An Eventful Life (1)
Theo's life had been eventful. After his younger sister was kidnapped by black mages, he tried everything that came to mind to get her back. Whenever rumors spread of a black mage appearing in some village, he would rush there immediately. Yet that haphazard approach only ever let him witness the aftermath of their atrocities, never bringing him any closer to his sister's whereabouts.
Time passed like that. Just as the goal inside Theo gradually shifted from "save my sister" to "avenge my sister," he happened to join a small mercenary band. Through the various experiences there, he came to the conclusion that he needed to grow stronger. Rather than chasing after every small-fry black mage in sight, he would become powerful enough to deal with the real threats and deliver a far more devastating revenge. In other words, he had learned to see the bigger picture.
From the reckless boy who once threw himself at a noble's carriage with nothing but the desire to save his sister, to the young man who entered the Imperial Academy with the future in mind—how many things had happened along the way? If written down, it would easily fill a hundred chapters of a web novel. But, surprisingly and somewhat sadly, none of those eventful experiences had included romance.
Before entering the academy, Theo had never had the luxury of mind to worry about such things, and the women around him had all been far too bold to inspire any feminine charm. Like the protagonist of some manga, Theo's turbulent life had somehow circled back around to grant him the pristine romantic record of a dating-sim protagonist.
"What should I do to make a girl like me?" he once asked one of his few male friends within his narrow circle of acquaintances. The reply had been blunt.
"You're seriously asking me that right now? Are you messing with me?"
That guy didn't have a girlfriend either. If anything, he had gotten angry, accusing Theo of bragging. Well, with a harem party consisting of Luna, Claire, and Faye—three women and one man—it was understandable that such a question would sound like teasing. That said, it was also true that Theo genuinely needed help.
Who should he ask? Luna had told him to just go for it, but following that advice blindly felt difficult. It simply… wasn't easy. After agonizing over it again and again, Theo finally found a suitable source of information. Once he thought of her, he couldn't help but wonder why he had forgotten such an obvious choice. There was one person who was a woman, knew Faye well, and wouldn't feel burdened by the question.
"…So that's why you called me here?"
It was the Count's daughter. The contract between her and Theo had already ended several days ago. After "persuading" her to bring Faye on the first day, Theo had never summoned her again. For the Count's daughter, who had spent every moment anxiously wondering when Theo would use her again after being thoroughly dealt with that first day, the conclusion had been rather hollow. She had even secretly despaired, wondering if she lacked any appeal as a woman. In truth, he had simply been busy.
After Faye joined, they had started new training to coordinate their breathing, and on top of that, Theo had increased his physical conditioning. As a result, he hadn't had time to call for the Count's daughter. If they had been seeing each other regularly, it might have been different, but the only opportunities for Theo and the Count's daughter to meet were during academy classes. Theo had always lived a life far removed from laziness. With two sudden additions to his schedule, it was inevitable that time became scarce. Honestly, even Theo himself hadn't expected it. He was only now realizing just how busy his life had become. Before he knew it, a week had slipped by.
The contract allowing him to use her body as he pleased had ended. There was no reason for her to come just because he summoned her. It wouldn't have been strange if she ignored him, so he was genuinely grateful that she had shown up.
"Right. You've known Faye for a long time. You must know what she likes, at least to some degree."
"Of course. Faye and I have been close for several years now. I know her well. If that's what you're looking for, I can say you've come to the right person."
The Count's daughter chuckled softly as she looked at Theo. She had no intention of telling him for free. Her eyes made that perfectly clear.
"You want something in return, I take it?"
"Naturally. This is selling information about a friend, after all. No matter how good your intentions are, you should at least compensate me enough to ease my conscience, don't you think?"
"Ha. So you'll sell it as long as you get paid. And you call that having a conscience?"
"Oh my. Of course, I'm only saying this because your goal won't harm Faye. If that weren't the case, I wouldn't have opened my mouth even if a knife were pressed to my throat. A noble with a loose tongue gets isolated quickly, you know."
"Tsk. There you go with the noble talk again. You're really consistent."
"This is the only way of living I've ever learned. Please understand."
Having lived as a noble for over twenty years, it was understandable that she wouldn't change easily. While her body might be comfortable, living her entire life with her limbs bound by the shackles of duty and dignity was, in a way, pitiable. That didn't mean Theo's aversion to nobles had lessened, though.
Theo asked in a sulky tone, "So. What do you want? If it's reasonable, I'll consider it."
If it wasn't reasonable, he would have to resort to "persuasion" again. He had already used it on the Count's daughter once, and she belonged to the type of noble he disliked. There were few reasons to hesitate.
"……"
The Count's daughter didn't answer right away. Ten seconds. He wondered what kind of enormous price she was about to demand, given how long she was taking. Thirty seconds. Maybe she hadn't thought of anything and was just hesitating now. One minute. Theo realized that neither of his earlier guesses was correct. She simply needed time to prepare herself mentally.
The Count's daughter's face flushed slightly. Her lips moved as if to speak, then stopped, repeating the motion. Her hands restlessly clutched and released the hem of her dress. After dragging it out like that, she finally finished her mental preparations and opened her mouth.
"…Please have sex with me."
"…What?"
Theo, who had been quietly tense from the prolonged silence, reflexively asked back at the completely unexpected request. Whatever interpretation she made of his reaction, the Count's daughter averted her gaze and began rambling.
"Ah. No, it's not that I want to have sex with you, Theo. That wouldn't make sense, would it? It's just… last time, I was the one who ran out of stamina first. That means you won. Running away after winning goes against my pride. So I want a proper rematch. Yes, I'm simply challenging you to another match."
Her words were jumbled and hard to follow, but that very fact made her true intention crystal clear. She wanted to experience that pleasure from that day one more time—enough to overcome her embarrassment to say it. For Theo, it was a welcome offer. At the very least, it was a far cheaper price than anything he had imagined.
"Fine. But only for one day."
"One day? I gave you a whole week before… mmph."
The Count's daughter had been about to complain that it was too little when she realized the situation was completely different and swallowed her words. The contract when she had been "taken" had indeed been for a week, but Theo had only actually used her body on the first day. Of course, that was only because he hadn't exercised his rights; the contract itself had been fulfilled without issue for the full week, so it wasn't really a problem. The real issue was that the original contract had been made under the pretext of "repaying the favor of saving her life." Making the same demand now would be like devaluing her own life. Still, it felt wasteful to end such a rare opportunity after just one time.
Theo noticed her dilemma and made a suggestion. "Then how about twice? But one of them will be whenever I want."
It was an odd proposal. Clearly, Theo was the one asking for Faye's information, and the Count's daughter was the one demanding compensation in return. Yet it was Theo who was offering to give more compensation, as if doing her a favor. That was because Theo didn't dislike having sex with the Count's daughter either. Objectively speaking, she was quite a beautiful girl. He had no romantic feelings toward her, but she wasn't a bad partner for simply enjoying physical pleasure.
The Count's daughter's expression brightened at Theo's suggestion, then she quickly composed herself and replied, "Ahem, ahem. W-well, that wouldn't be so bad… Kyaa!"
Theo closed the distance without waiting for her to finish. He pulled her waist close and abruptly grabbed her buttocks.
"Why are you so surprised? Didn't we say starting from today?"
"W-well, yes, but… so suddenly… ahn."
At the rough kneading of her buttocks, excitement welled up in the Count's daughter's chest. It was the anticipation of experiencing that pleasure from before once more. Theo's hand slipped under her dress and directly explored her rear.
"Hm?"
Theo felt something strange in the sensation. Directly? I only lifted her dress a little. When he confirmed the feeling by groping around, there really was something odd. The area where her underwear should have been between the dress and her buttocks was strangely small—small enough that it would slip between her cheeks with the slightest movement. Even during their previous encounter, her underwear had been thin enough to be see-through, but at least the coverage had been normal.
"You came here planning to do it from the start, didn't you?"
"……"
The Count's daughter lowered her head, her face bright red. That was her answer. But since her body was already heated, it was hard to endure leaving her like this after awakening such pleasure. In truth, she had been hoping today that Theo would summon her under the pretext of the contract. Even though the contract had already ended, if he demanded her body, she had planned to pretend she hadn't noticed the period was over and give herself to him.
Well, this transaction was unexpected, but my plan to overlap bodies with Theo hasn't changed.
Realizing that things had ultimately gone the way she wanted, the Count's daughter pulled herself together. She raised her hands and pushed Theo's body away. Her hands trembled slightly from excitement and didn't have much strength, but Theo obediently stepped back. The Count's daughter forced her reluctant mouth to move and spoke the words she had prepared.
"Th-this time, I'm the one receiving compensation. So please just stay still, Theo."
She couldn't accept ending things while having lost the match. That was an excuse, but it was also her true feelings. Determined to get her revenge this time, she placed her hand on Theo's crotch.