“How long are you going to keep stroking me?”
“Hmm… forever?”
The passionate night had passed.
We faced each other, relying on the moonlight streaming in through the room‘s only window.
We were holding each other, but I was positioned slightly lower.
…Yes. There‘s no need to hide it.
I had my head buried in Johanna‘s chest.
Do they say that men are always like children?
Indeed, I, being caressed in Johanna‘s embrace, was probably closer to a child than an adult.
But I liked this moment.
I liked how Johanna‘s warm body heat felt like it would warm me forever.
The same was true for hearing her beautiful voice.
“You‘re so cute when you‘re this docile.”
“…Really?”
“Just a while ago, even when I said it hurt, you were so selfish and just…”
I covered Johanna‘s mouth.
Johanna was slightly surprised by my hand that had suddenly appeared, but she soon gave a mischievous smile.
Lick.
Startled by the unfamiliar sensation on my hand, I quickly lowered my arm.
“Whoa. You scared me.”
“Hehe~.”
Johanna gave a short kiss on my forehead.
Her playful expression soon became tinged with the color of a shy apology.
Her twitching lips opened.
“…Want to do more?”
“No. You must be tired, let‘s rest now.”
“I‘m fine, though…”
“I‘m tired too.”
I wasn‘t that tired.
I just stopped because it seemed like Johanna was constantly being self-conscious.
Johanna kept wanting to do something for me.
Like suggesting positions first, or hiding small pains.
Now that the night‘s activities were over, she was tending to my hair.
My sweat-soaked hair was parted to the sides. My hairstyle changed with every touch of Johanna‘s hand.
I couldn‘t see it because there was no mirror, but I probably looked quite neat.
“Is it fun to touch my hair? It‘s short, so there‘s not much to do.”
“Touching a lover‘s hair is a meaningful act in itself~.”
This time, it was my turn to be embarrassed.
I tightened my arms around Johanna.
With a small “oh my,” Johanna let out a small laugh.
“Do you want to try too?”
“No. I‘ve never touched hair before, so I‘ll be bad at it.”
“I‘ll teach you.”
Johanna sat up. The blanket flowed down with gravity, revealing her body without hiding anything.
Johanna, sitting neatly on her knees, turned her body to show me her back.
The graceful curve from her shoulders to her waist and hips was flawless even after a long night.
Johanna must have felt my gaze, but she didn‘t react.
Instead, she undid her hair, which had been in two braids.
“Give it a try. It‘s okay. If you mess up, you can just tie it again.”
The fine, silk-like hair spread over the bed like waves. Her hair was longer than I thought.
I was at a loss as to where to even begin.
“First, take a strand. And then…”
Following Teacher Johanna‘s instructions, I awkwardly moved my two hands.
We decided to braid her hair, which was originally in two braids, into a single braid this time.
It was a hairstyle made by dividing the hair into three large sections and crossing them over each other.
Johanna said it wasn‘t difficult, but, well. It wasn‘t easy.
Fortunately, the result was acceptable.
There were no major flaws, but it was an imperfect form with a few stray strands of hair sticking out here and there.
“How is it?”
“Well. It doesn‘t look great to me. Should I get you a mirror?”
“Would you?”
Fortunately, there was a mirror in the small drawer next to the bed.
It was Morgan‘s, but I tried to ignore that and handed it to Johanna.
“Ehehe~”
Fortunately, Johanna was only interested in her own hair that I had braided.
I don‘t know if it was worth humming about, but,
Seeing her so happy gave me a little sense of pride.
“Do you like it?”
“A lot. I absolutely love it. Should I wear it like this for the rest of my life?”
I‘m glad she likes it, but forever is a bit much, isn‘t it?
“You‘ll get in trouble if it gets caught in a fight.”
The fight was really just an excuse.
I was worried that my clumsy handiwork would make Johanna look unkempt.
“You‘re no fun. Fighting on the battlefield with the hair your lover did for you! Is there anything more beautiful than that?”
“I‘ll do it again for you next time. That‘s good enough, right?”
I had made another rash, open-ended promise.
For a moment, the thought that I had made a mistake filled my head, but Johanna‘s exclamation pulled me out of the water.
“Don‘t worry. I‘m here. I‘ll always be by your side.”
“…Thank you.”
“Good boy. I‘ll praise you.”
I tried to dodge my head, but Johanna was faster.
Being stroked while lying down and being stroked while sitting facing each other were two completely different stories.
“It‘s okay now. Stop.”
“Are you embarrassed? Why?”
“…It‘s just something.”
The corners of Johanna‘s mouth went up again.
“Heeey~ Little Lupus. Are you embarrassed right now?”
“I told you to stop.”
“Oh my. I see. You‘re embarrassed to be stroked by a girl who is smaller and weaker than you!”
I covered my face and lay down again.
Johanna leaned over me slightly and whispered in my ear.
“You really liked it until a moment ago, so what‘s this? Suddenly want to act all manly? Lupus, you‘re so childish!”
“I told you to stop.”
“Did you tell me to stop~?”
Johanna, teasing me with the tone of a kindergarten teacher.
I had already warned her several times. I wouldn‘t tolerate it anymore.
I grabbed Johanna‘s shoulders and pushed her down.
In an instant, our positions were reversed.
Johanna‘s two shoulders, caught in my grasp, felt so fragile as if they would break the moment I applied any force.
“…Hiccup!”
Johanna, with her eyes wide open, kept hiccuping.
To think she would tease me with such confidence when she was going to be this scared.
The heat that had been building up quickly cooled down.
Betraying the very expectant Johanna, I lay down next to her.
“Huh… huh? You‘re not going to do it?”
“I‘m not.”
“…You did it with Morgan-san so many times.”
“What did you say?”
When I turned my head slightly, Johanna quickly turned her body away.
But she couldn‘t hide her reddened earlobes.
“You‘re the Pope, and you‘re jealous?”
“…Is that not allowed? I‘m an ordinary girl too… and when I hear that my man has been with another woman, of course I get jealous…”
A burst of laughter escaped me.
Johanna hit me with her fists, telling me not to laugh, but I couldn‘t help it.
“You didn‘t say that when we were doing it.”
“That‘s because I thought you wouldn‘t like it… eek!”
I climbed on top of Johanna again.
Johanna, unlike before, had a calm face.
The mood ripened again, and,
“…This time, I‘ll do it until I‘m satisfied.”
The night continued with Johanna giving a shy nod.
Johanna stared at the sleeping Lupus‘s face for a long time.
The evidence of their passion still remained in her lower abdomen. When Johanna moved, its contents would slosh along.
Cooling her heating cheeks, Johanna buried her head in Lupus‘s embrace.
Just a while ago, Lupus was in her embrace, but now she was in his.
Even deep in his sleep, his thick arms had no intention of letting her go.
Johanna was embarrassed but also happy about it.
She liked that all his attention was directed only at her.
Because if he was restraining her this strongly, then he too would not leave her.
Johanna didn't fall asleep because she wanted to keep his face, which seemed like it would change with just a glance away, in her eyes.
Perhaps that was why.
Johanna quickly noticed the presence of someone standing in front of the master bedroom door.
There was no way she wouldn't know who it was.
It was the person who had been the master of this room until Johanna arrived.
“…Lupus, I‘ll be right back.”
“Mmm…”
Johanna kissed his cheek, then got up.
She used her magical energy to put her clothes back on and raised her staff, readying her stance.
She had no intention of avoiding a fight.
Because she believed without a doubt that if the woman beyond the door went after Lupus, he would become unhappy again.
’My hair… I‘ll just leave it like this.‘
Her hair, only braided and not properly arranged, was long enough to reach her calves.
As Lupus had said, long hair would be a hindrance in battle, but it didn't matter.
Because this was the first time. The first time Lupus had braided her hair.
This was a body that Lupus‘s hand had just begun to touch. She didn‘t want to erase his traces.
Johanna steeled her resolve.
After taking a deep breath, she opened the door.
“…A clergywoman.”
“Hello, Morgan-san.”
In front of her stood a witch with eyes colder than a glacier.
“I would appreciate it if you would die now.”
And the witch raised her staff without delay.