Chapter 158: ☆That’s Why It’s Punishment
It was 7 o’clock in the morning.
Felica and I were taking a morning bath together, both of us soaking in the tub.
Felica sat with her back toward me between my open legs, leaning her weight against me.
She looked completely exhausted and a little spaced out; I put a little strength into the arms wrapped around her stomach and drew her toward me.
"Um... are you all right?"
"Nn~? Yeah, I’d like to say I’m fine... but nfu, I’m a little tired."
"Sorry about that..."
"No, don’t worry about it, Raide. We’ll think of various things ourselves. Besides, making you hold back too much seems dangerous."
Saying that, Felica turned her face sideways, looked at me with her eyes, and laughed happily.
I smiled at such a Felica in a troubled way and gave her a kiss that only touched her lips.
She was smiling, yet the fatigue showed in her atmosphere; the fact that she wasn’t saying "Unuun~" was probably the better outcome.
Having stayed up all night with Felica, we had startled the maids who came to check on us in the morning.
The sheets were... well, soiled in various ways, and Felica, completely worn out, had been clinging to me.
Since Felica had been wearing her negligee it was fine for her, but I had been completely naked... so, yeah, it was embarrassing.
I naturally felt awkward and expected to be scolded by the maids, yet for some reason they were delighted instead.
They even thanked us and, saying they would clean the room, led us to the bath.
Recalling the way Felica looked when the maids said various things to her, I smiled wryly.
"They were quite happy, weren’t they?"
"...Honestly, I’m scared of what comes after you leave, Raide."
"Ah~, yeah..."
Among the maids who had guided us to the bath was Alumi; the one whose joy had been the most intense was her.
It might have been the first time anyone other than me had seen Felica looking so pushed around.
As expected of a maid who had grown up like a childhood friend—her strength and pushiness were on another level...
Looking up at the ceiling with an expression of resignation, Felica had the Sephrim Necklace I had secretly brought fastened around her neck.
She dropped her gaze to the necklace that had been put on her with a slightly surprised look, and I spoke into her ear.
"I want you to accept it."
"It’s beautiful..."
Felica pinched the gem resting on her chest between her fingers and gazed at it while I explained the effect and how to use it.
Nodding at my explanation, Felica gripped it with one hand and began pouring mana.
A clear blue light overflowed from her hand and immediately subsided.
When Felica opened her hand and placed the gem on her palm, it had changed to a transparent blue.
Pressing my cheek against the side of Felica’s as she breathed a sigh of admiration, I gazed together with her at the gem that expressed her personality.
A transparent blue—yes, that was definitely Felica, and I smiled.
Felica, who had been gazing at the gem, released the arms I had wrapped around her stomach, turned her whole body toward me, and smiled.
Kneeling, with her nipples standing stiff on her large breasts and water dripping from her pleasantly plump body, she looked so beautiful that I stared at her in a bit of a daze.
While staring blankly at Felica’s body, she came closer on her knees, hugged my head, and buried my face in the cleavage of her watermelon-like breasts.
I also wrapped both arms around her waist and slightly moved my face within her chest, thoroughly enjoying the sensation.
Being gently held and wrapped in the scent of mint made it impossible not to enjoy it.
How many men in the world get to experience happiness like this... I smiled wryly inside, hoping to be forgiven for enjoying it just a little.
Completely enveloped by the soft sensation of her breasts, I raised my eyes a little and looked at Felica; she narrowed her eyes affectionately and spoke.
"Raide, I love you."
"I love you too, Felica."
Felica lowered her head toward me buried in her chest and kissed me; I accepted it looking up at her.
Kisses that only touched our lips, tongues tangling, looking at each other and smiling, then more kisses that only touched—over and over.
We held each other’s bodies and sought each other’s lips until we heard the maids’ voices.
I left Felica’s mansion and began walking toward the [Suzuya] inn.
Since it was past 8 o’clock, there was a fair amount of foot traffic.
After that, while Felica and I were relaxing with tea after getting out of the bath, the maids took the Felica who was trying to work as usual and led her to the bedroom.
Surrounded by about four maids and being led away, the troubled expression on Felica’s face was so fresh that I ended up laughing.
As expected of people who served her, they seemed skilled at sensing when she was pushing herself.
Today was clear and sunny, so the sun was already making it a little hot from the morning; I quickened my pace a bit, thinking I had to install the prototype Croana had given me in the tavern.
Walking a little faster through a side alley with fewer people, I suddenly felt one cheek being gently stroked and reacted with a piku.
I immediately knew it was Sharle, yet being touched out of nowhere still made me start and my body react.
Slowing my walking pace a little, I spoke in a murmuring voice while smiling wryly.
"Good morning, Sharle."
"Fufufu, good morning, Lord Raide."
Apparently my startled reaction had been amusing; Sharle spoke in a voice that seemed to be laughing with hidden meaning, and I felt a little embarrassed by her manner and scratched the back of my hair.
Anyone would be surprised if they were touched in a place where there was nothing and no one around.
I would like some praise just for not raising my voice...
While maintaining a calm atmosphere, Sharle began speaking beside my face in a volume that only I could hear: "I have a report."
As a result of interrogating the Bobz Baron captured yesterday, it had come to light that he had used a moneylender to threaten Linal and try to attack Roy.
Together with the various pieces of evidence belonging to the head of the Dwarf Merchant Guild, Bobz Baron’s peerage had been stripped without question, and he had been sentenced to the Darkness Mines.
"Do you remember the man named Groog?"
"It would be harder to forget him. I still haven’t forgiven him even a little."
He was the man who had made Foria and Sink show those faces.
A person I did not want to let the two, who had finally started recovering, meet again—and a person who had disappointed me.
He had not shown himself since then, yet I had never let my guard down regarding him.
As proof of that, I had explained the circumstances to the adventurers who often went hunting with Foria and asked them to report immediately if anything happened.
It is harder to not be wary of a guy who made that kind of face when he left.
"Fufu, I thought so. The talk of granting him a peerage has been cancelled."
"What did that guy do?"
"I’m sorry... I cannot report this. I simply do not want to tell you, Lord Raide..."
"...Understood. I won’t ask. Just tell me one thing—does it involve Foria and Sink?"
"That is... yes."
Sharle answered in a voice that sounded reluctant, and hearing that I let out a sigh.
After Groog appeared I had investigated him a little on my own and found several strange points.
When the village where Foria and Sink lived was attacked by a stampede, there were far too many unclear points about Groog’s movements.
Before teaming up with Foria and the others he had already been based in the royal capital, yet he had not produced results to match and his rank had stopped at C.
The reason such a man had gone near Foria’s village—ten days’ travel away—without even accepting a request was unknown.
I had been trying not to think about it, but most likely... no, without a doubt Groog was involved with the stampede.
Most stampedes occur naturally, yet there are rare cases in which they can be caused artificially.
The monsters that stampeded in Foria’s village were of the rare type that can be made to stampede by human hands.
He had been a reliable man while I was playing the game; his personality had various issues and disappointed me... yet somewhere I had wanted to believe he was different.
From Sharle’s atmosphere, however, he had been involved in something close.
After letting out a large sigh, I rubbed the back of my neck with one hand and laughed as if exasperated.
"There’s no need for you to feel down, is there, Sharle?"
"I’m not feeling down. It’s just... no, I’ll stop there. After tomorrow’s punishment is over, I’ll tell you."
"...Punishment at the royal palace? I have nothing but bad premonitions about that."
"Kusukusu, that’s why it’s punishment."
I looked up at the sky as if tired and pictured every unpleasant premonition I could imagine.
It would certainly be punishment for me, and there was no doubt I would be exhausted afterward.
What was scariest of all was that the two princesses were involved.
Sharle gently stroked one of my cheeks with a suri suri and spoke in a happy-sounding voice.
"I won’t do anything bad to you."
"...That’s what a villain would say."
"Nfufu, true enough, nfufufu."
Listening to Sharle’s happy laughter while smiling wryly, I quickened my steps toward the inn.