"Well... I'm glad I was able to confirm your intentions for now. We won't suddenly take action today or tomorrow, so let's start slowly."

“Y-Yes. I think I’ll end up troubling Allen-san a lot, though…”

“What are you saying? You’re my… yeah.”

Allen trailed off slightly there.

But after a moment’s hesitation, he made up his mind and spoke the words aloud.

"You're my lover, after all."

"... Yes."

Charlotte blushed and replied in a voice barely above a whisper.

Thanks to that, they both fell silent for a moment. They could clearly hear the sounds of dishes and chattering around them.

Still, it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Seeing Charlotte bashfully looking down with her face bright red, Allen let out a quiet sigh.

(Yes, it's nice after all... these kinds of exchanges between lovers)

In the future, she might be the one wearing the pants in the relationship, but for now, he just wanted to savor her innocent reactions.

As he basked in this sweet, sentimental mood, a sudden thought crossed his mind.

"By the way, there's one thing I want to ask you. Is it okay now?"

"Huh? If it's something I can answer..."

“It’s nothing major.”

Allen scratched his head, then asked the question casually.

“When did you first start liking me?”

“…Huh?”

Charlotte froze, blinking in surprise.

Allen, completely unfazed, continued speaking.

“See, I only realized how I felt about you during that whole thing with Dorothea the other day.”

The dark elf who had taken up residence in his home’s basement.

Being forced into that fake lover role made Allen confront his feelings for Charlotte.

"But I think I've liked you since before that. So I wondered what about you."

Was it the moment Allen confessed?

Or maybe earlier than that?

There wasn’t really a point in asking now, but the curiosity wouldn’t leave him alone. And this moment alone with her was the perfect chance.

Allen smiled and leaned in slightly.

“So? When was it, hmm?”

“U-Um, w-well…”

Charlotte clearly panicked and couldn’t get the words out.

Her eyes shifted not to Allen’s, but toward the kitchen behind him.

"I don't think the food will be here for a while. Just give up and confess."

"Uuuuh... Allen-san is so mean."

She pouted, looking at him with teary eyes.

But perhaps knowing how stubborn Allen could be, she eventually let out a sigh and began to speak.

"Um, well... I think it was from that night..."

"That night?"

“You know… the night we watched the stars together.”

“Oh, right. That happened, didn’t it.”

It had been about a month after Charlotte arrived.

One night, she couldn’t sleep after a nightmare, so Allen took her outside for some fresh air to help her relax.

"That night, Allen-san said to me, didn't you? 'I'll come to help you no matter where you are.'"

“…Yeah, I did say that.”

Thinking back, it was a pretty cringeworthy line.

Allen squirmed in embarrassment, but Charlotte smiled softly like a flower in bloom.

"That made me so happy. I knew that it wasn't just a consolation, that Allen-san was serious."

She blushed slightly and lowered her gaze to her lap.

“After that, I found myself watching Allen-san a lot more… My heart would race when we were together. That’s when I realized I must really like you.”

“You realized way earlier than I did, huh? You should’ve told me.”

“T-There’s no way I could say that!”

Charlotte looked up in shock.

Then her shoulders slumped and she shrank in on herself.

“I… I worried about it a lot, you know. Like, if someone like me, a wanted criminal, fell in love, wouldn’t that just be a burden for you?”

“No way. You really think I’d care about something like that?”

"...I thought so."

Charlotte gave a small, bashful smile and looked up.

“But I won’t run anymore. Not from this home… or my feelings.”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit. That’s my Charlotte.”

Allen nodded and threw in a little flirtation while he was at it.

Apparently, they’d both been wrestling with doubts.

Charlotte must’ve felt the weight lift, because she tilted her head curiously and asked

"Well then, um... I have something I'd like to ask you too, Allen-san. Can I?"

“Of course. Anything.”

Allen tried to respond generously, but...

“Allen, how many people have you dated before?”

“…Huh?”

He froze at the completely unexpected question.

He had never been asked such a topic in his life.

Allen pressed his brow and squeezed out a voice.

"Just now... if I'm not mistaken, you asked me about my dating experience, right?"

"Y-Yes."

Charlotte nodded earnestly, her face a bit tense.

"Allen-san is cool and kind, so he must be popular with the ladies, right? I want to do some research so I don't lose to any of the previous girlfriends!"

“I… have no idea which ‘Allen’ you’re talking about right now…”

“Huh?”

Charlotte tilted her head in confusion.

Allen waved his hand with a wry smile.

"No, no. You're the only one I've ever dated."

“R-Really…? But there are women at magic schools, right?"

"Of course there were women among the students and teachers, but I never got close to any of them. After all, I was focused on magic."

"So... am I your first lover...?"

"I guess so."

"I see... hehehe."

"... you seem really happy."

Charlotte looked shy, and Allen could only tilt his head.

Is that how it is?

(Hmm, what if Charlotte had a lover in the past...?)

The prince, who was said to have had a bad relationship with her, doesn't count.

Allen tried to imagine that...and felt his temple twitch.

“Ah. No good. I want to kill him.”

“Eh? Did you say something just now?”

"Hahaha, nothing. Don't worry about it. By the way...is it also your first time?”

“O-Of course! I’d barely even spoken to a man before I came here…”

“I see! That’s great!”

Allen clenched his fist in quiet triumph.

Charlotte, meanwhile, stroked her chin, suspicious.

"Hmm... but, but, I thought Allen-san would definitely be popular. Are you sure nothing ever happened with any of the girls?”

“You’re giving me way too much credit. Who would be crazy enough to like someone like me, other than you?”

“I wonder…”

“It’s true.”

Allen shrugged in exasperation.

"At most, they would force me to eat homemade lunches and snacks, and they would go out of their way to clean the lab...that was the extent of my contact with women."

"...Huh?"

Charlotte's smile twitched.

However, Allen didn't notice and reminisced about his time as a teacher.

“Well, I often got gifts because they say they made too much food. Maybe it’s because I’m not picky, but a bunch of them kept giving me stuff… Sometimes they even included letters. Stuff like, ‘I’m always watching you’ or ‘I love your voice during lectures’ silly stuff like that.”

Even after class, it was always female students who came up to ask questions. Not to mention how often he was surrounded by girls in the library or training grounds after school.

“Man, the girls at that school were really passionate about learning…”

"Allen-san"

"Huh? What's――!?"

Charlotte was smiling brightly. But it wasn't her usual innocent smile. She was smiling with a somewhat menacing air, and she spoke in a matter-of-fact manner.

“Would you mind telling me in detail what kinds of dishes those girls made for you? I’d like to practice them myself.”

“Uh? W-Well, they were just ordinary sandwiches, cupcakes, that kind of thing…”

“That’s not the point. Please tell me everything. Okay?”

“U-Understood…”

Under that unmistakable pressure, Allen could only nod meekly.

Charlotte spoke enthusiastically, saying, "I won't lose! No matter what kind of dish it is, I'll master it!", but Allen only shook his head and gave a confused cheer, "Do your best...?".

Though he was completely unaware of it, he was actually very popular with women.

He was a reasonably good-looking boy genius who was said to be the greatest in history, and his backers, the Crawford family, were one of the most prestigious families in the country.

With all these favorable conditions, his eccentric personality was tolerated to a certain extent, and women hoping to marry him were openly making advances on him.

However, love was a different world to Allen at the time.

And so he got to where he is now, unaware of the many flags that were raised.

(Well, in any case... it's good that Charlotte has become so motivated.)

Studying monster taming, magic, cooking.

Her world kept expanding.

"Yes, yes. You're really strongーーbufuuuuuーーーーー!"

“Fueh? What’s wrong, Allen?”

The next instant, he spat everything out.

Charlotte stared, wide-eyed.

But Allen didn’t even have time to clean himself up.

From the entrance of the store, he saw a black panther beastman calmly enter. It was undoubtedly the group of bounty hunters who were supposed to be after Charlotte――their leader, Ricardo.

(The big boss himself…! Is he really planning to make a move here!?)

It was daytime, and there were many people around. Entering the place alone in that situation was nothing but a sign of confidence.

Allen instantly put himself on alert.

At that moment, he was ready to unleash magic at any moment.

"Huh?"

Charlotte spun around and caught sight of the beastman.

And to his surprise, she gave him a big smile.

“Ricardo! Hello!”

“Oh, it’s the young lady from before. Hello.”

“...Huh?”

Ricardo also returned her greeting with a cheerful bow.

Allen, halfway out of his seat, could only gape in silence.