Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Embarrassed Laura
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The morning after the dungeon exploration ended.
Breakfast together had become a routine, so everyone gathered in the dining hall.
“Yawn… I’m sleepy…”
“You know, I told you not to drink. When you drink alcohol, your liver has to…”
“Ugh, stop! I’m seriously going to lose my mind, please just stop.”
“Huh? Didn’t you already have a mental illness?”
“I’ll kill you.”
From Rainy, who now felt so at ease that she came out without even fixing her messy hair.
“Mm…”
“What’re you looking at?”
“Eek… Sorry…”
Nania, shrinking in a corner seat, peeking but getting scolded by Rainy.
“Ha…”
And even Yumi, furrowing her brows, clutching her forehead, and groaning for some inexplicable reason.
‘Huh, Laura’s not here?’
Scanning the people gathered in the dining hall one by one, I noticed an empty seat.
For some reason, Laura—who surprisingly had a hearty appetite unbefitting a duke’s lady—was nowhere to be seen.
‘Is she still sleeping?’
Dungeon conquests were exhausting, so the most likely reason was lingering fatigue causing her to oversleep.
Skipping meals was absolutely unacceptable.
I stood up to go fetch Laura.
“Wait a moment.”
Just then, Yumi stopped me.
‘What’s this about?’
Tilting my head in confusion, Yumi spoke with an awkward expression.
“You won’t accomplish anything by going now.”
“Huh?”
“The young lady is currently barricaded in her room…”
***
Tweet tweet chirp.
Laura’s morning came early.
Despite the fatigue from yesterday’s dungeon ordeal, her eyes snapped open at dawn.
The reason the usually heavy sleeper woke so early was that the events from the dungeon had haunted her dreams.
“Crazy…”
If only the aphrodisiac magic had erased her memories along with lifting the spell, but unfortunately, those recollections remained vividly etched in Laura’s mind.
Her own actions of burying her nose in Raden’s chest and sniffing his scent.
[“Ugh… slave… you look kinda hot today…”]
[“Then why reject me… Am I not pretty?”]
The shameful words that made her kick off the blankets involuntarily.
Not a single one missing.
All of them.
“Argh!”
Recalling those memories, Laura kicked at her blanket.
Everyone experiences a blanket kick at least once in life.
But for Laura, who had lived her entire life as a dignified noble lady under constant care, feeling this level of shame was a first.
The only prior experience of humiliation was being expelled from the academy.
But Laura actually took pride in her academy expulsion.
The world just didn’t appreciate it.
‘No way I can face that slave right now.’
Wasn’t this more embarrassing than confessing and getting rejected?
Seeing Raden’s face now might create an even bigger black history.
Having coldly assessed her situation, Laura chose to hole up in her room.
If she held out for a week… no, a month, maybe she could heal these emotional wounds a bit.
“Young lady…? Are you there?”
“…Yeah…”
“It’s about time for breakfast.”
“Not eating.”
“Pardon? Is something wrong with your health…?”
“I’m fine.”
“Breakfast…”
“Bring it here.”
In truth, unless it was Raden or the succubus, no one else knew what happened, so talking to others would’ve been fine.
But with the stubborn defiance unique to a teenage girl kicking in, Laura decided to cut off communication with everyone since she was already avoiding Raden and barricading herself.
One reason was her inexplicable romantic fantasy of being a cold beauty princess who refused to speak to anyone.
Another was that, having spent her life with Yumi, she’d never felt loneliness and thus didn’t grasp its terror.
And after just one day, she bitterly regretted that choice.
‘So boring!’
Having locked herself in, Laura silently screamed.
Surely, she thought, being alone in her room would be no hardship at all.
Her room was filled with various magic books.
Delicious meals arrived regularly at set times.
And her favorite bear doll was there too.
So she figured she could easily last a month solo.
But Laura’s expectations missed the mark spectacularly.
After holing up for just one day, loneliness began to creep in.
The books she’d read all day now felt unbearably dull.
She’d slept so much that sleep no longer came.
Meals eaten alone no longer brought joy, no matter how tasty.
“Sigh…”
Laura let out a deep sigh and blankly stared at the ceiling light.
She considered enduring the shame and leaving the room right now.
But after a full day barricaded, her pride wouldn’t allow her to give up here.
If someone begged her desperately, she might go out reluctantly.
But strangely, Raden—who had knocked eagerly on the first day—was silent today.
She’d planned to go if he pleaded earnestly.
Why…?
“Gahhh!”
There’s a saying that the countryside has no entertainment.
Daven territory, the countryside itself, perfectly fit that proverb.
No amusements to be found even if you searched with wide-open eyes, and the locals were all equally dull.
Peering out the window offered no entertaining sights.
Just territory folk working the fields.
Observing them worked for an hour or two, but watching the same repetitive tasks endlessly felt like it’d drive her insane, so she gave up at some point.
‘What do the people here even do all day?’
Once, unable to contain her curiosity, she’d wandered the territory and grabbed a passing woman to ask.
“Hey, what do you all do for fun?”
“L-Lady…?”
“Yeah, the lady.”
“Um… well… you’re still too young to know, Lady…”
For some reason, the blushing woman only replied that she was too young.
What fun games could they be hiding in this rural backwater?
“Ah… so boring…”
Gazing vacantly at leaves falling from a tree outside, the grounds grew noisy.
First to appear was Laura’s loyal guard, Yumi.
Yumi emerged in the gym uniform Raden had made, wearing a bright red hat for some reason.
‘Come to think of it, the slave was making a red hat.’
It hadn’t been long since she’d seen Raden diligently crafting it and asked if he was crazy.
Must’ve finished it meanwhile.
Observing Yumi blankly revealed details she’d missed up close.
‘Her figure… is amazing?’
Yumi wore a form-fitting gym uniform, its contours impressive.
Curves where they should be, swells where they should swell.
Especially her hips, sturdy from developed lower body strength.
“…”
Laura glanced at her own lower half.
Then turned away.
And brainwashed herself.
‘Slenderness has its own beauty. Slenderness has its own beauty.’
Midst her mental victory, next came the saintess Rainy.
Her signature silver hair in a ponytail, she shuffled out.
Even shambling like a sick patient, she exuded an odd grace. Was a saintess still a saintess, excommunication or not?
Soul-dead expression, Rainy stood in the center, arms trembling as she began the bizarre routine Raden called stretching.
Sweat quickly beaded on her frail body, soaking her gym uniform and revealing her bust’s outline perfectly.
“…”
Seeing the massive watermelons, Laura fell silent again.
‘Slenderness has its own beauty. Slenderness has its own beauty. Slenderness has its own beauty. Slenderness has its own beauty.’
Brainwashing herself inwardly.
Finally, the succubus appeared.
Laura startled, thinking she’d come to escape, but relaxed as she started jumping rope.
Raden, exercise fanatic, had dragged even the succubus into it.
Laura’s gaze, now fixated on figures, turned to succubus Nania.
Nania wore her lewd, prostitute-like skimpy outfit befitting a succubus.
“…”
Seeing the towering peaks, she felt profound defeat.
How was that a milk cow on a human?
Ah, not human.
Stunned by Nania’s overwhelming assault, Laura suddenly sensed something off.
‘Where’s the slave?’
No sign of Raden, who always led exercises with a refreshing smile.
‘Sick…?’
The invincible Raden wouldn’t skip unless ill.
So Laura worried for his health.
Of course, purely as his master concerned for her slave’s well-being.
That kind of worry.
Um…
Probably…
Clutching her bear doll blankly.
BOOM!
A massive crash as the door shattered spectacularly.
“What the…”
Even seeing it with her own eyes, Laura gaped and rubbed them in disbelief.
Post-rub, the wrecked door remained wrecked.
Beyond the debris stood Raden, wooden bat in hand.
“Lady, time for exercise!”
His attitude so brazen despite smashing the door.
She knew Raden was crazy, but not that he’d casually demolish a lady’s door.
Laura couldn’t hold back her boiling words.
“Cra…”
“Cra?”
“Cra… crazy bastard!”