Chapter 6
Chapter 6
The Only One Allowed to Touch Elara Is Me.
[Chat] LOL hey, you scrubs. Now this is what I call a game.
Author:
Gallery bros, this is totally different from the way you scared the shit out of me lololol
She suddenly called me this morning, so I thought I was getting stabbed.
But when I got there, she acted all tsundere and gave me +5 affection instead? lololol
Isn’t this game easy as hell? lololol what have you guys been doing all this time?
[12 Comments]
WhiteMage: ...Huh? You already got +5 affection?
KangkangRobot2nd: This bastard... is he really a newbie? What the hell?
BlondBigBoobsDaisuki: Wait lolol that bitch acted tsundere? Instead of pulling a knife?
AnywayTheLegalWifeIsOne: I think this guy’s abusing the counselor class privilege hardcore.
Gogumador: Rookie, this really isn’t the time to laugh.
: ? What’s the problem?
Gogumador: Right now she’s in a state of “confusion” because her defense mechanisms collapsed. But the moment she regains herself, the “main event” starts. The real hell begins from there.
KangkangRobot2nd: Hey newbie, serious advice here.... if you get cocky, you could die instantly. I also created a good situation like yours when I was Kim Makrye, 55-year-old blacksmith, and then got killed.
WhiteMage: Honestly he got cocky with blacksmithing and ended up getting blacksmithed himself. Even thinking about it now is ridiculous lololol. Smelting a heroine? Pfftkekekekekekek
KangkangRobot2nd: Fuck, don’t remind me of that, you WhiteMage bastard.... don’t you remember dying after spamming teleport as a mage, running around meeting heroines until your mana dried up?
WhiteMage: The teacher’s truth bombs hurt......
KangkangRobot2nd: Anyway, newbie, be careful. I got wiped out suddenly because of an “event” too.
Event……
Just what the hell was this “event” thing?
I replied to KangkangRobot2nd.
: What exactly happens during an event?
KangkangRobot2nd: Idiot. That +5 feels like a “reward,” right? But it’s actually a “next chapter trigger.” This trash game isn’t generous. The moment it gives you a carrot, the whip comes flying right after. You’ll probably find out soon enough.
……Soon?
The moment I mulled over the word “soon”—
───Neeeeigh!
A sharp horse’s cry rang out from outside the window.
“ ……? ”
I closed the gallery window and walked over to the window.
Opening it, I saw a lavish carriage stopped in front of the mansion gate.
And in front of it, the old butler was bowing at a ninety-degree angle to a woman I had never seen before.
Just like KangkangRobot2nd had said, something had begun.
Holding my breath, I observed outside.
Black hair, a hairpin covering one eye asymmetrically. The woman was even smoking a long pipe. On the back of her cloak was an emblem.
A wooden staff……? Something like that.
At that moment, the information I’d seen in the gallery connected together with the system window in my head.
‘Past trauma’ and the 「 Hero Party 」 that Elara despised.
……A staff? A mage, perhaps?
The old butler appeared to be spreading his arms at the gate, trying to block her.
Then suddenly, the mansion doors swung wide open…… and Elara herself appeared.
Unlike last night, her face was pale and grim.
The old butler turned in alarm, but Elara was glaring stiffly at the black-haired woman.
And then…… she “invited” the black-haired woman into the mansion.
“ ……Invited? ”
Holy shit.
I stopped breathing.
The gallery bastards’ warnings had become reality.
That +5 affection wasn’t a congratulatory gift. It was an express ticket straight to hell.
Elara had personally invited into the mansion a woman who might very well be the source of her trauma.
[ KangkangRobot2nd: If you get cocky, you could die instantly. ]
A moment ago, I’d been bragging in the gallery about how “easy” this was.
Turns out, the one truly fucked was me.
“ Damn it, damn it……! ”
I sprinted down the creaking second-floor hallway with all my strength.
Since arriving at this mansion, my heart had never pounded this violently before. This pressure was on an entirely different level from facing Elara last night.
Taking the central stairs two at a time, I rushed downstairs.
First-floor lobby.
The old butler was already gone.
Cold air.
The entire mansion was deathly silent.
……No.
Over there. The reception room.
I could hear faint, restrained voices leaking out.
Suppressing the sound of my footsteps, I peered through the half-open door.
“ ……So, what’s your business, Lillian? ”
It was Elara’s voice. She was forcing a smile, but her tone was sharpened like a blade.
On the sofa opposite her—
The black-haired woman from before, Lillian, sat with her legs crossed deep into the sofa as though it were her own house.
Tapping ash from her pipe into the ashtray, she slowly exhaled smoke between her red lips. The smoke scattered like a sneer.
“ Business? Well…… I heard rumors that the once talented Hero Party candidate was ‘going insane.’ So I came to see for myself. ”
As expected, she was one of the Hero Party scumbags.
“ Long time no see, Elara. Have you found that precious ‘color’ of yours yet? ”
“ …… ”
The sneer hanging on the woman’s lips struck directly at Elara’s trauma.
[ Elara’s psychological state rapidly changes to ‘Anxiety.’ ]
[ Her defense mechanisms are attempting to reactivate. ]
Fuck, with just that one provocation, everything I barely managed to chip away at last night was about to reset to zero.
Without hesitation, I stepped inside.
“ Excuse me. ”
Creeeak.
The moment I pushed the door open and entered, every gaze in the reception room turned toward me.
Lillian, still holding the pipe, raised one eyebrow with amused interest.
Elara’s trembling eyes widened in confusion and anxiety, as if asking, ‘Why are you here?’
And……
The old butler standing like a ghost by the fireplace glared at me for the first time with actual killing intent in his eyes.
“ ……Who’s this? ”
The black-haired woman pointed at me with the end of her pipe as she asked.
Before Elara could answer, I stepped forward first and spoke.
“ I’m Aris Mardia, the one responsible for my lady’s counseling. If you don’t mind, may I join the two of you for a moment? ”
I put on the smile of a “capable counselor.”
“ What? A counselor……? ”
Lillian looked me up and down, then curled her lips as if entertained.
“ Looks like this gloomy mansion finally got itself a little ‘toy’ to keep you company. ”
“ Shut up, Lillian! ”
Bzzzzzzzt…….
The noise rang out again.
The static echoing in my ears was stronger than ever before, agitating my mind.
Elara was clearly shaken.
Leaning back deeply into the sofa, Lillian removed the pipe from her mouth.
Then…… locking eyes with me exactly, she grinned.
“ Hey there, Mr. Counselor? Did you teach her how to talk wrong or something during your counseling? What’s with the way she talks now? ”
In a cold voice that sounded meant only for me, she continued:
“ I don’t know about that. But from where I’m standing, it seems your ‘manners’ require counseling more than my lady’s speech does. ”
“ ……Teacher? ”
Elara looked back at me in shock.
Lillian let out a snort and exaggeratedly sighed.
“ Ohhh, manners……? Counselor teacher, was it Aris Mardia? I know you. That quack doctor who treats lunatics. ”
‘Quack doctor,’ huh.
This woman was looking down on me as merely “Elara’s toy.”
Arrogant, and unbelievably stupid.
I crossed my legs as well and faced her with an equally lazy smile.
“ Is that so? I know you too. Lillian…… I’ve heard quite a lot of rumors about you being the leader of the Hero Party’s worst thugs. Though in person, your manners are even worse than the rumors suggested. ”
Lillian almost dropped the pipe from her mouth.
For the first time, her relaxed smile stiffened.
“ ……Hey, you wanna die? ”
“ Haha, who would want to die? It’s just that…… our client here seems rather uncomfortable because of you. So perhaps you should leave. ”
Smiling faintly, I walked over to Elara and gently took her arm, helping her rise.
“ Elara, let’s go. Back to your room. ”
“ ……Teacher. ”
Deep down, I didn’t want the defense mechanisms I had worked so hard to break apart to rebuild themselves.
Gray, black, all those twisted chains of logic where she could stab me at any moment.
I absolutely couldn’t let things return to that state.
“ Come on, let’s go. ”
“ Wait a second…… ”
Still smoking her pipe, Lillian looked up at me.
Her sharp eyes narrowed dangerously.
“ Hey, you arrogant quack teacher……. You better watch yourself from now on. I’ll be keeping my eye on you. ”
So she knew how to threaten people too.
Well, whether I died this way or that way, my life was tied to Elara anyway.
I let out a small laugh.
“ Hmm, are you perhaps seriously ill? Watching me that obsessively just to hold a grudge? Once I finish counseling Lady Elara, I can see you too. Though it would be best if you booked an appointment in advance. ”
“ You little shit……! ”
Behind me, I heard the sharp scraping sound of her fingernails digging into the sofa armrest.
“ Let’s go. ”
Ignoring whatever curses she spat behind my back, I quietly led Elara out while holding her shoulders.
“ ……Master, what should we do? ”
Naturally, even the old butler followed us outside.
Elara glanced back toward the room behind us and let out a sigh.
“ ……For now, send her away. We can speak again later. ”
“ Understood. ”
After giving that stiff reply, the old butler reentered the room where Lillian remained.
Quietly, I continued guiding Elara by the shoulders.
As though her fear still hadn’t faded, the shoulders I held trembled slightly.
But she didn’t shake my hand away.
“ ……Teacher, that was a foolish thing you did. ”
“ Excuse me? ”
With an expressionless face, Elara stared at me as though I were pathetic.
“ Do you understand what it means to make enemies of the Hero Party? ”
Oh, I understood perfectly.
They’d definitely come looking for me to retaliate.
But I wouldn’t die because of them. My job was to save at least five villainesses, and if Elara reached a bad ending, then I’d die.
“ Haha, not really. You’re my client, after all, so I just reacted instinctively. If I overstepped, then I apologize. ”
“ ……. ”
Elara lowered her head slightly, her cheeks faintly reddening.
“ To me, you may have become white…… but to that woman, you’ve become absolute black. How do you plan on dealing with that? ”
“ When the time comes, won’t Lady Elara, former Hero Party candidate, help me out? ”
At those words, Elara’s footsteps abruptly stopped.
Raising her head, she looked at me…… with eyes completely different from before, as though she found me “interesting.”
[ Elara feels ‘interest’ toward your words. ]
“ ……I would help you? ”
“ Yes. You were a Hero candidate, weren’t you? Surely you wouldn’t ignore someone in trouble. ”
I answered with a bright smile.
“ You truly are foolish…… You’ve made an enemy out of the absolute worst villain. ”
“ Well, what can I do……? As long as you’re my client, I didn’t think I could leave you alone with her. ”
Smiling softly, I escorted her all the way to her room.
“ This is far enough…… thank you. ”
“ Don’t mention it. I’ll see you again tonight. ”
“ ……Um, and. ”
“ Yes? ”
Unable to meet my eyes directly, Elara lowered her head deeply.
Her pure white ears, unlike earlier in front of Lillian, slowly turned bright red in an entirely different way…… so red they looked ready to burst.
“ ……Thank you. ”
In an instant, Elara disappeared into her room.
The fact that I heard no noise in my ears meant it was the truth……
She really was sincerely thanking me.
[ Elara’s psychological state remains ‘Calm.’ ]
[ Defense mechanisms ]
[ Affection has increased by +5. ]