Chapter 14
What did you say?”
Sion asked, frozen.
“I said, let me touch you.”
“Touch what?”
“You.”
“….”
“To be precise—your body.”
“….”
A heavy silence fell.
Two pairs of eyes, filled with all kinds of meaning, were fixed on me.
“I know this is sudden. But this is an unavoidable step I have to go through to find a way out of here, so I’d appreciate your cooperation.”
“….”
Sion looked at me as if he had just been struck by something dull—or rather, like he was staring at an incomprehensible alien lifeform.
‘Oh? That expression is kind of new.’
Since in the original story Sion was always described as a cold, quiet, expressionless beauty, I found this unfamiliar reaction amusing and smiled slightly.
“Um, excuse me, Miss Rin.”
At that moment, Garen—who had been frozen beside Sion—carefully intervened.
“I think a bit of additional explanation is needed.”
“Huh? What explanation?”
“Well… I don’t know how things are in the fairy world, but in human society, physical contact between men and women is generally discouraged.”
“….”
For some reason, Garen’s face turned red as he rambled on.
“There are social norms, you see. Unless a man and a woman are in a defined relationship, such contact is considered inappropriate… and it could even lead to… irreversible consequences…”
“What are you even talking about? I’m doing this because I need to run an experiment. Stop overreacting and having weird ideas.”
I snorted dismissively.
Like I said, this was purely to recharge fangirl energy—definitely not for my personal desires.
“…Ah, I see.”
At my confident explanation, Garen blinked, then visibly relaxed.
“Forgive me, Miss Rin. You’ve shown rather bold and extreme behavior before, so I… misunderstood.”
“Hmph. As long as you get it. Just stay there and watch quietly.”
I shook my head and reached my hand out through the bars toward Sion, who was still stiff.
“Alright, Sion. Your hand.”
“….”
“Hurry. I’ll just hold it. Really.”
For a brief moment, a cliché line from some trashy romance movie—“I’ll just hold your hand and sleep”—flashed through my mind, but I kept my expression innocent.
A moment of silence passed.
Then Sion spoke in a stiff voice.
“…Is this truly necessary?”
“Yeah.”
“…Related to your fairy powers?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Apparently, for an 18-year-old who had never even held a girl’s hand, this required serious resolve.
‘Well… after losing his mother young, he’s probably never had physical contact with anyone. No resistance at all.’
To ease his tension, I smiled as harmlessly as possible.
Sion rubbed his face, looking conflicted.
“…If it’s just holding hands.”
“Yep.”
“…Only for a moment.”
“Yep, got it.”
Sion stepped closer to the cage—the most hesitant I’d ever seen him.
With clear reluctance, he slowly extended his right hand.
‘Gotcha!’
Like a crocodile snapping up prey, I grabbed his hand instantly.
Then I started kneading his delicate, beautiful hand like dough.
“……!?”
“……Hk—!”
Ignoring Sion freezing like stone and Garen sharply inhaling beside him, I focused on my task.
‘Honestly, I’d prefer touching those amazing back muscles… but this hand will do—no, wait.’
I pulled myself back from that dangerous train of thought.
‘Now then… let’s seriously test whether physical contact with my favorite affects fangirl energy.’
I intensified my grip, rubbing his hand—
Right as I wondered if this would even work—
Ding—
Event Helper: Contact with your favorite detected! Fangirl energy is being recharged! ^0^b
“…No way.”
It actually worked?
I froze in shock.
‘So basically… if I want to keep using my skills as a fangirl fairy, I need to regularly make physical contact with Sion to recharge?’
“…Ha.”
Oh gods of romance fantasy.
God of reincarnation.
God of fangirling.
Thank you.
Suppressing the grin threatening to split my face, I said,
“Sion, thanks for cooperating. I think I found a breakthrough.”
“……”
But instead of immediately pulling his hand away, Sion didn’t move.
“…?”
I looked up at him.
And saw—
Behind his stiff, expressionless face, his ears—peeking through his silver-gray hair—were bright red.
“……”
I quietly let go of his hand and covered my mouth.
‘This is insane… he’s too cute…!’
The cold, stoic northern man—Sion Luxior—turning into a blushing tomato just from holding hands?!
That was criminal-level gap moe.
‘Who would’ve ever imagined that side of him?!’
For the first time, I was genuinely grateful for this ridiculous reincarnation event.
“…Are you done confirming?”
Sion asked stiffly, regaining himself.
I nodded silently, and only then did he pull his hand back.
Watching him sigh silently, looking drained, I smiled brightly.
“Thanks, Sion! Please keep cooperating with me like this in the future!”
“……”
After a moment, Sion returned to his usual indifferent expression.
“So, what’s this method to get out of the cage?”
“Yep! I’m going to break it myself with my power.”
“Didn’t you say earlier you couldn’t use your powers?”
“I did—but I figured out how to recharge them.”
Garen, who had been listening, said in amazement,
“Fairy powers operate in quite a mysterious way. Not through rest like aura or divine power, but through some other method… what is it?”
I put my hands on my hips proudly.
“It’s simple—Sion and I just need to make physical contact regularly, like we just did.”
“……”
“……”
Seeing their expressions, I quickly added,
“I’m not talking about anything weird. It’s a kind of… destiny-based power that only works between a fairy and their chosen human. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained more, so just accept it.”
Though I tried to keep it vague but truthful, they both looked unconvinced.
I shrugged.
“Well, if you don’t believe me—I’ll show you.”
Standing before the cage door, I spread my arms and activated my skill.
“<Nothing Can Stop Fangirling>!”
Fwoosh—!
A heart-shaped light formed in my hands—much bigger and fuller than before.
Channeling my inner dodgeball player, I hurled it at the cage door.
“Hyah!!!”
The heart shot forward—
Bang!
With a sharp sound, the small door flew off into the distance.
“…Whew.”
Dusting my hands, I casually stepped out of the cage.
Sion and Garen stared at me.
“Waaah!!!”
Finally free, I flew up happily, spun around the room, and landed neatly on Sion’s shoulder.
“Hehe, now you get it, right Sion? Nothing in this world can stop my fangirl power!”
I laughed proudly.
Then—
Tap. Tap—tap-tap.
A strange sound echoed.
“Huh?”
Tap. Tap tap—
All three of us turned toward the source.
“…Huh?”
Beyond the terrace window, a familiar bird was pecking angrily at the glass.
“That thing is…!”
It was the Noel merchant guild’s carrier pigeon.
