He had only stroked her head a couple of times when he heard a loud smack, the sound of a cup being slammed down on the table.
Looking up instinctively, he found Shiro glaring at him. Her overly pale cheeks were flushed red, making him pause his hand.
"What is it?"
"You're just like all those other men! You're a shameless womanizer! And you're into older women too, aren't you? Why are you taking such good care of Sophia?", Shiro leaned forward over the table, firing off one accusation after another. Her reddened face was full of emotions she would never normally show, suspicion, "Don't tell me you're planning to raise her until she grows into a mature beauty... and then... then eat her up?"
"How is that even possible? When I'm nice to Ariel, you accuse me of being into girls. When I'm nice to Sophia, you accuse me of being into older women. So do I have to be nice to men if I don't want people questioning me? Am I supposed to hang around with guys for my reputation? Go pet some man instead?"
He had no idea why drunk Shiro had become like this, but all he could do was laugh helplessly while continuing to stroke Sophia's head as he defended himself against these ridiculous slanders.
Shiro answered without hesitation.
"That-that's definitely not okay!"
"Why?"
"Because I'd be troubled! You have to like me!"
Her tone was unusually forceful, completely different from her usual cool demeanor. She even slapped the table as she declared something that left him at a complete loss for words.
Beside them, Ariel... although her face was full of surprise, she watched with obvious interest, making no move to stop them. Instead, she couldn't help saying,
"My, my~ I never imagined Little Shiro would become like this when she's drunk... This is so interesting."
Ash shot Ariel an annoyed look before freeing one hand to gently pat Shiro's head.
"Okay, okay. Sorry. It's all my fault. So calm do—"
"Stop talking nonsense! You always say you're sorry, but you've never once thought about changing! Do you think I've only known you for a day? I've known you for over ten years! You've always been like this! You say all the right things, but you never actually do anything! You said you liked me ages ago, and then what? All you ever did was bully me! You bullied me when I was still a spider! Then after I became a spider girl, you still bullied me! Where are all those other actions? Where did they go?"
Shiro slapped his hand away, angrily drained the cup Ariel had just refilled for her in one gulp, then continued glaring at him.
Her complaint was so bizarre that Ash looked like he'd just swallowed a fly as he hurriedly waved his hands.
"When you were still a spider, I just liked playing with you. There wasn't anything weird about it. Besides, if I'd actually done anything strange to you back when you were a spider, that would have been way more perverted than liking older women or girls."
"If it's true love! Is that even a problem?"
"Could you not solve everything with love? Even love has its limits. Besides, that wasn't even the kind of love I felt back then."
"Then you're just someone who forgets loyalty once a pretty face appears."
"Trust me, you're definitely using that phrase wrong."
Faced with the girl's loud accusations, Ash had a splitting headache, like he was trying to reason with a child throwing a tantrum.
He simply couldn't understand why a drunk person was questioning him about why he hadn't done anything strange to a spider.
But she was drunk. What else could he do? All he could do was patiently reason with her.
Since Ariel had chosen to sit back and watch, he had originally wanted to ask Sophia, who hadn't fallen fully asleep yet, to help deal with Shiro.
But when he looked down, he found Sophia asleep on his lap with a strange smile on her face, hugging one of his legs... and continuously biting it.
'Well... if I wake her up now, she'll probably become another huge problem.'
The odd sensation coming from his leg told Ash's rational mind that he absolutely could not wake this girl while she was in such a strange state.
But seeing him lower his head immediately made Shiro unhappy.
She reached out with both hands and grabbed his face.
"What are you doing? I'm right in front of you, and you're still looking at another woman?"
"Another woman? Didn't we raise this kid together?"
"The moment she started trying to steal you from me, she became some other family's wild woman."
Drunk Shiro expelled Sophia from the family without the slightest hesitation.
There were so many things wrong with that statement that Ash didn't even know where to begin.
"Little Shiro is unexpectedly assertive~", Ariel said with undiminished enthusiasm, nodding repeatedly with a bright smile, "This is just too entertaining~"
"Is now really the time to be enjoying yourself?"
Compared to figuring out how to deal with drunk Shiro, Ariel happily watching the show from the sidelines was even more frustrating.
"You're right. I should enjoy the show properly! Go on~"
"You... Huh? Wait, why are you crying?"
He had just been about to say something to Ariel when he noticed Shiro, still holding his face, suddenly looking like she was about to burst into tears.
'Maybe she feels neglected?'
Whatever the reason, even though he didn't understand it, he hurried to comfort her.
For a while, he was overwhelmed trying to deal with everything.
Meanwhile, Ariel simply smiled as she drank and watched the spectacle, looking as though she'd added it to the meal as entertainment.
———
Amid the chaotic and absurd scene, Ash silently swore that no matter what happened in the future, he would never let Sophia or Shiro drink again.
For now, however, he could only carefully carry Sophia to her own room first.
The whole time, Shiro clung to his back just like she used to, hanging onto him like a baby koala with both arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
Not only that, she even bit his ear.
Probably because he'd carried Sophia first, she kept nibbling away at it. Though with how weak Shiro was, all she managed to do was leave his ear covered in saliva.
As for Ariel, she was completely incapable of getting drunk and had absolutely no intention of helping.
After settling Sophia into bed, Ash still had to carry Shiro back to her own room himself.
By the time he finally made it there, he collapsed face-down across Shiro's bed, wondering how he could peacefully pry this koala-like girl off his back.
Instead, Shiro hugged him even tighter, wrapping both arms around his waist.
She wore a sly smile that looked like she'd successfully pulled off a scheme, leaned close to his ear, and whispered happily,
"Hehe~ Now it's just the two of us. You can't escape anymore! Besides! You took care of Sophia first, and only now it's my turn, so from that standpoint you can't run away either!"
"I don't agree with that at all. But let me ask first, what exactly do you want?"
"Obviously I'm going to gobble you right up! After all~ I'm a spider! Ah~ I don't mean eating you literally, okay? But... you know what I mean, right? Hehehe~ So just accept your fate. Of course, if you want to scream, you can. But the soundproofing here is excellent. Even if you scream your lungs out, nobody's coming to save you!"
As she spoke with all the flair of a villain, she gently swayed her head and rubbed her cheek against his back, looking both mischievous and a little teasing.
Ash didn't even know what to say.
He knew she was weird, but... this weird? Probably only Ariel knew about this side of her.
Without saying anything, he quietly pried her hands loose.
Before she could complain, he suddenly rolled over, pinned both of her slender shoulders to the bed with his hands, and pressed down just hard enough to keep her there.
The reversal happened so quickly that Shiro didn't react in time.
By the time she realized what had happened, she was lying flat on the soft bed with the familiar man directly above her.
Perhaps because the situation had suddenly reversed, some of her sobriety returned.
She unconsciously swallowed, stared up at him, and asked in a small voice, "Wh-What are you going to do?"
"What do you think I'm going to do?"
Seeing how nervous she was, Ash couldn't help smiling.
He freed one hand and gently stroked her delicate face.
His fingers traced across her skin, making her blush deepen.
Shiro forced out a smile, shook her head slightly, her face as red as a ripe apple, "W-Wait... I... I'm not mentally prepared..."
"What happened? You were acting so arrogant when you had the upper hand just now. Why are you like this all of a sudden? Or is it only okay when you're the one teasing me, but not the other way around?", Ash teased with a faint smile, "Just like you said, the soundproofing here is really good. Even if you scream your lungs out, nobody will come."
"It's different for girls! This would be a crime!", Shiro protested shyly.
"Sorry, I believe in equality."
Ash's smile grew even brighter.
Looking at the shy, nervous girl before him, he felt as though the adorable Shiro he had always loved teasing had finally returned, and a different feeling naturally welled up inside him.
Shiro was dressed in a pure white dress.
Its cut seemed made specifically for her, perfectly outlining her graceful figure.
Her slender waist and the soft curves of her chest rose and fell with her slightly hurried breathing.
Her silver hair spilled loosely over her porcelain-white shoulders, with a few strands falling playfully beside her delicate face.
Her long, fair legs unconsciously rubbed lightly together, as though easing her nervousness and embarrassment.
She tilted her small head back slightly.
Stubbornness and shyness mixed together in her eyes, as though quietly conveying some gentle feeling.
Ash had only intended to tease her a little.
But in such an intimate atmosphere, looking at the alluring girl before him... he ultimately couldn't hold himself back.
His hand slowly caressed her flushed face, feeling its warmth.
Almost unconsciously, just as the nervous girl closed her eyes... he lowered his head and gently kissed her soft pink lips.
They had already kissed before.
Faced with such an attractive girl, it would probably have been difficult for anyone to resist.
During the kiss, perhaps out of instinct, Shiro wrapped her arms tightly around him once more, pressing her warm body firmly against his, as though she wanted to become one with him.
With no one around to interrupt them for once, unable to suppress his feelings any longer, Ash finally gave in to his impulses.
In the quiet, intimate night, he thoroughly indulged in all the things he had wanted to do before but had always restrained himself from doing.
———
The next morning, soft dawn light filtered gently through the window into the room.
The gentle sunlight woke Shiro, who hadn't slept well all night.
She slowly opened her eyes, still a little groggy, and instinctively looked to the spot beside her.
But... unexpectedly, all she saw was an empty bed.
No one else was there.
'Was I dreaming it? Was everything that happened yesterday... just a dream? I distinctly remember it hurting at first... Or did I drink too much and have some strange dream?'
Unable to find the person who should have been there, Shiro absentmindedly lifted her blanket.
Just as she saw the faint crimson stain proving that last night hadn't been a dream, Ash's voice came from nearby. He sounded like he wanted to laugh but was holding it in.
"What are you doing?"
"?"
Startled like a frightened deer, Shiro quickly turned her head.
The scene before her was bizarre enough to leave her speechless.
Ash was quietly sitting at the desk in the room.
Behind him, however, clung a vampire girl, Sophia was tightly biting into his neck.
She looked like a starving beast greedily drinking his blood.
At the same time, she glared murderously at Shiro, making anyone who saw it feel uneasy.
'Oh... So she found out first thing in the morning? Somehow... hmm... Will this yandere give up? No, wait. Since she's a yandere, there's no way she'd give up.'
Thinking to herself, Shiro quietly lowered the blanket again and gave an awkward yet polite smile.
"Good morning."
"You're saying that at a time like this?", Ash asked in disbelief.
"?"
'Then you tell me something better! I'm not bragging, but there's definitely nobody worse than me at dealing with this kind of thing! So let's just go eat breakfast first... Yeah! That'll work! If we all eat together, surely nothing will be impossible to get over... That's what I'd like to think, but there's no way she'd think that. Better just go back to sleep.'
While grumbling to herself, Shiro still couldn't come up with an answer.
So she quietly lay back down, straightened herself out, pulled the blanket over herself, closed her eyes... and went back to sleep.
The faint smile still lingering on her lips made her seem rather pleased with herself for getting there first.
Her attitude of simply sleeping whenever she ran into trouble left Ash speechless.
That smile, however, nearly drove Sophia into a dark spiral.
Feeling deeply mocked, she bit even harder into his neck, looking so aggrieved and unwilling to accept it that she seemed on the verge of bursting into tears.
In fact... when Sophia had first discovered what happened and quietly entered the room, if Ash hadn't immediately cut his own neck to let her drink his blood, she probably would have copied Shiro and rolled around crying too.
"Calm down, calm down. There's no obstacle in this world that can't be overcome..."
Feeling both the increasing suction and the stronger biting on his neck, Ash sighed, automatically patting Sophia's head in hopes of calming her down.
But Sophia wasn't listening at all.
She bit down even harder while muffled sobs escaped her mouth.
She looked both wronged and furious, enough to make anyone sympathize with her.
At that moment, the bedroom door suddenly opened without a sound.
"My, my~ Why's everyone here? Could it be? Hmm? Looks like I came at a bad time."
A cheerful Ariel pushed open the door as she spoke.
But the moment she saw the bizarre scene inside, an amused smile immediately appeared on her face.
She quietly withdrew the foot she'd just stepped into the room with.
"Wait! You came at exactly the right time! Hurry and help—"
"Sorry, I just remembered I have something to take care of. You two carry on~ Yes, carry on. Take your time and enjoy yourselves~"
Without waiting for Ash to finish, Ariel completely ignored his plea for help, laughing as she closed the door again.
That left Ash alone in the room, troubled by the bizarre atmosphere.
Deep down, he did regret losing control last night.
Though he also felt that, in that situation, almost anyone would have had a hard time holding back.
Still, he was carrying an important mission.
Yet he had still gone and done something like that.
That bothered him the most.
But things had already reached this point.
They had already kissed and shared other intimate moments before, so saying anything else now felt both inappropriate and unreasonable.
What was done was done.
But first thing in the morning, being caught by Sophia, the girl he'd practically raised, only to end up with her biting his neck... was a feeling he found difficult to describe.
———
At lunchtime, to avoid Sophia's terrifying stare, Shiro quietly sat on Ash's other side, lest the vampire who looked ready to bite someone decide to bite her instead.
Ariel, meanwhile, looked thoroughly delighted by the situation, crossing her legs as she happily drank.
"As expected, people who drink are hopeless! Only useless people drink!"
Remembering how alcohol had ruined everything, Sophia glared at Ariel, who couldn't get drunk no matter how much she drank.
Just thinking about how she'd gotten drunk after only a little alcohol the previous night and missed her chance made her grind her teeth.
She had guarded against Ariel for so long... only for someone on her own side, Shiro, to beat her to it.
She simply couldn't accept it.
She even lay across the table, glaring at Shiro over Ash's shoulder, "I told you drinking wasn't a good idea, didn't I?"
Watching Sophia continue sulking from morning all the way to noon, Ash casually drank his wine while stroking her hair, trying to take the opportunity to teach her a lesson.
But the moment he said that, Sophia suddenly looked up at the wine beside his hand.
"Then why are you still drinking with Lady Demon Lord?"
"It's different. Even if we disable our skills, we still can't get drunk."
"Then what happened yesterday? So you really did consent?"
"Well..."
Faced with the girl's relentless questioning, he could only answer vaguely.
No matter what he said, she wouldn't be satisfied.
He simply took an awkward sip of wine.
That immediately made Sophia turn toward Shiro.
"Then you tell me!"
"...."
'Are you kidding me? You want me to explain? Explain what? What am I supposed to say? How am I supposed to say it? I'm terrible at this in the first place! Besides, even if I tried to explain, would you wait until I figured out what to say? Go ask Ash! And Ash too! Hurry up and settle this troublesome girl already!'
Now fully sober and back to her usual cool demeanor, Shiro fired off an endless barrage of complaints in her head.
Outwardly, however, she remained as silent as ever.
She simply pushed Ash toward Sophia with one hand while signaling with her eyes for him to deal with the troublesome girl himself.
But...
What exactly was he supposed to do?
Out of habit, Ash cut his fingertip and quietly slipped it into Sophia's mouth, letting her reluctantly suck on it.
For some reason, though, Sophia's way of drinking blood, which had already looked rather suggestive before, had somehow become even more suggestive in every possible sense.
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