Chapter 41: After the Rain, a Landslide

Since Chris went missing, there haven’t been any major incidents. The food stall was successfully handed over thanks to a new replacement being found, and our Master is now focusing on training new engineers.

Meanwhile, Kasai-san has been regularly visiting the village to teach martial arts, and it seems his relationship with Chris has quickly deepened—they’ve officially started dating.

Some of the village boys have taken to glaring at him, but all in all, the two seem happy together, so we’re relieved on our end too.

---

“Come to think of it, I wonder what Makoto’s going to do about a house. Will he build one in the village?”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself. It’s not like they’re getting married...”

It’s a pajama party—just us girls, with Master deliberately excluded. We’re hanging out in Lulu’s room, nibbling on snacks, chatting, and playing games like it’s no big deal.

Lulu spoke while gazing out the window toward the annex. Today’s actually the first time Chris is staying over at Kasai-san’s place, so our little pack of carnivores is full of curiosity.

“Young Lady, if she’s okay with that kind of relationship, then marriage is probably already on the horizon, don’t you think?”

...Please don’t say such terrifying things so casually.

I’m not looking that far into the future. Our relationship is strictly Master and slave, or maybe courtesan and client—no, actually, let’s not. If I keep going down this train of thought, I’m going to dig myself into a hole I can’t climb out of.

“By now, the two of them must be swimming in the white sea, huh—”

“What kind of twisted metaphor is that...?”

Even with that half-dreamy, girlish expression, the undeniable fact remains: Fere is a total pervert. Why must she say things in such a roundabout way?

“I wanna swim in the white sea with Sora toooo!”

“Catch and release it is.”

I grab the incoming torpedo and toss her over my shoulder in a classic hip throw, launching her onto the bed behind me. Nailed the center perfectly, if I may say so myself. For the record, all the beds in our home are at least queen-sized to make it easier for anyone to sleep over. Master’s bed? It’s the king of king-sized beds.

“Eek!”

The carnivorous fish squeals in delight as she dives into the white sea, flopping and wriggling around on the sheets. Just go ahead and return to the great ocean of nature already.

“Come now, Young Lady, I’m not done brushing your hair. Stop wriggling.”

“Mmkay...”

Even though we successfully defeated the lake’s guardian, somehow I ended up getting scolded. This is definitely part of some conspiracy...

Bang bang!

While Yuria was brushing my hair and I sat sulking, the door was suddenly banged on, loud and hard. Normally, Master knows to give us space during pajama parties—he’ll either spend some quiet time alone or randomly abduct me somewhere along the way and keep me locked up until morning, but he never barges in...

“Yes, yes~? Who is it?”

Lulu, clearly just as puzzled, walked toward the door and called out. Opening the door without checking first would be dangerous, after all.

“It’s me! Chris!”

...That was an unexpected player entering the game.

…What on earth happened?

---

The moment she burst into the room, Chris declared—clearly in a foul mood—that she wanted to join the pajama party too. I quietly slipped out, saying I’d go grab some snacks and drinks for our new guest, but my real goal was to investigate what actually happened. I headed toward the living room, where I could sense someone was still around.

On the large living room sofa, designed to accommodate a family of six comfortably, sat Master and Kasai-san. There wasn’t any alcohol on the table, yet Kasai-san was slumped over it, quietly sobbing.

Master noticed me hesitating at the entrance, unsure of the situation, and beckoned me over.

After giving a small nod, I carefully sat down beside him so as not to provoke Kasai-san. He turned his empty gaze toward me—eyes void of life, like a bottomless abyss.

“Eep.”

My instincts screamed danger, and I clung to Master without thinking. He gently stroked my back and leaned close to whisper in my ear.

“…He’s really delicate right now. Best not to set him off.”

“What happened…?”

“I can’t be the one to say.”

You don’t make a face that hopeless over something trivial, you know? He looks like a middle-aged man who just found out the fiancée he dated for three years and planned a wedding with has been arrested for marriage fraud.

“You’ve got it good… You girls, all close and happy…”

Kasai-san’s voice spilled out, low and filled with pure resentment, as if it came crawling up from the depths of hell. I admit, it’s a bit scary.

“Yeah, this is no good. Better retreat before he sets his sights on you. Otherwise, I’ll have to drag you to my room and devour you.”

“Strategic retreat it is!”

I slipped out of Master’s grasp, retrieved a milk pot and cookie jar from the kitchen, and placed them neatly on a tray. Then I quickly dashed away from the danger zone and headed upstairs with a light step.

“Ahahaha!”

“M-Makoto-san, that’s way too much...!”

“Classic Mako-chan.”

“I’m back...? What did I miss?”

When I returned to the room, everyone except Chris was bursting into laughter. As for Chris, it looked like she was the butt of the joke—her cheeks were puffed out in frustration, and she seemed absolutely furious.

“Ugh, this isn’t funny at all!”

“What happened, exactly?”

“I-I mean, it’s, um…”

I was honestly curious, so I asked. Chris, still sulking, didn’t answer, but Lulu stepped in to explain.

“They had dinner, drank a little, the mood was getting nice, and they got into bed together—up to that point, things were going fine. But then, at the critical moment…”

“At the moment…?”

Did he make some kind of huge mistake? I felt bad for Chris, but the little wicked rubbernecking horse that lives in my heart was whispering for me to listen in.

And I couldn’t ignore it. After all, the noble horse that once lived in my heart had long since been driven out—by Master’s hand.

“Makoto-san just... stopped reacting altogether!”

Pffft.

I nearly dropped the entire tray. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but then he suddenly choked at the finish line? That’s… impressively pathetic. He might be more of a wildcard than I thought.

No wonder he looked like he’d seen the end of the world. I couldn’t help but laugh, but... if he found out we were all making fun of him, he might genuinely off himself. Better tread carefully for now. I’ll be a little nicer to him until he bounces back.

“So Mako-chan really was a floppy wiener.”

“Fere, that’s exactly the kind of line you should never say within earshot of him.”

You might just press the power button on his life. …I hope it’s not permanent ED.

---

In the end, Chris didn’t go back to Kasai-san’s place and stayed over in Lulu’s room instead. While the rest of us quietly pitied the seemingly inevitable breakup, Kasai-san appeared the next morning brimming with confidence.

For some reason, the fool left us with the bold declaration, “Next time, I won’t lose,” his face full of resolve. Then he coaxed the still-pouting Chris into going on a date with him. The day after that, we saw them walking home hand in hand, so it seems they managed to make up after all.

“So… what exactly did you do?”

I asked while sipping hot milk with Master, recalling the sight of the two walking close together as they headed back toward the village not long ago. Lulu and Yuria had gone into the village to deliver soap and other goods, and Fere had gone off on another expedition to the lake, so it was unusually quiet.

“Well, with that sort of thing, momentum is everything.”

“…Right.”

I should know—having been a victim of that same momentum myself. I haven’t forgotten the grudge, you know?

“So I just gave him a little advice… and a prop.”

Master didn’t even flinch under my bitter glare. He just smiled faintly.

“A prop?”

A prop? Surely he doesn’t mean an actual object. If he gave him that, he wouldn’t have any right to complain if Chris actually murdered him on the spot.

“Yeah. I gave him an aphrodisiac made from processed sap of the Parasitewood.”

“You gave him what…?”

Parasitewood… If I remember right, it’s that monster that lures prey in with a sweet scent and forces them into heat, then implants its seeds inside them… Honestly, it’s straight out of an eroge. We were specifically taught during adventurer training that girls should never go near that one.

It ranks somewhere around third on the list of Most Hated Monsters by female adventurers. For reference, second place is orcs, and first is the giant version of that nightmare cockroach you find in kitchens. All of them reproduce by using females of other species as breeding grounds, and their nests, once they grow big enough, leave lasting trauma in countless young adventurers.

Well, I had heard that Parasitewood sap, when properly processed, turns into a high-quality aphrodisiac, and that it’s rather popular among the upper crust… but why does he have it?

“…I found one within the barrier the other day, and I harvested it when I took care of it.”

“…I see.”

Asking why he went out of his way to make such a thing is probably pointless.

Ah, I get it. The village uncles must’ve asked him for a favor, right? That must be it. Men worry about that kind of stuff. As long as it’s not misused, it should be fine. As long as it’s not misused.

I wiped away the sweat trickling down my temple before I even realized it was there. My body was starting to feel strangely warm… and I had a very bad feeling about this. Just as I stood up, instinct telling me I should probably run, Master spoke up with a smile.

“By the way, I mixed a bit of it into your milk—just as a substitute for honey.”

…………What the hell is wrong with you. That’s terrifying.

---

◇◆ ADVENTURE RESULT ◆◇
【EXP】
BATTLE TOTAL: 8
MAX Combo: 8
◆【Sora Lv.81】 +8
◆【Lulu Lv.33】
◆【Yuria Lv.31】
◇――
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Sora Lv.82 [825] → Lv.83 [833] <<Level Up!!
Lulu Lv.33 [331]
Yuria Lv.31 [312]

【RECORD】
[MAX COMBO] >> 34
[MAX BATTLE] >> 34

【PARTY-1 (Main)】
[Shuya] Lv.85 HP 1520/1520 MP 2760/2760 [Normal]
[Sora] Lv.83 HP 62/62 MP 953/953 [Fatigued]
[Lulu] Lv.33 HP 735/735 MP 36/36 [Normal]
[Yuria] Lv.31 HP 1540/1540 MP 88/88 [Normal]

【PARTY-2 (Sub)】
[Fere] Lv.25 HP 252/252 MP 830/830 [Normal]

【PARTY-3 (Sub)】
[Makoto] Lv.55 HP 2250/2250 MP 135/135 [Normal]
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

“...Drugs... are bad... okay?”
“(It was just honey and ginger, though... what a simple girl.)”