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Beads of sweat traveled down Mafuyu’s face, the newest knight of the Dark Kingdom, as he diligently trained under the hot summer heat. The other knights were already sitting under the shades, sharing jugs of water and gossip. No one knew that today the usually attentive knight was rather absent-minded, his head checking the clock every 5 minutes.
“Isn’t the baker near the Central Plaza just too cute? I’ve been buying bread there for a week now just to see her!”
“Dude! You’re new here ain’t cha, that’s the commander’s daughter!” The knight exclaimed, his eyes darted sideways to find the man, then quietly added. “You’re lucky boss ain’t here, or you might as well be dead meat! I bet you he got a few screws loose.”
He grinned, twisting his hand into a circular motion next to his temple, not knowing the other guy’s face was already pale white.
“Really now? I didn’t know that. Would you like to tell me more?” A deep voice growled behind him as he slowly turned around to face the man he just bad-mouthed, quickly dragging his partner in crime back on his feet.
“G-Greetings, Commander Shiraishi! I didn’t mean it, sir!” At almost 2 meters tall, his muscular body filled with battle scars, Ken Shiraishi towered over the two wimps, making them shiver with fear.
“I didn’t quite catch your previous sentence, I hope it wasn’t anything important that your commander should know.”
“N-No, sir.”
"Oh, but I must! Unless you two are too busy running 100 laps around the field, then I wouldn’t dare to disturb your training.”
Before he could even finish his sentence, they had already sprinted away, one staggering behind the other, grateful to have escaped his wrath.
That would teach them to not slack off.
He sighed, his eyes scanning the clearing to find Mafuyu, still practicing with his sword, alone on the empty training ground. Only 20 years of age, the most outstanding out of all his peers, Mafuyu Asahina aced both the written and practical exam, a feat that last happened more than a hundred years ago.
Not only that, he was painfully admirable. Kind, just, obedient and persistent; if only Ken were in charge of 50 of that guy, instead of these idiots. He glared at the other soldiers resting, and without another word they all hurriedly got up.
“Asahina,” he called out, “you’ve done enough for today. Take the rest of the day off.”
He waited until Mafuyu was in front of him before continuing his lecture. “Eagerness is honorable, but you must remember to let your muscles relax. Or else they’d break and be useless.”
“Thank you, Commander Shiraishi. I’m honored to be worthy of your praise. I’ll be taking my leave now, if you excuse me.”
Mafuyu flashed him a charming smile before politely bowing and preparing to leave. Ken nodded, watching the knight leave the training ground. He could feel every burning gaze from the rest of his men, they were practically screaming, "What favoritism!” Ken, of course, paid them no attention.
Mafuyu’s quite short though, only 168 cm tall. If he were taller, he'd be a perfect knight.
He sighed at the thought.
Well, everyone has their flaws, I suppose.
15:00
Mafuyu had changed from her training clothes to her normal uniform. As soon as she got out of the main building, she wasted no time and sprinted. Despite the ache all over her body after a whole day training, Mafuyu refused to slow down as she passed through confused passerbies. Where was this dashing knight rushing to?
The street began to fill up with more people as she headed toward the center of the city, and Mafuyu inevitably had to slow down, weaving through the busy street.
“Ah- excuse me.”
“Sorry, may I pass through?”
Maybe if she was careful, she’d be fine and no one would be hurt. But of course life had other plans.
Oh no.
At the speed she was going, there was no way she could stop before she’d crash-
“Kyaa-!”
Before the unknown maiden could fall down, Mafuyu had spun her around and she elegantly landed on her feet. Her detailed sky blue hair was not out of place, her classy dress did not get stained, nor did her hat fall out of her head. Mafuyu was lucky. She did not have the time to be on some wealthy family’s blacklist, but this would also take away some of her precious minutes. She bowed down and placed a kiss on the lady’s gloved hand.
“I sincerely apologize for my rudeness, m’lady. I hope you weren’t hurt anywhere because of my carelessness.”
Only then did she look up at the lady's face. Shizuku Hinomori. The Hinomori family was quite close with her family, but this was the first time she had met their mysterious daughter.
Shizuki barely had time to react to the sudden chivalrous action, especially by such a knight, her face unnaturally got hot and she was lost for words. Seeing that, Mafuyu quickly let go of her hand.
“Asahina Mafuyu, Dark Knight, at your service.” She smiled politely, which made Shizuku’s heart beat even faster.
“Excuse my behaviour, Hinomori-san. I was in quite a hurry.”
“I-It’s okay, I wasn’t hurt anywhere because you were there to catch me. Oh! If you were in such a rush, it must be important to you, Asahina-san. Please don't let me slow you down.” Shizuku motioned her to continue on her way, but Mafuyu hesitated.
“Are you sure you’re fine?”
Seeing the reassuring smile, she bid her farewell. This interaction was long enough. “You’re too kind, Hinomori-san. Thank you. Then I'll be on my way.”
Shizuki was even more beautiful in person. The shine in her eyes and the delicate air around her were unable to be translated correctly in the rare photos and paintings of the beautiful girl Mafuyu had found in her family’s library, and her mole really elevated her looks to a whole new level. The most important thing was her kindness, to which Mafuyu was grateful.
Of course, in Mafuyu’s eyes, the most beautiful person could not have been a woman other than her lover. Just thinking of her granted Mafuyu strength as she dashed into the Central Plaza and did a sharp turn right into a bakery filled with the smells of delicious baked goods.
She had made the 15-minute-long journey in 10 minutes, which meant she needed about 16 minutes to reach the cottage in the woods.
“Shiraishi-san, I’m here for my order.” She called out, louder than she would have liked to.
An Shiraishi appeared from behind the counter, wearing a yellow sundress and a corset, her black hair adorned with various golden accessories. The only similarity between her and her father, as far as Mafuyu could see, was their shining golden eyes. No wonder that guy couldn’t tell that she was their commander’s daughter.
“Hehe, here, Asahina-san! 4 cheesecakes, ready to go!” An gave her the cheesecake, amused by the usually composed knight being so ragged. “Honestly, I could just tell my dad to give these to you, then you wouldn’t have to run.”
“Thank you, Shiraishi-san, but I’d have to pass on your kind offer. I wouldn’t want him to tease or ask any questions, like ‘are you dating my daughter?'. That would make my life there hell.”
An completely lost it. She slammed her fist on the table, laughing so hard she was a choking mess. Mafuyu was quite worried, but An just shooed her off.
“Go already! Don’t let your date wait on you!”
Mafuyu looked at the clock. It read 15:14.
Wait. How did An know it was a date?
The moment Mafuyu escaped the city’s heat into the ancient forest, she breathed out a sigh of relief. She didn’t slow down, running past the rustling oak trees, and in one jump she crossed the creek and into the territory of the pine trees.
Almost there.
Ena was in her art studio, deep in concentration, her shoulder-length hair tied neatly into a ponytail, when she heard someone knock the moment her clock struck 15:30. She stood up from her painting station, removed the paint-smeared apron, wearing only her button-up undershirts and the beige onesie, and went to greet her visitor, a smile fixed on her face as she hummed a happy tune.
“Mafuyu!” Ena beamed at her lover, her smile faltering when she had a closer look. Mafuyu’s short purple hair was tangled, wet with sweat, her vest untidied, and her collared shirt fell out from its original tucked-in state.
“Eek! What happened to you?” The knight’s training location was in the field bordering the woods, so she should have enough time to wash up before changing.
Mafuyu didn’t answer her question. Instead, she held out the carefully wrapped box.
“I got you cheesecakes from the place you mentioned.”
Ena looked down, only then did she recognize the sweet scent of cheesecakes, and she immediately understood.
“You didn’t have to...!" She sighed, taking the box from Mafuyu’s hand and pulling her inside.
“Thank you anyways.”
Hearing Ena’s gentle voice and seeing the corner of her mouth curved up into a smile, her brown eyes beautifully crescented, made all the efforts go into buying the cake worth it, the purple-haired knight silently declared.
Mafuyu let out a sigh of relief the moment she entered the door and magically cool air caressed her face. The afternoon light covered the entire house in a warm yellow tone, and the clear sound of a windchime could be heard ringing slowly outside. The tranquil sight calmed Mafuyu’s heart down as she scanned around.
As expected of Ena, her studio had become quite messy, with paintbrushes and papers scattered across the floor. Mafuyu could even spot the sign of a crash out that must have happened recently.
“Watch your mouth.”
Her warning was a bit of an overkill, Mafuyu had thought so, since she didn’t plan on commenting anything. Maybe later she would help the artist clean up again.
After waiting for a few minutes for the knight’s breathing to go back to normal, Ena urged. “Go and shower while I get you something clean to change into.”
Mafuyu obliged, climbing the wooden stairs that lead into the small bathroom. Using some magic, the hermit had transported and filtered water from a nearby spring for personal use inside her home. Taking off her dirty clothes, Mafuyu let herself relax in the bathtub, the cold water easing her weary muscles.
“Mafuyu, I’ll leave your clothes at the door.”
Ena’s voice rang from outside, and Mafuyu murmured back a thank you. She quickly finished cleaning herself and put on Ena’s white dress. Wrapping a towel around her neck to dry her hair, the current Mafuyu was nothing like the battered knight knocking on Ena’s door. The artist was pleased, observing her girlfriend as she walked downstairs and wasted no time gushing over Mafuyu once she got down.
“I knew it! You’re so cute in dresses too. The suit and armour look is an eye candy, but doesn’t this just make your beauty pop out more?” She circled around Mafuyu, eyes sparkling with inspiration and adoration for her partner. Mafuyu didn’t care for fashion the slightest, but seeing Ena so excited isn’t bad at all.
“Ena, the cheesecake.”
“Oh, right!”
The two sat down across from each other, Ena carefully placed their cakes on two painted ceramic plates, one with a cute and overly detailed bunny pattern, the other decorated with simple narcissus flowers.
“Aren’t these…”
“Yep! The plates we drew for each other last week! Aren’t they super cute? Of course I must use them when you visit. Eat up!”
Ena gobbled up her cheesecake, every bite made her smile brighter and brighter. Mafuyu, on the other hand, ate hers rather absentmindedly, her focus entirely on Ena. She couldn’t really differentiate flavours, but watching Ena eat made the dessert somehow sweet on her tongue.
“This cheesecake is so good!” Ena exclaimed. Mafuyu noted to herself to pass the compliment to An, but she reckoned she’d be the victim of the baker’s endless teasing.
After they finished eating, Mafuyu cleaned up the plates. She was extra careful with them, even wiping them dry with the table cloth, scared that the paint would fade away. Ena sat leisurely at the table, still savouring the creamy taste in her mouth.
“You can have another one, if you like. I bought 4.” Mafuyu held up her fingers for demonstration after drying her hand. She knew Ena wouldn’t be content after just 1, so she bought extra; the remaining ones could also be used for their after-dinner dessert or breakfast.
Ena eyed the remaining cheesecakes, still neatly inside the box, looking absolutely tempting. Rich cheese filling with a biscuity crust, topped with glossy, syrupy strawberry jam. For a moment Mafuyu thought she would cave in.
Ultimately, Ena sighed. “I can’t have anymore. I must have self-control."
“Are you saying that because you don’t want to gain weight?”
Mafuyu seemed to have hit a nerve, because Ena immediately got defensive. She stood up straight, pointing an accusing finger at Mafuyu.
"You...! What do you mean by that?!”
“I was wondering just in case.” She tried to defuse the situation to no avail, as her girlfriend was still glaring at her. Mafuyu felt guilty, finding her frustration so cute, like an angered porcupine showing off its quills. Think Mafuyu, what would a good girlfriend do instead?
“I just don’t want you to worry about your body, because I love you regardless of your looks.”
The sentence, accompanied by her blank expression, felt so awkward from Mafuyu, Ena just couldn’t believe it!
Is this how she’s trying to calm me down? Could she use a bit more tone than that?
Of course Mafuyu could, they just both knew Ena wouldn’t be happy or even get madder, hearing her say it like that. Contrary to her thoughts, Ena’s face was getting flustered, to which Mafuyu took as a win and her cue to execute her second attack.
She slowly walked toward Ena like a beast master taming an agitated animal, carefully noting her girlfriend’s body language. Face? Still scrunched. Mouth? Baring teeth, but hers were harmless. Hands? Crossed, but no sign of summoning deadly spells upon her. Horns? Black and shiny, kind of cute. It was probably safe for Mafuyu to approach.
Quick and steady, she launched herself toward Ena and hugged her, leaving the girl no time to react.
Then came the speech, her last move.
“I’m sorry I said that to you. I totally didn’t mean a single thing, and I was only concerned about you and—" Ena was still squirming in her embrace, clearly not listening to a word she was saying. It was time for her emergency plan.
“I love you so much.” Mafuyu whispered in Ena's ear, watching it go bright red in a matter of seconds. Ena jolted, and the girl stopped struggling in her arms.
Success.
“Dirty cheater…” she quietly remarked, and Mafuyu agreed. She was a dirty cheater, but it worked. Ena was not angry at her anymore (not as angry, to be exact).
“I- I love you... too.” Ena murmured with a hint of defiance. Mafuyu, not entirely convinced she had cooled down, did not let go of her girlfriend, so they stood awkwardly in the middle of the house.
“Then relax your brows.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“If you don’t, you’ll get wrinkles there.”
“Do you want to die or something?”
Oops. At least her safety measures weren’t for naught.