Chapter 86. Call Me Like You Used To
Chapter 86. Call Me Like You Used To
Women had always been a means to an end.
The targets I could hypnotize weren't limited by gender, but sexual intercourse altered the unconscious mind in ways that influenced conscious thought, making my operations far smoother.
And yet, until now, I'd never subjected a target to more violence than necessary, nor taken risks like leaving their memories intact while they were fully conscious.
Did I do such things to Heira because I'd been backed into a corner so completely that I was willing to gamble even on that?
No. The truth was, I'd lost my detachment.
No matter how much I tried to deny it, I couldn't help but realize the truth at last.
That I now held affection for everyone in this party, including her.
That I, who was supposed to keep my heart closed, had developed an attachment to them, and had failed to shake that feeling off in the end.
"Heira."
A man who'd become aware of his own feelings like that couldn't possibly continue the conditioning properly.
So I'd needed a reprieve to sort out my emotions, and that was why I'd spoken up, but...
"Does... does that mean you don't need me anymore?"
"...What?"
"I-I'll do better!"
Instead of calming her, my words only made Heira break out in a cold sweat and start trembling.
Her constricted pupils and quavering voice made it clear she was terrified by what I'd just said.
"I-I won't cry anymore. I won't ever say I hate it again. So please, please don't say you don't need me. Please..."
"No, that's not—that's not what I meant, so don't cry."
"But... you said you didn't need me..."
"I didn't say I didn't need you. I said I wanted to rest."
Poor thing.
Just how thoroughly had emptiness wracked her before she met me, that she'd cling like this even to the man who'd done such things to her?
"It's just that—"
Back in the old days, I probably would've dismissed it with a shrug and taken advantage of her however I pleased, but now I had no desire to use this girl that way.
"—now that I think about it, doing that sort of thing in front of the two of them could get us caught."
"...Master?"
"Right. There's no need to take unnecessary risks. I'll continue where we left off later, somewhere out of sight. So until then, conserve your energy."
After I spoke those words while concealing my true feelings, I turned away from Heira and resumed tidying up the tent.
Heira stood there in a daze, staring at me. It looked like she hadn't fully absorbed what I'd said, but that only lasted a moment.
"I-I'll help you!"
Soon she collected herself and came over beside me, starting to pack the collapsed tent into the luggage bag.
It was the same sort of help with chores as always. But the expression on her face seemed brighter than usual.
Had my words made her that happy? Or had my real meaning, which I'd tried to hide, shown through?
"...You don't have to use formal speech with me anymore."
If it was the latter, it might seriously affect the conditioning later on, but I didn't feel any sense of urgency about that.
The expression she was showing me right now looked far too lovely.
"Huh? But you're my Master."
"You don't have to call me 'Master' either."
Yes. Purely.
Because the face she was making right now looked far too lovely.
"Just call me Dave, like you always do."
As I hid my true feelings and got ready to hoist the packed luggage, Heira gazed at me, and a blush began spreading across her face.
Slowly at first, but unmistakably.
"...Okay."
Wearing a smile brighter than the morning sunlight spreading across the sky.
"I understand, Dave."
Having accepted my words just as they were, the girl fell in behind me as usual and made ready to rejoin the others.
Without fear, without hesitation. As if she had found something hopeful in the kindness I'd shown her.
"Dave, sorry we're late! Is the packing all done?"
Serika and Yumir rejoined us at that moment. Without letting anything show on my face, I welcomed them with the luggage bag slung over my shoulder.
"No problem. Everything's packed. I think we can head out right away — are you two ready?"
"Yeah, let's go. It's obvious Yumir's going to collapse from exhaustion again, so isn't it better to move as fast as we can?"
"If you'd at least phrase it properly, I wouldn't find you so insufferable."
Were they about to start fighting again, or was that just the launch sequence? Yumir crossed her arms and stepped back without another word.
Serika didn't needle Yumir any further either, instead taking up her place beside me as we prepared to depart.
As we walked together through the forest path, she kept sneaking glances at me.
"...Do you have something you want to say?"
"H-Huh? It's that obvious?"
Of course it was. It was practically written on her face.
Now that I thought about it, Serika never was very good at hiding things. Just as I was thinking she'd need to be more careful to keep her identity concealed, Serika smiled vaguely and waved her hand.
"Actually, there's something I want to talk to you about, Dave, but I think the conversation might get a bit long. So not right now — I'll tell you after we arrive."
"Oh? If that's the case, sure."
After we arrived, huh. If the conversation was going to be long, putting it off until then was probably fine.
It was bound to be just the usual sort of talk. With that thought, I paid her words no further mind and kept walking.
A strange current had been flowing between Yumir and Serika ever since they'd stepped away earlier, and it nagged at me. But I figured it was just their usual sort of silent rivalry, nothing more.
***
We arrived at our destination around sundown.
We should have gotten here sometime in the afternoon, but the gap between traveling by carriage and traveling on foot couldn't be helped.
No matter how much the party members transcended the average human in combat ability, their basic foundation was still human.
Battles that ended in a matter of minutes were one thing, but a journey that required walking for hours on end meant you had no choice but to pay attention to rest and meals, too.
"F-Finally. We're here... *cough*!"
And unsurprisingly, the first to keel over was Yumir, who had virtually no physical stamina.
The moment she collapsed upon reaching our destination after doggedly pushing forward with her wooden staff, Serika approached her and started teasing.
"Yumir. No matter how I look at it, your stamina is just pathetic, isn't it? We're going to be traveling like this a lot from now on — what are you planning to do?"
"Shut up. If we'd just been able to take the carriage properly, I wouldn't be like this."
"Come on, you're the youngest Grand Archmage ever. Can't you just use magic to zip around or whatever?"
"Are you even listening to yourself? Mana is physical energy you cultivate inside your own body, so body-based techniques like Blink and Body Strengthening drain your physical stamina badly no matter what. You're a mana user too; you should at least know that much."
"Hmm~ I don't really know? Unlike you, I'm incredibly tough, so no matter how much mana I store in my body, I never get tired at all~ Ahaha~"
"...Mana Burn."
"Gaaah! Augh! H-Hey, stop! Stop cramming mana into my body!!"
"If you're that salty, why don't you try holding out with that vaunted control of yours?"
"Seriously, what the hell! You're half-dead, so why are you so committed when it comes to tormenting someone?!"
"Even if I drop dead, I'm taking you with me the same day, you bitch."
...The fact that they fought like that and still stayed in the same party meant they must be on pretty good terms.
"Dave, is this where the request is?"
"Ah, yes. It looks like it."
Conscious of the other two's attention, I answered Heira politely and then propped my chin in my hand, taking a moment to survey the place we'd arrived.
A grand mansion serving as the seat of the lord who governed an entire city.
Judging by its sheer scale, it seemed to hold considerable weight even within the Arhen Kingdom, the heart of human territory.
The fact that a figure of this caliber had issued a designated request to this party essentially meant that the fame they'd been building up for the past month was nothing to scoff at.
Their objective rank might still be low, but rising so quickly meant they possessed proven skills to match.
From the hero party's standpoint—and from mine—that was something to view positively. The more their strength was demonstrated, the closer the day when I could crush that bitch to death became.
-Whinny!
Just as I was feeling that time draw incrementally nearer, a sound reached us from the mansion's entrance.
When I turned my gaze that way, I spotted the horses from the carriage that had arrived ahead of us being led toward the stables by the mansion's servants.
Private stables too—yep, definitely a major figure. That thought lasted only a moment.
The instant the figures who had disembarked from that carriage came into view, I felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity from them.
Black cloaks and masks were common enough among mercenaries, nothing unusual. But the engravings on the swords at their hips bore a symbol used by a certain demonic race blacksmith...
...Wait.
What the hell were those bastards doing here?
"Dave, what's wrong?"
I stared after them as they entered the mansion, but only briefly.
With Heira beside me, watching me with concern, I pulled my gaze away and answered quietly.
"It looks like there are some mercenaries who were called here separately from us."
"...Mercenaries?"
"Yes. Unlike adventurers, it's a line of work that specializes purely in combat. Given that the lord of this mansion called them separately, I get the feeling he's planning to give us quite a significant job."
Objectively speaking, there was nothing strange about that answer.
Heira seemed to accept my words too, showing no real suspicion toward the people entering the mansion ahead of us.
Right. For now, I should be grateful that she was willing to let it go. If those idiots' identities were exposed, this mansion would be painted in bloodshed in an instant.
But why, of all places, did those bastards have to show up at the very estate where the hero party had taken a request?
Was it just a coincidence—had we run into them during an operation? Or... or had they come here deliberately targeting this party?
Whatever the case, I desperately hoped it wasn't the latter. The hero party was under the scrutiny of not only humanity but also the Demon King's army.
At a stage where their identity hadn't been widely revealed yet, if anyone thoughtlessly laid a hand on them, they'd have to be prepared for their entire unit to be annihilated by their own side in the Demon King's army.
"So, you are the adventurers who have been making a name for yourselves of late."
But that desperate hope of mine was shattered the moment we faced the client, the lord of the manor.
His features were haggard, a stark contrast to his antiquated finery.
Unfocused eyes and a pallid complexion were common enough in a man approaching old age, but I could perceive the true nature buried beneath the surface.
"You're the client?"
"Yumir. That attitude toward a client is rude."
"What does it matter? Even His Majesty can't push me around. If he wants to make an issue of it, he can come at me; I'll tell him to shove his rank."
"I mean, really..."
The two of them, oblivious to the anomaly, carried on with business as usual.
Conversely, Heira seemed to have sensed something wrong; she looked up at me with uneasy eyes.
"Dave, this man..."
"...Ahaha, well, there are all kinds of people in the world, right?"
But all I could do for now was brush aside that anxiety.
I had to approach this carefully—not only to determine what was unfolding in this mansion, but because my own identity could be exposed.
"You don't need to worry. Things will work out just like they always have."
Yes. For now, the first step was to watch and observe.
Just what kind of brain-damaged logic was that blockheaded whore working off, thinking she could directly lay hands on the hero party.