Chapter 19 (2/2)

At that time, he played stupid and didn’t say anything, so I thought maybe I was the only one who could see it. But remembering the incident with Guibenague, that couldn’t be true.

And now that he’d heard my confession yesterday, he was the only person who knew almost everything about me.

If there was anything left that he didn’t know, it was just those enigmatic dreams.

What’s more, Leon said he thought things over.

In that case, it wasn’t farfetched to think that he came to some sort of conclusion.

Hey Teach, won’t you share with the cla.s.s?

–

–

“This is getting right to the point, but would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

–

–

……

……

……Huh?

I looked at him like, ‘What is this guy talking about?’ Leon’s words went round and round in my head, but I couldn’t make sense of them.

What — he — just now, what did he say? Mare-ee-ing. Marrying?

“HUUUUH?”

What the h.e.l.l is he thinking?

He heard what I said yesterday to begin with. That I was a guy.

And yet, forget confessing, he shot right past that to marriage? It was like he came from an entirely alien dimension.

Wrapped up in the blanket, I inched away, little by little.

My confession yesterday should have been something likely to make people pull back. But as of just now, Leon had me beat.

In other words, I was the one backing away. I could say, with absolute conviction, that I had never wanted to retreat so badly in my entire life.

“Is it no good?”

“Do I even need to say it!”

When Leon asked me that with a slight unease, I yelled back at him full-force.

“Why?”

‘Why,’ you say…

Faced with too straightforward a question, I inadvertently faltered.

“Well, ’cause, because, I’m a guy.”

I had to wring out the words.

After I answered, for a moment I pictured a gross punchline — Leon saying [It’s alright, I’m actually a woman] — and hastily shook my head to get rid of the image.

No. Just no. I felt like my head was in chaos. This development came completely out of the blue.

Coming this far, I was a little embarra.s.sed that I seriously expected Leon to have some kind of insight into my situation.

Maybe I should say I severely overestimated him in this case?

“But at the moment, you’re a genuine woman, right? What’s the problem?”

“Well, yeah, that’s true… but I’m telling you, inside I’m a guy! I never planned to stay a woman forever in the first place!”

“Is that so? …That’s a shame.”

When I practically screamed at him, Leon’s tone suddenly calmed, and his usual smile returned.

Seeing him withdraw so easily, I sunk even deeper into confusion.

“All joking aside, I want to ask you to take on a new request.”

…Joking?

Request?

The words left me dumbstruck for a moment. But when my mind caught up, I realized that the conversation we had just now was Leon teasing me, and I instantly exploded with rage.

“Don’t — you — f.u.c.k with me!”

Furious, I threw aside the blanket and savagely launched myself at Leon.

I grabbed him by the nape of the neck to yank him down —

“Wah–!?”

The moment I tried, my vision spun in a circle, and I found my body snugly settled in Leon’s arms.

For a moment, a wave of dizziness. .h.i.t me and I blanked out.

Then, when I grasped what happened, Leon had me in a princess carry.

“P–Put me down–! Let go, you moron–!”

I tried to mount a resistance, flailing my arms and legs about, but with the difference in physique, Leon was completely unperturbed.

I couldn’t do anything, so stuck with this set-up, I glared daggers at him.

“My apologies. Just now, I was caught up in the moment.”

And then Leon lowered his head with an unexpected readiness. His expression seemed to be genuinely apologetic.

Seeing that, I felt my rage quickly cooling.

…This guy. Despite being n.o.bility, he’d bow his head so easily to a guy like me…?

So I thought, but I felt that it was very much like him, so even though I was still p.i.s.sed, my emotions settled down a bit.

“…Put me down.”

“Ah, yes, of course.”

Nodding obediently, Leon took care to put me down so that I was sitting on the bed.

You might be able to call him a gentleman, but a gentleman wouldn’t break into a lady’s room or make fun of people in the first place.

Leon went back to his usual spot and sat down in the chair. His expression seemed somewhat downcast.

I couldn’t imagine the usual Leon cutting such a figure. It seemed to me that today, he’d been openly expressing all sorts of emotions.

There was something childish about it, I guess?

……Honestly, this guy.

“…So!? What’s this G.o.dd.a.m.n request of yours?”

I snapped, turning away angrily and crossing my arms.

I snuck a quick glance at him, just with my eyes. Sure enough, when hangdog Leon heard me, a slightly apologetic smile returned to his face.

What a simple guy.

Seeing him like that, an indescribable emotion leapt inside my heart, but I did my best to ignore it.

“Will you listen to it?”

“If it’s just listening!”

I spat back. I couldn’t let him get more impudent here. So I issued him a strict warning.

“The truth is, there is a troubling matter on my hands.”

…But even so, Leon started to speak without reserve.

A troubling matter.

Whatever this troubling matter was, all I got was an unpleasant premonition. Just like last time.

By the time I noticed, I was already hearing him out.

Did I have no intention of leaving this place? This wasn’t something I should have asked about, was it?

Could it be that one way or another, I was just being made to dance to his tune?

It was an unpleasant conclusion. But I was the one who brought it up. Forcing myself to accept the fact, however unwillingly, I couldn’t do much besides lending him my ear.

Author’s Notes

The second half? It begins.

I say ‘second’, but it might be more like the middle.

Footnotes

1. 俺の部屋に居るのは一歩譲ってもいい ↵

2. やはり、というか、そう切り出してきた ↵

Hey, you guys would tell me if you spotted any typos, right?

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