Chapter 190
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: Spirits Look Best on the Head
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Spirits look good when perched on one's head.
Eclair didn't hide her expression, letting it show naturally.
After hugging Chloe, the sisters held hands and approached me.
Rike stopped kneading my buttock and clung to my waist, watching the Dreitna sisters.
"Roman. It's absurd and ridiculous to say this, but... thank you."
"I'll treasure it."
It wasn't just directed at Chloe.
I spread my arms, and the three women gathered chattering, nestling into my embrace.
Even though the pose was ridiculous, all three had satisfied, cozy expressions.
"...It's uncomfortable, but not bad."
"Chloe's breasts are suffocating..."
Rike, buried in Chloe's side boob, barely turned her head.
"S-Sorry...!"
With all three in my arms, it felt like holding a massive bouquet of flowers.
It was an extravagance beyond compare in the world.
"Shall we go to the dining room like this?"
I lifted them up, supporting their bottoms tightly against me.
No need for a grunt of effort—they came up light as feathers.
"Whoa...!"
"Someone might see us looking like this... scary."
"What's wrong with it? We should just enjoy this."
Eclair sighed in embarrassment, but Rike burrowed deeper into my arms.
"Not too heavy, are we...?"
"Not at all? You're like feathers."
Compared to the happiness they gave me, my women were feather-light.
One step at a time toward the place where food was prepared.
I happily watched the women chattering noisily in my arms.
"Today, Rike and Chloe really stepped up. Especially Chloe, she was worried about her big sis—mmph!"
Chloe hurriedly covered my mouth with her palm.
"Mmph...! B-Big brother!"
She glanced at Eclair, her face flushing beet red, then hid it in my chest.
Compared to everything we'd done up to now, it didn't seem like something to be embarrassed about.
I still couldn't fully grasp what made Chloe shy.
"Sounds promising."
Eclair's delighted expression was the same as Chloe's when she'd come to the study claiming the mansion was empty.
Even during the meal, Eclair wore a pleased look, while Chloe couldn't hide her ticklish feelings.
The meal, dominated by talk of Eclair and Chloe, came to an end.
We all sat closely together, sipping tea and changing the subject to start a new conversation.
"Maybe I should buy a big house that's comfortable for when we visit. Keep the current one as is."
We've spent a lot of time there with all sorts of memories—too precious to sell.
And money's no object.
"As long as I have you, big bro, anywhere's fine!"
Rike drained her tea first and claimed a spot on my thigh.
Eclair took it in stride, but Chloe seemed far from adjusting to Rike's bold new side.
"Yeah. Rike's position does make it tricky for commuting to the academy."
"If we tell the guild, they'll pull a list right away. Easier to negotiate any issues too."
"To keep Platinum in the capital, that's the least we can do."
Munching on the cookie Rike fed me, I voiced the thought popping into my head.
"While we're at it, how about a ridiculously huge bed?"
"Do whatever you want, big bro. We'd need a big one for four of us anyway."
Rike and I synced up perfectly, and the Dreitna sisters froze mid-motion.
"...Four of us in one bed?"
"Eek...!"
The sisters reacted intensely, clearly sharing the same thought.
"Don't you want to sleep separately with big bro, big sis? Chloe too? If you need it, I'll prepare separate rooms and beds."
Knowing their personalities—they couldn't directly mention "that" while sober.
Rike, grasping that perfectly, seized control and shook the Dreitna sisters.
""...""
And then, the most important talk about Chloe's weapon.
Even after I explained the reason, Chloe flailed that it was fine.
But Eclair, with a stiff expression, asked if it was really okay to request it.
For Eclair, who would normally chime in that it was fine, to act like this...
It meant that day's incident had left a scar.
With a plan for moving forward in place, even trivial details started coming up.
"Just be honest—"
How to explain this situation that would knock Seria out.
Leaving Rike and Chloe debating, Eclair and I stepped out to the courtyard for some night air.
Just the two of us, she slyly hooked her arm through mine and intertwined our fingers.
"Roman."
"Yeah?"
"It's rude to ask this when I'm always just receiving, but..."
"Say it freely."
Eclair kicked a pebble across the yard, then looked up to meet my eyes.
Her red eyes brimmed with worry.
"How do you know about things like that and where to find them...? Is it dangerous?"
"Not at all. Nothing dangerous, so don't worry."
I gently caressed her porcelain nape, and her furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
"...As long as it's not dangerous."
"I've got records of items like that. Women's weapons—I can't use them myself, so just noted them down."
It was true, technically.
But my vague answer wouldn't convince anyone, yet Eclair just nodded without a word.
"If you say so, Roman, then it must be. Just... don't get hurt."
"To do that, you gotta energize me. What's my reward?"
She chuckled at my response and pulled me to a spot out of Chloe's sight.
"Not just for Chloe—I'm always grateful. And... I love you."
Anticipation had filled her since I touched her nape; she wrapped her arms around my neck, stood on tiptoe, and kissed me.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Variant orcs approaching, shaking the ground.
Typical orcs have green or red skin.
But this variant's skin was blotched with sickly blue spots—no matter how you looked at it, unnatural—and its bulk nearly doubled normal size.
Orcs are usually manageable even for Silver-rankers, barring certain specimens, but this one was different.
It didn't herd with packs and had bizarre appetites.
Devouring humans, other monsters, even its own kind.
And despite its size, it wasn't as dumb as average orcs.
Hiding silently in the forest with that bulk, it hurled a rusty sword from who-knows-where.
The struck nun tumbled with her shoulder mangled.
The two who'd reflexively dodged looked grim, unscathed but lifeline intact.
Crack!
Unbelievable strength for her small frame.
The girl who kicked away the flung rusty lump alerted her party.
"10 seconds!"
"Damn it...! Too much!"
At Alice's words, Roman grimaced and summoned blue aura along his blade.
"Don't wanna die? Shut up and endure!"
Grind—crunch—
Hastily surged mana roiled inside her, sprouting horns.
Hard scales formed under her eyes.
One arm fully transformed into a dragonkin's "that," ferocious beyond measure.
As her pupils narrowed into slits, revealing draconic sharpness...
-Grrrrraaah!!!
Even the slobbering, charging orc sensed the threat and bellowed.
"Raaah! You bastard!!"
Slash!
Roman used aura to leave a stinging gash, drawing the orc's gaze, then scrambled away.
Darting every which way, it swung its aura-wreathed massive sword and fists like chasing an annoying pest.
One hit and it's over—he sweated buckets from the thought.
"O benevolent earth. Borrow the heavens to open the stone gate. Bestow heavy burdens upon the foe, make them bear unbearable weight."
⟨ Black Stone Pillar ⟩
Trusting her sturdy build, wildly surged mana made her stomach churn.
Chanting the spell, Alice glanced at the nun again.
The young church nun accompanying them for the quest was moments from the goddess's side.
'Damn it...!'
This is why she wanted Gold-rankers with experience, not Silver.
If she'd beaten Roman senseless to stop him, maybe the girl wouldn't be hurt.
She'd volunteered, but her chest ached anyway.
Maybe because she hadn't pushed harder.
Such incidents were common among adventurers, but she didn't feel zero responsibility.
The mood soured thinking one girl might die pointlessly without blooming.
"Tero."
Her thoughts transmitted to the spirit atop her head.
Spirit power wasn't immense, options limited.
But ultimately, it depended on usage, big or small.
-Ssssk!
The spirit hissed, body stiffening threateningly.
The ground under the monster charging at her after shoving Roman aside cratered, unbalancing it slightly.
-Gruk...!
"Die!"
Bam!
Alice slammed her scale-covered fist into the earth; shadow fell over the orc's head.
-Black Stone Pillar.
Hexagonal pillar plummeting from the sky.
A spell crushing foes with overwhelming mass matching its dark hue.
No mana wrap, hard to aim precisely.
Couldn't control fall speed—riddled with flaws.
But on hit, unyielding power.
Kabooom!!!
Earth-shaking roar as the pillar embedded.
Dust billowed and settled.
A smashed-head orc, silent in death, came into view.
Roman lay nearby, dirt-caked, panting.
"Haaah—."
The near-gambling strike luckily succeeded big.
Legs nearly buckled, but Alice pulled herself together and approached the whimpering nun.
"You okay?"
The nun wiped tears but pointed to the forest behind.
"B-Behind...!"
"...!!"
Following her slender finger...
Another variant orc watched from afar, approaching.
'It was supposed to be just one...?'
Complaints changed nothing.
Dawdle and it'd close in—no rest.
"Roman! Get up!"
Not just resting Roman reacted; the distant orc too.
Deeming Alice's voice a threat.
The far orc charged, ground thundering.
-Sssk!
"Tero...?!"
Urgent battle prep needed.
Yet Tero, peering around from Alice's head, hopped down and dashed into the forest.
"Wh-Where!"
Spirits don't flee contractors.
Bonds prevent easy distance.
Otherwise, spies.
Even as spies, their pranks might yield no reliable info.
"...Tch!"
Tero's whims never this extreme before.
Startled by the unprecedented, Alice couldn't afford daze.
Seeing kin die, it wouldn't fall for Black Stone Pillar gambles.
As she gathered mana for other spells...
"...?"
Alice's head turned blankly.
The slobbering, mad-rushing monster halted, turning too.
Only Roman and the nun clueless.
"A-Alice ma'am?"
"Shh."
Silencing the nun, Alice swallowed dryly, staring unblinking at one spot.
The threat all predators sensed in eat-or-be-eaten life.
Food-chain monsters reacted keenest.
True apex arrives—even blood enemies halt, eyes shifting.
A colossal killing intent dwarfing the prior variant approached.
Her stance lowered instinctively.
Breath held, eyes unblinking, seconds passed.
Rustle—
"Huh?"
A man with Tero on his head emerged from the forest.