I Picked up a Corrupted Heroine (The Secret Boss), and When I Spoiled Her, She Became Uncontrollably Affectionate With Me

Chapter 16: The Witch of the End Gets Hit With a Counterattack

“—Then next it’s my turn to feed you, okay?”

Sia held out the crepe like she was getting payback and smiled in a captivating way.

“…Huh?”

What the heck is going on…? I only said “Want to try mine too?” to tease her a little…

—Why am I the one getting the “ahhn” treatment???

“What’s wrong? You’re not going to eat mine?”

“W-Well…”

“Maybe you don’t like apples or honey? …Sorry about that.”

Sia looked down sadly and her eyebrows drooped.

I should probably lie and dodge this… but seeing her look so sad made my chest hurt.

“…N-No, it’s not that. I’ll happily let you feed me.”

Before I knew it, I was nodding.

“Really…!”

Sia’s sad face flipped to a huge smile like it had never been there.

Wait… am I getting played?

I thought that, but it was already too late—

“Here, Asta. Ah~hn.”

Sia smiled brightly and held out the crepe.

…I guess I have to eat it. I steeled myself and took a small bite.

“Yeah… It’s good.”

I forced a smile.

That was a lie. It was supposed to be super sweet with apple and honey, but I was so tense I couldn’t taste anything…!

“Hehe, I’m glad. The sweetness of the apple and honey go really well together in this crepe, right?”

“Y-Yeah, they do.”

After that I tried to eat my grape crepe again, but…

…Sia already took a bite of this one…

A gross thought crossed my mind and my heart started pounding like crazy. I couldn’t even taste the grape crepe anymore.

I felt like my face was turning red too, so I turned away and quickly finished it.

“Huh, you’re done too? Then I’ll throw the trash away.”

“You sure?”

“Yes! You paid for them after all…!”

Sia smiled softly and walked over to the trash bin.

“…She looks totally fine.”

I’m seriously getting messed with, huh…

It made me feel a little sad.

“~~~! T-That was so unfair…!”

Sia leaned with both hands on a tree near the trash bin and muttered to herself.

Her face was bright red like an apple. There was no way she was actually okay.

“I have to hold it in or Asta will know I like him when my face turns red… Geez…! Think about how hard this is for me…”

Her heart was racing, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes looked all dreamy. Anyone who saw her right now would know she was a girl in love.

“Ugh… My face feels so hot. I can’t go back to Asta like this…”

Sia lightly smacked the tree.

It took her over ten minutes to finally return to him.

――◇――◇――◇――

“Sia’s taking a while…”

I’ve been waiting almost ten minutes now.

I was just about to go look for her when Sia came back looking a bit flustered.

“I-I’m back. I couldn’t find the trash bin right away so it took a while.”

“Oh, got it. Thanks for doing that.”

“Thank you… So where should we go next?”

“Hmm, let’s see.”

Right then, Ria suddenly popped into my head.

“—Oh yeah, souvenirs! I need to get something for Ria…”

“Right, Ria’s waiting at home, isn’t she? Then we definitely have to buy something!”

Sia smiled really happily for some reason.

“What do you think would make a good souvenir for her, Sia?”

“Hmm… Since we’re here, maybe something special from this city would be nice.”

“That’s true…”

But what are the specialties of a port city…

“I can’t think of anything…”

“I know one thing.”

“Really!?”

Sia nodded and spoke slowly.

“—Pearls.”

I had heard about that. The port city of Kairos produces beautiful natural pearls that nobles and royalty all want.

But—

“Isn’t a pearl a bit too much for a kid around ten years old?”

“Mm… I guess that doesn’t work…”

Sia looked down, disappointed.

Why does she look so sad about it…?

“—Hey you two, how about our stuff then?”

A low male voice suddenly came from right behind us. I turned around and saw a bearded stall owner leaning on the counter with a grin.

“Uh… You mean us?”

“Of course! You’re looking for a present for a kid, right? Then I recommend our goods.”

I gave Sia a quick look and whispered.

“…Sia, what do you think?”

“Why not? Let’s just take a look.”

“Alright.”

We looked at the items lined up at the stall. It had all kinds of things from accessories to small goods.

Then a ring with a pearl-like stone caught my eye. There was no way a street stall had real pearls, but the shine and color of the stone looked exactly like the real thing.

“Is this… a real pearl…?”

“Nah, it’s not. I took brass and used a bit of magic to change the color. But… you can’t really tell the difference from the real thing, right?”

“True…”

Sia looked at the ring and let out a sound of amazement.

“That’s amazing. You can do things like this…!”

“Hehe, pretty cool, huh? Well… I’m not that great at blacksmithing, so I can only make fakes.”

The stall owner looked down with a gloomy face. He probably got bad comments about it in the past.

Craftsmen really hate making fake stuff.

Then Sia smiled gently and spoke.

“—Even if what you make is fake jewels, you’re not tricking people and you’re selling them at fair prices. So as a craftsman and a merchant, you’re the real deal.”

The stall owner widened his eyes at Sia’s words and her smile, then bit his lip like he was thinking it over.

“…Thanks…! You’re a good kid, miss. Alright! Since you cheered me up, I’ll pick out the best gift for you!”

“Wow, thank you!”

“So, who’s the gift for? You mentioned ten years old earlier…”

The stall owner looked back and forth between me and Sia… then his face froze.

“You two don’t feel like brother and sister… Wait, don’t tell me it’s your kid!? At your age!?”

“N-No no no!!! No way!”

“Then what is it…”

This is bad. If this keeps going he’ll get the worst misunderstanding.

“Uh, um… Sia is just a coworker from work, and the ten-year-old is… my little sister. We’re here on a business trip and I wanted to get her a souvenir.”

“Oh… I see. Huh…”

The stall owner stared at us… and got this warm, knowing look in his eyes.

Hey, you’re definitely misunderstanding something.

“Anyway, do you have anything good for a kid around ten? She’s pretty mature for her age so normal kid stuff might not fit…”

“I see… Then how about a brooch or a pendant? A ring probably isn’t right for a ten-year-old.”

“Yeah.”

“…I don’t mind a ring though~…”

“Sia? Did you say something?”

“Nope.”

Sia turned her head away with a huff. Why…?

“Hey hey, you two are still in the honeymoon phase so don’t get too lovey-dovey on me, alright?”

“We’re not being lovey-dovey though!?”