Sofia was just about to enter the workshop when she froze at the sound of a conversation coming from inside.
‘You don’t need to take this whole filial piety thing so seriously. If you really feel you have to, just letting me see a grandchild someday would be more than enough.’
‘W-wait, a grandchild…?’
‘What, you saying you’re not even thinking about it?’
‘N-no… It’s just… I-I do think… someday…’
Hearing that exchange—
“———!!!?”
—Sofia instinctively stopped in her tracks and, for no reason at all, ducked behind a corner to hide.
Her face felt like it was on fire when she pressed her hands to it.
If she looked in a mirror now, it would surely be bright red.
No doubt her ears were red too.
‘N-no… It’s just… I-I do think… someday…’
Fate’s words burned themselves into her ears, refusing to leave her mind.
It was as though they were sinking deep into the back of her brain.
“F-Fate… s-so that’s how you… really feel…”
Of course, it’s not like Sofia herself had never thought about things like that.
If anything, she thought about it quite often.
Indecent?
She didn’t care.
After all, she was a girl too.
A young maiden of marriageable age.
Wanting to be with the person she loved was perfectly natural.
So imagining or fantasizing about things like that… was only natural.
Yes, nothing wrong with that at all.
Telling herself that, Sofia justified her feelings…
And then, letting her imagination and fantasies get carried away after such a long time…
Her face turned bright red all over again.
“You really are quite the closet perv, huh, Sofia.”
“———!?”
A voice suddenly whispered right by her ear, and Sofia almost let out a scream.
But somehow, by sheer willpower and grit, she held it in.
She whirled around, and there was Licorice, grinning smugly.
“Nihihi.”
“…You were listening? Watching?”
“Oh yeah. Every word.”
Licorice’s smug grin didn’t fade in the slightest.
Seeing it, Sofia…
“…I’ll cut you down.”
“Wha—!?”
She reached for her sword.
And not just any sword—it was the holy sword, Excalibur.
“W-wait, don’t do anything rash! If you cut down such a cute Licorice-chan, it’d be a loss for all humankind! The world would weep! The oceans would rise in a great flood!”
“…Just kidding.”
Sofia let go of the sword hilt and smiled sweetly.
“A-ahaha…”
Ugh… she’s so mean sometimes… Licorice chuckled weakly.
But deep down…
(That wasn’t a joke. She was really gonna cut me…)
Feeling the seriousness in Sofia’s glare, Licorice shivered internally.
She swore to herself: she’d better stop teasing her about things that dangerous.
…Though, knowing how forgetful she was, she might just do it again someday.
But that’s another story.
“Still, you don’t really have to be so embarrassed about it, you know?”
“I-I can’t help it…! I mean, to think about doing… that… with Fate…”
“So? There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“…But it’s… indecent, isn’t it?”
“That indecent thing is exactly how humans—and animals—create children, isn’t it? It’s the only way for the species to survive. So I don’t think there’s anything to be ashamed of.”
“…Hmmph.”
Sofia’s expression grew complicated — she just couldn’t accept it as easily as that.
Then, as if something occurred to her, she turned to Licorice and asked:
“Licorice, have you ever… had that kind of experience?”
“Eh?”
For a moment, Licorice froze.
But she quickly recovered and puffed out her chest proudly.
“W-well, yeah! Miracle-cute Licorice-chan has always been super popular. Before I started hanging out with Nonoka, I was getting invitations left and right from fairies all over the place.”
“Wow!”
“With my technique, all the guys would be putty in my hands. I’d crush their bones! They used to call me the bewitching Licorice-chan!”
“That’s amazing!”
Sofia’s eyes sparkled like a child’s, completely believing her.
When it came to this kind of topic, Sofia turned into a total airhead.
“Please, could you tell me all about it!?”
“Y-yeah, sure. I’ll tell you all about Licorice-chan’s rosy love stories!”
“Please do!”
And so, Licorice began spinning her tall tales, embellishing wildly about things that never happened…
Sofia took every word to heart, convinced it was all true…
And on her own first time, she’d end up messing up in all sorts of ways — but that, too, is another story.
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