༺ A Short Day (2) ༻
Elia was a city-state with a single castle as its territory, but it didn’t mean that there was nothing around it.
The continent was vast and populated.
Among them were those who sought to live in the arms of the gods, regardless of whether they were divine or not, and surrounding Elia were villages created by such people.
That wasn’t all.
Money is where the people are.
Where there is money, there are merchants.
Naturally, where such human resources gather, cities are formed.
The place where Vera and Renee were headed today was one of those cities.
Cernei, a small town of about 2,000 people that operates as one of the few free cities on the continent.
In the carriage, which was bound to arrive in Cernei in an hour.
Vera studied Renee’s face.
‘Is she still upset?’
He could see Renee looking away, her ears tinted with color.
When he leaned forward a bit, he could see her fuming.
Her anger from before they departed hadn’t ended yet.
“Saint?”
Vera called her, but there was no response.
It was a troubling situation, to say the least, but nothing that made Vera worry.
It was due to Renee’s behavior, who was shifting her hips slightly in his direction.
He could recognize it.
She was protesting, demanding him to ease her anger right now.
Because of Renee’s prideful behavior, she didn’t want to be the one to initiate the conversation after losing the argument.
Since he wasn’t without blame, Vera willingly gave in to Renee’s tantrums.
The two sat side by side inside the carriage.
Vera stretched out an arm and wrapped it around Renee’s waist.
When he did that, Renee shuddered, and Vera laughed in response.
“I think I went a little too far with my teasing.”
As he said those words while pulling Renee in his direction, Renee was drawn in with a shocking ease.
Then, she leaned the back of her head against Vera’s chest.
She tried her best to look angry, but the corners of her mouth were already curling up.
Vera let out a small laugh and pulled Renee into a hug.
“Can you forgive me?”
“…Just this once.”
Renee turned and slowly sank her head into Vera’s arms.
“Also, Vera isn’t a handsome man.”
Again, she told him the coercion-like statement.
Vera willingly obliged.
“Yes, I must have been mistaken.”
“Of course you are.”
The smile on Renee’s lips deepened.
“Vera’s ugly, so there’ll be no other women who will like you except me. That’s why you should always be grateful and nice to me.”
They were both familiar with Vera’s past, but who cared?
Affectionate bickering was a necessary condiment between lovers, and even the arguments of the moment were a preparation for what was to come.
Renee glanced up.
Then, she brought her lips to Vera’s.
There was a brief ‘smooch,’ and Vera’s eyes widened slightly.
The image of Renee pressing her lips to his with her eyes tightly shut filled his vision.
At times like this, Vera realized something.
Something about her appearance.
Isn’t that right?
Normally, when you’re this close to a person, you can see their flaws and blemishes, but Renee had none of those.
After a moment of that realization, the corners of Vera’s mouth tugged up.
‘Again.’
Renee was doing it again, pressing her lips hard against his.
It was a cute habit.
Normally, a kiss is an act where you press your lips softly against each other, but Renee, who was still inexperienced in the art of kissing, didn’t know about it and put a lot of pressure on her lips whenever she kissed.
Vera hesitated for a moment, knowing that Renee would smile arrogantly at him as if asking how her kiss was when she removed her lips, and then made a decision.
Vera gently opened his mouth.
And then, he bit Renee’s tense lower lip.
Suddenly.
“Urgh…!”
Renee’s heart skipped a beat.
A look of surprise crossed her face.
Then, her face slowly turned bright red.
Vera watched it with amusement before speaking.
“Is there anyone in the world who puts strength in their lips when they kiss?”
“Wha-what…!”
Renee, flustered, laughed in disbelief, but said nothing more.
Due to the overwhelming difference in romantic experience, not to mention the lack of skill in using her body, there was nothing she could do to refute Vera’s words.
Vera’s smile grew wider.
His cheekbones were starting to sting, since nothing but smiles had been on his face ever since this day had begun.
“I guess I’ll have to teach you.”
Vera leaned his head forward and brought his lips to Renee’s.
Slowly, he parted Renee’s lips and slipped his tongue in.
Renee stiffened like a wooden doll.
This was because she realized the identity of the warm, soft thing invading her mouth.
She felt like she was going to pass out at any moment, but she knew she shouldn’t because she’d be taken straight back to Elia.
Renee stiffened her back, clutching at Vera’s collar, and fought back.
“Hhh!”
With a cute sigh, she licked the tip of Vera’s invading tongue.
***
A shy smile tugged at the face of the two people who entered Cernei.
They were embarrassed for having done such a thing in the carriage.
“Th-there’s a lot of people.”
Renee said with her head ducked down, and Vera replied.
“Yes, I suppose they’re here to pray to the Gods in this chaotic time.”
It was not an uncommon occurrence.
Inevitable disasters such as war, drought, floods, and more always left the nearby cities of Elia in ruins.
“They must need a place to lean on.”
Humans are fragile.
No matter how strong one’s will may be, they cannot always stand tall. In those moments, people often turn to the unseen, and God is one such choice.
Seeing Vera’s serious demeanor, Renee smiled.
“You’re thinking about the donations now, aren’t you?”
“…How did you know?”
“It’s obvious what you’re thinking about. In times like this, even the nobles will come to give their offerings. Then, we will have some extra cash. Oh, we’ll be fine this month even if Rohan or Trevor make some trouble.”
The words, delivered like a song, revealed Vera’s mind at once.
What a surprise.
Then again, it was to be expected from Renee.
“I know because I talked to His Holiness. Sometimes, he tells me what’s troubling you.”
Vargo usually told her while laughing it off, but Renee didn’t tell him that.
It was the best choice, since Vera was touched that Vargo cared so much about him.
“…We should get him a present.”
“Should we?”
“Yes. Oh, but first, would you like to eat?”
“Sure.”
Renee clung to Vera’s arm.
Her head rested slightly on his shoulder.
It was a very uncomfortable pose for walking, but it didn’t matter to them.
All that mattered for the both of them was being closer to each other.
***
There was a certain liveliness to a crowded city.
Merchants shouted loudly.
Tourists walked among them.
Local residents went about their daily business, and children ran around somewhere in between.
It was a time of need for God.
Cernei, a small town near Elia, was in the midst of an unprecedented economic boom, and Vera and Renee were enjoying the atmosphere as they finished their meal.
A performance started in the center of the square.
The two sat down in a vacant seat and spent some time listening to it.
There were plenty of other things to see, but none of them were suitable for enjoying with Renee, who was blind, so it was a half-enforced choice.
Renee felt unnecessarily sorry about it and turned to Vera.
“I’m sorry. You must have a lot you’d like to see, Vera.”
Visual impairments brought about many inconveniences, not just in everyday life but also in the enjoyment of leisure.
Cernei was currently filled with all kinds of paintings and performances.
As such, there should be no shortage of things for lovers to enjoy, and Renee thought that it was a shame that her constraints had wasted them all.
Of course, Vera would never agree.
“I’m fine.”
“Still…”
“Really, I’m fine. I had enough of seeing rare attractions in my last life, and even aside from that, isn’t the point of seeing attractions essentially who you’re with? If it weren’t for your company, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”
Renee’s face grew emotional at the words he spoke with a gentle voice.
“…You’re being very kind today.”
“You told me to do so.”
“So you’ll be mean if I hadn’t told you so?”
“Are you going to let that happen?”
“No way.”
A giggle escaped Renee’s lips.
Her grip on the arm she’d been holding tightened.
She could hear her heartbeat more clearly over the music.
The warmth that spread from deep within seemed to envelop her body.
This was why she loved Vera.
Renee dwelled on the thought for a moment, then added a playful question to the conversation.
“By the way.”
“Yes.”
“Who did you watch this kind of thing with in your last life?”
Renee’s question was delivered playfully, driven by a desire to tease him.
Vera flinched at that.
Then, his pupils began to flutter uncontrollably.
Names began to flash through his mind.
Ellie, Hanna, Kirielle, Jenia, Windy, Fornesch, Daisy, Bella.
Sometimes out of necessity, and sometimes out of the spur of the moment.
He stopped moving as the images of all the women he’d spent time with, from slum dwellers to high noblewomen, flashed through his mind. Meanwhile, Renee’s expression clouded.
“…What’s wrong? Are there too many to remember?”
That was indeed the case.
Remembering that a woman’s intuition could be so mysterious, Vera hid his shudder as he answered.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
“You’re panicking, huh?”
A cold sweat ran down Vera’s back.
The corners of Renee’s mouth turned up in a very sinister smile.
“I think we need to talk about this in more detail.”
It was no illusion to Vera that the tendons on the back of Renee’s hands appeared to be bulging.
Vera jumped in frustration and broke out in a cold sweat for a long moment before making an uncharacteristically flimsy excuse.
“You are the only one for now. You know that, don’t…”
“For now?”
Clench—!
For a moment, Vera thought.
Renee’s grip was unusually strong.
Her head snapped back, looking directly at Vera.
At this moment, Vera thought for the first time that the emptiness in her eyes was frightening.
Meanwhile, Renee’s anger remained unabated.
“For nowww?!”
The naturally raised pitch of Renee’s voice drew the attention of everyone around them.
Even in the midst of the performance, Vera could hear the whispers surrounding them.
— Oh dear, what’s going on?
— From what I see, that man is a womanizer.
— Oh my god, did he get caught two-timing her?
— It’d be good if it’s only two timing, but I don’t think that face only does that much.
— He does it when he has such a beautiful wife? This is why men are…
— He must be one of those! The type to say things like ‘the more money and women, the better!’ behind your behind!
There were a series of remarks condemning him.
Vera felt so wronged that he thought he might lose his mind.
However, the situation didn’t sit well for him to defend himself.
In this extreme situation, Vera remembered what people often considered in times of crisis:
Escape.
But Vera couldn’t bring himself to leave Renee behind and run away alone, so he closed his eyes tightly.
‘…Fuck.’
Vera thought.
Now would be a good time for a second regression.
