I turned my head sharply while clutching my pinched side. Kiss was looking at me with a dignified expression as if asking what the problem was. I knew his personality was a bit strange, but I was even more dumbfounded because I thought now wasn’t a situation to throw a tantrum. I stared speechlessly and finally managed to open my mouth.
“Why are you irritated?”
“When did I throw a tantrum?”
“You’re doing it now. You just blatantly pinched me.”
“Ash, haven’t you gained some weight? Life seems fun these days?”
Not satisfied with just pinching, now it was outright personal attacks. I glared dubiously at the smiling Kiss then averted my gaze. Actually, as Kiss said, I had gained a bit of weight lately.
“Actually, I’m dying of trouble these days because Deus keeps forcibly feeding me. Last time when I resisted saying I wouldn’t eat, he threw a fit saying then he’d chew the food and make it like porridge for me to just drink……”
“……”
“Right, and Deus. He didn’t know lungs and lungs were the same organ. So when I teased him like ‘Are you stupid? You’re ignorant? You’re the Crown Prince but ignorant?’, he jumped around frantically saying he’d rip out my lungs while rubbing his face on my belly, and I almost died from tickling, haha.”
As the old folks say, growing fond even of someone you dislike was truly frightening. Even if we fought to death, spending a lot of time together anyway created various episodes.
Well, I was tormented almost to the brink of death. But enduring is what I do best, and my back hole doesn’t wear out from being used a bit. Anyway, I protected my chastity in front, so as a male, isn’t my virtue safe? The truly frightening point was that my thoughts were gradually developing and I was increasingly adapting to this crazy penetration life.
“Surprising, I thought you’d say you couldn’t do it.”
“What?”
“Mixing bodies with Deus.”
I hesitated at the voice that seemed to have rapidly lost interest. My body stiffened at Kiss’s chilling eyes that seemed to confirm my reaction. I laughed awkwardly and avoided his gaze before answering.
“I-it might help you, Lord Kiss, so even if it’s hard, I have to work hard. And it’s not only painful, it’s better than I thought. I might have some talent? in that area.”
“……”
“Ah, Deus has probably never been to a festival. Then I’ll go with Deus……”
Just as I was urgently changing the conversation topic feeling the atmosphere had become awkward, Kiss interrupted.
“Ash.”
“Yes?”
“As you said, I’m a bit busy, but can I ask you a favor?”
How should I put it, Kiss right now had a strangely un-Kiss-like expression. It was always either smiling unpleasantly or ignoring indifferently, one of the two. But this expression of Kiss with his gaze averted and corners of his mouth stiffly set was a new expression I’d never seen before.
‘This is annoying to death, really. What’s the problem? When did you push me into that underground prison?’
I tried hard to calm my bubbling insides. Kiss’s strange personality wasn’t just a day or two. If the emotions of someone who grew up as a revenge demon from childhood were stable, that would be strange in its own way, wouldn’t it? I smiled as benevolently as possible toward Kiss who still wouldn’t even make eye contact with me.
“Yes, please ask anything. I’ll do anything if it can help you, Lord Kiss.”
Kiss, who had been quietly looking at my refreshing smile, stood up. Then he walked with large strides toward where the bookshelf was.
Just as I was puzzled about what he was trying to do, my eyes widened at Kiss’s action of pushing the bookshelf without hesitation. Books poured out with a crash from the shelves pushed in succession. Without time to stop him, the psycho who had overturned all the bookshelves in the room kicked the books that had spilled at his feet.
Kiss, who smiled brightly toward me who had turned pale at the unprecedented tantrum, swept back his hair and said.
“Organize everything by today.”
“……”
“All according to subject, classification number, author, and deviation.”
You bastard.
* * *
“What are you doing?”
Deus, who found me picking up the overturned books, asked as if it were strange. The emotion of anger became resignation when excessive. I spoke with a clearly exhausted face while sorting the jumbled books.
“Lord Kiss told me to organize everything by today.”
“All of this? Why?”
“I don’t know. Don’t you have any mental illness medication? Don’t take it alone, share some with Lord Kiss too.”
“Why would I take medicine? Can’t mental illness be overcome with willpower?”
I had no will to refute, so I silently tried to stand up the overturned bookshelf. No matter how much I grabbed both ends of this ridiculously heavy bookshelf and struggled, it had no intention of moving.
Deus, who had been looking at me as if dumbfounded, lightly lifted and stood the bookshelf with one hand. Deus, who had been quietly watching me insert books as if waiting, crossed his arms and grinned.
“If you were my fiancée, you wouldn’t have to do this. Want to get married?”
“Do you even know what marriage is?”
“It’s a noble vow to fuck only one person for life.”
“You…… don’t have chastity in your features. Think about it. Until now, once you got your hands on any object, you lost all interest, right?”
Deus, who had been moving his lips as if to say more, soon clamped his mouth shut. It seemed I’d hit the mark.
I thought it was amusing that someone who acted like a child chasing a fire truck if it was just fun would mention a word like marriage.
When I gestured at Deus to move aside, far from moving, he lowered his head as if about to kiss me at any moment. I quickly raised the book I was holding to block his mouth and rolled my eyes. Deus’s eyes, with his lower face covered by the book, folded into crescents.
“Your reflexes are getting better.”
“Why are you acting like a dog in heat? You must have relieved yourself in the Void too, right? No, but how in the Void…… did you lose your virginity? Don’t tell me with those sows……”
“Not that.”
Deus, who denied definitively, averted his gaze. My mood became unpleasant for some reason at the lengthening silence. When I tapped his forearm with the book spine as if telling him to answer quickly, he spoke with a resigned expression.
“There was a group of succubi in the monster forest…… I thought surely they wouldn’t kill me? and entrusted my body, then for about half a year I couldn’t eat or sleep and was milked dry……”
“Huh……”
“Actually, I’ve been scared of big breasts since then.”
Succubi—monsters that harmed lives by sucking out vital energy through mating acts. If it had been an ordinary human, forget half a year, they couldn’t have lasted even a day. Laughter burst out involuntarily at the outlandish story of losing his virginity to succubi. Understanding Deus’s bizarre sexual habits that I could never affirm was a bonus.
Deus, who had been staring intently at me laughing, suddenly snatched the book from my hands.
“Want to sneak out together?”
I hesitated at the rarely gentle voice. Come to think of it, they said a festival was being held in the village this evening. The image of Kiss enjoying the festival with his fiancée flashed through my mind.
Since I’d been only inside the Detached Palace since coming out of the Void, I actually wanted to get some fresh air too. However, not knowing what reproach I might receive if I went out without Kiss’s permission, I answered hesitantly.
“But if I don’t organize all of this……”
“He won’t even check anyway. The real purpose behind pulling this stunt is separate.”
“……Purpose?”
“There’s that type, you know. The type that feels ecstasy in cutting off limbs and making it so you can’t do anything on the bed without them.”
Deus made a cutting motion with his hand blade over where my arm bent. My expression obviously hardened thinking it was an unpleasant joke. Deus, who stopped the playful action, continued.
“Since he can’t cut visible places out of pride, he must want to cut invisible places at least. Hope, or expectations. You know, those cute emotions.”
“……”
“But I can gladly cut visible places too. Because I don’t have things like pride. I want to see Ash squirming like an insect.”
The image of Deus trying to slice me alive with a saw flashed through my mind. Deus, whose switch had turned on alone again and whose breathing had become rough, pressed his lower body against me.
Deus’s pupils that seemed to have turned into hearts dilated. A chillingly low voice pierced my ears.
“This is serious, just imagining it makes me want to come……”
I struck down Deus’s head with the book as he suddenly grabbed my buttocks. Deus, who stepped back with an “ah” groan, clutched the crown of his head struck by the book. I sighed toward Deus looking at me with a hurt expression.
To think that hearing such terrible words now didn’t evoke any emotion. My adaptability was starting to become frightening. I looked out the window where the sunset was beginning and opened my mouth.
“If it’s just a short outing, it might be okay.”
“Hm? I thought you’d say no.”
“Still, you listened well in class today.”
Rowena, who had finished a simple test while I briefly talked with Deus, called me separately and said.
<In terms of etiquette and common sense, there are seriously severe deficiencies, but he has such a good head that if he sets his mind to it, he’ll master anything quickly.>
Rowena, who had shown a relatively positive reaction, emphasized one more thing. However, since Deus’s personality was so unpredictable, my role as someone Deus mentally relied on was very important. I spoke awkwardly toward Deus who was looking at me with a somewhat surprised expression.
“You’ve never seen them, right? Fireworks.”
