Chapter 72: Establishing Discipline (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 72: Establishing Discipline (4)
“The man who will be my husband…?”
Narupa asked in a trembling voice. Her face, initially stiff with tension, gradually gave way to a look of pure ecstasy.
Being as sharp as she was, she surely understood the weight of my words and exactly what I was giving her permission for.
“You’ve chosen me!”
Wait, no. She’s just interpreting things however suits her, isn’t she?
“Don’t worry, Alto. I’ll talk to Rune. I can make her understand, no matter what it takes. And this world! You won’t have to struggle through dungeons yourself anymore. If I just dig a little deeper into the magitech research I’ve been doing, I can make it so we can clear them using other adventurers. I want to show you right now! You’ll be amazed when you hear it.”
“And how exactly do you plan to convince her?”
By now, I realized I didn’t have much of a choice.
Narupa was like a wild horse; if I didn’t take her in, there was no telling where she might bolt. She clearly wasn’t going to give up on me even if it killed her. We all know the feeling of being hounded by a stalker who follows you with a crazed laugh, don’t we?
“I’ll start with words. Rune will be caught off guard because I’ve never asserted myself strongly to her face. I’ll use that momentum to push my point until she accepts it.”
“And if words don’t work?”
“Of course, knowing Rune, that’s a high possibility. In that case, I’ll have to use physical means. I’ll restrain her and show her our displays of affection every day until…”
“No.”
“Why? …Oh, I see. You’re so kind, Alto. You’re saying we should try to be as gentle as possible?”
“No.”
Pushing Narupa away as she tried to entwine herself around me, I stared at her quietly.
“Rune will be my first wife. Narupa, you come after her.”
“……”
Narupa froze, her smile still plastered on her face. She glanced toward the tent where Rune was sleeping.
That was a big mistake.
When she turned her gaze back to me, she had to meet my cold eyes—eyes that brooked no challenge.
“Rune wouldn’t want another woman, just like I wouldn’t.”
“Rune has already accepted it. That’s why I came here to give you this chance.”
“Choose me. I can do so much more for you than Rune can.”
“Narupa.”
This time, I was the one to step toward her.
I looked into her eyes at a distance where our breaths mingled and the tips of our noses almost brushed. Using my height to look down at her, I spoke with emphasis.
“Do I look like the kind of man who chooses a woman based on what she can offer me?”
“……”
“Answer me.”
“…No.”
The moment she realized she had made a mistake, large tears began to well up in her eyes, and she started to crumble under my pressure.
“Is that the kind of man you fell for? Is that why you’re trying to bribe me?”
“No…!”
“Isn’t it? That’s why you’re egging me on to throw away my childhood friend, isn’t it?”
“Alto… I just wanted to give you everything…”
“Narupa.”
As she continued to make excuses, I delivered the final ultimatum.
“If you’re going to be this one-sided, I cannot take you as my wife.”
Thud.
It felt as if I could actually hear the sound of her heart dropping.
Narupa’s expression turned a shade of pale that was difficult to describe, the very picture of despair.
“To think you’d dare suggest a trade while claiming you want to be my lover.”
This was truly the last chance.
“I’m disappointed.”
The last chance to be chosen by me.
I turned away without a hint of lingering regret. Just as I was about to walk straight toward Rune’s tent—
“Wait!”
Narupa spun me back around and dropped to her knees.
“I was wrong… I was wrong…”
“What were you wrong about?”
“Trying to monopolize you.”
Narupa listed her faults without hesitation.
“I know. I know a man like you can never belong to just one woman. That’s probably why Rune gave in and accepted it. But I still wanted you for myself. Because Rune! Rune was… she was your only lover, even if just for a little while.”
Tears streaming down her face, Narupa grabbed my trousers and pleaded desperately.
“No one would believe this if they saw it. No one would believe that Hus’s magitech entrepreneur, a Magic Tower valedictorian, was kneeling before a man. But… but I’m not ashamed at all right now. If anything, I’m terrified. I’m terrified that your heart will leave me forever.”
Gulping hard, Narupa struggled to hold onto me.
“I was wrong. I won’t be jealous in front of you ever again. Being pushed out of your sight is more painful than not being able to have all of you.”
I could feel the sincerity in her words; she truly feared that.
I felt a slight pang of guilt, as if I were manipulating her emotions, but my resolve to rein her in properly didn’t waver. I had to control the madness she had shown earlier.
“I’ll be good. I’ll do my best to please you. Please, let go of your anger.”
“If you dare to be jealous or cause trouble between my wives, be prepared never to see me again. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No! Not at all. Not at all. So please…!”
“Words can kill even a god.”
At my sarcasm, Narupa suddenly bit down hard on her own thumb.
With a sickening crunch of tearing flesh, blood began to spurt from her mangled nail. I was startled inwardly, but I forced myself to remain still.
“Hear me, O World.”
As she channeled her mana, the blood didn’t fall to the ground but rose between us, drawing a strange circle in the air.
“I, Narupa Diberuper, hereby take Alto Bertrand as my master and partner—”
“My name is just Alto. Alto Bertrand is more like a nickname.”
“…Hear me again, O World.”
I felt a bit bad for ruining what seemed like an important moment.
“I, Narupa Diberuper, hereby take Alto as my master and partner… I’m sorry, but Alto from which village…? There are too many people just named Alto.”
“Ah… Alto from Bertrand Village.”
Magic really was a complicated thing.
“I speak to you for the last time, O World. I, Narupa Diberuper, take Alto of Bertrand as my master and partner. Should I ever do anything to harm the love, loyalty, and harmony I owe him, may you, this very world, strike me down. This is a covenant made upon the nature of mana and the God who created this world.”
The magic circle made of Narupa’s blood vanished into the air as if being absorbed by something.
Narupa tied a cloth around her ruined thumb.
“I am yours now.”
She declared her absolute surrender, but for a moment, I felt like I’d been played.
I hadn’t officially confirmed that I’d accept her yet, but she had gone ahead and performed the Oath Magic on her own. She was smiling quite suggestively, clearly aware of that fact.
“Go inside. I’ll take the watch from here.”
When I tried to dismiss her out of pique, Narupa hurriedly grabbed my hand.
“Alto. It’s cruel to just tell me to sleep after I’ve gone this far.”
“Then what?”
“Give me a sign that I’ve become yours.”
“What kind of sign?”
“Anything. An act, or an object to serve as a brand.”
I understood it to mean she needed confirmation that she was Alto’s woman.
Hmm, well, there was something I’d been thinking about for a while.
“When we’re alone, you can call me Oppa and act spoiled if you want.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t try to be an adult all by yourself, carrying everything and always giving in. At least in front of me, you can be greedy and act like a child.”
I said it because I wanted to lighten her burden. Now that she’d made the oath, she probably wouldn’t go against me on purpose.
As I spoke to her gently, Narupa’s cheeks quickly flushed.
“Ugh…!”
She covered her face and then took a strange posture, arching her back.
“You really are… the best partner! My choice wasn’t wrong after all. Just your words alone are making me so hot!”
“Narupa?”
“Oppa.”
“Y-yes?”
“Let’s do it.”
“What?!”
Narupa’s navy ponytail swayed slightly. I tried to step back, but for some reason, I was held so firmly in her grasp that I couldn’t break free.
“I told you I wanted a sign.”
“I let you call me Oppa.”
“That’s just a pet name.”
Without hesitation, her palm covered my crotch.
“Isn’t it only natural for a man and a woman to end up like this in a dungeon anyway?”
“I mean, yes, but…”
“Rune gave her permission too. And I said I’d be satisfied with being second. So at least let me cool this heated body with what belongs to my partner.”
She then pulled my hand onto her breast.
“Can you feel it?”
Narupa’s heart was beating fast and loud. Just like Rune’s had.
“I’m proving it, just in case.”
Her well-shaped breast was crushed firmly under my hand.
“I’ve always been sincere about you, Oppa.”
“Of course I believe you. But we’re in the middle of a dungeon…”
“It’s only the 10th floor. The alarm and protection spells are perfect, and even that ranger fellow is dozing off on watch. If not now, then when? Besides, once we go deeper, there are plenty of people doing it. For your information, I’ve only been in all-female parties, but even the women do it often. And…”
At a distance so close she could lick my lips just by sticking out her tongue, Narupa whispered.
“You said I could act spoiled, Oppa.”
My head felt a bit light. It might have been the scent of blood from Narupa’s thumb.
Even so, I desperately looked around to see if anyone was nearby. Like Diane, who was surprisingly light-sleeved in dungeons.
But all my efforts were rendered useless by Narupa’s following surprise attack.
“You really are… adorable.”
Her lips immediately crashed into mine, and her tongue pushed inside.
“Hua… Mmm…!”
After getting a brief taste, Narupa wore a satisfied smirk.
“My father… everything else about him might have been trash, but preparing Alto as my partner was an achievement I simply have to acknowledge.”