Episode 71
Episode 71
Mia cried in Karen's arms for quite a while before finally stopping.
Karen wiped away her tears with her hand and smiled.
"Done crying now? You've become such a crybaby."
If it were the old days, she would have pulled away saying that wasn't true, but Mia was very different from before.
Her tension had melted away in an instant, and she had become more emotional than before.
Instead, she clung tightly and nodded her head.
"Yeah... I missed you, unni. I was so scared that something might go wrong. I was worried you might resent me for not being able to save you sooner."
Seeing her looking much more distressed than expected, Karen was slightly taken aback but soon gently hugged her.
She had no doubt that Mia had been holding on desperately.
"Then I guess I need to hear all about what happened. And I should probably ask who that gentleman over there is too."
While stroking Mia who had stopped crying but was still sniffling, Karen's gaze turned toward Aron.
Her woman's intuition was telling her with her entire being.
That this man's influence and touch had clearly played a big role in Mia's changes.
Their eyes met and Karen smiled faintly.
"Ah, ahaha..."
Conversely, Aron felt an inexplicable pressure.
It would be accurate to say she was smiling but not really smiling.
'Did Mia learn her unique aura from here?'
Sometimes when Mia got extremely irritated or tired, her atmosphere would change in an instant.
At those times, even Aron would become cautious.
He had learned several times that there was nothing good about provoking Mia in that state.
"Would you like to have a meal first? I happened to make dinner... so there's food prepared."
He asked Karen as politely and kindly as possible.
Karen nodded and said,
"Could you bring it to me? I can't move right now."
"Of course."
Aron had no choice but to quietly exit the room.
'Since she's someone Mia cares about, I should bring out some meat too.'
He instinctively thought he needed to make a good impression on Karen.
Meanwhile, after Aron left, Karen gently held Mia's cheek.
"Mmph."
Even with weak strength, Mia lifted her head.
Knowing that Karen's strength was much weaker than usual, she reacted to even slight pressure.
"What's your relationship with that man? Is he your boyfriend? Married? Or don't tell me you already have a baby together?"
"Mm, nnot thahat."
Seeing Mia mumbling with her mouth puckered like a goldfish, Karen finally released her grip.
"That's too much, unni. It hasn't even been a year since you collapsed. There's no way I could already have a baby. He's just..."
Her relationship with Aron.
When she actually tried to put it into words, Mia found herself pondering.
They weren't exactly boyfriend-girlfriend since she hadn't received a clear answer.
They definitely weren't married.
The reality was they had become too close to be just business partners.
Friends don't have sex, so that wasn't it either.
'Thinking about it this way, we're just sex partners. That kind of bothers me.'
Even though she knew Aron didn't think that way, Mia felt inexplicably annoyed.
If only he would just give a proper answer from the beginning.
That's what she thought.
"Just? What kind of relationship is 'just'?"
At Karen's voice, she finally remembered they were in the middle of a conversation.
"Um, one-sided crush?"
"Crush? What, so you like him? I thought the guy was chasing after you."
"Actually, that man already has three other girlfriends."
"Huh?"
Karen was greatly taken aback by Mia's sudden declaration.
Three girlfriends.
While polygamy was quite common in this era, it was still surprising that Mia would choose such a man.
"Is it because you got a taste of men late? Why do you like a guy like that? If that's the case, you might as well like women. Break up with him right away."
"But I've already given him everything."
"Given everything?"
"Yeah... I got completely taken advantage of. I was pinned under that man all night, so many times..."
As Mia blushed slightly and averted her gaze, Karen's expression hardened instantly.
Exactly the misunderstanding about Aron that Mia had intended.
'Since he's annoying me, he should suffer a bit.'
Given Aron's personality, if Karen got angry, he would definitely panic rather than fight back.
That's exactly what Mia wanted to see.
Watching Aron flounder helplessly while ignoring his pleas for help.
That was the plan.
'It obviously looks like a lie though.'
Meanwhile, Karen had already detected the lie.
She had known Mia for over ten years.
For Mia who was bad at lying even normally, it was harder not to detect a lie she told while emotional.
The ambiguous smile, averted gaze, trembling voice.
Beyond all that, it didn't make sense contextually.
Mia had become more feminine, and the person who healed both of us is a womanizing rapist?
And Mia likes such a person?
'I'd rather believe she's pregnant.'
After debating whether to play along, Karen decided to let it slide just this once.
"...So he's a trash bastard?"
"Yeah, so will you scold him for me, unni?"
"Hmm..."
How was she supposed to scold a monster dozens of times stronger than herself?
Karen didn't need to think long to realize.
'She's asking because she knows that man would be flustered around me. This cunning little thing.'
She's only become feminine in body - her thinking is exactly the same as the old Mia.
Chuckling inwardly, Karen nodded.
"I get it. I can't forgive a man who treats my little sister like that. I'll scold him for you."
"Yeah! I'm counting on you, unni."
All the tears were gone from Mia's voice, replaced by pure anticipation.
Just then, Aron opened the door and entered.
"I brought the food."
He had brought the leftover soup from dinner in a bowl, along with freshly taken-out bread and meat.
The moment he entered, Karen spoke.
"I don't know who you are, but why did you do it?"
Her voice was cold.
The moment he heard her voice, Aron became greatly flustered.
'Did I do something wrong while getting the food?'
Even as he thought about it, nothing came to mind.
Because he hadn't done anything wrong to begin with.
Before he could realize that, Karen continued.
"If you were going to do it, you should have properly gotten her pregnant. Your ambiguous behavior is making Mia suffer."
Her voice filled the room, and a brief silence fell.
*
The plan was perfect.
I had planned to slightly use my unni, who loves me more than anyone, to mess with Aron.
From Aron's perspective, she's like a mother-in-law figure, so he wouldn't be able to answer properly.
But at the sudden pregnancy comment, I looked at the unni holding me.
"Huh, unni? What are you talking about? Pregnancy all of a sudden?"
At my voice, Karen unni finally looked at me.
"You obviously looked like you were whining for more love. So unni kindly spoke up for you."
"Wh, what? Th-that can't be."
"Mia, it shows on your face even when you say that."
At her words, I quickly turned my head.
Looking at the mirror nearby, I finally saw my expression.
Blushing face, cute smiling eyes, upturned corners of the mouth.
'This is exactly my expression during estrus.'
My face instantly grew hot.
I quickly buried my face in unni's chest.
"Don't hide just because you're embarrassed. You've only grown in body."
"That's not it. It's just, just a little..."
While I was too embarrassed to even speak properly, unni started talking with Aron.
"By the way, what's your name? You definitely look like our benefactor who saved us."
Hearing her gentle voice, Aron realized it was a joke and finally smiled.
"I'm Aron. You're Karen-ssi, right?"
"Yes. By the way, Aron... Are you perhaps really the First Hero?"
"Ah, yes. I am that person."
"So it was true. I thought it was just an old story or baseless rumor."
"There are rumors about me?"
"Yes, it's not a famous story these days, but it was popular when I was young. Old mercenaries used to tell stories that the First Hero was still alive."
"Ah..."
Aron nodded as if he understood where those stories came from.
"In the old days when the curse wasn't severe, I traveled outside. They must be people I met then. I never told them not to spread rumors."
"Then are the other hero party members not around? I wanted to meet them at least once."
"They've all scattered, so it would be difficult to meet them now. If there's an opportunity later, we'll all go visit together."
"You don't have to come if you're busy. I'd feel bad making you come and go just for me."
Then Aron lightly lifted me up.
He held me with one hand and placed a table in front of Karen unni with the other.
Then sitting on a chair, he sat me on his lap.
"You're practically Mia's only family now. We should visit sometime. Don't you plan to come if we have a wedding?"
"So you're seriously dating Mia? While having three other women."
"Ah, that, that. Let me explain..."
Even for Aron, this seemed to leave no room for excuses, but unni shook her head.
"It's fine. Polygamy isn't prohibited, and most importantly, Mia likes you. So just make her happy."
Perhaps because she was a mercenary, unni gave her permission more readily than expected.
Maybe it meant she had seen my true feelings.
"Then I'll just eat my food."
Carefully picking up the spoon placed on the table right in front of her, unni put a spoonful of soup in her mouth.
After chewing thoughtfully for a while, unni looked at Aron.
"Is this perhaps dragon?"
"Ah, yes. All the meat there is Dragon Meat."
With an understanding expression, unni nodded and muttered.
"Sigh... Should I ask to receive some too?"
...I suddenly feel like I've gained one more competitor.