Chapter 40 …
The fox doll had incredibly bright, sparkling eyes. The moment I saw that somehow familiar gaze, I shouted inwardly.
It’s Lysian!
For some reason, my heart swelled. All of a sudden, I really wanted that fox doll.
I turned to look at Lysian and, pretending to sound calm, said,
“That fox doll.”
“The pale yellow one?”
“Yeah….”
Lysian stared at me for a moment, then let out a small laugh. For no clear reason, my heart skipped uncomfortably.
What was that about?
I blinked rapidly and tried to avoid his gaze, but he took my hand and led me toward the stall.
“Shop owner.”
At Lysian’s call, the stall owner—who had been arranging the display—turned to look at us.
The man cocked one eyebrow and asked,
“Gonna try a round of archery? Who’s shooting?”
“I am.”
“Hm… You’ve got a solid build, young man.”
The owner looked Lysian up and down, then grinned broadly. He stuck out his palm.
“Ten rubels per round.”
“That’s expensive. Must be a profitable business.”
“At this price, I’m barely breaking even! We don’t deal in cheap prizes here. Everything’s high-quality handcrafted goods.”
I quickly stepped in and paid the ten rubels. I did want the fox doll, but more than that, I really wanted to see Lysian shoot a bow.
After pocketing the money, the owner vigorously wiped down a toy bow with a clean cloth and handed it to Lysian.
“See that red line marked on the ground over there? Shoot from behind that. The arrows are in the barrel.”
Sure enough, a wooden barrel near the red line was filled with arrows.
Without any particular preparation, Lysian picked up an arrow and set it against the string.
The spectators who had scattered earlier began gathering again. I could hear murmurs spreading through the crowd.
“Don’t know what he does, but he’s seriously handsome!”
“Yeah.”
“Is the person with him his girlfriend?”
Once again, we were mistaken for a couple. My face burned hot, and I reflexively rubbed my cheeks.
Thank goodness I changed my hair color.
Standing out like this would really draw attention.
As for how I changed it—I’d bought a newly stocked item from the general store called ‘Hair Dye (Single Use, Random Color)’ for 100 coins.
I was nervous since it was random, but luckily it turned out to be a pretty normal color.
Thwung!
Lysian released the string. The arrow sliced through the air and struck the platinum-colored fox doll dead center.
“Oooh—!”
“He’s good!”
Cheers and applause erupted from all around. I beamed and clapped enthusiastically.
Lysian retrieved the fox doll and handed it to me. I accepted it happily and muttered,
“Thank you….”
“Anything else you want?”
“No, this is enough.”
“Then wait a moment.”
He smiled lightly and went back to draw the bow again. It seemed there was another prize he had his eye on.
I half-buried my face in the soft fox fur and watched him.
Lysian’s focused expression, the muscles of his arm visible beneath his sleeve—it all made my heart feel unsettled.
Thwung!
“Oh—bullseye!”
“He doesn’t miss!”
Lysian shot about seven arrows in a row. Every single one hit its mark. What’s more, he deliberately picked only the small, expensive-looking prizes.
The stall owner’s face grew grayer by the second.
“This is insane! He never misses!”
“How does he hit something that tiny from that distance?”
“And with such a flimsy bow….”
Just as the owner was on the verge of collapsing from the massive loss, Lysian finally lowered the bow.
In total, he had shot ten times.
For the record, the ten rubels weren’t charged per shot. With just ten rubels, you could shoot as many times as you wanted until you decided to stop.
Hands trembling, the owner carefully packed the prizes one by one into a large box.
Lysian took the box and walked over to me, smiling gently as he said,
“I’ll give all of these to Muriel. Ah—except one.”
“Is it really okay to take this many…?”
“What does it matter? It’s not illegal.”
That might be true, but still….
Forcing an awkward smile, I tugged on Lysian’s sleeve.
“L-Let’s go somewhere else. Quickly.”
I couldn’t bear the resentful glare the owner was giving us.
We found a suitable lodging, rented a room, and went upstairs.
First, I placed the box on the wooden table and took out the prizes inside.
There was an expensive-looking silver brooch, a crystal ornament, a lapis lazuli bracelet—and even a pair of gold couple rings.
“These aren’t real gold, are they?”
Still unconvinced, I stared hard at the two rings, then lightly bit one with my molars.
A faint tooth mark appeared on the thin, thread-like ring.
“They’re real gold.”
Lysian drove the point home. I froze with my mouth hanging open.
“They’re not that expensive. Look how thin they are—about the width of yarn. Don’t feel guilty.”
Speaking casually, he took the couple rings from me.
Wondering what he was about to do, I watched as he gently lifted my left hand.
“…!”
I realized what was about to happen and widened my eyes.
Sure enough, Lysian slipped one of the rings onto my ring finger. Surprisingly, it fit perfectly.
“Keep it.”
After saying that, he tucked the other ring into his pocket. I blinked blankly, then blurted out without thinking,
“Aren’t you going to wear yours?”
Only after a few seconds of silence did I realize how inappropriate that question had been.
We’re not even dating, and I’m asking him to wear a couple ring?!
My face instantly burst into flames. I flailed and started rambling nonsense.
“N-No, I mean, if you want to wear it, then, uh—”
“…….”
“O-Or you could sell it! You won it, after all! Do whatever you want….”
Seriously—what is wrong with me?
Overwhelmed, I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip.
Then I heard Lysian’s voice, tinged with laughter.
“Alright. I’ll wear it too.”
“No, you don’t have to—”
“Calm down, Muriel.”
“…….”
It felt like all my hidden feelings had been completely exposed. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and disappear.
But there was nowhere to hide in this room. I kept my head lowered, sneaking glances at Lysian.
Instead of putting the ring on right away, he held it up to the light. Only then did I realize—it was the same ring with my tooth mark on it.
…It might have just been my imagination, but his gaze seemed to linger on that very mark.
I felt an intense urge to snatch the ring from his hand.
As my fingers twitched, Lysian suddenly held the ring out toward me and asked,
“Will you put it on for me, Muriel?”
I opened and closed my mouth for a long moment before retorting,
“Isn’t that a bit much…?”
“Why?”
“Why…?”
We’re not even dating—how does it make sense to put rings on each other?
What is this, a wedding exchange or something?!
But Lysian was persistent. He held on to me and kept pestering me for over ten minutes. In the end, I gave up, thinking whatever happens, happens, and slipped the ring onto his finger.
“Okay, done! Let’s get ready for bed now!”
“Aren’t you going to eat dinner?”
“I’m not hungry!”
“You must be….”
Avoiding Lysian’s crooked smile, I fled into the bathroom and locked the door.
After stripping and washing under cold water for a long time, I finally realized—
I hadn’t brought any clothes to change into.
* * *
Early the next morning.
Beep beep beep—beep-biribeep—beep-byoong-beep-byoong—!
I asked the system for a wake-up call, and it woke me up exactly on time.
But the alert sound was infuriating.
Beep beep beep—beep-biribeep—beep-byoong-beep-byoong—!
Ugh, shut up! I’m awake! Turn it off!
When I slammed my pillow in irritation, the system immediately fell silent.
Frowning deeply, I pushed myself up in bed.
The current time was 4 a.m. There was a reason I woke up this early.
And that reason was—
“Muriel, did you sleep well?”
“…?”
Something soft brushed against my lips. Startled, I nearly toppled backward.
Once I calmed down and looked closely, I realized the thing that had just kissed me was the fox doll we’d won yesterday.
“What are you doing…?”
When I asked in disbelief, Lysian burst into a cheerful, boyish laugh.
In his hands were not only the fox doll, but another small doll as well.
What kind of doll is that now?
Narrowing my eyes, I examined it closely.
Small ears, a pink nose, long whiskers, light brown fur, and a white belly.
“…A hamster?”
“Yeah. We won this one yesterday too.”
“There were hamster dolls too…?”
Now I was twice as dumbfounded.
Holding the fox and hamster dolls in each hand, Lysian made them kiss each other like puppets.
He even leaned in and planted a kiss on the hamster’s tiny mouth himself.
I stared blankly at the absurd sight, then suddenly realized—
Isn’t this an indirect kiss…?!
