#104
“Perfectly cooked, you say?”
“Jin-ha, go ahead and sit down first. I’ll bring it right away.”
“…Understood.”
Although his excitement seemed a bit suspicious, Jin-ha obediently stepped back. On the nearby table, various dishes were already prepared. Sandwiches, grilled meat, steamed meat, egg salad, and more. There were also beans cooked in cream and egg potato stew.
However, the center of the table was empty. It seemed that the charred barbecue was today’s main dish.
Left alone, Jin-ha suddenly thought that today was quite enjoyable. Riyekan was more affectionate than he had expected. His childish side was more pronounced, making him a bit difficult to handle, but if asked if it was unpleasant, honestly, it wasn’t. It was a strange thought, but rather, it was satisfying.
The master of the magic tower, a man who didn’t easily let anyone close due to childhood trauma. And according to the apprentice magician Bennis, a man who didn’t even smile in front of others, was being playful and friendly only to him. It wasn’t something to dislike; it even felt special.
Special. Yes, he was special to Riyekan now.
Lost in thought, Jin-ha lifted his head at the sound of footsteps on the sand. Was it because of the thoughts he had just been having? For some reason, Jin-ha’s gaze was wistful.
Seeing that gaze, Riyekan hesitated and then firmly said,
“Even if you look at me like that, it’s not possible now.”
“What?”
“Even if you want to play with me like that, it’s not possible now. No matter what, we should eat before playing, right? After eating only bits of sandwiches for days, we should have a proper meal now. I’ll play with you as much as you want later, so just wait a little.”
“When did I ask you to play with me…!”
“Come on, I’ve brought something perfect for nourishing the body, so let’s eat first.”
As he said that, Riyekan placed a large plate in the center of the table. Contrary to expectations, there was a large, red, translucent stone-like object on it. It was so large that it could be mistaken for a ruby if not for its size.
Was this the blackened meat he had been grilling earlier? It seemed to be a dish where the outer surface was intentionally burned, then cut away, and only the inside was eaten. It was an extremely indulgent dish.
“…What is this?”
“Unicorn heart.”
“…What? Unicorn heart?”
Impossible. Jin-ha quickly checked the information panel.
[Unicorn Heart Barbecue]
S-grade alchemy ingredient. Detoxification completed.
Consumption enhances physical strength, magical power, and has an excellent effect on sexual function.
“……”
It was obvious why he was trying to feed him this. What was going on in this man’s head?
The warm feelings that had filled Jin-ha’s insides until just now evaporated without a trace. Jin-ha looked at Riyekan with a pitiful expression.
“Why?”
“I won’t eat it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I won’t eat it.”
“You’ll regret it.”
“That won’t happen.”
He had drunk Shalberry juice to avoid collapsing during the man’s rut period, but he had no intention of going along with this any further.
“Really won’t regret it?”
“I said I won’t.”
“If Jin-ha doesn’t eat it, I’ll eat it.”
Why would that be regrettable? Jin-ha, who had been silently pondering the meaning of Riyekan’s words, soon furrowed his brows sharply. Seeing that reaction, Riyekan smiled and said,
“If I eat this, who do you think will have to deal with the consequences?”
“…You really have all sorts of blackmail methods, don’t you?”
“So?”
“You must not eat even a single bite.”
“If my serious lover commands it, then I must.”
Riyekan, smiling brightly, sliced the ruby-like meat thinly like roast beef and piled it high on Jin-ha’s plate.
The unicorn heart was delicious. It was as if the rich tuna belly that older people reminisced about as being delicious had this taste. The rich flavor enveloping the tongue melted instantly in the mouth. It definitely had the nutty taste characteristic of fat, but the aftertaste left a refreshing aroma like lemon.
The problem was that he felt his body getting a bit hot. Jin-ha couldn’t tell if this sensation was truly the effect of the unicorn heart or if his desire was subtly raising its head under the pretext of the unicorn heart. If this was a kind of placebo effect, he had to hide it at all costs.
“Why are you looking at me so lasciviously?”
“I didn’t.”
As if seeing through him, Riyekan’s accusation made Jin-ha immediately retort.
“I saw it all. You just now swept your gaze from here to here on me.”
Riyekan pointed from his collarbone area down to his lower body with his fingertip as he spoke. It was a ridiculous lie.
It was true that Jin-ha had unconsciously glanced, but at most, he had only looked from the collarbone to near the navel and certainly had not lowered his gaze to the lower body.
“I haven’t looked at you lasciviously. You’re just imagining things again.”
“Ah, so you’re going to pretend you didn’t?”
“I didn’t, so I didn’t.”
“You didn’t, so you didn’t?”
“……”
Looking at Riyekan’s smiling face, Jin-ha felt an ominous unease. As Jin-ha cautiously observed, Riyekan tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.
Something in the recent conversation must have displeased him, as Riyekan was quickly becoming sulky.
“Actually, isn’t it normal to look lasciviously?”
“…What?”
“We’ve just started a serious relationship, so of course, you should look at me lasciviously. Does it make sense to say you haven’t had a single lewd thought about me?”
“That’s…”
“Singing the song of a serious relationship, and now that we’re in a serious relationship, you’re looking at me like a pebble on the roadside? Even after eating the unicorn heart?”
“When did I…”
“Since earlier. In the bedroom, you scolded me for trying to seduce you, treating me like a beast, telling me to do it alone, and even earlier, you made me go through all sorts of antics just to get a kiss. You didn’t even give that easily.”
Was he going to talk about what happened earlier like that? Jin-ha was at a loss for words, unsure of how to respond.
Those words weren’t exactly wrong either. From the arrogant and self-centered man’s perspective, he might have felt that way. He couldn’t agree with the part about going through antics, but the other parts were understandable. Jin-ha thought he should explain the difference in their positions well this time.
Today, Jin-ha decided to play along with Riyekan’s ways for a while. However, there was a part he couldn’t accept even with that resolve.
Jin-ha and Riyekan’s common sense were too different. One was a person who had grown up with common sense on Earth, a country influenced by Confucianism, and the other was an Alpha, a noble from a world where genders had heat periods called Alpha and Omega. Moreover, he was a powerful figure holding the position of the master of the magic tower.
The difference coming from that gap was larger than he had thought.
“Riyekan.”
“What.”
“On Earth, there’s a concept called platonic.”
Riyekan poured wine into his glass with a look that said, what is he talking about now.
“That refers to spiritual love. Not physical…”
“Wait, you’re not saying that the serious relationship we’ve been talking about is that platonic thing, are you?”
“That… is not exactly it, but…”
Facing the fierce and wild gaze that felt threatening, Jin-ha stammered in response, and only then did Riyekan nod with a somewhat relieved expression.
“Thank goodness. I thought we would never be able to understand each other. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have felt the need to talk at all.”
This was a warning. It was a strong warning not to even think about saying that he didn’t want physical love.
Jin-ha, even as he drank his wine, stared blankly at Riyekan, who was gazing at him without blinking, and then let out a deep sigh.
“As you can see, I don’t dislike that either, so don’t be so sensitive…”
“Actually, it was wrong from the start. It’s not that you don’t dislike it, but that you like it, right? Isn’t that so?”
At the subtle tone, Jin-ha couldn’t help but recall the feelings he had to express last night. The perverted taste of that man who insisted on saying it was good when it was good.
His face flushed red, and Jin-ha gulped down cold water.
“This is the problem!”
“What’s good?”
“You’re always trying to kiss anywhere! In front of other people, you talk about your dick standing up and whatnot, and when I finally muster the courage to match you, you ask for more punishment…! It’s too much!”
“Too much?”
Was this a cultural difference? Jin-ha, who couldn’t understand Riyekan at all, pondered how to explain this.
“To put it bluntly, in my hometown, people frown upon even couples kissing in public.”
“Why would they frown upon that?”
“Because everyone dislikes seeing it done anywhere.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Then where do they do it?”
“At home, where else would they do it?”
“Only at home?”
“Only in the room!”
Riyekan put down his wine glass with an expression that couldn’t hide his shock.
“Isn’t Jin-ha particularly old-fashioned?”
“…I am a bit more so than others, but it’s true that people frown upon kissing in public.”
“Goodness…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
