151. ☆Become a Chivalrous Thief's Comrade BOJA☆
151. ☆Become a Chivalrous Thief's Comrade BOJA☆
Though I figured you would already know this,
the Athena Guild's motif was essentially a 'shady organization'.
The idea was that when human wisdom gathered, all that ultimately came out was the stench of shady shit.
Just as the Ares Guild pushed forward with sheer brainpower, the Athena Guild was heavily involved in shady political maneuvering.
The scenario that hinted at this was the Year 1 Minerva event, and the moment this stench fully exploded into a shitstorm was around Year 3, when the Abyss invasion began in earnest... but...
"It's gonna blow up anyway, so who cares if it blows up now?"
Actually, this part was also a Minerva-related quest, so it was something that could definitely be prevented.
Around that time, assuming a bond rank had been built up with Merk, the story would involve directly exposing the Athena Guild's shady side and installing Minerva as the guild's true successor.
The main point of the event was to make the scandal burst quietly, without fanfare, and without tarnishing the Athena Guild's name, making them voluntarily step down.
And what I was about to do now was the exact opposite of that.
'Honestly, I am a bit anxious though....'
Thinking about it weakening the forces meant to stop the future Abyss invasion did leave a bitter taste in my mouth.
But thinking on the flip side, from the moment I, one of the NTR villains, stopped doing villainous things, it could be seen as a sort of force multiplication.
If I considered the Athena Guild's reduced combat power alongside the combat power gained from my participation──actually, wait a moment.
"Why was I naturally thinking I had to solve it....well, I guess I should."
My original plan was to push everything onto the Protagonist while I lived as a petit bourgeois scraping by.
But when I actually opened my eyes, I was the one running around here and there alone. By now, didn't I have no choice but to admit it?
'This human being known as me also learns, you know....'
I would probably have to stop it no matter what.
Even if I wanted to run away, I believed without a doubt that if Mars or the others were ever in danger, I would step forward in that very moment.
"Haaaaaah...."
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
This was definitely different from what I first had in mind.
As the days went by, the distance from the leisurely healing life I had dreamed of grew further, and I was beginning to feel a great deal of regret.
'...Should I have just stayed put even if I saw them being NTR'd?'
No. If I had done that, the whole thing would have probably exploded from internal division before the Abyss invasion even started.
At least, seeing the Protagonist's recent actions, it was a situation I couldn't deny.
Even if I sat him down and told him to stop getting NTR'd so much, his personality made it obvious he would just ignore it. And if I just killed him entirely...
"I...become the Protagonist?"
Nah, that was going a bit too far.
In the first place, every Protagonist in this game had a reason for being the Protagonist.
When Uranus, the true final boss, appeared later on, the only existence capable of defeating her was Jupiter, bearing the Holy Sword.
'The funny part is that the Holy Sword's power scales with the number of heroines conquered, but still.'
The meaning of 'Holy Sword' wasn't a sacred sword, but a sexual sword, which was truly a common occurrence.
"........Ugh."
Good thing I didn't say that out loud.
For a moment, even I was horrified by what I just said.
'Anyway, Merk said she's coming, so why isn't she here yet?'
The current time was 2:20 PM.
We were supposed to meet at 2, but it was already 20 minutes over.
As I harbored the reasonable suspicion that this was a date flag meant to make me wait for her, Merk finally showed her face after making me wait another 10 minutes.
─Ding-dong♬
"Sorry...was I super late?"
"............"
Her words said sorry, but her expression did not.
She wielded her cuteness and femininity like weapons, with a nuance that practically screamed, 'You're a guy, so surely you won't get mad?'. It was Merk to a tee.
'Yeah. This was the kind of girl she was.'
I had been too disinterested to notice, but Merk's character was what you'd call a 'bratty kid'.
Moreover, she was slightly jealous of Minerva and a character who enjoyed stealing away and toying with the men who approached Minerva.
"I'm sorry, Chrono... Ah, but I bought something Chrono will like!"
Look at her now.
Having the time to buy something meant she could have just arrived earlier.
Yet by deliberately arriving late because she was buying something?
It was a move to block any room for me to complain about it.
A technique where she roasted her opponent by making them use their time waiting,
while simultaneously eliminating their anger, leaving nothing but the lingering feeling of having waited.
Heck, she even casually linked her arm with mine as she walked into the house.
Since my bond rank with Minerva had hit MAX, as a reaction to that, Merk was also going all out with her foxlike antics to conquer me.
'Her clothes are... a date look, too.'
A cute one-piece with a white base and small frills.
It was a style that emphasized a small, young child-like feel while subtly initiating frequent physical contact, playing with men right on the borderline between 'child' and 'woman'.
And now, as the event progressed further? She would sit right on my lap, practically engage in pseudo-sexual acts, and then──
[....If it were Ter]
Starting with that, all the way to the concluding remark that I'm an adult, so it's legal.
After that, the events with Merk were truly the textbook definition of textbook.
If you tried to build bond ranks with other heroines, she would disrupt it every single time. Sometimes she'd pull you in by acting jealous, and sometimes she'd push you away by saying she didn't want to see it—a master class in push-and-pull.
"Chrono? Are you feeling sick or something?"
".....Ah, sorry."
My thoughts had gotten so long that I'd blanked out for a bit.
I led Merk inside the house and sat her down.
"Pardon the intru...huh?"
".....The?"
As soon as we entered, Mai turned her head toward us.
Mai came trotting up to me and took what I was holding in my hands.
"....Mai, already a conquered target. Affection items no longer needed."
"This time it's a dating sim, huh. Take it easy. You'll waste away to nothing."
What was inside were colorful macarons of all shades.
She probably bought them for herself. Still, since Mai seemed to like them, it looked fine.
"Uh...who's the little kid?"
A little kid calling another little kid a little kid.
But hadn't you seen Mai once before?
'...Ah, was it because she was in horse form back then?'
Realizing she probably hadn't seen Mai in human form before, I introduced her to Merk.
"Her name is Mai, and she's my servant demon. Her species is Pegasus."
"...That white horse from that time...!"
White horse....
A white horse, so...white horse....?
...It wasn't like I hadn't thought the same thing, but hearing it from someone else felt peculiarly novel.
"Hmm-mmm....Heh-eeeeh.....a servant demon, huh?"
"That's right."
Merk looked back and forth between Mai and me with a strange glint in her eye.
Soon after, Merk let out a casual laugh and asked me a question.
"Chrono, don't tell me... just because she looks like a girl, you're not a pervert who does it with a horse, are you?"
".............."
"....Chrono?"
"Well."
She was a white horse.
White horses were meant to be ridden.
So I just rode her.
".....Pervert."
...I couldn't even refute that one.
"So, did the horse-loving pervert Chrono-ro call the great Merk all the way here to ask her for a favor?"
"............"
Maybe I should just do this alone after all.
A sudden impulse surged up, making me think it might be easier to go alone, but I held it in.
If I went alone, it would be comfortable, sure.
But if I needed to look up the Athena Guild's internal situation, or access places like the Athena Guild's warehouse or database, couldn't I just ask Minerva?
".........."
"....Chrono. Are you mad by any chance?"
"No. Not exactly mad."
It was a thought that came to me only now, but was Merk really necessary?
While I had called Merk over thinking about what happened in the event, I could actually substitute every single thing Merk could do.
Of course, hacking a computer was beyond her, but with Minerva around, most things would probably be possible.
At the very least, she would know the layout of the guild, or the location of the warehouse and vault! So I could just move around with time stopped.
'I'm not a 10-second premature ejaculator like in the old days either.'
Now I could manage 10 minutes, and with Mai with me, a total of 40 minutes was coverable.
"Mm....sorry. Just head back."
I got up from my seat, deciding to call Minerva instead.
"Aaaah, I'm sorry! I apologize! I was wrong! Actually, I just wanted to see Chrono pacing around anxiously waiting for me, so I did it on purpose!"
".............."
When things went south, Merk immediately flipped over and bared her belly.
Grabbing my sleeve and pulling me back down, she was voluntarily insisting I don't get up, that she really wants to do this together.
'But still, there's not really...'
any merit.
There was no merit in bringing Merk along.
....Good thing I didn't say that out loud either.
"Is there anything you want to eat? Since you're here anyway, I should at least feed you."
"That means 'eat and get lost', doesn't it! No! Anyone can see this is going to be something super fun!"
"It's not really fun."
"Liar! Hermes told me it would be super fun and to make sure I tag along!"
"........Oooh."
Following up the dine-and-dash, now it's a forced party quest?
Just as I was already beginning to feel my favorability toward Hermes dropping in real-time—
[Mission]
[☆Become a Colleague of the Righteous Thief BOJA☆]
-A mission issued by Hermes.
1. Conduct righteous thief activities with Merk. (0/1)
Reward: Purified Queen of the Night
"..........."
Seeing this actually made me dislike it more.
Just as my resolve to go alone was solidifying further—
[Main God─Hermes:
♚♚Heroes of the Righteous Thief♚♚JOIN NOW$$Reward for ALL☜☜100% Backside Bonus※ ♜Made by Hermes & Hephaestus♜ EX-Grade Pet Given for FREE￥ Specific Conditions §§Lupin the 3rd is Actually My Child§§★Chance to Acquire Abyss Relic★@@@ Join Now!]
"Ah."
This familiar feeling.
The more I ignored it, the more it kept coming.
[Main God─Hermes:
Divine Sender, 1st Time Only, Conditional Reward, EX-Grade Legendary Pet, Code=Hermes☆LoyaltyLoyalty]
"This fucker."
Fine, I'll do it, I'll do it.
As an aside,
in the temple of Hermes.
"Phewww.... I was shocked; I really thought you might refuse!"
Hermes shifted the focus of the mirror and spoke toward Merk.
"No matter how much you want to joke around, you need to know the time and place. If you mess around thoughtlessly, you can get screwed in a flash, you know?"
He finished offering a bit of advice for his child and turned off the light of the mirror.
Now, all that remained was to review the gift for the 'Prophesied Hero'.
"Most of the adjustments are done...."
The memories,
the personality,
the hymen reconstruction was finished too.
He had also created things like physical compatibility and preferences, considering them as much as possible.
"....Hair color...hmm."
Hephaestus said it should be a pure black color, the symbol of a virgin, but...
"Black is a no."
It was far too reminiscent of Cronus.
So he would do the exact opposite of Cronus, a color that could never be associated with Cronus──
"──Let's go with pink!"