Chapter 585: The Butler's True Feelings
Chapter 585: The Butler's True Feelings
“Vanessa.”
“Yes. What is it?”
Even when I called her name, Vanessa didn’t stop her work. No, she didn’t even turn her head in my direction as she answered.
Though she didn’t say it out loud, her attitude seemed to scream, ‘If you have time to talk, then work. No. Just don’t bother me and leave.’ I felt another subtle pang of hurt.
I barely managed to stop myself from blurting out, “What’s more important, your work or me?!”
For the record, the reason I didn’t ask was not because I was afraid she’d actually answer that her work was more important.
With a slight smile, I said, “Isn’t this hard? Should we switch jobs?”
“No. It is fine.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. Besides, even if you leave the inventory check to me, wouldn’t you feel more at ease doing it yourself?”
“It is fine. I trust you, Guwon.”
Vanessa-aaaaa! Right! I’ll work hard… Whoa! Careful! Be careful! This is a trap! I was so moved I almost just did the work I was given to the best of my ability!
After being completely indifferent this whole time, for her to suddenly change her attitude like that! She’s definitely doing it on purpose!
But she picked the wrong opponent. I’m Guwon. The Saint!
“…And there are also items that are dangerous to handle carelessly.”
As if realizing I had seen right through her brilliant stratagem, Vanessa muttered that as a belated add-on.
She still hadn’t even turned to face me, yet she somehow knew I’d figured her out.
As expected. I guess that’s what you get for growing up alongside the brilliant Diana.
“Still, some of these look heavy, don’t they? You should leave things like that to a strong man…”
“A strong… man, you say?”
The moment I said that, Vanessa, who had just moved an item near me, finally turned her head and stared directly at me.
Her face was still expressionless, but to me, it looked as if she were asking, ‘Where is this strong man you speak of?’
“…Hey. What’s with that look?”
“…No. It is nothing.”
Vanessa turned away with a nonchalant expression and was about to resume her work, but I couldn’t just let it go.
Vanessa. You just poked something you shouldn’t have.
A man’s pride!
“Wait just a minute, you.”
“…Hk! W-what is it?”
When I grabbed the shoulder of the turned-away Vanessa to stop her, her body flinched.
I spun her around to face me, looked straight into her subtly trembling eyes, and slowly brought my face closer.
“……!”
When the distance between our faces was less than ten centimeters, I spoke in a serious tone.
“It’s a showdown!”
“…Hah.”
The moment I shouted, Vanessa, who had been frozen stiff and holding her breath, relaxed and let out a loud, blatant sigh.
And so, we stopped our work for a moment and came down to the basement.
To be precise, we were in the very place where I had once dueled that trash… Hero Threon.
There, Vanessa and I were lying on our stomachs, facing each other up close.
Why were we here like this? Simple. For an arm-wrestling match.
Considering my strength and Vanessa’s, if we had just put our elbows on a table and gone all out, the table would have been smashed to pieces.
That’s why we came all the way down here, to a room completely lined with indestructible material.
“…Just one round, and that is it.”
At first, Vanessa had refused, saying she was busy, but as I kept insisting, she eventually gave in and came down with me.
When all is said and done, maybe she has a soft spot for me, since she likes me too.
“I know, I know. Now, your hand!”
“……”
When I held out my hand, Vanessa extended hers with a look of resignation and took it.
Just as the arm-wrestling match was about to begin, my head finally started to cool down.
What should I do?
Vanessa’s attitude had provoked me into coming this far, but honestly, my chances of winning in my current state were slim.
My level had risen quite a bit recently from having a tremendous amount of sex with Silvia, Vanessa, and Matilda, but even considering that, Vanessa’s level was still higher than mine.
That meant I’d have to raise my Strength to win, but I couldn’t do that.
No, I had the bonus points. I had more than enough, since I hadn’t been using them lately.
I had enough to max out my Strength to the 500-point limit and still have some left over.
But thinking about the future, I couldn’t do that.
To be honest, investing points into Strength right now would be a foolish move for me.
Assuming I raise my level to the cap of 250, my Strength would already exceed 420 from my Saint levels alone.
Adding in the levels I’d gain as a Moon Shadow Warrior, my calculations showed that even if it didn’t hit the 500-point cap, it would come very close.
If I could reach that number just by leveling up, adding more points to Strength now would surely lead to regret later, just like what happened with my Durability, which was already beyond saving.
Was it really the right choice to waste points just to win an arm-wrestling match?
When I’d mindlessly raised my Durability, at least I had the excuse that I was doing it to survive. This was just…
“Guwon. Are you not going to start?”
“Huh? Ah, right.”
My deliberation must have taken a while, as Vanessa urged me to start.
I came to my senses and looked at her… and what a magnificent view it was.
As I said, we were currently lying on our stomachs on the floor.
In other words, Vanessa’s large breasts, wrapped in her form-fitting butler uniform, were pressed against the ground.
Of course, due to the nature of the butler uniform, there was no exposure, like cleavage showing, but the sight of her chest being emphasized and pressed down in that neat attire was strangely captivating.
She has surprisingly big breasts, too.
And now that my head was clear, I realized one more thing.
Aren’t we two, all alone, in a place where no one else is, just playing around with nothing to do with work?
My competitive spirit had been burning so fiercely that I hadn’t noticed, but this situation was exactly what I had wanted.
As they say, all roads lead to Rome. This was a perfect opportunity…
“If you are not going to start, may I return?”
“No. No. I’m doing it. I was just a little distracted.”
“…By what, exactly? There is nothing here.”
“What are you talking about? There’s a beauty right in front of me that would distract any man.”
As I said that, I gently squeezed the hand I was holding, and I could have sworn Vanessa’s face turned slightly red.
“…D-don’t think I will go easy on you just because of that.”
“I wasn’t thinking that. More importantly, Vanessa. How about you change back to your original form for a bit?”
Yes! The mood is perfect!
Thinking that, I decided to press my advantage.
After briefly showing her true form to the girls yesterday, Vanessa had gone back to living as a normal human, but that was likely because she was afraid of others seeing her Dragonian form.
That’s why, when I was thinking about what to say to her earlier, I hadn’t even considered telling her to change into her Dragonian form.
I didn’t think forcing someone with deep trauma to suddenly take on that form would be an effective treatment.
I had thought about bringing it up when we were alone in the storage room, but given that it was a storage room, other maids would occasionally come and go to retrieve items, so I couldn’t bring it up in the end.
But here?
It was just the two of us, and the chances of anyone else coming here were practically zero.
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Come on. You know what I mean.”
I deliberately put on a sly grin and held Vanessa’s right hand with both of mine, stroking it gently. Her body flinched once more.
Then, she reflexively brought her left hand to her rear and pressed down on it.
To my eyes, her butt, pressed down by her left hand, seemed to sway subtly from side to side. As if it were fidgeting.
“I told you I was busy.”
Of course, in complete contrast to her body’s reaction, Vanessa flatly refused in an exceedingly cold tone.
“Hm? What does being busy have to do with it?”
“…Are you asking because you do not know?”
“I’m asking because I don’t know.”
Vanessa, blushing and avoiding the question as if she didn’t want to say it, was someone I could push with a sly smile.
“…With you, Guwon, just how long do you think it would take?”
“Why? You’re not confident you can finish quickly with me?”
“The problem is not me, but you, Guwon…”
“So you’re not confident. Well, you did seem to enjoy it so much you lost your senses last time.”
“……”
When I said that, Vanessa couldn’t answer, only glaring at me with a beet-red face.
Glaring at me like that isn’t scary at all, you know.
Not being able to answer means you’re admitting it, right?
“By the way, Vanessa. Do you know something?”
“…What is it?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“…Pardon?”
“No, why are you suddenly talking about things like that? How lewd. Vanessa, you’re so naughty.”
As I said that, the grip of Vanessa’s right hand, which was holding mine, tightened immensely.
Ow! That hurts, you! Are you trying to crush my hand?!
No! It really hurts! Hey, I’ll apologize, so can you loosen your grip a little? No. Would you please loosen your grip?
What made it even harder was that I couldn’t show this pain on my face, lest I break the current mood.
Endure it. You have to endure it, Guwon.
“…Then please explain what you meant.”
“I meant that your original form is beautiful, so I wanted to see it. Ah, and for the record, I’m not saying your current form isn’t beautiful. But I see your normal human form every day, and your original form has a unique charm that can’t be seen in anyone else, right? So I was just hoping you’d stay in that form, at least when it’s just the two of us.”
I managed to maintain my smile as I spoke.
But despite my words, the crushing force of Vanessa’s grip showed no signs of letting up.
Of course, unlike before, it seemed her strength was born from embarrassment rather than anger, but that didn’t lessen the pain in my hand.
And this time, it didn’t end with just the pain of a tight grip.
“…L-let us just get on with the arm-wrestling. I am busy.”
“Gyaaaah!”
As if to hide her embarrassment, Vanessa spoke in a tone even more blunt than usual, and at the same time, she slammed my hand onto the floor.
“My victory. Then, if you will excuse me.”
“Wait, you.”
Vanessa said that and hurriedly stood up to leave the room, but I didn’t let go of her hand. I stood up, pulled her, and wrapped my arms around her body.
Then, to keep her from escaping, I hugged her butt tightly with both hands, pressing her body against mine.
The intense pain in my right hand was still considerable, but the soft sensation spreading across my palm seemed to alleviate it somewhat.
“It’s not like it’ll wear you out. I just want to look because you’re pretty. Is that any way to act?”
“…My pants will wear out.”
“You can just lower them a bit before you change. It’s just you and me here, anyway.”
“…Did you not say that was not your intention?”
“It wasn’t. But now, I’m starting to feel that way.”
As I spoke, I gave Vanessa’s butt a firm squeeze.
Then, I moved my hand to her belt…
“Gyaaaah! Wait! I surrender! Tap! Tap!”
“…Did I not say I was busy? It seems you have no further business with me. I will be going now. You do not need to help any further, Guwon.”
Vanessa, who had grabbed my hand and easily twisted my wrist, said only that and then strode away.
However, contrary to her cold expression and tone, her steps were unusually hurried for Vanessa.
As if she needed to escape this situation as quickly as possible.