"Yeah, you don't have to do that. Leave the housework to me."
As he washed the dishes, Azusa flatly rejected my proposition.
Whenever I had gone out to drink at the tavern, a topic that seldomly came up was about wanting a wife to join one's household. Before I had met Azusa, I had never particularly found myself interested in marriage; thus, I had never imagined a life which reached that point. Even so, whenever someone asked for my opinion, the reply I gave was that my wife should also go out, as well. If my wife could move around as he or she pleased, then they could go out and work; even if my wife only brought in a small sum, our household would become wealthier and both of us would be happier together–or so I had thought. Even though Ilias lived a wealthy life as the second son of a n.o.ble, just when did he become so poor? The others had laughed, cracking up over my answer, but since that was merely how I had thought at the time, there was nothing else that I could have replied.
After meeting Azusa, however, I realized just how shortsighted and superficial the me of the past had been.
I did not wish for the partner whom I loved to go out and work or anything of the sort, but neither did I wish for him to only stay within the house. What I wished was for him to live in convenience and comfort, lacking for nothing – that was all. For that reason, I would be glad even if Azusa didn't do anything; and though I had told him that I would be happy if we were just able to eat dinner together, he hadn't been truly convinced. One could say that I had only a.s.sisted in cooking the dinner we had made together, and when I had told Azusa that he could leave the cleanup to me, he had already gathered up the plates and brought them to the kitchen in the blink of an eye. He began was.h.i.+ng the dishes as if I hadn't said anything, and when I communicated to him that I had been serious in my previous statement, I was only bluntly rejected.
"But Azusa, for you to have to go through such pains…"
"The only one who can judge whether this is a pain or not is the person who's doing it. Right?"
"…That is right."
"For me, I hate having nothing to do. If Ilias is going to work, then I want to be your support. And the way I can do that, right now, is by doing the housework. Nothin' else you can argue." [1]
"But…"
"If you insist on helping that much, go bring me the cups we left on the table."
Try as I might, there was no way I could go against Azusa's orders. My body moved on its own; after tidying up the table we had eaten dinner on, I carried the gla.s.ses back as I had been told to do. As one might expect from Azusa, after I had explained to him this morning all about how the plumbing system operated, he was now already using the sink without even needing my explanation, though now wasn't the appropriate time for me to be admiring him.
"Since I had taken you away from the world in which you had lived, Azusa, then I should, at the very least–"
"You did that with my consent. If I hadn't wanted to, then I wouldn't have come with. Besides, what's this about? You saying you can't trust me with taking care of the house?"
"No, of course not, that isn't what I…"
"So, in that case, this conversation's over. If you really want to make things easier for me, get an ap.r.o.n for me, would you?"
"Ap.r.o.n…?"
"Yes or no?"
"I, I will."
"I'll be counting on you."
Rather than being an expression of contentment, the smile on Azusa's face appeared closer to a look of triumph. Once he heard my agreement, Azusa bobbed his head with a nod and resumed was.h.i.+ng the dishes. In which household would I find an 'ap.r.o.n'… since this is what he had requested, I would like to have this ready for Azusa by tomorrow morning.
"O-i, it's morning already–"
My eyes flew open, surprised by the sudden shaking of my body along with the voice which called out to me. There was no ringing sound which signaled the time for getting up in the morning; in this quiet room filled by the morning sunlight, there was only Azusa, who stood there wearing the ap.r.o.n I had gotten for him last night.
"Since I'd spent all that time slaving away at a company, my body always gets up at the usual hour now."
Azusa… had there ever been a time where you had gotten up before your alarm rang…? My memories of that man who always sullenly smacked at his smartphone, were they of a different person…?
"I already finished getting food ready, so go on and wash your face."
As quickly as he said it, Azusa pulled away the bedcovers and drove me out of the room, so there was nothing I could do other than get ready as I had been told to do. Once I had finished dressing myself and poked my head into the living room, an appetizing smell came wafting over. I ate the meal that Azusa had prepared for me, and with the rest of the slight time before I had to leave for work, the two of us gently relaxed together. I wanted to continue spending the rest of the day like this, but since I could not say it, I had no choice but to hang my sword on my hip.
At the door, I turned to look back. Azusa was still wearing his ap.r.o.n while standing there to see me off. Up until now, I had always been the one sending Azusa off as he left for work; now that I was the one being sent off, I felt strange and off-balance. Azusa seemed to share this feeling, and when we looked at each other, we both ended up laughing.
"Well then, I'll be off."
"Mhm. Take care, alright?"
"Ahh, you too, Azusa. Will you be going shopping?"
"When I feel like it, yeah."
The corners of his mouth curled up in a child-like, boyish smile, so adorable that I couldn't help but be entranced, my face slackening. I was reluctant to leave him and go to work, yet if I did not go, nothing good would come of it. Very well, then, I said, closing our conversation as I put a hand on the doork.n.o.b – only to feel a tugging at my arm. Immediately after I once again turned around, my lips were attacked by a soft, tender feeling.
"Since you always did this to me, heh."
It took Azusa saying those words with a cheeky grin for my brain to finally process what had just happened, and when it did, my face instantly flushed bright red. It was just as he said. Back in Nippon, whenever it was time for Azusa to leave for the day, I had wanted to keep him thinking of me, even a little… and so, every day, I had kissed him until he was breathless. When I had been the one to do it, I had kissed him desperately; but now that it was I who was on the receiving end, it was incredibly embarra.s.sing. As if satisfied with my reaction, Azusa pushed at my back to tell me to hurry up and set off. By the time I came to myself, I found that I had already been forced out of the house.
"Captain, you look like you're having a good day today."
It was now afternoon. Whilst I was seated at my desk and going through my officework, someone spoke to me as they approached. I raised my head to look up at them as they delivered to me a cup of coffee along with their words.
"Is it because of Mr Azusa, I wonder?"
"Are ya talkin' about Sir Ilias's mystery lover from the rumors?!?!"
Eric jumping to his feet as he shouted, shoving his chair so violently that it fell to the floor. The loud bang filled the crammed office air. Reproachful glances pierced Eric from all sides, but he only laughed, slightly lowering his head as he righted his chair, then came over. This man, Eric, was excellent when it came to cutting through an enemy vanguard and breaking through their forces, but because of his simple-minded and slightly stupid mentality, he received reprimands often. Although it was good to be an honest man… I believe the only person who would think there were no problems with what he was currently doing was, unfortunately, only him.
"Eric, you're being rude…!"
"I heard from Lev that Sir Ilias's lover is reaaaal friggin' gorgeous, ya know. Hey, Cecil, just how pretty is he?"
"Wha, d, don't ask me, please…!"
"Even an honest person like Cecil's turning red and stuttering…! So he's really that beautiful…?!"
Seeing these two merrily chatting away, I wondered, did any part of them remember that they were doing this in the middle of work, right in front of their superior officer. Since I was the one they were with, it didn't matter in this instance, but they would be in trouble if they acted this way somewhere else… I worried over my overly-lively subordinates.
"More importantly, Eric, your report is riddled with mistakes."
"Eeh?! No way, but I did such a good job this timeee…"
"That is true. Compared to the one you submitted the day before yesterday, there are five less – meaning there is a total of thirteen errors."
I instructed him to write out his numbers clearly as I flapped the doc.u.ments in my hand, urging him to hurry and take them. Eric obediently accepted the papers with both hands, and he made the corrections while his face completely red. Cecil seemed to find this sight pitiable, and he worriedly went over and peered at Eric's face.
"I'll help you out, so let's do our best, alright?"
"Wuuuuu, Ceciiiil! I love youuuu!"
What a calculating man Eric was… without commenting a single word on this scene that unfolded before my very eyes, I rubbed at the corner of my eye whilst sipping the coffee I had been given.
As soon as it became time to clock out, I exited the office and quickly walked over to an accessory store. This was the first day that I could pick up the earring I had ordered, so I wished to hurry and retrieve it at once. I went inside the store, and as it was just about to close, there were no other customers inside. The shopkeeper, who carried the air of a true craftsman around him, was merely sitting quietly with his arms crossed. Once he caught sight of me, the shopkeeper stood and disappeared to the back of the store, but he quickly returned with a small box in hand.
"This request for bluish-black one was absurd. Your order gave me a ton of trouble."
Whilst he said that, the shopkeeper looked proud as he set the box on the counter and lifted its lid, allowing me to see its contents. The bluish-black yet translucent stones had been worked into a simple, clean earring style, and I was absolutely satisfied with the end result. Since this earring was to be the proof of my marriage with Azusa, I had self-indulgently wanted it to incorporate colors which represented both of us – a request which the jeweler had perfectly executed.
"Thank you very much for this."
"This job was worth it for me, too. Hope you'll be happy together."
He carefully placed the box inside a pouch and handed it over to me. I had already settled the payment earlier, so after I had received my purchase, I bowed my head to him in grat.i.tude and left the store. It was already starting to become dark outside, so I had to hurry back. I was on edge, my body filled with nervousness and excitement as I broke into a run and headed home.
After I unlocked the door and entered my house, a pleasant scent drifted over to greet me. It must have been over ten years since I had last returned home to a house where the lights were on and the smell of dinner was in the air. I was surprised by how at ease it made me feel. There was no sign of Azusa in the living room, so if he was here, then I should be able to find him in the kitchen. I called out I'm home just before the doorway, and as I peeked my head around the corner, I saw Azusa's ap.r.o.n-clad figure. He had been stirring a pot; at my voice, he turned around in surprise. Then, a smile spread over his face as he replied with a welcome home.
"My bad, I still need a little more time for the food. Go on and change out of your clothes first."
"Aah, understood."
After I docilely agreed to him, Azusa once again apologized with a sorry for the wait before turning around and facing forward again. The loose and relaxed s.h.i.+rts we had bought in bulk yesterday were open around his neck, revealing the enticing sight of Azusa's nape. My gaze was glued to his nape, and I unconsciously found myself drawn toward Azusa until I was standing behind him.
On my way home, I had pondered and ran circles in my head over when would be the best time to present this earring to him, yet now each and every one of those thoughts had flown away. Instinct filled my mind, urging me to make this man mine, right here and now. I landed a kiss to the back of Azusa's neck with a lip-smacking sound, and Azusa, who was already quite aware that I hadn't left the room and had approached him instead, just let out a giggle like he'd been tickled. Given that he didn't shout at me to stop and leave him be, I pressed on, pecking kisses on him as I made my way to his left earlobe.
"Mmn."
Arousal sparked through me as he let out a moan. Azusa grasped a ladle with one of his hands while the other gripped the kitchen counter, his eyes closed shut, stirring within me the desire to conquer him. I set the bag that I received and carried back with me upon the counter, then withdrew the box from it. To keep him from taking notice, I licked at his ear and nibbled on the lobe, slick sounds filling Azusa's hearing as his body fell forward. At some point he had released his grip on the ladle, his other hand also pressing against the kitchen counter. After a long time without having engaged in such acts, Azusa seemed sensitive; his breath was ragged just from my caressing his ear. Now, I dropped a kiss to the right side of his nape as I took out the earring and placed it on his left ear.
"Ngh, ah, wha…?"
"Go ahead and feel it."
Azusa looked over at me, an entranced expresson on his face. When I told him to touch his left ear, he slowly and dazedly moved his arm. He immediately perceived that he was touching a metal earring, but he did not yet realize that this earring was proof of our marriage. I suppose it couldn't be helped that he wouldn't understand this.
"I have mentioned to you before that over here, we exchange earrings rather than rings for the fingers, haven't I?"
"Ah…!"
Once I explained to him whilst dropping a kiss upon his forehead, Azusa instantly remembered. He was unbearably adorable as he began using his fingers to play with the earring, happiness radiating off of him.
"I'm sorry that it took me this long to have it ready."
"No… I'm really happy. Thank you, Ilias."
Dear lord, is it because I haven't seen Azusa like this in so long…? He was so cute, so adorable that it nearly killed me. All he was doing was thanking me, yet my feelings couldn't help but spill over. Over this past year, I had only been able to hang on by thinking of how I wanted to experience more of Azusa's happiness, of how I wanted us to be happy together.
Without any means to keep myself from running wild, I was entranced by those lips in front of me as I bent down to bite at them. It appeared that I was not alone in my desire to immediately embrace him, for Azusa parted his thin lips and invited my tongue inside. I licked inside of his mouth fast and loosely, untying the straps of Azusa's ap.r.o.n so that I could slide my hand beneath his clothes. I also turned off the fire Azusa had been using to cook earlier; this way, Azusa, who was dazed from the kiss, wouldn't have to worry about it. My hands stroked the sides of Azusa's body, and as they slid ever so slightly upward, they found two lovely pearls standing at attention. When the nubs were hardened like this, Azusa enjoyed when I touched them, kneading them with my fingers. As I lavishly kneaded both of Azusa's nipples, his body swayed dramatically beneath me, the movement causing our lips to separate. Azusa's head ended up turning back to the front, as if sad to have to do so; and then, when my fingers began pulling and scratching at the nubs on his chest, his head began to wobble.
"Ngh, aah…! Cut it ou…!"
The stimulation was too strong for Azusa, and as he tried to shy away, I pressed down on him and buried my face against the back of his neck. Azusa's scent filled my every breath, incomparably arousing.
"Ha… ngh, Azusa…!"
Just from my panting close to his ear, Azusa let out an erotic moan. Although I wanted to pamper him more gently, the desire coursing through my body made me unable to stop. I had been hard from the very beginning, and as I rubbed my erection between Azusa's a.s.s, I heard him let out a small laugh as he reached behind toward my lower half, suddenly rubbing at the tip.
"You're hard as a rock, huh?"
I met Azusa's gaze, and when I saw the challenging glint housed in those black eyes, I felt every sense of reason within me tear to shreds.
I yanked off Azusa's slippers and underwear – too roughly, perhaps, but Azusa did not make a single objection as I grasped between his legs, feeling him with skin-on-skin. Just like mine, Azusa's was hard and erect, and it was already slick with precome. As I ma.s.saged him with my fingertips, the fluid spilled out from the tip, flowing down without pause.
"What about you, Azusa? What would you say this is?"
"Fua…! It's not…!"
To the question I s.a.d.i.s.tically posed, Azusa gave a weak answer. Before he could fire himself up to argue, I rubbed a circle at the base of his c.o.c.k, my fingers sc.r.a.ping his skin. With that, the only words Azusa could string together were meaningless syllables.
"Ah, sto, I'm co…!"
After I rhythmically repeated these motions several times, Azusa suddenly let out a warning. He shot out into my hand as I tried not to let any spill. Ordinarily, the counter in front of Azusa had a cutting board on top of it; now, however, Azusa collapsed bonelessly upon it, his upper half clothed in the ap.r.o.n while his lower half was bare, his pants at his ankles. This perverted scene of Azusa's a.s.s up in the air facing me only made my arousal and excitement grow even stronger.
"You've been backed up for quite a while, I see."
"Of frickin' course I've been… there was no way I could get off when you weren't with me anymore…"
He most likely didn't realize that those breathy, faint words he said to me only pulled me deeper into my desire. The power of Azusa's unconscious actions was terrifying. I coated the fingers of one of my hands with precome in place of lubricant, then brought my fingers to the pucker of Azusa's a.s.s. Because it hadn't been loosened in a while, that place was tight and tense; thus, I had to bring my fingers in carefully.
"Kuh, aah…!"
"Relax your muscles."
Azusa nodded at my words, trying to settle his now-ragged breathing. I matched my pace to the timing of his breaths, sliding my finger, which had entered him up to the second knuckle, all the way down to the base. At the same time that I pushed my finger inside, Azusa let out a pained cry. Once I heard that, I knew that I had been too rough again, and I hastily froze all of my movements.
"Mngh, don't stop…!"
"But…"
"I'm asking you, for more…!"
With his cheek resting on the cooking counter, Azusa looked back and turned his gaze on me, the sight taking my breath away. It had taken me so much willpower to bring myself to stop, yet just like that, Azusa's bewitching seduction made all of my efforts meaningless – how detestable. If you truly feel that way, Azusa, then I shall no longer hold back.
I slicked up more of my fingers with come and brought them inside. I disregarded the bow of Azusa's back and the sound of his cries as I thrust my fingers inside, and when they brushed against a certain place, Azusa showed a different reaction.
"I'm putting it in…."
I spoke, my voice so slow and husky that it barely sounded like my own, as I unhesitatingly shoved into Azusa's hole.
"Gah, aaaaah…!"
"Kuh…!"
I was aroused by him, even as he dug his nails into me. I had a moment of bewilderment as I wondered whether a s.a.d.i.s.tic tendency had awakened inside me, but as I began reaching a spot of immense tightness in Azusa's body, I also lost my breath and had to endure, pus.h.i.+ng forward. Once his body had given way, I once again began pus.h.i.+ng forward, breathing ragged, indecent pants in Azusa's ear.
"Uah, ah, aah… I love you, I love… Ilias…!"
"Haa, I also… Azusa."
Once it had slid all the way in, Azusa's hips began to shake, now unaccustomed to being entered after so long. I moved so as to strike at the place within that would bring him pleasure, and as I did, Azusa's body was powerless and limp; he had only been able to put up a strong front at the beginning. I hurriedly hugged his body before he could slip from the counter and fall, but the speed of my thrusts only grew faster.
"Ah, aaaah, ahn, Ilias! Ilia, ah, aah–"
"Azusa…!"
"Aah, top, ah, fast!"
"Ngh, haa, don't you mean, 'stop'?"
"Naah, aaah, ah! Ilia, ngh, ry, me!"
"Mnh? What is it, Azusa?"
Once I noticed how Azusa was trying desperately to say something in between his panting, I slowed down my pace and asked him what he wanted to say. Once I did, Azusa turned his dazed and unfocuzed gaze on me, then smiled.
"Marry me and be mine forever, Ilias."
That clear voice made my blood pulse, the thumping of my heart felt in every corner of my body. I never would have thought that Azusa would propose to me at this sort of time. I already knew my answer to his question.
"I will. It would be my joy to be Azusa's one and only for the rest of my life…!"
As I gave my answer, the speed of my thrusts resumed as well. Azusa looked as if he wanted to laugh at first, but his expression soon melted into a seductive one. Because we were standing, the pace of my thrusts was faster and wilder than anything Azusa had felt, and at last, I began reaching my climax.
"Uaaaah! So fast, ah! Ilia, wait, aaah!"
"Zusa…! Azusa…!"
"I mean it, slow do-! Aaaaah…!"
"Haa, I'm coming…!"
As Azusa shouted, his voice turning into a squeal, I tightly gripped his hips, slamming my desire all the way inside. Azusa's body s.h.i.+vered and twitched, his hair in such disarray that I couldn't see his face; yet what I was able to see clearly with my own eyes was the glint of the earring that shone on his left ear.
[1] Azusa says the phrase はい論破 [hai ronpa] at the end; according to the 2ch definition I found, it's slang used by 2chan's breaking news VIPs when they totally defeat someone else's argument. Incidentally, in this line of dialogue he also uses the English サポート [support] when describing how he wants to help Ilias. Pretty sure this is another instance of Azusa using gaming slang. サポート is used in j.a.panese games to mean 'support cla.s.ses' like healers, buffers, etc., so Azusa means that if Ilias is going to take charge and do most of the work as the main tank, then Azusa will help him out by giving support and helping Ilias's success by taking care of him.
Translator's Note
Finally managed to finish translating this chapter after so long… Sorry T_T)
Now that I understand j.a.panese a little better, I have a new appreciation for how detailed and intimate Taro-sensei's writing is. She's so good at writing character thoughts and voices!
I remember when I first started my blog, I was always meticulous with adding warnings about R18 content. Nowadays, after every story I touch is filled with R18 even when I didn't expect it, I wonder, do I really need to add these warnings…? Isn't this what people are coming to this site to read, anyway…? But since Taro-sensei marked the R18 chapters, I'll continue to mark them as well.