Just Dropping My Head Like a Sinner
Just Dropping My Head Like a Sinner
Kylon didn't seem to be in a good mood in the morning, but I didn't care.
Since the Heroines were scattered everywhere, it was difficult for them to talk to me about such matters, so I was able to endure it relatively easily.
Mixed among the Heroines, I just stayed quiet, and even if I heard something, I'd just let it be, living like an invisible person.
Being an invisible person, perhaps that was seen as a good thing by the Heroines, because the suspicious glances directed at me decreased, and furthermore, the looks aimed at me softened a little.
The tense atmosphere stopped being directed at me, and furthermore, their own power struggles among themselves also eased a bit.
Right, it seemed the problem was that because I was mixed in there, they were wary of more people joining, thinking, 'Could it be her too? And her too?' constantly suspecting and trying to push me away.
Still, I thought it was fortunate that Flora had stepped back for now, and it had become a small power struggle between Linda and Agnes, improving the party's atmosphere.
As the sun began to set, we returned to the first village, and the feeling of finally having arrived allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief.
"...We can rest here for now, but we'll only stay one day and then head straight to the next village."
"Understood!"
Linda nodded at Kylon's brief plan, and Agnes, who had been staring blankly, looked around and opened her mouth.
"Then today..."
I knew she wanted to say something, but perhaps she was too embarrassed to say more in a crowded place, so she trailed off mid-sentence.
Of course. Once you get a taste, it's quick.
Thinking that, I gave a dry laugh and looked around the bustling village.
In this world where adventurers exist, all the markets and inns bustled from morning till night.
Perhaps it was because they often departed in the morning and returned at night.
It wasn't certain, but since supply exists because there's demand, I just assumed that was the case.
Flora, seeing Linda and Agnes, sighed and mumbled, half-resigned.
"So the inn..."
"Two double rooms..."
Kylon, seemingly intending to do the same as before, held up two fingers, but Linda and Agnes shook their heads.
"No!"
"How about a triple room?"
It seemed they didn't like the idea of the other taking Kylon's side. It also looked like they were worried about not being chosen if options were given.
That makes sense.
Even though they had been intimate with Kylon, they hadn't truly exchanged hearts, so neither Linda nor Agnes, nor anyone else, could claim to truly possess him.
If a little more time had passed, they would have insisted on a double room to solidify their position as the Legal Wife or Concubine, but since neither of them was certain yet, they were acting like this.
Thinking 'whatever,' I didn't care if I slept with Flora or did anything else, so I just nodded indifferently.
Flora also seemed to have no immediate desire to get involved, as she too wore a nonchalant expression, as if saying 'whatever'.
After entering the inn, renting a room, and finishing their meal, Kylon glanced at Linda and Agnes.
Since he had rented a triple room, he must have been planning to sleep with both of them.
"Linda, Agnes."
"Hm?"
"What is it?"
"Do you want to go wash up? I think the feeling of having washed is better than just using magic."
Kylon said it slyly, but there was a point to his words.
Because the feeling of truly rinsing one's body with water to make it clean was much more impactful than the feeling of 'I'm clean with magic!'
Perhaps because of that, Linda and Agnes, far from complaining or being dissatisfied with Kylon's words, nodded with bright expressions, as if welcoming the idea.
"Okay, we'll go wash up!"
"...It's been a long time since I've had a proper wash."
For three days, instead of getting their bodies wet while camping, they had only used Clean Magic to clean themselves. The two of them left their seats as if delighted, and Flora, seeing this, closed her eyes tightly and stood up.
"Flora too?"
"Why? Are you going to peek?"
"Ahaha, of course not."
As even Flora left, Kylon gave a dry laugh and let her go.
Thus, only Kylon and I remained in that spot, and I stared blankly at Flora's retreating back.
Oh, wait a minute. This is the situation I wanted to avoid the most.
Caught off guard by the sudden situation, I, flustered, tried to quickly resolve it, calming my burning insides and carefully rising from my chair.
"...Then I should go wash up too."
No, to be precise, I tried to get up. But Kylon looked at me and spoke coldly.
"Where are you going? Sit down."
Although some attention from nearby was faintly directed our way, everyone kept a certain distance, so no one heard Kylon's voice.
In the first place, since he was the Hero and I was his companion, there would be no one to say anything even if he was caught speaking informally, so there was no problem at all.
"But I feel sticky..."
"I'll use Clean Magic for you. Sit down."
"I'm craving water too."
"...I'm not joking."
Kylon's chilling voice left me no choice but to give a deep sigh and plop back down into the seat I had tried to leave.
Kylon then glared at me fiercely, picked up the teacup in front of him, and took a sip.
Damn it, I'm scared of what he's going to say.
After throwing a tantrum last night about not going, and not exchanging a single word all day today, finding myself alone with Kylon felt truly awkward.
How did it come to this? I stayed put because I thought Linda and Agnes would keep me in check again if I said I was going to wash up with them, but now that even Flora had left, I couldn't help but feel that she was truly heartless.
If she was going, she could have at least asked if I wanted to go too.
The moment the teacup clinked onto the saucer, my disgruntled thoughts scattered, and Kylon's lips twisted.
"Why didn't you come yesterday when I told you to?"
"...Because I didn't want to go..."
"I told you I'd let go of my anger about what you hid from me if you did that, so why not?"
The moment his voice rose, I noticed people's gazes slowly gathering.
And as if Kylon also felt those gazes, he clicked his tongue softly and abruptly stood up.
"Follow me."
"......"
"What are you doing? Follow me."
"...Understood."
I replied softly, and in the end, feeling exactly like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse, I followed him into the room we had rented earlier.
The place he entered was a double room.
It was where Flora and I were supposed to sleep.
But Kylon, unconcerned, entered and then simply stared at me.
"...Why didn't you want to come?"
The conversation had entered an extension of that earlier Q&A, and as Kylon opened his mouth, I, intimidated by the atmosphere, fidgeted like a criminal undergoing interrogation.
"If I stay with you for a long time at night, the girls will misunderstand."
"...What does that matter?"
.......
I wanted to ask, 'Are you really that clueless?', but when I actually thought about it, I wondered if I should even say such a thing, so my mouth automatically closed.
It's uncomfortable because they don't drop their suspicious glances, they keep approaching me with sharp looks, they show an atmosphere of discomfort, and finally, they display wariness and hostility.
If I say that, will everything truly end properly?
Humans were two-faced beings.
They tried to show only their good side to people they liked and were interested in, but they didn't show that side to others, and sometimes, they wouldn't even put on the slightest pretense.
After all, people reveal different aspects depending on who they're trying to please, so perhaps it was a natural phenomenon.
Looking at it that way, the Heroines could truly be called human-like figures.
So, if I told Kylon that, would things go well?
That wasn't the case either.
If I told him that the Heroines he had to embrace had such a hidden side, it might implant a negative image of them.
Or maybe not? Since they were children who fawned over him anyway, perhaps it was natural for him not to care whether they acted differently towards others besides him.
I don't know.
Anyway, my subjective thought that I shouldn't easily say such things flashed intensely, so I groaned and then opened my mouth.
"Now that I've just gotten girls I need to take responsibility for, I don't want to instill any anxiety in them."
I tried to persuade him with a plausible excuse.
This would clearly be an opportunity to justify my actions without damaging Linda's or Agnes's image.
However, Kylon looked at me indifferently despite hearing my words.
"So what? Who's saying anything to you? It's not even like that, so why are you backing out first?"
Yes, they are saying something.
Seeing Kylon's mood, the thought began to creep in that if I told him this now, he might get angry.
In the end, I was relieved that the thought 'I shouldn't give him a bad impression of them' came first.
Because if I had said something like that and Kylon lost affection for Linda or Agnes, it would be no different from them being stripped of their Heroine status.
"Who's saying anything?"
At Kylon's questioning words, I bit my lip tightly, bowed my head deeply, and then shook it.
"Ah, no... that's not it..."
"...The condition was that I wouldn't get angry if you listened to me. But if you just ignored my words based on your own judgment, what am I supposed to say to you?"
Indeed.
After beating around the bush, trying to 'take care of the Heroines,' I've somehow fallen under a spell that turned me into a complete piece of trash.
It felt like the path was too blocked to suddenly come out and say, 'No! They were the ones who said something to me first!'
Even if he were to listen to those words, I had a feeling it would mess up this situation so badly that I wouldn't be able to go home.
In the end, I could only groan and lower my head like a criminal.