Smiling wittily, I touched Benedict’s forehead with my finger.

“This is your penalty.”

“What the…”

Slap!

“Ouch!”

The effect of the slapped forehead was tremendous!

“Uh, it hurts…”

Even Benedict, who was quite robust as a fairy hybrid, held his forehead and rolled around.

I knew from before that one slap from me would be amazing, but this time, it was the most powerful slap I’ve ever thrown in my life.

“Trembling… Scary human… You’re becoming a human weapon as planned by the party members, right?”

‘What is he talking about? My slap was powerful from the beginning.’

I flicked my middle finger at Zero and checked Benedict’s condition.

“…Does it hurt a lot?”

Seeing him roll around like that, I wondered if I was too harsh.

【It was too much!】

【We’re all hurting just by watching!】

【Against violent punishment!】

The spirits protested.

“Sorry, sorry.”
Continuously apologizing, I gently patted Benedict’s forehead.

As he lay on the sofa, his smooth forehead was revealed through the light-green hair.

“Oh… It’s quite swollen.”

The spot where he was hit with the slap was swollen like a mosquito bite.

“Hey, I’m sorry for hitting you too hard.”

“…It doesn’t hurt.”

The sound of pain was something a fairy hybrid couldn’t make due to pride.

“Why are you saying that when it hurts?”

Apologizing, Benedict, who had risen like a spring from the swollen spot, jumped up like a cat.

“W-What are you doing right now!”

“…? As you can see, I was blowing a breath not to hurt the injured spot.”

As I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly, Benedict’s face twisted in a mix of embarrassment, confusion, and unknown emotions.

“That kind of… It’s something done between mates in the fairy world.”

“…Oh, darn. I’m sorry.”

It seems such contact is only possible between mates in the fairy world. I realized a new fact.

Fairies are incredibly conservative beings.

‘Well, isn’t it something that can be done among friends?’

It was absurd, but I could only bend to cultural differences.

“Um… I’m sorry. I really didn’t know. It’s rare to encounter fairies, you know.”

After my words, Benedict, drying his face, glared at me with his deep brown eyes.

“…Even if I’m not a fairy hybrid, if I do such actions, it could be misunderstood.”

“…?”

I only do these actions with my close friends, not with anyone. Since developing distrust towards people, I’ve been afraid of making friends.

So, there were only a few friends with whom I could truly be myself. I showed them who I was, understood them, and played jokes with them without hesitation.

‘I did it for the first time with Benedict here.’

But who is lecturing whom?

Raising both hands to my waist, I spoke firmly.

“Hey, Benedict. I did it because you looked vulnerable, seemed like my younger sibling, and I felt sorry. Don’t misunderstand. I only do this kind of thing with very close friends.”

I clarified the misunderstanding, but Benedict’s expression decayed even more than a zombie.

“…I looked like your younger sibling?”

Whatever I touched in him, he seemed extremely angry.

“Well, you’re younger. Although you seem to have already grown up. You looked young, so I felt like you were my younger sibling.”

“…So you’re saying it’s nothing unusual, this kind of action?”

“Yes. But why?”

What’s bothering him?

After doing a dry wash, Benedict, with a typical smile of a fairy hybrid, retained the boyish charm even at the age of twenty.

‘A perfect face for street casting.’

If Benedict walked around in modern times, he would have received love calls from all four major idol agencies, confident that he had a fresh and youthful look.
I had complimented him in my own way, but Benedict mumbled something and then opened his eyes wide, looking at me.

“I’m not young. I’m twenty years old.”

“…? I know that too.”

“I’m not your younger sibling. I’m not the offspring of the Kitten Duke.”

“…?”

What is he… What is he saying?

“No, why have you been stating the obvious since earlier? Of course, Benedict and I are both men. Two unrelated men.”

“…So, does that mean I don’t feel threatening at all?”

“Huh?”

Isn’t it even weirder if you feel threatened by an ally?

I wanted a knowledgeable person. A twenty-year-old man keeps asking strange questions. Did puberty hit him late?

When I responded with a puzzled expression, Benedict, who had been lying on the sofa, sat up neatly.

Then he tilted his head sharply toward me.

Brown eyes, which sometimes looked subtly golden in the light, were now fixed solely on me.

Even his breath caused the fine hairs to stand stiffly when it touched me.

“W-What, what, what, what. What are you doing?”

After tilting his head, he came closer and whispered into my ear.

I considered pulling out my gun but stopped when I heard what he whispered.

“…That’s why I seem threatening too.”

A very light trace passed over my cheek.