A Mage's First Time (1)
A Mage's First Time (1)
#
Before returning to the mansion, we took a short rest, sitting at a table. Yeah, I could see why a break was necessary. Listening to Lize's verbal onslaught felt like weathering a storm.
"Nothing ever seems to go smoothly."
"Still, didn't it seem like she had some kind of plan? She wouldn't have accepted the request for nothing."
Just as Yuri said, Lize did seem to have something in mind, but I couldn't shake an ominous feeling. When Lize said she'd put me to work, I caught a glimpse of... greed in her eyes. It was incredibly subtle, but it was definitely greed.
"I have no idea what she is planning to make me do. I feel like we are about to get dragged into something seriously annoying."
"Would that not still be fortunate? If we'd arrived even a little later, she said we'd have been hauled off to the training center."
"True..."
Right. One wrong move and we'd have been dragged back to the training center. If I'd fooled around with Reni a little longer, it might really have happened.
That was terrifying. If I'd been forced into the training center, I wouldn't have been able to relieve my Heat... Wait, even if I somehow handled that alone, I would have had to endure military service again. Reenlisted after coming to another world? It was horrifying.
I shuddered, goosebumps rising, and just then Ariel spoke up.
"Hmm. I'm not sure whether this is the right time to bring this up."
"What's wrong?"
"When... will we be able to do it?"
At Ariel's words, both Yuri's and Reni's heads whipped around, but Ariel simply continued nonchalantly.
"I recall it was originally supposed to be yesterday. I don't believe you intended it, but I keep getting the feeling it's being delayed."
"Um... well, yes. You're right."
Come to think of it, I did need to do it with her too.
I'd accumulated far too many unfinished tasks: amplifying Ariel, solving Niniel’s problem, and educating the Holy Sword. I'd postponed Dream Sharing for so long that I was practically neglecting her. I wondered whether she was all right.
In any case, I needed to finish what I'd already started before taking on the Goddess’s mission or clan work. So first...
"Alright. How about we do it as soon as we get back?"
"Eep." "What?"
"...Very well."
Ariel nodded coolly, but my girls wore expressions that made it clear they were anything but happy.
"What's wrong?"
"...No, it's nothing."
When I feigned ignorance and asked, Yuri mumbled something evasive. And Reni? Reni had been in low spirits ever since we left the Witch's House, but now she looked ready to burrow into the ground.
Mm. This was awkward. Really awkward. What should I say? It felt strangely like I was openly cheating on them right before their eyes. If I'd done it somewhere out of sight, I wouldn't have to feel this uneasy.
"Then wouldn't it be best to head back now? There's no reason to delay any further."
With that, Ariel rose from her seat first. Her attitude seemed to say there was nothing to make a fuss over. Right. I couldn't look guilty here. I did feel a little sorry, but this was unavoidable.
# # #
"..."
The walk back to the mansion from the Guild was silent. Suffocating. It felt like I couldn't breathe!
Ariel seemed carefree, Reni was boring holes into the ground with her aura alone, and Yuri... Yuri had a look on her face like she was thinking about something. What could she be thinking about to make such a serious expression...
"Yoo-jin, wait a moment."
"Huh?"
"You two go on ahead. Reni and I have something to talk about."
"...What?"
Yuri grabbed Reni with a blank expression. A faint edge entered her voice. Why was she acting like that? No way?!
I pulled Yuri close and whispered in her ear.
"Hey, no matter how much you don't like this, are you really going to run away from home?!"
"...What are you talking about?"
Yuri stared at me like I'd lost my mind. Urk, not that?
"Then why are you doing this?"
"I told you? Reni and I have stuff to talk about. And you're about to... do it, right? I know perfectly well you'll be doing that in broad daylight, and it feels kinda gross to be right there beside it all."
"I-is that so..."
Yeah, that made sense. Normally we did it at night, so they could ignore it while sleeping, but doing it in the middle of the day meant it would keep nagging at them. So she'd rather go out.
"...When will you be back?"
I had no choice but to ask a pretty pathetic question. A stupid question that sounded like I was suspecting a lover of cheating. Yuri let out a snicker, apparently finding my deflated state funny.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but we'll be back before dinner. We do have things to discuss, and errands to run. That much will take some time."
After saying that, Yuri pushed me away and linked arms with Reni.
"Reni, let's go. Leave this guy to himself and let's have a date, just the two of us."
"Eep?"
Reni let out a dumb little gasp as Yuri dragged her off. Occasionally she glanced back with a look begging for help, but all I could do was watch.
"...Then shall we head back too?"
"Let's."
We walked on in silence.
I was curious. Incredibly curious.
What had Yuri dragged Reni away to discuss? Since they had deliberately excluded me, it probably wasn't good for me. Were they planning to leave me?
No. There was no way. But two beauties walking around together would attract attention. What if some blond, tanned bastard approached them? What if they got hit on?
Ooh, just thinking about it made my stomach turn!
"Grrrrr..."
"...Are you listening?"
"Uh, huh?"
Damn. I had gotten too absorbed in pointless fantasies. It felt as though Reni’s delusions were rubbing off on me.
Ariel twitched one eyebrow so slightly that anyone not watching closely would have missed it. She definitely thought I was both exasperating and pathetic. Damn it!
"...My bad. I didn't catch that. What?"
"I asked if you might cooperate with an experiment."
"Huh? What experiment?"
"You recall the slime you handed over."
"What about it?"
Ariel began her explanation with a deadpan expression.
"I don't know what was done to that slime, but the drug concentration was far too high. Used as it was, it would act less like a stimulant and more like a mating aphrodisiac."
"I-is that so?"
A mating aphrodisiac. Hearing those words from a beautiful elf girl felt incredibly strange.
"So I made several prototypes with lower concentrations and wanted to ask whether you would cooperate with testing them. I tried one on myself, but there must be differences between men and women. From what you said, most buyers would be men."
...Wait.
"You've used it on yourself?!"
"Is that not obvious? On whom else could I have tested it?"
"Well..."
An image of Ariel testing it came to mind: tangled in pink slime, her expressionless face collapsing into a mess...
"Why did you stop walking?"
"Ah, no. It's nothing."
「Post-Nut Clarity」!
"So, what do you think?"
"Mm..."
Ariel asked again. Testing the prototype was probably important. But...
"No, I don't think that'll work."
I had Sex Warrior’s Performance. An aphrodisiac would simply be removed automatically.
As if she hadn't expected a refusal, Ariel blinked, then sent me a look demanding an explanation.
"I am completely immune to effects of that kind. Whether it's a stimulant or an endurance enhancer, none of them will work on me."
"The reason?"
"The triggers for my abilities are mostly sexual acts. If I were easily affected by such drugs, I could end up misusing my skills, right? So... I figure this kind of safety mechanism was put in place."
"...I see."
Ariel frowned very subtly, as if she hadn't seen this coming.
"For the Goddess to arrange even that... she must favor you greatly."
"...Favor, huh."
Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since I last communicated with the Goddess. I hadn't needed to submit many skill proposals lately, nor had I had much reason to complain to her. Before, she'd zap me with static whenever I said anything. I didn't exactly... miss those days.
Later, she had even set up an automatic response that triggered whenever I cursed. Could that be called favor? Since she reacted only to me, it could be called interest, but favor was a stretch...
"But this is problematic. If I can't test it on a male subject, I'm not sure it can be marketed."
"Should I submit a request to the Guild?" Ariel murmured. A male test subject... Something occurred to me.
"There's no real reason it has to be me. As long as the subject is male, that's all you need, right?"
"That is true, however..."
"Then it's fine. I know a guy."
The Silver-tier adventurer who'd asked me to sell him Viagra. What was his name? Wil... Something-or-other starting with Wil. I'd use that guy as a test rat.
"That guy would probably be the first to volunteer for a reagent trial. Didn't you hear he threw a fit at the Guild, asking me to sell it to him?"
At my explanation, Ariel's expression grew visibly more at ease.
"Then that's a relief."
"Next time we're at the Guild, we can just pass along a message. But does it all end with testing? I brought it up, but I have no idea how you'd even sell the stuff."
"That is..."
We returned to the mansion while discussing how to sell the aphrodisiac slime and Viagra, its pseudo-aphrodisiac counterpart.
# # #
When we reached the front gate of the mansion, I saw a strange sight. The Holy Sword was crouched alone in a corner of the flower bed.
"What's that girl doing over there?"
"We will find out if we go over. Why are you standing there?"
"U-um..."
But I couldn't bring myself to step forward.
Because the Holy Sword looked terribly lonely. Like a lonely orphan with no one to play with, poking at the dirt by herself...
Ugh.
Guilt crept over me. I had used being busy as an excuse and neglected both Dream Sharing and Polymorph... In truth, I had been busy not with work, but with sex.
But she hadn't complained about it once... even now, instead of whining about wanting to play, she was spending time alone...
There was a big gap between the personality I'd imagined for the Holy Sword and her current appearance.
...I had to remember to look after her from now on.
I reluctantly walked toward the Holy Sword.
"Hey. What are you doing there?"
"...."
Without answering, the Holy Sword stared at one corner of the flower bed and scribbled in the dirt with a twig.
Oh man. She really did look exactly like a lonely kid playing in the dirt! I felt like I might cry!
"Ahem. Ahem. Hey, are you all right? Sh-should we go inside? Today..."
"Ah. Don't step there."
"Huh?"
"Ants are passing through there. Don't step on them."
"...Guh."
W-what now? Had she made ants her friends because she couldn't play alone?!
I steadied my voice, which had nearly cracked.
"Why the ants?"
"They're fascinating."
"What is?"
"Watching them gives me a strange feeling. These insignificant mortals... They wriggle and scramble just to live their wretched lives, tearing apart scraps of insects on the ground. It's both fascinating and adorable..."
"..."
"Watching them reminds me once again how superior I am..."
Th-this girl was saying something terrifying! She wasn't playing in the dirt like a lonely orphan; she genuinely enjoyed watching ants!
"Uh, um. Right. Have fun playing. Come inside before it gets too late."
"..."
Leaving the Holy Sword still silently focused on the ants, I returned to the mansion with Ariel.