Last Kiss... ♥
I could tell from Estelle's tone how sincere she really meant it when she called me her partner. Maybe I had only been thinking about our relationship so far, without considering the future at all.
But Estelle had already made up her mind to stay by my side until the very end. Even if it was just with a weak, inadequate guy like me.
I lowered my head and offered my apologies properly.
"...I'm sorry. It was all my fault."
"...Since you admit it so quickly, I have nothing more to say."
It was indeed the best way to apologize when one had done wrong. Spouting some ridiculous excuse only made the other person angrier.
Estelle tilted her head slightly and asked me.
"Then can you tell me everything right now?"
"...Huh?"
"I want to hear about the worries you've been carrying, worry with you, and find a way to solve them together."
The corners of Estelle's eyes curved beautifully, and the corners of her mouth lifted just a little. Seeing that adorable smile, I was left speechless.
"I'm your lover, after all."
"...I see."
...I had been a fool to worry about it all alone with someone like her nearby.
I told Estelle everything—everything I knew, the information I had received from Alicia, and why I had decided to bring her along.
"Why were you always sneaking into the nest alone...? It was to get information from a Mother, right? You were trying to figure out why the Demon King was after you."
"...Yes."
"Still, I don't quite understand. Why is the Demon King trying to kill the hero named Abel instead of... kidnapping him?"
"Even His Holiness said he was confused about it."
"...For now, there's nothing we can figure out through discussion alone. As Abel said, we should take Alicia with us, avoid dangerous situations, and hunt Mothers to gather information while opening the sacred realm."
"Understood."
Estelle gave me one last glance at the end of her story.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Admitting that Abel was wrong this time, right?"
"Yes. I was the one in the wrong."
"...Then, if you're wrong, you should be punished, right?"
...Punished?
"What kind of punishment?"
"Well..."
Estelle hesitated for a moment, then suddenly stood up from her seat. She sat down right next to me.
"Estelle?"
"...P, please punish me by kissing me ten times."
"...Huh?"
Estelle kept her head turned away from me, only rolling her eyes sideways. Her cheeks were flushed red from how embarrassed she was with such a shameless request.
"...Ten times would probably be too much for you."
"N, no need to be so short. Just nine times. The last one only..."
"...Okay."
If she was forgiving me this much, there was nothing I couldn't do. One hundred times was out of the question.
I carefully grabbed Estelle's cheek and slowly lowered my head. As my face approached, Estelle slowly closed her eyes.
The soft feeling of her skin touched my lips. When I pulled back a little, there came a short, crisp sound. Estelle looked at me with slightly open eyes, as if regretting the brief moment.
Of course, she didn't have much time to regret it. There were still eight more to go. I lowered my head again and transferred my affection to her lips.
Smack.
Smack.
Smack.
Each time our lips met and parted, Estelle's expression gradually brightened. She truly looked this happy. Estelle was now smiling bashfully.
...At this point, I felt even more embarrassed.
When I hesitated for a moment, Estelle wrapped her arm around my neck. She leaned her forehead against mine, as if telling me not to run away.
"There are still four left, Abel."
"...I know."
With our foreheads touching, there was no need to move my head much. A little movement was enough to touch her lips. It was a short, light kiss, but it carried her affectionate heart to me.
Time passed so slowly while I enjoyed those feelings, savoring the happiness with every kiss.
"...One last time... ♥"
In Estelle's clear, passionate voice, I pulled her waist close with my empty hand. I pressed my lips against her soft ones.
"Mmm..."
My lips covering Estelle's felt like I was trying to swallow her whole. The innkeeper seemed to be watching us, but I didn't care.
"Haa...."
"Phuaaa...."
We breathed each other in until the limit. Slowly, we parted our lips. Estelle looked at me with hazy eyes, then smiled brightly.
Her smile was so radiant and attractive that my heart raced, and I smiled back too.
#
"Does this village have a proper clothing shop?"
"Well, I can't keep wearing this rags forever. And since my body is small, I can't put Estelle's or Celine's clothes on Alicia either."
We had left the inn and come out to buy clothes for Alicia. The village wasn't that small, so there should be at least one shop that sold clothes.
"Let's buy something decent later in the city, and for now, just get temporary clothes."
"Right. Alicia, come here."
"Uh, yes. Okay."
Alicia ran over and clung to Estelle. Seeing that, I recalled what Celine had said at the inn.
[I thought it was so cute how the Saintess' hem was always being followed around.]
...Had she been talking about that?
"You guys got quite close after bathing together?"
"Ah, no... not that..."
Alicia glanced at Estelle's eyes. Why was she checking Estelle's eyes? After all, it was me who held her life in my hands.
...I couldn't understand.
"Sir Hero, isn't this the place?"
"Oh, yeah, it looks like it."
There was a small sign with a clothing icon. It was a good thing there was a clothing shop.
"Excuse me."
"Welcome to Rosina's Attire Shop!"
When we entered, a smiling female clerk greeted us. But calling it a professional attire shop... it was a bit small. It was more like a normal clothing store.
The clerk kept smiling and told us.
"What kind of clothes are you looking for?"
"This child."
I pointed at Alicia. The clerk's eyes sparkled slightly.
"Ah, are these for your child?"
"...No?"
"Yes!?"
"W, what..."
One comment that was obviously expected from the clerk left both Saintesses bewildered.
...Estelle, Celine. Why are you both reacting like that?
"We don't have a child."
"Um? Then..."
"I found this child. As you can see, she had no clothes to wear, so we came to buy some."
"Ah, ah? Are you the hero!?"
"...Yes, that's right."
More and more people recognized me these days. The clerk said "kyaaa~" and told me.
"I'll bring clothes that would suit the child~! Please wait comfortably anywhere!"
The clerk quickly disappeared with her words. That speed...
"...The shop clerk isn't ordinary either."
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"No, I'm going to wait over there."
I sat on a chair inside the shop. It probably was for people waiting while changing clothes in the fitting room. Estelle and Celine sat on chairs too, but Alicia stood there blankly.
"Sit. There's a chair over there."
"B, but is it okay?"
"Yes."
Alicia walked over and sat down lightly on the chair. She looked every bit the adorable girl. Sometimes, seeing that small body, I wondered if she really was a Mother. Suddenly, a question arose.
"But... how did you give birth to monsters with that body? Even the Behemoth-class monsters under you are much larger than you."
"Uh?... Well, I don't give birth myself. I do it through an agency. That's why it's fine. The agencies are necessary for our Mothers to establish nests."
...I see. So when I gave birth, the small monster grew bigger rapidly.
"We've been waiting for a long time! Here are the clothes!"
"...Surprisingly, there are a lot of fancy ones."
There were pretty clothes for a small shop.
"Waaah...."
Alicia opened her mouth wide in amazement. I felt like buying one for her, but fancy clothes weren't suitable for travel, so I rejected them all.
"Give me this one."
I picked the most plain and ordinary one-piece dress among them. The clerk tilted her head and said.
"Aren't there prettier clothes? This child would look great in them too...."
"I'm sorry, but it's not the time to wear such fancy clothes yet. We have to head out on the road soon."
"Ah... I see. Then this would be appropriate. Shall I calculate it?"
"Can I try it on right away?"
"Yes, try it on first and then calculate."
I handed the dress to Alicia and asked.
"Do you know how to put it on?"
"...I, I don't know how to..."
"Straight up."
"...I don't know."
I sighed lightly and looked at Estelle.
"Estelle, can you help?"
"...Sure, that's fine, but don't we need underwear too?"
"...Ah."
That was up to the Saintesses....
"Sorry, could you show me children's underwear?"
"Ah, yes! Of course."
After that... it was all smooth. Estelle took Alicia's clothes and underwear and entered with her. In a flash, she dressed her and came out. She had taught her how to wear them too, right?
"You taught her how to put it on, didn't you?"
"Of course."
Alicia came out looking perfectly dressed. She really was an adorable girl. Because it was plain clothes, her sky-blue hair stood out even more. Maybe I should dress her in a dress later and make her into a doll.
"...Ah, how about trying on that?"
"Eh?"
Estelle pointed at something, and I tilted my head.
"Isn't it a bit too big?"
The thing Estelle pointed at was a thin overcoat. But the size was a bit large for Alicia.
"Then it'll look cute."
"Eh?"
Estelle asked the clerk if it was okay to try it on, then handed it to Alicia. Seeing that, Celine and I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Why, why are you laughing?"
"No, it suits her."
Alicia in an overcoat larger than her body didn't have her hands sticking out of the sleeves. So when she raised her hand, the sleeve flapped down.
"It's not bad."
"Should we buy that too? It might get cold in the evening."
"Yeah."
Having successfully dressed Alicia, we headed back to the inn. On the way, Alicia sniffed the clothes and muttered.
"...It's not bad."
It was a relief that she liked it.
#
The Bathory Ducal territory, Bonaparte City. The atmosphere here was more lively and cheerful than usual.
It was because the birthday of the pride of the Bathory family and the hero born in Bonaparte City, Elfride Bathory, was approaching quickly.
"Miss, if it's the young lady's birthday, what a grand festival it will be this time!"
"Many outsiders will come too. We need to prepare for business in advance."
"You've already thought of what to sell. Not a single thought about celebrating the young lady!"
Unlike the bustling citizens of Bonaparte City, the actual birthday person, Elfride Bathory, felt a bit downhearted.
It was because of the news she had received not long ago: Abel had defeated the Agares-class floating monster and Barbatos-class knight-type monster that invaded Apollo Kingdom.
Of course, the news was something Elfride could be happy about. She had been happy about it. It was not only her but also another outstanding hero who had appeared.
Now, Elfride believed that Abel had shared some of the responsibilities and burdens she had been carrying. Thinking that, she had been greatly pleased by Abel's achievements.
However, the thoughts of the Duke Bathory were different.
"What have you been doing until now? Didn't it seem like your achievements as a hero would be overshadowed by a commoner who became one only five months ago?"
"...Father, Abel is an outstanding hero. He must be more capable than me..."
"That's exactly why I'm saying it's a problem! Our family's reputation will now surely head toward that hero...!"
The Duke slammed his fist on the desk heavily. As the head of the Bathory family and one of the two Dukes in the Vesta Kingdom, his anger was something Elfride could not oppose.
So she quietly lowered her head instead of arguing back.
"...I will work even harder."
"...Yeah, I'm glad you understand quickly."
The Duke sighed with a heavy sigh and gestured for Elfride to leave. She bowed politely and exited the office.
[Hey, your dad is too harsh. It's way too much, isn't it? You know she trains every day, right? What more does he want her to do... If you're that dissatisfied, why don't you have him do the hero training himself!]
As she left the office, the normally quiet Holy Sword of Trust, Luna, started chattering excitedly. Elfride gripped the scabbard tightly and said.
"...Keep quiet."
[...Okay.]
Luna was a sword with a lot of consideration. Because of that, she understood Elfride's heart and quietly closed her mouth. While Elfride took a moment to organize her thoughts in the quiet of her mind, she moved her feet.
Toward the training ground, which was empty since it was late, instead of her own room.
---