kscans

Chapter 94 - The Silver Furs and the Morning Panic

For both of them.

Leonhard felt a sense of guilt, thinking, "I was way too aggressive with a normal eighteen-year-old girl..." Mireille felt a sense of guilt, thinking, "I was the one who brought up physical contact..."

Though they were burdened by these misplaced feelings of guilt, the Moonshadow Wolf furs were completed without a hitch.

The pile of furs shimmered a brilliant silver, looking like a mountain of treasure.

"...This looks like it could become some seriously powerful equipment. If we attach this to shields and armor... won’t the Tree Sea Defense Force become almost cheat-level strong?" I found myself growing a little concerned about the existence of this Tree Sea Defense Force and the future of the Tree Sea.

Once finished, it would be so high-spec that it would completely unbalance them against the other knight orders. Well, Darius would probably keep it under wraps... hopefully.

One task was finished, and they moved on to the next.

"Next is the fire-attributed powder. Its role is to pop out like a cracker," Mireille said. It seemed she was considering various patterns in her head.

"Fire Spirit Rock... Bombardment Rock... Raging Fire Rock... Why do so many fire-attributed things have such aggressive names?"

Just as Darius had said, the fire-attribute shelf contained all sorts of powders. He must have spent a good deal of time looking through these shelves to be so familiar with them.

"We just need a weak one this time. We wouldn’t want any fingers to get blown off."

"...Y, you have a way of saying scary things so casually."

Leonhard was starting to panic. But he supposed it made sense. The contents were Magic Suppression Cloth, so it wouldn't burn. Still, it would be packed into a ring and pop out. That pop was just like gunpowder. It was far too dangerous if you weren't careful.

"There are rocks deep underwater that can act like gunpowder... but exploring underwater in the Tree Sea is scary, isn’t it?"

"Yeah, you can’t hold your breath for long."

"Then I’ll look for an earth-attributed one."

She rummaged through the shelf.

"Crushing Sand... crumbles under pressure..."

"The name sounds right, but we’ll have to experiment outside."

"It’s getting late, should we just sleep for today..."

The problem was where to sleep.

Leonhard looked down at his wet clothes, troubled. If he moved away, she would cry. If he wore the clothes, she might catch a cold. If he took them off, she would reject him.

He understood her reasoning, so it wasn’t like she was being selfish, and it wasn’t unpleasant, but what should he do?

"I, I want to think about the cracker device a little more," Mireille said, averting her gaze.

Things were completely awkward between them.

"...What about just... getting used to it?"

"Huh?"

"Here!"

Leonhard quietly moved beside Mireille and peered into her face.

Mireille stared intently. Silence.

Leonhard swallowed hard. What was he supposed to do when she stared at him like that?

Huh...?

"Mireille, your nose is bleeding!?"

Leonhard frantically stuffed some nearby cotton into her nose.

"...I’m sorry, it seems I have no resistance... You see, it was just my master and me, and all the employees were women. I’ve never even seen Darius-san undressed at our home, so I can’t get used to it right away."

Mireille grew dejected. She had been looking at his bare torso next to her for a while now, but far from getting used to it... the doki doki in her heart was only growing stronger.

(To think I said those things tonight to someone so dazzling... I’m so embarrassed...)

"I’m sorry for worrying you."

"No, it’s my fault too. Being shirtless is an everyday thing in the Knight Order... You know, we’re all idiots, so we show off our muscles to each other."

As he tried to turn it into a joke, an idea suddenly occurred to Leonhard.

"That’s it, if we turn off the light..."

The second floor was pitch black. Nothing was visible.

"This way, you can feel safe until you get used to it."

But there was one thing neither of them knew. That after they slept, the morning would come.

The next morning.

"...?!" Mireille’s eyes opened to a view completely filled by Leonhard’s chest. What’s more, she had been unconsciously snuggled up against that chest while she slept.

"Wh, whawhawha...!" Mireille shot up, her face beet red.

Meanwhile, Leonhard recalled the feeling of her body heat against his bare skin and thought...

(...I’m completely out of line, aren’t I...)

His guilt deepened even further.