Episode 348. Harmonious Sisters (3)

“Let’s say you’re right, and that woman is a Succubus. I don’t know much about Succubi, but aren’t they that kind of creature that drives men wild?”

“…Well, um. It’s not necessarily like that.”

Avoiding Alice’s eyes, I unnecessarily popped an apple into my mouth.

Even so, I couldn’t sell out Liliana.

Rather, it’s better for me to become trash. Since I was already trash, there’s no impact.

“That’s not important. For now, let’s talk about Pandemic.”

“I don’t know what Pandemic has to do with you, but… okay.”

I put Liliana’s story aside and started explaining, doing my best so Alice could understand.

I summoned Liliana with a contract from the Underworld, which I luckily obtained from the black market, and simultaneously became bound by the contract, putting me in a position where I had to take responsibility for Liliana.

And I found out the apostle summoned in Pandemic came from the same Underworld as Liliana, which is why I chased the Centaur.

Alice, who heard my words, nodded and opened her mouth.

“…Honestly, I don’t understand most of it.”

“Really? Ask me anything you want to know.”

I tried my best to explain, but as expected, since they were completely new concepts, it seems she couldn’t understand.

Especially parts like the Underworld or apostles, she probably couldn’t grasp.

If you ask modern people if they know about the Underworld, they’ll just tell you to piss off.

“I don’t know about the existence of Succubi… and this is the first time I’ve heard of an Underworld contract. Besides, just because Succubi and Centaurs came from the same place doesn’t mean you should try to capture a Centaur; I don’t understand the motive.”

“…”

Alice pointed out precisely the parts I had glossed over.

“And, one more thing before that.”

“Yeah.”

“What exactly is your relationship with Scarlet? Even if I assume she threw herself in front of you for the sake of succeeding in the Centaur capture operation, the reactions afterward were ones that couldn’t happen unless you knew each other originally. Her reaction, and yours too.”

“That’s right. Scarlet and I knew each other before the operation.”

The moment Scarlet took the hit for me, being suspected was unavoidable.

Especially if it was Alice who saw Liliana’s reaction, she would suspect even more.

“How? Where did you meet? In France? Don’t tell me you did something when she guided you to the Iris Guild?!”

“…No. I caught Scarlet tailing me in Korea. When I caught her and asked, she happened to be from the Iris Guild, so we started helping each other.”

Alice frowned slightly.

Probably something was bothering her.

The first time I met Scarlet was when she was tailing me on Alice’s orders.

She was anxious, worried that her secret was exposed.

‘It’s better to tell a white lie here.’

There’s no need to pressure Alice, and I have to consider Scarlet’s position too.

She’s the widely recognized ace of the Iris Guild.

“…Maybe you used Scarlet to steal information from the Iris Guild?”

“No. I haven’t heard anything about the Iris Guild. Scarlet is an excellent assassin, so I only received help when I needed to do some dirty work in Korea. Besides, I didn’t need information about the Iris Guild, so I never asked.”

“…Really?”

★ Heroine Status Window

[Alice]

─ [ Affection : 98 ] ( + 0.1 )

─ [ Lust : 85 ]

─ [ Appetite : 30 ]

─ [ Fatigue : 30 ]

Current Status: If she knew I demanded information, wouldn’t she get angry? Seeing her stay quiet, she seems sincere.

Alice seemed to be pondering, but ultimately, she wouldn’t suspect me.

It must be the difference between men and women.

Actually, men don’t get that angry even if a woman sees their naked body.

If it’s a pretty woman, some men might even want to show it off.

Women can never understand that sensibility.

‘Or maybe not?’

Since I haven’t lived as another man, maybe it’s just me.

Anyway, I’m fine.

That’s what’s important.

I naturally continued speaking.

“Anything else you’re curious about?”

“…You said it yourself. Not just information about the Underworld, but you also needed information about Pandemic.”

“That’s right.”

As much as I was obsessed with capturing the Centaur, the reason that Liliana shared the same hometown wasn’t enough. Therefore, I sold out Pandemic a bit.

“Why? What does Pandemic have to do with you?”

“Uh… um.”

Actually, I had considered it several times.

‘This world is a game, and I have an obligation to conquer you all.’

‘If not, the world will be destroyed.’

‘Increasing the number of women is unavoidable.’

I thought about confessing honestly like that, or persuading her by mixing lies and truths appropriately, but… no matter how I thought about it, it just didn’t make sense.

The idea that one’s life is a game is something they wouldn’t accept logically.

If I hide the fact that it’s a game, the means of persuasion disappear entirely.

I can’t show them my quests and status window.

And I also think of this world as real.

The people here are not data but living, breathing humans.

That kind of thinking should actually be eliminated.

“Pandemic… I just did it incidentally. They’re bad guys, so it’s good to deal with them.”

In the end, I uttered a stupid excuse out loud.

No matter how I thought about it, there was no excuse.

Even if I said grand things about saving the world, I’d just be treated like a lunatic.

“It would be good to catch them, sure. But I don’t understand. Why do you have to do it?”

“Tell me about it.”

I hate it too.

How nice would it be to just live peacefully and play around with women?

But I can’t help it.

In the end, I’m destined to catch the Demon King and the Maestro.

Alice, hearing my answer, seemed even more puzzled and opened her mouth.

“…This is really strange. Maybe you’re not having weird thoughts about trying to become a hero, are you?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything dangerous.”

“I’m not worried, I’m just dumbfounded. Seeing you spout nonsense, you seem like a normal person… sigh.”

Alice shook her head and sat up.

Letting out a small groan, Alice stretched and continued speaking.

“I actually have a lot of questions. I’m curious about the source of your vast information, and about that place called the Underworld. I have many questions about Succubi too. But I won’t pry.”

“You trust me.”

“It’s less about trust and more like… sigh, I don’t know.”

Alice shook her head with a frustrated expression.

You’re going to take my side anyway, so why pretend otherwise? Huh?

This tsundere brat.

“…What’s with that look?”

“It’s nothing.”

As expected, she’s quick-witted.

Fortunately, since I seem to have vaguely explained things, shall I change the subject?

“Speaking of which, you used magic incredibly well during the Centaur capture operation. Didn’t you have any side effects?”

“Ah… right. I have something to say about that too.”

Alice leaned back against the headboard of the bed and conjured mana in her hand.

Pahak-

Soon, a sphere of mana began to form in her palm, and the completed mana sphere was clear even to my eyes.

Alice looked at me and smiled confidently.

“Now I can do this too.”

“…Alice, can I have your wrist for a moment?”

“Huh?”

I grabbed Alice’s wrist and quickly checked the mana inside her body.

Surprisingly, Alice’s mana circuits had returned to almost normal levels.

Perhaps on the very day I gave her the massage, using an immense amount of mana actually improved things further.

“At this level, isn’t this near normal?”

“That’s right. It feels like I’ve completely… returned now. I’ve never felt like this before.”

“You’re this healthy, so why are you hospitalized?”

“…I don’t know either.”

Normally, she would complain even about me touching her body, but she seems incredibly happy.

Seeing her so happy makes me feel good too.

Alice looked at the mana sphere shining in her hand as if it were a marvel.

Seeing Alice, who was also feeling good, I smiled.

“Definitely, that seems right. If we refine it a little more, we can consider it a full recovery, right? I didn’t expect such a quick recovery.”

“…What did you say?”

Alice dispelled the mana and widened her eyes.

What the? Why the sudden change?

“Huh?”

“What did you just say?”

“I said I didn’t expect such a quick recovery.”

“No, before that.”

“You mean when you said it would be a full recovery with a little more refinement? Because you’ve almost reached normal levels.”

“…This isn’t a full recovery?”

“Of course not. Didn’t you know?”

“I had no idea. I thought because of that… massage the other night, I was completely cured.”

“Hmm.”

You thought you were cured because of the sex the night before the Centaur capture operation.

Well, since I massaged you for a long time that day, it did have a significant effect.

As I got stronger, my massage skills also improved.

But it’s not a full recovery yet.

Because I can probably expand the mana circuits a little more.

…Wait a second.

This looks like another opportunity.

I clenched and unclenched my fists, looked at Alice, who was feeling her mana, and slowly began to speak.

“Still, when you use mana, don’t you feel a sense of stuffiness?”

“Definitely… I guess so. Can you get rid of this feeling too?”

For the record, I don’t know either whether she feels stuffy or not.

However, Alice, who was just starting to use mana properly, tends to think, ‘Is it really like that?’ if I say so.

It’s similar to personality tests online.

If you write something anyone can relate to, it feels like it’s really true.

“Getting rid of that feeling depends on your effort. I can only help by expanding the mana circuits and assisting.”

“…Do you have time today?”

Alice looked at me cautiously.

From those eyes, I sensed the desire for a massage.

‘It worked!’

If it were up to me, I’d jump into bed right away, but there’s something I need to decide first.

“I’m fine, but… we need to set our schedule first. Since I was the only one talking, we haven’t decided on a schedule. Are you not going to the Academy and staying in France?”

“Ah, just a moment.”

Alice nodded and turned on her smartwatch.

Then, looking at the hologram monitor that appeared before her, she started moving her fingers.

Tok- Tok-tok-

“What are you doing?”

“Just a moment. Almost done.”

Is she contacting Isaac?

I waited for Alice while eating the cute apple next to me.

But this thing is beautifully carved.

Among the rabbit-shaped apples I’ve ever seen, this is the prettiest.

While I was admiring the apple, Alice spoke to me.

“I decided we’ll go back on Thursday.”

“Thursday?”

“Yeah. You said that was okay too.”

“That’s true, but… is it ending this quickly?”

“I texted my dad.”

“Oh…”

Seeing it ended so quickly, maybe she used her charm?

Seeing her brow slightly furrowed, it seems likely.

Alice turned off her smartwatch and met my eyes.

“…How many times do you think it’ll take?”

“You mean the massage, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Uh… three times?”

I quickly scrambled my thoughts.

Once is too little. Pass.

Twice?

Twice feels a bit lacking.

But if I said too many times, I felt like I’d get cursed at again, so I said about three times, which seemed reasonable.

“That sounds like a lie.”

“…What are you talking about? When have I ever lied?”

“Your eyes just twitched.”

“…”

Is this how the heroines notice my lies?

I need to be careful with my eyes from now on.

I put force into my eyes and continued speaking.

“If I did it for over ten hours at once, once might be enough, but people don’t usually do that, so I was thinking about that.”

“…Really? Okay.”

“Yeah, yeah. So, are we going to do it right now? When are you checking out?”

“I don’t know either. What’s certain is I’ll be here today, so it’s fine. Since Unnie also went to work, she won’t be back for at least a few hours.”

I nodded and smiled slightly.

Even after doing that yesterday, she wants to do it again; even though it’s my body, it’s truly amazing.

“You won’t do anything weird today, right?”

“…Yeah.”

But Alice’s next words deflated me.

Massage.

Of course, massage is good too.

But what can I do when I’ve already experienced the real thing?

Before I experienced it, I was satisfied even with a massage, but after experiencing Alice’s voluptuous body, I could no longer be satisfied just by touching.

‘If I touch her enough, maybe she’ll allow it.’

Or should I do it naturally like last time?

If I do that again this time, I’ll probably get cursed out badly…

As I was seriously contemplating, Alice’s voice was heard.

“Or… is that weird massage really effective?”

“Well… it would be good if we did, but I’m not forcing you. It’s your choice.”

I want to do it.

My eyes sparkled as I appealed to Alice.

Maybe she’ll understand if I appeal this much.

“…If anything, I wish you’d just say it directly. Men shouldn’t beat around the bush.”

“It’s better to do it. I can fix it properly. Just trust me, Alice.”

“Sigh, fine. I’ll leave it to you.”

Alice chuckled, as if she knew it would happen, and started taking off her patient gown.