Chapter 36

Translator: penny

Chapter: 35

Chapter Title: Night Stroll

"Tweet...."

Honestly speaking, I never dreamed the situation would unfold like this.

"...Kairen, sometimes you need to make a decisive choice."

"...For a novice, you've got quite the ambition."

In other words, the current situation where I was lying in bed, sandwiched between Mother and Lilien, and drifting off to sleep.

But there was no helping it. Rather than picking one side and earning the other's resentment, I had no choice but to say I wanted to sleep with both of them.

It was the result of trying to make the best choice possible in a dilemma where either option seemed problematic.

"Kairen, how was today's outing?"

Anyway, as I lay there staring blankly at the ceiling with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wide-open eyes, Mother, who was lying beside me watching me, spoke in a soft voice.

"I wanted you to have a happy time, but I worry it might have been lacking in many ways."

No, for something like that, it was the happiest day of my life so far.

To begin with, I'd never left the lab or my room in all my past years. So I had no idea I could enjoy such peaceful happiness from an outing like this.

"Mother, I've been happy ever since coming to Belverk."

To convey that fact, I slowly turned my head to gaze at Mother and began speaking with the most serious expression I could muster.

"I have Mother who takes such good care of me, Big Sister who plays with me like a friend, and Big Sister Schwarz and the maid sisters who dote on me."

"......"

"That's why living here makes me happy! There are so many new experiences I've never had before. Hehe...."

Fortunately, Mother, who had been quietly watching me, let out a soft smile and began stroking my head.

Feeling that Mother had understood even a little of my sincerity, I smiled back, then slowly turned my head to look at Lilien, who had been silent for a while, and opened my mouth.

"But what have you been doing since earlier, Big Sister?"

At that, she, who had been rustling while curled up, slowly lifted her head and spoke in a crawling voice.

"...Now that I'm actually lying down, I don't know what to do."

"Why?"

"It's my first time sleeping with someone else...."

Lilien, half-covering her face with the pillow in her pajamas, blushing and mumbling, was, frankly speaking, quite destructive.

I mean, she usually has curses on her lips, but acting all childish only at times like this—isn't that against the rules?

"Big Sister, don't you have any friends?"

"......"

"Well, even friends don't usually sleep together...."

Fortunately, at my somewhat provocative joke, Lilien momentarily put on a cold expression before returning to her usual self.

"I was thinking of doing a pillow fight, but with that monster around, I'd obviously lose."

"...Watch your mouth, Lilien."

"See? Her sense of humor is as small as a mouse's tail. She'd probably fling me out the window the moment the fight starts."

Does someone usually get thrown out a window in a pillow fight? But thinking about it, if it were a fight between Belverk's matriarch and her third daughter, it seemed entirely possible?

"I know a game more fun than a pillow fight!"

"...Oh? What is it?"

"Well, you see.... It's this thing where...."

Of course, I didn't want such a commotion, so after quickly racking my brains for a moment, I suddenly started the most peaceful game I could think of.

"It's tickle tag!"

"...Hi?!"

"Big Sister is 'it' first!"

Frankly, I'd built up a lot of grudges, so this was perfect. Time to get proper revenge this time.

"Hey, kid. Have you lost your.... Eek!? S-Stop!"

"How does it taste?!"

"...S-Stop. For real!"

With that thought, I pounced on Lilien and tickled her sides, and she squirmed and flailed before suddenly biting her lip and letting out a trembling voice.

"Seriously, stop...."

Huh? What's this? It's not the reaction I expected.

"...N-Now Mom's 'it'!"

I looked down at Lilien, who was glaring at me with teary eyes, with a slightly flustered expression, then hurriedly switched targets to Mother lying beside us.

"......"

But Mother, who had lain still even as I climbed on top, instead straightened her posture slightly and looked up at me expressionlessly.

"H-Hyah. Hng...."

"......"

"...H-How's that? Ticklish, right?"

For some reason, it sparked my competitive spirit, so I gritted my teeth and tickled Mother all over with every ounce of strength I had from nursing, but Mother's face staring at me remained utterly expressionless.

"Yes, it's ticklish."

"It doesn't seem like it...."

Then, as I made a pouty face, Mother finally lifted the corner of her mouth slightly and whispered in a low voice.

"By the way, it seems the rule is to take turns being 'it'."

"......Yes?"

"In that case, the next 'it' has already been decided."

Right after that, Mother's eyes seemed to glow red, and suddenly, an invisible force enveloped my entire body.

"To dare attack Belverk's matriarch—you've got guts."

"W-Wait a sec."

Realizing it was Mother's unique ability, I urgently tried to escape, but it was already too late.

"Kid, are you prepared?"

"Eek?"

Lilien, who had quietly approached to block my escape, slipped her hand inside my clothes with a cold expression.

"Just a timeout.... Eheheek!?"

And just a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠few seconds later, without a chance to stop them, the time for settling hellish karma began.

"St-Stop! Please stop!!!"

"......"

"I-It's ticklish! Eek!? Help!"

Of course, even screaming my lungs out, no one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was going to help me.

"They're having so much fun...."

"...Should we join in?"

"Just watch closely. The residents might come."

The maids on guard duty and the knights—all of them were not on my side at that moment.

The game continued until deep into the night, and utterly exhausted, I fell asleep sandwiched between Mother and Lilien.

"Ugh.... Did I eat too much dessert?"

But around dawn, I woke up to a sudden bodily signal, glanced at Mother and Lilien who had turned toward me in their sleep, and quietly headed to the bathroom.

"Hm?"

Up to that point, my first outing had been quite peaceful, but the moment I finished in the bathroom and stepped out, it entered a new phase.

Frankly, compared to quests given so far, the difficulty seemed easy.

But the problem was that one quest had completely unknown details.

"...This seems dangerous."

Of course, the System has never intentionally hidden situations where I might be in danger.

But a solo night stroll— is this really okay?

Still, following the System's words so far hasn't led to any losses....

> It's optional, so decide without pressure.

After furrowing my brow at the following kind message and pondering for a bit, I clenched my fists and made my decision.

'Alright, shall I go for a quick walk...?'

Of course, it wasn't that I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lost my sense of safety. Even though it was a solo night stroll, I naturally had something to rely on.

"Ah, I should go for a walk alone to clear my thoughts!"

I glanced around quietly, then muttered that a bit loudly, and suddenly the atmosphere around me grew chilling.

- Rustle rustle...

Soon, though invisible to my eyes, I could sense with my attuned ears the massive personnel moving busily from the end of the building's corridor and the roads outside.

Probably, with that one sentence, the forces on standby nearby had begun escorting me without revealing themselves for my covert night stroll.

'...At least I won't be in danger.'

Moreover, I could faintly feel Fluffball, sleeping inside my shadow, slowly opening its eyes.

With this, I didn't have to worry about any safety accidents, right?

Though I felt sorry for the maid sisters and knight sisters. I should sneakily give them gifts next time.

'This kind of experience is refreshingly new too....'

Anyway, having successfully exited the building without waking Mother and Lilien, I clasped my hands behind my back, inhaled the night air, and began walking.

Fortunately, unlike my worries, perhaps because it was a weekday after the weekend, no dangerous-looking people were visible on the streets.

"What are you doing alone in a dark place like this?"

"Hm?"

"Judging by your appearance, you don't seem like nobility.... Hmm."

It was right then, as I cautiously watched my surroundings and stealthily headed toward the bustling district to find the mysterious quest.

"If you keep this up, it'll be a problem."

"Pretty lady. Stop playing hard to get and hang out with us a bit?"

"Yeah, just for a little while."

From a dark alley on the opposite side of the bustling district, a situation that somehow looked troublesome caught my eye.

"...Could you please not touch me carelessly?"

"Oho, feisty one, aren't you?"

"Haha, this is getting more interesting...."

Observing the situation more closely, staggering drunken soldiers with arms linked were surrounding a woman who looked quite frail, throwing leers at her.

Even after the visibly displeased woman struck away a man's reaching hand with her fan, they showed no sign of stopping.

'These are straight-up bad guys.'

It seemed I'd found the mysterious quest faster than expected.

"Sorry, but I don't have time to deal with people like you?"

"......"

"Then, I'll be going...."

The frail-looking woman, blocked by the drunken soldiers, gave a cold smile and tried to pass between them.

"Hey now, where do you think you're going."

"This is a dead end, lady."

But the soldiers blocked her path as if to say no way, grinning drunkenly.

"This has become somewhat troublesome."

The identity of the woman, who watched them with cold eyes and took a step back, was none other than the person known in society as the second monster of the Monster Ducal House.

In other words, Belverk's second daughter, who had sneaked into the capital unbeknownst to anyone to personally check the new variable that appeared in the family.

"Starting trouble here won't do me any good."

Thus, the current situation had several disadvantages for her.

Though the second daughter mainly won through schemes and tactics, today she had dismissed all her confidants for her covert operation.

Of course, she could deal with these soldiers in the blink of an eye even so, but doing that would alert the matriarch's servants scattered around nearby.

"...Cough."

Thanks to that, the second daughter, quietly biting her lip, suddenly flinched and began coughing.

"Of all times...."

She quietly hid the blood that had seeped onto her hand, her face paling as she began breathing heavily.

"Hey, ugly brothers!"

It was right then that a spirited young boy's voice echoed from the opposite end of the dead-end alley.

"Sorry, but could you step away from there!"

"...What's this brat?"

"I was wondering what it was. You scared me."

The soldiers turned around with wide eyes and, upon spotting Kairen at the alley entrance, muttered mockingly.

"I-I'm not a brat!?"

"Then what are you?"

"W-Well...."

Kairen, growling at the soldiers with the fiercest expression he could manage, stuttered momentarily at the unexpected question.

"...Her friend."

"Huh?"

"D-Didn't you hear?"

Then, clenching his fists tightly and squeezing his eyes shut, he raised his voice spiritedly once more.

"...I'm the boyfriend of that big sister over there!"

A profound silence enveloped the alley right after.

"Pardon?"

In that silence, amid the soldiers' dazed stares directed at her, the second daughter asked back with a slightly flustered expression.