Bonus 5: I’m Anxious, So I’ll Tell Him How I Feel

That day, Raiga came home unusually late.

I couldn’t imagine him being held up by something as minor as the monsters in the forest.

Back during our journey, the only reason he’d ever struggled was because of the miasma’s influence. Against ordinary threats, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

And yet—just after I’d made such a big decision—I couldn’t shake the restless feeling in my chest.

I remembered a scene from an old drama, where a wife confronts her husband for coming home late. Maybe this was the sort of feeling she had.

The fact that I was naturally starting to see things from a woman’s perspective was… well, enough to make me laugh at myself.

With nothing else to do, I kept rehearsing the words in my head.

Come to think of it… back before our journey began, when he confessed to me—had he felt the same way?

…Now, I’ll never know.

“ I’m home.”

The door clattered open, and footsteps followed.

Then Raiga stepped into the living room.

“…Welcome back.”
“Sorry. I’m late. Took a bit longer than I thought.”
“No problem. You’re eating, right?”

When he nodded, I went to warm up dinner.

Stew, rich with plenty of smoked venison.

Not with cow’s milk, but goat’s milk—different from Earth’s version in more ways than one, but with its own unique charm.

That gentle, milky aroma began to fill the room.

“Thanks for the meal. That was great, as always.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”

Raiga had polished off enough for two people without hesitation.

I, on the other hand, was full after barely half a plate. It might have been the first time in my life that I couldn’t get food down. If anything, I might’ve been even more tense now than before our battle with the ‘Evil Dragon.’

“Are you feeling sick?”
“Ah—no… I’m fine.”

I answered while passing him his after-meal tea.

—I had to tell him how I really felt.

I didn’t know why, but he hadn’t tried to touch me.

And I couldn’t just sit around and wait for him to make the move.

If he agreed, we’d probably move one step forward in our relationship.

…And what exactly would that ‘next step’ be?

The words from our conversation earlier in the day flashed through my mind.

‘Your lips… your chest… and—’

My face instantly felt hot.

“You’re blushing.”

He leaned in, peering at me in concern, and my heart gave a sharp jolt.

When I glanced away, my eyes caught sight of his fingers—so much thicker than mine—and I couldn’t help imagining them tracing along my body.

How much comfort would I feel if those strong arms wrapped around me?

That train of thought threatened to consume my head entirely, and I struggled to keep my expression calm.

“It’s nothing. Really… nothing.”
“If you say so.”

This was bad.

At this rate, I’d lose my nerve and never say it.

“Um, well—”
“Seriously, are you sure you’re not feeling unwell?”

Every time I faltered, he misunderstood.

No, that’s not it.

But the words just kept going in circles, never making it out.

There was only one way to break this loop.

The secret potion.

Turning away so Raiga couldn’t see, I tore open the seal and tipped it into my mouth in one swift motion.

A rich aroma filled my senses, and my head instantly grew hot.

—Wait. This is wine.

Realizing it didn’t matter—because I’d already swallowed it.

The liquid slid down my throat, and once it reached my stomach, it turned into searing heat that surged through me.

“Raiga.”

“O-oh.”

Yuto suddenly spoke to me face-to-face.

Her expression was completely different from just moments ago—serious enough that I found myself tensing up without thinking.

“I have a request for you.”

“Well, as long as it’s nothing too crazy.”

I wondered what on earth Yuto was about to say as I took a sip of tea.

“I want you… to mess me up completely.”

Pffft—!

—What the hell did she just say!?

The tea sprayed out of my mouth like the poisonous mist of a heel pro-wrestler. Honestly, it was disgusting. I’d have to clean it up later. At least it didn’t get on Yuto.

“Cough, cough…”

“Kidding, kidding.”

She pointed at me as I choked and laughed out loud.

Normally, Yuto would never make a joke like that.

“…Don’t tell me—that’s wine?”

The red liquid left in the small bottle in her hand… given the situation, it could only be that.

Yuto grinned at me.

“And if it is?”

…She was provoking me.

“Didn’t you learn your lesson last time?”

“Too late now, I already drank it.”

Then she laughed again.

Before I could figure out how to handle her, she was already closing the distance.

“Sorry, Raiga. Are you mad?”

The way she stuck her tongue out as she apologized was so suggestive that I had to avert my eyes.

…And in that brief moment, Yuto moved in even closer.

Now she was right in front of me.

“I hate it when you drink—you get mean in the worst way possible…”

All I could do was grimace and mutter.

Then—

“…It’s not a joke.”

“…What?”

—Did I just hear that right?

“Three months ago, I said you could ‘do whatever you want,’ but I guess that didn’t work. So let me fix that—I want you to do whatever you want to me.”

“…Do you even understand what you’re saying?”

The way she was tempting me made me almost lean in before I snapped myself back to my senses.

Doing anything to someone drunk would be the lowest thing I could do.

“If ‘do whatever you want’ doesn’t get the message across, then I’ll say exactly what I want you to do.”

“…Can’t promise I’ll go along with it.”

The girl in front of me—who used to be a man—was like a time bomb. No telling what would set her off.

Still, I replied gruffly, keeping my guard up.

“It’s simple.”

…And that “simple” was exactly what scared me.

Without a clue how much it was rattling me, Yuto smiled like an angel.

And then declared—

“I want you to hug me. Tight.”

“…O-oh.”

Relief and disappointment hit me at the same time.

At least it wasn’t “kiss me” or something like that. Honestly, my sense of boundaries was starting to warp—this was beginning to feel like an easy request.

Without hesitation, I pulled her slender body into my arms.

Whether it was the alcohol or just her excitement, her body was hot to the touch.

I savored the soft warmth in my arms, careful not to hold too tightly.

“I really do love you… so I want you to touch me more. Otherwise, I’ll get lonely, and it’ll hurt so much I can’t stand it…”

That was all she said before she collapsed in a drunken heap.

The next day, Marufa-san came over with her husband, bowing in apology.

Honestly, I had no memory of what happened after I opened that little bottle, so I didn’t know how to react—but judging from Raiga’s expression, nothing particularly good had happened.

Most likely, the biggest victim here was Raiga himself, who said—

“I’ll let it slide this time, but don’t ever pull something like that again.”

And that was enough to settle things.

When Marufa-san offhandedly said, “Still, it was a nice bonus for you, right?” she got a fist to the head from her husband.

In any case, from that day on, there was no longer that strange sense of distance between me and Raiga.

Whether that meant we’d actually made progress, though… well, that’s another story.

We had plenty of time ahead of us, after all.