MTLNOVEL 37
Kyle was right. The night was long.
The market had long since closed, yet the following night unfolded, erasing all signs of its former liveliness. It stretched out like the unyielding cold of the North.
The candle flames in the children’s hands flickered against the wind, and in the darkness, hushed sobs escaped from the lips of those who quietly wiped away their tears.
It was a silent night. A night where the longing, which had been buried during the day, crept in under the cover of darkness, pressing against the heart in secret.
I stood with the burning logs behind me and gazed at Kyle, who sat facing forward with his eyes closed. Somehow, his tearless face seemed even sadder than if he had been crying.
Two hours felt like an entire day in the long night.
***
I sat inside the hamster house, staring at the system window with a serious expression.
Below a sign that read [Love Love Corner~❤], a long list of familiar items stretched out before me. No—there were unfamiliar ones as well. Even the background, which was usually a translucent blue, had turned pink for some reason.
‘Did it update or something? I didn’t notice anything like that.’
As I flipped through the pages with a flick of my hand, the system, which had just woken up, popped up before me.
[(ˉ﹃ˉ)]
Hey, hey. Don’t doze off. Did you even pull an all-nighter?
I’d thought this before, but it had a strange way of imitating human behavior. Getting tired, getting angry, getting embarrassed…
‘Well, thanks to that, I never get bored.’
I let out a small laugh, and the system responded with a sparkly new emoticon.
[(づ￣//￣)づ]
A little hand emoji repeatedly pointed toward something.
I followed its direction and focused my gaze. A tiny banner stood there, and beneath it, a single item lay all alone.
‘If you were only going to put up one thing, was a whole banner really necessary?’
And in such a flashy way, no less.
Narrowing my eyes, I examined the banner, which the system had probably worked overnight to create. If I just ignored it, it would probably sulk.
Alright, let’s see… Valentin—
—Click… (Seriously…?)
[Today is Valentine’s Day! Show your fated companion some love!]
Oh, you little…
I stared at the system window in disbelief. Instead of wasting time making things like this, you should focus on something actually useful! Do you think I gave you miracle points for this? Huh?
I planted one foot down and jabbed a finger at the system window.
You could at least make cookies cheaper! Do you know how much I bled buying those last time?!
[(＞人＜；)]
The system shrank back, displaying a pitifully flustered emoticon.
…Did I scold it too much?
Seeing it sweat like that made me feel a little guilty.
Fine. It at least tried to do something. That’s admirable in its own way. Maybe it even has a good effect. It’s an inventory item, so I could carry it around and use it if needed.
‘Might as well check it out.’
I clicked on the item labeled [Almond Chocolate] and opened its details.
Premium almonds, freshly squeezed milk, cacao grown under warm sunlight…—whatever. Bottom line, it was really delicious. And its effect? [It makes the eater feel happy!]
—Click. (Get lost.)
[ε=ε=ε=┏(゜ロ゜;)┛]
I sent a furious kick toward the system window as it scurried away. You expect me to spend 43 hearts on this crap? Do you think I’m some gullible fool?!
While I huffed and stomped around the hamster house, the tightly shut study door creaked open.
Of course, it was Kyle.
He looked less exhausted than yesterday, but his complexion was still far from good. Maybe it was the stress. I didn’t see any visible injuries, at least.
I stopped walking and called the system back.
‘Hey, system.’
The system, which had been blinking in the distance, hesitated before floating closer with a [(⊙_⊙)？] expression.
I let out a deep sigh and checked my remaining hearts.
I had 60.
‘I’ll give you ten more. Just add one extra effect to the chocolate.’
The system displayed an emoticon of someone stroking their chin, as if deep in thought. Where did it even pick up stuff like this? It hadn’t been running the shop for long, yet it was already acting like a seasoned merchant.
‘Nothing big, just something like a fatigue recovery effect. I am giving you ten extra, after all.’
I stared at the system with narrowed eyes. Finally, an emoticon of reluctant agreement appeared, and at the same time, a [Loading……] window popped up.
By then, Kyle had already approached me. I quietly settled onto his outstretched hand and gazed up at him.
You’re human too. Of course, you must be exhausted.
But as the commander of an entire knight order and the Grand Duke ruling the North, you probably haven’t been able to say a single word about how hard it’s been.
So at the very least, in times like these, I…
—…….
Oh. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. Just go ahead and kiss already. …But can you stop eating my fur?
“You’re adorable as always, Cashew Nut.”
Kyle murmured as he smoothed out my fur, which had been thoroughly crushed after a ten-minute-long barrage of kisses.
I felt like I had been completely drained.
Maybe it was because I hadn’t been subjected to this flood of kisses in a while, but it felt longer than usual—suffocating, even. I lay sprawled out on his palm, looking like my soul had been sucked out.
Then, as if to console me, he suddenly dropped an unexpected piece of good news.
“That time, I injected something strange into your body, didn’t I? I apologize for that. It won’t happen again. That guy told me that forcing too much mana into you wouldn’t be good for you.”
—Squeak squeak! (Yes! That’s it! Good thinking!)
I shot up and sat properly. Then, as a sign of approval, I patted his thumb gently with my tiny front paws. Good, good. He’s finally listening.
“You like that so much? Well, the growth of the mana stone may be slow, but your body is perfectly fine, so waiting patiently is the best course of action. If it comes down to it, I can take you to the magic zoologist in the Imperial City, so don’t worry. No matter what it takes, I’ll make sure you survive.”
I was worried about his life, yet he was worried about mine.
Of course, we would end up on the same wavelength, even in this. Typical of a fated pair.
I turned my head and checked the system window hovering beside Kyle.
Kyle’s remaining lifespan: About a month and a half.
I didn’t know what exact crisis awaited him, but it was clear that something major would happen before the season ended.
***
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat as I stood before Kyle’s door.
For some reason, this door always made me nervous. The only difference was that before, I’d get anxious over something I did wrong. Today, I was nervous out of sheer awkwardness.
The system had worked faster than I expected.
In the ten minutes Kyle had spent smothering me with kisses, it had not only added the requested effect but also raised the price.
Honestly, I had hoped it would forget to do that part, but nope—there was a big red slash through the original price, with a bold “53” written right next to it.
Because of that, I now had only seven hearts left. At one point, I had over a hundred…
Screw it. What’s done is done.
I shook my head and gave the door a light knock.
Kyle’s voice came from inside. “Come in.”
As I entered, he took off his glasses and looked at me.
I clutched the chocolate box hidden behind my back a little tighter and made my way toward him as he sat at his desk, waiting with a gentle smile.
Don’t smile like that. It’s making me feel weird.
Ignoring the heat creeping up my ears, I pulled out the chocolate box and held it out to him.
He looked slightly puzzled but took it without question.
“What’s this?”
“Open it, and you’ll see.”
Kyle untied the neatly wrapped pink ribbon and lifted the lid.
I hadn’t actually seen the inside myself, but from where I stood, I could see that small, round chocolates in pink, white, and black lined the box’s edges. And in the center…
“…….”
“…….”
Hey. System.
Hey. You’re not gonna come out and explain this?
“Did you make this yourself?”
“…Ah. Uh. Y-yeah. Something like that…”
Right in the middle of the large heart-shaped chocolate, written in chocolate pen, were the words:
To my beloved Prince Kyle.
I had the sudden urge to smack my forehead.
Why hadn’t I checked the inscription beforehand? Why did I just hand it over without looking? At the very least, I should have confirmed what was written inside!
My tightly clenched fist trembled.
The moment I got back, I was not going to let the system off the hook. I didn’t care if I had to throttle it or tear it apart—one of those things was definitely happening.
Oblivious to my internal meltdown, Kyle stared at the chocolate for a long moment before finally picking up one of the smaller pieces and popping it into his mouth.
“I didn’t know you had a talent for making desserts.”
“I just… happen to be good at a variety of things.”
“But why chocolate all of a sudden?”
“…Where I come from, today is a day when people give chocolate to those they appreciate or respect. It’s nothing special—just an old tradition that crossed my mind when I looked at the calendar… So, um. Just take it. It’s no big deal.”
My embarrassment made me ramble.
As soon as I finished babbling, Kyle, who had been quietly listening, picked up another piece. But instead of eating it himself, he brought it to my mouth and gently pressed it in.
“In that case, I should have prepared something for you, too. February 14th, was it? I’ll remember it.”
“…….”
He smiled.
It was the most relaxed smile I’d seen from him in a long time.
How could someone with such a cold, sharp face smile like that?
I loosened my clenched fists and crouched down.
The chair scraped against the floor as he shifted, but I couldn’t bring myself to look up.
Was there some hidden system effect that made hearts race? Or was this just secondhand embarrassment pushing me to the brink of arrhythmia?
As my heart pounded in my chest, I squeezed my eyes shut.
The chocolate he had given me slowly melted in my mouth.
It was so ridiculously sweet.
Maybe that’s why this felt so strange.
Yeah.
That had to be it.