Ch.78Training the NPC (4)

For the first time in a long while, I feel like I’ve woken up after a truly happy sleep.

I gently embrace the warm, soft sensation against my chest, careful not to disturb it, and in return, small arms wrap around my body.

Pulling my head down slightly to breathe in, I find the familiar scent brings peace to my heart.

I instinctively know the sun has already risen, but that awareness only makes me want to stay like this longer. As I consider drifting back into a second sleep, the little red angel in my arms seems to share my thoughts, nuzzling her face against my chest before exhaling softly and resuming her steady breathing.

‘Ah. This is happiness.’

Just as I begin to sink back into sleep, healing my tired body and mind…

-Knock knock knock.

‘…Who could that be.’

Though my mind is almost fully awake, I deliberately ignore it, wanting to enjoy this rare moment of leisurely rest.

I’ve already told Ragni, Rey, and Gore that if they enter our room while we’re sleeping, I’ll really leave them behind. If they don’t want to be abandoned, they’ll know to stay away.

With that thought, I ignore the knocking and try to shut down my consciousness again, but…

-Knock knock.

“Um, excuse me. Sorry to disturb your sleep, Jack. If you’re awake, could you come out for a moment? Green Doll has been here since morning saying he wants to meet you…”

…Sigh. I exhale deeply, keeping my voice low so Ira in my arms won’t hear, then slowly detach her from my body and get up.

Really. While she always looks angelic, my little sister breathing softly now would truly look like a fairy or angel from a painting if she only had wings.

Of course, she looks like an angel normally too!!

“What’s so important this early in the morning?”

“Well, he said he met you yesterday, and there’s something he needs to discuss about what happened after…”

Walking down the short hallway to the living room, I ask Rey, but all I learn is that not much was discussed.

When I enter the living room, Green Doll, who had been sitting in a chair, jumps to his feet upon seeing me.

“Didn’t you see Miho last night?!”

“I saw you yesterday.”

“No! After that, she went after you, and I’m asking if you happened to meet her!”

“I don’t know. Wait, is she fast enough to give even Green Doll the slip?”

“Maybe because she’s a tiger beastkin, but her stealth and speed at night are so good that even I, an elf, have trouble tracking her unless we’re in a forest.”

I see. So in a forest, you could track her? Come to think of it, yesterday she wasn’t visible to Ragni in the mountains, and in the city, only Gore noticed her while I remained completely unaware.

Thanks to that, I nearly fell headfirst onto our house’s rooftop.

She said she’d protect my waist, but I didn’t know that meant nearly blowing my head off.

“Heh heh. This is serious. She may be well-developed, but she doesn’t know much about the outside world, so I’m worried something might have happened to her in the middle of the night.”

“Come on. She moves fast enough to evade even Green Doll, and she seems to be doing well as an adventurer. Is there really cause for concern?”

“Even so, she’s still at a child’s level. In front of a strong person like you, she’s literally a day-old puppy.”

Wait, isn’t she a tiger though? I suppress the retort that almost escapes and sit down at the table, while Rey naturally serves us tea.

“Thanks.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. But what makes you think that Miho, that perv—I mean, that white tiger beastkin, might be in trouble?”

“It’s not a grand reason, but she originally said she had two things to ask me yesterday. One is… something you already know about, and she disappeared without mentioning the other one.”

Something I know about. So, that nonsense about asking Green Doll to defeat me?

Green Doll, seemingly not wanting her likability to drop further with our party, gives me a look asking me not to mention it to Rey.

But what can I do? I already told everyone about it last night.

“What’s the other thing?”

“Well, I don’t know either since I didn’t get to hear it. But I’ve been looking for her all morning and can’t find her anywhere. It seems she’s gone outside the city, but because she moved at night, I can’t find any traces.”

“Well, that’s her business, I suppose. She’s not a child. Oh, by the way, Green Doll. How is Rey’s sword training coming along?”

“Huh?”

Honestly, since I know the white tiger beastkin probably chased Gore outside the city, I have zero interest in this conversation and immediately change the subject.

At my question, Green Doll tilts his head and looks at Rey. Huh? Why?

“Haven’t you told him?”

“Shh!!”

“Hm? What? What’s wrong? Is something not going well?”

“No! Everything’s fine! It’s going very well! Don’t worry about that part! It’s an opportunity Jack gave me?! I’m doing extremely well!!”

Seeing Rey waving her arms exaggeratedly, I frown and look at Green Doll, who shakes his head and speaks.

“She said she’d tell you herself, so I’m keeping my mouth shut. Nothing’s going badly. Rather, on the contr—”

“Stop!!!”

“Ouch.”

Even with just this much, I can tell things are going well, but why doesn’t she want to tell me?

Rey reaches out to cover Green Doll’s mouth, but he easily avoids her hand by turning his head slightly, then stands up.

“Anyway, just know that I’ve fulfilled all the compensation I promised you. And if you happen to see Miho…”

“I should tell her to find Green Doll at the Casino [Game Room], right?”

“Yes, please do.”

Having said that, Green Doll quickly finishes his tea and turns to leave.

“Ah! Green Doll.”

“Yes?”

“We’ll be departing for [Aiti] tomorrow.”

“Oh? That’s sudden.”

“Yes, it turned out that way. We plan to head to the [Spirit Demon Country] as soon as Ira’s position is secured. Just so you know.”

“Hmm? Didn’t you say it would be a year?”

“I did, but I’ve changed my mind.”

Yesterday, Ira was worried about me leaving her side for half a year. As a brother who loves his sister, resolving that worry is my priority.

Once Ira’s entrance exam is over and I confirm the safety of our surroundings, I’ll go straight to Siltra and do what she wants. If it’s the same as the main quest in the game, I can just go there, throw a few punches, and solve the problem.

There’s no reason to slowly work through it by choosing options, raising affection, and following quests step by step.

I have no connection or relation to it—I’ll just go and smash the main quest.

“Hmm. That’s good news for me too, so I’ll keep it in mind. Well, I’ll be going now. Oh, I need to use my VVIP points in advance…”

After muttering to himself and disappearing, I turned around.

“Big brotherrr, where are you going agaaain?”

“Today I’m planning to go shopping outside with Ira. So you need to wash up now, okay?”

“Eh, shopping?”

“Yes, shopping.”

“Hehehe… But, big brother, where’s Gore?”

Ira approaches me, rubbing her eyes and looking around for Gore.

Hmm, where could she be? She might be having fun riding mountains with a white cat right now.

Well, I’m sure she’s handling it fine. But it’s interesting that Ira is looking for Gore first thing after waking up. She must have grown quite attached to Gore…

“Where’s Gore? I want her to wash me. I’m going out with big brother.”

Oh, that’s not it. She’s just looking for the person who usually helps her bathe.

I picked Ira up and headed to the washroom.

*

[…Was I too harsh?]

The sun had risen in the sky. It wasn’t yet at its zenith, but it was certainly bright enough to be called daytime.

Gore was looking at the beast beneath her feet, who could no longer even produce human speech, feeling guilty for having “enjoyed” the “training” too much.

[I understand now why a woman would touch another woman’s body. But what should I do about this?]

She thought she could just leave her there, but it was obvious this woman was no longer in her right mind.

“Grrrr. Woof, woof, woof… Grrrr.”

The actions she had reportedly done to Ragni—grabbing her chest, sniffing her, trying to put her tail between her legs.

Gore knew clearly that these were perverted sexual acts, and she had intended to return the favor.

Of course, she hadn’t meant to touch her in a sexual way, but rather to demonstrate ironically how uncomfortable such behavior makes others feel. But she had taken a different approach, and the effect had been too strong.

-Rub rub.

“Grrrr. Grrrr.”

[This is bad. It’s gone beyond just a communication problem.]

From the middle of it, the woman had clearly begged for mercy, crying until she wet herself, but Gore hadn’t stopped.

Yes, she had implemented what she knew to be the most distressing yet relatively mild torture: tickling.

Moreover, using her transformable slime body, she had tickled every nook and cranny—between the breasts, between the legs, between the buttocks, and from the base of the tail to its very tip. She had tickled her until she was on the verge of passing out.

And at some point, this woman had started begging for her life, saying she would serve Gore as her master.

That she would never be rude again. That she would be Gore’s dog. That she admitted defeat. That she would do anything.

But at some point, Gore had noticed that her own reactions were becoming ‘enjoyable,’ and she couldn’t stop.

And the result…

“Grrrrrr. Woof! Woof!!”

[…A dog? Aren’t you a feline?]

“Grrrr.”

-Rub, rub.

Looking at the white tiger beastkin who had not only submitted but lost her human speech, now rubbing her face against Gore’s leg and purring like a pet showing affection, Gore naturally clutched her head.

[…The master is definitely going to scold me for this, isn’t he?]

Envisioning a future where she would be scolded for real—not the punishment she desired, which was more like a reward—Gore sent only her status window clone to Jack, then stroked the tiger woman’s chin.

[I guess I’ll have to tell the master I’ve brought him another female as a gift. I can’t think of any other solution.]

As the true “female” beast rolled over to expose her belly and panted at Gore’s touch, Gore looked up at the blue sky above.