97. Ego Sword

97. Ego Sword

Cute.

When one thinks of cute things, many things come to mind, but at least what comes to mind right now is… a duck.

A bird that is pure white and fluffy, with a plump belly that makes one doubt if it can fly, and a quacking sound emanating from its bright yellow beak.

The reason I suddenly thought of a duck while looking at clothes is simple: there are two children in front of me wearing chick pajamas.

One with white hair, one with yellow hair. And the bright yellow pajamas that both of them are wearing.

Claire, who had unknowingly turned into a chick in Irina’s hands, shouted.

“Wait, why am I wearing this?!”

“Grand Duchess, aren’t Princess and Princess cute?!”

Irina, who claimed to like cute things, enthusiastically searched for clothes to dress Ur in, starting with the school swimsuit. What she found was this children’s yellow pajama.

It’s made of a fluffy material that never gets tiresome no matter how much you touch it, it’s soft and warm, making it easy to fall asleep, and the cute chick face on the hood is the highlight of this outfit….

“Yes, it’s cute.”

I could only say it was cute. If I added any other explanation, it felt like it would only diminish its cuteness.

Claire gasped at my answer.

“Ngh….”

“But… if you don’t want to wear it, you can take it off, Claire.

Although it’s just my guess, Claire doesn’t seem to like being treated as cute. Especially being treated like a child.

Of course, the clothes fit her very well due to her small appearance, but there was no need to force her to wear them when she disliked it.

Ah, except for Ur. She’s my sword, so I can dress her however I want.

“Ah, no… it’s not that… um….”

“Claire?”

I asked Claire, worried, as her face suddenly turned red.

“Why is your face so red?”

Perhaps she was sick.

Maybe she was afflicted with some unknown debuff while fighting the Death Knight-Ur’s entire body. I don’t know the common sense of this world, but undead usually specialize in curses and weakening, so perhaps we were affected without our knowledge.

“If you’re really sick, I’ll call Freya right away….”

“No! I’m not sick at all!”

“Really?”

“Y-yes.”

Freya’s healing magic was top-notch. That’s why I thought I could quickly heal Claire if I called my sister, but Claire shook her head back and forth, begging me not to.

“Still… if you’re too sick, don’t endure it, tell me. Okay?”

“Uh, uh-huh.”

I hugged Claire tightly to keep her warm. Wolf beastmen’s tails are fluffy, and fluffy things are warm, so after wrapping her in my tail, Claire took a breath with a much-improved expression.

“Soooo cuuuute !!!!!”

Meanwhile, Irina next to me was rubbing herself all over Ur.

“U-Ur is not a doll- Ugh!”

Irina’s ivory hair tangled with white hair, and Rena, Irina’s friend, watched them. Ur, who was smiling brightly due to my command, struggled to escape but couldn’t.

-Ur, you have to listen to Irina. Okay?

-Master?!

Because I said so.

Ur was completely obeying Irina right now. Of course, I didn’t think of that when I gave the command, but it turned out that way after I said it.

“Ur, can you hold this umbrella?! And strike this pose!!”

“No… Ugh!”

Ur obediently took the umbrella and struck a pose. It was a bright yellow umbrella that matched the chick pajamas she was wearing. Ur opened the umbrella and struck a cute pose, and Irina hugged her even more passionately. She was so excited that I felt like I could physically see her panting.

“W-what are you doing to Ur! Don’t lick her! It’s dirty! Waaah!!”

“Cute!!!!!”

Irina started licking Ur’s cheeks. She bit her cheeks, her collarbones, and sniffed the hair sticking out from the hood of her pajamas.

It was common skinship among women.

“Ur, it’s common sense to lick, touch, and squeeze cute things!!”

“What kind of common sense is that!! Don’t lie!!!”

“Rena, do you want to come and lick Ur too?!”

“No, I’ll pass…”

Irina, Ur, and Rena started chattering noisily among themselves. Their conversations were clearly audible to my excellent ears, and I soon fell into deep contemplation.

“It’s common sense to lick, touch, and squeeze cute things…?”

“Skadi?”

Come to think of it, that’s true. My sister told me the common sense that ‘this is common among women,’ but she didn’t tell me exactly when.

“I see.”

“S-Skadi?!”

It’s usually when you see something cute. I learned a new common sense. It’s good that I made many friends, I’m learning common sense naturally like this.

I pounced on the cute Claire.

“Ugh, ugh.”

When I gently stuck out my tongue and licked Claire’s cheek, it tasted slightly salty. As our eyes, Claire’s blue and gold eyes, met, Claire squeezed her eyes shut and said.

“Th-there are too many people here…! L-later! When it’s just the two of us!”

“Yes?”

I haven’t touched or squeezed her yet.

However, seeing Claire’s strong refusal, I had no choice but to get off her. Claire sighed in relief, touching her red face.

Anyway, the chick pajamas were cute, but they weren’t very suitable for everyday wear. The name itself means ‘pajamas,’ doesn’t it? It didn’t quite fit the current purpose of finding clothes for Ur.

“I’ll buy this. How much is it?”

But the cuteness was undeniable, so I ended up paying for two pairs of chick pajamas.

… Even if she doesn’t wear them normally, she can wear them when she sleeps.

I picked up Ur, who had been rubbed by Irina while wearing the chick pajamas, and held her. Then, Ur, held in my arms, began to cry very sadly, like a lost child.

“Ur?”

“Master, I was wrong, please separate me from that crazy woman, please….”

Her expression was so contradictory and pitiful, smiling brightly due to the command while tears flowed from her eyes. I quickly withdrew the command I had given Ur.

“Ur, you don’t have to smile anymore.”

“Hic….”

Ur’s face changed instantly. The smile that had been beaming moments ago disappeared, replaced by tears. Tears flowed from her pure white eyes-

I licked Ur’s tears.

“Eek?!”

… It took several more minutes for Ur to calm down.

——

“Hic….”

“Are you done crying?”

“Yes….”

The moment she answered, Ur startled and pulled her face away from my embrace, shouting.

“N-no! I wasn’t crying!!”

“But you were crying-“

“I WAS NOT CRYING!! Ur has never cried!! Ur is a great Death Knight, she doesn’t cry like a child!!!”

Ur vehemently denied it with a look of shame. But no matter how much she said it wasn’t true, the tear stains on my chest were too clear.

Lying is bad, so I said to Ur.

“Ur-“

“Ur, don’t lie.”

“Ur cried!!”

Ur seemed to not know what she had just said for a moment, then realized what she had said and began to struggle violently.

“No!! Ur ‘cried’… No, ‘cried’… Ur, ‘cried’…!!”

“Tell me the truth, Ur.”

“‘Ur, despite being a Death Knight of considerable age, buried her face in Master’s embrace and cried profusely like a child’!!!!”

“Oh.”

Ur touched her mouth several times.

Then, without a word, she leaned her body against me. Her appearance, as if she had turned to white ash, suggested she had neither the strength to speak nor to lift herself.

In front of me, as I quietly stroked Ur’s head, Claire said.

“You’re not doing that on purpose, are you?”

“What?”

“… No.”

When I placed my tail on her head, Claire closed her mouth and leaned against me.

-You’re only paying attention to the child, and I’m in the background, aren’t I?

-I’m sorry Rena, it wasn’t on purpose…! Ugh!

Meanwhile, Irina and Rena were kissing in the corner for some reason. It’s common sense not to disturb people kissing, so I waited for them to finish.

By the time I had twisted Ur’s white hair this way and that, eventually making a white ball of yarn, the two returned to us.

Irina lifted her head and said. Her ivory hair swayed with her head.

“Then shall we try on the other clothes too?!”

“Yes. But you remember we need to find everyday clothes too, right?”

“… Of course!”

“Yes, let’s hurry.”

We headed towards where other clothes were.