that on purpose…”
“Ian.”
“…Yeah?”
“If you want to live, do your best to run.”
The world began freezing over from the tips of Plia’s feet.
…I might actually die.
“…Sorry!”
I started running with all my might.
Running normally would mean she’d definitely catch me, so I concentrated mana in my legs, then detonated it to accelerate!
Faced with the fear of death, I escaped after awakening a new technique.
“Don’t you dare stop!”
“If you catch me, I’m definitely dead!”
For the record, Arin bolted.
The moment she saw Plia’s expression, she jumped straight out the window.
What a traitor.
The price I paid for being too captivated by Plia’s cute face to run away was a deadly game of tag.
-KWA-GWANG!!
“Gah?! Are you really trying to kill me?!”
“Of course!”
A blade of sword aura flew past my head.
Even now that I was a Swordmaster, getting hit by that would mean a serious injury.
The fact that she could do that without damaging the building or its furniture was just an insane feat.
I just wished that insane technique wasn’t flying at me.
-Shaa…
Then everything began to slow down.
The sounds, the air currents, even my footsteps.
Everything began to slow to an extreme crawl.
And in that situation, there was only one person moving at the same speed as before.
…She froze even time and came after me?!
…
Naturally, it wasn’t long before I caught Ian.
What did I do to him, you ask?
“…Plia. Is this really okay?”
“Of course.”
I gave him a few bruises, then tied him up in front of the dormitory door.
In bagworm mode.
He knew he’d done wrong, so he took the beating without resisting.
“Then, Plia? I’ll be going now…”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Eek?!”
Trying to run away? Not a chance!
“Don’t you think we need to have a serious talk?”
I said, gripping Arin’s shoulders and gently kneading them.
“Y-yes…”
Arin answered with a pale face.
Did I scare her too much?
“Hehe. I’m kidding. Relax.”
“…You’re joking, right?”
“Of course.”
“Phew…”
Arin relaxed at my words.
It might be fun to startle her now… but she looks like she’d really cry, so I should hold back.
“Plia, I feel like taking a bath.”
“Hm? Sure. The bathroom’s over there.”
“No, I mean with you, Plia.”
“Hm?”
A bath together? Me? With another girl?
“That’s a little…”
“Is it not okay?”
When I said it in a way that suggested no, Arin’s expression visibly fell.
I couldn’t say no when she looked like that…
Well, my body’s a girl’s, right? So there’s no problem? Right?
…Something about this feels weird.
“Phew… Fine. Let’s go.”
“Really? Yay!”
I’m sure we’ll figure it out somehow.
“Then let’s hurry!”
“Yeah…”
Arin grabbed my arm and hurried toward the bathroom.
You seem awfully excited, don’t you?
“Naked bonding with Plia!”
“Is that really something to be excited about?”
“Of course! The bathroom is huge, too!”
“It sure is…”
The bathroom was, naturally, enormous.
About the size of a public bathhouse?
The building itself was huge, and they’d even used space-expansion magic on it to make it this big.
On top of that, there was magic to keep the water warm and clean all the time…
How much money did they spend on this place?
“Let’s get in!”
Arin said, then promptly stripped off her clothes.
Whoa?!
“Wait, what kind of girl has no shame?!”
“Huh? But we’re both girls, aren’t we?”
“Well… That’s true, but…”
“Heehee… So you’re the type who gets embarrassed even around other girls, Plia! That’s okay!”
“Eek?! Don’t cling to me!”
Don’t hug me while you’re naked!
“Heehee, what’s the harm? I should take this chance to enjoy Plia’s body to my heart’s content!”
“Stop! I said stop!”
“Uheheheh!”
“Stop!”
-Bonk!
“Gkeh!”
…See? I told you to stop.