It was a very quiet soliloquy, but there was no way Chris would miss that low voice that made his earlobes feel cool and even the fine hairs on the nape of his neck stand on end.
“Pardon?”
Chris reflexively asked back while turning his head, and his eyes met Yuri’s. Beyond his glasses, beautiful violet eyes like violets were staring intently at him.
For Yuri, who seemed indifferent to his surroundings, it was quite a persistent gaze.
“I’m curious what kind of work you do to readily buy antique books as I recommend them.”
Chris wiggled his hand slightly. Unlike when the neighbor he encountered when leaving home asked questions, his toes curled inward involuntarily and his spine stiffened. He just needed to answer smoothly according to the profile he memorized before coming to November Continent, but he was nervous now.
“You don’t seem to read the books… Is collecting a hobby?”
He seemed to be saying this while recalling Chris’s financial power, having readily handed over three thousand Credits even on the first day.
Chris found it awkward to say he had been enchanted by Yuri and spent that large amount of money, so he nodded his head earnestly.
“Yes.”
Thinking that just a short answer might raise Yuri’s suspicion, Chris hurriedly added a few more words.
“Whenever I come to Magnolia, I naturally become calm. Even just placing the books makes me think of this place’s atmosphere, so I keep buying them.”
A strange light appeared in Yuri’s eyes then disappeared. It was a somewhat peculiar look, difficult to describe.
“It seems there are others besides me who just buy books.”
Since it would be troublesome if Yuri asked about his job, Chris subtly threw out a question to change the topic. To Chris, who smiled innocently as he learned from Northern Light, Yuri answered nonchalantly.
“There are quite a few people who buy books but only keep them for storage and read the text on their terminals.”
They’re all good customers. Yuri added with a meaningful smile.
Chris thought it was quite strange while keeping his gaze fixed on his face. Because Yuri, who readily handed over works like Dracula as gifts and opened a shop in Aurum District 8 where people don’t visit often, didn’t seem to be obsessed with profits.
Chris was curious about his reason for running Magnolia Antiquarian Bookshop. A hobby? Or—
Even if it was an unusual reason, it didn’t matter. Chris was just, a little curious about Yuri.
Whether he had eaten this morning, what time he opened the bookshop, whether he looked up at the sky once on his way… And how he thought of this blond customer who occasionally came in and fussed about.
“Here, take this.”
When Chris finished the payment on his terminal, Yuri said while handing over the bag with the wrapped books. He hadn’t expected their fingers to brush, but today the solid white gloves on Yuri’s hands caught his eye particularly.
It might seem excessive, but he just liked the way he handled books strictly. Not just that, but he thought he would inevitably like everything he learned about Yuri.
In fact, during his last visit, when he first learned that Yuri smoked cigars, he had looked up the types and origins of cigars for no reason. He couldn’t think of smoking cigars since even cigarettes were torture for an Esper’s sensitive nerves, but it was quite enjoyable to recall the scent Yuri had worn like fog and gauge what product he might have used.
It could be called an occupational disease of sorts, but if the person in question found out, they might think it was creepy.
Chris slightly drooped his shoulders and reached for the book.
“I’ll read them well.”
Chris, who had only opened and closed one book of the Iliad, found it strange that he could be so shameless. Because he didn’t frequent this bookshop wanting to read books.
He suddenly felt a bit sorry for Yuri, who must have sincerely recommended books even to this customer full of ulterior motives.
“You don’t look well.”
Yuri pulled slightly, but while holding the edge of the book without letting go, he moved his lips.
It seemed like there was reproach in the violet eyes looking at him from beyond the glasses.
Chris’s heart sank. The reason Chris, who couldn’t escape poor condition even right after receiving Guiding, had been able to stay quiet without standing out was thanks to his tendency not to show emotional agitation externally.
Since people generally thought he was quite blunt, there weren’t many people who noticed Chris was sick. Just now, the neighbor next door had noticed that Chris hadn’t come home for several days in a row, but even though he examined his face up close, he didn’t know at all whether his complexion was pale or not.
“Ah. I had work these past few days and couldn’t rest, so it seems my body was strained.”
Chris said while trying to hide his heart that was getting excited for no reason at the unexpected interest. Since Yuri seemed indifferent to everything, perhaps he just had tremendous observational skills.
“Yet you didn’t rest at home but came to the bookshop.”
Should this be called instinctive, Yuri seemed to mutter in a low voice. However, Chris didn’t understand exactly what Yuri said and asked back.
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. Go home and rest.”
Yuri said while obediently letting go of the book. Chris, who had been looking wistfully at his hand sliding smoothly back to its original position, offered a farewell.
“Next time, again.”
Nodding his head, Chris left the bookshop. He straightened his back and moved his steps with long strides deliberately so as not to look like he was scurrying away in a panic, then flinched slightly when opening the door.
It felt like a breeze was blowing. But from inside, not outside. It was difficult to tell whether what had tickled his lower back like a gentle spring was wind or an illusion. It felt like goosebumps were rising along the nape of his neck as if someone had tickled him.
“Chris-ssi?”
Yuri called him as if puzzled. Chris, who had unknowingly gripped the doorknob tightly, could only slowly turn around and move his lips after quite a while had passed.
“No, it’s nothing. I felt dizzy for a moment. I’m fine, so you don’t need to worry. Then.”
Chris, who had poured out what he had to say almost combatively, hastily left the bookshop. An incomprehensible thought occurred to him that Yuri might come out from behind the counter to catch him.
But contrary to Chris’s misconception, Yuri didn’t leave his position. Chris, who had actually left the bookshop, moved his feet quickly several times before gradually moving his steps slowly.
He didn’t want to get far from the bookshop. It felt like climbing a dizzyingly high mountain and suffering from thirst, yet leaving behind the sweet dew that could revive him with just one sip.
It wasn’t like honey had been smeared on Yuri or the bookshop, yet the delusions that kept surging up were even frightening. His emotions, which had always been like a calm water surface since waking up at Northern Light, churned creating waves whenever he encountered Yuri.
That he, who felt nothing but aversion to Guides, let alone obsession, kept being drawn to Yuri who was probably a civilian, that he had fallen this deeply… he thought perhaps it was because of his deficient past.
‘I need to pull myself together.’
Chris steeled himself.
Even though he had come out for a walk to refresh his mood for a moment and ended up spending well over a thousand Credits, his heart felt light. It was money that had just been piling up anyway, and if it flowed into Yuri’s bookshop and helped him acquire new books, it was rather fortunate.
‘When the mission is over, let’s return to June Continent.’
Chris entered the apartment with light steps.
‘After returning, I should never visit November Continent again. Not the bookshop, nor Yuri.’
Chris, who had neatly placed the books next to the Dracula he received as a gift last time, finished a light shower and laid his body on the awkwardly short bed.
‘But until then… just until then, Yuri.’
His thoughts cut off abruptly as sleep rushed in. Chris’s breathing became stable and his chest rose and fell regularly.
It was the most peaceful state since learning that Gillian, Yont, and Aparna had gone missing.
In the darkness of the room he couldn’t see, a small light was blinking.
The silence of the bedroom was broken at a time close to midnight.
Chris felt his body strangely heated with fever. Half asleep, half caught in reality, his ambiguous consciousness whispered desires Chris had forgotten.
“Ah…”
His body was reacting as if in heat to some faint lingering scent.
When he unknowingly reached his hand toward its source, the books piled by the bedside all tumbled to the floor. At that sound, Chris’s consciousness, which had drawn closer to reality, noticed his own state.
His lower abdomen seemed to tighten on its own at the sweet and tingling sensation. It wasn’t his first wet dream, but it was the first time he had woken up from sleep due to an inexplicable heat. Even though his ability was Beast Transformation, there was no way a heat cycle would come, so why on earth?
“Hng…”
Chris, who had curled up his body in bewilderment, gritted his teeth and tried to endure somehow. However, as if a sour lemon had been placed in front of him, saliva pooled in his mouth involuntarily. His lower body hidden in his pants was already half-erect, making the front of his pants taut.
Chris, who had unknowingly rubbed his lower body against the mattress, felt something wet soaking the fabric of his pants. The sensation was slippery, whether it was pre-cum flowing from the tip of his penis.
Chris’s face flushed completely as he propped himself up on the floor and lifted his waist before pulling down his waistband. He could see his twitching penis pop out.
