The next day, Luke had to go to the Academy. The reason was that it was the day of the graduation exam at the Academy, and he also needed to settle the wager he made with Kaila during the festival. This was a matter that could not be postponed.
In order to graduate properly, he had to take the graduation exam, and he needed to receive the settlement from Kaila to fund various plans.
-Tap, Tap.
Adjusting the position of his shoes by tapping the floor a few times, Luke grabbed his bag and reached for the door, saying, “I’ll be back.”
At that moment, Yerna urgently asked, “Are you leaving already? Did you pack everything?”
“……Yes, I packed everything.”
Knowing what Yerna meant by “things to pack,” Luke lowered his head and sighed in response. Perhaps what Yerna was worried about was indeed that: ‘sanitary pads.’
‘This is ridiculous.’
The mere thought of it was preposterous, but it wasn’t that Yerna was foolish for misunderstanding it.
‘It’s likely that the laundry wasn’t done properly…’
Apart from being caught by Dayton while secretly washing blood-stained bedding, the sight of the lightly blood-stained blanket and sheet, as well as the pajamas, was too decisive. Especially seeing the bloodstains on the lower parts of the pajamas… it was honestly not unreasonable to suffer such a misunderstanding.
He was wearing pajamas borrowed from Kate for a substitute while lying on a knee pillow, and it was only natural that there would be blood on the lower parts of the pajamas after he had unintentionally coughed it up.
…And Luke did not correct that misunderstanding.
This was unavoidable.
The amount of blood he coughed up was not insignificant, so if he had said, ‘That wasn’t menstruation, it was hemoptysis,’ the ensuing conversation would have been painfully predictable.
‘What? You coughed up blood? Why?’
‘What? Did you get caught by some terrible poison? How did that happen?’
‘What? You went to that facility alone? You almost died?’
‘Didn’t you promise not to go there with Mom? Do you want to keep doing dangerous things like this? Seeing that you coughed up blood, it must have really been dangerous! This time, you really need to be punished! Luke, you’re seriously grounded for a while.’
Yes, it was too obvious that this sequence would unfold.
It would likely be challenging to overturn that decision…
Being grounded was the highest level of punishment set by Yerna.
Since grounding represented a significant restriction on Luke’s actions, it was the most definite form of punishment for him.
It was more effective than scolding or spanking.
In fact, from Yerna’s perspective, even though she said grounding, she thought Luke would be fine, wandering around alone if he needed to, but Luke had not fully understood that he absolutely had to keep the promises Yerna expected of him.
Yerna could not quite grasp the severity of the concept that Luke couldn’t lie.
‘Sigh, to think that being grounded at this age would be the most terrifying.’
So ultimately, Luke decided not to correct Yerna’s misunderstanding.
For the time being, denying it wouldn’t cause any significant issues.
At most, he’d be a bit more worried while menstruating.
Considering that typically the cycle lasts about one to two months, it was not a problem to let the misunderstanding stand.
And after that, everything would be over.
…However, thanks to that, he ended up learning information about how to wear sanitary pads, which he thought he would never need to know in his lifetime.
“…”
“Okay, Luke. I know it’s tough, but don’t overdo it on the exam… Anyway, take care?”
Seeing Luke’s frail appearance seemed to weigh on Yerna’s mind as she approached him and hugged him tightly.
As Luke felt the warm embrace of Yerna, he sensed a feeling of guilt growing in his heart.
‘Yeah, I just have to hide it for a moment. Once this is over, I really won’t have to hide anything anymore.’
Luke briefly recalled the conversation from last night.
“Luke, do you want anything from Mom? Or a gift, perhaps?”
“A gift?”
“Yeah, since today is a celebratory day. Just tell me anything.”
“……Then.”
Luke pondered over that question for a moment.
What he wanted from Yerna was…
‘I hope Mom never has to go through dangerous situations because of me again.’
He didn’t want her to bear the burden of suffering for his sake anymore.
Yes, that was the only wish he had for Yerna.
She was such a wonderful woman… his new mother.
After realizing his feelings, the name “mother” always carried a sense of longing.
This was probably an emotion carved into his heart.
Parvati… perhaps she truly considered Yerna as her genuine mother?
Like how a newly hatched bird regards the first creature it sees as its mother.
“Huh? Why are you suddenly staring at my face like that…? Luke, are you really struggling? Ah, especially since it’s an exam day… What should we do? Should I contact the Academy to see if there’s another way?”
Oh no, Yerna was worrying about him. That could not happen.
He had already accepted such an embarrassing misunderstanding because he didn’t want to trouble Yerna with other concerns, but he wouldn’t want to cause her worry over this.
Luke responded with a calm smile, pretending like there was nothing wrong, “No, it’s alright! I’ll be back soon.”
“Uh-huh. Okay, take care.”
After releasing himself from Yerna’s embrace, Luke finally opened the door.
“Call if anything happens at the Academy!”
“Okay!”
Waving his hand as he received Yerna’s farewell, Luke stepped forward with a pleasant stride.
The sunny weather was surprisingly warm despite the chilly temperature.
It felt like today would be rather pleasant.
——-
After smoothly completing the graduation exam, Luke headed towards the baking club where Kaila would be.
He intended to confirm the settlement from the earnings of the last festival, as well as the payments for the recipe and tea leaves, and the results of their bet.
-Creak-.
As Luke opened the door to the baking club, Kaila, who was talking to a few students, greeted him happily, waving her hands vigorously.
“Welcome! I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Kaila.”
Luke set his bag down next to the door and said, “I came to receive the promised payment.”
“Right, for the wager results?”
“……”
-Nod.
Luke nodded.
Seeing Luke’s serious expression, Kaila chuckled and made a joke, “What’s with the tension? Relax, it was just a harmless bet!”
Hmm, to Kaila, it might have been a harmless bet, but perhaps the scale of the additional budget attached to it was not so simple?
If she thought so, then that’s how it was, but…
The perception of the rich and the poor inevitably differs.
‘Sure, I had been rich back then, but…’
It was difficult to compare the rich of that era with the rich of today.
Back then, no matter how much gold and treasure one had, there were hardly any appropriate uses for it, so the experience of being wealthy in that time would not bring much help now.
Regardless of how much money one had, essential needs could not always be fulfilled with currency; most things had to be obtained personally.
In contrast, today’s world was one where anything could be bought with money, making things naturally different.
“Hah, please don’t drag this out too long. Lately, I’ve been extremely busy.”
At Luke’s slightly exasperated voice, Kaila nodded and said, “Alright, if you insist, I’ll tell you the results right away. The results are…!”
With a moment of playful suspense, but seeing Luke’s expression gradually darkening, Kaila opened her mouth a few seconds later.
“It’s a tie.”
“What?”
A tie? That was not something he had considered.
“Upon settling later, it turned out that both of you sold exactly the same amount. Isn’t that amazing?”
“……”
The number of drinks sold that day easily exceeded 100, making it hard to believe that milk tea and vitality tea had the exact same sales figures.
Quickly scanning the records Kaila provided, Luke realized that it was indeed true and started stroking his chin.
There were truly no signs of manipulation.
And if manipulation had been intended, there wouldn’t have been any reason to make it a vague tie instead of declaring his victory.
What luck was this?
‘Could it be that at that moment, misfortune and fortune aligned perfectly…?’
At that time, he had certainly been unfortunate, but at some point, luck had started to favor him.
Perhaps the balance of luck at that time had resulted in this unexpected outcome.
…But this was just a hypothesis that could not be proven as it involved observing a turning point of fate.
Luke looked up at Kaila and asked, “So, what happens to our bet now that it’s a tie?”
In response, Kaila grinned and held up two fingers, saying, “There are two ways to handle this.”
“……I see.”
To declare it void or to accept both parties’ demands.
And Luke chose the latter.
—–
“Are you ready?”
“Hmm, just a moment.”
Luke sat on Kaila’s knee and took a deep breath.
This was in order to fulfill her winning condition for ‘petting all day’ in exchange for receiving 1.5 times the price of the recipe.
Of course, as she stated, it wasn’t going to be all day.
Both he and Kaila would eventually have to go home, so two hours would suffice.
That amount shouldn’t cause too much disruption to his schedule.
‘The more money, the better…’
Receiving 1.5 times the money would significantly increase the quality and quantity of the dolls he could prepare.
This would secure enough funds to research the dwarf’s cane immediately, and the plans for the new Arinseia-linked artifact he was conceptualizing would proceed smoothly.
If he could just hold on for two hours…
After making such a resolution, Luke tightly closed his eyes and said, “Alright, you can touch me as much as you want now.”
Those were the words of permission.
However.
“……”
For some reason, he felt no sensation on his tail or head at that moment.
Did Kaila change her mind suddenly?
Only faint breaths continued to tickle Luke’s ears.
“Uh… Kaila? Aren’t you going to pet me? Time is passing, you know.”
“……”
Luke asked with confusion.
However, Kaila remained silent.
Because…
-Twitch, twitch.
“……”
She had become entranced by the way Luke’s ears twitched, seemingly ticklish from her breath.
Her eyes had been solely tracking the tips of Luke’s ears all along.
“……”
She was born into a family that, even among those who usually groomed each other, possessed particularly strong instincts.
Thus, facing the tiny triangle in front of her, she found it impossible to suppress her instincts as a cat.
All her thoughts became concentrated on the tip of that triangle.
No thoughts about anything else occurred.
As if under a spell from a coin tied with thread, only a single impulse swirled inside Kaila.
But that could not happen.
Because Luke had asked her not to…
Sensing something strange, Luke cautiously turned his head and asked, “Um, Kaila…? If you’re not going to do anything, may I get up now?”
“……”
And with that, it kindled the suppressed urge within Kaila.
-Snap!
Kaila ultimately could not suppress the urge to put the tip of Luke’s ear in her mouth.
“Eek! Wh-what are you doing right now!!”
“Mmm! This feels so good!”
The soft and fluffy sensation of her tongue!
It was reminiscent of the happy and warm feelings from when he was a child, playing by dropping a cup on the table.
However, unlike the calm Kaila, Luke shouted in despair.
“Don’t talk with my ear in your mouth!!”
And in the next moment, Kaila was thrown to the floor of the club room by Luke, and she opened her eyes two hours later.
