Chapter 97:Why This? (1)

I came back feeling a little dazed, only to find that one of my friends had stayed up, waiting for me.  

It probably wasn’t because they were too excited to hear what kind of story I had to tell. These four people were used to staying up late anyway.  

We usually took turns sleeping.  

The environment we lived in never allowed for a solid six to eight hours of sleep at once. So instead of dividing short shifts for night watch, we designated someone to stay awake and keep watch while the others rested.  

Since we couldn’t sleep for long periods, it was better to make sure we got proper rest rather than waking up in the middle of it.  

In other words, there were plenty of days when we couldn’t sleep at all if the situation demanded it.  

Whenever we retreated, there was always an allied forward base where we could get supplies. Sometimes, when necessary, we received support from the kingdom’s knights, not just our party members.  

But that wasn’t always the case. Sometimes we traveled too far from our base, or the enemy’s base was too far away, or there were places we hadn’t scouted yet. We always had to keep in mind that we might not be able to sleep.  

Because of that, sleeping at this hour felt a bit unnatural. Not that it meant we intentionally limited ourselves to just four hours of sleep a day.  

Still, despite all that, the four of them were looking at me with subtle anticipation.  

…Whether they knew I was from another world or not, they had all heard stories about my sister multiple times.  

It wasn’t strange for them to be curious about my love life.  

But having them stare at me with such eager eyes was a little embarrassing.  

Kalia was looking at me with a sly smile. Dana, her face slightly flushed, was sneaking glances at me while pretending not to care. Fia, on the other hand, was outright beaming, as if she had been waiting for this moment. Arna simply gave me a small smile.  

Judging by the fact that they were all gathered in the living room instead of their own rooms, they had clearly been waiting for me, eagerly.  

Well, they had all reacted positively when I got that text message earlier, too.  

“I—I’m going to take a shower first!”  

Feeling too embarrassed to walk confidently into the middle of those four, I quickly said that and hurried off into my room.

*

After finishing my shower, I deliberately took my time drying my hair completely and even changed into my pajamas before heading back to the living room.  

The moment I stepped out, I was met with the exact same scene as before—my companions waiting for me in the exact same positions.  

“…….”  

There was no way I could just brush past today’s events without talking about them.  

Not that I ever planned to keep quiet about it, but still… it was embarrassing.  

Fia’s expression was slowly shifting from a bright grin to a knowing smirk, so I decided not to drag this out any longer. Without hesitation, I walked over and took a seat in the empty spot.  

“So?”  

The moment I sat down, Kalia spoke up.  

With a smile on her face, she leaned toward me slightly, almost as if she were the representative of this little gathering.  

“How did it go? Did you have a proper talk with your ‘sister’?”  

“Ah, yeah.”  

I nodded.  

We definitely talked things out.  

I might’ve stepped on a few unexpected landmines and crossed some invisible lines without realizing it, but in the end, I think things turned out… not too badly.

No, it was good.

She was clinging to me, almost kissing me.

She came to her senses and pulled away and ran back into the house.

I don’t know why she did that.

Did I really smell like alcohol?

……Mmm.

I’m glad I didn’t kiss her then, because I thought it was alcohol. I’m glad we didn’t kiss then, because from what you said, it would have been our first kiss.

Is it unmanly to think that your first kiss smells like alcohol…………?

My face burned again at the thought of her face so close to mine, so close that our noses were practically touching.

“Wow.”

Fia blushed when she saw my face. No, she’s thinking something.

“Where were you?”

And with that, Fia blurted out.

Hmm.

I know that Fia has been under the protection of the church since childhood. which may have fostered her sexual curiosity.

sexual curiosity. After all, nobles are known to have affairs before marriage.

Furthermore, Kalia and Dana would wear dresses that were a little revealing at times and places. Kalia was a noblewoman to begin with, and Dana doesn’t usually stick to black robes for balls, even if she does wear them.

Fia, on the other hand, wore a rather stuffy-looking saint’s robe at all times and places. The design was beautiful, but the outfit didn’t show any skin at all.

……It’s probably no coincidence that Fia is the only one wearing short pants while everyone else is wearing typical pajamas. Her top is even popped open so that if she were to stand up, it would look like she wasn’t wearing any bottoms.

The goddess would be horrified if she saw her, but she wasn’t the kind of person who would force her to wear them.

“Yeah, well, I asked her out and……………”

and I wondered if it was really a date.

No, it ended up being a date. We’re not in a relationship yet, but if her behavior is any indication, we might be one day.

I’m still hopeful that my sister’s behavior will make it happen one day.

After all, dating isn’t just for lovers.

We went to the amusement park alone, not knowing what we’d do afterward, but we did it anyway. It was a big deal for me.

So, yeah, let’s just say it was. Although in reality, it was just me talking about the amusement park and her confirming that we should go sometime.

“Yikes!”

Fia’s reaction was the most intense.

Her hands cover her cheeks and her eyes sparkle.

Did she always like this story?………Ah, I guess she did. Whenever I talked about my sister and me, she was the one who got frustrated with my

Fia was the one who got frustrated with my work.

She’s never been in a relationship herself.

From a Korean perspective, the word dating is a foreign word, but it didn’t seem to be a problem to translate, and Fia and the other coworkers seemed to find it interesting.

It was. Fia wasn’t the only one who had never been in a relationship.

Arna had just come of age by Elven standards and had never been interested in a relationship before.

Kalia had rejected every engagement proposal and similar offers since childhood, choosing instead to walk the path of the sword. Dana, on the other hand, had spent her entire childhood buried in magical research at the Mage Tower.  

Thinking about it, I was the only one among us with any clear experience in something even remotely resembling romance.  

Though, to be fair, that “experience” was just me holding hands with my older sister when we were kids.  

“And? And then?”  

Feeling a little burdened by the intensified focus on me, I spoke in a small voice.  

“We were drinking, and my sister seemed a little tipsy, so I decided to walk her home.”  

“While she was leaning on you?” Kalia asked, sounding intrigued.  

“…Well, yeah, pretty much.”  

“And then?” Dana prompted.  

“I helped her to her house…”  

I paused for a moment.  

Hmm.  

Should I really say that we nearly kissed?  

Well, they’d find out sooner or later anyway… Besides, who knows what will happen when my sister and I start going on actual dates?  

After a brief moment of hesitation, I said,  

“I just saw her off and went home.”  

For a moment, silence filled the living room.  

“…That’s it?”  

After waiting for a while, Kalia finally asked.  

I nodded.  

Everyone, who had been tensely focused on my story, suddenly relaxed. It was like that time when we had all tensed up at the rustling in the bushes, expecting an enemy, only for a rabbit to jump out our tension instantly melting away.  

Come to think of it, it was impressive how that rabbit had survived in such contaminated soil.  

For the record, we caught it immediately, purified it with Fia’s holy power, and had it for dinner.  

“What were you even expecting?”

I asked my now completely deflated companions.  

“Well, the romances in this world seem to be more passionate than those in Irrelsia, so I was curious.”

Had she been watching dramas on TV or something?  

I mean, sure, love could be intense like that…  

“But still, this was the first time my sister and I spent time together like that.”  

At my protest, Fia let out a disgruntled sigh.  

“You’ve been spending time together all along. At work.”  

“……”  

Well.  

She had a point. In a way, I had been with my sister the whole time.  

…Now that I thought about it, I’d liked her since childhood but had never once confessed my feelings.  

Even our current relationship wouldn’t exist if she hadn’t taken the first step.  

That realization made all the strength drain from my body.