Sniff, sniff.
A sound of someone sniffling echoed through the living room.
The one responsible for the sniffles, of course, was Pyris.
Pyris was kneeling in the living room, receiving a scolding from an angry Luke.
“Where on earth did you learn such manners?”
Luke’s voice was filled with anger.
And unlike usual, his hand was firmly placed on his waist.
To Pyris, it felt like a declaration that she wouldn’t be easily forgiven.
Pyris, still more accustomed to spirit language than human language, could understand the emotions in his voice better than anyone else.
However, even without seeing it from a spirit’s perspective, anyone could recognize the clear and distinct emotion of ‘anger’ mixed in Luke’s voice.
Pyris tried to say something while sniffling, but as a spirit still unaccustomed to human language and logic, she had no coherent way to explain why she was being scolded.
“B-but…”
“Stop crying. What did you do right to be crying?”
“Wahh.”
“Hah…”
Luke let out a deep sigh, rubbing the part of his tail that had been hit, soothing the pain.
The sensation at the top of his tail still tingled.
This level of pain was one he had rarely felt before.
The moment’s shock was like a highly trained fighter getting a blow to the solar plexus, similar or slightly less in severity.
To Luke’s surprise, the tail was a very sensitive area, and the sudden, intense shock provoked a pain that was nothing short of violent.
Reflecting on this sensation, Luke couldn’t help but think back to how he had once grabbed Ru’a Eraast’s tail.
“Huh, I wonder how Ru’a managed to endure this.”
As Luke thought that and looked down at Pyris, she briefly glanced up with her watery eyes but quickly looked down again when her gaze met Luke’s angry expression.
She almost weakened at that moment, but Luke shook his head, resolving to stay firm.
While he understood that being a spirit meant being unfamiliar with human customs and behavior, that didn’t mean it was acceptable to unleash violence on others.
Thus, Luke had no choice but to scold Pyris.
If she wanted to live among humans in human form, there were definitely manners that needed to be upheld.
Manners ought to be taught strictly, and Luke believed that if it was for the purpose of teaching, then corporal punishment should not be spared just because she was a child.
So, towards Pyris, who was silently swallowing her tears, Luke raised his voice once again.
“Speak up! If you feel pain when beaten like this, why on earth did you hit someone else?”
“Wahh.”
But Pyris was sniffling not only because her backside hurt but also because she felt wronged that Luke didn’t understand her feelings.
She just liked him, so why did she have to be scolded?
Pyris conveyed that feeling through her cries, but Luke ignored her emotions.
After all, mages are beings that cannot be easily persuaded without logic.
“Why don’t you speak then?”
With continued urging, Pyris barely managed to swallow her sobs and opened her mouth.
“Luke, I… like you, sniff. I like you too, Luke. We’re sniff… family.”
“Yeah. Calm down and say it.”
Thinking she was finally saying something coherent, Luke eased the anger he was showing a little.
Seeing that the anger in Luke’s voice had somewhat settled, Pyris sighed in relief and continued speaking in a calmer voice.
“If we like each other, we become brides.”
“…Brides?”
“Yes.”
Pyris continued when she saw Luke’s expression asking for explanation.
“And brides are supposed to be rough. Then it means we love each other…”
Luke’s expression turned shocked at that.
Pyris instantly stiffened, fearing she had said something wrong, and awaited Luke’s reaction.
For Pyris, facing Luke’s anger was truly heart-wrenching.
In the past, simply giving him magic would have calmed him down, but now she had no idea how to ease his anger, making it even harder to endure.
Luke managed to continue speaking.
“…Who taught you that?”
Luke’s voice was somewhat confused, and Pyris pointed her finger straight at Diana.
Anyway, she didn’t want to be scolded further by Luke.
Diana, unable to eat even a cookie placed on the table amidst the scolding atmosphere, was stunned by Pyris’ bombshell declaration.
“You, you…!”
Traitor, you brought that up!
Luke suspiciously stared at Diana, who looked excessively flustered.
Luke glared at Diana and asked.
“Diana, what does that even mean?”
“Uh, sister. So…”
All she had done was read a page from a book that Pyris had brought out loud.
“I, I just read it because she asked me to…”
“You read it?”
Luke felt something click in his mind.
“Could it be…?”
Luke immediately went into the bedroom and opened the book titled ‘Taili’s Handkerchief’ that Diana had been holding before bed.
“Oh my god, this is…”
In every sense, it was a new world.
———-
Late at night.
The sound of the door creaking open made Luke open his eyes wide.
If it were an intruder, he would have to take action.
But after focusing his hearing for a moment, it seemed there was no need for that.
“I’m back, Luke.”
Yerna entered the house.
Luke welcomed her, pulling out the cork he had put in earlier and asked.
“Welcome back. Um, but Yerna. Did you not have a night duty today? I thought you would only be back in the morning.”
“Oh, about that.”
Actually, it was thanks to Dayton extending his patrol range that she was able to return a little early.
He probably thought of allowing her to spend a bit more time with Luke, as the time allotted to him was limited.
Truly, thinking about this, Dayton was such a reliable and kind younger brother.
When she shared that story, Luke nodded a few times, seeming to understand.
“Alright, was there nothing special with the kids today? Was it not hard?”
“Oh. That, generally speaking, it was okay.”
“Generally speaking?”
If it was generally okay, that meant there had to be parts that weren’t okay.
It must have been tough after all.
Looking closely, Luke’s expression did carry hints of fatigue.
No matter how mature Luke was, it must have been challenging to take care of two hyperactive children.
As she was caught up in those thoughts, a moment later, Luke wore a serious expression and spoke.
“Yerna, I have something to talk about.”
“Yeah. What is it?”
Luke immediately turned around and walked briskly to the table, picking up a book.
The clean cover bore the words ‘Taili’s Handkerchief, Part 2.’
Yerna began to think as she looked at the cover of the book that Luke had presented.
“Taili’s Handkerchief? Hmm, what book is that…?”
No particular part came to mind, even after thinking it over.
Taili’s Handkerchief; just from the title, she couldn’t tell what it was about.
Is it pure literature? A poetry collection? No, a poetry collection couldn’t have a sequel. So what kind of novel is it?
“Uh, was it interesting? Is there no Part 1?”
“Th-that’s not it.”
Luke shook his head, slightly raising his voice.
“Then what’s so special about that book?”
“Yerna, this book is in your room, so why don’t you know? This is quite an explicit erotic novel, isn’t it?”
“W-what?”
Erotic novel; as those words escaped Luke’s lips, Yerna suddenly recalled its content.
Specifically, it pertained to Part 1.
The first time she read that novel was out of curiosity when she found it in the Forest Keeper’s lodging.
Part 1 of Taili’s Handkerchief was a fairly conventional one-to-one pure romance novel.
The couple’s chemistry was great, and the descriptions were quite sweet, making it an excellent piece for vicarious enjoyment. The sexual depictions that began as the conflicts between the two characters gradually eased were also good.
She found it quite satisfying.
Later, wondering if there was a Part 2, she came across Taili’s Handkerchief Part 2 while skimming through a shop, along with a myriad of romance novels on sale.
Having had a decent experience with that book previously, Yerna promptly purchased the books, as her shelf had quite a few empty spots.
However, for some reason, she didn’t feel inclined to start reading from Part 2.
With the sudden unfolding of conflict and the suffocating atmosphere it presented, she soon turned her attention to other books, abandoning the story when the female lead got kidnapped by the villain’s scheme and the male character started to misunderstand it as her abandoning him.
Compared to other books, Taili’s Handkerchief had a rather hard edge, proving to be a novel that had divided tastes – Yerna found that books with little or no sexual depictions were much more enjoyable to her.
So it had been quite a while since she had tossed aside the book, leaving it neglected on the shelf.
“Uh, h-have you read it?”
Nods, nods.
To Luke, who believed that a woman should generally be treated gently, the descriptions were utterly incomprehensible.
The casual admonishing words and violent actions being spoken matter-of-factly, and women deriving pleasure from them – that contradictory scene was a fresh shock for Luke.
Could it be that this was just a sign of the times changing?
If the children read something like that, wouldn’t it be a huge problem!
It was fortunate that the children didn’t even realize that it contained sexual depictions.
The children lacked the comprehension to accept descriptions about sexual organs, so they glossed over incomprehensible content and focused solely on the depictions of sadistic and masochistic actions, leading them to develop the erroneous idea that “if two people like each other, they hurt each other.”
That was exactly why Pyris had hit her own backside.
Thus, Luke had to deliver a long sermon against violence and explain the healthy dynamics of male-female relationships, struggling with countless questions arising from the consequent sexual curiosities.
That was the very reason behind the fatigue visible on Luke’s face.
“…”
As Luke recounted the shocking parts of the book he had read, Yerna’s face turned bright red.
Overwhelmed with excessive embarrassment, Yerna covered her face with both hands, mumbling softly as if steam were rising from a kettle.
“Stop it…”
At Yerna’s plea, Luke ceased his recitation of the book’s descriptions.
However, Luke quietly gazed down at the cover of the book, then lifted his head, wearing a worried expression he directed towards Yerna.
“Um, Yerna, you wouldn’t happen to have a preference for this sort of thing, would you?”
“Of course not!”
Yerna snatched the book away from Luke’s hands.
Her face was quite the mess, blotchy with blush and cold sweat.
“That’s a relief; I was really worried about that. From now on, if there’s such a book, it’s best to keep it out of the children’s reach. Something like this is not for children! It can instill unhealthy values regarding sex in them.”
“Ah, haha. Yeah, you’re right.”
Yerna let out a big sigh.
‘Why had I forgotten about that…’
Luke loved books.
She should have been prepared for the fact that he could reach for such books as well…
It was so humiliating.
Was this the feeling one gets when caught with an inappropriate book by their mother?
Of all things, why did it have to be this…
There are plenty of good books out there…
Anyway, as soon as the kids wake up tomorrow, I should start by organizing the bookshelf.
