My Coworkers Are Misunderstanding My Master. How Do I Fix This?
...Huh?
And just like that, as I was walking along all excited with my arm linked through his, I belatedly realized my chest was pressing firmly into his arm. Everything I'd said and done during my little rampage flashed before my eyes like a highlight reel.
"Hngh!?"
"Jasmine?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
Had I actually lost my mind? I'd gotten so hung up on something weird that I'd barreled straight past the point of no return. And on top of that, the unfamiliar pressure where my chest was being squeezed kept delivering this strangely... something... sensation. I wanted to die on the spot.
J-just play it natural. We'll arrive, and then I'll disentangle.
Right. We were almost there anyway. No need to kill the mood here. Just wrap it up like nothing had happened....
"Oh, Jasmine unnie!"
"Wh-what...?"
That was the plan. I should have casually unlinked our arms and ended it like nothing had happened.... So why was Fruity greeting us at the door before we'd even gone inside?
"Wh-whoa!? Unnie, are you crying?"
"N-no?"
Fruity clearly had zero concept of the situation and greeted us without a second thought—but I was mortified beyond words that someone else had caught me crushing a man's arm with my chest. A tiny tear welled up from sheer embarrassment.
"You okay?"
"Huh? Y-yes, Master...."
...Master?
Oh, for fuck's sake. I wanted to leave this spot right now, dive into the lake, and dissolve into foam. No—using "Master" at a time like this was really not helping....
"Don't tell me—unnie, you've decided to serve the new Master as your Master too?"
"Well, I have, but...."
Even Fruity seemed to find the atmosphere a little off. She tilted her head and stared at the two of us like she was trying to bore holes through us. ...Please stop.
"Unnie looking a little teary-eyed.... And the way she's walking, serving Master's arm with her chest so it's comfortable...."
"What!?"
I couldn't believe she could say something that perverted with such an innocent face. ...No, knowing Fruity, she was probably completely serious—thinking of it as me playing the role of a cushion so his arm would be comfortable. I'd gotten too worked up. This was a neighborhood full of idiots who didn't even know how men and women made babies, after all.
"Ah, so Master took unnie away and scolded her?"
"Huh...?"
"That's why he said he wanted to stay with unnie specifically, not anyone else.... He thoroughly scolded Jasmine unnie for daring not to follow the new Master, and trained her into a servant who obeys him, right?"
"Um...."
Hearing it put that way, it almost sounded like I'd become a sexual assault victim. Like I'd been put through hardcore training until my body had no choice but to obey even while crying. I was grateful she was filling in the blanks on her own, but the content was anything but welcome no matter how I looked at it.
"I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding...?"
"There isn't?"
"I-I just thought he was someone worth serving as Master, that's all...?"
"Ah, so you have to say it that way or you'll get scolded."
"That's not it."
She wasn't listening to me anymore. Fruity had always been that kind of character. Once she latched onto something wrong, she'd run with the misunderstanding and blow it up into an incident. ...Still, I hadn't expected to get hit this fast.
"Oh? Master's here? Please come inside. Have you had breakfast?"
"Ah, Powder unnie! Listen!"
W-wait just a second—how far was she planning to spread this delusion of hers? I tried to stop Fruity's rampage, but because our arms were still linked, I couldn't move forward. Instead, leaning out like that only pressed my chest even deeper against him. The sensation I'd been trying to forget slammed into my brain, and a sound tore out of me.
"Hngh!?"
"S-see...! Master's training still isn't finished!"
The misunderstanding only deepened. Powder, who'd overheard Fruity's story, started looking at us with a truly peculiar expression. I was so wronged I could die, but if I acted upset the situation would only get worse, so I decided to drop it.
"Powder."
"Yes, Master!"
"I have a favor to ask."
"There's no need to ask for favors. Please give it as a command."
"Then it's a command."
I had no idea what kind of conversation this was. For all her talk, Powder didn't actually do just anything she was told. Even if she might go along with lewd requests out of pure ignorance, when it came to things she personally disagreed with, she was the type to carefully state her reasons and refuse.
"Yes, please speak."
"Reinstate Jasmine."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"I mean undo her expulsion."
"W-wait a moment, Master!"
Not just me—Powder was pretty shaken too. He was suddenly throwing out a statement like that to defend me? I'd been planning to simply acquire Powder and use her to move the Royal Guard.... Of course, being part of the Royal Guard—which essentially held something close to administrative authority—would be convenient for my future activities. ...And now that my affection was at level 20, there was no need for extra time spent conquering me either. Hmm, so should I just wait and see for now?
"I understand Master's wishes. Jasmine has properly acknowledged Master as well, so it's not impossible. However...."
There was one problem. Every guild's operations team was capped at a maximum of five members, and the Royal Guard was no exception. Anyone outside the operations team was run under the title of apprentice—and Fougere, who'd originally been an apprentice, had been promoted into the Royal Guard when a vacancy opened up. So the Royal Guard's roster was currently full.
"So it's difficult right away. Starting from apprentice might be possible, but...."
"That's not acceptable."
Under normal circumstances, Powder would have shut this down cold. But this was the result their superior—Master—had obtained through his own direct action, however brief. Because of something they'd carried out without explanation, that plan had been thrown into disarray, so of course she was in a bind.
Refuse, and it became a case of subordinates acting without consulting their superior and ruining his work. Accept, and they couldn't exactly kick out Fougere, who'd already come in and gained the same rights as the rest of them. ...Fougere could voluntarily step down, but that wasn't going to happen, so scratch that option.
"Like I said, it's just...."
"Are you saying no?"
"Eek!?"
Hmm. Earlier I'd thought of this as nothing but an annoying misunderstanding. Flip it around, though, and it was material that could make them think this guy was a terrifying person. ...I might need that for now, so maybe leaving the misunderstanding alone was fine.
"If you won't take Jasmine back, then I'm abandoning the Royal Guard and starting a new guild."
"What!?"
The reason the Queen's Royal Guard could wield influence from that position was the Queen's power. In this world, the Queen was essentially everything. Of course her direct guild would hold tremendous strength.
But most of the Queen's power had already transferred to this guy. He might be weak for now, but gather a few people and build strength, and the Royal Guard would become nothing special. A new power would naturally emerge.
Of course, we don't have that kind of time.
We needed to pull the Royal Guard members over to our side right away. Fail, and this place would be destroyed by monsters. ...But that was a fact only we knew.
From Powder's perspective right now, the Master she was supposed to serve had declared he was disappointed in them and would abandon them entirely. Power was power, but for Powder—who valued loyalty above all—it was an ending she absolutely did not want to face.
Alright, Powder Mama. How are you going to handle this?
This was something that obviously never happened in the original story. But this world was still a world where people lived, and when something came up, they had to deal with it in their own way. That naturally became a matter of "discretion"—where the original story didn't matter. ...And the choice I knew Powder would make was exactly one.
"...Understood. Then I will step down to apprentice."
"Good."
"Powder unnie!? M-Master too!"
As expected, Powder was trying to take full responsibility herself. Not far off from what I'd predicted. That said—didn't that mean the captain's seat would be vacant?
...Not bad at all.
I whispered discreetly that it would be good to snag the captain's seat while we were at it. ...Becoming the guild master of a guild had pretty solid utility, after all.
"Hmm.... So the next captain will be Jasmine, filling that seat?"
"If that is Master's wish. After all, the Royal Guard ultimately exists for Master."
The small problem was that the other Royal Guard members wouldn't accept me as captain. I'd been branded as the girl who'd dared defy Master.... That was something I'd have to resolve slowly over time.
"Unnie...."
"It's fine. This much is.... If anything, you should take good care of the new captain. She must have been through a lot."
"...Huh?"
"That's.... Yes, you're right. I will."
What on earth was that about all of a sudden? Why was I the one being comforted? ...Hadn't she been thinking this was my just deserts? No, Powder Mama, what is going on? You got mad and expelled me—why are you looking at me with that pitying expression? I'm fine, okay!?
"Jasmine, you've been through so much.... If I'd known it would come to this, I would have stopped him instead of getting angry."
"......."
Something about the atmosphere was going very strangely. Looking at how quickly he'd conquered a stubborn brat like me, were they assuming some brutally harsh training had taken place? ...Granted, if Affection Gifts counted as terrifying training, then yes, they kind of were.
"Oh? What is everyone doing out he—"
"J-just a moment. Aroma unnie, over here."
And Aroma, who'd gone off with Fruity, came back looking half ready to cry, dragged me over, sat me down in the captain's seat, and personally made me a cup of warm hot chocolate.
...Where the hell do I even start untangling this misunderstanding?