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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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“Hmm~”
Varis’s behavior wouldn’t leave his mind.
‘Whoa?!’
‘S-Sorry! Arnold! Maybe… we should stop here today?!’
‘Yeah… that would be best!’
It was strange that he had run away in the middle of their training session, but what confused him even more was the moment they fell.
Soft –
‘Soft…?’
The sensation that had grazed his fingertips… He couldn’t quite place it. But the soft, yielding feeling lingered in his mind, stirring his memories.
“…….”
It wasn’t unpleasant. But it wasn’t exactly pleasant either. It was a strangely unsettling feeling, a question nagging at him.
‘Do men even have… soft spots like that?’
He shook his head lightly, but the question wouldn’t go away.
“What was that?”
The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. The feeling was like touching a water balloon.
But Varis was clearly thin. Perhaps if he had a muscular or plump physique, it would make sense, but he couldn’t imagine Varis having such a soft spot.
‘Could it have been… that spot…?’
Then, a certain body part came to mind. The only part of a man’s body that could feel soft.
“No way…”
No, that couldn’t be it.
It wasn’t that he wanted to deny it, but it was practically impossible. He had just said it felt like his entire hand was enveloped. And it was too big to be contained within a single hand, so realistically, it couldn’t be that.
‘Then what did I touch…?’
He tried to recall the sensation. It was like… touching a woman’s breast.
And since Varis wasn’t wearing any armor at the time, it was possible, if the soft spot was his chest.
But that made even less sense.
The reason was simple.
“Wh-Why are you looking at me like that……?”
Varis was a man.
He knew Varis’s gender was male, as he was the protagonist of the original story.
So, there was no way he could have felt that sensation from his chest.
“It’s nothing…”
What was it? Perhaps he had misjudged the sensation and distorted the memory. It was a far-fetched explanation, but it was the most realistic one.
“Master, what are you thinking about?”
His mind was becoming increasingly confused. But seeing Eilly tilting her head curiously, he decided to stop dwelling on it.
“It’s nothing. I just had something on my mind.”
He shook his head lightly, as if to clear his thoughts. He was still bothered by it, but he decided to let it go.
“Is that so? If you have any worries, please tell this Eilly! I’m ready to listen to anything you have to say!”
There was no point in agonizing over it alone. Besides, it was foolish to let such a trivial matter disrupt his daily life.
He decided to put it aside, even though it still bothered him slightly.
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“Arnold, did something happen with Varis?”
Varis had been acting strangely ever since their sparring session. He was slumped over the table, listless, a stark contrast to his usual energetic self.
He looked like a salaryman worn down by overtime.
“Yeah, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Meow~”
Others seemed to have noticed his gloomy demeanor as well.
Elisha sighed, her head resting on the table, looking at the dejected Varis with concern.
Melina also tilted her head curiously, and Lates meowed softly, as if in sympathy, wagging its tail.
“N-No, I’m fine……”
Varis said, but his body was still slumped over.
The blush on his cheeks was noticeable, and he quickly averted his gaze every time their eyes met, as if he had been caught doing something wrong.
“Now that I think about it, didn’t you two disappear together today?”
Eilly asked, tapping her chin with her index finger. Elisha and Melina’s eyes lit up with interest.
“Hmm, really? What happened?”
“Alone with Arnold?”
There was a hint of jealousy in their voices, as if they placed significance on spending time with him, even if he was a man.
“Nothing happened. Varis was worried that he was too weak, so I sparred with him.”
He leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed, and explained casually.
“Oh, really? Arnold had a training session~”
Elisha thought for a moment and then smiled.
“Then Arnold, could you spar with me too?”
He felt a sense of foreboding. And as expected, she added a strange condition.
“If I achieve something meaningful against you, Arnold, grant me a wish, like last time!”
It was an absurd proposal.
But the first to react to Elisha’s confident voice was an unexpected person.
“Hold on. Why would you think that? What does Lady Elisha’s training have to do with my Master granting you a wish?”
It was Eilly who protested vehemently.
She glared at Elisha with sharp eyes, her voice firm, filled with a fierce loyalty to her master and a hint of jealousy.
Elisha, momentarily taken aback by Eilly’s intensity, was speechless for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and smirked confidently.
“Because I’m Arnold’s fiancée! If I become stronger, it would be helpful for Arnold, wouldn’t it? Besides, a little incentive would motivate me to train harder, wouldn’t it?”
She tossed her hair back without hesitation, drawing the attention of those around them.
She seemed to enjoy the attention, smiling confidently.
“Ugh…!”
Eilly bit her lip in frustration, her gaze fixed on Elisha like a sharp dagger, her eyes filled with unwavering determination.
“Fine. Then I’ll participate as well.”
Eilly declared in a firm voice. She stood up abruptly and glared at Elisha as if declaring a challenge.
“The one who performs better will get the wish.”
‘Wait… what?’
Their conversation had progressed so naturally that he hadn’t been able to keep up.
Could they really just decide this on their own? They hadn’t even asked for his opinion.
“What? Why are you joining?!”
Elisha exclaimed in exasperation. But Eilly didn’t back down.
“I’m Master’s maid. According to Lady Elisha’s logic, I also have the right to challenge for the wish, as someone who serves Master.”
Their gazes clashed intensely, as if lightning was about to strike. The air crackled with tension.
It seemed neither of them would back down from this confrontation.
“Hee~ This looks interesting. Then I’ll join in too!”
Melina suddenly chimed in with an amused smile.
“Lady Melina, why?”
Eilly asked incredulously. But Melina smiled leisurely and placed her hand on her chest.
“I’m different from you two. I don’t have a particularly deep relationship with Arnold, but…”
She paused, her eyes sparkling mischievously.
“I’m interested in that wish, as someone who… likes him.”
Lates wagged its tail excitedly and pawed the air, as if cheering for Melina.
“Ugh, fine! Then it’s a competition!”
Melina clenched her fists and declared enthusiastically.
“Let’s have a three-way match, and the winner gets Arnold for a day!”
He was speechless at their increasingly absurd conversation. He considered stopping them, but—
‘Wait a minute, this is… interesting.’
—a mischievous thought crossed his mind.
Except for Eilly, Elisha and Melina were heroines from the game. But in the original story, they had never competed against each other.
His curiosity grew.
Of course, he would have to spend a day with the winner as a reward, but it seemed like a good way to motivate the girls.
“Alright, I think a three-way match would be good training.”
He had lit the fuse.
As soon as he agreed, the three of them exchanged glances, mischievous smiles on their faces.
“Varis, what about you?”
He casually asked Varis, who was sitting beside him.
“W-What?! N-No, I’m good! I want to rest today!”
But Varis waved his hands frantically and shook his head, his expression panicked.
He looked like a frightened deer, trembling nervously.
Had he developed some kind of trauma? His face was flushed, and he seemed to be reliving the events of that afternoon.
“Ugh…”
He quietly curled up, seeming unusually fragile today.
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Hi Lord Fourth here!
I’m new to translating so if you find some mistakes or inconsistencies let me know about it on the dedicated channel on discord.
