"Ha..."
Elia, who had been scrubbing her hands in cold water, let out a deep sigh due to the frustration building up inside her.
She lifted her head slightly and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her face, usually bright with a smile, was now clouded with complex emotions.
"Ugh..."
She glared at the complexity reflected on her face and let out a hum.
Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind, and as she pouted her lips, her reflection changed. The sulking expression spreading across her face felt both unfamiliar and oddly familiar.
This was a face she had seen many tis in her childhood.
Elia's hotown was the type of peaceful countryside often spoken of.
Though there were scenes where magical beasts replaced chanical devices for farming, the lives of the people were still centered around agriculture.
Moreover, Elia's hotown, despite being rural, was not far from a large city and posed little threat from dungeons or monsters.
Thanks to this, Elia was able to exhibit the boundless energy typical of a child, turning the entire village into her playground.
Naturally, she got into her fair share of small accidents.
"Ah! The fence…! Oh no, you can't go out!"
She had broken the fence at the dairy farm, causing the cows to escape in droves.
"How did you break this tal contraption…? No, you broke the entire ritual!"
She had accidentally broken farming equipnt while awakening her magical powers.
"Oh my God…"
And there was the ti she knocked over the thousand-year-old tree that stood proudly in the center of the village...
As a result, she had earned the dishonorable title of a clumsy troublemaker from the villagers, but in Elia's eyes, those were still fond mories.
However, that phase didn’t last long.
As Elia grew older, both her body and mind matured, and she ca to know a wider world after enrolling at the academy.
With her parents having more children, Elia took on the role of the responsible eldest sister, eventually settling into her current, more composed persona.
But now, the childish side of her had returned.
And the cause of that was none other than Iha-yul.
"Tch… I was the one who asked first..."
Indeed, Elia was in a sulking mood.
On the morning of the first day of the Birth Festival, hadn’t she asked Iha-yul to sll his hair and promised to wait for him? She had even said she would be looking forward to it.
Iha-yul, though embarrassed, had agreed.
"Heh..."
But not even a day had passed before she was cut in line right in front of her.
Under the fireworks, creating an utterly romantic atmosphere!
On top of that, he spent the whole night drinking, and by the ti morning ca, he hadn't even left his room to eat, instead nursing himself with milk.
Elia wiped her wet hands and let out another sigh.
"Sigh."
But soon, she relaxed her hands, once again letting out a sigh.
In truth, while Elia was sulking, she wasn't really angry.
Iha-yul... ever since they first t, she had been strangely drawn to him, a little boy who had helped her with small things.
As they lived together, all she saw were things she liked about him, and eventually, he had beco the savior who saved her precious little brother from disaster.
How could she be mad at such a grateful and lovable boy? This was more like a childish complaint.
Even the little complaint lted away when she saw Iha-yul fidgeting nervously by her side, showing his cute side.
At this point, it was hard to even pretend to be angry, let alone act as if she were upset, to enjoy his adorableness.
"Hmm..."
There was a small sense of unease beneath those actions.
Elia had deep feelings for Iha-yul.
His outward appearance and inner nature were so cute and lovable that she wanted to be with him forever.
She wanted to live together, sharing love, and while it was a bit of a hidden desire, she even thought about feeding him milk from her own breast one day.
From the first eting, she had been drawn to him, but now, she was certain.
Iha-yul was the only one for her.
She would never find soone like him again.
But...
Was Elia the only one for Iha-yul?
She couldn’t be sure about that, and part of her thought that maybe she wasn’t the only one.
It wasn't just a matter of him having multiple wives. In the post-cataclysmic world of superhumans, polygamy was hardly a problem.
The real issue was more fundantal.
While there was no one like Iha-yul in this world, there were plenty of people who resembled Elia.
People with yellow hair and eyes, who were kind and gentle to
others, with full figures and pleasant personalities...
The world was vast, and there were plenty of people who could match Elia in appearance or temperant. Iha-yul had the ability to find soone like her if he wanted to. That thought left Elia feeling a bit uneasy.
‘...Actually, it’s probably not a big deal...’
But Elia ultimately knew that these worries were unnecessary.
Iha-yul may be hiding many things, but his likes and tendencies were quite transparent.
Especially after they began living together, Elia had co to understand a lot about him.
Iha-yul was soone who could never push away soone who had crossed the boundary he set in his heart.
Once soone entered that space, it was over. Even if they laid down like a helpless child, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.
Elia had already settled into the very center of that boundary.
If, and this would never happen, but if Elia were to betray Iha-yul and stab him in the back, Iha-yul might not even be able to hate her.
So, this uneasiness Elia felt was truly a baseless concern.
Once soone entered Iha-yul’s heart, there was no way to leave, no matter what Elia wanted.
Wasn’t the possessiveness he showed her as proof of that?
"Hmm."
Rembering that mont made Elia feel a wave of emotions. The sticky affection and possessiveness wrapped around her like a warm blanket... It had been so sweet.
Elia absentmindedly caressed the pendant hanging around her neck.
It was a beautiful pendant that Iha-yul had made and gifted to her. It wasn’t just a decorative accessory; it was an incredibly complex magical item filled with various spells.
Though she couldn’t quite understand the magic inside it, once her magical power was infused, the security was lifted, and it beca easier to comprehend the spells.
And she could feel the overwhelming protective magic that was packed into it, as if Iha-yul had vowed to never let her get hurt... The impulse she felt was deep and intense.
‘Ah.’
Elia let out a small exclamation. Thinking of that blissful mory, the remaining irritation lted away.
She couldn’t keep pretending to be upset anymore. Elia felt a small sense of regret as she left the room.
‘Well, I was planning to give up soon anyway.’
She thoroughly enjoyed the cute sight of Iha-yul, who was nervously trying to act cute, sneaking glances at her.
By now, she had enjoyed enough to be fully satisfied.
‘Should I buy so snacks? It’s almost dinner ti...’
Iha-yul would likely be waiting in the park with Adella.
Elia bought so simple snacks from a nearby street vendor to relieve her boredom.
She briefly considered it, but children shouldn’t be eating too much, should they? The weight could be dealt with later when they grew up and could shed it...
With one hand holding the packaged snacks, Elia humd as she made her way to the park.
‘What should I say?’
Actually, she wasn’t really angry. She had just been making a small complaint. Now, she was fine. The promise still stood, so she would be expecting it, right? She bought snacks, so they could share. Oh, and dinner could be a little late...
If she said it like that, Iha-yul, who had been nervously worrying, would smile brightly and hug her. She would gently embrace him and feed him the snacks.
Elia, who confidently believed she had earned a master's degree in Iha-yul’s heart, expected that outco.
“?”
But when Elia arrived at the park, she froze, stiff as a stone.
[Ah, th-this doesn’t feel right…]
Iha-yul, looking uneasy at her reaction, turned his head slightly. Behind them, on the bench, Adella sat watching.
Iha-yul’s face, which seed to question if this was really the right thing, made Adella nod solemnly and point at Elia’s blank expression.
Elia’s eyes trembled. For a mont, the background seed to fade, and the only thing she could see was Iha-yul.
He was nervously shifting, but more than that, his face was flushed red, and his body was squirming with embarrassnt.
Wiggle, wiggle.
In the shaking vision, she saw his ears twitching restlessly, as if they couldn’t stay still.
The soft, snowy fur of his ears caught her attention... They looked just like the ears of a puppy.
The ears, having noticed Elia’s gaze, twitched nervously before lowering as if shy. It felt like a reaction from a living being.
[Ugh…]
Iha-yul, glancing at Elia’s obvious stare, shyly covered his ears with his hand and slowly lowered it.
Then, with a very careful manner, he tapped the pendant around his neck.
[Woof, woof...?]
The pendant clicked and mimicked the sound of a dog barking.
The change in the pendant seed to carry both the intention to act cute and the unnecessary embarrassnt that ca with it.
‘Shit, shit...’
This definitely didn’t feel right.
Imdiately afterward, Iha-yul regretted it.
No matter how much he thought about it, this really didn’t seem right...
“......”
Elia’s silence only amplified his regret. He had made a mistake. He shouldn’t have listened to Adella...
[Did I do well, sister?]
anwhile, Adella, who had jumped off the bench, tapped the snack package Elia was holding and asked.
Staring blankly at Iha-yul, who had stiffened, Elia nodded her head slowly and gently patted Adella’s head.
“…Yes, you did really well. Should we head back now?”
[Yes.]
A sudden shift in conversation. Elia handed Adella the snack package.
[Oh, I... I’ll carry it…]
Iha-yul, wriggling in embarrassnt, reflexively reached for the snack package that Adella was holding.
It felt awkward to pass the burden to the child, so he was thinking of just holding it or storing it in the space inventory.
Squeeze...
[Huh?]
But before that, Elia’s hand grabbed the back of Iha-yul’s neck.
For a mont, she felt a shock as if electricity passed through her, and his body went limp.
Elia gently lifted Iha-yul, who was about to collapse, into her arms.
His white ears twitched in front of her face. The sound from earlier echoed in her eardrums. Elia swallowed hard.
“Let’s go back quickly.”
[Yes.]
At Elia’s urging, Adella took a candy from the snack package, popped it in her mouth, and nodded.
Elia quickly started walking.
[Player Compensation System: asurent]
▶ntal State
｢Embarrassnt｣
｢Sha｣
▶Title
｢Puppy｣
...
[Player Compensation System: Developnt]
[Subquest ｢Aegyo Full｣ Completed]
[Subquest ｢Woof?｣ Completed]
[Points are accumulated]
…
[The Tower of Tuning waves its hands around]
[Reverse^ Our %#! So cute^#!]
...
[The Tower of Tuning opens its mouth with difficulty]
[Keueu^%$@… Po, %int… ]
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