The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Noble in a World with a Skewed Gender Ratio - 46-47

Chapter 46: Overcome With Emotion

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Upon arriving in the castle town of Rainrose, we immediately searched for an inn. After that, we headed straight to the castle. We were then guided to the king’s room.

“Welcome back, El. I’m glad you’ve returned safe and sound.”

“Thank you for your generous words, Your Highness.”

“No need to be so formal. I’m merely a king in name now…”

“That’s right, El-kun . You’re more valuable than this useless stick-.. Ahem, what’s important is El-kun’s promising rod is… Ahem, ahem… Anyway, El-kun’s future prospect is…”

“…Prime Minister, isn’t that a bit too far for a diss?”

“I believe I’m merely speaking the truth.”

Huh… Prime Minister-san… Was she always like this?

“Well, anyway, I’m glad you’re safe! Maria, Miinya!”

“”Yes, Your Highness.””

“Teresa too. All of you have been through a lot. El, you need to thank Teresa as well…”

“Teresa-san and Lance too, thank you for everything you’ve done to me.”

“It’s fine. I’m just glad everything turned out to be alright.”

“I’m really glad… El, you’re my one and only friend… No one can replace you…”

“Lance…”

Ugh, Lance.. To think he felt that deeply about me… Me too, Lance!

The two of us hugged as close friends. Everyone in the king’s room smiled warmly, as if they were witnessing something heartwarming. 

Bam!!

The door to the king’s chamber suddenly burst open. 

“Haa.. Haa… El… Is he here?!”

There stood Tia. She must had run over to here upon hearing I had arrived at the castle.

“…That’s right, Tia.”

“El! Elllll!!”

I caught Tia as she ran and jumped into my arms. 

“I’m home, Tia… I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise…”

“It’s okay, what matters is you’re safe… El… I knew you would be alright, but… To see you standing in front of me like this… Welcome back, El.”

I gently stroked Tia’s head as we hugged each other. But then, my eyes fell on His Majesty. I started worrying that this overly doting parent might scold me for this, but to my surprise, His Majesty didn’t say anything to me. No, in fact, he was completely limp on his seat… As if he had fainted.. No?! He was definitely unconscious?! Wha-What happened?! However, when I glanced at Prime Minister-san, she only gave me a thumbs-up, reassuring everything was fine and I didn’t need to worry. However… Was that really okay? The king really fainted, you know?

“El.”

“Hm?”

“I’m so happy… Can I… Kiss you?”

Just now… What was that?

“Umm… I’m sorry, I think I didn’t quite hear that…”

“I-I said… Ca-Can I kiss you?”

It didn’t seem like she was joking. Tia was blushing, but she was still looking straight at me. I glanced at Lance, but… He was also giving me a thumbs-up too?! Why?! Wait-?! I thought Lance liked Tia?! Just what was happening here?!

“Ca-Can I kiss you on the cheek at least? Is it a no…?”

On the cheek… Cheek… That was basically a greeting, right? I looked around and everyone was staring at us with keen interest. No one showed any sign of stopping us. 

Is this really okay…? She’s a princess, you know? I mean, it’s only on the cheek, but still?!

“I-It’s not a no, but…”

“The-Then…”

Tia rose on her tiptoes. She placed both hands on my shoulder and slowly inched her face closer to me.

“Oi!! What are you doing?!”

Startled by His Majesty’s voice, I turned my head to look at him and then, Tia’s voice filled my field of vision. I suddenly could feel a soft sensation on my lips. Tia’s eyes widened in shock, but soon enough, she slowly closed her eyes.

Time seemed to stretch into eternity. Eventually, our pressed together lips parted, leaving only our intermingling hot breath. 

“Hehehe… We kissed, didn’t we?”

Tia’s smile was so dazzling, like the sun. Thump… Thump… What was that?

“TIAA!!! MY TIAAA!!! MY TIAAAAA!!!”

Uwoh?! So scary!

“Tch… You should’ve stayed unconscious a little longer!”

Thud!

“Umu.. This much is nothing…”

THUD!! THUD!! THUD!! THUD!!

“Ufggh-!”

“Just now… I hit a good spot. Good grief. You could’ve avoided this pain had you slept a little longer.”

Prime Minister-san… She’s seriously crazy…

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T/N: First kiss! ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ – ˵ ) ✧

Chapter 47: Side Tia

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“I-I-I-I kissed him…”

Feeling embarrassed to be there, I quickly returned to my room and dove onto my bed. I felt ashamed, but at the same time I also felt so excited. I buried my face into the pillow, kicking my legs to abandon. Just thinking about it was enough to heat my face up. 

I slowly touched my lips with my index finger, savoring the lingering sensation of my first kiss. I didn’t want to forget this sensation… 

In the first place, I only planned on kissing his cheek, but El suddenly turned his face to me. But, with this, he should already know about my feelings, right? We could start dating, right? Or maybe engaged?! Married?! By now, I was already El’s girlfriend, right?!

Knock, knock…

Lost in daydreams, I suddenly hear a knock on my door. Flustered, I quickly adjusted my posture.

I allowed the person to come in and Clara-san entered the room. She was the prime minister of this country, but she was more like an older sister to me. She was someone I could rely on. In fact, I thought of her as the de facto queen of this country.

“Finally, huh… Your Highness.”

“Please call me like you always do when we’re alone, Clara-san.”

“Tia-chan! I’m really happy for you! Finally, El-kun has returned…”

“Yeah, I’m really glad he’s back.”

“But still, I didn’t expect you would kiss him there…”

“-?! U-Umm… Tha-That was..!”

“You’re already aware of your feelings, right? That you like El-kun?”

“Yeah… I like El.”

‘Wait, hold on, the order is wrong here! Tia, you have confessed, right?!”

“Huh-?!”

“What do you mean ‘huh’ ?! Wa-Wait?! You haven’t confessed yet?”

“Eh?! Huh-?!”

“To be honest, that kiss was more like an accident, Your Highness… I don’t think he understands…”

“Bu-But since we ki-kissed… We’re practically married, right?”

“What are you talking about?! Yes, you kissed, but you haven’t gotten engaged yet, let alone married! No, in fact, you need to confess your feelings first! Honestly speaking, El-kun is pretty dense! And from what I can see… There are many women who are in love with El-kun!”

“Really?!”

I-Indeed… Now that Clara-san mentioned it, Leila-chan and all the maids also looked at El the same way as I did… N-NO!! What a disaster!! I had to increase the frequency of reports on El’s activities even more… But… I was the only one who was far away from El…

“You finally realized?”

“Bu-But then… What should I do?”

“You need to increase your interactions with El-kun and more importantly! You have to confess your feelings to him!”

“Confess, huh… But I thought we were already practically dating?”

“Don’t be complacent! You have to capture the prey you have set your sights on!”

“I see…”

“You must not let your prey get away from your clutch!”

“I understand, Love Master!”

“Fufu~ It’s been a while since I’ve been called that…”

“You were called Love Master?!”

“Oh? That? Well, it’s an old story… But if I were to convert my romance power into combat power, it would be about 530.000…”

“Gulp…”

I involuntarily gulped, but 530.000 was a big number, right?

“First, before El-kun leaves, it would be good if you could suggest he play a Pocky game with you…”

“Pocky game… The one that’s popular everywhere?!”

Pocky game, a legendary game where two people each bite an end of a pocky stick and eat towards the middle to eventually end up with their lips touching.

“Furthermore, El-kun was the one that made Pocky. He was the one that popularized the game…”

“I-Is that so… (Twitch, twitch! Such a naughty and indecent thing…!)“

“That being said, it’s unclear if El-kun has actually played it himself though…”

If he had played it before, I wouldn’t forgive you, El!

“Anyway, you need to take action first, Tia-chan!”

“Ye-Yes! I-I will try my best!”

“That’s the spirit!”

El, just wait for me. I will definitely make you aware of me…

Their voices were so loud that their conversation could be heard all the way down the hallway. One of the maids who overheard them thought to herself. 

Wouldn’t it be faster to just confess? I mean, isn’t the Pocky game something that couples do?!

So she thought….

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T/N: Will Tia confess? Or will El confess first?~ Lol~