000 Days Later, the Gloomy Young Lady Gets Tamed (6)
“So... you’re saying I should go to the Bancliffe Hotel?”
*Clack clack—*
*Clack clack—*
I asked just to make sure, and the skeleton nodded its head furiously.
It was a bit disorienting to hear such an unexpected place, but... there was no backing out now.
“Haa... alright, let’s go take a look. Lead the way.”
*Clack—!*
I let out a sigh and followed the skeleton.
...Can a skeleton even enter a place like this? Won’t it get kicked out right away?
A moment later, as I arrived in the Bancliffe Hotel lobby with those worries on my mind...
“Welcome. Right this way, please.”
“....”
Contrary to my expectations, the hotel staff approached with deep bows.
...Not to me, but to the skeleton.
“Before you head up, allow us to assist with cleaning. Pardon the intrusion.”
Swoosh— swoosh— *clack clack—* *clack clack—*
The skeleton strode confidently through the hotel lobby, while two staff members trailed behind, polishing and buffing its bones to a shine.
...What the hell am I looking at right now? I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I was no slouch myself as the youngest son of the Ludwig Count family, a decent noble origin... but judging by the staff’s attitudes, the skeleton’s owner was nobility leagues above me.
“This way, please.”
“....”
*Ding—!*
We boarded the mana-powered elevator, and there was only one button.
Meaning it was a private lift for a single floor.
In the outrageously expensive Bancliffe Hotel, someone who could afford a setup like this?
Definitely not count level at minimum...
Marquis at least, maybe even higher?
...That explains why the skeleton was so ridiculously fast.
Just like how a fireball from a 1-star mage and one from a 5-star mage were worlds apart in power.
The abilities an undead could unleash varied greatly depending on the necromancer’s star rank.
To run at the speed that skeleton had shown earlier, its master had to be at least a 5-star necromancer.
Vwoooong—! *Ding—!*
The elevator shot straight to the top floor without stopping once.
*Step—!* *Step—!*
The elevator car itself doubled as the door, and as soon as we arrived, a room filled with the finest furnishings came into view.
And in the center of the room...
...Ah.
A familiar woman stood there.
Swoosh—
I recognized her instantly.
How could I forget those enormous “holy power repositories” that even her robe couldn’t hide?
Well, of course I remembered her face too.
Snow-white skin, black hair, and black eyes.
It was just that the “repositories” came to mind first.
Wait... seeing her control that skeleton, should I call them ‘mana repositories’ instead of holy ones?
As I mentally revised the name for the robed woman’s breasts...
“I-I-I’m... s-s-sorry...!!... S-Sob... I-It’s... b-because of me!!... Y-You... g-got scared, right!?... Hic...! I-I d-didn’t... m-mean... to scare you!!... R-Really... I didn’t...!!... I-I’m sorry!!”
Bow—! Bow—!
The robed woman approached, trembling violently as she bowed at a perfect 90 degrees.
Bow—! Bow—! Bow—!
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sor—”
Not just once or twice, but over and over.
Jiggle—! Jiggle—!
Each time, her “mana repositories” jiggled so wildly it seemed like they’d burst right out of her robe.
“Uh... seeing your face...!!... I-I... couldn’t help it!... I-I was so happy... I j-just... ran over...! Hic...! S-Suddenly... someone... r-rushes at you...! O-Of course... it’s scary!”
“It’s fine, just calm down—”
“S-Sob...! I’m... such an idiot... I-I’m sorry...! B-But... p-please... don’t be... s-scared... of me...!”
“I wasn’t scared at all, so calm down.”
Drip—
“Eh...? R-Really...? Y-You’re... n-not scared...?”
The robed woman looked up at me with eyes brimming with tears.
To say I wasn’t scared at all would be a lie...
But it definitely wasn’t something worth this level of apology.
And... I got to see something precious.
Think about it. Where else could you witness a perfect skeleton sliding dogeza?
“It’s fine. Really. So... what brings you to me?”
I asked with a gentle smile...
“Ah... w-well...! L-Last time... I c-couldn’t even... say thank you... I was so grateful... so I... w-wanted to... r-repay you... somehow...!!”
The robed woman finally stopped crying and spoke in a trembling voice.
****
A few days earlier, in Kidian’s bedroom.
Starting the day after her 99-point masturbation session, Kidian began her investigation.
How many signed copies of Childhood Friend Rape were circulating on the market.
After all, she needed to know the market price to offer proper repayment, right?
But...
O-One copy... not even one?
Despite mobilizing her funds and connections to scour collectors across the entire empire, the result was zero copies.
It was utterly unbelievable, but the one and only signed copy by an author in this world...
That man had given it to her out of pure kindness.
Thump—! Thump—! Thump—!
Aah... ugh... I... r-really... want... to see him... again...!!
Kidian desperately wanted to repay the man who had given her such a dreamlike experience.
***
“I-It was...! J-Just... pure... kindness... you gave it to me...! Hic...! I-I’ve... n-never... received... s-something like that... before!”
Pang—!
Her words “pure kindness” stabbed me right in the chest.
“So... I w-wanted to... repay you... somehow!!... B-But if I go out... in public...! I-I might... cause trouble again!!... I k-know it’s a nuisance... b-but calling you here like this... I’m really... sorry...! Sorry!!”
Still, I felt a wave of relief inside.
Phew, good thing... I thought she’d ask for the book back.
Of course, the copy of Childhood Friend Rape in my safe was purely for commercial research purposes—not personal taste at all!
It was similar to how, in my past life writing erotica, I’d analyze reader preferences from view counts and reflect them in future works.
“No, really, it’s nothing. Signing a book isn’t a big deal.”
I said sincerely.
Sure, Childhood Friend Rape was in short supply now due to the hype...
But I bought extra printing presses, didn’t I?
Soon there’d be plenty in circulation, so it wasn’t anything special.
Receiving repayment for this would just burden me.
“Y-Yes...?”
At that moment, the robed woman’s eyes turned suspiciously sharp.
What was it? Her already dark eyes...
Seemed to darken another shade.
“W-What did you... say...? Y-You... p-personally... s-signed it!!!... Y-You’re saying...? T-Then!!... C-Could it be... N-Nakadashi... the author himself...!?”
“Ah...”
Had I been too distracted by the “mana repositories”?
I’d let slip that I’d signed it personally.
Well, as I said earlier, I had no intention of hiding it from anyone outside my family...
But I didn’t expect it to spread this fast.
Ah, whatever... that’s how it is.
No point denying it now—they wouldn’t believe me anyway, and I had no reason to. So I nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. I’m Nakadashi.”
“.....?!?!”
Whoosh—!!
Her reaction was explosive.
She clasped her hands over her mouth, trembling, then suddenly jumped up, bounced on her toes, and spun in place.
...She’s kinda cute like that.
Jiggle—! Jiggle—! Jiggle—!
If you ignored the “mana repositories” jiggling with every move, that is.
It was clearly pure joy...
But those breasts were stealing the entire scene.
Thud—!!
“P-P-Please!!!... N-Nakadashi... sir!!... I h-have a request!!... S-So...!!... P-Please write... a n-novel... with a protagonist... b-based on me!!... Overall... m-me!!”
“....?”
The sudden shift left my head spinning.
How was I supposed to process this?
The woman who’d been dancing moments ago was now in full dogeza mode.
Gulp—
...Feels totally different from when the skeleton did it.
It was the exact same dogeza as the skeleton’s earlier...
But a noble young lady clearly of higher standing than me doing it felt insanely taboo.
“F-First, stand up. Let’s talk sitting down.”
“Ah... y-yes...! Th-Thank you!”
It felt like our host-guest roles had flipped, but she carefully sat on the sofa I pointed to.
Plop—
I sat across from her and opened my mouth.
“That... I’m grateful for the request, but... I don’t think that’ll work.”
I’m a man who knows how to separate work and play.
No matter how much a gloomy big-titted noble lady begged in dogeza, I could refuse!
“...Eh?... W-Why...? M-Money then!!”
“It’s not about money. I’ve already started writing my next work. Changing the content now would be tough.”
“Hic...! B-But... uuu... If it’s... y-your next work...?... W-What... k-kind... of story... are you... w-writing...?”
“....”
I hesitated on whether to reveal the next title.
...Eh, whatever.
It was embarrassing, but it was getting published soon anyway.
And compared to Childhood Friend Rape, 100 Days Later, the Gloomy Young Lady Falls was way more normal.
“Haa... you absolutely can’t tell anyone else, okay?”
“I-I swear!! I won’t!! I promise! E-Even my soul if—”
“—No need for that.”
I quickly cut her off—she looked dead serious about pledging her soul.
For other jobs, maybe it’d sound like a joke, but from a necromancer? Not funny.
“100 Days Later, the Gloomy Young Lady Falls.”
Squeeze—!
Her eyes widened at the title, hands clenching tightly on her knees.
“100 days... later...! T-The gloomy... y-young lady... f-falls...?”
“Yes. Let me briefly explain the protagonist...”
Thinking of it as pre-testing reactions from a loyal fan wasn’t bad.
“She’s a gloomy noble lady who holes up in her room reading erotica alone... Masturbation’s a daily routine—at least once, up to five times on bad days. Her defining trait? Her pussy’s hypersensitive—one light touch and she cums so hard she passes out.”
“Gasp...?!... Hnngh!♥... Hnnghaaa—!!♥”
The moment I described the protagonist’s traits, the robed woman clamped a hand over her mouth, her breathing turning ragged.