Chapter 51
“Mmm….”
The sunlight streaming in through the gaping hole in the wall is dazzling.
Don’t they have blinds…?
When I opened my eyes, Isti and Karen were asleep in my arms. Bella had just gotten up and was straightening her clothes.
“Where are you going, Bella?”
“To prepare breakfast.”
“Yaaawn. I’ll come once I’m fully awake. We’re going back to the Water and Grass Inn today.”
“I heard about it from the elf. About that prickly examiner. Telling us to catch a Lich… What a ridiculous woman.”
I carefully laid the two girls down so I wouldn’t wake them, then got up.
“What do you think, from the perspective of a former goddess?”
Bella spoke with impeccable composure.
“If you’ve learned Spatial Leap, you can easily shake off a half-baked Lich. But the problem comes after you pass. Don’t you remember? If you encounter that world’s Hero, the gods will intervene. I don’t know what form it will take, but they’ll certainly be hostile.”
“…Right.”
I had heard about it long ago.
Sending an agent into a world governed by another god was forbidden.
I had used hypnosis to make Belleira break the taboo, allowing me to go to another world with relatively favorable conditions for survival.
“That red-haired girl. She’s trying to become a Hero candidate, right? And Master has taken a liking to her.
What if you go to the Hero Academy like this and happen to encounter the Hero?”
“You mean we could immediately be treated as enemies?”
“Yes. Master will realize it the moment he sees you. That the other party is the Hero and an agent of the gods.
Perhaps that’s why this custom came into being….”
“Came into being because of that?”
Bella hesitated to draw her conclusion, but soon opened her mouth.
“There’s a saying about a gimlet hidden in a pouch. If there are two people in the same world bearing the destiny of being agents of the gods, their extraordinary talents and exceptional growth will inevitably bring them face-to-face, whether they like it or not.”
“Is meeting really such a big problem?”
“You know this yourself, Master. Agents of the gods aren’t chosen for their character.
Sometimes, even an undignified person… No, I’m not talking about Master.”
“…What did I say? Why am I feeling guilty?”
“I-It’s true that I thought you were a little undignified.”
“……”
Bella confessed without holding anything back—or perhaps she simply couldn’t hide it.
I slapped Bella on the butt with my palm.
“Eek! This is what I mean by undignified. …Though I suppose I’m also at fault for liking it.”
“I understand that you’re extremely skeptical about human nature.
So, in short, you’re saying I should come up with a plan if I intend to take Karen to the Hero Academy?”
“It’s fortunate, at least, that Master is intelligent.”
“What’s unfortunate, you punk?”
“That you’re a complete pervert…?”
“Your way of speaking rubbed off on Isti, and now she’s started calling me a pervert.”
“Considering your usual behavior, I doubt you could refute it.”
Haha. She had a point.
“I don’t doubt Master’s abilities.
As for that… I’m not even sure a god could stand against it. I investigated as best I could, but I couldn’t determine the source of its power at all.”
“You investigated?”
“Yes.”
Bella chose her words carefully.
The other two were asleep, but she probably thought there was no good reason to mention hypnosis directly.
Whether I was an agent of a god or not was irrelevant. Even if she brought up hypnosis, I could simply erase their memories afterward, but I liked Bella’s caution.
Bella could be insolent, but when she was on my side, she was endlessly reassuring.
“Bella. If the intervention of another god puts us in danger, help me.”
“You’ll manage somehow with that wonderful ability of yours, won’t you?”
“There may be areas beyond my power.”
“Hmm. I suppose it can’t be helped. It feels like you’re asking too much of a pussy slave, though….
Then I’ll offer my advice. Part ways with that girl named Karen. And live quietly in some remote corner of the world.”
“…That’s.”
“I know. You don’t want to do that, do you? I said it precisely because I knew.”
“You said it because you knew? To make me realize it?”
Bella folded her arms and spoke with a self-assured air.
“Master is a despicable, complete pervert. You seem like the kind of person who would do anything to get horny.
…But you don’t do things you think will be unpleasant. That’s why you don’t turn women you like into dolls to keep by your side, or kill them to dispose of them.
You were probably like that in your former world, too, weren’t you? You must have been held back by the women you tamed.”
“……”
That was an excellent insight.
The me seen through Bella’s eyes was interesting. One could even say she was close to the truth. But she wasn’t completely right.
“You said something like that once, Bella.
That you didn’t know what was inside my head.”
“…I did.”
“I can do things even when I think they won’t be enjoyable.
Have you ever stopped to think, even for a moment, what would happen to this world if I did?”
“……”
Bella’s body trembled.
It was the first time I had seen fear on her face.
“Don’t be afraid.”
I stroked Bella’s hair.
“As long as I’m devoting my heart to my women, just as you said.
Nothing will happen.”
“Y-Yes… Master….”
I leaned close to Bella’s ear and whispered.
“Obey me as you are now, and think and act according to how you can help me.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be counting on you.”
Bella knelt down and lowered herself to the floor of her own accord, then kissed the instep of my foot.
“You may get up. Make breakfast delicious, please.”
Bella nodded and left the room.
A countermeasure against the gods… Honestly, I was at a loss. I didn’t have the brains to devise such a plan.
Rather, I decided to cleanly acknowledge that fact and empty my mind.
For now, it was better to focus on the lives of humans than to make a clumsy attempt at doing something about the gods.
Right. Today was the day of the important Hero selection test.
The thought of hunting monsters for the first time in a while made my heart race.
“Oppa…?”
Karen opened her eyes.
Perhaps it was because she had fallen asleep and woken up in an unfamiliar place.
It was adorable how she immediately looked around for me.
“Did you both sleep well?”
Isti quietly sat up.
“Darling. Did something happen?”
“No. I just got up for a moment to see Bella off.”
“…Okay.”
Karen rubbed her eyes and stretched.
As if possessed, I reached out and touched Karen’s breasts.
“Oh, honestly.”
Karen smiled and let my hand freely fondle her breasts.
“Today’s the day we go to the dungeon. Let’s do our best.”
“Yes! Ah, we need to go to Adventurer’s Street and see if there’s anything good. We need to buy a shield, too.”
“Isti, do you want to come with us?”
Something about Isti seemed strange. Had she perhaps heard everything Bella and I had discussed while lying there?
Maybe she had something of her own to think over.
“You two go. I have something else to do.”
“Something else to do?”
“Yes.”
I was curious, but decided not to press her. It was something Isti had to do. I needed to show her my trust, too.
“It’ll still be a while before breakfast is ready. Shall we all go wash up?”
“The three of us? Let’s go!”
“Isti, you’re okay with that, right?”
“Yes, sounds good.”
We picked up the clothes we had thrown off yesterday and put them on.
Karen stuck close to Isti as if she were a friend, talking to her nonstop. Isti didn’t respond, but the atmosphere between them was remarkably comfortable and natural.
It seemed that after what happened yesterday, Isti and Karen had grown even closer.
We washed ourselves in the public bathhouse and went to the dining hall.
Bella’s breakfast was a neat, light spread, completed as though to bring things to a satisfying conclusion.
“How was spending a few days at the Eight-Colored Shell Castle, Karen?”
“It was great. I became friends with Isti, learned a unique skill, and had lots of pregnancy sex with Oppa.
I almost don’t want to leave again.”
I felt the same way as Karen.
It had been a dreamlike stretch of time, enough to make me wish it could go on forever, but dreams were bound to end.
It was time to start sorting out the problems facing us in reality.
“Let’s do everything we can.”
“The examiner won’t have any choice but to acknowledge us, right?”
It was a sensation I had never experienced when I lived in a world without skills.
I wanted to defeat monsters and grow stronger.
In the end, Bella might have been right. How could anyone live quietly after being gifted such extraordinary talent?
At first, I had intended to live a safe life, as though I were already dead.
After being stabbed and killed, would anyone really want to experience danger again?
But I hadn’t merely been transported to another world.
It was practically a reincarnation. I had been given a life with exceptional talent.
I had begun my life in this other world by being dropped roughly into a forest, but in the end, as if I were searching for somewhere to go, I was heading toward a higher place.
I began to think that perhaps it was an enormous current that could not be stopped.
After finishing our meal, Isti, Karen, and I returned to the Water and Grass Inn.
Seeing the shabby inn room made me truly feel that we had come back.
“Darling. Karen. I’ll be going ahead.”
Isti left as though she were hurrying toward her destination.
“Oppa! Let’s go to Adventurer’s Street. Pick out a shield for me.”
“A shield isn’t clothing. How am I supposed to know what’s good just by looking at it?”
“It’s just a feeling. A feeling.”
“If you asked me to pick out underwear instead, I’d choose the sexiest pair for you.”
“Then… will you pick out my underwear, too?”
A pleased smile naturally spread across my face.
The time Karen had spent at the Eight-Colored Shell Castle had completely changed her.
With nothing more than a single suggestion that having pregnancy sex with me during special training was only natural, I had distorted Karen’s dreams. She had created an option in her future where she would become my cocksleeve.
It was the best result I could draw out with a trigger.
If I had implanted the suggestion in the first place that she should become my fucktoy, I wouldn’t have felt this sense of accomplishment from guiding her into saying it herself.
We left the Water and Grass Inn and headed for Adventurers’ Street.
The street was bustling with adventurers even from the early morning.
The Dry Village was as lively as ever.
“Oppa. There’s a shield here!”
“Where?”
I was surprised. A general goods merchant had spread out a cloth by the roadside and was selling armor and weapons.
It wasn’t as if these were some kind of tourist specialty… but when I looked behind him, I saw a cart piled high with a considerable amount of merchandise.
“Have a look! What are you looking for?”
“A shield! Do you have one that’s effective against magical attacks?”
“If you’re looking for a shield effective against magical attacks, these three here! Thirty gold, fifty-five gold, and eighty gold, respectively.”
“…Aren’t they a little expensive?”
The merchant puffed out his chest confidently and said,
“I pride myself on offering the best prices here for their performance! Magic shields are rare from the material stage onward, and they’re difficult to process as well.”
“Hmm….”
I didn’t care which one we bought, but Karen seemed to be having trouble deciding.
The merchant read my expression with a keen eye and said,
“And what do you think, sir? With such a beautiful girlfriend, you’ll need a good shield to protect her, won’t you?”
Oh ho. So that was the angle he was taking?
“G-girlfriend? It’s not like that….”
Karen waved her hands in denial, but she didn’t seem to dislike the idea all that much, as she smiled sheepishly.
I wrapped an arm around Karen’s waist, pulled her close for all to see, and fondled her breasts.
“O-Oppa.”
“Karen. I’ll buy it for you. Does the shield on the far right look good?”
“Ngh….”
Seeing me touch Karen’s breasts, the merchant grew flustered, not knowing where to look.
“I need a good shield to protect Oppa. So… the one on the right….”
“All right. I’ll buy it for you.”
I pointed to the most expensive magic shield on the far right and said,
“How about giving me that one for seventy gold?”
“T-ten gold off is a bit much….”
“You got a good show out of it, didn’t you? Consider it payment for the eye candy.”
Karen blushed and lowered her head deeply.
“…Seventy gold. Thank you!”
The haggling was over in the blink of an eye.
Karen immediately equipped the shield she had bought on her left hand. Could such a small buckler really help block magic?
Maybe I should have tried firing a Fire Arrow at it.
Though I couldn’t exactly do that to merchandise being sold….
“Oppa. What if he thinks I’m your girlfriend….”
“So what?”
“I’m actually Oppa’s fucktoy…. Calling me your girlfriend is just….”
“It’s not as if I can introduce you to other people like that, can I?”
“Besides, I think I’d be happy if you were my girlfriend, Karen.”
“……”
Perhaps she had gained courage from my words, because Karen linked her arm through mine and pressed herself close.
I felt good as her magnificent breasts kept pressing against me.
“They’re selling women’s underwear over there. Want to go in together?”
“…Yes.”
As we looked around Adventurers’ Street and bought the things we needed, I also enjoyed trying various kinds of underwear on Karen and admiring her in them.
After all that shopping, a hundred gold disappeared as if it were nothing.
Most of it had gone toward the shield, though….
“Oppa. I think we’re prepared enough. Shall we leave right away?”
“Let’s stop by the Adventurers’ Guild.”
“The guild?”
“I’m curious whether the artifact is finished.”
“Ah!”
Karen seemed to remember as well.
That we had left the Sin Wolf’s corpse with them.
“And if there’s an exploration mission for the Bordeaux Dungeon, we can take some soul stones under the pretext of exploring.”
“Yes, let’s go right away!”
I took Karen into the Adventurers’ Guild.
Seeing Karen clinging tightly to my arm, several men let out sighs of dismay.
It’s fun every time I come here. I think I’ve even reached the point where I can enjoy it.
Since it’s my fate to have an attractive woman as my fucktoy, it would be a waste not to enjoy it.
Karen and I approached the reception desk where Asellin was stationed.
“Hello, Mr. Dekal. How may I help you?”
Asellin recognized me and smiled warmly.
“Is the Bordeaux Dungeon exploration mission still available? I’d like to take five medium-sized soul stones.”
“Yes. The recommended requirements for the Bordeaux Dungeon exploration mission are….”
Asellin stopped speaking.
It seemed we were thinking the same thing.
“You can skip the explanation.”
“Yes. Five medium-sized soul stones. I’ll also help you renew your license.”
“Renew my license?”
“For your achievement in dealing with the Sin Wolf, Mr. Dekal, you’ve now been registered as a Gold-rank adventurer.”
“Oh.”
Promoted already?
I could feel the guild master backing me.
“Did you say Gold-rank adventurers also receive a house?”
“Yes. The vacant house on Seventh Street has been registered under your name, Mr. Dekal.”
“Oppa. Congratulations!”
Karen was happy for me as well.
What an excellent welfare benefit.
“I was supposed to receive an artifact in exchange for delivering the Sin Wolf. What happened with that?”
“It was completed today, so I was keeping it here to give to you when you came in.”
Asellin took out a small jewelry box.
Judging by its size, was it a ring? When I opened the jewelry box, there was exactly what I expected: a plain silver ring—though I couldn’t tell whether it was actually made of silver.
“Oppa. This….”
Karen seemed to have noticed it as well.
Perhaps it was because I had learned to sense spirits? I could see the mysterious power contained within the artifact spreading like an aura.
“An artifact made from the Sin Wolf’s materials, the ‘Ring of the Innocent.’ It is being presented as a reward for your contribution, Mr. Dekal.”
“Can I touch it?”
Asellin smiled and said,
“It is unquestionably Mr. Dekal’s property. Even if you were to lose it, all you would have to do is say in the Dry Village that it belonged to the Sin Wolf, and everyone would know that you are its owner.”
That much? I felt rather proud.
I immediately picked up the ring and checked its information.
［Ring of the Innocent］［Unique Rank］
［A ring imbued with the magic of the Sin Wolf, the Deceiving Lonely King. Its mysterious power allows the wearer to conceal their body.］
［Grants the ability to use “Veil of Concealment.”］
It lets me use magic to hide myself? That could be useful.
“Good. Thank you, Asellin.”
“I look forward to your next visit.”
The Goddess’s blessing, powerful offensive magic, an elf’s spirit arts capable of crossing walls, and concealment through a Unique item.
The growing number of skills I could use effectively was certainly something to welcome.
As I left the guild, I said,
“Karen. Can I use this ring?”
“Huh?”
Karen reacted as if she hadn’t expected me to ask.
“I think ‘Veil of Concealment’ would be more useful in the hands of a mage like me.”
“You’re the one who defeated the Sin Wolf, Oppa. I received a good shield, so it’s only right that you keep the artifact.”
“Thank you.”
I immediately equipped the ring.
(You have acquired “Veil of Concealment.”)
An announcement message appeared, informing me that a new skill had been added.
“Shall we head to the dungeon now?”
“Yes!”
We left the Dry Village with confidence.