In Love With the Strongest Man
Translator: Shizukuku
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Arc 2 Storm
Chapter 11 Exchange condition (3)
* * *
“Haaaaaaah…”
Ideal sat in the corner of the room, his shoulders slumped, covering his face.
“I want to be buried… and disappear into the ground…”
“Uh, don’t get buried. Don’t worry about it so much.”
“What have I done to Shuka-san? …I’m so sorry, I really am… I know sorry isn’t enough, but…”
—Apparently, there had been a misunderstanding between Ideal and me.
According to him, the fact that I was inexperienced was the opposite of what he assumed and was a welcomed thing for Ideal. He said he wished I’d told him sooner. Then, he begged me not to put too much faith in tavern gossip.
Apparently, he also misunderstood my relationship with Langetsu. Langetsu was a backroom worker at the whorehouse, but Ideal thought he was a male prostitute because we were in a room that was exclusively for that purpose. He said his blood was boiling, wondering how I could show my nakedness to someone else when I had stubbornly refused to show it to him.
Does Ideal mean he wouldn’t like it if I were with someone else? I guess he doesn’t want someone else sticking their hands in his cookie jar.
Cursed at the age of twelve, I was unfamiliar with the emotions of others, due to the fact that I hadn’t had much contact with people for the past twenty years. When Ideal saw that I didn’t understand something, he’d try to explain it to me, but there were still a lot of things I didn’t understand. But if the misunderstanding had been cleared up, it was good enough. If Ideal was no longer suffering, then it was okay. And yet, he never stopped blaming himself.
“Ideal, come on.”
“Don’t spoil me…”
“I’m not spoiling you. I’ll be lonely if you stay away from me for too long.”
“That’s spoiling me…”
I reached out my hand, and after some hesitation, Ideal slowly approached and took my hand. I invited him in even closer, and he hesitantly embraced me. We lay down on the bed together. I put my arms around his back, and he tightened his hold on me. The warmth of being with another person for the first time in twenty years, and the comfort of holding on to them after being intimate; these were things that Ideal had taught me.
I didn’t need an apology, but if I could have anything, I wanted the right to keep touching him like this. Whatever Ideal did to me, it always felt good. Whether it was intense pleasure that made me want to scream or the tenderness of his gentle touch.
“All you did was make me feel good, so you don’t owe me any apologies.”
“Don’t be so nice… Cuss me out, refuse to forgive me…”
“No…”
I couldn’t find any words to say to the depressed beautiful man. I was given a meal and a warm bed, not to mention the feel of his touch and the suppression of my curse. I could thank him, but I couldn’t imagine cursing him.
“…Got it. Then, I won’t tell you I forgive you.”
“Yeah…”
“Instead, I’ll make you forgive yourself.”
“…!”
Ideal looked up, his face scrunched and contorted.
“That’s too convenient for me then…”
“Forgiveness is the best punishment for you right now, isn’t it? I don’t mind, but if you need punishment to forgive yourself, then accept it.”
“Ugh…” Ideal groaned in my arms. He seemed to have a long struggle, but eventually he gave a small nod. “…I will cleanse my sins with my actions from now on. I won’t do that again. I’ll be nice to you.”
“So, we’re not going to do that again?”
“…Shuka-san?”
“It felt good to be rough…”
“Shu… Shuka-san!!”
When I honestly told him without hiding anything, he got angry for some reason.
* * *
We ate dinner while still clinging to each other and, before I knew it, I had fallen asleep in his gentle embrace.
When I woke up the next morning, Ideal was no longer next to me.
“Ideal?”
As I looked around the room, suddenly there was a commotion outside the door.
“Fugyah!! Gyabagyunyabihyah!!”
“Ouch, hey, no clawing…!”
A ferocious beast and the voice of a dismayed Ideal. As I wondered what was going on, the door to the room opened. Apparently it was now unlocked.
“He’s still sleeping, so be quiet… Oh, Shuka-san, are you awake?”
“Mew-ka!”
As soon as the door opened, a red mass flew in a straight line toward me. I felt a sense of déjà vu as my vision was filled with bright red fluff.
“A-Akane!”
“Nyuka, are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
“Fu, fu… it tickles…!”
The red cat that was stuck to my face circled around over my shoulder and licked my cheek with its rough tongue.
“Hff.”
“Oh, you’re making that face again…!”
“Mmph mmph… hff! Stinky, you’re so stinky, Mew-ka!”
“Hey, I don’t smell bad, I’ve had my body thoroughly wiped… Wait! Akane, are you… talking?”
It seemed like Akane had been speaking words other than “meow” since a while ago. He seemed to be speaking the official language of the four major countries of the world with a certain degree of fluency.
“Uuuuuungh.”
Akane froze, looking as if he was about to say, ‘Oh no…’
Silence fell over the room. The silence was broken by the sound of Akane rolling over. He laid down with his belly up in my lap, bent his arms and legs a little, and looked up at me adorably.
“Do you hate cats that can speak the human language…?”
“No… that’s…?”
It was outrageously destructive. That soft, fluffy, squishy body. Paws that clawed mercilessly at anything they didn’t like. And yet he looked up at me with a lack of confidence, with those round eyes that made me want to protect him.
“I love you!”
“Mew, I love you too, Mew-ka!”
I couldn’t resist hugging him, and he held my temples between his paw pads. It was the best.
“Mmmmm, Mew-ka loves me most. Mmmrrrow.”
“Damnit…”
Akane looked triumphant. And somehow Ideal was shaking with frustration at the door.
