Episode 35
I passed by a corpse pulverized by an overcharged
"Relatively intact."
I had seen it burst into flames, yet it was practically unscathed with only the hide slightly singed.
Even though it had taken a direct hit to the head, its skull didn't seem to have caved in.
It looked like it could revive at any moment; it was merely not breathing.
If I had only charged two shots, things might have gotten dangerous.
I was astonished by the tenacity of monsters—a resilience beyond anything I had imagined.
I needed to bring this corpse back to be recognized as having passed. How was I supposed to move it? Should I try putting it in my inventory?
I tried placing it into storage, but there was no interactive response.
Why? Hides, eyes, fangs—all of them were items with rare value.
Was it because it was nothing more than an unprocessed carcass?
After mulling it over, I hit upon a good idea.
I took out the
Since it wasn't recognized as an item and couldn't be placed in storage, leaving it in the Clam Castle for a while should work.
I moved the Thin Wolf's corpse to the warehouse in the Eight-Colored Clam Castle, then returned.
The mission was over. I went to the base of the cliff where Iseuti was.
"Iseuti. How is Karen?"
"She hasn't regained consciousness yet. But her breathing is stable."
"Thanks for keeping watch. Will you wait at the Water and Grass Inn? I'll take her back with me."
"Okay."
Iseuti walked up softly and kissed me.
"I was happy that I could protect Dekal. I'll be waiting for your return."
"Ah, won't it be hard? Want to wait inside the Eight-Colored Clam Castle?"
"I don't want to if I'm not going with Dekal."
More decisive than I expected.
"Why? The bed is soft and comfortable."
"Because if something were to happen, I wouldn't be able to rush out to protect you."
"Ah."
That's right. That was shortsighted of me.
The Eight-Colored Clam Castle is an isolated world. Not even wind reaches it, and no one can leave without my permission.
Since I never knew when I might need Iseuti's help, it was right to move together.
"You're right. I'll call you again if it gets dangerous."
I kissed Iseuti back.
"Come back safely."
Iseuti walked toward the forest and vanished in an instant.
For a fleeting moment, I caught a glimpse of Iseuti's movement—something that had been entirely invisible to me until just now.
Had I grown from subduing the Thin Wolf? The world looked different, even if only slightly.
"Nn…"
Karen opened her eyes.
I sat beside her and helped her sit up.
"Are you okay?"
"I…!"
With a pale face, Karen frantically felt over her own body.
"It's okay. Nothing happened to your body."
As I comforted Karen, I naturally embraced her.
Hearing my words, Karen seemed relieved and leaned against me.
"What about those people? What happened to the Thin Wolf?"
"I killed the Thin Wolf. You said you wanted to become a hero candidate, right? Congratulations."
"Huh? Huh?"
Karen blinked in disbelief and asked again.
"How on earth?"
"Thanks to you buying time, I was able to kill it by hitting it with a Fire Ball."
"I didn't do anything, yet I get the qualifications to be a hero candidate…?"
"What do you mean you didn't do anything? We executed the plan perfectly. You protected me, and I felled the monster. Right?"
"……."
She still wore a troubled expression, as if she found it hard to accept.
Well, it was understandable for her to be skeptical since everything had ended while she was unconscious.
I gently stroked Karen's head as she remained in my embrace.
"Oppa?"
"Think about it this way. If I were the swordsman sworn to protect you, and you were the mage. If our positions were reversed… Would you tell me right now that I don't deserve the qualification?"
Karen shook her head.
"See. You risked your life to protect me, and you did your part. Now you can hold your head high, can't you?"
"I see, I…."
Tears began to fall from Karen's eyes.
"I couldn't have done it without you. Oppa, Oppa…!"
Karen clung to me tightly.
It felt nice having her chest press firmly against mine.
"Let's return to the Guild. I put the Thin Wolf in storage. We'll need proof that we completed the mission, so let's show it together at the Guild."
"Okay!"
Karen got up energetically.
"Huh? But wasn't I injured? I thought it was an incredibly severe wound. Like, my stomach was being torn out…."
It had been torn out, but… better not to mention that.
"I treated you. I had some very effective medicine."
"Mmm~? …As expected, it feels like you did everything from start to finish, Oppa."
"Do you have to keep saying that?"
Karen smiled radiantly, showing her teeth.
"I was helpful too, right?"
"Yeah."
Honestly, I had been deeply moved.
When else would I ever experience someone risking their life to protect me?
Coming to this other world, experiencing something like this; it was thrilling yet enjoyable.
"But this chest helped the most."
Feeling playful, I slipped my hand under Karen's chest to support it, and she flinched, hunching her shoulders.
But she didn't pull away, as if she didn't dislike it.
"Geez. Do you like my chest that much? …Fine, Oppa. Have my chest. Touch it whenever you want."
"Really?"
"J—just not when people are watching."
I kneaded Karen's breasts.
It was overwhelming, no matter when I touched them.
"How long are you going to keep touching!?"
"Can I keep touching them the whole way back?"
"No."
"But you said it was my chest… You said I could touch them whenever I wanted…."
"W—we're not even officially dating. As expected, this isn't right. I must have spaced out for a second. I take it back!"
Karen seemed particularly vulnerable to gentle caresses.
I could tell her resistance to physical contact had faded considerably—whether from the lingering effect of the brief suggestion I had planted, or from growing close while fighting together.
What kind of suggestion should I plant next time?
"Shall we go back?"
"Yeah! Strangely, my body feels great, too. If monsters appear on the way, I'll protect you, Oppa."
"The medicine must have worked well."
I was relieved that Karen didn't seem too suspicious.
It would have been uncomfortable if she had tried to interrogate me about the details.
Let me quietly bury what just happened in my heart.
Even if I had no regrets, murder was murder. I didn't feel like boasting about it.
Even I, who had committed all sorts of deception and manipulation through hypnosis, hadn't killed people without a care.
This was the first time since coming to this other world that I had harmed someone so directly.
It was also the first time that someone whose face I didn't even know had tried to kill me.
Everything was new. But new didn't only mean good things.
I had finally realized that a new life had begun since coming to this other world.
"It's gotten very late. It'll be hard to report today."
I had forgotten that Dry Village and the Black Forest were four hours away one way.
Walking all this way from the forest, I would have collapsed long ago without the wind spirit.
Karen looked quite tired, too.
"Then I'll come to the inn where you're staying tomorrow morning."
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
"Wait a moment."
Karen grabbed me as I was turning around.
"Hmm?"
"About what you said earlier about my chest. I—if we date, you can do as you please…."
"Dekal?"
Ah, it's Iseuti.
Iseuti spotted us and approached.
"Why are you doing that outside?"
"So I can feel it when my Darling sends the wind."
Don't tell me she had been standing there all day?
Come to think of it, Iseuti had covered the four-hour one-way distance in a single breath. How on earth did she do that?
The royal capital she had taken a day to go to and return from might actually be an enormous distance away.
All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind.
"Darling…."
Karen mulled over Iseuti's words with a dejected face.
…What she had been about to say just now was probably something along those lines.
"You two have met before, right? Is it okay if I introduce you to Karen?"
"……."
Iseuti looked at Karen with a serious expression.
Karen waited with a rare tense look, her lips pressed tightly shut.
"If Dekal wants that."
"Then you make it sound like you really don't want to…."
Then Karen took a step forward.
"We met in the forest during the mass orc outbreak. I was rude back then! I am Karen, a hero aspirant."
Though Iseuti was openly putting up walls, Karen stepped forward and greeted her boldly.
"What do you think?"
"…Fine."
"This is Iseuti. A diamond-grade hunter, an elf, and my lover."
"…Lover."
Iseuti subtly moved to my side and pressed herself close.
Showing jealousy at a time like this.
Karen's dejected expression was amusing, and Iseuti's reaction was delightful, too.
"Iseuti doesn't like it when people casually reveal her name. Just be careful about that."
"I'll be careful. May I call you Miss Iseuti…?"
"Just call me Iseuti. I'll call you Karen."
Karen nodded lightly.
"Okay, Iseuti."
"Iseuti and I will be at the Water and Grass Inn, so come find us in the morning."
"Okay, Oppa."
It was late at night; Karen had to return to her lodging alone.
Before meeting Iseuti, I had of course planned to walk her back, but the situation had shifted slightly.
Iseuti was my lover; Karen was a colleague I had completed a mission with. The priority was clear.
"Let's go, Isti."
"Yeah."
I deliberately stuck to Isti more than necessary, provoking Karen.
Karen couldn't hide her expression at all.
Her restless feelings over the conclusion she had failed to reach just now were completely revealed on her face.
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.
For now, I only wanted to hurry up and crash.
We got a room at the inn and moved to
The moment we arrived in the hall, Bella welcomed me.
"Master, welcome back."
Sitting on the throne and fidgeting.
"Why are you there?"
"You told me to come out and greet you when you arrived at the castle, Master."
"Sitting there looking pleased with yourself?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Bella. One hundred squats."
"Huh!?"
Bella rose from the throne and performed squats.
It was a pleasant sight to see her meticulously remembering even the previous orders and exposing her armpits.
Isti blinked her eyes as if bewildered.
"Dekal, what's going on?"
"Let me introduce her again. This is Bella. She used to be a goddess, but now she's my slave."
"A slave…."
"Don't look at me like that. Elf!"
Bella shot back with all the solemnity she could muster, but with both arms raised, lifting and lowering her hips, she only looked ridiculous.
"Get along. From now on, you two are members of the Eight-Colored Clam Castle."
"I get it now, so can't you tell me to stop this?"
"Not until you finish all one hundred."
"Ugh! Master, you're such a tease…!"
"I'm called Isti. Goddess."
Unexpectedly, Isti introduced herself first.
"Don't stand on ceremony. Like Master said, I'm a slave. Just call me Reira comfortably."
Isti glanced at me.
"You can do that. Didn't I tell you? She's my slave."
"Okay. Reira. But, um… why are you exercising?"
"Hahaha!"
I burst into laughter.
Isti didn't know that Bella was under a command obedience suggestion. Because of that, her innocent question tremendously stimulated Bella's sense of shame.
"~~~! Uu, uugh…!"
Nevertheless, Bella couldn't stop the squats, shaking her hips with her face dyed bright red.
"Dekal? Why are you laughing?"
"A slave cannot defy her Master's orders. Bella likes this a lot too. Right?"
"Is that so? Reira?"
"Y-yes… I like it."
I covered my mouth tightly with my hand and held back my laughter.
Bella glared at me sharply while doing squats.
"You saw what happened to Bella in the dressing room before, right? That's also Bella's favorite thing."
"Her favorite thing?"
"Yeah, she became a slave because she loves being trampled on and cursed at by me so much."
"……. "
Bella would rather Isti despised her.
Isti gazed steadily at Bella with a cool, expressionless face.
With a dry gaze that seemed to say, 'So there are people like that.'
"Isti. Aren't you tired? Shall we go wash up together?"
"Yeah. What about Reira?"
"She says she likes being punished. Let's leave her here and go."
"~~!! Kuh!"
"Ah, Bella. Wake me up tomorrow morning. Got it?"
"Am I an alarm clock? To think you'd order me around for such a trivial thing. It's an unbearable humiliation!"
Ignoring Bella's protest, we headed to the grand bath.
"…Is this really okay?"
"There are all kinds of perverts in this world."
"…Reira is a pervert."
"Just wait and see. She'll definitely come wake me up tomorrow."
The water in the grand bath was still clean and heated to just the right temperature.
The moment I immersed my body, a moan escaped naturally. Ah, this is killing me. How long has it been since I've taken a bath? With Isti in my arms too, there's no greater luxury than this.
"Chu. Haum. Mm."
Now, as if it were only natural, Isti sat in front of me, turned her head, and kissed me.
"I believed Darling could do it."
"It's thanks to you, Isti."
There had been dangerous moments as well.
I had only been wary of monsters in that forest; I hadn't considered people as enemies.
That carelessness had created a dangerous situation.
"Haum, smooch. Chu."
Isti turned her body halfway and sucked on the tongue I offered.
"Darling. You can't trust other adventurers. Because very few people keep their word."
"What do you think about Karen?"
"She seems like a good person. Above all, she protected you with her whole body. I'm grateful."
To think she could trust someone simply because they had protected me.
The words Isti had casually let slip made me quite happy.
Already, the suggestion had penetrated deep into Isti's heart and was influencing her way of thinking.
Just a little more….
If the hypnosis grows just a bit stronger, I think I can move to the next stage.