Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: The Dress
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After my private audience with the emperor, I was guided to the state guest chambers. Though, since Chris was with me, I guess it wasn't exactly a private audience, was it?
It was a place filled with far more ornate and extravagant furniture than the waiting room where we had all gathered before entering the audience chamber. I could clearly tell it was meant for treating state guests, like kings from other nations visiting the empire.
"A sudden headhunting offer? Is this adventure story drifting into a kingdom-building one? Still, he offered you a title and a domain. Isn't that a good thing? Money would follow, too...! So, Rain, why did you turn it down?"
"Hmm...?"
Seeing Chris's eyes sparkle, I tilted my head in confusion.
In truth, ever since the meeting with the emperor, I had been cautiously watching Chris.
First with Igraine, and now with the emperor's reaction. One by one, connections between this continent and me were being revealed.
And Chris was always there for it.
Chris.
Can you really accept all of this without any suspicion?
Chris, who had been all smiles, suddenly grew angry.
"But I can't forgive him for ki-kissing Rain's hand! If he weren't the emperor, I would've slit his throat on the spot...!"
"Chris... we're still in the imperial palace, you know...? And a kiss on the hand is just a formal greeting to show respect, right?"
"Waaah! I haven't even gotten to do that yet!"
Chris suddenly started sobbing her heart out.
"Uh, umm."
If I keep talking with Chris, I don't think I'll have any time to think.
Leaving the now-blubbering Chris to herself, I lost myself in thought for a moment.
A thousand years, and a certain will.
Because of them, the Hero's Party's name had been erased, but their existence and deeds still remained in various forms. Like the portrait here.
Wealth? Honor? I think there was a time when I considered such things.
Is this what it feels like to be rewarded by their descendants, a thousand years later?
I briefly imagined myself living a carefree life on the Astria Continent after everything was over. I would have traveled with my companions. Hmm, looking at it that way, I probably wouldn't have wanted something like a title that would tie me down, even back then.
The days when I was full of hope, of saving this world and living with the people I loved.
If my companions hadn't all died, I would have lived here without a second thought. I wouldn't have even remembered my previous world.
The newly born me, the girl named Rain whose past life's identity was fading, was unequivocally a person of the Astria Continent.
What about now?
I had returned to this continent and was becoming buried in it again, but...
Right now, where is the place my precious person lives?
I glanced at the sniffling Chris for a moment.
Then, I let out a small laugh.
"Chris, do you want a kiss?"
"H-Huh?"
I smiled with my eyes.
Stealthily.
And as I approached Chris, I said, enunciating each syllable.
"A. Kiss."
"Gasp..."
Chris sucked in a sharp breath. Then she squeezed her eyes shut.
"N-No! Rain, d-don't do this! It's too much stimulation for me right now!"
I tilted my head, but without letting my smiling eyes fade, I crawled toward her on the plush guest room sofa.
"Ha... haah..."
A sigh escaped Chris's lips. I could feel her breath from where I was, just a short distance away.
*Peck.*
I gave Chris a light peck on the cheek.
Then I gently cupped her reddened face.
My first kiss, filled with affection. I did it because my precious Chris seemed so sad.
This is so embarrassing.
Chris, with a dazed expression, stared blankly into space.
*Thump!*
Then, she grabbed my shoulders forcefully.
I jumped in surprise.
"Rain!"
"Y-Yes!?"
"I'm really, really sorry, but."
"......?"
"Later, after we log out, could you do it again at home?"
Actually, there was one more reason I didn't officially align myself with the Alpharion Empire.
I'm someone who shouldn't delve too deeply into this world's history.
It might have been different before, but not now that the distinct body of 'Iseulbi' exists. After defeating the threat looming over this world, I just need to enjoy the 'game'.
And while the Alpharion Empire reached out first this time, there's no guarantee the Betarion side won't do the same.
The grand dame of the empires, was it?
If so, then I am an impartial mother. I can't just take the side of one of my children.
Something like this happened in the past, too.
After driving the demons from the central continent, but before the Hero's Party stormed the Demon King's castle, 'Leoner' of Betarion and 'Bernhard' of Alpharion fought over me.
'Lady Rain must work for Betarion! Bern, I won't hand her over to you!'
'Are you still calling Rain 'Lady'? Rain, you'll come to Alpharion when this is all over, won't you?'
I smiled for a moment, recalling Bern and Leon, the heads of the two nations who were always bickering.
They weren't as close as my companions in the Hero's Party, but I had grown quite fond of them as well.
Come to think of it, I never got to say goodbye before I left.
*Knock, knock.*
As I was being petted in the arms of a groggy Chris, who was out of it after the cheek peck, I slowly opened my eyes at the sound of a knock.
The door opened, and a handmaiden entered the guest chambers.
"The outfits for tonight's ball are ready."
"Oho! So they've prepared outfits for us!"
Life returned to the eyes of Chris, who had just been stroking me with a dazed look.
Guided by the handmaiden, we arrived at a room in the imperial palace where a crowd of female players had already gathered.
"So, you're saying you don't need help getting dressed."
"Understood."
Players can itemize their outfits, so they probably don't need attendants.
At Beimerung's firm words, the handmaidens who had come to assist backed out of the room.
Beimerung greeted Chris and me with a happy expression.
"Chris, Rain! Where have you been? You were gone for so long, I thought you'd been captured or something."
"Ah, didn't I tell you the emperor gave us a separate waiting room? I guess Rain's getting special treatment for the first clear."
"What about you?"
"Me? I'm our Rain's guardian."
Chris let out a chuckle and looked at me. It seemed she had no intention of mentioning my past. Not that anyone would believe it anyway.
The only thing the guild members needed to know was about the adventurers' planned advance to the east. And that could be shared after the ball.
A beautiful woman with brown hair, already dressed in a gown, approached us. It was Skada, the leader of the third-clear party.
"You're here."
"Oh, Ms. Skada. ...A dress already?"
"Hehe, what do you think? The dresses in this game are quite pretty, aren't they?"
"Oh. It's beautiful."
I was genuinely impressed.
Skada twirled once before us in her dress. It was an ethereal and splendid gown, but its hem didn't seem to restrict movement much. The beige dress created a lovely color harmony with her brown hair.
Chris glanced at my reaction and cleared her throat.
"A-Ahem, it looks nice."
"Hehe, I'm sure a dress would look wonderful on you too, Chris."
The low-cut neckline of Skada's dress revealed her slender figure.
For some reason, Chris seemed to feel a spark of rivalry.
"Hmph!"
Chris snorted and strode over to where the dresses were hanging.
*Snatch.*
A moment later, she picked one out and immediately 'equipped' it.
"Oh my gosh, Chris!"
"Whoa, that figure is definitely..."
All the female players gathered around gasped in admiration.
Chris was wearing a dress the same color as her hair—a fiery, burning red.
And.
"The neckline is incredibly low, isn't it?"
"It's like something out of Greek and Roman mythology!"
It was incredibly revealing, reminiscent of the Archangel and Fallen Angel outfits from the 'Ancient Temple of Verbeia'.
Through the gap of the low-cut dress, she was showing off her chest, the bare skin of her explosive figure.
"Gasp..."
I sucked in a sharp breath.
I cupped my beet-red cheeks and lowered my gaze.
"Hehehe! Rain, tell me what you think!"
The situation was the complete opposite of before.
Chris came right up to me, demanding an answer. Faced with her stunning appearance, I felt like my face was about to explode.
"Y-You're so beautiful."
That chest... I like her chest.
A soft chest, perfect for me to hug.
If I let my guard down for even a second, I felt like I would bury my face in her chest and nuzzle against her.
Iseulbi isn't like this, but when I'm Rain, it's hard to control my childish impulses.
"Khehehe, is that all?"
"Chris, Chris, you're too close."
I barely managed to open my mouth and mumble.
*Fwump.*
"Haah...!"
Chris hugged my face to her chest.
This was different from feeling her chest through her clothes. This was completely bare skin.
Seulbi, Rain. If you were going to be this embarrassed, why did you ask her to bathe with you back then? Then again, my mind wasn't exactly sound at that time, was it?
In a daze, I was moved in front of the dresses while still pressed against Chris's bosom.
"Time to pick Rain's dress, right? Now the real fun begins."
"Ohoho, Chris, you know what's up."
Beimerung, with a mischievous smile, pulled a bunch of dresses off the rack. Then, one by one, she held them out to me and forced me to equip them.
Having lost my senses after being buried in Chris's bare chest, I was powerless to resist their demands.
"Kyaa!"
"Woah, woah, wow...!"
"Rain, you're so cute! Haa... So pretty!"
As the dresses were equipped on my body one after another, the female players erupted into chaos.
"Hoo, hoo!"
Chris's breathing started to grow heavy.
RedHotChicken, Dalboreum, and Beimerung from the Red and White attack squad. They were all screaming nonstop. The two women from Skada's attack squad couldn't hold back their screams either. The only one who managed to keep it in was their leader, Skada, who was just swallowing her groans and staring intently at me.
"Gasp, t-this one is dangerous!"
"The chest is too low-cut...! Rain needs something cuter..."
"Ah...!"
Seeing me in the dress with the deeply plunging neckline, Chris let out a groan and collapsed onto the sofa.
"Oh, the stimulation today has been too much, one after another..."
Chris's eyes lost their focus. Groggy again? Even though she's seen me naked? Then again, is the feeling you get from revealing clothes different?
With that, there was no one left to control the remaining female players.
"What do we do? What do we do? Can we really let the men see this?"
"Kyaa! Rain, try this one on too!"
"Hii, hii."
Having become their dress-up doll, I could only whimper as I was forced to be a fitting model for a long, long time.