Chapter 53 – The Calm Before the Storm

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Editor’s Note

Edited

‘Ugh….’

Charlotte, covered with a blanket, fidgeted with a deeply flushed face.

Iris didn’t seem to realize it, but she made slightly suggestive sounds each time she used the breast pump.

Charlotte escaped into her blanket as her face grew warm, but such magic that would make Iris’s voice disappear didn’t exist.

Rather, perhaps because of the darkness, the sounds became even more distinct.

“Mmm….”

Charlotte’s feelings were quite complicated as she listened to that voice.

She was very happy that Iris had chosen her as a sleeping partner.

Therefore, she didn’t want to inconvenience her. But listening to those suggestive sounds made her anxious that something might happen that would make Iris uncomfortable.

Of course, it wasn’t that she disliked those sounds, but….

Meanwhile, Iris’s voice subsided, and only small rustling sounds could be heard in the tent.

Only then did Charlotte inwardly sigh with relief.

Then, from quite close by, Iris spoke.

“Ch-Charlotte, thank you. It works… well.”

“Y-yes….”

It felt good.

Charlotte, who had been secretly worried that Iris might be displeased, was so happy that she secretly stomped her feet without Iris noticing.

After being immersed in happiness and giggling for a while, Charlotte realized that Iris had stopped moving and gently pulled back the blanket to reveal her face.

There she saw Iris, already asleep, perhaps from fatigue.

Charlotte stared at her blankly.

Her face was slightly flushed, perhaps still affected by the lingering sensations of expressing milk.

Whether Iris had forgotten to close the zipper or simply didn’t think it mattered, it remained open.

Thanks to this, her soft breasts, as she lay on her side, were compressed against the floor and her own chest, showing off their supple texture.

The blanket only covered her stomach, so they were clearly visible.

“Suu… huu….”

Her large breasts undulated slightly with each breath she took in and released.

Charlotte, who had been staring blankly at them, inwardly shook her head.

Instead, she wriggled her body to gradually move closer to Iris’s side.

Since it was a rare opportunity, she wanted to fall asleep feeling Iris’s indirect body heat.

Hoping for an embrace would be… greedy, right?

…Though the space wasn’t very wide to begin with, so they were only a roll away from touching.

Anyway.

Charlotte, positioned close enough to feel shallow breaths, looked at Iris’s peaceful sleeping face before closing her eyes.

Soon, Charlotte too seemed to be asleep, breathing evenly.

But… how long had she been asleep?

Charlotte slowly opened her eyes with a slightly suffocating sensation.

At first, thinking it was her turn to keep watch, she inwardly sighed.

However, what awaited her wasn’t watch duty but….

From her perspective, it was a somewhat sweet situation she had been hoping for.

Opening her eyes hazily, Charlotte felt a strange sensation of both darkness and whiteness before her eyes.

Moving her face in confusion, she felt a warm, soft sensation directly against her skin.

Above her head, faint breathing could be heard.

‘Huh…?’

In a daze, not yet comprehending what had happened, Charlotte realized the situation from the strangely nutty and fragrant scent entering her nostrils.

…It seemed that Iris had embraced her.

Though she had wished for it, Charlotte was bewildered, wondering if she might be dreaming since she never expected it to actually happen.

She tried to pinch her cheek to confirm, but Iris was holding her so tightly that it wasn’t possible.

‘…It’s warm.’

Whether it was a dream or reality… wouldn’t it be nice to just enjoy this moment?

Charlotte wriggled a bit, and instead of pinching her cheek, she hugged Iris back with the arm that had gained some freedom.

“Heh….”

A feeling like her head was floating.

Since the teacher initiated the embrace, it should be okay, right…?

Charlotte gently closed her eyes, buried in Iris’s soft breasts.

In her dreamlike state, unaware of what was happening to her, she fell asleep with a slightly reddened face.

Twitch, twitch.

For some reason, the bodies of the two sleeping people kept twitching.

*

*

*

*

“Teacher? It’s time to wake up.”

“Urgh….”

This sensation.

It’s enough to give me PTSD.

This feeling of someone tapping my shoulder to ‘wake me up’ while I’m sleeping.

Should I be grateful that at least they’re not shining a flashlight?

Wondering if I was having a nightmare, I felt something warm and soft in my arms, making me realize this was reality.

I hated myself for feeling relieved that I hadn’t blurted out my name, rank and serial number.

Opening my eyes with this discomfort, I saw Evelyn’s face with bleary eyes.

Yawning with an expression that suggested she wanted to go back to sleep quickly, she said:

“…Can’t we all just sleep together? It’s not like people like me will ever have this chance in our lifetime.”

Could Evelyn also be possessed? That muttering, so full of complaints about watch duty, somehow felt familiar.

…Probably not though.

“I know, right?”

Somehow amused, I giggled as I tried to move, but there were a few problems.

One was Charlotte, tightly embraced in my arms.

I have no idea when she ended up in my arms, but since I was also hugging her, I thought it must have been mutual misconduct.

…She’s warm.

Anyway, this wasn’t a big problem. I just needed to untangle my arms and carefully slip away.

The real problem was elsewhere.

For some reason, my lower half, specifically between my thighs, was soaking wet.

It felt like something sticky and moist was all over the place.

And thanks to my experiences so far, I immediately understood what it was.

However, I couldn’t explain why it was all over that area.

…Did Charlotte have a wet dream?

Since I didn’t feel the presence of ‘that,’ I assumed that was probably the case.

…I was a bit confused about whether I should be relieved or saddened that it was her and not me.

“Sniff sniff… hmm, what’s this sme─”

“…E-Evelyn, you can go back and sleep now. I’ll be out soon.”

“Huh? Oh, um… okay. Good luck then.”

Evelyn must have been very tired because she left for the tent where others were sleeping without looking back.

I understood her feelings, which made me smile again.

But first, dealing with the current situation was more urgent.

After carefully detaching Charlotte, I looked around and felt hot, humid air.

I could tell the state of things without visual confirmation.

Inwardly swallowing a sigh, I decided to summon Undine to clean up.

…I was worried about the sticky substances clinging to me, but fortunately, Undine handled them well too.

But then.

El’s voice echoed in my head.

– You didn’t think this was possible with just Undine’s abilities, did you? It wouldn’t have been possible without my help.

So it wasn’t Undine’s good performance but El’s help.

– Still, I’ve been turning a blind eye until now… so it’s natural you didn’t know. Therefore, this time’s price is… hmm, yes, I’ll take what’s in that bottle over there.

Bottle?

After pondering for a moment, I realized what she meant.

…It’s nothing to be particularly surprised about.

I’ve already fed it to Charlotte and Evelyn, and even to Aileen, so there’s no need to be embarrassed about giving it to that… regrettable spirit now.

Trying to convince myself of this, I took the bottle and went outside.

Now, nothing happened in the tent tonight.

“Haah….”

Sighing as I emerged from the tent, I gritted my teeth watching those whitish substances being disposed of.

And I made a resolution.

To quickly find the culprit and solve the problem.

That’s the only way to prevent such terrible things from happening.

And if by some chance I had to live here forever.

That would be a little better.

With a bitter taste in my mouth, I approached the campfire, where embers still glowed, and took a seat.

Then I slowly added firewood, presumably prepared by Michelle.

I remembered reading an explanation that not letting the fire die out was… somewhat important.

…If this is dying, it means Evelyn was dozing off.

But why did I understand her so well?

Crackle, crackle.

As I blankly watched the campfire burn and smirked, water rippled beside me, and El appeared with her water-colored hair swaying.

“Good dawn, contractor.”

“…Is it okay to just appear like this when you asked me to keep it secret?”

“You seem to underestimate me too much. I know how to handle such matters.”

“Ah, yes….”

Would she get angry if I said I didn’t trust her?

As I looked at her with a slightly dour expression, she extended her hand as if asking for something.

Staring blankly in confusion, her fine lips opened.

“Do you wish for me to receive it directly from your mouth?”

“…Ah.”

Does the Spirit Queen not know the emotion called embarrassment?

How can she so boldly ask for breast milk? Is it because it’s the price of our deal?

Inwardly shaking my head, I handed over the bottle, and she began sniffing with a very interested expression.

“The scent is… nutty and sweet.”

“Excuse me.”

“Hmm, it’s a pity it’s already cold.”

“El.”

“What is it, contractor?”

“Just… drink it quietly.”

“Fuhuhu… I forgot our contractor is sensitive.”

With a brazen laugh, she disappeared like the wind with the breast pump containing the milk.

Her sharp instincts showed qualities befitting a queen.

Yet I couldn’t treat her too harshly, as with that unpredictable personality, if something truly went wrong, it seemed unmanageable.

Especially since I didn’t know if there was a clause like the Three Laws of Robotics stating she couldn’t harm her contractor.

…Maybe I should ask Philia.

I was worried that if I asked El, she might demand something else in exchange for the information.

Then, as the campfire revived with a whooshing sound, I decided to think about other things while watching it.

For example.

Constructive concerns like how to handle the fixed event that would occur tomorrow night.

As I pondered that.

Time passed well.

Editor’s Note

It’s hard to believe that this guy went through boot camp…