Chapter 74: Why Are You Still So Pathetic?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74: Why Are You Still So Pathetic?
“Alto, say ‘ahh.’”
“Mmm… Ah…”
It was morning—or at least, I’ll call it morning since we just woke up, even though no sunlight reaches this deep.
Since I’m the only one who actually knows how to cook, I prepared breakfast with the help of Narupa’s magitech tools.
The menu was beef sirloin steak, salad, and mashed potatoes with cream.
While I was cooking, the women washed up and got ready to eat.
Both Rune and Narupa were completely bare-faced, without a trace of makeup. In a dungeon, the scent of powder or perfume is a dead giveaway to a monster’s keen sense of smell.
Even when washing, they couldn’t use soap; they had to use plain water. I was worried Rune might find it uncomfortable, but she adapted surprisingly well.
“Let’s eat.”
I handed out the plates to Diane, Narupa, and then Rune, before finally taking my own seat. Naturally, Rune sat on my right and Narupa on my left.
“Alto, say ‘ahh.’”
“Mmm… Ah…”
Rune held out a piece of steak on a fork. After a moment’s hesitation, I awkwardly opened my mouth.
“Good boy~.”
I’d cooked it myself, but the seasoning was perfect. It was delicious.
“The juice is running.”
Because I hadn’t taken the bite cleanly, a bit of juice trickled down the corner of my mouth. Narupa pulled out a handkerchief and wiped it away personally.
Uh, this feels good, but also kind of uncomfortable?
“You guys should eat your own food too.”
“Ahh.”
This time, Rune closed her eyes and opened her mouth.
So, this is how it’s going to be?
I fumbled around trying to spear both a piece of steak and some salad on a fork at once, which took a bit of time. But before I could even lift my fork, Narupa shoved a piece of meat into Rune’s mouth.
“Mmph!”
“How long is our Rune going to act like a baby?”
“Who are you calling…!”
“By the way, surely you wouldn’t do something as uncouth as showing the contents of your mouth to your lover, right?”
“Uuu!”
While Rune struggled, Narupa quickly snatched the bite off my fork, which had been left hanging in mid-air.
Narupa gave a spiteful, triumphant grin, but Rune didn’t say anything more, only shooting her a dissatisfied look.
She probably knew everything that had happened last night. She knew Narupa had humbled herself and agreed to become the second lover. That was likely why Rune hadn’t reacted much even though we all woke up in the same tent.
I felt proud of Rune for being patient and not picking fights or getting jealous, so I stroked her head.
As she leaned her shoulder into me, Narupa suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me toward her, causing Rune to lose her balance.
“Narupa.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose…”
“You need to be careful, okay?”
“I’m sorry. Alto, Rune.”
Rune, still chewing, simply nodded without a word.
I didn’t feel any lingering anger from her, and Narupa looked genuinely apologetic, so I pulled them both into an embrace.
“Can you two get along?”
“Narupa and I were always like sisters anyway.”
“Though I’m more like the older sister.”
“I’m still the primary wife, though.”
“You’d better stay on your toes.”
As the two began another subtle power struggle, I cleared my throat.
“Ahem.”
“Sorry, Alto.”
“I’m sorry.”
They both immediately began gauging my reaction.
Compared to my days in Lukart, this was a situation—and a position—I could never have dreamed of. Back then, I was the one walking on eggshells around Mirei’s party.
But now, the people clinging to me and craving my attention were none other than the successor of Hus and a leading entrepreneur in magitech.
It felt like I had possessed the body of myself in a different world. Sometimes I was afraid that if I closed and opened my eyes, I’d be back in Lukart.
If they knew I was thinking this, both Rune and Narupa would be deeply hurt.
I intentionally closed my eyes to shake off the negative thoughts. But then, I truly became afraid to open them.
Please, when I open my eyes again, let Rune and Narupa’s love still be there…
“Ah.”
My eyes met Diane’s, who was staring blankly at us.
Honestly, I was startled. Seeing her the moment I opened my eyes made me think for a split second that I really had returned to Mirei’s party in Lukart.
Because of that, my expression as I looked at Diane wasn’t pleasant. My lovers, following my gaze, also glared at her coldly.
“I-I’m finished…”
“There’s still food left. Finish it properly.”
As Diane hurriedly lowered her head and set down her plate, my voice came out so cold it even made me flinch.
It’s frustrating. The contradiction of needing her for scouting and vigilance means I can’t treat her with total neglect. Seeing her former lively self replaced by this timid, cowering version just annoyed me now.
It wasn’t just Diane; it was becoming a huge source of stress for me as well. I was also worried about how my other lovers felt. Rune had even gone as far as saying she would hold Mirei’s party accountable for their sins.
“Could you go eat somewhere else? We have things to discuss with Alto.”
“O-oh… okay… sorry…”
As you can see, Narupa wasn’t friendly either.
Diane eventually turned her back and ate alone a short distance away. The way her shoulders occasionally trembled was probably just my imagination.
And even if it wasn’t, I didn’t particularly care.
* * *
Narupa was doing the dishes.
Normally, she would have wanted to spend some alone time with Alto while helping him with the chores, but Rune had dragged him off to the tent, claiming she had to fulfill her duties as the “primary wife.”
Even now, muffled moans that were being forcibly suppressed occasionally leaked out of the tent.
“Hmph, as long as I’m the first one to get pregnant…”
Narupa was planning her own comeback.
Since she had entered his inner circle as one of his women, her goal was to stay modest while being the first to claim the prize. And that meant bearing Alto a healthy, sturdy son.
The child who would inherit Hus would naturally be Airune’s, but the heir to the magitech business—which would become an essential part of the world—and the true firstborn of Alto Bertrand would be her child.
“Hehehehe!”
Narupa let out a dark, brooding laugh as she lost herself in her delusions.
If Alto had seen this, he would have scolded her severely.
Even now, Alto and Count Dakuus were making preparations to protect the world from the signs of the Demon Race. The reason they had entered the Dakuren Dungeon was due to a request from the Dakuren branch of the Adventurer Guild, which suspected the presence of one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
That didn’t mean Count Dakuus was just sitting around playing while leaving everything to Alto. Immediately after the subjugation of Yobeste, a summons had come from the royal palace.
It was undoubtedly to interrogate him regarding the whereabouts of Alto Bertrand.
Count Dakuus was currently heading to the palace in a carriage, fully prepared. He was intentionally taking his sweet time to stall.
“Hmm-hmm-hmm~.”
“U-um… excuse me…”
“Hmm?”
Seeing that Narupa was in a very good mood, Diane cautiously approached, making her presence known.
However, Narupa’s expression instantly turned cold as she raised her hand. Her four rings, which served as her magitech staves, began to glow with a deep blue light.
“Don’t come any closer.”
“Okay, I won’t.”
“What do you want, Ranger?”
“Well… you see…”
Diane fidgeted for a long time. When Narupa’s rings began to glow even brighter, she hurriedly blurted out her business.
“I… I want to be forgiven by Alto… but I don’t know how, so I wanted to ask…”
“Forgiveness?”
Narupa let out a scoff at the absurd words.
“What right do you have to be forgiven? You, who rolled around with another man while leaving Alto behind?”
“A-about that…”
This was the point. This was why Diane had gathered her courage.
“It’s true I hung out with Gerend… but we, we didn’t have sex. I only did that with Krima… With him, I really just… slept next to him, or…”
“Ah, so since your body is still technically a virgin, you’re trying to see if there’s a chance for forgiveness?”
Narupa grit her teeth.
“You didn’t have sex?”
“Yes! It’s true, I can prove it!”
“Did you touch each other’s bodies?”
“Huh?”
“Answer me.”
“We touched each other’s chests…”
“Did you touch the thing between his legs?”
“I asked if I could touch it because it looked strange, but Krima put it in her mouth first or played with it, so…”
“Did you kiss him?”
“……”
“Answer.”
“A few times… out of curiosity…”
“Ha!”
It was a pure sneer. But Diane realized through the questioning that she had done even more wrong, and she shrank back.
“You allowed another man your lips and rubbed your naked bodies together, but because you didn’t cross the final line, you want to be forgiven?”
“I-I’ll do anything…!”
“There’s no such thing. Give up.”
“Please!”
Diane fell to her knees.
“I want to beg Alto for forgiveness… I was a stupid bitch… I didn’t recognize the person who was most precious to me.”
“Sigh, Shim-Gi-Che.”
“Shim-gi… what…?”
“Don’t you know the virtues of a woman that have been emphasized since the Final War?”
When Diane shook her head, Narupa exhaled sharply through her nose.
“Shim is the heart and the past. Gi is the spirit and the future. Che is the pure body and the present.”
“I don’t really understand…”
“Did you dare to harbor feelings for another man while you had a man in your party? Does your body maintain the evidence of purity? Even if you are together, are you a woman who will serve her man well in the future, or are you the type to throw him away like a used shoe?”
Narupa held up three fingers.
“You already harbored feelings for another man.”
She folded her middle finger.
“You claim you kept your virginity, but you had naked physical contact with a strange man, including kissing.”
Her index finger went down.
“Since you were a slut in both the past and the present, there’s very little credibility in the guarantee that you won’t be like that in the future, don’t you think?”
The final thumb went down.
“No, no! I’ll never do that again! Please believe me!”
“Sure, sure. No one knows the future.”
Narupa waved her hand dismissively as she finished the dishes.
“But your past, where you betrayed Alto, will never change.”
“That’s why I want to ask for forgiveness…”
“Alto suffers every time he looks at you.”
Diane felt as if she had been struck by a hammer. It wasn’t just that he disliked her; he was suffering.
“You are the one who treated Alto like a fool and tormented him. You bring back bad memories for him.”
“T-that’s why I… I…”
“Your very existence continues to cause Alto pain.”
“That’s why I’ve been apologizing to Alto whenever I get the chance, and I even pulled him out of that explosion in the last battle!”
“I’m somewhat grateful for that, I suppose.”
Narupa snorted and stood up, picking up the dishes.
“But Alto wouldn’t have died from an explosion like that anyway. He’s that Alto Bertrand, after all. The hero who faced Vulcanus of Mad Laughter alone and struck her down.”
Diane was speechless.
“And Yarismal Bichante was there with him, too.”
Narupa stared blankly at Diane.
“If you want to scream, ‘Look at what I did, please acknowledge me,’ go ahead. All of it will be rendered meaningless because of your past actions.”
“……”
“And you’re acting all high and mighty because you helped a little? Is forgiveness some kind of transaction? ‘I did this, so give me forgiveness’? How pathetic. Forgiveness is up to the person giving it.”
“……”
“I think I’ve explained enough by now.”
Narupa forced a smile, trying to stop herself from hurling insults.
“So, if possible, don’t show your face in front of Alto. Just do your job.”
“…He was a man who was once by my side.”
When Diane muttered to herself, unable to let go of her lingering attachment, Narupa exercised the last of her patience, remembering her promise to Alto to stay quiet.
“Then you should have treated him well when he was by your side.”
It felt like her molars were going to shatter.
“It was hard enough for me to get him to accept me because of you bitches. Please, know your place and get lost.”
After Narupa finished cleaning up and went into the tent, Diane looked up at the ceiling.
It was hopeless.
A sense of desolation clouded her vision.
