Chapter 138: Spring Water(1)
Chapter 138: Spring Water(1)
It was after the meeting between the elves and Lina's party had ended.
Kerry went to see Titania, just as she had asked.
Guided by the elves, he arrived at the audience chamber to find Titania welcoming him in a seductive pose.
No, to be precise, she was simply lying down, but perhaps her stunning beauty made any pose seem seductive.
“You’ve come.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You have the look of a man who has no idea why I’ve summoned him.”
“...To be honest, yes.”
“I summoned you because I have something to say.”
“And what might that be...?”
“Straight to business, are we? There’s no need to be so formal from the start, is there? Kerry, you may be more at ease with me. Unless... you don’t wish to speak with me at all?”
Titania seemed to have taken a liking to Kerry.
Kerry decided to relax a little. She was the one who told him to, after all.
“Of course not.”
“I thought as much. I haven’t met many human men, but every single one of them has been utterly captivated the moment they laid eyes on me.”
Her confidence was understandable.
She was beautiful. Her hair was a pale, light green, just like Arwen’s. A sensual face that betrayed no age. A flawless body without an ounce of fat anywhere.
She looked as if a painter’s rendition of an elf queen had been brought to life.
“What about you, Kerry? Do you find me so beautiful that you’re losing your mind?”
“...”
Honestly, in the past, he would have been. But these days, he was so surrounded by beauties that he wasn't quite at the point of losing his mind.
“Hahaha. As expected, you react differently from most men. Good. That makes things more interesting.”
Just then, Titania slipped off the robe she was wearing. Underneath was a full-body fishnet suit that was practically the same as wearing nothing at all.
It cleverly concealed only her nipples and her sex, leaving the rest of the queen’s naked body exposed for all to see.
At that sight, even Kerry was stunned.
‘Wait. Why the hell is she suddenly stripping?’
Titania was the Queen of the Elves.
Kerry couldn’t fathom why she was doing this to him. Was this some kind of test?
If he gave in to his lust and approached her, would elven royal guards suddenly appear from the shadows? Something like that?
Faced with such an unimaginable situation, all sorts of thoughts raced through Kerry’s mind.
“How about now? Still think you won’t lose your mind? It’s been a very long time since I’ve shown my naked body to another... but honestly, even I think it’s a beautiful body, so I’m quite confident.”
“Yes. You are very... beautiful.”
There was nothing else he could say. Her stats were far too high for him to go mad with lust and pounce on the queen.
It seemed she hadn’t wasted her years.
“Hmm. For someone with such a lewd soul, you have remarkable self-control. I was rather hoping you wouldn’t be able to hold back and would pounce on me.”
Hoping for what? Did I just mishear something?
“I don’t understand why Your Majesty is doing this.”
“You need only believe what you see. Don’t worry about a thing.”
What I see? I’m supposed to believe that the Queen of the Elves is seducing me in a full-body fishnet suit, just as it is?
Kerry’s instincts began to stir. He wasn’t enough of a gentleman to turn down the advances of an aggressive beauty.
‘Should I really go for it? Or not?’
Kerry decided to ask a question first and think things over slowly.
“Your Majesty. Before that, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about my soul.”
“Ah, your soul... it’s truly magnificent. Are you bothered that I called it pink?”
“That’s part of it... but I’m curious as to why you trusted me. You said my soul was not a malicious one. What did you mean by that?”
“It means exactly what it says.”
“Are you saying that I’m a good person?”
Kerry honestly didn’t understand that part. Frankly, even he didn’t think he was a particularly good person.
But he couldn’t just dismiss the queen’s ability as nonsense, since she’d seen right through to his lewd side.
“Before that, I want to ask you. What does it mean to be ‘good’?”
“...”
A good person is a good person. What else is there to it? Is she trying to get philosophical just because she’s a queen?
“Does ‘good’ mean a heart devoid of evil, filled only with virtue? And an ‘evil’ person is one whose heart is filled only with malice? My Clairvoyance is not an ability that measures by such ambiguous standards as ‘good’ or ‘evil’.”
Is she trying to get into something complicated? That’s not what I meant when I asked.
“In all my long life, I have never seen a being who held only good in their heart, nor one who held only evil. Everyone possesses both good and evil. Ah, though I cannot say for sure when it comes to that woman, the hero. Let’s set such extreme cases aside.”
“So, the reason you said I wasn’t a malicious being was...”
“It means exactly that—you are not malicious. You have not fallen onto a path of wickedness, and you walk the minimum path of humanity. Hmm. Yes. Shall I give you an example from the fragments I saw in your heart? You would never, ever let the people you love die. Am I wrong?”
“...That’s right.”
The people he had come to love after arriving in this world were Lina and the others. If they were in danger of dying? He would never stand by and do nothing.
“Conversely, I also saw the evil side you possess... as I’ve said, that slightly excessive lewdness of yours, for instance. Hahaha.”
“...”
“But I do not dislike that lewdness. This is the first time I’ve met a man who is so purely... erotic.”
So, when the queen said Kerry wasn’t malicious, it seemed she meant he wasn’t an extremely evil soul—in other words, not one who had strayed from the path.
It didn’t mean Kerry was a good person. The queen added that the spirits likely felt something similar.
“...Are you saying you trusted me based on that alone?”
“Kerry, you don’t seem to understand. You are the hero’s companion, a man she trusts. A man trusted by such an upright hero is surely worth believing in, wouldn’t you agree?”
So I was getting by thanks to Lina.
“But we’ve spent too much time on idle chatter. Hehe. Now that we’ve broken the ice, how about we spend some... quality time together...”
Titania twisted her body, as if to entice Kerry. With every movement, her sensual form could be seen shifting explicitly through the fishnet.
“I do not dislike the temptation of your erotic soul. In fact, I wish to throw myself into its pull.”
Under the queen’s continued seduction, Kerry’s little guy couldn’t hold back any longer and started sending signals. She’s offering, should I just fuck her?
Just then, a knock came from the audience chamber door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Titania frowned and muttered, “Who the hell is it? I told them not to let anyone in.”
“...”
“Your Majesty. It is I, Arein.”
“Hah... Kerry. It seems we’ll have to continue this another time.”
“...”
Titania let out a deep sigh. Just as the mood was ripening, her clueless son had to show up.
As if she had no choice, Titania put her robe back on. The fishnet was hidden beneath it. And just like that, he felt a pang of disappointment.
“Enter.”
Arein entered.
He must have known Kerry was here, as he shot him a glare without a second thought. Did he rush over because he thought I’d be bad-mouthing him? Petty little bastard.
“What is it, Arein?”
“It’s nothing else... I have something to report regarding Arwen...”
“Speak.”
Arein glanced at Kerry, clearly indicating he was bothered by his presence.
“Tsk. Kerry, let’s talk later.”
What did I even talk about with the queen? I can’t remember a thing. The only image lingering before my eyes was her lewd body.
“Ah, and tell the hero this. To obtain the Spirit Sword Endymion, she must thoroughly wash her body in the sacred spring tomorrow. It is a necessary procedure before undertaking the sword’s trial. While she’s at it, the rest of the hero’s party may use the spring as well.”
“...”
So that was the main point. It wasn’t that I couldn’t remember what we talked about; it was that we hadn’t talked about anything important at all.
‘She could have just summoned Lina to tell her this. The fact that she called for me instead means she had this planned from the start.’
Kerry gave the queen a deep bow and left.
On the way back to Lina’s party, the image of the queen’s naked body shimmered in his mind. Her gaze had been so damn seductive.
Before he knew it, he’d snapped back to reality and found himself in front of the house where the party was staying.
Kerry relayed what the queen had told him to Lina and the others.
Natasha, who had been listening silently, asked.
“But why did the queen tell you that, husband? Anyone can tell it’s something she should have told Lady Lina directly.”
“She said she just wanted to talk to me, too.”
“No... something feels suspicious. There’s definitely something up with that queen. Be careful, husband.”
“...”
Natasha’s intuition was sometimes frighteningly sharp.
“Thank you for relaying the message, Sir Kerry.”
“It’s nothing, Lady Lina.”
Just then, Victoria, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“But if what Kerry says is true, doesn’t that mean we can all use the spring together tomorrow?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. Hehehehe.”
Victoria looked at Lina and made a gesture of groping her breasts. Lina’s face turned red as she recoiled.
“W-we agreed you wouldn’t pull pranks like that anymore, didn’t we, Lady Victoria?”
“Alright, alright. It was just a joke.”
“...”
I’m so jealous! I’m so fucking jealous of Victoria! I want to join in on that prank, too.
What kind of lewd pranks does Victoria pull in the women’s bath, anyway?
But this time, Kerry had a way to join in on the women’s lewd games.
*
The day passed in a flash.
Kerry scrapped the plan he had originally made for Arein.
Instead, he added today’s event to the schedule and devised a new plan to get rid of Arein.
‘This is much better than my original plan.’
As a bonus, today he would finally find out what kind of lewd pranks the women played in their bath.
‘I might even get to see Lina’s naked body... Her defenses are so impenetrable that I never even dreamed of conquering her, but I never thought an opportunity like this would arise.’
Lina’s group was busy from the morning, preparing to wash themselves in the sacred spring.
“Well then, let’s go, Lady Victoria, Lady Natasha.”
It seemed the three women had decided to bathe together in the spring.
But there was one woman left behind awkwardly.
It was the Saintess. She didn’t seem close enough to the other three to join them.
Though she herself was feigning indifference.
Lina watched the Saintess carefully.
“Um, Saintess. If you don’t mind... would you like to come to the spring with us?”
I knew it. Even after being tormented so much by her in her past life, she must still feel sorry for the Saintess.
Victoria and Natasha also chimed in.
“Well... if you want to come, I don’t mind.”
“Please join us, Saintess.”
“...”
They’re all too damn nice. Even knowing the Saintess’s true nature, they must have softened up seeing her act as their porter all the time.
The Saintess glanced furtively at Kerry.
’You can go.‘
Kerry gave her the signal. Even if the Saintess had refused to join, Kerry would have forced her to go.
He had a job for her to do today.
The Saintess, who had actually seemed to want to go, joined the group with a prim expression.
“...I suppose bathing together wouldn’t be so bad.”
Is the Saintess finally trying to fit in with the group? He hoped she would adapt safely and that her abrasive personality might be reformed, even just a little.
Lina’s party said goodbye to Kerry and left for the sacred spring.
Kerry would use the sacred spring after Lina’s group was done. He couldn’t go in with them like at the hot springs, but he wasn’t disappointed at all.
“The time has finally come. Hehehe.”
Left alone, Kerry took a orb from his pocket.
It was the Legendary Grade Magic Storage Orb.
The very orb the White Witch had painstakingly inscribed with a precious spell. Kerry was quite fond of that magic.
With this, he could get back at Arein for trying to frame him as a pervert.
As Kerry was fiddling with the orb, a voice suddenly spoke.
“Kekeke. Full of vigor, aren’t we.”
“!”
It was the old woman. Startled, Kerry hid the orb. Not that the old hag would have recognized a legendary grade orb anyway.
He’d wondered where she’d gone; it seemed she had decided to stay behind at their lodgings.
“Grandmother, why didn’t you go with them?”
The old woman grinned at Kerry’s question and said.
“Those young lasses are too vigorous for an old woman to bathe with. An old body like mine prefers to wash in peace.”
“...What do the women do when they bathe together?”
“They’re all full of vigor... kekeke. Just know that much.”
He remembered how Lina had stopped Victoria at the hot springs, saying her pranks were going too far.
“...”
Dammit! What in the world goes on in the women’s bath?