Chapter 112

Lefi’s Bizarre Behaviour

I had thought that Lefi might return to normal shortly after my return, but it didn"t happen . Case in point, right now .

"Hold still . There is a speck of filth in your hair . " The dragon girl, who had approached upon noticing me, reached over and grabbed what looked like a piece of yarn from out of my hair .

"T-thanks . I didn"t even notice . "

"You are very welcome . "

She casually sat herself down right next to me . She was so close that the two of us were basically touching . I tried not to pay her much mind as I continued trans.m.u.ting weapons for the sake of boosting the skill"s level . But I couldn"t . The whole situation was just way too discomforting .

And it wasn"t just because she was there . I was fine with that . The reason I was unable to focus was because the dragon girl did nothing but silently stare at me from up close .

"Sooooo uh… Is there something on my face?" I broke the awkward silence by turning towards her .

"There is not," she said . "W-would you prefer if I turned my gaze away?"

"N-Nah . I mean, I don"t really mind, it"s just… y"know, it makes me think something"s up . "

Lefi had become much more clingy since my return . The most notable part was that the physical distance between us had shrunk by what felt like a full step . She would often position herself right beside me . I even felt as if we were almost always in physical contact, someway or another . Is it just me, or is it getting kinda warm in here?

Unlike before, she leaned on me a h.e.l.l of a lot, and she would even tug at the hem of my s.h.i.+rt whenever she needed me for anything . The whole s.h.i.+rt tugging bit was something that our resident vampire did often . On several occasions, I"d caught myself spinning around and expecting to see Illuna, only to find Lefi there instead .

Though I had a bunch of different opinions on the matter, it wasn"t as if I thought negatively of Lefi"s newfound desire for physical contact . Men were creatures that loved how soft and wonderful girls like her were to the touch . And as a healthy male specimen, I was no exception . It"s just… how do I put this? The problem is that it feels like Lefi"s pus.h.i.+ng herself real hard and forcing herself to do things outside her comfort zone .

Her face was basically always red, and she way she spoke made it obvious that she was feeling awkward . She kept tripping over her own words, and even sounded stiff or nervous at times . And her being off ultimately ended up throwing me for a loop as well . I just didn"t know how I was supposed to react .

Just to reiterate, it wasn"t as if I disliked the way she was acting . h.e.l.l, I would even go as far as to say that I found it adorable . But even with that said, I preferred Lefi"s usual self . It just wasn"t right for her not to be so brazen, shameless, or impudent . I really don"t want her to have to keep forcing herself to act like someone she isn"t . I really hope she gets back to normal sooner, rather than later…

***

"Soooo… Lyuu…" I said to the maid I"d arranged a meeting with . "You and I need to talk . "

Her back was to the wall, so I took advantage of our relative positions and slammed one of my hands into the part of the wall right by her face . It was a cla.s.sic j.a.panese technique often used by males that wanted to pressure their female counterparts into agreeing to things, often dates, that they otherwise wouldn"t .

Of course, my intention wasn"t to create any sort of romantic tension . All I wanted to do was pressure her into speaking by blocking off all possible means of escape .

"Eep!" She squealed at the impact before timidly turning her eyes upwards . "W-What is it Master? The way yer smilin" right now is real scary . "

"Do you know why Lefi"s been acting so weird lately?"

"H-Huh? W-w-what are you talkin" "bout? Lefi ain"t actin" weird at all?" Lyuu responded, abnormally fl.u.s.tered .

"Come on Master . Lefi"s a girl too, y"know? And she"s just doin" what girls do . "

"Lyuu, please . " I rolled my eyes . "Like, come on . All Lefi used to do all day was laze around in bed . She only ever got up to eat and play . You can"t just write off a sudden s.h.i.+ft like that as something girls do . She"s been h.e.l.la weird lately, and you know it!"

Lyuu paused . She had run out of arguments . "W-Why are you askin" me of all people anyway? I-I"m sure that Leila knows what"s goin" on . She prolly knows way more, so whydda gotta pick on me!?"

Welp . That"s Lyuu for you . She"s started selling our her buddies just because she"s run out of things to say .

"Well, that"s just because I can"t really bring myself to put any pressure on Leila . She does good work . "

Leila was nothing short of exceptional . She did more or less all the housework and even went above and beyond by teaching me about magic . I almost felt like I owed her for everything that she"d done for me .

"B-but then why would you think it"s okay to pressure me!?"

"Because you"re an incompetent, sorry excuse for a maid that can"t even pull her own weight . Duh . "

"What the heck!? That"s somethin" I"m really conscious of! You can"t just rub it in my face like that! You"re awful, Master! That"s totally discriminatory! You"re a tyrant, Master! A horrible, horrible tyrant!" Lyuu shouted indignantly . "Why can"t you be nicer to me, and y"know, treat me with more care "n respect!?"

"What are you, stupid? Of course I"m a tyrant . That"s just what demon lords are . I don"t know why you"d expect me to be anything else," I flashed a wide grin . "And you want me to be nicer to you? Give me a break, I"m being nice enough already . Are you already forgetting that I"m the only reason Rir ever comes anywhere near you?"

"Erk… I-I mean yer right, but…"

The warwolf could do nothing but respond with vexation .

"And there goes your argument," I smirked . "Right, anyway . Back to the whole Lefi thing . You mind explaining now, or what?"

"Ughhh… fine . " Lyuu finally seemed to realize that she wasn"t going to be able to worm her way out of divulging the details, so she reluctantly began to speak . "…I"ll tell ya, but y"can"t let anyone know that it was me that spilled the beans, "kay? Lefi"ll turn me to nothing but a pile o" ashes if she ever finds out . "

"Yeah, yeah, I know . Don"t worry . "

"Lefi seems to be kinda worried "bout stuff," began the beastkin .

"What"s that supposed to mean?"

"Well, y"see…"

Lyuu explained the details to me . To summarize, the source of Lefi"s distress was the fact that she had no idea how she was supposed to get closer to people . While it sounded like the type of problem a kid with few friends would have, I found it to be a surprisingly understandable concern . Lefi had always lived by herself . She had literally spent centuries without any real company . She had told me that the experiences I, or rather, we, brought her were fresh, new, and exciting . And that was what she had told Lyuu and Leila as well .

She explained to them that she was enjoying life as it were, but she wasn"t sure if things could stay the way they were right now forever . Because she had never been the initiator . She felt as if everyone else was actively making attempts to grow closer with those around them, whereas she alone had put almost no effort towards the function . Her bonds were only what they were because of everyone else"s initiative . And that was the problem .

Lefi had lived a long life, and experiences had taught her well . She knew that she couldn"t just take the things around her, relations.h.i.+ps included, as granted . She knew that her bonds would one day fade unless she herself actively partic.i.p.ated in strengthening them .

The two maids had listened to her grips whilst I was away in the capital . They found her worries adorable and enthusiastically began giving her all sorts of guidance and advice . Of course, I wasn"t privy to the exact details of what that advice entailed . Lyuu hadn"t told me that much .

Either way, it meant that her current behaviour was basically her taking the maids" advice and trying her best to roll with it .

"Hah… I swear, Lefi…" I sighed before switching right over to my usual wry smile . You know, I can"t even say that she"s acting all that weird anymore . Like, now that I get it, I agree . She"s just being awkward and clumsy . As usual . I get what you"re trying to do now, Lefi, but you know what? You really don"t have to try that hard . You can just be you . But I get it . You"re trying because of how foreign the concept feels .

You know what? I probably shouldn"t say too much to her . It"d probably be best for me to just keep nonchalantly playing along for now . I mean, I"m sure she"ll figure it out eventually . We"re going to be together for a long, long time, after all . But I might as well help her along where I can, right? Though, I guess I will at least tell her not to push herself too hard . Wouldn"t want things to go south just "cause she"s forcing it too hard . I guess I should probably help her blow off some steam or something just to make sure everything goes well . Oh, I know . I"ll treat her to the booze I got from the king . It"d probably be best if I did it sooner rather than later, huh? Hmmm . I guess today"ll work . Or tomorrow if it doesn"t .

***

"Whew…" Lyuu breathed a sigh of relief once her master was out of earshot . "Looks like I managed to trick "im . "

Of course, it wasn"t as if everything she had told him had been a lie . It was true that her other master, the mistress of the house, was concerned about strengthening her bonds with other people . But it was a little more specific than just that .

Her mistress wasn"t concerned about bonding with people in general . All she wanted was to get closer to another specific individual . Listening to her explain her concerns had left a bittersweet taste in Lyuu"s mouth . They sounded almost like the issues one would hear from the average girl that had just come of age .

Though she had been pressured, there was no way Lyuu could possibly spare her master the undoctored details . Because she knew that the truth was something meant only for her mistress to tell .

Lyuu giggled as she gave one of her fists a pump . "Do your best, Lefi! I know you can do it! Us maids"ll be cheerin" you on from the sidelines!"

***

Editor"s note (Joker): Hey, guys! Joker here . Aww, isn"t that adorable? Lefi"s trying to get close to Yuki and he"s being as blind as a bat about it . Can"t say I"m surprised . That"s about par for the course for most isekai protags . They don"t know love when it"s rubbing right up against them . But hopefully, Yuki"s Chuuni-Eye, I mean uh, Magic Eye, will see through Lefi"s attempts and give her the loving she wants . I"m personally still torn between Black Mage and Samurai, but I"m actually leaning more towards Samurai . And it makes me sad . Maybe I"ll try leveling both up . That"ll be more fun . So we got 3 questions and 2 headpats for me (For whatever reason…), and 11 headpats for Nirvash, so thanks to kx, Sylphian and Tup for your questions, Tonatsi and Anime Dragon for the headpats to me . Again, don"t know why you guys do that… and Nirvash would like to thank kx, جهاد السعيدي, Tonatsi, thedefend, Sylphian, Yashuul, and Anime Dragon . Remember, if you have a QUESTION for me, leave it below with the hashtag #AskJoker . If you want to headpat NIRVASH, put #NirvashHeadPat in the comments . See y"all in the next chapter!