Durandal's hands on the steering wheel paused for a fraction of a second.
But she quickly composed herself and nodded calmly. "That's right."
"Durandal, I don't think I've ever told you something, have I~?"
Hearing Elysia say that, Durandal suddenly frowned, sensing something was off.
So she swallowed the "What is it?" she was about to ask and focused on the road instead.
In truth, aside from buses and ambulances, there were basically no other cars on the streets of Nagazora City lately. Her level of concentration was unnecessary.
Yet even without Durandal taking the bait, Elysia continued on her own. "It's just… the more you care about something, the more you pretend to be focused on something else~?"
By the time she finished speaking, Durandal had already parked the car in the underground garage of Morita Hospital.
Elysia leaned closer with a smile, brushing aside the hair by her cheek to fully reveal her pale, delicate ear. "If you want to look, you can just say so. I'm not stingy~?"
Durandal turned toward her, her sapphire-blue eyes unusually deep.
She pressed down the hand Elysia had used to tuck her hair, then personally reached up and tucked the strands behind Elysia's ear.
Her fingertips gently rubbed Elysia's earlobe. Under her touch, the originally cool skin quickly flushed red and warm due to Elysia's growing embarrassment.
Seeing this, Durandal leaned in and placed a light kiss on her earlobe before saying softly, "Of course I know you're not stingy. I'm just worried you'll show this kind of expression in front of other people."
Elysia: "..."
So when would she ever escape this situation—where she was the one teasing Durandal, yet the moment the other actually made a move, she was the one who ended up more flustered?
"Alright, let's get out. We need to… mm…"
Just as Durandal reached over to unfasten Elysia's seatbelt, Elysia suddenly leaned in and kissed her.
In the dim underground parking lot, inside the cramped car, Durandal could clearly feel the temperature rising, even the air between their breaths growing thick.
However, just as Durandal was about to slide her hand into Elysia's clothes, she was suddenly pushed away.
"Time to get out of the car. Your words, remember!?"
With a faint blush and a mischievous smile, Elysia unbuckled her seatbelt and tried to slip out before Durandal could react.
She thought this move would catch Durandal off guard and recover some dignity after being the one teased into embarrassment earlier.
But this time, Durandal reacted extremely quickly.
Mostly because the space inside the car was small. Unlike the office before—where Elysia could tease her at the doorway and run—there was nowhere to escape here.
As long as Durandal didn't freeze, all she needed was to reach out and pull.
Durandal wrapped an arm around Elysia's slender waist and lowered her head, leaving a trail of fine kisses along the back of her neck. In no time, Elysia, who had been struggling, went completely limp.
Durandal smiled at the sight. After lingering close, she suddenly refastened both of their seatbelts.
"I can sense Miyuki's condition is stable for now. So… we won't be going up to the hospital today."
After that brief explanation, Durandal started the car again—more accurately, she sped—and returned to the garage of her own villa as fast as possible.
Inside the garage, Durandal didn't get out. Neither did Elysia.
The two figures overlapped in that narrow space…
--+--
The next day, Durandal and Elysia woke up refreshed.
Although they had started in the garage the night before, they had only gone once there before moving back to the bedroom.
After all, the space had been too cramped.
With their strength, if things got too heated, they might even have torn the car apart—and explaining that to Connie from logistics would not have been easy.
Still, it had been quite a novel experience. Both Durandal and Elysia were already considering whether they should try a different location next time.
For example… Durandal's office. Even the temporary office meeting room wasn't out of the question~
For now, however, the two stayed home, waiting for people from the Nagazora City government to arrive.
At eight in the morning, an official car from the city government pulled up outside the villa.
Durandal and Elysia got in.
The driver and Hayato sat in the front, while Durandal and Elysia took the back.
"Miss Durandal, Miss Elysia, long time no see."
As soon as they got in, Hayato greeted them.
Indeed, after the human experimentation base incident, Schicksal had maintained contact with him mostly through calls and emails, usually handled by Connie. This was only the second time in over two months that Hayato had seen them in person.
"Mr. Hayato, long time no see," Durandal replied.
Elysia, however, was unusually quiet.
Durandal glanced at her curiously. But unlike Durandal, Elysia didn't wear her thoughts on her face, so nothing could be discerned.
Thus, despite four people in the car, the occasional conversation only came from Hayato and Durandal.
When the car arrived at the entrance of the Municipal Education Bureau, Hayato stepped out to speak with officials, giving Durandal the chance to ask.
"Elysia, what's wrong today? You haven't said a word… are you feeling unwell?"
Durandal looked at her with concern—though her gaze wandered in a less-than-innocent direction.
She assumed they might have gone too far last night, and Elysia was feeling uncomfortable.
Elysia blushed faintly, then helplessly cupped Durandal's face, lifting it so their eyes met.
"My body's fine," she explained. "It's my heart that's not comfortable."
Seeing Durandal still confused, Elysia decided to be blunt.
"Didn't you notice? That Hayato—his eyes when he looks at you… I'm certain he's fallen for you!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.