Ch.297Side Story: Hidden Intentions

“…!!!”

I woke up with a death cry. I had quite a strange dream.

It was a dream where I had all my limbs cut off while being cared for by the women around me, with someone saying limbs weren’t necessary for intimate activities. Considering I spent the entire dream doing such things even after losing my limbs, it seemed that what I needed to do during vacation remained unchanged, whether in dreams or reality.

After confirming that both my arms and legs were still attached, I carefully stretched. No matter how much healing magic exists, and no matter how many beneficial elixirs I consume, difficult things remain difficult.

Though thanks to those elixirs, physical fatigue is practically nonexistent, so it’s mostly psychological.

‘How many times did I do it this week?’

I can barely remember not when I last had intimate relations, but when I last had any rest. No matter what I did or where I went, I always seemed to have at least two women by my side.

As they took turns, the others diligently recovered and built up their desires, only to cling to me again when their turn came around as if nothing had happened—a repeating cycle. I was the only one who couldn’t rest.

Especially Erestica, whose libido seemed several times greater than others, matching her large frame, or Nika, who simply enjoyed lewd things as a racial trait—they could literally suck out my soul.

‘I have to do it, what choice do I have?’

I don’t regret it. This is the path I chose, after all. To avoid disappointing the women around me, I have no choice but to get used to it—no, beyond that, I have to learn to enjoy it.

Making that resolution inwardly, I covered Elisier and Rosaria, who were sleeping on either side of me, with blankets before leaving the bed.

Before leaving, I didn’t forget to drink the elixir that had become part of my daily routine. Erestica had raided the imperial treasury to get it, and apparently the Emperor shed tears of blood knowing what it would be used for.

Of course, that’s an exaggerated expression, since I’m the one who restored his youth, and he already acknowledges me. If it were true, Erestica or Laura would have gotten an earful.

“…Good. That’s it for today.”

After emptying a cup of lukewarm milk placed next to the elixir—I could easily guess who made it and why—I left the room. Their turns were over anyway, so I planned to let the two sleep as they were.

“Good morning, special human.”

“Hmph. Good morning.”

As I entered the central hall, the Celestial Goddess and Demon Goddess, who were devouring stacks of cake slices since morning, greeted me.

The Celestial Goddess was smiling sweetly as always, but the Demon Goddess seemed displeased about something, puffing her cheeks and huffing without properly making eye contact.

“You seem to enjoy the cakes from my household just fine, so what’s bothering you, Demon Goddess?”

“Ah! My cake! What are you doing?!”

I asked while snatching one of the cakes from her plate. The Demon Goddess widened her eyes in shock and began pounding my arms in retaliation.

Seeing that I showed not even the slightest reaction to her attacks, the Demon Goddess, with her lips protruding several inches, resumed eating her cake.

“So, what’s the problem?”

“I understand you’re trying hard, but can’t you at least live like a normal person? Even for someone like you, using your strength like that will quickly wear your body down. Is it so difficult to rest at least one day, no, two days a week?”

It was a more ordinary concern than I expected. As I stood there surprised, the Celestial Goddess on the opposite side chuckled.

“My sister is worried about you, special human. She’s afraid you might get sick. But she’s too embarrassed to express her concern directly, so she says it in a roundabout way.”

“Ah, so that’s it? You should have just said so.”

“Equinox! Don’t speak so carelessly— W-what are you doing?! Let me go!”

I approached the Demon Goddess, slipped my hands under her armpits, and lifted her high. Caught helplessly, she flailed her short limbs.

“I’m just touched that you’re worried about me while pretending not to be. Should I praise you for it?”

“I wasn’t! I don’t care if you get drained to death! Just put me down quickly!”

Her tiny palms slapped against my forearms, making light smacking sounds. It was futile resistance unless she used demonic magic. I laughed as I repeatedly lifted her high and lowered her slightly.

“…What are you doing so early in the morning?”

“Mira is showing affection to our daughter. It’s a very good sign.”

Leona and Latina, who had just entered the central hall, each made a comment upon seeing this. Leona looked slightly dumbfounded, while Latina seemed inexplicably proud.

“Why am I your daughter, nun?! Don’t say such strange things!”

The Demon Goddess was horrified, but Latina remained confident.

“You were born in a form resembling us when the three of us merged our bodies. So it’s fine to call you our daughter.”

“Eek… eeeek…”

Though it might sound strange, there was nothing incorrect or exaggerated about the statement, so the Demon Goddess could only tremble in response.

I put her down on the floor. With her cheeks fully puffed, she stomped on my foot once, huffed indignantly, and sat down in front of her cake plate. Latina naturally sat beside her. Leona sat next to the Celestial Goddess.

Latina speared a piece of cake with her fork, held it out to the Demon Goddess, and said:

“Come on, call me mother. Mother.”

“I won’t! Do you think I’m crazy?!”

“Then just pretend you’re crazy and do it once.”

“I’m not crazy! I’m perfectly sane!”

The Demon Goddess jumped when the expressionlessly offered chocolate cake touched her lips. While the two were bickering, the Celestial Goddess and Leona awkwardly glanced at each other.

“W-would you like some strawberry cake, Goddess?”

“I’ll g-gratefully accept.”

The awkward atmosphere spread to their side due to the Demon Goddess and Latina. Then the Celestial Goddess spoke first.

“I-I could call you mother if the hero wants me to.”

“Wh-what?! Huh? R-really?! I mean, is that so?!”

A violent reaction came from across the table, though for different reasons than the other two. Leona jumped up, and the Celestial Goddess, seeming to realize what she had just said, blushed even more intensely.

Meanwhile, the bickering had ended. After about three minutes of hunger strike, the Demon Goddess had achieved victory and was now sitting on Latina’s lap, nibbling on the piece of cake offered as a sign of surrender.

“You failed after all, Latina.”

“It’s fine, there will always be other opportunities. No tree falls with just one hundred strikes. If a hundred isn’t enough, I’ll strike a thousand or ten thousand times.”

“Hmph, go ahead and try all you want. See if I ever give in.”

I don’t think the Demon Goddess had this kind of image when she first manifested. Is she actually becoming childlike in mentality because Latina and others treat her like a child?

“Look, hero. My sister is becoming more and more of a textbook tsundere. I bet she’ll soon be saying lines like ‘I-it’s not like I did this for you or anything!'”

Latina intercepted the Demon Goddess as she was about to growl again. Her mouth was stuffed full of strawberry and chocolate cake pieces. Her mouth began to chew the cake.

“Just you two? Where are the others?”

“Erestica said she’d return before her next turn and stepped out for a while. Nika also briefly returned to the demon realm. She says she’s busy going back and forth.”

“Both have their positions, so it can’t be helped. What about Laura and Priscilla?”

“In Priscilla’s room.”

“Just the two of them? That’s unusual. They’re not discussing anything strange, are they?”

“…”

“Th-they’re just taking a break!”

At my casually thrown question, Latina hesitated and closed her mouth, while Leona similarly paused before hurriedly answering. Latina nodded a beat late.

“Y-yes, they’re both just resting for a while.”

“Why do you look like that if they’re just resting?”

I was confused by their obviously flustered expressions.

I was about to go check on them but stopped. Something felt suspicious. Just moments ago they had been visibly flustered, but now they were sitting calmly as if they didn’t mind me going to check.

If they could be this composed now, their earlier surprise made no sense. It was worth testing. I pretended to head for the door but instead opened a dimensional door leading directly to Priscilla’s room.

“So next time, with swimsuits— Huh?”

“Not swimsuits, but cosplay— What?”

“…”

And there I found Laura and Priscilla engaged in discussion with piles of books stacked around them. The moment they spotted me through the dimensional door, they froze.

Leaving the two frozen in place, I examined the books on the floor. They were all erotic books—the kind you might find at otaku events in Japan or Korea.

Every cover was extreme. Swimsuits, cosplay, casual clothes, poses that deliberately emphasized buttocks or breasts. They went beyond lewd to almost vulgar.

Though I’d be a hypocrite to judge, since I’d tried some of these things myself.

“Mira, why are you here…? How…?”

Priscilla looked behind me with trembling eyes. That’s where Latina and Leona were. Some kind of deal had definitely taken place.

“I heard you two were in Priscilla’s room, so I came to see. But…”

I picked up one of the books at my feet. It showed two women in swimsuits, squeezing oil onto their bodies while approaching in a crawling position.

Judging by the cover and title, it seemed to be about two women in swimsuits rubbing oil on their chests and using them to clean a man’s body before doing… that sort of thing.

I picked up another book. The cover prominently featured toes in stockings, suggesting the content would be along those lines. I quietly closed it and put it back on the floor.

Both Priscilla and even Laura, who was usually confident in her tastes, couldn’t hide their dismay.

“Whose idea was this?”

“Laura’s…”

“Priscilla’s…”

Without a moment’s hesitation, they sold each other out, then blinked and looked at each other.

In other words, they were accomplices.

“Ah, so that’s what happened.”

Nika, who returned late for lunch, looked puzzled at the dejected Laura, Priscilla, Leona, and Latina, but burst into laughter after hearing what had happened.

There was a reason Leona and Latina had acted that way. They had come prepared, working with the other two to arrange signals in case I headed toward the room.

They had made all these preparations but were startled because my casual question had hit the mark.

“If you had asked me, I could have told you what works best. My subordinates have tried all these plays at least once.”

“…”

At those words, the dejected gazes shifted to focus on Nika. She smiled seductively while swishing her tail.