Today I used an exceptionally large magic, in fact, I haven’t used such big magic for over a decade.

‘It means that if I have regular skinship with Cedar, I can live like before! Of course, I don’t know how long the magic power will be stored in my heart.’

To find out, I have no choice but to kiss him again.

Without realizing it, my sparkling gaze turned to Cedar’s lips.

Cedar, sensitive to any sign, covered his body with his forearm and guarded against me.

“Y-you, you just had an indecent thought again, didn’t you?”

Unnecessarily perceptive! But indecent? I only had very, very wholesome and progressive thoughts!

“I just thought it would be nice to have a lot of magic power. And I thought a li~ttle bit about wanting to know how much.”

And to know that, I’d have to kiss him. But I cut off the latter part of the sentence, thinking he might back away again if I said it.

‘If I say it like this, he won’t misunderstand, right?’

But then Cedar had a different misunderstanding. He pointedly covered his chest and narrowed his eyes.

“I told you clearly, you can only open my heart after I’m dead. Absolutely not.”

“I’m not interested in your heart anymore!”

Does he think I’m so desperate to cut open his belly?

Thinking that further words would only breed unnecessary misunderstandings, I boldly ran up and grabbed Cedar’s arm.

And without beating around the bush, I got to my point.

“Hurry up and press your lips here.”

Cedar seemed unexpectedly shy, as this time too, his neck turned bright red in an instant.

He covered his lips with his wrist and said loudly.

“Y-you woman! Why do you keep aiming for my lips?”

Aiming? That’s really too much. Am I some kind of hunter? Irritated by his words that kept slandering me since earlier, I burst out shouting.

“It’s because I can absorb magic power by kissing you!”

At my words, Cedar’s body moved awkwardly as if it would make a creaking sound. After being frozen for a while, what he finally said was this.

“…Are you a mosquito?”

“M-mosquito! Where is there such a big mosquito?”

I’ve compared myself to a mosquito before, but being compared like this myself felt extremely humiliating.

But Cedar, far from correcting himself, lifted his chin and even added.

“You said you absorb magic power with your mouth. Just like a mosquito.”

“No, there are incubi and vampires too, why compare me to a mosquito of all things? It’s offensive.”

“Incubi and vampires are no good. It feels somewhat unwholesome.”

“Wow, that’s so arbitrary…”

We’re both adults, so what’s wrong with being a little unwholesome.

Talking with Cedar, it seemed I had indeed omitted too much explanation in my excitement.

So I explained more kindly why I needed to kiss Cedar.

“This is the information I received in exchange for introducing Grisha to Lord Jack for curse treatment. Maybe because he’s an elf, he immediately noticed magic leaking from my heart. And he told me I could gain magic power by contacting you.”

“Me? Why me of all people?”

“Isn’t it related to your ancestor being a dragon? The heart that continuously flows with magic power is actually influenced by your ancestors.”

“Well, people with abundant magic power have often been born in our family, but…”

Cedar fell into thought for a moment, then carefully asked back.

“Then can you gain magic power by kissing other people too?”

Honestly, I hadn’t thought about that.

‘Is that possible?’

To be honest, I couldn’t be sure. Because I didn’t even understand on what principle Cedar and I were sharing magic power.

‘I didn’t even know that kissing could be a channel for exchanging magic power in the first place. No magician at the academy ever told me that.’

If that fact had been known in advance, wouldn’t the academy have eagerly analyzed what kind of contact is most effective? But unfortunately, I learned this fact after leaving the academy, and the only experimental subject was the man in front of me.

I shrugged and answered.

“Who knows? You’re the first person I’ve ever kissed in my life, so…”

“What did you say?”

But Cedar’s reaction to what I thought was an unremarkable answer was quite strange.

‘Why is he so surprised?’

Is it surprising that this is my first kiss at this age? I tilted my head.

“Should I try with someone else?”

“Cut out that nonsense. What did you just say?”

“That you’re my first…?”

“I’m your first?”

I couldn’t understand Cedar’s conversation that continued as if urging me. Is it really a problem that he’s the first?

“Who was I supposed to kiss? Is it like an essential education for adults?”

“What on earth are you saying, really.”

No, you’ve been saying that all this time.

Just as I was about to argue that he should speak properly, annoyed,

Cedar, who had been pushing me away and retreating from my side, suddenly approached me and wrapped his arms around me tightly.

And he muttered in a very low voice.

“I’m… your first.”

Why does he keep repeating the word ‘first’? He’s going to develop a first-time neurosis at this rate.

‘Why is he hugging me so tightly?’

If asked whether I liked it or not, I liked it.

Just being stuck to Cedar, Cedar’s magic power was faintly transmitted to me.

‘But this feels like too tight of a hug.’

I patted his arm with my palm.

“Cedar, I can’t breathe.”

I thought he would let go if I said this, but instead, Cedar pulled me more forcefully into his embrace and answered.

“Just stay like this for a moment. Otherwise, I won’t be able to hold back.”

‘What can’t he hold back?’

I was curious, but it didn’t seem like Cedar would tell me. His breath falling on my hair was slowly calming down.

‘Does he think of me as some kind of teddy bear substitute?’

If hugging me helped him find peace of mind, it was a happy thing, so I decided to just go along with it.

It would be a perfect win-win if I could gain some practical benefit from this situation too, right?

So I whispered softly to Cedar with a hint.

“Since we’re having skinship anyway, a kiss would be better than a hug.”

I was sincere, but Cedar not only didn’t kiss me, he even let go of the hands that were hugging me.

And looking down at me with a deeply frowning face, he opened fire with his nagging.

“Stop that kiss talk already… No, never mind.”

I was preparing to let the nagging flow past me with blank eyes, but unexpectedly, Cedar stopped himself mid-nag.

Then he looked down at me with serious eyes and asked.

“So you’re saying I’m the only one who’s ever suggested kissing like this?”

“That’s right.”

Did some book like 《The Essential Guide to Proper Kissing for Nobles》 come out while I was at the academy?

I couldn’t understand why he was so obsessively asking when he said he was my first.

‘I should ask Grisha later.’

While I was thinking that, this time a sigh so deep it could sink the earth poured down over my head.

“Haa…”

And Cedar hugged me tightly again. It was clearly a different kind of hug from before.

The strength in his arms was similar, but unlike before, I felt a strange comfort.

Rubbing his cheek against my hair, Cedar muttered in a low voice.

“I thought my heart was going to burst when you suddenly pounced on me like a beast. You stuck out your tongue so skillfully, I got jealous thinking there must be other men you’ve kissed besides me…”

What?

“M-me, a beast? Well, I did move somewhat instinctively, but I don’t think it was that intense!”

It certainly started with a lip crash, but why is he talking about sticking out tongues? But I couldn’t deny it outright either.

‘I think I might have parted those lips first…?’

Because I literally left my body to instinct.

As I hesitated, Cedar asserted again in a firm tone.

“No, you were extremely aggressive. Even I, who rarely gets shaken, felt threatened.”

“What threat could I possibly pose to you…”

With such a big difference in physical strength. I was about to retort not to exaggerate, but I closed my mouth.

‘Since I rushed at him to steal his magic power, I can’t deny that it was threatening.’

If I put myself in his shoes, I would probably have been startled and frozen too.

Suddenly grabbing his face and kissing him out of nowhere.

I made an embarrassed expression. It’s an honor to have scared the country’s best swordsman and Sword Master even for a moment, but regrettably, I really couldn’t remember.

“Actually, I don’t know how I did it. I was just floundering, intoxicated by the rushing magic power.”

Naturally, I recalled that moment.

The sensation of magic power surging in violently like a broken dam, at the moment of deeply connecting with him and sharing breaths.

“It was ecstatic, like a dream. I just wanted to get closer to you. Because it would surely feel even better.”

It was a sensation that couldn’t be replaced by anything else.

Just recalling it made my whole body tingle. I gazed at Cedar with flushed cheeks.

“In that sense, one more kiss…”

Cedar’s body flinched greatly as our eyes met.

I stood on my tiptoes. Only Cedar’s lips were in my sight.

Just as my lips were about to touch his lips.

Cedar, who I thought would stay still, straightened his body and screamed.

“Wait! Wait a moment!”

Cedar and I have such a big height difference that when he’s uncooperative like this, no matter how much I stand on tiptoe, I can’t reach his lips.