"...So? What’s the problem?"
Amelia sighed as she looked at the slumped-over Arte.
I thought it was all over, and all that was left was to watch those two lovey-dovey fools.
...Or so I’d assumed.
Maybe it’s because neither of them had ever dated before.
Things seemed shakier than expected.
They’d kissed so passionately, and yet...
I never would’ve guessed Siwoo would be so hesitant. I’d been shocked, honestly.
Maybe they’d just forgotten we were watching.
Thanks to that, Dorothy and I got quite the show!
"Is your boyfriend being abusive or something?"
"N-No, nothing like that...!"
Arte flinched at my question, waving her hands in panic.
...Well, I’d never actually suspected that.
There was no way that guy would lay a hand on Arte.
He’d nearly died saving the woman he liked—more than once.
I’d only asked to get her talking.
Sure enough, after a moment of hesitation, Arte seemed to steel herself and spoke up.
"...Uh, so... do you think I’m... unappealing?"
"What the hell kind of nonsense is that?"
Completely caught off guard, irritation flared up, and I poked the blob of fat in front of me.
"A-Ah, that hurts...!"
"It’s supposed to hurt! Who told you to spout that kind of crap?"
She twisted her body, tried to cover herself with her hands—but it was useless.
That borderline-busty lump of fat couldn’t be hidden with something so half-hearted.
Plus, my Ability was Acceleration. I’d never lost a fight like this before.
Eventually, Arte realized she couldn’t stop me from poking her and slumped forward. Only then did I stop jabbing her with my finger.
"...So? Why do you even think that?"
I’d never seen Arte this insecure before.
What in the world had happened?
...Actually, I could probably guess.
It was almost certainly about Siwoo again.
Arte only cared about impressing *him*, after all.
Sure enough, Arte let out a deep sigh before speaking.
"I just... I’m starting to doubt if Siwoo really likes me..."
What the actual hell?
I was so stunned by the unexpected words that my mind went blank for a second.
Did she take my silence as permission to keep talking?
Arte started pouring her heart out to me.
"I mean, we... uh, started dating, right?"
"Yeah. We made such a fuss when we saw you two kissing—"
"What?"
"Ah."
Oops. That wasn’t supposed to come out.
Cold sweat trickled down my back as she glared at me with sharp eyes. Then, with a sigh, Arte spoke again.
"...I *did* think something was off that day."
"Hah, haha..."
"I’ll let it slide, so at least give me proper advice."
"O-Of course! You can count on me!"
Phew. Saved.
Even I thought that might’ve been a little rude.
Luckily, Arte seemed willing to let it go.
"Hmm, hmm. So? What happened next?"
"Siwoo and I have been living together for a while now."
"Yeah, you were already cohabiting before you started dating."
"...So why isn’t *anything* happening?"
"What?"
Nothing’s happening?
As I puzzled over what that could possibly mean, Arte’s face flushed red as she spoke.
"Uh, well… how do I put this…? Hmm…"
She kept hesitating, unlike her usual self. I wanted to urge her to just spit it out, but I held back.
Her face was turning redder by the second—she was clearly embarrassed out of her mind.
I waited patiently for a few minutes.
Finally, as if she’d made up her mind, Arte took a deep breath and blurted out,
"W-when…! When can we do… lover-like things?! That’s why… I-I tried to seduce him…!"
"…Huh?"
The words hit my ears, but I couldn’t believe them. I ended up repeating them without thinking.
Seduce? Arte?
"…Seriously?"
"Huuuuuuu—!"
Maybe she’d just thrown the words out there, consequences be damned.
Covering her beet-red face, Arte nodded.
"Oh… I see…"
Hmm. Well.
Honestly, the idea of Arte trying to seduce someone wasn’t *that* shocking.
Anyone who knew about Arte and Siwoo’s relationship had probably expected Arte to pounce on him eventually.
But the fact that she’d tried and then come to *me* for advice…
"It didn’t work?"
"…Nope."
Figures.
If it had worked, she wouldn’t need to be asking me for advice.
She’d tried to seduce Siwoo, failed, and now her confidence had taken a nosedive.
…But why?
No one adored Arte more than Siwoo did.
If Arte blushed and came onto him, shouldn’t he have caved instantly?
"How did you do it?"
"This outfit. I wore this and crawled into his bed…"
She handed me a photo along with her answer.
I stared, utterly stunned.
"W-what the hell…! This slutty getup—!"
"S-slutty?!"
"N-no, I mean—! You can *see* everything!"
True.
The outfit itself wasn’t the problem.
A thin shirt and dolphin shorts—casual, comfortable, but still revealing.
The real issue was something else.
"Y-you didn’t even wear *underwear* under this?! In front of Siwoo?!"
"Mhm."
"And you *crawled into his bed*?!"
"I hugged him tightly from behind."
"?!"
Through the white fabric, I could just make out a hint of pink.
Even *I*, a woman, could tell how indecent this was. She’d worn this to Siwoo’s bed, pressed her… *assets* against him…
…And nothing happened?
"Is Yu Siwoo… maybe *impotent*…?"
"N-no! He’s not impotent…!"
"?"
How would *you* know?
I shot her a look, and she seemed to realize her slip-up.
Flustered, Arte started babbling incoherently.
"I-I mean, it’s just—!"
"Fine, fine. So he’s *not* impotent, got it?"
"…Right."
Hmph.
Part of me wanted to tell her to just go for it already.
But she still seemed a little shy, so maybe she was interested but still had some reservations.
Couples did that sort of thing all the time. Now that we were dating, we’d probably get there eventually too.
Maybe that’s what she was thinking?
…This is giving me a headache.
Why am I, someone who’s never even been in a relationship, being asked about this stuff?
The sudden doubt left me staring blankly into space for a while.
Just what the hell am I even doing?
Once that thought crossed my mind, an unstoppable wave of exhaustion crashed over me.
…Ah, I don’t know.
"Sorry, I really don’t get it."
"O-oh… right."
"Let’s talk about it again tomorrow. Got it? I’ll bring Dorosi too."
"D-Dorosi as well?"
"These things are better with more people. It’s not like we’re the type to spread rumors anyway."
"Is that so? …Thanks."
"No big deal. Oh, uh, can you head out first today? I’ve got something to take care of while I’m out."
"Sure. See you tomorrow."
The moment Arte vanished from my sight, I slumped into the café chair and spent a while just chewing on my straw.
That part about having something to do was a lie.
Right now, I didn’t want to do anything.
Why the hell was I giving relationship advice?
Once that thought struck me, the exhaustion came flooding back in, even more overwhelming than before.
I sat there in the café, zoning out for a while, when—
—someone unexpected approached me.
"Oh, hey. Amelia."
"…Yu Siwoo?"
The very person I’d just been talking to about Arte.
Yu Siwoo had suddenly shown up in front of me.
"How did you even know I was—"
"Just had a feeling you’d be here."
"Hah, damn it…"
That damn intuition of his again.
This bastard had said he didn’t want to grow his intuition any further and quit training, but now I could see why.
It had already grown so absurdly strong that he didn’t even need to train anymore.
"So? Why’d you come looking for me?"
"…I need some advice."
"Advice?"
First Arte, now this guy? Both of them coming to me for advice on the same day?
I was about to tell him I was too drained for this right now, but I stopped myself.
Arte and Siwoo both seeking advice on the same day—it had to be connected.
And sure enough, my hunch was right. After hesitating for a moment, Siwoo finally spoke up.
"Lately… it’s been hard living with Arte."
"…Hard?"
"Yeah. I hate to say it, but at home, Arte tends to…"
"Dress pretty lightly."
"…How did you know that?"
"Just a guess. So?"
Siwoo stared at me suspiciously for a while, then seemed to realize that wasn’t the important part. He finally got to the point.
"Lately, because of the way she looks… it’s been getting harder to hold back."
"And why the hell are you telling *me* this?!"
"Because it’s *you*…?"
"I’m a woman too, damn it!"
"Huh? Well, yeah. I know."
"…"
What the hell does this guy even think I am?
Does he not even see me as a woman? Does he just think of me as some kind of creature named Amelia?
Absurd thoughts started running through my head.
"I want to treat Arte with care, but lately she’s just… so damn beautiful. I don’t know how to handle it…"
"I DON’T KNOW, OKAY?! JUST GO FUCKING HUMP EACH OTHER!"
"?!"
"WHY DO YOU KEEP COMING TO *ME*?! JUST—JUST KISS AND FUCK ALREADY, GODDAMN IT?!"
"W-wait, Amelia! You’re getting too worked up—just calm down—"
"CALM DOOOOWN?! DO I LOOK CALM TO YOU?! JUST GO FUCKING—MMPH!"
Maybe I’d screamed too loud.
Because I got kicked out of the café.