“Sayo, open wide. Ah~”
This was… unexpected.
Mid-meal, Emelly suddenly held a piece of food up to my mouth.
“Emelly? I don’t understand what you’re doing.”
“Huh? You don’t know what this means? I guess nobles are too uptight about their ‘decorum’ to do things like this. It’s nothing special. I just want to feed you. Just open your mouth. Come on, ah~”
“…That’s not what I meant. I’m perfectly capable of feeding myself.”
“Oh, you knew. Just let me do it, once! Please?”
Did girls really feed each other like this, even just as friends? Considering all the… physical attention I had received from girls this past year, it was plausible. But even so, I had never seen or experienced anything like this.
Anyway, even if it was normal, Sayoreinne’s body would surely reject such an… unrefined act. It wouldn’t seem very dignified for a noble lady to be fed like a child. Even if I wanted to accept the food from Emelly, I probably couldn’t.
“….”
“….”
“Sayo? My arm is getting tired, and this is kind of embarrassing…”
“Oh, um…”
Something was strange. Normally, in this kind of situation, I would feel a tightness in my chest, and to alleviate it, I would act in a manner befitting an elegant and dignified noble.
But… why wasn’t I feeling anything now? Why wasn’t my body reacting?
Was I surprised by the lack of reaction? I was acting unlike myself… unlike Sayoreinne. I couldn’t even form a proper sentence.
“Sayo?”
Emelly’s eyes narrowed, and her smile faltered. She looked almost… intimidating.
“O-Okay. If you insist.”
I leaned forward towards the food she held between her fingers.
We were eating something like a crepe or kebab, cut into bite-sized pieces. It was convenient and delicious, easy to eat with a fork. But…
Why was she suddenly using her fingers to feed me? We had been using forks just fine.
“Don’t worry, my hands are clean. I washed them earlier, and I haven’t touched anything dirty. I even wiped them before picking this up!”
Seeing my hesitation, Emelly reassured me about the cleanliness of her hands. So, that’s why she had been meticulously wiping her hands with a wet towel. It was a thoughtful gesture, but that wasn’t the reason for my hesitation.
I was just… embarrassed. Being fed like this, in public… But Emelly didn’t seem willing to back down. It was probably best to just accept it and get it over with.
But why was she holding the piece so short? I wouldn’t be able to take it from her fingers without… This meant I would have to take her fingers into my mouth along with the food, getting her fingers wet with my saliva. Emelly’s expression made it difficult to… voice my concerns.
Hesitantly, I leaned forward and opened my mouth. I tried to avoid touching her fingers, but it was impossible.
I felt her fingers against my lips, my tongue… They were slender, long, and… soft. It was… a strangely pleasant sensation. I almost forgot about the food and focused on her fingers…
No, that wasn’t right. I needed to focus. I quickly pulled back, chewing the food in my mouth. I imagined my face burning bright red. I couldn’t see myself, but I could feel the heat. I lowered my head, pretending to drink from my straw, hiding my face from Emelly.
“Good girl.”
I was hyper-aware of Emelly’s fingers having been in my mouth, but she didn’t seem bothered at all. Didn’t she feel… uncomfortable?
Emelly looked at her fingers for a moment, then pushed her chair back and stood up.
“I’m going to the restroom. Keep eating.”
“Okay. Take your time.”
So, she did feel uncomfortable. She was going to wash her hands.
“…Haa…”
We had just met and sat down to eat, but I already felt mentally exhausted. I sat there in a daze for a moment before resuming my meal.
I wanted to leave this place. Being here kept reminding me of what had just happened.
Emelly had taken a while in the restroom, and I had finished my meal and was just sitting there, stewing in my thoughts, which made it even worse.
Was I an idiot? Why hadn’t I thought to pace myself?
“That was delicious, wasn’t it?”
The food was good and reasonably priced. It was a shame I probably wouldn’t be able to come back here again.
“Now, let’s go here!”
“This is…”
I recognized this place.
It was the board game cafe, a location that also existed in the game.
While the combat and character development aspects were more engaging, “Minorus Academy” was, at its core, a dating sim.
Naturally, there were several date locations implemented in the game. However, simply going on dates wouldn’t automatically increase affection points. You had to choose locations that suited your partner’s personality and preferences.
And the board game cafe was one of Emelly’s preferred date spots. Each location had a simple mini-game. Here, it was Gomoku (five-in-a-row). The mini-games didn’t affect affection points, but each character had unique dialogue, so I had played through all of them.
[TL Note: Gomoku is a strategy game where players try to place five of their stones in a row on a grid, similar to an advanced version of Tic-Tac-Toe.]
A board game cafe seemed a little out of place in this world, but fantasy worlds in subculture media often had such anachronisms.
“What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”
Lost in my memories (?), I snapped back to reality at Emelly’s urging. I followed her inside.
“Have you been to a board game cafe before, Sayo?”
“No, this is my first time.”
“Hmm… so, I’m your first? How exciting.”
Emelly smiled, and I imagined a hint of delight in her expression.
“Let’s go!”
She seemed to really like board games. Her earlier expression must have been a mix of excitement and anticipation.
While Emelly talked to the staff at the counter, I looked around.
There were several tables inside, occupied by people playing various games.
And behind them, there were a few closed rooms. VIP rooms, perhaps? They looked more expensive than the regular tables. I had never been to a board game cafe in my previous life either, so I didn’t know the difference, but it was probably the same.
“Come on, Sayo.”
Emelly returned, taking my arm and leading me past several tables.
We arrived at one of the more expensive-looking rooms.
“Emelly?”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t this place a bit expensive? We could just sit at a regular table…”
“I told you, I want to spend time with you, just the two of us. And don’t worry about the money. Sowol lent me some!”
Emelly tightened her grip on my arm and pulled me closer, whispering in my ear.
“And there’s something I want to do… with you.”
“Uh… what do you want to do…?”
“I’ll tell you later! Let’s sit down first.”
“Here.”
“What’s this for?”
She handed me a few small slips of paper and a pen.
“Write down a penalty for the loser. It’s no fun without penalties. The loser has to draw a penalty and do it.”
“….”
I thought just playing games would be fun enough. I wasn’t interested in penalties, but Emelly looked at me with such anticipation that I couldn’t refuse. I wrote down a few simple penalties and put them in the container.
Emelly shook the container, grinning mischievously. I started to feel uneasy.
I didn’t know what kind of penalties she had written…
I had to win. I had a very strong feeling about that.