Chapter 125: To the Mansion (2)
Chapter 125: To the Mansion (2)
“Mmm… back in my day….”
Iris was talking in her sleep, wearing a strangely sorrowful expression. I wondered what kind of dream she was having.
Tsk.
If you sleep in a place like this, you’ll catch a chill and wake up with a crooked face.
No matter how many blankets we laid out, it didn't change the fact that the workshop floor was cold.
Should I wake her up? No, she’s sound asleep; maybe I should just leave her be? If I’m going to let her sleep, it would be better to move her to the bedroom….
While I was weighing my options, Elisha covered her mouth, her eyes welling up with emotion.
“Master… how did it come to this…?”
“What are you so surprised about? She’s probably just taking a break because she got tired while working.”
“B-but I’ve never seen Master sleep face-down on the floor just because she was tired! More importantly, look at Master’s expression! What kind of dream is she having that she’s even shedding tears…?”
Elisha stomped her feet in distress.
Perhaps the vibration was bothersome, as Iris frowned and flailed her arms.
“Ugh… monster….”
“I’m… a monster?”
Elisha staggered back, looking utterly devastated.
“No, it’s just sleep-talking. Don’t get hurt over something like that. Anyway, move aside. I’m going to carry Iris to the bedroom.”
Deciding it was better to let her sleep in a proper bed, I lifted Iris up, blanket and all.
“Heave-ho.”
Maybe it was because she was so small, but she wasn't heavy at all. She fit perfectly in my arms.
Thinking she looked a bit like a baby wrapped in a swaddle, I started to head up the stairs.
“Mmm… uuuugh….”
Was it because we were being too loud? Or did she feel the shift in gravity when I picked her up?
Iris squirmed inside the blanket for a moment before slowly fluttering her eyes open.
“Yaaaawn….”
Her delicate eyelashes lifted, revealing eyes like blue jewels that had been hidden beneath her lids.
“…Eh?”
She seemed dazed, her focus not quite returning yet since she had just woken up.
“Are you awake?”
“Master?”
“I didn't mean to wake you… do you want to sleep more? It’s fine since we’re planning to stay at the mansion until tomorrow anyway.”
“W-wait a moment. If Master is here, then the others….”
With a bleary-eyed expression, Iris hurriedly scanned her surroundings.
Only after confirming the faces of Carla, Elisha, and Fay—whom she was meeting for the first time—did she slowly look down at her own body.
Currently, Iris was wrapped in the blanket like a baby in a swaddle.
“Ah.”
As she grasped the situation, Iris’s cheeks began to flush a deep crimson.
Well, I suppose it is a bit embarrassing. Not only was she caught sleeping, but the current posture was… well, what it was.
Above all, didn't Iris have a bit of a complex about her petite, underdeveloped body?
Iris froze like a statue for a moment, but soon took a deep breath with a look of grim determination.
“Hup!”
Then, like a turtle retreating into its shell, Iris tucked her arms, legs, and face deep into the blanket.
From inside the now-lumpy mass of fabric, a faint snoring sound drifted out.
“Zzzzz… phew…”
“……”
“……”
“……”
It was an awkward sound that clearly came from her mouth, not her nose.
Everyone present looked at each other and nodded silently.
Yeah. Let’s just pretend we didn't see that.
*
The place we headed, while I carried the bundle of blankets, was the drawing room.
Even if we were pretending not to notice Iris’s antics from earlier, it felt wrong to just wait for her to "wake up" when she was clearly conscious.
After telling Famila, the mother of the elf family, to bring out some light refreshments, I placed my hand firmly on the blanket bundle on my lap.
Twitch.
Did she sense what was coming? The flinch felt through the blanket was quite pitiful.
Of course, that didn't mean I was going to stop.
Swish!
With a swift movement, I unrolled the blanket.
“Eek… eeeeek!”
Iris made little squeaking noises from inside and tried to resist… but it was a futile struggle.
By now, my Strength stat was 14. Considering the level cap was 30, that wasn't a low number at all.
I was probably around the level of a well-trained ordinary person.
In any case, unless she used magic, her slender arms were no match for my physical strength.
And indeed, the blanket was being stripped away quite helplessly.
As I got the blanket halfway off, Iris suddenly went still. Thinking she had given up, I pulled the rest away.
Suuu… haaa…
Iris lay there limp, breathing rhythmically as if she were in a deep, peaceful slumber.
“Aha? So you’re changing tactics?”
“Ya-Yandel! What do you mean, tactics? Are you suggesting that Master is pretending to sleep because she’s embarrassed about being caught sleeping face-down on the floor while talking in her sleep, and losing her dignity as the eldest?! There’s no way! She’s not a child!”
“……”
Elisha seemed to be trying to save her master’s face as a loyal disciple, but….
“You’re the worst one here.”
“Me?!”
Yeah. You’re not shielding her; you’re bashing her with the shield.
“Kh…!”
See? Even though she wasn't sleep-talking, Iris’s eyes were squeezed shut, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears.
Iris curled up like a shrimp on my lap, her body trembling slightly.
I carefully extended my index finger toward her.
Poke.
“Iris, wake up.”
“Uuuugh.”
A small groan escaped her. Her cheek yielded to my finger like I was pressing down on the finest pudding.
How could a person’s cheek be this soft?
After poking her a couple more times to fully enjoy the sensation, I slid my finger to the side.
My target was the nape of her neck.
Tickle, tickle.
“…Hee!”
As I gently scratched her with the tip of my finger, the corners of Iris’s mouth twitched. However, she still showed no sign of waking up.
…At this point, I was starting to get a bit stubborn myself.
“Still not waking up? Take this, and this!”
“Hic! Hehe! Huaaa….”
Despite squirming here and there following the movements of my fingers, Iris stubbornly kept her eyes shut.
Had she missed the timing to wake up, or had she decided to commit to the act until the very end?
Either way, it was clear that mere tickling wouldn't be enough to wake her.
Feeling the silky texture of her neck, I let out a deep sigh.
“Iris. I’ll ask one last time. Are you really not going to wake up?”
“Mmm… mnya….”
Iris avoided answering by mumbling awkwardly as if she were sleep-talking.
“I guess I have no choice. I didn't want to go this far.”
I slowly slid my fingertips up from the nape of her neck.
Neck, jawline, lips, cheeks, and finally, her ears.
“?!”
Just by placing my hand there, Iris began to tremble violently.
Even among elves, who already have keen senses, Iris’s ears were exceptionally sensitive.
It was obvious what would happen if I launched a full-scale assault on her ears.
Just as I was about to apply a bit of pressure and caress her cartilage—
“S-stop! Stop, Master! I’m awake! I’ll wake up! Didn't you say you had someone to introduce today?! Please, just not the ears…!”
Iris snapped her eyes open and shook her head frantically.
Her voice sounded quite desperate. However.
“Too late. Hand over those ears!”
“Hieeeeek!”
Squeeze, knead.
It didn't take long for Iris to melt into a puddle of mush.
*
“That was too much! That was really too much, Master!”
“Isn't the one who’s too much the Iris who was practically begging to be teased with her whole body?”
“I never did that!”
“How am I supposed to resist teasing someone who’s gritting their teeth while pretending to sleep?”
“Master… you are not a child; surely you can endure that much.”
“Compared to you, Iris, aren't I basically a child?”
“Guh…!”
Unable to find a retort, Iris shifted her hips restlessly to express her discontent.
Since the Slave Imprint prevented her from actually bickering or fighting back, this was the maximum amount of rebellion she could muster, but….
Did Iris know? Since she was still sitting on my lap, her soft bottom was constantly stimulating my lower half.
I wanted to just head straight to the bedroom like this, but we hadn't even properly introduced her to Fay, which was the main goal for today.
I wrapped my arm around Iris’s waist as she bounced around and fixed her in place by pressing my chin firmly onto the top of her small head.
Then, I smiled brightly and asked Fay.
“What do you think, Senior Fay? You see now that Iris isn't a difficult person, right?”
“Uh, yeah… she’s actually quite cute.”
Fay nodded awkwardly. At that reaction, Iris let out a groan and whispered.
“Uuuugh… Master. I’ll stay still now, so please let me go.”
“Alright.”
When I released her, Iris let out a long sigh and straightened her posture.
“Phew. First of all, it has been a while, disciple. And Lady Lindelheit as well.”
Elisha and Carla responded with light bows.
Next, Iris’s gaze naturally turned toward Fay.
“It is a pleasure. I am Iris Sylvan Banatis. If it makes you uncomfortable to be addressed informally by a slave, I apologize. However, since I speak this way even to my Master, please understand that I cannot use honorifics with others.”
“I-it’s fine. You are much older than me, Iris… and more importantly, since you are so close with my junior… the charge of spirit summoning must have been a false accusation, right…?”
Though she stuttered a bit, Fay showed as much goodwill as she could.
It was heartwarming to see her trying so hard to get along.
Heavens. To think Fay’s social skills had improved this much.
However, Iris, the party in question, bit her lip awkwardly.
“……”
“Um… Lady Iris?”
“……”
Now she was even subtly averting her gaze.
It was only natural. After all, it was a fact that Iris had tried to summon a spirit.
It only ended in an attempt, but she had been right on the verge of actually doing it.
Sensing that something was wrong, Fay asked in a trembling voice.
“It was… a false charge, right?”
Unable to hold out any longer, Iris turned to me for help.
“M-Master. Help me….”
But in a way, this was no different from admitting her guilt.
Scritch—!
“Hieee!”
Fay noisily pushed her chair back to create some distance.
In the face of such blatant wariness, the only thing Iris could do was…
“Hing.”
…make a tearful face.