"I see you don't eat sweets, yet you're happy all day long."
Upon hearing this, Durandal couldn't help but offer a small, playful retort.
"Is being happy all day a bad thing?"
With that, Elysia reached out, gently lifting the corners of Durandal's mouth into a smile.
"Not just me, Durandal, you should smile more too~? See, you look so lovely when you smile! Just like that, hold it."
Then, Elysia let go, pulled out her phone, switched to selfie mode, and snapped a photo of the two of them together. She promptly posted it to her social feed, deliberately tagging Durandal in the process.
After finishing this little act, Elysia tucked her own phone away and extended her hand expectantly.
Durandal sighed. "What else do you want now?"
"Your phone!"
Elysia declared.
Seeing no way out, Durandal reluctantly pulled out her phone. Before she could do anything else, Elysia swiftly snatched it from her hand.
Durandal's phone had neither a password nor a fingerprint lock, so Elysia woke the screen instantly, opened the messaging app, and navigated to the social feed.
The newest post was the very photo Elysia had just shared.
"Huh...?"
Elysia's fingers paused over the screen, and she let out a soft, curious sound.
"What is it?"
Durandal leaned over to look and found that Elysia's post, which had been up for less than a minute, had already received quite a few likes.
"Connie, Eden, Vill-V, and Emile? I remember those four are together... They're fast!"
Durandal remarked with a touch of awe.
Then, she watched as Elysia skillfully used her phone to also give the post a like, adding a comment: "So adorable~"
Durandal: "..."
Durandal couldn't quite grasp it. By doing this, wasn't Elysia essentially telling everyone that the like and comment were her own doing?
Because of that, she found it even harder to imagine what Connie, who was across the street and practically swooning over their supposed 'ship,' must have felt upon seeing that like and comment.
For Connie, the like and comment were secondary.
The real deal was that Elysia could so easily use Durandal's phone to like and comment!
After all, in this mobile age, phones had basically become one's most important private domain. Some couples didn't even have permission to check each other's phones.
And now, this comment clearly written by Elysia, posted from Durandal's social account, didn't it just prove that the trust between these two surpassed that of many married couples?
One could only say, when it came to shipping the leader and deputy leader of her own organization, Connie was absolutely a professional!
Of course, Elysia didn't stop there.
She tapped into the photo, saved the original, then entered the gallery—which only contained this one picture—and set it as both the wallpaper and lock screen, replacing the default system image.
Durandal: "..."
"All done!"
After completing her mission, Elysia very 'thoughtfully' slipped the phone back into Durandal's handbag.
Durandal couldn't hold back. "You set my wallpaper. What about your own phone?"
"Ah, I almost forgot!"
Elysia rose slightly on her toes and patted Durandal's head. "So good~ Glad you reminded me!"
Thus, Elysia quickly set the same photo as her own wallpaper and lock screen.
Durandal: "..."
That wasn't really what she'd meant...
At first, she'd thought Elysia was just teasing her by only making changes to her phone.
She hadn't expected Elysia to be serious, changing her own as well after the reminder.
Now, Durandal truly didn't know how to react.
"Fine. As long as you're happy."
Life isn't easy, sighed the silly goose.
And so, Durandal spent the rest of the day eating and drinking with Elysia, until they finally returned to Room 8 of the Lodge around two in the afternoon.
"Next up should be making the beds, right?"
Elysia said, looking at the tatami mats in the room and the two sets of bedding in the nearby closet.
"Here, this set is yours!"
Elysia casually picked one set and tossed it to Durandal, then hugged the other and started bustling about on the tatami.
Busy with her task, Elysia completely failed to notice that behind her, Durandal was holding her bedding with a look of utter confusion.
When it came to folding quilts, putting on duvet covers, or washing bedding, Durandal, having once been a female university student who lived in a dorm, was naturally familiar.
She wasn't like the 'pure' Durandal, whose daily life was basically taken care of by Rita, her aide-de-camp who doubled as a personal maid.
But she had never slept on tatami mats before and had no idea how to set them up.
Fortunately, Durandal wasn't slow on the uptake.
Quickly catching on, she carefully observed how Elysia was doing it from the side and began to imitate her.
However, with zero experience, her movements were inevitably a bit clumsy.
So, by the time Elysia had finished her side, Durandal was only about one-third done with hers.
Moreover, her bedding was somewhat messy, with one corner straying over to Elysia's side.
Just then, Elysia, having finished her bed, stood up and accidentally stepped on that stray corner.
Sensing something odd underfoot, Elysia started to move her foot, but Durandal, completely unaware of the trapped corner, gave the bedding a sharp tug.
A surprised gasp followed as Elysia lost her balance, wobbled, and fell sideways backward.
Hearing Elysia's gasp, Durandal realized what was happening and reacted instantly.
Getting up now to pull Elysia to her feet would be too late.
So, Durandal could only twist her body and extend an arm, placing it where Elysia's head was about to land to prevent it from hitting the floor directly.
"Elysia, are you okay?"
Durandal shifted slightly, looking down at Elysia with concern.
However, Durandal soon noticed the awkwardness of their current position.
One of her arms was now pillowing Elysia's head, and as she had turned to check on her, she'd placed her other hand beside Elysia's head to avoid pressing down on her, ending up in a sort of hovering position above her.
Especially now, with Elysia gazing intently up at her, Durandal's expression stiffened slightly. She quickly tried to withdraw her arm from behind Elysia's head and get up.
But just then, a faint blush coloring her cheeks, Elysia flashed a breathtakingly beautiful smile—one that could make hearts swoon—leaving even Durandal stunned for a split second.
Seizing that momentary gap, Elysia raised both hands, looped them around Durandal's neck, pulled her down while simultaneously lifting her own head slightly...
--+--