IWHERSFL 40

~Chapter 40~

The fox doll had very bright, sparkling eyes. The moment I saw that familiar gaze, I shouted inwardly.

‘It’s Rishian!’

Strangely, my heart swelled. All of a sudden, I really wanted that fox doll.

I turned to look at Rishian and spoke, trying hard to sound calm.

“Th-that fox doll.”

“The pale yellow one?”

“Yeah….”

Rishian stared straight at me, then let out a small laugh. For some reason, my heart skipped.

‘What was that?’

I blinked rapidly and looked away, but he took my hand and led me toward the stall.

“Sir.”

At Rishian’s call, the shop owner—who had been arranging the display—turned to us.

The owner raised one eyebrow and asked,

“Gonna try the archery game? Who’s shooting?”

“I will.”

“Hm… you’ve got a decent build, young man.”

The owner looked Rishian up and down and grinned, then held out his palm.

“Ten Rubel per round.”

“That’s expensive. Are you really making a profit?”

“At this price, I’m barely breaking even! We don’t deal in cheap prizes here. Everything’s expensive handcrafted goods.”

I quickly stepped in and paid the ten Rubel. I wanted the fox doll, sure—but more than that, I really wanted to see Rishian shoot a bow.

After taking the money, the owner vigorously wiped a toy bow with a clean towel and handed it to Rishian.

“You see that red line marked on the floor? Shoot from there. The arrows are in the barrel.”

The wooden barrel near the red line was full of arrows.

Without any particular preparation, Rishian picked up an arrow and set it on the string.

The scattered onlookers gathered again. Murmurs rose around us.

“He’s ridiculously handsome, whoever he is!”

“Seriously.”

“Is the person with him his girlfriend?”

Once again, we were being mistaken for a couple. My face burned, and I rubbed my cheek for no reason.

‘Thank goodness I changed my hair color.’

If I stood out like this, people would remember my face.

As for how I changed it—I bought a newly stocked item at the general store: ‘Hair Dye (Single-use, Random Color)’ for 100 coins.

I was nervous since it was random… but luckily, it turned out a normal color.

Thwung!

Rishian released the string. The arrow cut through the air and struck the platinum-colored fox doll.

“Oooh!”

“He’s good!”

Cheers and applause burst out from all sides. I beamed and clapped enthusiastically.

Rishian took the fox doll and handed it to me. I accepted it happily and murmured,

“Th-thank you….”

“Anything else you want?”

“No, this is enough.”

“Then wait a moment.”

He smiled brightly and went back to draw the bow again. It seemed there was another prize he wanted.

I half-buried my face in the soft fox fur and watched him.

Rishian’s focused expression, and the muscles of his arm visible beneath his sleeve, made my heart flutter.

Thwung!

“Ooh—hit!”

“He shoots well!”

Rishian shot about seven times in a row. Every shot was a hit. He even picked out only the small, expensive-looking items.

The shop owner’s face grew paler by the second.

“This is insane! Perfect accuracy!”

“How does he hit something that small from that distance?”

“And with a junky bow like that….”

Just before the owner collapsed from the massive loss, Rishian finally lowered the bow.

He had shot a total of ten times.

For reference, the ten Rubel wasn’t a per-shot fee. For just ten Rubel, you could shoot as many times as you wanted until you chose to stop.

The owner’s hands trembled as he packed the prizes one by one into a large box.

Rishian took the box, came over to me, and spoke with a gentle smile.

“All of it’s for Muriel. Ah—except one.”

“Is it really okay to take this much…?”

“What’s the problem? It’s not illegal.”

That might be true, but still.

I smiled awkwardly and tugged at Rishian’s sleeve.

“L-let’s go somewhere else. Quickly.”

I couldn’t bear the owner’s resentful stare.

We found a suitable lodging, rented a room for short stay, and went upstairs.

First, I set the box on the wooden table and took out the prizes.

There was an expensive-looking silver brooch, a crystal ornament, a lapis lazuli bracelet, and even a pair of gold couple rings.

“Th-these aren’t real gold, right?”

Unable to believe it, I stared hard at the two rings, then lightly bit one with my teeth.

A faint tooth mark appeared on the thin, thread-like ring.

“They’re real gold.”

Rishian stated it flatly. I froze, mouth hanging open.

“They’re not that expensive. They’re as thin as yarn. Don’t feel guilty.”

He spoke as if it were nothing, then took the rings from me.

Wondering what he was doing, I watched as he gently lifted my left hand.

“…!”

I realized what was about to happen and widened my eyes.

Just as I feared, Rishian slid the ring onto my ring finger. Amazingly, it fit perfectly.

“Keep it.”

After saying that, he slipped the other ring into his pocket. I blinked blankly, then blurted out without thinking,

“You’re not wearing yours?”

Only after a few seconds of silence did I realize it.

‘Why would I ask that when we’re not even dating?!’

My face burst into flames. I panicked and started rambling.

“No, I mean—if you want to wear it, you can, that’s all—”

“…….”

“O-or you can sell it! It’s your prize anyway! Do whatever you want….”

Seriously, what was wrong with me?

I shut my eyes tightly and bit my lip, feeling like I might go crazy.

Then I heard Rishian’s amused voice.

“Alright. I’ll wear it too.”

“You don’t have to—!”

“Calm down, Muriel.”

“…….”

It felt like all my hidden feelings had been laid bare. I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

But there was nowhere to hide in this room. I kept my head down, stealing glances at Rishian.

Instead of putting the ring on right away, he held it up to the light. Looking closely, it was the very ring with my tooth mark on it.

…Maybe it was just my imagination, but his gaze seemed to linger on that exact mark.

I felt a powerful urge to snatch the ring from his hand.

As I twitched, Rishian suddenly held the ring out to me.

“Will you put it on for me, Muriel?”

I opened and closed my mouth for a long moment, then shot back,

“Isn’t that a bit much…?”

“Why?”

“Why, you ask….”

We’re not even dating—how does it make sense to put rings on each other?

‘What is this, an engagement ceremony?!’

But Rishian was persistent. He kept pleading for over ten minutes, and in the end, I gave up.

With a whatever happens, happens mindset, I slid the ring onto his finger.

“Done, okay? Now let’s get ready for bed!”

“Aren’t we eating dinner?”

“I’m not hungry!”

“You must be….”

Ignoring Rishian’s crooked smile, I fled to the bathroom and locked the door.

I took off my clothes and washed with cold water for a long time—then realized something.

I hadn’t brought any clothes to change into….

The next dawn.

Beep beep beep— biribibiribi— biyung biyung—!

I asked the system for a morning call, and it woke me up exactly on time.

But the alarm sound was infuriating.

Beep beep beep— biribibiribi— biyung biyung—!

“Ugh, shut up! I’m awake! Turn it off!”

When I smacked the pillow and snapped, the system immediately went silent.

Frowning deeply, I sat up in bed.

Current time: 4 a.m.
There was a reason I got up this early.

That reason was—

“Muriel, did you sleep well?”

“…?”

Something soft brushed against my lips. Startled, I nearly fell backward.

When I calmed down and looked closely, I realized it was the fox doll from yesterday’s prizes that had just kissed me.

“What are you doing…?”

As I asked in disbelief, Rishian burst into a bright, boyish laugh.

In his hands were not just the fox doll, but another small doll as well.

‘What kind of doll is that now?’

I narrowed my eyes and examined it closely.

Small ears, a pink nose, long whiskers, light brown fur on its back, and a white belly.

“…A hamster?”

“Yeah. I won this yesterday too.”

“There were hamster dolls too…?”

Now I was doubly speechless.

Holding the fox in one hand and the hamster in the other, Rishian made them kiss like a puppet show.

He even pressed his own lips to the hamster’s tiny mouth.

As I stared blankly at the absurd sight, it suddenly hit me.

‘That’s an indirect kiss…!!’