The Knight Doubts the Beast's Affection.
The Knight Doubts the Beast's Affection.
"...Hey, that old hag called me an incubus. Doesn't that make you think anything?"
"Great Mage Rieselotte-nim let it slide, so that should be enough. Why are you trying to pick a fight over it again?"
"Why are you so smart?"
"....I now know what you usually think of me."
The damn old hag connected a strange purple line between Claire and me.
According to her explanation, being close to Claire would divide and share pleasure-related emotions, and it seems to suppress the scent I unknowingly emit with my magic.
"Sigh... But isn't this only a loss for you? You want to travel with Noel, right?"
"...I don't need your useless consideration. For me, managing you and ensuring there's no noise in the Hero-nim's journey is the most important thing."
"I try to be considerate and say something, and this is how you react..."
Honestly, it's fcking annoying. I was going to go to a brothel. Isn't this crazy btch going to follow me everywhere and stop me?
"And...! Since I... satisfy your... desires, Raul... isn't that enough...?"
I got a bit heated at that, moved my body close, and said roughly.
"Hey, you fcking btch. Didn't you see me f*cking your servant? All you do is stroke it with your hand a little. Why do you keep trying to attach conditions?"
"Y-you, you just now... Roja...!"
"You said you saw it. The way I was f*cking thrusting my hips. Can you handle that? No, more than that, can you suck it with your mouth?"
"Y-you vulgar..."
"You're smiling right now, you crazy b*tch."
"N-no, I'm not! I... am not smiling..."
Claire touched her lips with her hand, turned even redder, hung her head, and couldn't say anything.
"...Fine. Yeah, I'll hold back like you said."
"R-Raul!"
As she lifted her head, looking like she was about to say something again, I added a final word.
"I don't know what I'll do when that time comes. Don't come crying to me after getting f*cked hard."
"Ugh... ugh... I'll somehow... use willpower to...!"
Should I just beat the sh*t out of her?
While I was thinking about beating her up since I don't have my sword and can't talk sense into her, Seraphina arrived.
"Raul, Claire! Rieselotte-nim says she has something to tell us!"
....Seeing those massive breasts at least calms me down a bit.
Thwack.
Ah, that fcking btch, seriously.
"D-don't look at the Saintess-nim... with such lewd eyes..."
"Sigh... whew... whew... Ah, right."
"Come on, let's go quickly. She said she'd tell us where we'll be staying!"
Where we'll be staying...? We're not leaving?
Following the excited Seraphina while questioning this, I see the old hag... Rieselotte and Noel talking and laughing.
A mere country bumpkin talking and laughing with a Great Mage... What an awkward scene.
"Hmm, the children are here."
"Everyone~ come quickly!"
What on earth did Rieselotte say to make them this excited...
"I'm sorry, but I have some things to take care of. I'm planning to prepare a carriage that's a new invention of the Magic Tower City, so go to the place I introduce. If you show this token and say my name, my disciple from my school will let you in."
"Yes...! Wow..."
What Rieselotte gave was a platinum token with a chain-bound book emblem drawn on it.
"Looks expensive."
"Heh heh. Well, whose token do you think it is? If you sell it on the black market or anywhere else, you could name your price."
"So where am I supposed to go with this?"
"You're so impatient. Noel, take it."
The purple-wrapped paper and the token floated up and headed toward Noel, and when Noel reached out, it landed right on his hand.
"It's all written on that map, so go ahead."
"Thank you, Rieselotte-nim!"
"Yes, yes."
Saying that, she waved her hand as if shooing us away.
We were immediately out at the entrance of the building. I didn't feel anything in particular... She's a truly amazing old hag in many ways.
"Now... Sir Kyle Lemontra's mansion... By the way, I'm looking forward to it. Seraphina-nim!"
"Right, Noel! I heard the carriages in the Magic Tower City are extremely comfortable!"
Seraphina and Noel now look like a pair that gets along well. Before, they were somehow awkward and kept a little distance from each other. Now they are completely like Rina and Noel...
"...Raul. Your expression isn't good."
"Yeah. Sorry."
".....?"
"What?"
Sometimes I ask myself. If I went back to that time, would I not touch Rina?
No. I probably would have touched her again. How could I let it slide when she was wagging her tail in front of me? I should grab the tail and take her.
"....Let's follow them. They're already over there because they're so excited."
"....Yeah."
Somehow, Claire didn't look particularly happy either. Normally, she would have scolded me and joined those two idiots while laughing.
I don't have absolutely no clue why, but I didn't ask. Everyone has at least one shadow they don't want to dig up.
◆
I talked with the Saintess... Seraphina-nim on the floor where Rieselotte-nim resides in the Magic Tower City.
About what happened at the monastery. The night when my forced-open feelings of love and jealousy were discovered by the people I should be protecting and serving.
She explained what happened back then very carefully, trying not to hurt my feelings as much as possible.
"Th-that... I'm sorry... Claire... Noel and I are a bond tied by the Goddess... In this bond, Claire..."
I had clearly prepared myself in my heart, and I thought it couldn't be helped even if I was rejected.
But I guess that wasn't the case.
"Of course. I cannot say I have no romantic feelings for the Hero-nim... but still, assisting the two of you and finishing the journey is the priority. If these feelings become a hindrance, I will try to get rid of them as soon as possible."
"...I'm sorry. Claire... really... I'm really sorry..."
The Saintess-nim bowed her head, shaking her shoulders, and was saddened.
Honestly, I hated her a little. And maybe I was resentful, so I turned my eyes away a little.
"Ah, Saintess-nim. I have something to say to Raul for a moment... would it be okay if I went?"
"Ah... yes... hehe... You shouldn't fight, okay?"
"If that is what the Saintess-nim wishes... I will not fight."
I said that and smiled. I thought so. I felt the corners of my mouth go up, so didn't I smile?
I walked a little fast. Clanking with the sound of my armor.
That sound seemed to represent my heart right now, and it was miserable, as if it were mocking me for not being properly prepared.
"Ah, f*ck..."
And I didn't hate that vulgar sound a little bit.
I definitely liked the Hero-nim's kind and gentle voice.
At some point, I... unintentionally. Really, unintentionally, I thought I liked Raul's vulgar, crude, and rough voice... I thought that.
I was convinced of that thought when I was grumbling at him, and he suddenly brought his body close to me, and his emotions flowed in a little through the connected thread.
Self-loathing, annoyance, embarrassment, nervousness, and... a very slight bit of pity and worry.
Yeah. Maybe this beast secretly loves me.
Perhaps the reason he treats me so badly and roughly is just childish rebellion stemming from those feelings.
If not that, then what am I to him? I was curious. So I decided to go deeper.
It was a truly petty and un-knightlike action, but I didn't feel disgusted or nauseated.
◆
Afterwards, our party headed to the mansion Rieselotte told us about, and we stood in front of a gate with a huge garden.
Even just standing in front of that gate, the luxurious statues and gold-decorated doors showed that they were definitely wealthy. It even showed a bit of vanity.
When I showed Rieselotte's token and said her name, the knight dolls standing in front of the gate opened the door.
It was such a fascinating scene that not only Seraphina and Noel, but I was also quite excited.
Except for one person.
"Hey."
"...Hmm? Did you call me?"
What is this, this voice is subtly high-pitched...
"....You're not sick, are you?"
"Hmph. Don't worry about others, take care of yourself, Raul. Saintess-nim, Hero-nim! We should go together!"
"What's wrong with her, seriously."
It's like she's acting coy. What kind of change of heart did she have for a person to change like that?
"Sigh... I'm really tired."
I wanted to go and lie down quickly. And at the same time, my lower parts are feeling stiff too.
Anyway, the surrounding scenery was worth seeing. Even to my eyes, a country bumpkin, I could understand what the word 'beautiful' meant.
The most fascinating thing was that dolls were tending to the garden.
Watering, pruning branches, pulling weeds—every single thing was done by dolls.
The only similarity they had to humans was that they had two arms and two legs.
"....It's creepy."
Thinking that, I followed the rest of the party into the mansion. A person who looked like a butler opened the entrance, and what came out to greet us was...
"Saintess-nim, Hero-nim, and all party members, welcome. I am Eloise Carnea, the wife of the mansion's owner, Sir Kyle Lemontra."
"Ah, hello!"
What greeted us was a mature woman wearing a dark purple dress, holding a glass of wine leisurely.
As expected of a noble, every gesture was elegant and graceful, and she had a calm smile on her lips, but for some reason, she looked bored to me.
She accepted Noel's greeting while covering her mouth with her hand and asked us.
"Would you like to see your rooms first? If not, would you like to have a meal first?"
We looked at Noel, the leader of the party and the Hero, and passed the choice to him.
"Meal first, please!"
At Noel's energetic answer, the lady, still smiling, stepped aside from the hall and guided us into the mansion.
As if they had heard we were coming, there were tons of dishes in the dining room that were reminiscent of a banquet hall, and since I had lost energy from getting checked, I just ate blindly.
Only me. Noel and Seraphina were eating while taking care of each other, and Claire, who was a noble's daughter, was eating while having a conversation about food with the lady who had approached her.
Since everyone except for one person who looked like a butler was a doll doing the servant's work, I couldn't even have a maid by my side, so the food didn't really go down well.
And after that, we finished our meal. We were guided to our respective rooms.
While washing up in the room I was guided to, I put on an unfamiliar robe and lay spread-eagle on the bed, and a very soft and pleasant scent welcomed me.
Maybe it's even better than the room I stayed in in the Empire...
And I heard a knock on my door.