The next morning. My bed in my room.
I was vaguely half-conscious, yet more than half asleep, wrapped in that sensation.
While I was letting myself sink into it without resistance, a voice came from somewhere.
The voice was coming from quite close.
"So that's why..."
"Aren't you putting too much..."
"Is that so?...?"
"Next, this one..."
"Then cut that one..."
What is this. What's going on.
Voices. And not just one — two voices. A conversation that sounded like they were having a wonderful time.
I cracked my eyes open slightly. I could see something. I was lying on my side, so it wasn't the ceiling.
That something was gently swaying back and forth.
It was large, beautiful, and had an attractive roundness to it. And there were two of them.
The right one was white, the left one black.
The pair swayed side to side, pushed forward, swayed side to side, pushed forward, over and over.
Each time, they felt incredibly soft and looked thoroughly pleasant.
I suddenly wanted to touch them. Wanted to squeeze them. The desire seized me unbidden.
What on earth was this.
Still lost in a daze, I gave in to my curiosity and gently reached out to touch the black one on the left.
"Kyaaah!?"
A cute scream rang out.
Just as I was thinking, "Huh, whoa — it's smoother and softer than I expected," I was completely startled.
And then my consciousness fully snapped awake. I jolted upright without thinking.
Mineha had spun around, her face bright red, and was glaring at me.
My instincts told me everything I needed to know. Oh, this is bad. Really bad.
"My, my. How bold of you first thing in the morning."
Right next to her, the owner of the other butt — Ruriha — was giggling.
That's right. What I'd touched was a butt. And not just any butt — Mineha's butt.
Mineha and Ruriha had been making breakfast.
They were in their full-sized forms, not their fairial forms.
My room had a bed, and just a short gap away from it, a small kitchen.
So when someone stood there, you could naturally get a good look at their butt from the bed.
The two of them had stood there before.
Mineha and Pakira. That breathtaking view was unforgettable.
Though I hadn't touched them that time.
"Wof!!!"
Mineha roared.
"Y-yes! I'm sorry. I accidentally touched Mineha's butt."
"You don't have to say it! What were you even thinking, doing something like that out of nowhere!"
"I-I'm sorry!"
"Good grief… You really startled me."
"I'm truly sorry!"
"Oh my, as if it would've been fine if it weren't out of nowhere."
"W-what are you saying?! Mom, stay out of this!"
"Oh my, how scary. And good morning, Wof."
"G-good morning."
Ruriha greeted him with a bright smile, as if nothing had happened at all, then continued.
For some reason, she was emphasizing her rear in a white skirt. Why?
"If you'd like, you can touch mine too, you know."
"Huh… come again?"
"I may not have the firmness Mineha has, but I'm confident in my softness and size."
"Huh, n-no, I couldn't—"
Ruriha's rear, pressed tight against that white skirt, was impressively large.
You could tell at a glance that it was round and soft.
Ohh, so this is what they call a peach butt. He nodded to himself in admiration.
Honestly? He wanted to touch it. If he were going to touch it, he'd want to squeeze it.
"Mom!! Cut it out already!!"
Mineha shouted, face flushed with embarrassment.
Even so, Ruriha just laughed, clearly amused.
"Half of that was a joke."
So the other half was serious, then?
Ruriha gave me a secret wink. I smiled wryly.
"...Anyway, good morning, Mineha. Ruriha."
"Morning."
"Good morning."
"Breakfast, is it? That smell..."
A distinctive spice aroma. Curry, no question. Oh, curry...
"I told you I'd make it for breakfast, remember?"
"You did say that."
"Restaurant food is good and all, but I wanted you to try our home cooking."
"It's my first time making it, and it's been a while since I've had it myself."
She happily went about warming up the pot.
In the frying pan, she was stir-frying bread-beans. A stand-in for naan, apparently.
"Don't you eat it with rice?"
"Rice?"
"Rice... with Kalil?"
So it's called Kalil.
Could it be they don't even know about curry rice?
Come to think of it, there was no rice when I was treated to a meal before.
It was either bread-bean, a few kinds of stewed beans, or chicken.
I thought it was strange then too, but I assumed they were being authentic.
So I thought the rice was separate. I was convinced of it.
That's the preconception from my past life's memory that curry always comes with rice.
Fairial curry dishes didn't have rice.
In that case, I was pretty sure I'd bought some cheap Thai-style rice.
I felt it was a little rude, but I retrieved a jar from beneath the counter.
I opened the jar and found a bag. Inside the bag was some long, thin rice that looked like Thai rice.
"What are you going to do with that? I can do it, but I can't do it for three people."
"Then, sorry. Could you please put this into a pot with water, cover it, and heat it? Once it starts boiling, stir it and cook until the water is gone. Taste it occasionally. When it's fluffy and soft, it's done."
"Okay. I'll try."
"My, my, you're honest."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Pouting, she flushed and glared at her mother.
Luriha smiled wryly.
I thought she had become much more natural compared to the time she used to call her "Mother."
Before the Thai-style rice was done.
This was a good opportunity.
"Um, I have something I want to give to the two of you."
"What is it?"
"Oh my."
"Could you both close your eyes and hold out your arms?"
"Close our eyes? Sure, I guess."
"My, my, whatever could it be?"
Mineha held hers out with her usual composure, while Ruriha looked just a little embarrassed.
Mother and daughter held out their arms to me.
Both of them had that honey-colored skin. Oh, right.
I took the bracelets out of the pouch by the bedside.
A bracelet with a yellow band set with an amber gem.
A bracelet with an amber band set with a yellow gem.
I carefully slipped one onto each of their wrists.
"You can open your eyes now."
"Hm. Ohhh…"
"My, my, my…"
Both of them looked at the bracelets on their wrists and let out breaths of wonder.
"Mineha, this is a token of my thanks for everything you've done for me."
"Hm. Not bad."
"My, my. In that case, Wof — what about me? I haven't done a thing for you, you know."
"Well, it's… a thank you."
I had been thinking it would feel wrong to give it to Mineha but not to Ruriha.
Ruriha and I had... well, there was a lot between us.
The time we'd known each other was very short. Really, maybe a week at most.
But in that short time, our relationship had deepened rapidly—intensely. Or at least, that's how it felt.
So, giving something to her was the natural choice.
"Wof."
"Wha—"
Suddenly, Ruriha sat down on the bed and leaned in close to me.
"Wait, Mom!?"
Ruriha chuckled softly and hugged me, planting a kiss on my cheek.
The deep impression of her lips against my cheek brought back that moment. The kiss when I'd held her tightly.
Then she pulled away smoothly and gave me a wink.
"It's—payback," she said, drawing out the words.
"Mom!?"
"Mineha. What about you?"
"What do you mean, 'what about me'—ah!"
Right then, the pot boiled over. Mineha hurriedly cut the heat.
Something that looked like Thai rice was done, and the curry—or rather, the Kariru—was ready.
As a bonus, she'd also made some fried bread-beans to serve in place of naan.
She served the rice onto deep plates and ladled the curry sauce over it.
It was a dark, thick curry sauce. I scooped some up with a spoon and ate.
Yeah. Delicious. A unique, deep flavor. And it was definitely curry rice.
The rice was different, but this was unmistakably curry rice.
Potatoes, carrots, and meat were all in there in chunks. What kind of meat was it?
The two of them were looking at me with puzzled expressions.
They exchanged glances, and Mineha asked.
"Is the rice really that good?"
"You'd know if you tried it. You wouldn't know if you didn't."
I grinned mischievously and kept eating.
The Thai-style rice had been cooked properly, so it went well with the curry.
"That's true too."
Ruriha casually snatched the spoon right out of my hand. Then she scooped some up and ate.
"Oh, not bad."
"Hey, what do you think you're doing!?"
"......"
Even I was rendered speechless at that.
"Oh, it's delicious. If anything, it could stand to be a little spicier."
"That's not the point. Never mind. Wof, I'm taking a little, okay?"
"Go ahead."
Mineha picked up her own spoon and scooped some of my curry rice to eat.
"Oh, not bad."
"You liked it?"
"Yeah. A little more spice would probably work fine with this, actually. Hmm. It's a totally different flavor from the bread-beans."
She liked it. She was helping herself to my plate without a second thought. Ah.
"Mineha. You're going to run out of Wof's."
"Ah, sorry. Wof, is there any rice left?"
"There is. And here, take this too."
"Thanks."
She took the plate I held out and gave me a wink.
"Mineha. Could I have some too, please?"
"Sure, sure."
Both of them went with curry rice. The Thai-looking rice vanished in no time.
I slathered curry roux on the leftover bread-beans and ate them.
Delicious. This isn't bad either. Yeah, not bad.
"This is really good, you know. I like this one better."
"Me too. We should tell Shefful."
"Wof, you really knew what you were doing."
"I figured curry roux would go well with pretty much anything."
"Good eye, that."
I was glad they both liked it.
So I dipped the fried bread-bean in curry roux and ate it.
Yeah. Tasty. Chomp chomp. Tasty.
I finished eating, tidied up, and after a little while...
The two of them said they were going to take a bath, then left through the transfer gate to the witch's house.
Well then. I flopped onto the bed.
Staring at the familiar ceiling, I thought about what to do today.
Right. The city dungeon. Since it's finally been unlocked, maybe I should check it out.
I'd never been below the twelfth floor.
Knock knock. The wall was being tapped.
"Hey."
"Mineha?"
I looked, and Mineha had come by my room.
Fresh out of the bath, a light mist of steam rose from her honey-colored hair.
She was in light clothes, showing off the bracelet on her wrist.
"This. Thanks."
"You've been a big help day in and day out."
"I mean, it's the same on my end, you know."
Mineha sat down on the bed, acting a little coy.
I scrambled upright. Our faces were close, and my heart skipped a beat.
To cover that up, I said—
Chapter 215. Wof, 13 Years Old (25)
"Even so, I wanted to send something as thanks."
"That's not just me and Mom, is it?"
"Huh? Y-yes. I've given it to everyone I'm grateful for."
"That's what I figured — knowing you."
Mineha smiled and pointed to my forehead, left cheek, right cheek, and the side of my neck with her finger.
"Mineha?"
"You've got one on you. A kiss mark on your neck."
"Huh?"
The instant I slapped my hand to my neck—
Mineha's face rushed in close.
Something soft brushed against my lips for just a heartbeat.
"—————!"
Mineha pulled back swiftly and stood up.
"It's thanks," she murmured quietly, and left the room.
"…………"
I stood there, stunned, for a while.
On my lips, a faint scent of sweet nectar lingered.
But it faded before long.