Chapter 27: Do You Like a Queen Who Seems Cold but Is Actually Kind?
It felt as though all the heat and excitement were draining out of my body, my lower half cooling down little by little. My legs, which had been trembling pleasantly, still quivered faintly as the muscles that had seized up during that last spasm ached and throbbed. Between the coolness and the ache, goosebumps seemed to race up and down everything from the waist down.
Because of that shifting sensation, my cock and everything around it—still burning hot—came into sharper focus. Maybe it was the intensity of my ejaculation, but my half-hard cock felt faintly sore. Yet it was so drenched and slick that the small pain didn't matter at all; it shivered and quivered with lingering pleasure.
"Haaaah.... haah..."
I breathed through a woozy, floating haze, and all the while Queen Anaris—no, Queen Anaris, I supposed, now that I thought of her that way—still held me aloft in her arms.
Pat... pat...
Without my noticing, a little strength returned to my trembling legs. Curling the toes of both feet, I clenched my legs, trying to stop the shaking.
Shudder...! Splat.
The half-tensed legs gave one long, small shudder, and the last of my seed spattered out from my bowed cock. Then a faint residual warmth traveled up my freshly stilled body—starting from my toes, tracing along my thighs and the shaft of my cock, all the way to my chest.
"Mmh...!"
I had been staring blankly upward at some point; I bowed my head forward, trying to see Queen Anaris's face. She, her tongue having slipped out of my mouth, was looking down. In the direction of her gaze hung my cock, its erection finally gone soft and limp.
"No light, then."
Ah... right... that's what this was for.
My mind, gathering itself in scattered patches, managed the thought. This had all been, after all, a test of a hypothesis.
"So another method is needed, then?"
Anaris said this as she lowered me to the floor. Then, folding one arm across her chest and resting her chin on her other hand, she sank into thought. The moment my body touched the ground, I collapsed right there, my legs giving out beneath me.
Looking up at her from where I sat, I found her terrifyingly beautiful—every inch the word queen. Of course, technically she was the queen consort. But somewhere along the way, I had already come to think of her as the Queen, plain and simple.
Here and there across her dress, my cum and her own arousal had spattered in scattered flecks. Yet her grave, serious bearing stood in such stark contrast to that lewd state of hers that it struck me as strangely mysterious.
"You can still manage more, can't you? There are still methods we haven't tried."
Wha...?
We're doing more? Then... like before... something incredible like before...!
"Aiya, I told you, no~!" "Unhand me at once! I must remain at the Hero's side!" "Please compose yourself!"
I felt the commotion outside swell. The three voices, which had been so quiet before, now rang out clearly.
"Fresia! Hold her back properly!" "I am holding her~" "Let go of me, I say!"
I could feel the three voices drawing closer and closer. Any second now, I thought, they might fling the door open and barge in.
Is this how it ends...? But there's still something even greater coming...
Something even greater... that I could still receive...
"Clean yourself up."
While I stood staring at the door, lost in those thoughts, Anaris was holding out a towel to me.
My condition was an absolute disaster. My face, melted to mush by that deep kiss, had drool smeared around my mouth, and from my waist down to my legs I was a sticky mess of sweat and cum. I absolutely could not let the three of them see me like this.
"Hero! Heeerooo!"
Creak!
The door burst open, wrenched wide by Valeri. Harsh sunlight flooded into the hut, and through it the three of them came into view. Histira stood behind, stamping her feet in agitation, while Fresia, who had been clinging to Valeri's waist in an attempt to restrain her, now hung there limp as a wet rag. And in front of them all was Valeri, wearing a face so anxious that mere looking at it made the unease palpable.
"Heeerooo..."
"Ahaha. Valeri, really~ I'm perfectly fine~"
Standing beside Queen Anaris, who had seated herself back in her chair, I flashed Valeri an awkward smile. I'd tried to play it cool, to act as if nothing had happened, but the result was a tone so stiff even I could hear how unnatural it was.
Thankfully, before Valeri entered, both Queen Anaris and I had managed to erase the evidence. That was only possible because what I was wearing was a skirt. If it had been pants, in that one instant I would have bared my ass to all three of them.
"And who said you could open a door without knocking?"
Queen Anaris said it in her usual frosty tone. It was, in fact, just her normal way of speaking—but that tone itself sounded angry enough.
"F-forgive me! I was worried about the Hero, and I—! I am truly sorry."
Valeri snapped to attention in a fluster, then bowed at the waist over and over in apology. At the violence of those movements, Fresia, who had been dangling from her waist, swayed wildly before finally dropping to her feet.
"Honestly~ we tried our best to stop her." "Mother, I am so terribly sorry...! I should have been the one to hold her back!"
"No, we'd already finished our business. It's fine."
At the Queen's words, Histira fidgeted in place, standing there awkwardly, while Fresia broke into a bright, beaming smile.
"Really? Oh, thank goodness! Whew, the door was only shut for a little while, and the whole place reeks of medicine~"
Fresia pulled back the curtain and moved to open the window. Histira moved to stop her, but at the Queen's word that it was fine, the window swung wide open.
"Please forgive us... for such rudeness toward the Queen!"
"Your apology is accepted, so there's no need for more. Consider it merely a warning to mind your manners on future visits."
"Yes! Thank you—
...our future visits, you say?"
Future visits?
Valeri and I both stared at her, blinking in confusion.
"That's right. There are still things I'd like to attempt regarding the Holy Sword's power. I don't myself believe that the power can be transferred from your body into the blade... but at the very least, I can certify that what resides in your body truly is the Holy Sword's power. If there's an official document bearing my certification, you won't have to explain that embarrassing little incident, one by one, to everyone you meet, now will you?"
"Now that you mention it—!" "If you would do so much, we would be deeply grateful!"
Her words jolted me fully awake. She was the queen consort of an entire nation and a masterful mage. The elves had even presided over the prayers of the Holy Sword ritual, so Zortia, as a friendly kingdom, would surely accept her certification. And then, just as she said, I'd never need to dredge up my shameful past ever again.
"For today, that will be all—go on back. We'll continue the experiments on the Holy Sword's power later.
Histira?"
"Yes, Mother!"
"Please help these two settle in as guests so they can stay for a few days. Would you do that for me?"
"O-of course! Mother!"
"Good. ...Thank you as always, Histira."
"Eh...? N-no, not at all! Ohohoho~ it is only natural, after all~"
At the Queen's final words, Histira flushed red, squirming and twisting where she stood. Then, wearing an expression of pure embarrassment, she stepped out of the hut, turning her back to us and fidgeting with her hair.
"Fresia, it's been so long since you've been home. Stop by your room, pick up anything you left behind."
"My things? Ohh! That's right! I've got to go check!"
Suddenly electrified, Fresia grabbed Histira by the shoulders where she stood in the doorway and swayed her back and forth in a little celebratory dance.
"Thank you once again for your consideration!"
Valeri bowed her head to Queen Anaris once more in gratitude. That thanks should have come from me, of course, but the unreal, electrifying situation from moments ago still swirled through my head, and my mouth could only stammeruselessly.
"Th-thank you! We're in your care!"
In my care for what, exactly? I don't even know what I'm saying...!
Right, this is thanks for the certification of the Holy Sword's power! Absolutely nothing else!
Having offered my greeting, I turned toward the door, and seeing that, Valeri turned to follow Fresia and Histira.
"One moment, Hero. There's something more I need to say to you."
Before I could take my second step, Queen Anaris called me back.
"Yes?"
When I turned around, she was beckoning me closer with a small gesture of her hand. I glanced at Valeri once more. She had stepped outside and was busy trying to peel Fresia—now dancing with Histira—away from her. Taking advantage of the moment, I approached Queen Anaris.
When I stood beside her, she leaned down and brought her face close to my ear.
"Hah...!"
Her breath drew out of me a voice so embarrassingly cute I could have died. The afterglow still smoldering in my body seemed to react to her every exhale.
"There's something I wanted to tell you in private. That's why I called you back."
She whispered softly into my ear. A strange anticipation bloomed in me, and I began to squirm, little by little.
What is it...? That thing... the even greater thing...?
"First—rest assured. The scream you let out just now wouldn't have carried beyond this hut, thanks to my magic."
My... scream?
AAAAH! Now that she mentions it! I was screaming at the top of my lungs, wasn't I!
And—and I made that pathetic declaration, too... the whole masochist thing...!
Having been nursing hope mere seconds ago, I now writhed inwardly in shame.
"And also..."
I suppressed the indecent anticipation threatening to lift my head again at her next words.
"I apologize for the things I said earlier. I spoke that way only because arousing you was necessary for the experiment. I had no intention of demeaning you."
"Oh!"
So it was just abuse after all.
But she even went out of her way to apologize for it... The way she spoke to Histira earlier, and how she treats Fresia—she seems cold, but there's a delicate kindness underneath.
Though... I... I'm afraid I enjoyed it far too much to be deserving of any apology...
"Ahaha! I figured as much, of course? Ehehe, I knew you were joking the whole time."
Scratching my head in embarrassment, I babbled out my excuse.
"The arrest thing was a joke too, right? Ahaha!"
"No. That part was entirely serious."
THAT WAS A REAL THREAT!!