Gevmojoshegwat, Agnes, Serista, Silena... and the rest of the hero’s party.

Aside from the quiet Luke, I could tell just from hearing their voices that Gevmojoshegwat had chosen this place as the gathering spot for their post-Geology Exploration Class party.

‘Well, even a hero can’t resist the lure of chicken and beer.’

They had entered the dungeon two days earlier than us and came out even later, so they must have been even more exhausted. I could understand why Gevmojoshegwat would feel like relaxing with some chicken and beer.

The problem was that Ethan and I had already arrived and settled here first.

‘This is probably going to put Ethan in a bad mood again.’

To be honest, I wasn’t too thrilled about being involved with them either. Other than Gevmojoshegwat and Agnes, I couldn’t exactly say I was on friendly terms with the rest of the party.

While I silently continued eating, hoping to avoid any entanglement, Agnes, the one person in the party I was most familiar with, came over to our table.

“What’s this? Are you two on a date?”

“…Something like that,” I replied, keeping my voice calm.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt us, Lady Blaze,” Ethan added, his tone a little sharper.

“I wasn’t trying to interrupt or anything….”

While the three of us usually hung out together, today was different. Ethan and I had our reasons for wanting to spend time alone, and even though Agnes was a mutual acquaintance, neither of us was in the mood to involve her today.

“Agnes? What are you doing over there?”

“Well, I just—”

“Is there someone you kno—oh.”

Gevmojoshegwat, coming to retrieve Agnes from our table, naturally spotted Ethan and me on our date. And just as Ethan’s expression started to stiffen, Gevmojoshegwat quickly grabbed Agnes’s arm and pulled her away.

“Sorry for interrupting your date. We’ll stay at the table in the back, so don’t mind us and enjoy yourselves.”

“…If you do that, I’d appreciate it,” Ethan said, his voice softening slightly.

“Let’s go, Agnes. Don’t disturb them.”

“I wasn’t trying to disturb….”

With a frustrated look on her face, Agnes allowed herself to be led to the back of the restaurant by Gevmojoshegwat. Thanks to his quick intervention, the situation that could have turned into a storm was easily defused.

“…Maybe the hero isn’t such a bad guy after all,” Ethan muttered.

“Pardon?” I asked, surprised.

“…It’s nothing, Lilith. Just talking to myself.”

“….”

Could it be that Ethan’s opinion of Gevmojoshegwat had improved just because he pulled Agnes away? He had always been annoyed by the hero’s presence, and now, suddenly, he was warming up to him over something so trivial?

So, as long as Gevmojoshegwat didn’t interfere with our time together, Ethan didn’t care how many women the hero attracted?

‘If that’s all it takes to change Ethan’s opinion of someone, I guess I should be relieved.’

Well, whatever. As long as things didn’t get chaotic, it was fine

._________

After finishing our chicken and beer—not sex—with Ethan, we left the restaurant and decided to take a walk along the lakeside of the Island of Knowledge to digest our dinner.

The sun had almost set, and the moonlight was beginning to shine brighter than the fading sunlight. The night was growing deeper, and with it came a certain sense of sentimentality. As we walked along the lakeside, the atmosphere between us grew quieter and a little awkward.

Step, step, step.

“…The moon is beautiful,” Ethan remarked.

“…The lake is clear,” I responded.

Step, step, step.

“….”

“….”

I couldn’t take this anymore.

By now, I had expected Ethan to bring up the reward I owed him, but he kept staying quiet, lost in his thoughts. It was dragging on too long. What was he hesitating about?

For the record, I didn’t think we had to do anything. It’s not like I would die if we didn’t have sex. If anyone would be disappointed, it would be Ethan, not me.

I wasn’t going to bring it up first, though. Not until Ethan mentioned the reward he was supposed to receive.

“Um, Lilith,” Ethan finally spoke up.

“Yes, young master?”

“…Since we’re already out in the commercial district tonight…” he trailed off.

“….”

“…I was thinking, if you don’t mind… how about we stay at an inn tonight instead of going back to the dormitory?”

…It was finally here.

He hadn’t forgotten after all.

Of course, Ethan wasn’t the type to forget about the reward. There’s no way he could forget, considering he practically couldn’t live without me. He was probably still hung up on the time we spent alone in the forest and was now looking for a chance to make up for that missed opportunity.

“I don’t mind, but what about Isabel?” I asked.

“I’ve already told her. I mentioned we might stay out tonight, so she could go to sleep after midnight if we weren’t back.”

“So, you had already planned to stay out before I even agreed, young master? Was my consent just a formality?”

“About… 80 percent of the way, yeah. I was pretty sure you’d agree.”

“….”

“You like it too, right? You’re not going to pretend otherwise after everything that’s happened, are you?”

…He was getting awfully cocky after grabbing hold of one little weak spot.

Yeah, I liked it. Not as much as Ethan did, obviously. But I wasn’t going to deny that I enjoyed our time together, especially now that I had control over the situation.

“I agree to your suggestion, young master. However, I’d like to make it clear that I’m not agreeing because I’m looking forward to sleeping with you.”

“Hmm?”

“As your exclusive maid, I only engage in such activities with you as a token of appreciation for your achievements.”

“…I see.”

“Yes, that’s all.”

“So, you’re saying you don’t enjoy sleeping with me?”

“…What?”

Where was this coming from all of a sudden?

I thought we were just naturally going to head to the inn. But now Ethan was suddenly asking these weird, loaded questions. Sure, at first, when I let him touch me, it was a bit awkward, but by now, I had gotten used to it. Besides, as his temporary girlfriend, I couldn’t deny that I also enjoyed it to some extent.

“I don’t understand what you mean, young master. Do you really think I would sleep with you if I didn’t want to?”

“Sometimes I can’t tell what you’re thinking, Lilith. Maybe you’ve just been pretending to enjoy it for my sake.”

“Young master, you don’t need to ask for a definite answer regarding how I feel. Just make the judgment you think is right.”

“One of my firmest beliefs is that I shouldn’t force someone to sleep with me if they don’t want to, especially if that person is someone I care about.”

…Why was he being so annoying today?

I had come to think that it was just natural for us to sleep together after something like his victory over Harold, but now Ethan was suddenly acting strange, like he wanted to confirm something with me. It was frustrating.

Eventually, my patience ran out.

“You really are dense, you know that?”

“Excuse me?”

“If I really didn’t want to, how do you think I would’ve reacted when you asked me to sleep with you before? You’ve known me since childhood, young master. You know exactly how I act when I’m truly angry.”

“…Yeah, I do.”

Of course, he couldn’t deny that. After all, he had seen me at my angriest.

By now, Ethan should know that when I didn’t like something, I made it very clear. If I didn’t say anything, that meant I was okay with it.

“One thing I’d like you to remember, young master: no matter who I’m dealing with, I always say no when I mean it.”

“…Alright. That’s enough for me to hear for today.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll let it slide for now, but next time, I hope you’ll be more honest.”

“….”

“The inn is down this way, right? Let’s pick a nicer one this time. The place we stayed during the entrance exams was a bit cramped.”

“…Understood.”

For some reason, after our conversation, Ethan seemed more confident. His attitude toward me was more relaxed than usual. He no longer had that tense, uneasy expression he often wore around me. I wasn’t sure what he had figured out from our talk, but it seemed to put him at ease.

‘Well, in the end, I won this little psychological game.’

I had admitted that I didn’t dislike sleeping with Ethan, but I hadn’t fully confessed my true feelings. That meant I still held the reins when it came to controlling when—or if—we would sleep together.

When it comes to relationships, the one who loves more is the one who loses.

And by that measure, I still hadn’t lost to Ethan.