Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Royal Road Hero Tale (28)
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Following the maid's guidance, I took a quick wash and changed into the casual clothes she'd gifted me.
I'd secretly hoped she'd wash me herself, but no such luck. What a shame. My old clothes were soaked in sweat, so Louise had kindly given me these new ones. Nobles really do have a generous streak.
"Wow..."
Afterward, as I followed the maid to the dining hall, there was Louise waiting for me, now dressed in casual attire. This was my first time seeing her out of armor... Siwoo really missed out on this sight.
Louise had on a sky-blue dress that perfectly matched her blue hair, but her overly ample chest ruined the outfit's lines a bit. Still, the subtle glimpses of skin it offered made that irrelevant.
A true knight indeed, with a magnificent figure.
"You look absolutely stunning. Truly the Goddess of Marta... What a treat for the eyes today."
"Hmph! Spare me the honeyed words."
There she goes again.
I offered my sincere praise, but Louise shot me a stern glare—though the corners of her mouth kept twitching upward. She's so easy to read.
"You did well sending Siwoo ahead first. If he'd been here, he probably wouldn't have slept a wink thinking about you."
"Hmph! I said cut it out! ...Besides, that man has no interest in me anyway."
She's pouting now.
This woman was sulking because Siwoo had left first.
How is she this cute?
Louise stuck out her lower lip, looking all mopey as she twirled her wine glass with one hand. It was the picture-perfect "I'm upset" pose.
Good thing I stayed behind. For both their sakes, I needed to cheer her up.
"It's the opposite, actually. He left because he does have an interest in you."
"Hmm...? That sounds contradictory."
"Heh, Siwoo's hopeless around women. He must've been too embarrassed to share a room with a beauty like you."
"Hmm... I see... That makes sense."
Whoa, talk about a mood swing. Just moments ago, she'd been wallowing in gloom, but now she was beaming as she took a sip of wine.
She seemed thrilled at the idea that Siwoo was aware of her. Fitting for one of the heroines—she was clearly drawn to him.
Perfect. Now was the time to hype Siwoo up for her benefit. The moment to really push her feelings toward him.
"He's a pure soul, really. Never dated anyone at his age, always just training. So he's got no resistance to beautiful women."
"...But isn't Sophia also a stunning woman? The word 'beauty' suits her perfectly."
Ah, so that's what was bothering her? Being around such a perfect pair had made her self-conscious?
No need to worry. Sophia had zero interest in Siwoo. His goal was wide open—just shoot, and it's a score.
"Hahaha. We're like family. Who gets conscious of family as the opposite sex?"
"Hmm, fair point."
With my firm reassurance, Louise nodded, flashing a deeply satisfied smile. That had to have bumped her affection for Siwoo up several notches.
Siwoo, you owe me big time.
"By the way, Louise, what do you think of Siwoo?"
"H-Hmm?! N-Nothing in particular! Don't read into it!"
"Er... haha. I meant as a swordsman. You sparred with him today, right?"
"Oh? Ah, y-yeah...! Ack, cough, cough..."
They say love makes fools of us all, and Louise had turned into an adorably foolish one. Caught in her own slip-up, her face flushed bright red with embarrassment.
And to top it off, in her haste to drink her wine, she spilled it on her dress. Oh, service time? The wet fabric clung transparently to her chest. Seeing such a flawless knight in this disheveled state was a real sight.
"Ahem... He's got remarkable talent. Hard to believe he grew that strong without a master."
"Haha, really? He's still got a ways to go. Please keep guiding him."
"Leave it to me... Or rather, it's not just Siwoo who needs guidance, is it?"
"Hahaha..."
Sheesh, not biting on that one.
Still, it was a satisfactory outcome.
I'd soothed her pouts and boosted her favor toward Siwoo by proxy. Now, just get them some alone time, and things would roll smoothly.
The day when those two could openly flirt with Sophia wasn't far off.
The next day, Sophia went off to meet those women again. She'd said they were still struggling after yesterday, so she planned to help them readjust to reality. What a true saintess.
Left alone, Siwoo and I headed to the Louise estate as usual. For the time being, we'd train with her instead of taking requests.
No monster kills meant no stat gains, but at least we'd build experience and proficiency. With how much we needed to power up, it was a win-win.
But Siwoo, that guy,
bolted straight for the brothel the moment training ended.
"Haha. He's too embarrassed for that."
And the day after that.
"Haha. That guy."
And the day after that.
"Haha. That guy."
And the day after that,
"Haha."
Siwoo headed to the brothel.
"......"
This lunatic really wasn't getting his act together?
I'd sent him there to get used to sex, but at this rate, I'd be footing the bill for his every visit. Late bloomers can be wild, but this was excessive.
Was he planning to ditch demon king hunting and just settle down in Marta?
Did the brothel have some attendance bonus or something? A full week of perfect attendance was starting to freak me out—it wasn't impossible.
And turning down Louise's dinner invites every day? Was that any way for a man to act? It was like saying whores were better than her. Time for a serious talk with Siwoo.
"He left again today..."
Look at her, openly disappointed. Turning a sub-heroine into this! Only Siwoo could pull that off.
"I'll stay. Haha..."
Sigh, guess I'm on babysitting duty again. Her self-esteem's gonna tank if this keeps up.
"For all his shyness, back at the inn, he's always talking about you. Stuff like how he can't even look you in the face, or how he learned so much today. He was so excited this morning before heading out, it was embarrassing just watching."
"I see..."
Ah, crap. That approach was toast.
Praise like that wasn't cutting it anymore. And honestly, there wasn't much left to compliment. At this rate, the plan was doomed.
"But... if that's true, why does he keep refusing? It feels like he doesn't want to be around me..."
"Do you want to be around Siwoo, Louise?"
"Hmm... I just want to get closer to him, that's all..."
Thing is, this wasn't just Siwoo's issue.
Louise was just as hopeless around guys as he was. If she'd shown this shy, girly side in front of him like she did now, he'd have fallen already. But she always tensed up, acting all stern and bossy, so he put up walls.
I mean, who wouldn't? Parading around like a red-hooded drill sergeant—any budding affection would evaporate!
"...Is that so?"
And calling her shy was almost funny. She wore armor that blatantly showed her cleavage and a dress that revealed everything underneath, yet played coy around the guy she liked?
Classic sub-heroine character.
Whew... No helping it, though.
For Sophia's happy adventure ahead, I had to pair these two somehow. That meant fixing her shyness myself. I had to change her.
"If you want to get close to Siwoo, I can help."
If Louise got a bit more aggressive in her approach and seduced him, Siwoo would snap out of it and pay more attention to her than the brothel.
Then, nudge his lust-crazed self over the line with her, and it'd be smooth sailing. Siwoo wasn't the type to hit it and quit, so they'd end up together. Happy ending.
"Hmm... You have a method?"
"Of course. I'll give you personal lessons."
"Alright! Looking forward to it."