15. Hissatsu Waza (Finisher): The Art of Sexual Harassment, Regarding When Your Boss Strokes Your Tail.
Right after I changed into the outfit with my tail exposed, the one the seamstress had mended for me, Lily's tiny hand—quintessential of a little girl's—began stroking my tail.
"Uhehe~..."
"Ugh...!"
Ah, so this is it. The coercive sexual harassment driven by authority, the kind those pathetically age-wasted office bosses are always accused of committing... Sexual Harassment.
The one groping my butt—no, my tail—is at least not some balding old creep, but a pink-haired beauty. Guess that's my consolation prize?
But that girl's hand... it wasn't the soft, pudgy feel you'd expect from someone her age. It was the tough, calloused palm of a seasoned swordswoman, etched with the scars of battle.
It hit me anew, made me remember: Lily here was one of the top powerhouses in this world, the game world of Souls of Bravery.
"Hah... ugh."
Thankfully, thanks to someone fiddling with my brain circuits, no shame welled up... but that aside, with my tail being stroked nonstop, some strange pleasure kept crawling up my spine straight to my brain.
Ah, so that's why the Ninja's Book, Kunoichi Chapter: Section 1, The Honey Trap said to grab the tail first if you want to seduce a beastkin...
When beastkin mate, entwining their tails supposedly doubles the ecstasy or whatever...
I only know this useless trivia because Kasumi—that damn auntie—shoved every random scrap from every book into my head under the guise of "ninja training."
It's all her fault. The root of all evil...
"Uhek... hi, hii... Ah, ugh...!"
D-dangerous... some ecstatic rush is surging in, making my fingers curl up... toes clenching too...!
I don't... feel like myself, head's not working right... body feels all floaty...
...?
Suddenly, the stroking hand stopped.
What the—why'd you stop?
"S-sorry... um, that... tail thing. Sensitive spot, right?"
"Uh...? Y-yeah?"
"No... just, your reactions seemed kinda intense."
Reactions? Oh... yeah. The unbearable pleasure had moans leaking out nonstop... and on top of that, from the ecstasy, blood rushed to my head, a faint heat blooming. My face was probably flushed beet red.
......
"Ah, w-wait... th-that's n-not...!"
"Eh...? Um, sorry? Didn't realize... shoulda been more careful."
"No, not that—not that at all...!!"
Something was off... I shouldn't feel any shame, but my head drooped to the floor... tears welling up in my eyes, dripping down.
What... tears? Why am I...?
"E-eh, um... s-sis is sorry?"
Sniff.
Weird. My mind was endlessly cheerful, refreshed even... but my body, my head—they weren't listening. All I could do was keep wiping tears in Lily's embrace as she held me tight and patted my back, murmuring apologies.
Damn it, this won't do... Once this job's done and I'm back north, I gotta have that wretched Kasumi mess with my head again. These feelings I shouldn't have keep leaking out into my actions!
###
"I'm really sorry! I had no idea a beastkin's tail was such a... spot!"
"I-it's f-fine..."
Lily kept bowing her head, apologizing profusely. She really seemed clueless about what she'd done.
Hmm... but meanwhile, vicious glares kept shooting at me from behind her.
How dare that furry half-beast savage make our princess bow?!—that kind of murderous intent, laced with rage.
Damn, staring like they wanna beat me to death... Fine, try it if you dare. You'll be the ones buried six feet under.
"Instead, lemme do something nice for you!"
"......"
Outta nowhere, Lily hits me with this totally untrustworthy line about doing "something nice."
She'd already gifted me tail-stroking sexual harassment—what's next? Breasts maybe...?
Not shameful at all...! But for some reason, I really wanted to pass.
Still, refusing her invitation here might make her ignore me from now on. To kill her for sure, I need to seduce her with a honey trap, drop her guard...
...Ah, I get it perfectly now. That's why all those office ladies endure workplace harassment—they just grit their teeth and bear it! Faced the uncomfortable truth!
Tsk, no helping it. For the mission... I'll endure. Do whatever, Lily Claudia! Stroke my tail, grope my tits! Kiss me, th-that... even more...! And in return, I'll definitely take your life!
I nodded in quick assent.
Then Lily plopped down on the edge of the office sofa and started patting her thigh.
"C'mere!"
"...Pardon?"
"C'MERE!!!"
...What, just a lap pillow?
Relieved, I started toward her—when suddenly, passionate shouts erupted from the other retainers and guards in the office.
"Princess!! No, you mustn't! Please reconsider!"
"Th-that wanton furry beast dares to... on our precious lady...!!!"
"A lap pillow...! I've never even gotten one...!!"
"Wha—Jeremy! You swore loyalty, yet harbored such lewd thoughts for the lady?!"
"Ah, slip of the tongue!! No, that's not—!! Stop! S-stop hitting!!!"
It turned into total market chaos, and one knight suddenly started getting pummeled.
What the hell, some kinda comedy skit?
"Eeei, shut up! If you're gonna interrupt, all of you—out of the office!"
"But there's a mountain of work left—how can you sit on the sofa and rest?!"
"I can do work from the sofa—the desk's right there!"
"With that filthy beast girl's head in your lap?! Please uphold the princess's dignity!"
"Hey."
Lily's face twisted in annoyance as she ramped up her aura.
And then—it was a rerun of that first meeting. Her aura crushed and intimidated everyone in the room except me and herself.
"You serve me, or I serve you? Can't you moderate a little?"
"Kuh...!"
"And from today on... no more 'furry beast,' 'half-beast,' 'savage'—any hate-filled words for her. That's an instant firing... and get ready for a gauntlet thrown in your face, got it?!!"
"Y-yes......"
"Then get out—now!"
To the angry roar of this mansion's—this land's—mistress... the moment her aura pressure lifted, everyone bolted like scared rabbits.
By the way, "throwing down the gauntlet"—isn't that a duel declaration? Why go so far for me...?
"Why protect me like that?"
"Told you—can't let you get used to words like that..."
Lily sat back on the sofa and patted her thigh again.
I laid my head on Lily's lap as a pillow.
A lap pillow, huh... I'd given them to others before, but someone doing it for me? First time in my life.
The sweet, alluring body scent wafting from Lily... the soft, warm hand stroking my hair and ears.
My body started to go all limp and drowsy.
"Ufufu, first lap pillow ever?"
"Yeah... I've given 'em, but never gotten one."
The stroking suddenly stopped. Wondering what was up, I looked up to see Lily pouting hard.
"Ahh, so you've given one to someone else... not me."
"...Um, well..."
"Who was it?"
"...A girl I liked. A girl."
"Uuu, jealous...!"
"Jealous...? It's fine. She's dead anyway."
At my words, Lily didn't reply right away. A brief silence fell... then she responded to my careless slip.
"Hey, you can't say 'it's fine' after 'someone died'..."
"......"
"You were super sad when she died, right?"
"Yes..."
"So you can't say 'it's fine.'"
Yes, huh. Even I knew it was an ugly, blatant lie. Sad about what? Brainwashed or not, I was the one who slashed her in a murder-lust frenzy and cackled with glee.
And even now, terrified of the tidal wave of guilt if the brainwashing breaks—I'm the one who can't snap the chain, craving that pleasure again.
Lies. All of it—saying I was sad she died. Pure crimson lies.
Whether she saw through me or not, Lily's fingers resumed gently stroking my hair, as if to soothe.
Huu... shouldn't feel this good... strength draining from my body, eyes growing heavy.
So damn sleepy... what a tired shell this body is.
"Can I ask one thing?"
"Mm......yes."
"Chloe—that's a fake name, right?"
"......"
"Figured it out when you revealed you're a beastkin. It's an imperial name. Not something you'd hear up north."
"......"
"Hey, what's your real name?"
My real name... what is my real name?
The one from my past life, buried with that 20-something man's death? Or the bloodstained one that girl gave me—as the Shinigami, as a ninja?
Dunno... no clue what to say.
In my heavy eyelids, I hesitated... couldn't voice any truth.
So I uttered the name of the one girl filling my thoughts most—the lie on my lips.
"Nazuna..."
"I see."
And so I... with that gentle voice saying, 'Sleep well, Nazuna.'—let my consciousness sink into the dream world.