Ancient Magic of Mass and Speed
Ancient Magic of Mass and Speed
Bella began trailing me like a chick chasing a mother hen.
"I need to use the restroom."
"Th-the restroom? I'll follow you right up to the door. Is that alright?"
"It is, but could you cover your ears, please?"
At first, I figured she'd follow me for a bit, then get tired of it and give up. But Bella's claim that she fell into a panic whenever I left her sight turned out to be true. The moment I'd step away and return, all the color would drain from her face.
"Miss Bella. What's got you so terrified?"
"The fishmen. Someone else could come to assassinate me, just like that shark monster earlier. I've nearly been kidnapped before, but that was the first time someone genuinely tried to murder me."
Severe anxiety.
It was a phenomenon Bella had been experiencing ever since I rejoined the group. She'd been chased for hours by a vicious shark monster and had come to the chilling realization that someone could be after her life. Enduring that kind of terror couldn't have been easy for a clerk with no power whatsoever.
'So the fishmen are gunning for this woman's life.'
Bella now startled at the slightest noise. Maybe she could rest easy back at Yoen-su, surrounded by guards, but relaxing comfortably here in the port city seemed impossible.
Once I understood this was no joke, I resolved to take Bella's situation seriously.
7 p.m.
The shelves in the villa's pantry still held provisions that hadn't been touched by the flooding. There was enough to live on for two or three days without leaving the villa. I worked in the kitchen with Hannah to prepare dinner for the group. Naturally, Bella stuck right by my side even in the kitchen.
"There's something I need to tell everyone. I think I'll have to stay close to Miss Bella for the time being. She's under tremendous mental strain right now. The assassination attempt by the fishmen seems to have triggered severe anxiety."
Over dinner, I explained Bella's condition to my lovers. Fortunately, both my lovers and Hannah understood her situation. Having unknown fishmen make attempts on your life was a new kind of horror for anyone.
"Well, if the Vice Guild Master's condition is that serious, it can't be helped. But why does it have to be you by her side? Can't the three of us take turns standing guard?"
"I'm sorry. When I can't see Luke, my heart starts racing. I think I'll need to share a room with him to sleep tonight, too."
"Sh-share a room? With that guy?"
I didn't know what she was imagining, but Rebecca's cheeks flushed red. I was just as flustered by Bella's bombshell about wanting to sleep together.
Getting to share a bedroom with a bewitching, raven-haired beauty was super lucky—or rather, it wasn't. Having a defenseless Bella right next to me only made me worry whether I could suppress my incubus nature.
Beads of cold sweat formed as I asked Bella, "Are you sure about this? You're okay with me being right there?"
"O-of course it's fine. You can even lie down right next to me on the bed. I know perfectly well you aren't the kind of incubus who'd do anything bad, Luke."
Bella brought a hand to her cheek as if her face were burning, stammering over her words.
How did she know I wasn't the kind of incubus who'd do anything bad? We'd only known each other face-to-face for a single month. Was a month truly enough time to build that kind of trust?
"Rebecca unnie. What do we do?"
"W-well, I mean."
Rebecca and Kate exchanged a few hushed words after hearing Bella's statement. I expected them to talk for quite a while, but surprisingly, they wrapped up the conversation quickly. Rebecca soon nodded and addressed Bella.
"I know perfectly well too that Luke's such a herbivore man he wouldn't take it even if you handed it to him. The guy's so utterly firm about boundaries it's almost frustrating."
"Wait, you're done talking already?"
"I-I'm the same way! I'm a herbivore woman who wouldn't give it up even if Luke pushed. Do you have any idea how many times I had to bite my tongue during our mana charging sessions before we started dating? I just wanted to tell you to pounce on me already!"
I see!
If we're a herbivore man and herbivore woman couple, then it can't be helped.
As I nodded, Rebecca glanced at Bella.
"Until the escort quest is over, you can do as the Vice Guild Master wishes. Since you are the Vice Guild Master. I suppose it's fine if you share the same bedroom."
"Yes...."
"Col—."
"What does 'col' mean?"
"It means 'I accept' in the Dream Demon Clan language, apparently! Luke taught me."
Permission was granted surprisingly easily. As I looked over my lovers and Bella, I noticed something peculiar. I clearly remembered them not being this amicable when we parted ways at the temple half a month ago.
'Weren't they caught up in some kind of tension with Miss Bella?'
Bella, Rebecca, and Kate.
A subtle, competitive undercurrent had flowed among the three women as they kept each other in check over me. But now that we were reunited, their relationship had somehow shifted to peaceable. I was baffled by what method Bella could have possibly used to disarm my lovers' wariness.
'Did something else happen while I was away?'
I wanted to know what had gone down in the meantime, but now probably wasn't the right time to ask. What mattered was that I'd be on a 24/7 intensive watch over Miss Bella.
"In that case, I'll be in your care until we return to Yoen-su, Luke."
The duration of this round-the-clock close guard duty wasn't just a single day—there were several more days to go.
Bella had specifically stated, until she returned to Yoen-su. As her employee, if she ordered it, I'd comply. My only regret was that I'd struggle to get any proper mana charging done during that time.
"Thanks for the meal."
"Thanks for the meal, Mongma-nim!"
After dinner, we split off to wherever we each needed to be. Since we were spending the night at the villa, we couldn't just laze around and eat. My lovers headed outside the villa to stand watch over the surroundings.
*
The reason why the women who'd been locked in a tense standoff had suddenly shifted to peaceful terms became clear to me a little while after dinner.
"Luke. It feels a little awkward to just blurt this out, but I actually have a fiancé."
"Excuse me? You're engaged?"
It was during teatime with Bella on the villa's terrace.
Bella nodded, as if to reassure me.
"Yes. We've been engaged for a very long time. The engagement ceremony was held in private, so the world at large isn't aware I'm betrothed."
"I-I see. I'd never heard any rumor about you being engaged during my adventuring work... No wonder my lovers seemed so at ease around you. That explains the circumstances."
She had a fiancé!
In that case, there was no chance Bella was viewing me as a romantic prospect. Her arranging a private dinner with me back at the temple must have purely been about sharing a meal.
Yet after hearing Bella's words, I fell into a brief state of confusion.
'She's not even wearing an engagement ring on her finger. Did she pawn it off somewhere?'
I had never once heard that Bella was engaged. Her fingers were perpetually bare, so I hadn't picked up on a single sign.
"Ah, I always leave my engagement ring at the company residence in Yoen-su. It's far too extravagant to wear while I'm working; it'd be a hassle. The jewels are so dazzling I can't even read documents. Ha, haha."
Noticing my gaze on her fingers, Bella spoke up, flustered.
"Your fiancé must be heartbroken."
"N-not at all. My fiancé is so kind, you see, they understand whatever I do."
What a fiancé, overflowing with consideration for women.
He even understood her going around without her ring all the time. Was he some kind of living saint?
Whoever he was, I felt a surge of respect for him.
"What's his name? Your fiancé, Miss Bella."
"......His name is Alois von Weber."
Judging by the 'Von' attached to his surname, he was likely some kind of nobleman. I made a mental note to be extra careful with my conduct to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
Setting aside the exact identity of this mysterious fiancé, dealing with Bella's anxiety turned out to be quite the ordeal. There wasn't much physical labor involved, but the mental torment was relentless.
"I'm going to wash up. Please follow me to the bath."
"You don't seriously expect me to come inside the bathing area?"
"You d-don't necessarily have to come in. You can just watch me wash through the glass door."
After teatime, Bella led me to the first-floor bathhouse in the villa. Befitting a luxurious noble's villa, it was a bath chamber equipped like a large public bathhouse.
'Holy shit.'
Watch her wash, she said.
Just hearing the words, it sounded like a rather intense request, but this wasn't the time to be ogling a noble lady's naked body. The glass door of the bath was frosted, so looking in from outside, all you could see was a silhouette in flesh tones.
"...Come into the changing room, Luke."
Bella disrobed in the changing room, then stepped into the bath. Hearing her call, I entered the changing room and immediately couldn't stop the flush rising to my face.
"I'm here."
"Can you see me?"
"No, not entirely. Just the silhouette of your skin tone."
As I answered, I couldn't help but sneak a glance at the shelf in the changing room.
I spotted Bella's discarded skirt and undergarments neatly arranged. A pair of lacy black panties seemed to draw my gaze in as if to tempt me. My incubus instincts demanded I observe the panties in finer detail, but I forcefully averted my eyes.
But averting my eyes was just another problem.
Woooosh—.
I could see Bella washing herself near the glass door. The frosted glass material made her appear blurry, as if a mosaic filter had been applied. The kind of mosaic any Korean man can't help but curse when watching an Adult Video.
"Huh?"
After watching through the glass door for a long while, I experienced a mystical phenomenon. My brain, exerting extreme concentration, began smashing the mosaic to pieces. I am, after all, an incubus whose intelligence skyrockets when doing lewd things.
Like using a camera's enhancement feature, Bella's naked form became vividly clear.
Woooosh—.
Water cascaded from the pipe connected to the bath.
Bella stood fully nude, letting the water pour down on her head like a waterfall. Rivulets streamed over her blemish-free, milky skin, as if watering a flower in a greenhouse.
The water running down her cleavage soaked her bare breasts.
'Her tits are huge....'
Without her dress shirt and chest wrap, her large breasts were fully exposed. Pink nipples and faint-colored areolas proportional to their size. My mouth watered, imagining they'd taste sweet if I sucked them.
Her wet, black, unadorned hair made Bella look even more seductive. Normally she tied her hair back, but with it down like this, she appeared impossibly bewitching.
"Hng."
Afflicted by earthly desires, I swayed on my feet. My groin kept throwing a fit, driving me insane. This was far more arousing than when I'd forced Delia into a naked dogeza at the temple.
"Luke."
It was right then.
I heard Bella's voice calling from inside.
"C-could you please bring me a towel?"