Potential MILF, Uehara Aki (3)
Aki shot upright and steeled her eyes. It was such a random, adorable look on her.
"Then I'll show you!"
She beamed—then immediately tilted her head.
"But… how do I show you?"
"Uh, start with whatever you can show me right now."
Aki looked troubled. Hmm. I was genuinely curious what she could do.
"Well… how about this? There's a spirit sitting on your shoulder right now, Hero."
I glanced at my shoulder. Nothing there.
"Suddenly this is turning into a horror story."
No matter how hard I stared, I couldn't see a thing. Was there seriously a ghost?
Goddess, is this for real?
I figured I'd burn a Goddess Chance just in case. For some reason, though, the Goddess was being ice-cold. Haaah.
Hmph. Why should I tell you?
Haaah! What is it this time?!
Enough. Go have fun with that woman! You idiot, brainless Apostle!
Brainless Apostle? That's harsh. Sob.
I sighed and scratched my head. Ghost or no ghost, the whole thing left a weird taste in my mouth.
"Anything else?"
"I can sense presence! There's a mouse crawling around one meter away, for starters."
"Not a rabbit, huh…"
"And fifty meters out, I don't know what it is, but there are moaning sounds—haaah♥ ikkyahaaang♥—like that!"
"…Excuse me?"
"Ah, that's just the townsfolk doing their nighttime—ah, never mind."
Aki laughed awkwardly. She could pick up presence and sound?
Or was she just messing with me?
She's supposed to be the saintess-type character. Not a lot of useful abilities here.
Not that I strictly needed a saintess slot. Healing was already covered by my regeneration title. Still, against an army of undead or demons, it might come in handy.
I'm a Beastly Hero, not a paladin. Kind of a shame.
This was getting inconvenient. I propped my chin in my hand and sank into thought—until Aki clapped both hands together.
Even mid-clap, the way her chest bounced was impressive.
"Ah, I've got one!"
"Ooh, what is it?"
Aki grinned slyly, like she was hiding a trump card.
If this turned out to be another dud, I was going to be disappointed. Haaah.
"Well, first the chest…"
Aki suddenly started undressing. I panicked and stopped her.
"Hey, hold on! What are you doing? Again? Right here?"
"Huh? No?"
"Then why are you suddenly taking your clothes off…?"
"Ah, it's customary for a shrine maiden to undress when receiving a god."
What, she was trying to channel a deity?
A little warning would have been nice. I caught my breath and said,
"No, no. You don't need to go to all that trouble. Can you do it with your clothes on…?"
Aki smiled with perfect innocence at my reaction. I was pretty sure she was teasing me.
She had the kind of energy you usually only saw from younger heroines.
"Yes, then!"
She spread both arms wide and closed her eyes.
Silence. Nothing but the sound of her breathing. It felt like an eternity might pass like that—
"Nnh, hhh…!"
She twitched a few times, then her eyes snapped open.
Except they weren't her usual color. They were crimson.
What, did some demon just possess her?
I didn't want to believe in ghosts, but moments like this made it hard not to.
Aki fixed her gaze on me. Something solemn radiated from her.
"Lashu Leonhart. You called yourself a hero, did you? Curious."
Aki's voice came out as a middle-aged man's. I stammered,
"W-who are you…?"
"Dizoral Weverpool. I was the lord of this place."
Ah, Dizoral! I knew that name.
This was the original lord. Lord of Weverpool, and the savior of Weverpool.
"Ah, a pleasure. I'm Lashu Leonhart of Gale Wars!"
"Is the lord of Gale Wars well?"
I hesitated a beat before answering.
"No, he di…ed."
Talked back to the Goddess and got wrecked. Ahem.
"Hm? That hot-tempered man? How?"
"Uh, uhh… he, he met a dragon…"
I had to dodge it. Saying he got himself killed mouthing off to a goddess felt a little much.
Oblivious to my flailing, the Lord of Weverpool hummed thoughtfully.
"A dragon, in this region. That one didn't die cleanly, I expect."
"Well, something like that. Hahaha…"
"Then Gale Wars must be in rather poor shape as well?"
"Lately Lady Renata, the acting lord, has been holding things together with her efforts. And I only recently became a hero myself."
"Fortunate. My own domain will fall in the end, but…"
I could feel how much the Lord of Weverpool cared for his land.
In the end, one man named Lao had twisted everything. He had lost it all.
"You have my deepest condolences."
"No need. I was powerless. I failed to stop a single instance of mind control, and everything came undone and fell apart."
Even though it wasn't his fault, the Lord of Weverpool spoke as if it were.
A lord was supposed to protect his domain, sure—but this wasn't a sin he bore alone.
If only our lord had taken a page from this guy. Then again, what would you expect from that absolute trash.
The kind of guy who dies talking back to a goddess. By comparison, the Lord of Weverpool was a true gentleman.
He asked me about the people of the domain and the soldiers, then sighed heavily.
"Will you make me a promise?"
I was weak to promises. Especially ones made with another man.
Even so, I nodded. If a dead man's wish was on the table, I was listening.
"Yes, my lord."
"Killing Lao is not the end. That man is only the tip of the iceberg."
"You mean the cult of Those Who Recite Sins?"
"That cult is nothing more than a puppet serving a greater power. Kahloom, when you get down to it, is merely a byproduct received from that greater force."
So there really was someone behind it all. No way a nobody like Lao had orchestrated everything alone.
Still, I was stunned. My brain short-circuited a little.
"Just what is that greater power? The Demon King?"
"I don't know the details myself. I died mid-investigation. But of this much I am certain. Lao may be another matter—but Kahloom is a force that will ultimately destroy the world, and even the gods. Remember that."
"My lord?"
"You must stop… it. The Demon King alone is not… the true enemy… hhh…"
His voice faded like a dying breath. Aki, still possessed by the Lord of Weverpool, let her head droop.
A few twitches later, she lifted her face. She was Aki again.
She startled and fretted in place.
"Ah, just now, that really was the lord…!"
"Yeah, I saw. Whew. That was something else. Though, more importantly—a greater power, huh."
I scratched my cheek and hummed under my breath.
It isn't over yet. The victims won't even get to rest in peace.
Lao was only the tip of the iceberg. So I had to find the real body and wreck it.
A sigh slipped out on its own. Aki sat back down and said,
"I'll show you my true power over the course of our adventures. Look forward to it, okay? Ara, ara, ufuu♥"
"Of course. I should get some sleep. Looking forward to working with you, Lady Aki!"
"Fufu, same here. Hero♥"
I parted ways with Aki. Back in my room, I collapsed weakly onto the bed.
Out of nowhere, Fieri—the conversation we'd left unfinished—drifted into my mind.
Fieri. She's a truly pitiful woman. Isn't there anything I can do?
I didn't want to just let a woman of Fieri's caliber slip away. We'd even slept together.
I mulled it over a moment, then cracked a grin.
Ah. That's right…!
Reassured, I drifted off to sleep. Hoping the fatigue would ease, even a little.
The next morning.
After breakfast I looked around. From the first floor up, servants were busily putting the mansion in order.
Beyond the open front gates, a man was being hauled away by the guards. Fieri happened to be nearby.
"Who's that guy?"
"The so-called son Lao brought in. In other words, a piglet."
He was, in fact, a fat bastard.
"Where's he going?"
"They're sending him to the domain prison on a pile of charges, fraud included. Honestly, I'd rather just cut his balls off. Haaah."
That worked for me. Back in Korea they protected criminals like that—but here, that wasn't going to fly.
I gave an awkward smile and said,
"Fieri, I heard what happened. Do you have somewhere to go?"
At my question, Fieri sighed like the ground might swallow her. She looked completely stuck.
"I don't know. At this rate I might end up a back-alley whore. It's not like I know how to do anything…"
"But you're great at housework."
"If I try to hire on as a maid somewhere, the rumors about us may already have spread. And there's no guarantee I'd find a decent master."
"That's true. And those rumors—they're not even confirmed, and it's not like it's a disease."
"You know how it is. How weak people are to gossip."
Fieri looked crushed. Watching her hang her head and mock herself so weakly, I saw my old self.
Yeah. I couldn't leave her behind. I never wanted to in the first place.
"Fieri."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember when Dinora appeared?"
"Huh? Ah, yes. That flash of light!"
"There's a world inside my ring. Dinora lives there too."
"I'd heard a little about it. I just never thought it was real…"
She looked pretty shocked. Fair enough—who would believe there was a whole world inside a ring?
I wasn't even a mage.
In bed, though, I was more than a mage.
"If you've got nowhere to go, you can stay here. I'd be happy to have you, Fieri."
At my words, Fieri stared at me like she couldn't believe it. Then she clapped a hand over her open mouth in surprise.
"R-really? But why someone like me…?"
"You've got every right to live free, Fieri. You're more than pretty enough, and more than capable. And we've already slept together. I never abandon a woman I've been with."
A Beastly Hero never abandoned a woman he'd shared a bed with.
If anything, if she tried to leave, you grabbed on tight and trained her properly!
Of course, if that woman betrayed you, or killed another heroine?
That was a different story—and in my case, I'd punish her. So that no one would ever dare betray me again. That was the path of the Beastly Hero!
"Hhk…!"
Tears welled in Fieri's eyes. She covered them with her hands and, at the same time, struggled to wipe away the tears that kept spilling through.
"Thank you, Hero."
"Just call me Lashu. I'll call you Fieri—or big sis."
"Big sis…? Heeut♥ That title is weirdly exciting."
"Is it? Haha, ahem."
Didn't seem like that exciting a title to me. Leave it to the bedwetting head maid.
Not bad. Not bad at all!
Affinity with Fieri has increased!
Current affinity with Fieri: Normal ♥♥♥♥♥ → Favorable ♥
Her affinity went up too? Jackpot!
She greeted me like a noble young lady, lightly lifting the hem of her maid skirt.
"I look forward to working with you, Lashu."
"Welcome aboard, Big Sis Fieri!"
Smiling at each other, we took each other's hands.