Chapter 289: Preparing for the Request
Chapter 289: Preparing for the Request
It wasn't exactly a trade-off for giving Silvia the night, but I spent the entire day dallying with Sara.
Silvia, who had been on edge since breakfast, looked completely sullen and dejected by dinnertime.
Silvia must have heard from the Arachne Clan that I was going to sleep with her, and she probably thought it would happen sometime today.
And after dinner, I always spend my time with whichever girl I'm sleeping with that night.
So she must think I've forgotten my promise to her.
I'd been acting nonchalant all day while I flirted with Sara to make it a surprise, but seeing her look so down made me feel a little bad.
If she was going to be this dejected, she could have just told me herself.
It's not like I haven't told her before, right?
To tell me if she wants me to hold her.
I'm not going to be the one to actively take her because I have to be considerate of my other girls, but if Silvia asks, I'm always willing to embrace her.
Anyway, the moment the dejected Silvia finished her meal, she bowed to us and left the dining hall.
Normally, she'd be trailing right behind me, but after dinner, it was as if she had a rule not to disturb me; she didn't stalk me and went straight to her room.
And yet, during the day, she'd followed me and Sara around, watching us with an envious look on her face.
Do stalkers have their own code of conduct or something?
As soon as Silvia left the dining hall, I, having already finished my meal and chatting with the girls, immediately followed her.
I may be low-level, but I still have the Assassin job.
Muffling my footsteps and hiding my presence as much as possible, I approached Silvia from behind.
Completely crestfallen, she didn't seem to notice me at all. Even when I was right behind her, she didn't turn around, just trudged on listlessly.
With a triumphant grin, I shouted as I threw my arms around Silvia to hug her tightly.
“Gotcha—Gack!”
Or rather, I tried to hug her.
The instant my arms were about to wrap around her body, my vision flipped and I was suddenly airborne.
A moment later, pain wracked my entire body as I was slammed into the floor.
This feeling… it wasn't unfamiliar. I’d tasted it once before.
“Who… Sir Guwon?! Uwah, uwah, a-are, are you all right?!”
Silvia stared down at me with blank, lifeless eyes before realizing her attacker was me, and she began to panic, not knowing what to do.
She raised her hands to her chest, palms facing me, and wiggled all ten fingers as if debating whether to reach out or not. It was strangely cute.
“Gaaack. Cough. Cough. Hnngh. Kahaak. I'm, I'm d-dying….”
To fluster her even more, I deliberately and dramatically sprawled out on the floor and started breakdancing.
It was such bad acting that no one should have fallen for it, but Silvia did.
Well, rather than being fooled, it seemed she was too shocked to judge whether it was real or not. Anyway.
“U-Uwaaah! You can't die!”
With huge tears streaming from her big eyes, Silvia immediately dropped to her knees and placed her hands on my body.
I never knew tears could flow that fast. The guilt was no joke.
But there was no turning back now. I decided to continue the prank.
The moment the kneeling Silvia touched me, I shot up and pulled her into a hug.
“Gotcha!”
“Hyaaaaaak!”
She reacted instantly when I approached from behind using my Assassin skills, but she couldn't react at all when I hugged her so openly from the front.
Well, I guess it's to be expected since she was crying.
As soon as I embraced her, Silvia let out a startled cry and her body went rigid, like a cat with its fur on end.
“Surprised?”
“……Hic. Hic.”
Silvia stared up at me blankly for a moment, then started hiccuping.
She was even still crying.
When was the last time I felt this guilty over a prank?
“Sorry. That was a bit much.”
“…It is all right. Is your back okay?”
Silvia wiped her tears with both hands, but still asked about me, concerned.
The way the tears kept flowing no matter how much she wiped them made her look even more pitiful.
Right. I know. I'm the worst.
“Ah, yeah. I'm fine. Take away my toughness and there's nothing left. So don't cry.”
I reached out and gently brushed away her tears with my thumb.
But Silvia's tears showed no sign of stopping.
At this rate, I have no choice. I'll have to use shock therapy to make her stop crying.
I lowered my head and kissed the corner of Silvia's eye.
Then, I stuck my tongue out slightly and licked her tears away.
“Heuk! Uwaeuu….”
“I'm going to keep licking them until you stop crying.”
“Th-th-th-they've stopped! They've stopped, so!”
It was super effective!
The endlessly flowing tears stopped in an instant, and Silvia's body started vibrating as usual.
Yes. This is the Silvia I know.
“What? You're getting shy over something like this? You do realize you're hugging me right now, right?”
“Eh? Uwah, uwaaah! Aeuuuu….”
Finally realizing our current position, Silvia started flailing, trying to get away from me.
Of course, I had no intention of letting her go.
Considering the strength she used to throw me just now, her Strength stat couldn't be lower than mine.
The fact that she can't escape my arms… could it be that she's just pretending to struggle?
Nah, no way. This is the girl who just fell for my terrible acting and actually cried.
“Silvia. I have something important to tell you today.”
I buried my face in Silvia's fluffy hair and brought my lips to her ear, whispering.
“S-s-so, something important, sir?”
“Yes. I'm sleeping with you tonight.”
“Yes?! Ouch! Y-Yes?!”
Silvia was so shocked that her jaw dropped even after biting her tongue.
Bright red blood was welling up from the tip of her pink tongue.
Hmm. This is the perfect timing for a kiss.
If it were one of my other girls, I would have kissed her right away to suck the blood from her tongue.
But because it was Silvia, I hesitated.
To be honest, I'd been deliberately avoiding kissing Silvia.
In this world, a kiss felt more like an indicator of a romantic relationship than sex did.
To draw a line between her and my three girls, I had intentionally refrained from kissing Silvia, even during sex.
But honestly, I had to admit it to myself.
The way I was distinguishing her from my other girls like this was less about who I liked more and more about my own stubbornness.
I'm a man, too. It would be strange not to be drawn to such a beautiful girl who likes me this much and spends so much time with me. It's a separate feeling from the affection I have for my other girls.
Because I felt that myself, I can't deny I was being a bit cold to Silvia.
No matter how attracted I am, since I already have three partners, it's best to hold back.
The fact that the three of them have accepted each other is already a huge concession on their part.
And them allowing me to sleep with Silvia is another concession they've made because they trust me.
Yes. I'm not wrong. This is the right thing to do.
I steeled my resolve and suppressed the urge to kiss Silvia.
“I'm sleeping with you. I'm not going to let you sleep tonight.”
“Hwaaa… N-No, you can't…. I, I….”
“What do you mean, no? You don't want to sleep with me? Should I go?”
“N-No! That is not what I meant!”
As I made a slight move to pull away, Silvia grabbed me in a panic.
“What do you want to do? Tell me clearly.”
“Auu… I, I want to sleep with you.”
“I have no intention of sleeping.”
“Wh-what does that mean….”
“You know exactly what it means. Now, say it again. What do you want to do with me?”
“I-I-I-I want to have sex!”
Where did the Silvia who once boldly asked me to make her my sex slave go?
Silvia squeezed her eyes shut and barely managed to shout the word “sex.”
“We're going to be at it all night without a wink of sleep. You okay with that? Can you handle it?”
“Hauu… I-It's fine! If I can spend the night with you, Sir Guwon… I would be happy to die!”
No, if you die, I'll be in trouble.
“What are you talking about? You're the one who said you'd listen to anything I say. You're going to die and leave me behind?”
“Hauuuu… I-I will endure it even if I die.”
She'll endure dying even if she dies? What does that even mean?
I lifted Silvia up and headed straight for my room.
“Hmm. Well then, shall we wash up first.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Want to wash together?”
“Ye-Heh?!”
Silvia's gaze began to dart frantically between the bathtub and me.
She's thinking about it. Like a cute little lamb.
“Why, you don't want to?”
“No! But, but…!”
“But?”
“I-I don't think I'll survive….”
Hey, are we going to war or something?
“R-Right…. Let's wash separately then.”
“Yes….”
Silvia mumbled, looking utterly disappointed.
She might be thinking she just missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Hey. Don't look so down. You're making me feel bad for asking.
“Don't be so disappointed. Later, when your special training pays off and you can withstand my embrace without trembling, I'll wash with you as a reward.”
“R-Really?!”
Silvia's face, which had been sullen just a moment ago, brightened up in a flash.
This kid's expressions change so drastically.
When I first met her, she had a blank expression all the time, without any change.
Does she only act like this in front of people she likes?
“Yeah. So for today, you wash first!”
“Th-Thank you! I will be finished right away.”
Silvia bowed a full 90 degrees.
“No. We'll be rolling around all night, so take your time and wash every nook and cranny thoroughly.”
“Y-Yes….”
Silvia then entered the bathtub and drew the curtain.
Come to think of it, she's a noble, right? Can she even wash herself?
Even here, she's probably been using that large bathroom with maids attending to her, and in the dungeon, Diana gave her simple magical cleanings.
Has she ever washed herself alone?
I'm worried.
This, this, it can't be helped.
I guess I have no choice but to wash her myself.
This was definitely not my plan from the start.
The thought only occurred to me after Silvia was already in the tub, so it can't be helped.
What's that? I should just ask her from behind the curtain?
There's no way I'd do something so uncool, right?
If you're curious about something, you ask face-to-face.
That's the basics of communication.
And so, with that, I think I'll make a grand entrance into that bathtub.
First, I quickly stripped off my clothes and used my Stealth skill to completely hide my presence.
Then, I tiptoed towards the tub.
I could hear the sound of water filling the tub, so it seemed she knew how to operate the magic for it.
But I couldn't be sure yet.
Just because she can use that doesn't guarantee she knows how to wash her own body.
I carefully grabbed the curtain and yanked it aside.
“Silvia!”
I wanted to dive right into the tub, but given what happened earlier, I decided to restrain myself.
And my choice was the right one.
“……!”
Because Silvia's fist flew right towards my solar plexus in an instant.
But just as I had learned from our previous encounter, it seemed she'd learned her lesson too.
Her fist stopped just before it touched my body. After freezing for a moment in a punching stance, Silvia immediately crouched down in the tub.
“S-S-Sir Guwon?! Wh-wh-what is it…?!”
“Hm? I was just thinking, there's no way a noble lady like you can wash herself, right? So I….”
“I can wash myself! I washed myself many times during my knight training!”
“So I came to wash you.”
I ignored her and stepped into the tub.