Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: It's Just a Normal Date, Right!
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"Pretty lady! Got a room for me?"
"Y-Yes? Uh... follow me..."
The heroine leads Veronica out, the latter's eyes rolling around blankly.
"I want the room closest to Liam's."
"Um... the rooms on both sides are already full..."
"It's fine, it's fine! More than that... want me to tell you something good?"
"Something good?"
The protagonist, having already cast a soundproofing spell, whispers right into Veronica's ear.
"...let's ... do it with ... him..."
Veronica's face turns beet red as she glances furtively at me before leaning in toward the protagonist.
"R-Really...?"
"Yeah...~ Want me to help tidy up the room too?"
*gulp*
I couldn't hear it clearly, but it seems like it was something worthwhile.
As I try to dispel the soundproofing spell, the protagonist lifts it.
"Ah! Liam, how about a date before class? You just have to follow me."
"...Sure."
"Great! See you later, honey~"
She drops the bomb and quickly links arms with Veronica before slipping away.
*grind*
Jenia's face flushes bright red as she glares at me and snaps.
"Liam!"
"Calm down, Jenia..."
Jenia climbs onto my lap and roughly presses her face against mine.
*smack smack slurp! "Th-This... haa... you're mine... mwah!"
She seems really pissed, so I stroke her lower back roughly. Her tension melts away, her waist goes limp, and our stomachs press together.
"Hehe..."
"Feeling calmer now?"
Jenia's cheeks burn red with embarrassment as she works her lips.
I lock eyes with her steadily, and she buries her face in the nape of my neck.
I pat her back soothingly for a good while.
"I'm sorry..."
She murmurs softly, her face buried in my neck.
What does she have to be sorry for? Is it because she fought with the protagonist? Because things veered off script? Or is it lingering guilt over 'stealing' me?
"What do you have to be sorry for?"
"I'm sorry... so don't get mad..."
Her face is now completely flushed crimson as she gazes up at me intently.
Jenia looks so cute, pursing her lips and peering up at me, that I cast a soundproofing spell over the conference room.
"Kyaa! Liam! Not now...! At night... mmpf!"
"Hold still."
"I feel like I'm dying..."
Jenia slumps limply in my arms in a princess carry.
Her cute whining makes me chuckle.
"Such a drama queen..."
Jenia lifts her head and glares at me, clearly dissatisfied.
"Drama queen!? Haa... I don't even have the energy to get mad... give me some water, please."
I trickle some water into her mouth from above, and she gulps it down like it's saving her life.
Her head seems to have cooled a bit as she leans her back against my body and rests her head on my shoulder.
As we savor the afterglow together, Jenia starts murmuring softly.
"People are so fickle... I knew something like this would happen someday... but living with you made me greedy..."
I listen quietly to her words.
"Liam... I thought the guilt over stealing you had faded a bit, but hearing that thief bitch say it right in front of me shook me up."
"Steal what? Need me to shatter more of that romance novel thinking?"
"N-No, not that! It's the feeling! Eek! Bad hand! Mmph!"
She startles as I begin injecting mana into her core.
I pause and look at her, and she giggles helplessly while stroking my cheek.
"Liam... can't you just let it slide...?"
"Let what slide...?"
"If you let it slide too easily..."
Jenia bites her lip hard.
"It hurts my pride..."
Her face flushes as memories from when she was young overlap.
I give her a wry smile and tuck the embarrassed Jenia into my embrace.
As I pat her back, I speak to Jenia, who fidgets with her fingers.
"Don't worry, I was just startled. No feelings involved."
"Really? Even though she's so pretty?"
"I'm not the type to go easy on someone just because."
"True..."
"Am I the type to let things slide easily?"
I say it confidently, but her response is ice cold.
"Yes."
"Huh...?"
"You smile and act polite, so you don't turn people away, but your heart's soft, so you give in to whining."
"..."
"That's why I can't let my guard down around you. If you were even a little weaker..."
"Alright! It's late, but wanna go eat?"
Oh...
I quickly help Jenia into her clothes and carry her straight to the dining hall.
On the way to the dining hall, my eyes meet the protagonist's as she's touring the mansion.
I don't know why, but my mood feels... off somehow.
In that very brief silence, Jenia spots the protagonist and smiles beatifically.
"Have you eaten, dear? 'We' used up so much energy that we're a bit hungry..."
*grind!*
The protagonist's expression twists for a moment upon seeing Jenia's serene face, but she quickly regains her smile.
"Enjoy it while it lasts! Later you'll be too busy working, so I'll yield a little!"
Jenia keeps smiling beatifically as she starts rummaging in her subspace for a sword.
The protagonist gathers ominous mana in her hands behind her back.
Before the mansion turns into a wreck, I pull Jenia's hand out of the subspace and scatter the protagonist's mana.
"Haa... kids... no fighting in the mansion... why do I even have to explain common sense..."
"So fighting outside is fine?"
"Liam, I'm out of potions, so give me a few bottles. Let me drink some."
...I guess 'peace' is a word far removed from me, just as Veronica comes down the stairs.
"Master! You haven't eaten yet, right? I told the chef, so it'll be out soon!"
'Ah...'
Veronica's angelic appearance nearly brings tears to my eyes.
As I heal by looking at Veronica's face, Jenia and the protagonist's eyes clash in midair.
"...I'll let it slide this time."
"Tch, tougher opponent than I thought."
Blissfully unaware of their staring contest, Veronica smiles brightly at everyone.
"The chef's putting extra effort in because we have a new guest! Let's all eat together!"
At the suggestion to eat together, both women's faces twist briefly, but you can't spit on a smiling face—especially Veronica's.
The two eventually nod, and I shiver at the miracle brought by the goddess's devotee.
This was the moment the mansion's number one was decided.
A peaceful dawn morning.
-Whirr! Boom! Clang! Clang! Rumble rumble rumble...
A peaceful dawn morning...
-Rumble rumble! Roar! Whirr whirr! Kaboom!
Just a dawn morning.
"Oh... not just decent level? I should ask for a spar later too."
Lancelot watches Jenia and the protagonist's duel from the tea table with keen interest.
Truly... high level.
Her movements counter Jenia's fluid flows with straight-line precision—straightforward and unyielding.
Paradoxically, the irregular magic she occasionally unleashes compensates for her weaknesses.
-Ha! How'd you do that, thief cat?
-It's a secret, psycho!
The protagonist resets her stance after Jenia deflects the magic.
Jenia does the same without backing down.
The two clash again.
"Kids! I said no injuries!"
-Got it!
[Owner... block my ears please...]
Lumi's expression, sprawled on the table, twists in discomfort.
I block Lumi's ears with magic, and her face relaxes as she flops back onto the table.
"They're having a field day..."
[Zzz...]
Three days since the protagonist entered the mansion, and the two women are energetically warming up from the morning.
Warming up... probably...
-Honey! Today's our date day, right?!
-...How about a 'duel' with us?
-Pass? I'm gonna play with Liam to my heart's content?
-...Well... I used up a lot of energy with Liam last night too, so I'm tired... Guess I need to rest today.
-Come out.
-Sure.
After their first meeting, the protagonist kept pushing for a date, but reports from the seeds and tasks to handle delayed it for a few days.
But the bulldozer-like protagonist forced the earliest possible date, which didn't sit well with Jenia, so she challenged her to a duel.
And the result is...
-Dieee! You thief cat bitch!
-You die, you crazy bitch!!
-Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!!!
'The protagonist was definitely...'
After the entrance ceremony, she was supposed to be super weak.
Where did that protagonist who grows massively through classes go? Now there's a veteran who's rubbing shoulders with a swordmaster.
My Tamagotchi protagonist pampering plan went to waste because the elixirs I brought aren't needed.
As I watch with a complicated expression and the mood heats up more, I separate the two.
-Tch!
-Tsk!
The two women's gazes clash in midair as they're pushed to opposite ends of the training ground by my magic.
"Okay! That's enough! Lea... get ready to head out."
Her eyes sparkle at the word 'out,' and she approaches me with her hands behind her back.
"Honey! Can't you wash me? Pleeease?"
"How vulgar!"
"Is magic vulgar? What are you even thinking?"
*grind*
Jenia falls for every blatant bait.
I clean both of them thoroughly with magic.
"Mmph... didn't even feel it..."
The protagonist grumbles wistfully.
"Thanks, Liam."
Jenia smiles sweetly and whispers in my ear.
I give a wry smile and nod.
"What, you think I'd let it slide after just three days? Besides, even if we go on a date, we'll probably just hang around nearby!"
Exactly as I predicted, we end up at the dungeon entrance in the marquisate 'near' the academy.
"..."
"Here's our IDs! Thanks!"
The protagonist, wrapped head to toe in a large robe, shows her adventurer badge at the dungeon entrance.
"Liam! Hurry~ Gotta use the teleport scroll, so stick closer!"
"So... where are we going...?"
"Floor 32!"
"...?"
"Rip!"
"Wait no-!"
-Riiip!
The protagonist tears the scroll while clinging tightly to me with a bright smile...
And so our thrilling date on dungeon floor 32, packed with the undead, begins.