Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Thin Wolf Subjugated
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Passing by the corpse shattered into pieces by the overcharged <Fireball>, I approached the Thin Wolf.
"It's surprisingly intact."
I'd seen it catch fire, but the hide was only slightly singed—otherwise, it was almost pristine.
Even though it took a direct hit to the head, its skull didn't seem caved in.
It wasn't breathing, but it looked like it could spring back to life at any moment.
If I'd only charged it with two shots halfway, it might have been dangerous.
I was shocked by the monster's unexpected toughness.
I need to bring this corpse back to pass the quest. How should I transport it? Maybe stick it in my inventory?
I tried putting it in the storage, but there was no interaction response.
Why not? The hide, eyes, teeth—all those are valuable rare items.
Is it because it's an unprocessed plain corpse?
I pondered for a bit, then came up with a good idea.
I pulled out the [Giant Eight-Colored Shell].
It might not register as an item for storage, but I could leave it at the shell castle for a moment and come back.
I moved the Thin Wolf's corpse to the warehouse in the Eight-Colored Shell Castle, then returned.
Quest complete. I headed to the base of the cliff where Esty was.
"Esty. How's Karen?"
"She hasn't regained consciousness yet. But her breathing's stable."
"Thanks for watching her. Wait for me at the Water and Grass Inn with some water and grass? I'll bring this guy back."
"Okay."
Esty came over lightly and kissed me.
"I'm glad I could protect Decal. I'll be waiting for you to return."
"Ah, aren't you tired? Want to wait at the Eight-Colored Shell Castle?"
"No, unless I'm going with you."
More firm than I expected.
"Why? The beds are so soft and nice."
"Because I couldn't rush out to protect you if something happened."
"Oh."
Right. I'd overlooked that.
The Eight-Colored Shell Castle is an isolated world. Not only does no wind reach it, but nothing can exit without my permission.
I never know when I might need Esty's help, so we should move together.
"You're right. I'll call you if it gets dangerous."
I kissed Esty.
"Come back safely."
Esty walked toward the forest and vanished in a flash.
For a brief moment, I caught a glimpse of Esty's movements, which hadn't been visible at all until now.
Is it because I hunted the Thin Wolf and grew? The world looked a little different.
"Nngh..."
Karen opened her eyes.
I sat beside her and helped her sit up.
"You okay?"
"Me...!"
Karen's face paled as she frantically patted her body.
"You're fine. Nothing happened to your body."
I comforted her while naturally pulling her into my arms.
Hearing me, Karen relaxed and leaned into me.
"What about those people? What happened to the Thin Wolf?"
"I killed the Thin Wolf. You wanted to be a hero candidate, right? Congrats."
"Huh? What?"
Karen blinked in disbelief.
"How?"
"Thanks to you buying time, I landed a Fireball and took it down."
"I didn't do anything... Is it okay for me to get hero candidate status like that...?"
"Didn't do anything? We executed the plan perfectly. You protected my body, and I took down the monster. Right?"
"......"
She still looked troubled, hard to convince.
Well, everything ended while she was out cold, so it's natural she'd doubt it.
I gently stroked Karen's head in my arms.
"Oppa?"
"Think of it this way. If I was the knight sworn to protect you, and you were the mage. If our roles were reversed...
Do you think you'd tell me I didn't qualify?"
Karen shook her head vigorously.
"Exactly. You risked your life to protect me and did your job. Now you can stand tall, right?"
"Yeah... I..."
Tears started streaming down Karen's cheeks.
"I couldn't have done it without you, Oppa. Oppa...!"
Karen clung to me enthusiastically.
Her breasts pressed firmly against me, feeling great.
"Let's head back to the guild. I stored the Thin Wolf. We'll need proof of completion, so let's show it together at the guild."
"Yeah!"
Karen jumped up energetically.
"Huh? But I don't have any injuries? It felt like a massive wound, like my gut was ripped open..."
It was ripped open... but better not say that.
"I healed you. Had some really effective medicine."
"Hmm~? ...Feels like you did everything from A to Z, Oppa."
"Keep saying that?"
Karen flashed a bright smile, baring her teeth.
"I helped too, right?"
"Yeah."
I was honestly moved.
When else would I experience someone risking their life to protect me?
Coming to this world, going through something like this—it was thrilling and fun.
"But the biggest help was these breasts."
Feeling playful, I slipped my hand under her underboob and lifted. Karen flinched and hunched her shoulders.
But she didn't seem to hate it, not pulling away.
"Jeez. You like my breasts that much? ...Fine, they're yours, Oppa. Touch whenever you want."
"For real?"
"Not when other people are watching."
I kneaded Karen's breasts.
Touching them always fills me with awe.
"How long are you gonna keep groping!?"
"Can I keep touching on the way back?"
"No."
"But you said they're mine... Touch whenever I want..."
"W-We aren't officially dating or anything. This is still no good. Must be because I blacked out for a bit. Cancel!"
Karen seems weak to gentle caressing.
Whether from the hypnosis hint I loosened earlier or bonding through battle, her resistance to skinship had clearly weakened.
What hint should I try next?
"Shall we head back?"
"Yeah! Weirdly, I feel great too. If a monster shows up on the way, I'll protect you, Oppa."
"The medicine must've worked well."
Good thing Karen wasn't suspicious.
If she'd grilled me for details, it'd be awkward.
Let's just bury what happened quietly in my heart.
No regrets, but murder is murder. Not something to brag about.
Even I, who's used hypnosis for all sorts of deception and control, hadn't killed casually.
This was my first time directly harming someone since coming to this world.
Someone I didn't even know trying to kill me was also a first.
Everything was new. And new doesn't always mean good.
I finally realized a new life had begun in this world.
"It's gotten too late. Reporting today might be tough."
I'd forgotten Dry Village and the Black Forest were four hours apart one way.
Walking the whole way from the forest, without the wind spirit, I'd have collapsed ages ago.
Karen looked pretty tired too.
"I'll come to your inn tomorrow morning then, Oppa."
"Sounds good. See you tomorrow."
"Wait."
Karen grabbed me as I turned.
"Yeah?"
"About the breast thing earlier. If we d-date, you can do whatever you want..."
"Decal?"
Oh, Esty.
Esty spotted us and approached.
"Why are you out here?"
"So I can feel it if Darling sends a breeze."
Did she stand here all day?
Come to think of it, Esty crossed four hours one way in a flash. How?
The royal castle she visited for a day trip must be insanely far too, right?
All sorts of thoughts flooded in.
"Darling..."
Karen mulled over Esty's words, her face falling.
...Yeah, that's probably what she was about to say.
"You two have met before, right? Mind if I introduce you to her?"
"......"
Esty stared at Karen with a serious expression.
Karen, unusually tense, pursed her lips and waited.
"If that's what Decal wants."
"You make it sound like you hate the idea..."
Then Karen stepped forward.
"We met in the forest during the orc outbreak. Sorry for the rudeness then! I'm Karen, aspiring hero."
Esty was blatantly walling off, but Karen stepped up and greeted brightly.
"What do you think?"
"...Fine."
"This is Esty. Diamond-rank hunter, elf, and my lover."
"...Lover."
Esty sidled up beside me and pressed close.
Showing jealousy at a time like this.
Karen's wistful look was amusing, but Esty's reaction was fun too.
"Esty hates giving out her name casually. Just be careful about that."
"I'll be careful. Can I call you Esty-san...?"
"Just Esty. I'll call you Karen."
Karen nodded lightly.
"Got it, Esty."
"You and Esty will be at the Water and Grass Inn, so come find us in the morning."
"Yeah, Oppa."
Late at night, Karen had to return to her lodging alone.
I'd planned to escort her before meeting Esty, but things changed.
Esty is my lover, Karen's a quest companion. Priorities are clear.
"Let's go, Esty."
"Okay."
Playfully, I stuck extra close to Esty to tease Karen.
Karen couldn't hide her expression at all.
Her unsettled feelings from the interrupted conclusion showed plainly on her face.
Tomorrow's gonna be fun.
Right now, I just wanted to crash.
We got a room at the inn and moved to the [Eight-Colored Shell Castle].
Bella greeted me the moment we reached the hall.
"Welcome home, Master."
Lounging on the jade throne.
"Why are you there?"
"You said to greet you when you arrive at the castle."
"Sitting there all smug?"
"Any problem with that?"
"Bella. Squats, one hundred reps."
"Eek!?"
Bella got off the throne and started squatting.
She remembered my old orders perfectly, exposing her armpits—quite the sight.
Esty blinked in confusion.
"Decal, what's going on?"
"Allow me to reintroduce. Bella here. Used to be a goddess, now she's my slave."
"Slave..."
"Don't look at me like that, elf!"
Bella tried to sound stern, but squatting with arms up, ass bobbing, just looked ridiculous.
"Get along. You're both part of the Eight-Colored Shell Castle now."
"I get it, so can you stop this and talk?"
"Not until you hit a hundred."
"Ugh! Master, you're so mean...!"
"I'm Esty. Goddess-sama."
Unexpectedly, Esty introduced herself first.
"No need for formalities. Like Master said, I'm a slave. Call me Leila casually."
Esty glanced at me.
"It's fine. I told you, she's my slave."
"Got it. Leila. Um... why are you exercising?"
"Hahaha!"
I burst out laughing.
Esty didn't know Bella was under a command-obedience hypnosis. Her innocent question massively stroked Bella's shame.
"~~~! U-Ugh...!"
Still, Bella couldn't stop squatting, shaking her ass with a flushed face.
"Decal? Why are you laughing?"
"Slaves can't defy their master's orders. Bella loves this. Right?"
"Is that true? Leila?"
"Y-Yeah... I love it."
I clamped my hand over my mouth to stifle the laughter.
Bella glared daggers at me while squatting.
"You saw her in the dressing room before, right? That's her favorite too."
"Her favorite?"
"Yeah, she loves being trampled and insulted by me so much she became a slave."
"......"
Bella would prefer Esty despised her.
Esty gazed at Bella with a cool, blank expression.
Like, 'Huh, that kind of person exists.'
"Tired, Esty? Wanna bathe together?"
"Yeah. What about Leila?"
"She likes her punishments. Let's leave her here."
"~~!! Ngh!"
"Oh, Bella. Wake me tomorrow morning. Got it?"
"I'm your alarm clock now? Using me for something so trivial—what an insult!"
Ignoring Bella's protests, we headed to the grand bath.
"...Is this really okay?"
"The world's full of all kinds of perverts."
"...Leila's a pervert, huh."
"You'll see. She'll definitely wake us tomorrow."
The grand bath water was pristine, perfectly heated.
Sinking in, a groan escaped naturally. Ahh, bliss. How long since a proper bath? With Esty in my arms, pure luxury.
"Smack. Haa. Mmph."
Now routine, Esty sat in front of me, turned her head, and we kissed.
"I believed you'd pull it off, Darling."
"Thanks to you, Esty."
There were dangerous moments.
In that forest, I only watched for monsters, not people as enemies.
That lapse created the peril.
"Hmm, smack. Slurp."
Esty half-turned, sucking the tongue I offered.
"Darling. Don't trust other adventurers. People who keep their word are rare."
"What about Karen?"
"She seems nice. Above all, she protected you with her body. I'm grateful."
Trustworthy because she protected me.
Esty's casual words pleased me greatly.
The hypnosis hint had already seeped deep into her mind, influencing her thinking.
Just a bit more...
A little stronger hypnosis, and I can move to the next stage.