Chapter 68: Heartfelt Bracelet ⑦ Mineha and Ruriha

The next morning. My bed in my room.

I was somewhere between half-asleep and half-conscious.

And being wrapped up without restraint, I heard voices from somewhere nearby.

The voices were very close.

“Ah, so…”
“Isn’t that too much…?”
“Really?”
“Next, this one…”
“Then cut that one…”

What… what is this?

I could hear voices. Two voices, actually. They sounded so cheerful together.

I opened my eyes a little. I could see something. Since I was lying on my side, it wasn’t the ceiling.

The something was swaying gently, slowly.

It was big, beautiful, and attractively rounded. And there were two of them.

White on the right, black on the left.

They swayed side to side, jutted out, swayed, jutted out again.

Every time, they looked so soft and looked so pleasurable.

I felt an irresistible urge to touch them. To squeeze them. I was overcome with desire.

What on earth is this…?

Half-dazed, I obediently followed my urge and gently touched the black one on the left.

“Kyaaa!?”

A cute scream erupted.

I was shocked—it was so smooth and soft, far more than I expected.

And then my consciousness fully woke up. I jumped up instinctively.

Turning around, Mineha was glaring at me, her face bright red.

Instinctively, I knew. This… this is bad.

“Oh my, quite bold for the morning,”

Ruriha, the other owner of the other rounded part, was laughing quietly right next to her.

Of course… what I had touched was their butt. Specifically, Mineha’s butt.

Mineha and Ruriha were preparing breakfast.

They weren’t in their faerial forms—they were fully grown.

In my room, the kitchen was just a short space from the bed.

So standing there naturally gave a clear view of their backsides from the bed.

There had been another time when two of them stood together—Mineha and Pakira. That view was unforgettable.

Though I hadn’t touched them back then.

“WOF!!!”

Mineha shouted.

“Y-yes! I’m sorry! I just… touched your butt, Mineha-san!”

“You don’t have to say it! What the heck are you doing all of a sudden?!”

“I-I’m sorry!”

“Good grief… you startled me.”

“I’m sorry!!”

“Oh my, as if it wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t sudden,”

“What… what did you just say!? Mom, don’t say anything!!”

“Oh my, scary. And good morning, Wof-san.”

“G-good morning.”

Ruriha smiled warmly, acting as if nothing had happened, and continued.

For some reason, she emphasized her backside under the white skirt. Why?

“Do you want to touch my butt too?”

“Eh… uh?”

“It’s not as firm as Mineha’s, but I’m confident in its softness and size.”

“Eh, no, but…”

Ruriha’s backside, wrapped in the white skirt, was impressively large.

Even just looking, you could tell it was round and soft.

Wow… so this is a peach-shaped butt, I thought with admiration.

Honestly… I wanted to touch it. If I could, I wanted to squeeze it.

“Mom!!! Enough already!!!”

Mineha yelled, embarrassed.

Still, Ruriha laughed joyfully.

“Half was a joke,”

So… that means half was serious?

Then Ruriha winked at me discreetly. I chuckled wryly.

“…Once again, good morning, Mineha-san, Ruriha-san.”

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

“Breakfast? This smell…”

A distinct spice aroma. Curry. No doubt about it. Oh, curry…

“You said you’d make breakfast before, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Professional tastes are good too, but I wanted you to try our family’s flavor.”

“It’s my first time learning it, and it’s been a while since I’ve had it too,”

She warmed the pot with a somewhat happy expression.

She was frying bread beans in a pan. Maybe as a substitute for naan.

“You’re not eating it with rice?”

“Rice?”

“Curry with rice?”

So it’s called kariiru.

Could it be they’re unfamiliar with curry rice?

I remembered last time we were served, there was no rice either. Just bread beans or several types of stewed beans or chicken.

At that time, it seemed odd, but I assumed it was intentionally authentic.

So I thought rice was separate. I assumed that.

In my past life, curry always came with rice. This preconception didn’t apply here.

In Faerial, curry dishes didn’t include rice.

Then I remembered I had some inexpensive rice resembling Thai rice.

I excused myself briefly and retrieved a jar from under the kitchen counter.

Inside the jar was a bag, filled with long, thin rice resembling Thai rice.

“What should we do with this? I’ll do it, but we can’t all three do it,”

“Then, sorry. Put this in a pot with water, cover it, and heat it. When it comes to a boil, stir and cook until the water evaporates. Taste occasionally. Once it’s fluffy and warm, it’s done.”

“Got it. I’ll try.”

“Oh my, obedient, aren’t you?”

“What?”

Pouting slightly, she glared at her mother.

Ruriha smiled wryly. I thought about how naturally she acts now compared to when she used to call her “mother.”

Before the Thai-style rice was ready, it was the perfect timing.

“Um… I have something I’d like to give you two.”

“What is it?”

“Oh?”

“Could both of you close your eyes and extend your arms?”

“Close our eyes? Sure,”

“Oh my, what could it be?”

Mineha extended her arm confidently, while Ruriha looked a little embarrassed.

Mother and daughter both offered their arms to me.

Both had honey-colored skin. Oh, that’s right.

I took out the bracelets from the pouch by the bed.

Yellow loops set with amber gems. A bracelet with a yellow loop and amber stones.

I carefully slipped them onto their arms.

“You can open your eyes now.”

“Hm… wow…”

“Oh my, my, how nice.”

Both of them exhaled in admiration at the bracelets on their wrists.

“This is my gratitude for always taking care of me, Mineha-san.”

“Hm. Not bad.”

“Oh my, then Wof-san, what about me? I haven’t taken care of you.”

“That’s… still my thanks.”

I wondered if it would feel strange to give one to Ruriha while giving one to Mineha.

Ruriha and I… well, there had been various things.

The time we’d known each other was very short. Actually, barely a week.

But in that short time, it had felt… rapid, intense, and close.

So naturally, I decided to give it to her too.

“Wof-san.”

“W-what—”

Suddenly, Ruriha sat down on the bed and leaned toward me.

“Wha—Mom!?”

Ruriha giggled softly, hugged me, and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

The deep, soft touch of her lips against my cheek brought back memories of that time.

The kiss when she had hugged me… she quickly pulled away and winked.

“A little payback.”

“Mom!?”

“Mineha, what about you?”

“What do you mean—ah!”

At that moment, the pot boiled over. Mineha hurriedly turned off the heat.

The Thai-style rice was ready, and so was the curry—kariiru, that is.

And the sautéed bread beans, serving as a substitute for naan, were ready as well.

I spooned the rice onto a deep plate and poured the curry over it.

The curry sauce was somewhat dark and thick. I scooped some with a spoon and tasted it.

Mmm. Delicious. A unique, rich flavor. And it was definitely curry rice.

The rice was different, but it was unmistakably curry rice.

There were chunks of potatoes, carrots, and meat. I wondered what kind of meat it was.

The two of them looked at me curiously.

Exchanging puzzled glances, Mineha asked:

“Is the rice really good?”

“You’ll know if you eat it. You won’t know if you don’t.”

I smiled mischievously and ate.

The Thai-style rice had been cooked properly, so it went perfectly with the curry.

“That’s true,”

Ruriha casually grabbed my spoon, scooped some up, and tasted it.

“Oh, this works.”

“Hey, what are you doing!?”

“….”

Even I was stunned by this.

“Oh, it’s delicious. It could be a bit spicier.”

“That’s not what I meant. That’s enough, Wof. I’ll just take some.”

“Go ahead.”

Mineha scooped some of my curry rice with her spoon and ate it.

“Huh, not bad.”

“You like it?”

“Yes, with a little more spice, it would still be good. It tastes different from the bread beans.”

They seemed to like it. They ate freely from my plate. Ah…

“Mineha, you’re going to finish Wof’s portion!”

“Oh, sorry. Wof, is there still rice left?”

“Yes. And here’s this too.”

“Thanks.”

She took the plate I offered and winked.

“Mineha, can you do the same for me?”

“Yes, yes.”

They both had curry rice. The Thai-style rice was gone in no time.

I ate the remaining bread beans with the curry sauce, the kariiru sauce.

Delicious. Not bad at all. Yeah, not bad.

“This is really delicious. I like this version better.”

“Me too. I have to tell Chefru.”

“Wof, you knew well, didn’t you?”

“I thought it would go well with anything the kariiru sauce could be poured on.”

“Good observation.”

I was glad they both liked it.

I dipped the sautéed bread beans in the kariiru sauce and ate them.

Mmm. Delicious. Chew, chew. Delicious.

After finishing and cleaning up a little, they said they were going to take a bath and used the transfer gate to go to the witch’s house.

I lay down on my bed.

Staring at the familiar ceiling, I wondered what to do today.

Let’s see… the city dungeon. Since it was finally unlocked, maybe I should go.

I hadn’t been below the 12th floor before.

Knock, knock. Someone knocked on the wall.

“Hey.”

“Mineha-san?”

I looked, and Mineha had come to my room.

Fresh from the bath, a faint steam rose from her honey-colored hair.

She was lightly dressed, showing the bracelet on her arm.

“Thank you for this.”

“It’s because you always take care of me.”

“Though you’ve taken care of me too.”

Mineha sat stiffly on the bed.

I hurriedly got up, and being close to her made my heart race.

Trying to hide it, I said:

“I wanted to give something as a token of my gratitude.”

“But it’s not just for me and Mom, right?”

“Ah, y-yes. I’ve given it to everyone I’m grateful to.”

“I thought that, knowing you.”

Mineha smiled and used her finger to indicate my forehead, left cheek, right cheek, and neck.

“Mineha-san?”

“There’s a mark. On your neck.”

“Eh?”

Instinctively, I touched my neck.

At that moment, Mineha’s face came very close.

Her soft lips brushed mine for just a brief moment.

“———!”

Swiftly, Mineha pulled away and stood up.

“It’s my thanks.”

She whispered and left the room.

“……”

I sat there dumbfounded for a while.

A faint, sweet honey scent lingered on my lips.

But it soon vanished.