Even though he felt annoyed about being sat on and having his nose broken, the mont he saw Lily crying her heart out, his instinct as a man pushed him to comfort her instead. Sothing stirred in his chest—perhaps because Lily looked so innocent and fragile while she cried.
’This girl cries a lot,’ he thought, observing Lily who still occasionally sniffled. ’Is she a child? How old is she, really?’
After Lily’s crying subsided to just small sniffles, Leonard decided to ask. "Hey, Lily. How old are you?"
Lily lifted her still-wet face. She blinked a few tis, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Lily... Lily is twenty years old."
Leonard frowned. Twenty years old? That ant Lily was around the sa age as him. But her behavior... she really acted like an immature child.
He sighed, then said with a slightly annoyed tone, "I’m the one who got hurt this ti, aren’t I? My nose bled, I got sat on, but why are you the one crying? You’re not a little kid anymore, right?"
Lily bowed her head deeply. Her long ears drooped even more limply than before, nearly touching her shoulders. She couldn’t say anything, just staying silent with her head down.
Leonard saw that expression and imdiately felt guilty. His tone softened.
"Hey, I’m not judging you. I’m just asking."
Lily shook her head slowly, still looking down. "No... you’re right. Lily really is a crybaby." Her voice trembled. "Everyone says so. That’s why no one likes Lily."
Leonard fell silent. He listened to those words and felt sothing strange in his chest. Lily said it so innocently, so resignedly, as if she’d already accepted that she simply wasn’t worthy of being liked.
Leonard didn’t know how to respond. So he decided to change the subject.
"So," he said, trying to shift the conversation, "why were you watching secretly from behind that tree? Did soone order you to? Are you all still suspicious of ?"
Lily shook her head quickly. "No! It’s not like that!" She lifted her face, her still slightly puffy eyes looking at Leonard. "Lily just wanted to apologize. But Lily was embarrassed, so Lily hid."
Leonard blinked. Apologize? He felt a little relieved. At least he wasn’t being watched because of lingering suspicion. That was good news.
Lily continued in a soft voice, "Yesterday... actually, you weren’t ready to fight, right? That’s why I attacked you right away so I could win. I know it wasn’t fair, but Emma forced ."
She bit her lower lip. "She said if I could beat you, she wouldn’t bother anymore. But because of that, everyone in the village looks down on you and avoids you because they think you’re weak. It’s all Lily’s fault."
Leonard listened in silence.
So that’s how it was. Emma forced Lily to fight and win by any ans necessary. And Lily, who probably didn’t have the courage to stand up to Emma, just went along with it.
In his heart, Leonard could only think, ’She’s right. I really am weak. That’s an undeniable fact.’
Lily apologized again, her voice trembling. "I’m sorry. Do... do you forgive Lily?"
Leonard looked at the girl before him. Her big black eyes were wet with leftover tears, her long ears drooped limply, and her lips trembled as she held back more crying. She looked like a little child sincerely begging for forgiveness.
Leonard glanced at her, then said in a flat tone, "No. I don’t forgive you."
Lily’s ears imdiately dropped dramatically, flattening completely against the sides of her head. Her face, which had been full of hope, darkened as if her whole world had collapsed. Her black eyes started welling up again.
Leonard watched those ears. Their movent was so expressive, perfectly reflecting Lily’s feelings. He could clearly see her emotions just from the way her ears drooped. His eyes then shifted to the short fluffy white tail behind Lily. That rabbit tail also drooped limply, hanging without spirit.
Leonard almost couldn’t hold back his laughter seeing the sadness expressed by those ears. But he worked hard to keep his face flat.
"You know," he continued, making Lily look up with hope, "I was actually planning to let you win. I had a whole plan for that. But you went and kicked my face so hard you knocked out before I could even say anything."
He sighed dramatically. "That was a really embarrassing way to lose, Lily."
Lily’s expression grew even darker. Her head bowed deeper, as if trying to hide behind her long white hair. Her ears nearly covered her entire face.
Leonard smiled slightly. "But... if you’re willing to be my friend and help look for firewood now, then I’ll forgive you."
Lily lifted her face quickly. Her still-wet eyes sparkled, and her ears, which had been drooping, now stood straight up again. Her little tail wagged slightly.
"R-really?" she asked, her voice full of hope.
Leonard nodded. "Yeah."
As he said this, he observed Lily more carefully. Her long white hair was a bit ssy, but that just made her look natural. Her cute face with big black eyes and a small nose. And especially—her long rabbit ears, covered in soft white fur, with pink inner parts that occasionally twitched to catch sounds.
And her tail. That short fluffy white tail behind her kept wagging slightly.
Leonard couldn’t resist anymore.
"And..." he said, "You also have to let touch and pet your rabbit ears."
[ Lily’s Affection: 9% ]
[ Lily’s Lust: 2% ]
Leonard saw the change and almost jolted.
’It went up?’ he thought in disbelief. ’I just asked to touch her ears, and her Affection increased?’
Lily was a bit surprised. Her cheeks flushed slightly, a light pink on her white skin, but quite visible against her pale complexion.
"You want to pet my ears?" she asked, half in disbelief.
Leonard nodded. Actually, he also wanted to touch Lily’s short, adorable-looking tail. But sohow, he felt that would be too inappropriate. So he decided to stick with just the ears.
Lily seed to think about it. Her eyes drifted, her brows slightly furrowed. Her small lips pouted—a classic expression of soone seriously considering sothing.
Leonard saw that and started to doubt himself.
’Is my request too much?’ he thought. ’She was so excited to help when I said I’d forgive her, but the mont I asked to touch her ears, she thought hard about it. Maybe touching ears has special aning in this world?’
He was about to tell her to forget the ear-touching part, but Lily spoke first.
"Why do you want to pet my ears?" she asked innocently, with genuine curiosity.
Leonard hesitated. He didn’t know how to answer. But he decided to be honest.
"Because... because your ears are so adorable," he said, stumbling slightly over his words. "I can’t resist touching them."
[ Lily’s Affection: 10% ]
[ Lily’s Lust: 3% ]
Leonard saw the change and his eyes widened slightly.
’Up again?’ he thought. ’Even if it’s just a little, that’s two increases in a short ti. Seems like touching ears really does have special aning in this world.’
Lily blushed. The pink on her cheeks was a bit more noticeable now. In a soft voice, she began to explain.
"You know... touching ears is only allowed for family and partners." She looked at Leonard from behind her long bangs, her eyes aningful. "You said earlier you wanted to be friends with . Were you serious? Are you... interested in ?"
Leonard froze.
So that’s how it was...
He thought for a mont before answering carefully, "I didn’t know there was a special aning behind touching ears. I really didn’t know."
Lily blinked. Then suddenly her eyes sparkled.
"Oh right! You lost your mory, didn’t you?" Her face, which had been tense, suddenly relaxed. "So you really don’t know anything."
Leonard breathed a sigh of relief internally. At least Lily didn’t think he was weird or had bad intentions.
"But about touching ears," he said quickly, "let’s forget it. I don’t know the rules, so I don’t want to cross any boundaries." He looked at Lily sincerely. "But about being friends—I’m serious. I just arrived in this village and it seems almost everyone here dislikes . So I don’t have any friends. I really want to be friends with you."
[ Lily’s Affection: 21% ]
[ Lily’s Trust: 24% ]
[ Status: Interested ]
Leonard saw the change and could hardly believe it.
’That much of an increase?’ he thought in amazent. ’From 10% to 21% Affection, Trust straight to 24%, and Status becos Interested. Is it really that easy?’
But he quickly corrected himself. ’No, it can’t be that easy. Maybe because the base was low, so it rises quickly. Or maybe because Lily really is lonely and needs a friend. Or maybe it’s a combination of everything.’
He also thought about Borami. He’d already decided to pursue Borami, he genuinely liked that woman. But now, unintentionally, he’d made Lily blush.
’What if I pursue Lily too?’ he thought hesitantly. ’But if I pursue two girls at once, isn’t that cheating? Especially if Borami finds out—her Affection and Trust could drop drastically.’
But on the other hand, he rembered history lessons from his world. In primitive tis, polygamy was common. Kings and nobles, strong and wealthy n often had multiple wives. But was it like that in this world too?
He wanted to ask Lily, but he hesitated. ’If I suddenly ask, "Are n allowed to have multiple wives here?", she’ll definitely think I’m weird. Better to observe the customs in this village first. See how the beastkin handle their relationships, then decide.’
Lily, unaware of what Leonard was thinking, seed happy with his answer. Her face, which had been tense, now brightened. Her ears stood straight up, her little tail wagging slightly.
"Okay!" she said enthusiastically. "Lily will be your friend and help you look for firewood! Besides, Lily’s free right now. Usually Lily just gets bossed around by Emma, but today they’re busy."
Leonard smiled at her enthusiasm. There was sothing infectious about Lily’s simple excitent.
Then Lily said in a shy voice, her eyes avoiding his slightly, "If you want... you can still touch my ears. Even though we just beca friends."
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