*Note: sorry for upload it so late, it was my fault this time, but here you have the chapter as always.
Have a good day :)
...
"Because I was the one who brought him here," I said, my voice filled with apology and contrition.
Hearing this, Mikado did not get angry; instead, she simply offered a gentle smile.
"You didn't know anything about my situation, so I don't blame you for what happened. Not many people are aware of the specifics of my situation," Mikado explained calmly. She couldn't fault him; Akira had been completely unaware of her predicament at the time, and bringing Sufurtia with him had been an act of pure goodwill.
"That may be true, but it doesn't exempt me from responsibility. I absolutely should have consulted you before bringing him to you, and for that, I sincerely apologize," I stated, adopting a tone of genuine sincerity. Yes, it was possible that I didn't know the full story of Mikado's past, but that didn't justify the fact that I hadn't even asked for her permission to see her. Moreover, I had allowed myself to be overly guided by the knowledge I possessed about Mikado from the manga. In the manga, the depth of Mikado's situation was never truly discussed, but this was real life, not a two-dimensional comic. I should have carefully considered my actions instead of acting impulsively.
Meanwhile, Mikado was visibly surprised by the sincere and profound way Akira had apologized. It was true that Akira should have consulted her before leading Sufurtia to her doorstep, but she simply found herself unable to be angry with him.
"In that case, then... will you compensate me for this inconvenience?" Mikado asked, a playful smile returning to her lips.
Upon hearing this, I raised an eyebrow, as I hadn't expected her to immediately ask for compensation. But I supposed I fully deserved it; it would serve as a powerful reminder for the next time I acted carelessly.
"I will compensate you. As long as the request is within my capabilities and does not go against my moral code, I will give you whatever you wish," I affirmed confidently.
"Are you serious about that, Akira-kun?" Mikado asked, her interest piqued.
"Of course," I nodded firmly. Obviously, I fully intended to honor my promise; after all, if I were to backtrack on my own words now... wouldn't I look incredibly bad in her eyes?.
"Hahaha, please don't be so serious! I won't ask for anything excessive. In fact, I can assure you that my request will benefit both of us in more ways than one," Mikado said with a reassuring smile.
I was momentarily speechless, realizing perhaps I had reacted with too much enthusiasm and gravitas.
"Sir, Ma'am, here is your order," the waiter interrupted politely.
"Thank you very much," we both replied in unison.
After serving our coffees and leaving a few packets of sugar on the table, the waiter returned to his duties.
Mikado then took a small, delicate sip of her coffee after stirring in a bit of sugar.
"What I desire is something very simple to fulfill, and I've already stated it before: make me your fiancée," Mikado declared, looking me straight in the eye.
For a moment, I was taken aback. She had mentioned this on a previous occasion, but I never imagined she would be so direct and decisive this time.
"It's not an impossible request, but allow me to ask you something first. What exactly do you see in me? Is it interest? Is it genuine love? Before I give you an answer, I need to know your true intentions," I stated firmly, taking a measured sip of my own coffee.
"I already confessed that I had secondary intentions at the beginning, but I truly wasn't lying when I said I like you. In fact, you are the very first man who has ever genuinely attracted me in my entire life," Mikado confided honestly.
"Hmm, I'll be frank: I'm good-looking, but I'm not on the level of a male model. What exactly is it that attracts you to me?" I asked, genuinely curious and pressing for detail. I fully planned to accept her proposal, but I needed to verify the real, deep-seated reason for her attraction.
"Haaa... honestly, there isn't one specific thing; it's simply... everything about you," Mikado admitted with a slight sigh.
"That's... a rather vague answer, don't you think?" I questioned, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"Yes, it is, but I truly wouldn't know how to adequately describe it. There is something inherent about you that attracts women regardless of their age, a unique charm that I can't quite explain. In fact, if I didn't know firsthand that you are a human, I would actually think you were a Charm," Mikado elaborated thoughtfully.
"A Charm? Are you referring to the race that Lala's mother belongs to?" I asked, immediately intrigued.
"That's right. The Charms were an exceptionally beautiful race possessing a very special ability—a racial trait that instinctively provokes intense feelings of desire in those who simply look upon their faces. This ability was not even discovered by the Charms themselves until they developed enough technology to travel between the stars," Mikado explained.
"Hold on a moment. Did you just say 'were'?" I asked, noticing a subtle, important nuance in her explanation that left me intrigued.
"That is correct, 'were,' because they are currently almost extinct. Only a few individuals remain, such as Sephie, the princesses' mother, for example," Mikado confirmed with a serious nod.
"What happened to them?" I pressed, wanting to know the cause of such a tragedy. What on Earth could have possibly occurred to bring an entire powerful race to the brink of extinction? Perhaps an internal war or something similar?.
"It all happened during the reign of the previous King... When the Charms developed the necessary technology for interstellar travel, they were immediately located by the former King and compelled to join his kingdom. All perfectly normal up to this point, right?" Mikado asked rhetorically.
"Yes," I agreed, waiting for the devastating twist.
"Well, then I will tell you that the ones who drove them to the edge of extinction were the usual suspects: the nobles," Mikado revealed bitterly.
"The nobles? Again?" I asked, utterly astonished and annoyed by the repetition.
"That's right. When the nobles, and even the King himself, realized the extraordinary beauty and unique ability of the Charms... they were literally enslaved and used as mere toys by the noble elite. Only a few managed to escape that fate," Mikado confirmed, shaking her head sadly.
"I find it incredible that they can't simply be eliminated," I said, genuinely angered by the injustice. Always causing problems, always corrupt, always the same. Why doesn't Gid just kill them all and be done with it?.
"Unfortunately, that is not possible, Akira-kun. The nobles, despite their corruption, are exceptionally good at concealing their nefarious actions. And even though the King knows they are corrupt individuals, without concrete proof, nothing can be done; that is the law. If the King were to simply murder them now, without the evidence you just mentioned, wouldn't that, in itself, be considered a dictatorship? I'm afraid you still have much to learn before you ascend to the throne," Mikado explained, her tone firm but instructional.
I didn't take this observation as an insult because it was the plain truth. I was clearly not yet ready to be King, and I desperately needed someone to teach me how, or at least give me some essential advice.
"Nonetheless, don't worry yourself too much. You will learn everything in the future. After all, the King clearly trusted you for some very good reason; otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed you to become engaged to his daughters, even if you were the most suitable candidate to be his successor," Mikado said with a comforting smile.
Hmm, I suppose she has a point. Why did Gid allow me to become engaged to his daughter without putting up so much resistance or presenting major obstacles?.
"Having said all that. Do you accept my proposal or not, Akira-kun?" Mikado pressed, bringing the matter back to the present.
She then placed her arms underneath her voluminous chest, which caused her décolletage to dramatically expand, making my eyes unconsciously drift downwards towards the ample cleavage.
"Ouch!" cried a nearby person. The poor soul was walking to his table when he accidentally saw Mikado's suggestive posture, which caused him to trip over his own feet and fall heavily to the floor because he looked where he shouldn't have while walking.
"I accept," I declared decisively. I wasn't going to lie to myself: Who in their right mind would refuse her in this specific situation? Obviously, no one would, and opportunities like this don't come up every day. I believe I have made the correct decision.
"Excellent! It's official then!" Mikado announced with a triumphant smile. In truth, she was far happier than she let on, but as she wished to maintain her image as a mature, calm, and sexy woman, she restrained her excitement.
"Yes... it is official," I agreed, still slightly captivated by the sight of her enormous breasts.
"Oh. Do you find my chest appealing, Akira-kun?" Mikado asked with a mischievous, knowing smile.
I swallowed hard at her provocative words, but I managed to restrain myself from commenting further.
"Ahem," I coughed lightly, trying to regain my decorum.
Mikado simply smiled, amused by Akira's sudden shyness. It was surprising to see how the normally unflappable Akira became flustered merely by a slight display of her chest. However... considering his current fiancées, it was quite normal, as not even Lala could truly rival her impressive assets.
...
Time flew by, and several hours had already passed since we confirmed our new relationship.
Now that we had officially confirmed our engagement, it seemed both of us had started to feel much more comfortable and relaxed with one another, which made the remainder of the day significantly more enjoyable.
After thoroughly discussing all the serious matters mentioned previously, Akira and Mikado stopped dwelling on sad or complicated topics and spent the rest of their time together simply having fun. They spent the majority of the time relaxing in the peculiar café, but they also went for a long walk and even held hands affectionately. People who saw them together looked on with undisguised envy. Walking hand-in-hand with such a beautiful woman with such large breasts... what wouldn't they give to be in the man's shoes!. Naturally, a beauty like Mikado wasn't seen every day, and she certainly caught the attention of passersby, but aside from staring, no one took any excessive action.
And so, the day concluded, and it was the moment we had all been expecting, but...
"Akira-kun. How about we meet up next weekend and... elevate our relationship to an entirely new level?" Mikado suggested suddenly. We were walking peacefully when Mikado dropped that suggestion.
"Are you referring to having sex?" I asked plainly, cutting straight to the point. Shyness? A man who is too shy to ask his girlfriend about sex... is better off not having one.
"Yes..." Mikado confirmed with a slight nod. Seeing Akira's expression, she knew that his intention had been to consummate the relationship today, but there were a couple of important reasons why Mikado could not have sex with Akira today. The first reason was that it would be her very first time, and she felt somewhat nervous, so she wanted to mentally prepare herself throughout the week. As for the second reason...
"It's not that I don't want to do it with you today, but... I am currently having certain issues—you know, female problems. I believe you understand exactly what I'm referring to," Mikado confided discreetly.
"Huh? Your race also experiences that kind of... thing?" I asked, genuinely curious. That was interesting; I had never thought about it because none of my current girls (the ones living with me) have that issue, and I had never heard them discuss it.
"Only certain races, like mine, experience it," Mikado clarified. She wished it was merely an excuse, but it was the reality: the women of her race had the same biological issue as human women, while other alien races did not have that problem. Life can be very strange sometimes.
I couldn't be sure if what Mikado was saying was entirely true or not. To begin with, apart from her elf ears, I knew nothing about her race, so it was possible she might be deceiving me, or perhaps not; I simply didn't know. However, she shouldn't be deceiving me, since she clearly stated she wanted to do it next weekend. Why would she postpone it by only a single week? It didn't make much logical sense, especially for a woman as mature and composed as Mikado.
"Alright, I will wait until then," I assented respectfully. What else was I going to do? Insist? It was absolutely clear that she did not want to do it today, whether her reason was true or not, so the best course of action was not to push the issue.
"Thank you, Akira-kun. What do you say to meeting up on Saturday? I have the entire afternoon free, and the following day, we won't need to wake up early," Mikado suggested, proposing the ideal time.
"Great! That sounds perfect," I nodded in agreement.
"Perfect, then we will finalize the exact time sometime during the week," Mikado said with a satisfied smile.
However, she knew that deep down, Akira was slightly disappointed, so to cheer him up... she simply kissed him. She had never kissed anyone in her life, but she had read extensively on the subject, leading her to believe that kisses held no mystery for her anymore. She was profoundly mistaken, because the moment her lips touched Akira's, a wonderful, indescribable sensation coursed through her entire body.