...
In the end, Lucian found the capsule on Silence Suzuka's lower abdomen.
The medicine worked quickly—her pain gradually eased bit by bit, and she gained enough strength to pull Lucian back onto the bed.
She straddled him from above, pinning his hands to either side.
"Suzuka, don't push yourself too hard these days." Lucian gave up resisting and resorted to talking. "Harmony is precious, you know."
"Weren't you so arrogant just a moment ago?" Silence Suzuka stared straight at him. "And was that line meant for me, or...?"
"Just normal physiology."
"Hmph." Silence Suzuka let him go, rolled to the side, and pulled the blanket up—giving Lucian only her angry back.
"Mad now?" Lucian stuck to her like sticky candy.
"Let go of me, I hate Lucian-kun." Silence Suzuka struggled symbolically for a bit before finally letting him hold her.
"Don't be mad anymore." His hand gently pressed and rubbed her lower abdomen, trying to make her more comfortable. "Let me massage you."
The warm palm really did make Silence Suzuka feel better—maybe the medicine was kicking in too.
"Where'd you learn that?"
"From videos earlier. I don't have any ex-girlfriends or anything—so I learned it specifically for you." As a master masseur, Lucian picked things up quickly, of course.
He hadn't expected it to come in handy here.
Actually, Lucian felt the most important thing right now was providing emotional support. Even someone as gentle as Silence Suzuka could get irritable from the pain—let alone anyone else.
"Can you still go on the trip in a few days? If not, just keep taking leave and rest at home." Lucian inhaled the scent of Silence Suzuka's hair, his nose resting against a few strands.
He was very attached to her scent too—a mix of jasmine bath gel and the warm heat of her skin, like sun-dried clothes that brought instant comfort.
"I'm going." Silence Suzuka's voice carried a trace of stubbornness. "Worst case, I just won't go in the water."
"But it's a water park—if you can't go in, what's there to do?"
Rubbing her abdomen was starting to lose its novelty, and soon Silence Suzuka wasn't in much pain anymore.
"Even if I don't play, I can just watch Lucian-kun."
"Hm? Watch me do what—watch me play in the water?"
"Because if we go to the water park, Lucian-kun will definitely only be wearing those short swim trunks... I don't want other girls hitting on Lucian-kun."
After sharing a bed for so long, Silence Suzuka knew exactly how lethal Lucian's physique was to others.
She didn't like the idea of him surrounded by a bunch of unfamiliar fluttering girls.
Silence Suzuka didn't trust Lucian's self-control anymore either.
Because she'd already figured it out: when the mood was right... Lucian didn't think that much at all!
And at a water park, everyone would be in pretty, sexy swimsuits.....
Thinking about it made Silence Suzuka feel a little down—her voice fell like a drifting feather. "Clearly... I prepared a really nice swimsuit I wanted Lucian-kun to see."
"So that's it—Suzuka-chan is jealous." Lucian couldn't help pulling her even closer. "There are still a few days left. Maybe by the time we go, Suzuka will be feeling much better? And you can wear the swimsuit on other occasions too—like in the bathroom?"
"But Seiun and Spe-chan and the others definitely prepared too... I don't want to miss out." Silence Suzuka was afraid Lucian wouldn't let her come along. "Lucian-kun, I want to go..... I want to go too."
"Okay, okay—I'm not refusing you."
Lucian figured bringing Silence Suzuka along was fine. She'd definitely feel lonely alone at home.
And since she promised not to go in the water, she'd definitely keep her word.
"Mm." Silence Suzuka turned around and propped herself up on her hands.
"I already said yes—what now?"
"Can Lucian-kun lie face-down on the bed?"
"Face-down?" Lucian didn't understand, but he did it anyway.
After he flipped over, Silence Suzuka pressed herself onto his back again. "Actually, Lucian-kun's butt feels pretty perky too. This helps relieve the pain."
"Uh... should I be thanking Suzuka now?"
"You're welcome." Silence Suzuka closed her eyes, unconsciously pinching the hem of Lucian's shirt.
The morning light that slipped into the room dyed her orange hair. She looked like a cat basking in the sun after a full lunch—simply enjoying the peaceful moment.
The girl's body heat passed through the thin fabric to Lucian. "Can I get a preview of Suzuka's swimsuit?"
"No—secret." The drawn-out tail of her voice carried lazy softness. But since she'd only woken up not long ago, Lucian knew she wouldn't fall back asleep.
Still, this position felt strangely nice. As long as Silence Suzuka was happy, his mood improved too.
"So stingy~ Then I don't care anymore."
"Nope—Lucian-kun isn't allowed to stop caring either." Silence Suzuka ran her fingers through his hair, sinking deep in a different kind of hand-holding. "Lucian-kun, don't rush. You'll see it sooner or later anyway—I bought it for you in the first place."
"Fine, then I'll look forward to it properly."
At that moment, Lucian suddenly remembered he hadn't told Silence Suzuka yet that the other two teams were coming too.
"Suzuka, Nishizaki-senpai and Hana-nee might come play there too. So Grass will be there—we'll have to be careful when the time comes."
"Just be careful? Careful about what?" Knowing Lucian wouldn't do anything to her right now, Silence Suzuka kept teasing.
But she didn't notice how the roles had quietly reversed.
She used to be the one more resistant, the stronger one.
Yet now her solo strength would probably take two full days to overpower Lucian.
Lucian: "Careful about every single thing... I already told you not to play with Seiun—you're getting corrupted, aren't you?"
Silence Suzuka laughed lightly a few times.
She noticed Lucian slightly lifting his body, adjusting his position.
Lucian-kun's energy in the morning was always at its peak...
But in the end, she still felt a little bad—because that was her duty as his girlfriend, and as the main one.
"Lucian-kun, is it hard to hold back?"
"If you stop saying certain things and doing certain things, it won't be hard." Lucian still had some self-control—he wouldn't hurt Silence Suzuka. "Don't think of other ways. Resting properly is the most important thing."
"But... I don't feel bad right now." Silence Suzuka tied her long hair back.
...