Chapter 38: As If Confirming Feelings

“Because I like you.”

At those unfiltered words, Seria’s pupils shook violently.

There was not a single tremor in my gaze as I looked at her.

“Uh, unnie?”

“I’m serious, Seria.”

“Ah, um… that…”

“You do understand what this means, right?”

“T-This is troubling… I, I…”

“It doesn’t have any other meaning. It’s simply my answer to your question.”

Because isn’t that right?

You asked why I was helping you.

So I just answered honestly.

No matter what that meant.

No matter how you chose to take my answer.

“Ugh…!”

Seria suddenly covered her face with both hands and hung her head low.

She must have been really embarrassed, letting out groans for a while before finally looking at me with eyes glistening with moisture.

Then, carefully, she spoke.

“I-I like you too, unnie.”

Of course, I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of “like” she meant by that.

Feeling a bit mischievous, I raised the corners of my lips and reached out to pat her head.

“Aah! What are you doing?”

“Fufu, you’re just so cute.”

“It feels like you’re treating me like a child!”

“I’ll stop if you don’t like it.”

“That’s… no. Keep going. I won’t allow you to stop.”

Haah, damn.

Even after coming this far, she says something so dangerous.

For a moment, a strange, indescribable feeling hit my chest, and before I could even think, my body moved on its own.

I leaned in close, bringing my lips near her ear, exhaling softly as I whispered.

“Who said you get to allow or deny anything?”

“Eek…!!”

Seria’s delicate shoulders trembled.

I could see her body shrinking back, her muscles tensing.

Slowly…

Like a snake climbing a tree, I let my hand slide along her back, wrapping around her shoulder and holding her firmly.

She tried to push me away for a moment, but my hands held her in place.

“U-Unnie, what are you doing?”

“What else? You spoke so arrogantly, so I’m giving you a punishment.”

“P-Punishment?”

Her big, round eyes blinked as she asked.

I licked my dry lips, parted them, and answered.

“Something like this.”

Then, I lightly bit her earlobe.

“Kyaaah♡”

“Fufu, Seria. You’re adorable.”

“Hyaah… Ugh… No… T-This kind of thing… is for people who like each other…♡”

Nibbling her earlobe, I whispered, my breath tickling her ear.

“Seria, don’t you like me?”

“I-I do. But… Ugh…♡”

“Then, since we both like each other, it doesn’t matter.”

“Haah…♡ B-But… this is… how should I say it… a different kind of…♡”

Was it because her reactions were so good?

My heartbeat pounded even louder, and my whole body felt like it was heating up.

At the same time, I could feel her body warming up through my palm.

That only made me bolder.

I took in a deep breath at the nape of her neck, savoring her scent.

Then, I kissed her pale, slender neck.

Chu♡

“Haah…♡”

“This much is just friendly ‘skinship’ between close friends, don’t you think?”

“I-Is this… really the kind of skinship that close friends… do?”

“Of course. This isn’t something guys could ever imagine doing with each other.”

And that was actually true.

No matter how close they were, guys would recoil at even holding hands.

But for girls, holding hands and linking arms were natural.

Of course, what I was doing to her now didn’t quite fit that description.

I knew I was spouting nonsense.

But with such absurd gaslighting, I slowly soothed her heart.

“Ugh…♡ Unnie’s touch… it feels kind of lewd.”

“Oh dear, you shouldn’t feel that way. I’m just stroking you because I find my cute little sister adorable. Why does Seria feel that way?”

“Haah…♡ But… it just… feels…♡”

The hand that had been wrapped around her shoulder slid down her arm.

Then, carefully, my fingers slipped under her clothing, touching her bare skin.

“Aah…♡”

“Seria, how is your skin so soft? Do you have some secret skincare routine?”

“I-I don’t…♡”

“Impressive. So it’s just natural. Could you show me more of yourself?”

“T-That’s… That’s…”

“If not, then it can’t be helped.”

Saying that, I once again breathed in her scent and left a light kiss on her neck.

“…♡”

“Ugh♡ Unnie♡ Why do you keep kissing weird places?”

“Weird places? You think this is weird?”

“I-It is weird! No matter what, kisses are…”

“Fufu, Seria, you’re more old-fashioned than I thought. It’s not even on the lips, yet you’re reacting this strongly.”

“Ah… I-Is that so? Sorry. Now that I think about it, unnie is… an elf, right? I guess elves have very different ways of thinking.”

Well, that was true.

Elves, by nature, lacked many earthly desires.

Being a long-lived race, they rarely felt lacking as living beings, so they held rather conservative views on sexuality.

But.

I was originally a man.

Though my time as a woman had now far exceeded my time as a man…

The desires engraved into my soul as a man remained intact.

In fact, because of this woman before me, the desires I had kept suppressed until now were surging uncontrollably.

Honestly…

I wanted to completely ruin her.

“U-Unnie, stop biting me♡ At this rate, I won’t be able to show my face to others♡”

“You’re a VTuber anyway, so who else do you need to show it to? Just show it to me.”

“N-Noo♡ Really… Unnie, you’re acting so weird. This is too much… too muchhh♡”

“If you hate it, you can push me away. So why aren’t you?”

As I said that, I continued my “skinship,” caressing various parts of her body.

Every time my lips touched her, Seria trembled, letting out adorable whimpers, struggling to catch her breath.

“T-That’s unfair… Doing this to me… and then telling me to push you away♡ My body… it won’t move properly… so that’s impossible♡”

Ah… Damn.

She’s too cute.

She looked like she wanted to resist but didn’t.

That small body wriggling in my arms, her shy eyes darting around—Seria was truly irresistible.

Honestly, I just wanted to completely break her.

“Fufu, Seria, you really need to be careful. If you’re not, you might end up getting tricked by some cunning bastard.”

I slowly removed my hands from her body, putting a bit of distance between us.

At that moment, all the tension in her body melted away.

Her gaze, which had been avoiding mine the whole time, suddenly met mine.

As if she hadn’t expected this.

As if… she was slightly disappointed.

And then, in that instant, Seria’s eyes widened in surprise.

The way she had just reacted…

Did she even realize what she had done?

Before I could tease her about it, she suddenly stepped back, creating some distance between us.

“U-unnie?”

It felt like the world was collapsing.

Seria, who had just moments ago been unable to even meet my gaze, now looked completely startled as she stared at me.

Meanwhile, I simply smiled mischievously at her and spoke in a teasing tone.

“Hehe, Seria, you’re really adorable♡”

“Ugh…! Unnie, that’s not fair! You keep playing with me like this!”

Even as she pouted and complained, I could tell—she didn’t actually hate it.

Because her gaze was directed only at me.

Not at anyone else.

That elf… she was looking at me with such sweet, affectionate eyes.

Not at anyone else.

That elf… was smiling at me.

Just that fact alone…

Just this reality alone made me feel incredibly happy.

Even while pretending to be upset, deep down… Seria couldn’t help but smile to herself.

‘I… I think I really love her.’

At that moment, Seria finally understood.

No—she finally decided to accept the feelings she had been denying all this time.

‘I love Unnie.’

And not just as a friend.

‘From now on, I want to stay by her side.’

For that, she would do anything.

‘I want to keep being a VTuber with Unnie.’

After all, the thing she loved most was being a VTuber.

That was why Seria wanted to continue being the VTuber she loved—Seria.

Because meeting her had helped Seria finally regain her shaken heart, which had been disturbed by her father.

Her resolve no longer wavered.

‘Tomorrow, I’ll tell my father properly.’

She already knew what he was going to say.

But even so, she needed to say what she had to say.

Not for the elf’s sake.

But for herself.

“Alright, it’s late now. You should get some rest. I’ll show you to the guest room. It’s the same place you slept last time, so you should be comfortable.”

“Okay. Thank you, Unnie.”

Since it was already late, the elf suggested that Seria get some sleep.

Seria nodded and stood up, walking beside her down the hallway.

Step, step, step.

“Unnie.”

“Hm?”

“I… I’m going to talk to my father tomorrow.”

“Really? Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, if you come, my father won’t react well. I need to say this myself.”

“I see.”

After a brief pause, Seria clenched the fabric of the elf’s clothing tightly and spoke in a small voice.

“Tonight… can you sleep next to me?”

The elf’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment.

But she quickly regained her composure and smiled warmly.

“Sure, why not?”

“Just… holding hands while we sleep. That’s all. I mean it.”

“Okay.”

And so, the two of them changed into comfortable pajamas and lay side by side on the bed.

They soon drifted off to sleep.

Of course, their hands remained tightly clasped together…

The next morning, Seria got ready immediately and left the mansion behind.

As expected, right on time, her father was standing in front of the house, waiting for her.

Seeing his daughter returning from somewhere other than home so early in the morning, he frowned deeply, his displeasure evident.

“Cecilia. Where exactly have you been?”

“I stayed at a friend’s house. Our home was a mess, after all.”

“Hah… A friend? A friend? Who is this so-called friend of yours? Tell me immediately.”

She could have just said it was a female friend.

But…

‘I don’t want to downplay it like that.’

She didn’t want to sit back and watch the person she loved be insulted like this.

“Stop speaking about her that way, Father. That’s not why I came here today.”

“Heh, well, I suppose that’s true.”

There was no point in beating around the bush.

Seria spoke her true feelings without hesitation.

“I want to keep doing this. So, I have no intention of returning home.”

A long silence followed.

“Hah…”

Her father let out a deep sigh, running a hand down his face.

“You really intend to defy me until the end, Cecilia?”

“I’m just being honest about my feelings.”

“I see. Yes, I suppose you are.”

At that moment—

Strong men appeared behind her and grabbed her arms.

“W-what are you doing?!”

“You’re the one who threw away your last chance, Cecilia.”

“Let me go right now!!”

“It seems I need to take you home and give you some proper ‘education.'”

His eyes were cold and filled with determination.

So much so that his gaze alone was enough to send a chill down her spine.

“Stop struggling. I have no intention of hurting my own daughter.”

“Ugh… ugh…!”

Her vision blurred.

She gritted her teeth in frustration, tears welling up as she thought of one person.

“Unnie…”

Was it really going to end like this?

Was she wrong to believe she could reach her father’s heart?

Or was it her fault for not understanding him?

“Take her away.”

With a nod from her father, the men lifted her effortlessly and started carrying her down the hallway.

Step, step.

No.

She didn’t want this.

“Unnie! Help me!”

She cried out desperately, her voice filled with pain.

And… did that desperation reach the heavens?

Step.

“Tsk. I had a bad feeling, so I came to check.”

A golden-haired, beautiful elf appeared before them, blocking their path.

“I didn’t think a so-called father could be this much of a stubborn old fool.”

“Who are you?”

“Hey, you bastard.”

Her gaze turned toward them, filled with burning fury.

“Let go of her. Right now.”