The Wizard, the Slime, and a Business Opportunity (3)
The Wizard, the Slime, and a Business Opportunity (3)
#
Without giving me a chance to say anything, Ariel jabbed her finger into the slime.
-Squelch.
"Ah... aaah..."
You damned idiot of an elf. What were you thinking, touching that so carelessly?!
"What is it?"
"Ah, no. Are you alright? If you touch it so carelessly..."
I was on edge, but Ariel seemed perfectly untroubled. I had no idea what made her so confident.
"It's fine. I just confirmed that it is not toxic. It is neither acidic nor aggressive. And..."
"No, I mean... are you even aware of what that... that thing's effect is?"
"....Elves are resistant to that sort of sensation."
Ariel was openly fondling the slime now, as if trying to prove her own claim—actively groping and kneading it. Her small, pale white hand kept slipping in and out of the pink slime.
Was she really congenitally insensitive or something? Or was she just insane?
"..."
Maybe my thoughts showed on my face, because Ariel furrowed her brow slightly.
"How can I create the product you described without experiencing its effects firsthand? It was something I would have had to do sooner or later anyway. I have to undergo the loan review tomorrow as it is—dragging it out serves no good purpose. To finish in time, I'll have to work through the night..."
Fortunately, Ariel looked more composed than I'd expected. Worrying for nothing...
"Work through the... through the... nghk... haa... haa-ughk...."
...Composed, my ass! Ariel's face was expressionless, but she was bright red all the way to the tips of her ears. She was even trembling—shivering! Why did she have so little caution?!
-Ding!
[Ariel Ionia's Trait 「Aggression (A)」 has been confirmed.]
Aggressive?!
So that was it. No wonder she made mind-bogglingly powerful bombs and things like that. The final piece of the puzzle had fallen into place.
"Nghk.... th-this is more than I expected..."
Ariel, still seated, had her thighs pressed tightly together and was scratching at the desk. The sight of her biting down on her lip and panting harshly... it felt like my, my dick was about to get angry.
Anyway, what was I supposed to do with her? Should I dispel the status effect? But that would mean revealing my ability. No. I'd have to reveal it eventually to have sex with Niniel, but here, like this...
"Haa... khk... nngh...!"
...This wasn't working. Looking at her, I couldn't get a single word out. First, I had to resolve this sorry elf's condition, then we could talk.
I reached my hand toward Ariel—
-Grab.
"Whoa—?!"
A white-gloved hand had seized my wrist. I looked up to see Rebecca staring me down with blazing eyes!
When had she been standing behind me?! I'd definitely seen her disappear earlier!
Right, shit! I'd forgotten, but this woman was an assassin! No wonder she'd shown up at the front door within five seconds when I knocked. Absolutely terrifying!
Rebecca's voice had a frosted edge.
"What have you done?"
The sentence was a question, but her tone held no curiosity whatsoever. I could clearly feel the implication that she was only asking me to confirm the answer she had already decided upon. It was a loaded question with only one acceptable answer!
Shit, I never knew that routine could feel so blood-curdling!
"N-no. You have it wrong. It’s a misunderstanding..."
It was maddeningly unfair. That idiot elf had stuck her hand into the aphrodisiac slime all on her own—why was I getting this treatment?! I didn't do it!
Suddenly I remembered Reni, who was always whining that she had done nothing wrong. Had she felt like this too? No, Reni, you were in no position to make that claim.
"Haa... haa... ngh-gk...!"
"No—ow—this is a misunderstanding. Really."
As Ariel's breathing grew rougher, the grip of Rebecca's hand around my wrist grew steadily stronger...!
"Haa... haa... Rebecca. He did not do this... hoo... let him go..."
...
Only after Ariel explained the full circumstances was I released from Rebecca. She resolved the Heat State by taking out some kind of potion and drinking it.
Rebecca bowed deeply and apologized to me.
"I am truly sorry."
That was what she said, but her tone still suggested that she suspected me.
It was a little—no, extremely irritating. I'd done this elf a considerable favor, yet this was how I was treated.
It wasn't just my imagination. Rebecca had positioned herself about half a step between Ariel and me. Her stance suggested that if I so much as tried anything funny, she would instantly become a barrier. What was this, some kind of overprotective mother?
-Ding!
[Rebecca Berman's Trait 「Overprotectiveness (A)」 has been confirmed.]
"..."
So she really was her mother...?
#
Ariel said she still had more experiments to run, so I returned to my room, having nothing else in particular to do. Only after I left the lab did Rebecca vanish again, seemingly reassured.
Even with an Overprotectiveness trait attached, this really didn't sit well with me. I didn't understand why she was so on guard against me. Had I done something wrong?
Then again, come to think of it, that sort of personality was exactly why, later on, even after her master became a monster, she would go as far as risking her life to assassinate the subjugation squad... That gave me a bit of a chill.
I washed up and rested for a short while, and before I knew it, dinnertime had come around.
Unlike breakfast, dinner was quite substantial. Apparently elves didn't live entirely on vegan food. People needed meat, after all. Just as I was about to cut off a piece and put it into my mouth, savoring the thought, I caught Ariel and Rebecca exchanging glances.
Mm. I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was eating a struggling household out of house and home... I supposed I simply was not ruthless enough for that. Someone who was would have treated the favor as permission to strip even the pillars from the house.
Reni was... Reni was also watching how things went, for some reason. And as for Yuri... she was sitting there giggling to herself. Must be nice. Not a thought in your head!
Still, Niniel kept the conversation going, so mealtime was fairly amiable in its own way. She said she was in good condition, having received a generous helping of buffs like the day before.
And so dinner ended, and it was time for post-meal tea.
Ariel, after gauging my reaction carefully, spoke up.
"Do you have any particular plans for tomorrow?"
"Well..."
When I trailed off vaguely, Ariel promptly continued. Her manner was quite impatient.
"If it's no trouble, would you accompany me to the bank?"
They had banks in this other world too? No, now that I thought about it, of course they would. In the novel, money matters were all handled directly at the royal palace, so there'd never been a chance to describe one, but wherever people lived, banks would naturally exist. Still...
"What business would you have at a bank...?"
"Erm. I have a loa—a loan review. My original intention was to go alone, but as for that... hm! That item you mentioned, surely it would be best if the one who conceived it explained it personally, wouldn't it?"
"...."
A loan review, she said. Right... if there were banks, of course there'd be such things.
In truth, it wasn't a bad idea. There was no harm in learning how loan reviews worked in this other world. Someday I'd need to buy a house too... but having to personally explain fantasy Viagra—that was pretty damn embarrassing.
"'That item'? What is it?"
Yuri pulled me out of my thoughts.
"...Why do you ask. Erm... well... come here a moment..."
I huddled together with my party members and whispered.
"That, that Silver Tier we saw earlier. You remember why he came to me."
"Y-yeah..."
It must have been embarrassing because of the subject matter—both of their faces were a little flushed.
"That Silver-tier man said that if I could make his dick... ahem! Anyway, if I could keep him hard all night, he'd pay in silver each time."
"What? That much?"
"Right. So think about it—if you could sell a drug that produced that kind of effect, what do you think would happen?"
"...It kind of seems as though your brain only works that quickly when it comes to things like this."
Yuri looked at me with an incredulous expression.
"Is that just your personality, or is it that the Goddess... that, that she makes you knowledgeable in that sort of thing too?"
"..."
I had nothing to say. And anyway, did this girl not fear divine punishment? For a creation of the Goddess, she sure made a lot of remarks that skirted awfully close to crossing the line. Wait. Normally Reni would be angry by this point. What about Reni?
"Y-Yoo-jin... don't..."
Reni was saying something strange again. What was I not supposed to do? What was she blushing and about to say now?
"I-it's already more than enough... I-if you use something like that too, I... I won't be able to take it..."
...!
"I won't use it! I said I won't! Why would I use something like that?!"
"B-but still..."
...Was she hoping I'd use it? Reni, are you out of your mind? I turned to Yuri, hoping for help, but Yuri was only wrapping her arms around herself with a pale face. Did she seriously think I was going to use fantasy Viagra?
Absolutely useless, the both of them!
"What are you all discussing so merrily?"
As we were making a commotion amongst ourselves, Niniel addressed us.
But... how was I supposed to tell this story? It was a bit awkward to discuss in front of a sickly, beautiful elf girl.
"Erm... well... we were discussing a product for business... hk!"
Th-this elf was coughing up a trickle of blood from her mouth again! Was she staging a protest at being left out too? The same tactic wasn't going to work anym—
"Lady Niniel!"
Rebecca screamed.