13. Misunderstanding
"...Huh?"
Marian stared blankly under the desk. She had definitely hidden a paper bag there before going out. It was still in its place, but the contents inside had disappeared.
It was only natural for Marian to be surprised.
After all, that content was an onahole.
"It's gone? Why? Who?"
All traces of the usually composed Count's daughter vanished as she frantically began rummaging through every corner of her room. She flung aside the neatly arranged bedding, pulled out everything from the drawers,
and gifts she had received rolled across the floor.
In just five minutes, the lady's room had turned into a complete mess.
"Who on earth... took it...?"
Marian had strictly instructed her maids not to touch anything in her room while she was briefly out. One might ask if it was too careless to leave such an item in her room, but it had been fine until now.
A lady's room was in itself a good place to hide things.
It was a place where unrelated men were not allowed to enter without permission, and the maids had never ignored Marian's words before. Moreover, if someone were to take something, it would be more normal to take expensive jewelry...
An onahole—who on earth would take that?
"...Hmm. It is an expensive item, though."
At that moment, a figure flashed through Marian's mind. Someone who was often self-willed and could enter this room arbitrarily without being scolded. The image of her father, who had just greeted her.
She immediately dashed *dadada!* toward the desk.
And placed her hand on the crystal Orb.
*Fwaat—* The crystal Orb began to glow, showing a scene from somewhere in the mansion. It was her father's study.
===
Count Lowell was experiencing the confusion of a lifetime.
After dismissing all the servants, locking the study door, and sitting alone at his desk. With a solemn expression, as if deciding a major family matter...
He was staring intently at the 'onahole' placed on the desk.
(For reference, the crystal Orb was displayed on the decorative stand as usual, but to Count Lowell, it was just an insignificant decoration.)
"...I must summon him soon and give him a stern talking-to. I told him not to let such an item reach my daughter."
He had received reports that the business was sailing quite smoothly.
Although it was still in the trial phase, he heard that quite a few people were being drawn to Bellua because of the onahole. He was told that demand from merchant groups was increasing significantly.
On top of that, a dungeon had appeared.
One could say that Bellua's atmosphere was truly becoming more and more vibrant.
Anyway, that's that, and this is this.
At this very moment, something was about to happen to Jane, who was probably drooling and taking a nap for her evening routine. It would likely lead to her being summoned to the Count's estate, getting an earful, and then going back to complain to Marian or Noah.
...A structure where Marian would inevitably be connected in some way. Unfortunately, Count Lowell knew nothing of this.
"Ahem."
He pushed the onahole he had sneakily taken from Marian's room to the side and opened a drawer. Then, he took out another onahole from inside and placed it on the desk.
Two items placed side by side.
"They're not the same item. The patterns are different from the start...."
The used onahole he had received from Jane when dividing the contract, which had already been used 'a few times'.
The Count carefully examined the exteriors of the two products.
He had definitely received reports that all items currently on the market were the same initial model. So, did that mean the one from his daughter's room was a newly released product...?
"I don't think I've heard such a report yet, hmm."
That suspicious doubt was quickly erased by his extremely simple love for his daughter. There was no way his daughter could be involved with such a shameless item.
Surely, some delinquent must have playfully given this as a gift to tease an unmarried maiden, he thought.
So if his daughter were to ask if he had taken something from her room,
Count Lowell would proudly say.
—Don't worry about it. It's something you don't need to know.
Like that.
Absolutely! Absolutely! He did not steal it from his daughter. It was merely the heart of a parent confiscating an inappropriate item.
And truth be told, the Count himself had become interested in this new (?) onahole.
"......"
Well, that was because the Count was an avid user of onaholes. Not to the ridiculous extent of wearing them inside his underwear like Bargus or Argol,
but whenever he felt the urge, he would quietly return to his study, lock the door, and very diligently exercise his wrist snap, so to speak.
Thanks to that, his libido had increased lately, and he had been very diligently attending to his nightly duties with the Countess.
"This one feels a bit smaller."
*Swish*, he lifted his hips from the chair and lowered his pants and underwear to his ankles. He had finished preparing for masturbation.
This time, he chose the new onahole.
Leaning back in the chair, he picked up the new model onahole confiscated from Marian's room with his right hand. And then toward the glans of his erect cock, still vigorous despite his middle age...
"Ughn...."
He inserted his dick into the onahole.
The first thought that came to mind was,
"The chewiness is quite nice."
It was a good tightness.
===
*Crackle crackle*, the burning embers.
In front of it, Elize was stirring the stew. Adequate chunks, thick broth. The aroma was decent too. It wasn't a meal to complain about on a journey like this. Well, that was also because it was a stew made by Noah himself.
But.
"...Am I the only one who's nervous? Everyone else seems so carefree."
Elize subtly looked around.
The orc, Argol, was quietly sharpening his axe, and next to him, Noah and Ibel looked like they were having some kind of lesson. They were truly carefree.
"Ibel, don't try to forcibly grasp the flow of mana. You need to practice blending it naturally with your breathing."
"Yes, Master. But I keep losing concentration...."
It was an atmosphere where, aside from the crackling sound of the campfire, everyone was quietly doing their own thing.
If the surrounding scenery had also been ordinary to match this atmosphere, Elize could have eaten her stew comfortably.
Trees with bare branches stretching out arbitrarily without a single leaf. Flocks of black birds flying around that kept bothering her. And deep within the darkness hidden by the trees... there was a small cave.
To be so carefree with such a place right in front of them.
"Nom nom... This isn't our last supper, is it...."
Strangely, the stew was full of meat. The chew was good, there were adequate potatoes, and it was packed with meat, so it couldn't possibly taste bad.
But if she ate a few more bites, she felt like she would definitely get indigestion.
Is this party really okay...?
"Argol-nim. May I ask you something?"
"......"
"Argol-nim?"
"Sharpening is meditation for a warrior. I'd appreciate it if you didn't disturb me."
"......"
So he says.
Elize let out a small sigh and put down her stew bowl. She had eaten about half, but in this state, she didn't think she could eat any more.
Besides, this muscle-brained orc told her not to talk to him...
Elize's gaze naturally turned toward the other two.
"Um...!"
Before she could even open her mouth, Noah and Ibel got up from their spots.
"Ah, Elize? I'll take Ibel here to look around the area for a bit, so rest here."
"Huh? Now?"
"Yes. I've placed magic, so it will be safe if you stay here. We won't go far, so don't worry."
Noah grabbed his staff and disappeared into the darkness with Ibel. Argol was still focused solely on his sharpening, not even glancing their way.
"......"
I guess I really am the only one who's nervous.
Elize killed time staring blankly at her stew bowl in front of the campfire. *Crackle crackle*, counting numbers one, two, three, four... in time with the sound.
And when the number reached around four digits, *jolt!* Elize stood up from her spot.
*Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle—*
She decided to leave the axe-loving orc, who was still focused on sharpening, alone. It seemed faster to talk to the potatoes in the stew than to this orc.
Elize tightly gripped her crucifix and moved her steps in the direction Noah and Ibel had gone.
"...Why aren't they coming back? They said they'd be right back."
Fortunately, there were traces to follow. Footsteps that had lightly stepped on tree roots. They were definitely Noah's.
Following those footsteps, she passed one by one of the bare trees...
In the distance, she saw the figures of two people.
"Really, what are they doing all the way out here...?"
Just as she was about to open her mouth with a glad heart,
Elize unconsciously hid behind a tree. And she swallowed her saliva *gulp* and held her breath.
There, the two figures were overlapping into one.
As if they were kissing.