Karen Cross Can't Hold Back Her Curiosity
"You sure this is okay?"
In Jena von Darius's office, furnished with only the simplest pieces, I asked the question while eyeing her tense expression.
"Pardon? Ah, yes. I, Jena, will do anything the Hero desires..."
I let out a light sigh at the sight of Jena suddenly flushing red as she said that.
She'd seemed a bit off when we left the capital, but in the time since, her condition had apparently worsened.
"No, not that. I mean the communication network."
"Ah..."
Realizing her misunderstanding, Jena made an embarrassed face—but only for a moment. Having long since cast aside any semblance of shame, she answered my question with bold confidence.
"It doesn't matter. They were installed in secret, yes, but now that the Demon King's army has appeared, there's no need to hide them anymore. And there's even less reason to hide it from you, Hero."
I gave an awkward smile at her firm reply. From what I remembered of the previous timeline, where I'd been in the dark about it until the end, her view probably didn't align perfectly with the higher-ups in the Empire.
"Anyway, looks like you were paying attention to what I said, huh?"
I changed the subject, bringing it up with her.
Thanks to Jena coming out to greet us, I'd been able to gauge the territory folk's reactions on the way from the Caliban Territory gates to her office. Most didn't even seem to know I was the Hero, but their attitude toward Jena was unanimously friendly. Even as she kept a somewhat stiff demeanor with them, she responded to their greetings just right—clear evidence of all the effort she'd put in so far.
"Th-that... is that praise?"
At my words, Jena asked tentatively, and I nodded casually. Knowing her personality as I did, I had no reason to dismiss her hard work.
As I nodded, Jena stared at my face in surprise. Seeing her like that, I wondered if maybe I'd misjudged her all this time.
Just as she didn't know my life story, I didn't truly know hers either. Maybe she'd never properly received praise since birth. Born into high nobility by sheer luck, her life might have been filled with expectations and criticisms too heavy for her to bear.
To shield herself from failing those expectations, perhaps Jena dealt with people using her thorny speech on purpose. Hurting others before they could hurt you was a foolish but effective tactic.
Her wide-eyed stare, like a child hearing praise for the first time in her life, prompted me to naturally stroke her head.
"Good work, Jena."
"...Hah."
In what should have been a touching moment, Jena let out a lewd little breath.
I frowned slightly and looked at her, only to see her eyes already half-lidded in ecstasy as she whispered toward me.
"A-a bit... rougher..."
"......"
I sighed at Jena, who was blatantly asking me to grab her head harder. It really was presumptuous to judge someone else's life so freely.
"Lady Jena."
"What is it!"
As an awkward silence hung between us, someone knocked on the office door and called her name. Jena's eyes flashed with irritation for an instant, but the news from outside wasn't something she could just ignore.
"Th-the Hero's companions are... fighting among themselves."
I exchanged a glance with Jena at the voice from beyond the door. If it was my group, it had to be the dwarves and Karen. For allies who'd be fighting the Demon King's army together, this was no small matter.
"Uwaaaah!! Die, you ugly bitch!!"
At the enraged dwarven bellow from outside, Jena and I bolted from the office.
"You dog of a bitch! What the hell possessed you to do this to us?!"
"Ugly hag—your deeds are as wicked as your face!"
Rushing out of the office, Jena and I could only gape blankly at Karen and the dwarves.
The dwarves were dangling from a tree like fruit, bound tight, while Karen ignored them entirely and inspected the wrecked carriage.
"Hm. Is this part what dampens the carriage's vibrations?"
"You rotten bitch! Untie us right now, or I'll shove a suspension in your pussy hole and kick it in?!"
I naturally pressed a hand to my forehead as I watched Karen mutter to herself and the dwarves thrash about.
From their exchange, I could piece together what had happened. Karen must have gotten curious about the dwarves' carriage, which differed from the human ones. And with zero sense of common courtesy, her approach had been disassembly bordering on destruction. The dwarves, who seemed pretty attached to their ride, rebelling against that was only natural.
And to Karen—who was already buried in the carriage up to her elbows—that dwarven resistance was just an annoying obstacle.
"As expected. I could probably make something similar."
"Curiosity satisfied? Then untie them first."
I said it while eyeing the dwarves struggling against their mana bindings.
"Untie us, I said! You rotten bitch!"
"Before I tie you up like a turtle with rope and spank that ass red!"
I sighed at the dwarves, who were provoking Karen even as I tried to help. Were they cursed or something? Even with a knife to their throats, they couldn't quit their filthy mouths.
At least Karen stayed unfazed by their crude jokes.
"Shut up."
Not because of my request, but simply annoyed by their racket, Karen dispelled the spell. The dwarves plummeted straight to the ground.
"Gaaack! My back! My back!"
"This crazy bitch tries to cripple a fine dwarf's back just 'cause she didn't get fucked once?!"
Even Jena grimaced at the dwarves groaning in pain while spewing curses. I let out another deep sigh at my utterly hopeless crew.
Either way, to get the team together, I had to drag this lot safely to the Dwarf City.
"Karen, curiosity sated? Back to your room."
"Where? Gotta fix my carriage first!"
"Yeah, fix it—or pay with your body. Nah, you ain't even worth that."
The dwarves immediately kicked up a fuss at my words, but Karen ignored them completely and vanished into the castle.
"Hero, this is too much! Wasn't it all her fault? Huh? We only invited you—we didn't call that hag!"
"Right. Any real man would side with us."
I scowled as the dwarves crowded around me, yelling. Having hairy old men surround and shout at me wasn't exactly pleasant.
"Mr. James, can't you just repair the carriage?"
"Can't! That brute smashed it to bits! Good luck finding parts in a human village."
I scratched my head at James's indignant outburst, finally understanding the dwarves' meltdown.
"Then we'll provide one from our side. Possible, Jena?"
"Ah, yes."
I asked Jena amid their complaints, and she readily agreed with a nod.
"Ridiculous. You think a human carriage can climb those mountains? It'll lose a wheel halfway."
The Dwarf City was in high mountains, alright—and rougher than I'd imagined.
"No choice, then. We'll ride horses."
"Hah. Against dwarf custom, but no other way."
I couldn't hide my shock at James's words. These lunatics had customs?
"R-ride... horses?"
As I wrapped up with the dwarves, Jena suddenly asked me that. One look at her face, and I scowled again.
This one's gone off the rails again.
James sidled up beside me, flashing that familiar hand gesture.