Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.
The days naturally grew much hotter when the sun came out at the end of the rainy season. When Ilias had first told me that no such thing as āthe four seasonsā existed in his homeland and that it was always chilly all year round, I had somewhat predicted how he would react to the summer. But, this guyā¦ he really turned out to be absurdly weak to the heat. āI feel guilty about using the air conditionerā¦ā were his words when he decided to pass the days by with only the electric fan. One day, however, I came back from work to find him melting off the sofa, passed out. My heart nearly stopped at that moment.
Ever since he had suffered mild heat stroke that day, I persistently instructed him to make sure to keep the air conditioner running even if it was cool inside, and to drink lots of salt water. āThe Summer of Nippon is quite severe, isnāt itā¦ā When I heard Ilias make such a rare and earnest complaint, I anxiously started fussing over him to the point where I might as well have Job Changed into being his Mom. <sup id="fnref-250-1"></sup>
On a certain day, I left work and got back home at the same time as usual. Ilias, who had been cooking dinner, had greeted me with a āWelcome homeā when I opened the front door. It was then that I noticed the cloudy expression on his face. Though he tried to hide it, I wasnāt fooled one bit by his utterly transparent smile. I peered at Iliasās face, tilting my head as if to ask what was wrong, but I decided not to call him out on it and only replied, āIām homeā.
āOh, weāre having hiyashi chuuka today?ā <sup id="fnref-250-2"></sup>
I checked what was for dinner while walking past Ilias, who only smiled before pinching a bit of shredded ham from the edge of the cutting board and offering it to me. Well, would you look at thatāat first he used to scold me for sneaking food whenever I passed by, but now he simply handed it over to me. Time to eat up! I parted my lips and chomped down on that ham in front my eyes, then chased after the hand that was withdrawing. Iliasās body gave a jolt when I took his fingers deep in my mouth, but I had no plans of stopping. My tongue slowly licked the underbelly of his fingers, slid in the space between his nails, then wrapped around the fingertips as I nipped gently at them.
āWhy youāAzusaā¦!ā
His eyebrows knitted in self-restraint, reddening all the way up to his cheeks. I had recently discovered his weak pointāit lay in his fingertips, which I henceforth began to tease and molest whenever possible. Though the words āLet goāā fell from his mouth plenty of times, he would actually never continue and say something like: āJust get off of me already, jeezā. I really loved that face he made, like he was falling apart and barely able to hold himself together.
After taking my fill of his fingertips, I released his fingers with a powerful suck. My eyes met Iliasās, whose princely faƧade had been rent apart by an expression openly dripping with lust. Crap, I went too farāthe instant I pulled my body back, Iliasās outstretched arm reached out to me. As if Iād let him catch me that easily. Just how many times would we skip dinner if he caught me every time, I thought. Spinning around towards the bedroom, I gave him a good view of my back and, of course, didnāt forget to look back and grin smugly at him.
āThanks for the snackāIām heading off to change.ā
Satisfied by the look on his face after heād been told to wait, I swallowed up the ham.
We watched TV while drinking barley tea after we had finished eating the hiyashi chuuka. A variety show played on the screen, but since I hadnāt been paying much attention I didnāt understand what it was about. Although usually Ilias eagerly tried to learn and understand the words coming from the TV, today he only watched the screen with a blank gaze like his heart wasnāt into it.
Something must have come up. I had wanted to just gently wait until he talked about it, butā¦ it troubled me to think of how many of these days might pass before then. At times like these, you could only rely on the power of alcohol. After making a show of stretching widely, I stood up and went to the fridge, then answered the questioning gaze I felt at my back by picking up a can of beer and holding it up so that Ilias could see it.
āWanna drink?ā
āā¦ Sure, why not.ā
I wondered if heād picked up on what I meant when I said that. Ilias made a face like an idea had come to him, and nodded. While he fetched glasses, plates and some potato chips, I took out two beer cans and dropped them on the low table. It would be fine if we just drank straight out of the cans, and rather than pouring the chips out onto a plate we could have just opened the bag, butā¦ well, I guess Ilias was just well-mannered that way.
I raised the pull tab on the can with a satisfying pop, then poured the drink into the cups Ilias had brought. The beer sloshed inside the glasses as we toasted with a clink. Ahhhh, beer after a long day of work was the best. I gulped it down for nearly half a minute, then stretched my hand out for the snacks.
While watching TV, I repeated that process for quite a whileā¦ then the show ended and switched over to the commercial break, and a somber voice from beside me called out my name.
āMhmm?ā
āThat isā¦ I was contacted again today.ā
I had thought it would be something like that. When this guy brooded, it would usually be because he was thinking about his return to his home world. It was something that shouldāve made him happy, so why did it make him have a face like that instead? He held the glass in his hands and restlessly fidgeted. I prompted him to keep going in the silence that followed, and after fixing his gaze down to the table, he continued to speak.
āAt present, the restoration of the teleportation device has reached 80% completion. My return is estimated to become possible as early as next month, according to Nippon time.ā
āSo itās all going as planned, huh. Thatās good newsāwhatās there to feel down about?ā
I stuffed potato chips in my mouth, talking as if it didnāt mean anything to me. Thatās right; it didnāt mean anything. He was just going back to where he belonged. That was all. He and I werenāt lovers, so it was nothing. We were justā¦ roommates, roommates who had a more intense physical relationship than other peopleā¦ Being called āpartnersā might be the best fit for us.
āā¦I want to stay here, by Azusaās side.ā
He looked like he might cry. When he squeezed those words out, my breath stopped.
What the heck are you saying? Letās stop that, okay? Saying such thingsā¦ Iāll pretend I didnāt notice, so donāt say it. Donāt say that kind of thingā¦ There was so much that I wanted to say then, but at that moment, āDamn itā was the only thing that came to mind.
āWhat are you saying? Tell me, Ilias Garland, what position do you hold?ā
āAzusaā¦ā
āYouāre a Knight of the Kingdom whoās meant to guard the Gri-whatever Fortress, arenāt you? That was your pride and honor, wasnāt it?ā
Relieved to have said it, I took a breath. Ilias finally turned his face towards me. The expression he had, as if he was utterly lost, made me want to smile bitterlyābut only in my heart. Right now, the only thing I could do was put on a cruel face and coldly hook up the corners of my mouth.
āBack in your world you have friends and family waiting for your return, as well as companions who are desperately working to bring you back, donāt you?ā
āThatās right, butā¦ā
āYouāve got things you have to do, for their sake as well, right? Is this really the kind of situation where you can stay and keep cooking meals for me?
āā¦That isā¦ā
āAh, itās not like Iām asking you to keep freeloading off of me forever; itās just, thatās what I like best about you staying here. When I canāt eat your meals anymore, Iāll beāā
Really lonely, was what I had wanted to say, but the words didnāt come out. A strong pair of arms wrapped around me and buried my face into Iliasās chest. From the side I heard the clear ringing of the glass falling onto the floor, but none of that mattered when the embrace tightened. Above me came the sounds of sniffling accompanied by a rain of āsorryās and desperate apologies.
Heās really such a crybaby, this guy. Can you really be a knight like thisā¦ If he keeps crying like that, itāll make me start tearing up, too.
The truth is, I want you to just be with me. I canāt imagine living alone anymore, and I donāt want to. But the limit to our time together is just around the corner, and now we have to stop hesitating and face it. Ahh, damn itājust how did things turn out like this?
Iām straight, so, justā¦ how did I end up falling for this doggy-like knight? Even though I never understood what it meant to love someone so much that your chest hurtā¦ right now, my heart was in so much pain that I wanted to die. Stupid Ilias.
āHmmm, itās deeefinitely tough alright, but if youāll only be with āem for a limited time then even if you canāt date, you can at least make some memories, maybe?ā
āMaking memories, huhā¦ I canāt believe words like those actually came out from a mouth like yours, Mita.ā
I drank some draft beer within the busy pub, while Mitaās face screwed up as he ate edamame.
āWhaddya mean! What I handed you was totally a good answer, ya know!ā
He had this āIām being picked ooon!ā expression, but that was really the impression people got considering the way this trashās brain workedāI didnāt point it out though, since it would end up being a pain.
Sometimes when it was time to leave work, the words āLetās go drinkiiinggg!ā would come flying at me. Normally I would just refuse, but after yesterdayās events had left me with an uneasy feeling and the need for a distraction, I agreed this time on the condition that Iād have only one drink. I amenably told Ilias over the phone that I was having a single drink with my junior coworker, and when he told me to be careful about having too much I readily agreed. His voice sounded somewhat lonely, so I added that I wanted dinner, too. āThen Iāll wait for you!ā he replied with utter happiness, and my gaze and mouth naturally softened.
Mita, whoād been eavesdropping on our exchange, had exclaimed, āSo youāre living together?!ā And that was how Iād gotten the bad idea of complaining to him all about this guy whoād come from another world etc., while roughly fudging certain unmentionable details in my explanation.
This person who was not my loverāa roommate and companion I had a physical relationship with, though we had never gone all the way, revealed a desire to stay together with me while crying. It was impossible to stop those words from being spoken, but I wanted later on to be able to end our relationship on pleasant terms without any rotting emotional baggage weighing us down. And as I worriedly mulled over what I should do about this, Mitaās suggestion to go make some memories had slightly surprised me.
āThere are a ton of events to go to around this time, right? Ahh, and how about watching fireworks together outta the window of an inn, yeah?!ā
āBy now, thereās no way that kind of great room would be available.ā
āYou wonāt know unless ya search for it! Iāll ask around with my friendsāhold on a minute!ā
After stating that, Mita tapped away at his phone and then began to make a call. I would really appreciate if he would be this motivated toward work as wellā¦ And in the first place, I wanted to tsukkomi him and ask if he really thought he could get a room in a high-class inn just by using his personal connections, but the moment the call connected and he started speaking, I shut my mouth. <sup id="fnref-250-3"></sup>
His suggestion wasnāt bad at allāI had been thinking that I wanted to do something with Ilias for the end; I suppose going on a trip might be a good idea. Maybe there would be fireworks, or maybe a summer festival. I wanted to let him experience an open-air bath at an onsen resort, and if the sea was close by then maybe I could take him to go swimming, too. <sup id="fnref-250-4"></sup> The more I thought about it, the more I really wanted to do it. This is the first time I ever contemplated over something so much for someone elseās sake, so my mood became somewhat sappy. Aah, it really does feel like Iāve fallen in love with him, huh.
āSakurai-san! I managed to get you the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of August. Iāll send you the details for the inn later!ā
āAhā¦ Mita.ā
āWhatās up?ā
āThank you. Really.ā
Going on a trip with Iliasājust thinking about it made me excited. Perhaps my expression unconsciously changed or something when I gave my thanks, because Mitaās face strangely turned a shade of red before he covered it up, muttering something in an inaudible voice.
<hr>
Authorās Note
The people in the comments gave me the question āHow does Ilias exerciseā, butā¦ how does he, ne?? I didnāt really think too deeply about itā¦
In a bit, Iāll write about the a-mazing story of Iliasās muscle workouts! Thanks for giving me some great content! lol
<hr>
Translatorās Note
Iliasās muscle workouts remain a mystery, but hereās something else!
Thereās a hashtag floating around on Japanese twitter which reads:
#Calling all writers, write in your style how to make cup yakisoba
Taro-senseiās Tweet #1
<blockquote>Put the soup base in after three minutesā¦ Alright, it should be good now. Though I wonder why the container for this cup ramen is in such a square formā¦ hm? WhāWhy are there holes at the end of the lidā¦? Eh? The hot water has to be drained?
W-wait, please, Azusa. My soupā¦? Huh? This isnāt ramenā¦?
Eā¦. ehhhhhh?!?!
</blockquote>
Taro-senseiās Tweet #2
<blockquote>Uwaa, are you serious, you actually threw the sauce in thereā¦ It smells so freakinā strongā¦ Wait, aāare you crying?! It really made you that sadā¦?!
W-well, at least the yakisoba will be happy that you care about it so muchā¦ Ah, he didnātā¦ laughā¦ Heās, not, smilingā¦!
Nnnngh, fine! Here, go eat your ramen! Iāll top it off with a boiled egg, so donāt cry anymore. Okay? (lol)
</blockquote>
pats Ilias Itās okayā¦ you arenāt the only one who didnāt know about cup yakisobaā¦\nIfĀ youāre like me and Ilias, cup yakisoba a set of packaged dry noodles similar to cup ramen. Yakisoba, however, is supposed to be eaten dry. You pour the hot water into the container, let the water sit and cook the noodles, then drain the container using the handy-dandy sieve included in the lid (see those holes above)! After you drain the water, you put the seasoning on.
Ilias, however, had no idea what cup yakisoba was, so he treated it like ramen. He poured all of the seasoning into the hot water which is supposed to be drained outā¦
Azusa took pity on him. (lol)
Thanks to our loā„veā„ly Agent Psyx for her wonderful work as always!! Weāre trying a new system where she takes the chapter and runs away with it instead of having me staring and breathing heavily over her shoulder. I think it works!
Thanks to Taro-sensei for her wonderful stories!!ļ¼ā§āā¦) I was so excited to see those tweetsā¦ Ilias and Azusa being a lovey-dovey married couple heals my soul. Especially during these chaptersā¦
In the next chapter, Ilias and Azusa go on a honeymoon. Please look forward to it.
[Edit 3/20/2018: Thanks to Yuann-san for correcting sea baths = swimming in the sea! (ļ½„ĻĀ“-ć)^ā ]