Chapter 3: I Became a Trash Character in a Gacha Game (3)
Chapter 3: I Became a Trash Character in a Gacha Game (3)
Amy, a maid of the House of Fermaton, couldn't cool the heat rising in her face after the humiliating ordeal in the Young Lord’s room.
"Wh-what’s wrong...? Did something happen...?"
"Did the Young Lord... lay a hand on you again?"
The other maids approached Amy with worried expressions.
"D-did the Young Lord finally make a move on a maid?!"
She didn't seem to have any visible wounds like last time, which only made them more concerned.
"The Young Lord..." Amy began, her limbs trembling violently. "...He made me hold up my skirt while he ate his meal..."
"...What?"
The maids' expressions soured.
"What do you mean by that?"
"He asked me what color my panties were today... then he made me lift my skirt and ate like a savage... He kept eating until he was finished... the whole time...!!"
"Phew."
"Sounds like the usual Young Lord."
The maids let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Well, it’s better than coming out covered in bruises."
"Sister!"
"Calm down. Is this really something to get so worked up about? You should be grateful you weren't raped."
"Ugh, uuuugh...!"
"Think about the salary. Do you know how hard it is to find a job that pays 1,000 gold a month?"
1,000 gold.
It wasn't quite enough for a family of four to live on for a year—that was an exaggeration—but the average monthly salary for a typical worker was around 200 gold. This was a high-paying job, offering five times more than what other Baronies or Viscounties paid.
"But still!! He made me lift my own skirt and stared intently at my panties while he ate!"
"You're getting all worked up over nothing."
"The former Count didn't just look at panties while he ate; he stripped them off and had sex. Being a pervert must run in the family... but isn't this actually better?"
"Did the Young Lord even touch you? Did he violate you?"
"N-no..."
"Then what? Are you mad because he didn't fuck you? Just because he stripped you but didn't finish the job?"
"Th-that’s not it...!"
The heat in Amy’s face gradually began to subside.
"I thought the Young Lord had no interest in maids."
"I know, right? Sigh. Back when we served the former Count, getting fucked on the way in and out was a daily occurrence. Tsk tsk."
"Consider yourself lucky you didn't get taken. In the old days, you would've been raped on the spot and kicked out naked."
"......."
While her seniors' nonchalance was jarring, Amy found herself feeling a sense of relief at the stories of the former Count forcing himself on maids.
"Hey, if you end up becoming the Countess later, don't you dare pretend you don't know us, okay?"
"Excuse me?"
"The Young Lord might be a brat who throws things around, but isn't this the first time he's shown any interest in sex?"
"Exactly. Maybe he’s evaluating your lower body? Checking if you're the child-bearing type, looking for a woman to carry his heirs. A future Countess."
"A-a child...? Countess...?"
Amy felt a chill run down her spine.
Count Fermaton was currently focused entirely on social circles, and as soon as Young Lord Ruji Fermaton married, he would practically be ready to officially step up as the Count.
In this territory of Fermaton—which held a status no different from a Border Count and was essentially a small kingdom in its own right—becoming the Countess was equivalent to becoming a Queen.
"Phew. I guess we'll be seeing the Young Lord more often now?"
"The Young Lord knows better than anyone how important the Fermaton bloodline is... He won't just knock up anyone. Amy, can I be the one to bring him his meals starting tomorrow?"
"......F-for now," Amy said, taking a step back from her seniors. "It’s my job... so I’ll keep doing it."
That evening, Amy rummaged through her wardrobe.
* * *
'White yesterday, black today.'
Ah, the sweet taste of power.
Is this the true strength of Fermaton? To make someone hold up their panties throughout a meal with just a single word?
'This is incredible.'
What a relief. Having power is useless if you never get the chance to use it, but fortunately, I can put this authority to good use.
'The main story hasn't started yet.'
For a full day, I gathered as much information as possible to confirm the current timeline.
Fortunately, it’s before the main story begins—about a year before the Imperial invasion and my scripted death.
As for the story, the war could be moved forward or delayed depending on my future actions.
The trigger for the Empire starting the war was their acquisition of a Fermaton illegitimate child.
As long as I am publicly known as the 'Only Fermaton,' the Empire won't be foolish enough to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
'Thank you, ancestors.'
When the Infinite Labyrinth first appeared, the Kingdom and the Empire both tried to handle Fermaton however they pleased. They wanted to sever his limbs, kidnap him, and keep him barely alive just enough to maintain the Infinite Labyrinth.
However, the ancestor staged several suicide attempts, successfully blackmailing the Kingdom and the Empire with his own life. Ultimately, he laid the foundation for the Fermaton of today.
Look there.
In the center of the Lord's Castle, in the middle of the fountain, stands a statue of a man towering toward the sky.
Thanks to that great man, the Fermaton line has survived to this day, enjoying power equivalent to that of a kingdom.
"Kuu, thank you...!"
I used to make fun of him for having such a huge nose, calling him "Big-Nose," but he’s a grateful man who passed down this immense power and this dick to me.
From now on, I should offer a simple bow to my ancestor every morning and pray for my peace.
'To be at peace, I must eliminate the threats.'
The main story hasn't started yet.
That means I have a little bit of breathing room to use my power freely.
"...I have to find them."
My three death flags.
Illegitimate Child A.
Illegitimate Child B.
And the Player.
For the record, both illegitimate children are male.
Prince Archive Order was a 2D bishojo collection game, but the problem was that the target audience wasn't just men. It was a game determined to make money across the entire subculture by introducing a large number of cool male characters, and it actually had a significant percentage of female gamers.
"Ugh."
My stomach churned just thinking about their tracks. The "Rose Garden" of the fandom, where they obsessed over who was the 'top' and who was the 'bottom' using Ruji Fermaton and the other two illegitimate children, was truly horrific.
'But thanks to that, I won't hesitate to kill them.'
Hernandez Fermaton. An early-game ally.
Akamond Fermaton. Holder of Imperial citizenship.
Those two are the bastards who would take my place, ascend to the Earldom, and then hand over the actual power to the protagonist.
Half-brothers?
Sorry, but I’m just a man who possessed Ruji’s body; I’m not Ruji.
'My life is on the line, why should I show any mercy?'
I cannot die.
I don't want to die.
To avoid death, I won't hesitate to use my power even for murder.
So....
"Ruji?"
A clear, elegant voice drifted in from outside.
Though the language spoken was different, the voice and its meaning reaching my ears were unmistakably hers.
"Please wait a moment."
I quickly tidied myself up and opened the door personally to greet the woman.
"Have you eaten, Mother?"
"I have."
Zenith Fermaton, the Countess.
'Oh, wow.'
A beauty with long red hair tied in a single braid, wearing an off-shoulder dress that revealed the tops of her voluminous breasts—breasts so large a single hand couldn't possibly hope to cup them.
According to the lore, she was a woman married off as if sold in a political marriage. In her early thirties, she was about ten years older than Ruji.
She had become the wife of the former Count Fermaton, who was around fifty, but the Count was now dead.
One question lingered.
'Is she a virgin?'
Even if it was a political marriage, the duration wasn't that long. In fact, even after the wedding, they didn't hold a separate ceremony and kept separate rooms; they basically just lived in the same building.
She was essentially a woman sent by the Kingdom to Fermaton as an envoy and a means of maintaining goodwill.
I didn't know yet if she had sex with the Count, or if she had sex before the marriage since she was already quite old when she wed.
However, among the fan art, there were occasionally depictions of incestuous sex with Ruji Fermaton.
No blood relation, but considered incest simply because of the mother-son dynamic.
"What is it?"
"It’s nothing, Mother. More importantly, what brings you here?"
"...I heard the story from the Head Maid. That you did something strange to a maid."
"Something strange?"
There was only one thing that could fit that description.
"What about that was strange?"
"Ruji. You are..."
"The Young Lord of Fermaton. You are the Countess, Mother. But I am the one who knows the affairs of the territory best."
I’d played the game quite a bit. After becoming the manager of the Infinite Labyrinth as the main story progressed, I’d even dabbled in the labyrinth management business as unlockable content.
Of course, it would be worlds apart from reality, but at least at this point, Ruji was managing all the affairs of the labyrinth.
"What is wrong with the Young Lord looking at a maid's underwear?"
"Ruji, you...!"
"Why? I was simply checking if she looked like she could bear children well, if her body was suitable for carrying a Fermaton child."
I pushed back shamelessly. No matter if she was a mother figure, I was the master of this Labyrinth City.
'Actually, the original Ruji was like this, which is why Zenith ended up siding with the protagonist.'
Zenith is a traitor.
She’s a traitor who eventually hands over everything of the family to the protagonist and decides to stay by his side.
But that was the original story.
'This woman is a 3-star character.'
Her political skills for running a territory might be zero, but from the perspective of an adventurer conquering the Infinite Labyrinth, she was an outstanding woman.
"Mother."
I approached Zenith and lowered my posture.
Zenith flinched and took a step back, but before she could leave, I snatched her wrist and forcibly pulled her into the room.
"Ugh...!"
I had less physical strength, but she seemed flustered by my sudden pull and the sound of the door slamming shut.
"Mother."
I placed one hand on Zenith’s shoulder and leaned in.
"I am a Fermaton. I am a man with the duty to ensure the Fermaton bloodline does not end."
"S-so...?"
"What do you mean 'so'? Obviously..."
I smirked.
"I have to find the woman who will become the mistress of Fermaton, fuck her, and get her pregnant, don't I?"
This world isn't a gacha game.
Therefore.
'To hell with probability and gacha rates.'
The 3-star female characters.
'I’m going to bury my cock in them.'
I’ll fuck them all and make them my allies.