The Supporting Protagonist Gets to Work - 7
The original plan had been to let the Amazonesses drag him off, then overpower her by force once they were on the bed.
When the queen herself appeared, he had judged that his frail body stood no chance of winning and meant to use other means instead.
But the moment he realized Meril was inside the queen's body, every last plan went sideways.
He couldn't win a fight against her, and she was far too awkward a target to draw the holy sword on.
"Mee~! Things took a strange turn, but I'm so glad to see you again!"
"Y-yeah."
"You don't need to worry too much! Meril wants to keep a good relationship with her guest, after all!"
"Then can you get me out of here?"
"Mee~! Of course!"
Fortunately, Meril was still friendly toward him—even though he had fled without a second glance at her kindness.
Gratitude and guilt toward Meril rose in him at the same time.
"Before you escape this prison, there's one thing Meril would like to ask her guest."
"Ah, if it's about that little incident…"
"I'd like you to forget about that! It was Meril's first time receiving kindness from another person, so she got far too excited! And th-there was also a timing issue…"
"Oh. So that was it."
Watching Meril flush and hang her head, he felt a wave of relief.
A beastkin's heat was instinctual—hard to resist, from what he'd heard.
Caught in that state and receiving kindness she had never known from anyone, her instincts must have simply overpowered her reason.
At last he could understand Meril's sudden courtship.
"What Meril wants to ask her guest is something else!"
"What is it?"
"Does her guest find Meril repulsive?"
Meril looked up at him with moist, glistening eyes.
Like a sheep about to be devoured by a predator, she teetered on the edge of tears, and he scratched his cheek.
"No. Not particularly."
"I'd like to hear your true feelings. Meril has been in the library since the day she was born, so she can't judge her own appearance objectively. Whether she's ugly, or scary like the monsters in books… she doesn't know at all…"
She spoke coherently enough, only to trail off at the end—and in that, her fragile self-esteem showed through.
Locked alone in a dungeon, she must have suffered in more ways than one.
Add to that being attacked by every person who came to the library, and it was no wonder she thought of herself as a monster.
"Can I be honest?"
"Please!"
"It's hard to see you as the same kind of human as me."
"Is that so…"
"But that doesn't mean you're ugly or grotesque. If anything, I think you're on the cute side."
"C-cute?"
At the honest praise, Meril's drooping ears gave a little flutter.
"Yeah. Those sheep ears that show your feelings like they are right now, that adorable face, the way you act so straightforward and open. I don't know about anyone else, but I find you cute."
"Cute…"
Meril quietly repeated the compliment under her breath, tasting the word.
Was this the first praise she had ever received?
He had only spoken his true feelings, yet a faint awkwardness crept over him.
Had he laid it on too thick?
Still, for a sheep with self-esteem this low, this much praise felt necessary—something to drive home that she did not look frightening.
"…Mehee~! Thank you for finding Meril cute!"
"Whoa—!"
Clank—!
The prison door swung open and Meril stepped inside.
She threw her arms around him and beamed, her face bright with joy.
"Ahem. Could you untie these ropes first?"
"Yes!"
Meril eased back a little and fumbled at the bindings, trying to free him.
When they refused to come loose, she struggled harder, then in desperation tried to bite through them with her teeth.
If she just returned Frach, he could handle it himself.
But her earnest effort was so endearing that he stayed quiet—never imagining it would backfire.
"Meeh?!"
"Whoa?!"
They had both forgotten two things.
His body had grown weak—and Meril had become the Amazoness Queen.
The difference in their strength and weight sent his body tipping backward.
He landed hard on his rear.
The impact did free the ropes, but Meril's body came down on top of him.
Right on his crotch. Precisely.
"Ah…"
"…Oh, shit."
Meril instinctively caught his scent.
At first it was only a faint tremor at the tip of her nose.
But her movements gradually grew larger, until she was drawing deep, hungry breaths through her nose.
Moonlight spilling through the window bars laid Meril bare.
Even with a changed body, the essence of her soul remained the same.
Sensitive as ever to a man's scent, Meril's cheeks flushed steadily redder.
"Sniff…! Haa…!"
"Meril?!"
"Somehow… it's an addictive smell…"
Meril gripped his waist tight and pressed her face closer to his crotch.
He seized her head and shoved with all his strength, but Meril's power was unyielding—she did not budge an inch.
"Meril! Let's calm down first and talk this through, okay?"
"I'm sorry. My lower abdomen is itching so badly I can't hold back…!"
"Hold it! You have to hold it!"
But his words no longer reached her.
Meril carefully pushed his upper body down until he was flat on his back.
Then she climbed on top of him, panting hard.
The bright intelligence had vanished from Meril's once-sparkling eyes.
Beads of sweat began to form across her bare skin.
"Haa…♡"
Even in the queen's body, at her core she was still a sheep beastkin.
The scent of his crotch had flipped her heat switch clean on.
He wanted to run, but his body was locked in place—escape was impossible, let alone resistance.
Just as he resigned himself to taking whatever came next without being able to do a thing—
"Hoo…!"
Meril suddenly sprang to her feet.
She turned her back on him and stepped outside the bars.
"Weren't you about to jump me?"
"I was tempted for a moment, but I held the desire down out of sheer stubbornness."
"Are you okay…?"
"It's a little hard, but I'll endure it. I don't want to be hated by the first person who ever called Meril cute!"
Watching Meril suppress her instincts filled him with genuine admiration.
It could not have been easy, yet she bore it with her head held high.
If it weren't for her heat, he would have ruffled her hair thoroughly.
"Then Meril will keep the others away—so in the meantime, please escape from here, guest!"
"Sorry, but I have no intention of running from this place."
"What?! B-but if you don't escape…!"
"I know. I might end up as a plaything for the warrior women. But you don't need to worry about me."
He flexed his arms and legs freely, as if savoring the return of his freedom, and lightly loosened up.
"Because I'm going to crush every woman here with raw power."
Leaving Meril behind, he stepped out of the prison.
The warrior women startled at the sight of him emerging in place of the queen, then raised their polearms and went on guard.
A crescent smile curved at the corner of his mouth as he studied them carefully.
"What did you do to the Queen?"
"Stay right there if you don't want to die, man!"
Stance, breathing, fighting spirit.
At a glance he could tell they were far stronger than any soldiers he had ever led.
But stronger than him…?
Well? Honestly, he wasn't sure about that.
Still, a chance to face a real trial had presented itself—so he meant to meet it head-on.
"Come at me. I'll take you all on at once."
"Arrogant! A mere breeding stud!"
"Get him!"
The warrior women charged as one.
In place of the stolen Frach, he tightly gripped a sword that had been lying around in the prison.
Unfamiliar blade, unfamiliar body—nothing but penalties. Yet he never wiped the smile from his face.
If it looked like he was going to lose, he'd just make do with his dick.
"Your Majesty! The First Hero is advancing this way!"
"Grrr…! So he insists on bloodshed!"
The man groaned, his face twisted in a scowl.
He was the king who had once selected a hero and aided him in the campaign to defeat the First Demon King.
But the moment the Demon King vanished, he had committed the blunder of trying to discard that hero in secret.
As a result, he now faced a declaration of war from the First Hero, Holden.
"What about the hostage we captured the other day?"
"As it happens, the Amazonesses are currently transporting the hostage to the capital."
"Kehehe! Good—we can use them as meat shields. That man values camaraderie more than anything. He won't fight recklessly."
The king raised a golden goblet.
The battle had not even begun, yet he was already toasting victory.
"This fight is ours! Quickly, let's plan the next—"
Bang—!
The throne room doors were kicked open.
Beyond them, countless Amazonesses stormed in.
"Wh-what?!"
"Your Majesty, you may rest easy. These are the Amazonesses allied with us—the ones who brought the hostage this time."
"Even so, this is insolent! Do you know where you are, barging in fully armed…!"
The king bellowed in rage at the Amazonesses' unauthorized intrusion.
But the warrior women paid no mind to his fury. They pointed straight at the king.
"There he is!"
"Drag that one out!"
"Drive out the false king and seat the true king on the throne!"
"Uh…?"
Every warrior woman shouted in unison and charged.
The king's rage drained away, replaced by pure bewilderment.
And into his vision came someone walking slowly through the doorway.
The Amazoness Queen he had happened to glimpse once before—and a man standing proudly at her side.
Like the queen, he wore a king's token of tiger hide bound across his forehead.
"Get lost, dickhead."
It was a humiliating word—yet somehow, to the current king, it rang like the truth.