Chapter 20
The person who spoke to me after I finished the exam was Livnil. She spoke to me without preamble.
“Do you like Mr. Claude?”
Seeing how he treated me, a slave, as a human being, and knowing his character, I couldn’t help but like him.
He was practically my benefactor.
If someone other than Claude had been my master, they would have raped me at every opportunity to subdue me.
I knew that was the easiest way to handle a female Wolpi.
If a female Wolpi is subjected to that again and again, her personality is castrated.
This male is my everything. The entirety of the world that conquered me. My own god whom I can never defy.
One becomes a broken fool.
At the very least, I didn’t want to become like that. Even if I had a relationship with a man, I prayed that my personality would remain intact.
Claude gave me a choice. Though he had ample power, he protected my existence.
A slave contract is a spell that binds the soul with magic. It isn’t easy to escape from.
But if it was Claude…could I entrust myself to him for a while…?
“Don’t you want to get closer to Mr. Claude?”
“Yes…I want to become closer to my master….”
I felt dizzy somehow.
Claude was an enormous presence to me.
Livnil appearing before him frightened me.
“I could help you. What do you think?”
But if she wasn’t planning anything like that…what a relief.
She was offering to help me yet again. It could hardly be a better thing, could it?
“Yes…Y-yes!”
I wanted Claude to like me more!
I didn’t want him to abandon me!
“All right. Shall we talk somewhere quiet?”
She led me away by the hand.
We ran into Claude along the way.
“Hello, Mr. Claude.”
“Yes, but…Aris? Are you all right?”
Thump, thump. Strangely, my heart began pounding when our eyes met.
“I’m fine….”
“Mr. Claude, may I borrow Miss Aris for a moment?”
“Huh? Borrow her? Aris, is that all right?”
“I nodded. I was a little dizzy, but Livnil said she was going to tell me something good.”
The archer, Griff, said,
“Livnil. Where are you going?”
“Griff, you should get closer to Mr. Claude as men, too. We girls have things to do.”
“What…? How dare Livnil join the women’s group?”
“What did you say, you bastard!”
Livnil kicked him in the shin. It looked like it really hurt.
“Gaaah!”
“Um…Livnil. If it’s girls’ business, do I need to come too?”
“Hmm? Yes. Chris is an adult now, too. I’ll let you join us.”
“An adult? Wh-what are you planning to do?”
Grinning from ear to ear, Livnil took Chris and me to a large café.
It was a very expensive place that sold coffee and desserts such as cake.
It was my first time entering a place like this since being born into this world.
“Isn’t this…expensive?”
“It is. Livnil, you don’t usually come to places like this.”
“Hehehe, today is a special day! Maidens, follow me!”
She strode confidently into the café and was given a small private room.
“There’s a room…?”
“It’s cozier and nicer than I expected. How did you know about a place like this, Livnil?”
“I have my ways. Chris and Aris, sit next to each other.”
The room wasn’t very large.
The table and tasteful decorations lent it a comfortable atmosphere.
“Wow…coffee.”
This was my first time seeing coffee and cake in this world….
I couldn’t even imagine how expensive they were.
Weren’t things like this what nobles ate?
“Livnil! Are we really allowed to eat this?”
“Yes. You two, help yourselves.”
“Thank you!”
Apparently, Chris had come of age this year.
Her short, sparkling blonde hair and green eyes brought to mind a vast grassland.
Livnil’s pale-red hair and deep, fiery red eyes were striking.
She was certainly pretty enough to make me wary of her….
No, wait. Why should I be wary of her?
“Ugh….”
My dizziness returned slightly.
“Miss Aris. Is the smell of the coffee bothering you?”
“Are you all right, Lady Aris?”
I shook my head and said I was fine.
Slurp. I took a sip. It was the first time I had experienced the taste and aroma of coffee on Aris’s tongue.
“The aroma is lovely. The flavor is clean, too.”
“Oh, you know how to appreciate it? What about you, Chris?”
“Bitter…it’s bitter. Wasn’t this supposed to be delicious?”
The blonde girl wore a disappointed expression after tasting coffee for the first time.
Livnil grinned, apparently finding the girl adorable.
“So, Ms. Livnil. Why did you call me here?”
The coffee and cake, which I hadn’t had in ages, were welcome, but the more she treated me like this, the more uncomfortable I felt.
Why was she offering such luxurious desserts to a mere slave like me?
“Ah~all right. Let’s get to the main point!”
“Please tell me plainly.”
Livnil smiled and asked me,
“Are you dating Mr. Claude?”
“…No.”
I glared at her, biting down on my teeth to suppress my growl as much as possible.
“Oh, Miss Aris? You don’t have to be on guard. I’m not interested in Mr. Claude!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! Yes! Relax! Take a deep breath in and out, shall we?“
I wasn’t that agitated. Still, I tried taking deep breaths as she suggested.
I stared intently at her while waiting for her purpose.
“Ahem. Miss Aris. Don’t you want to date Mr. Claude?”
What on earth was her intention in asking me this? I shifted my eyes, trying to determine it.
Chris, sitting beside me, was gazing at me with sparkling eyes and swallowing hard.
“D-date…? I’m a slave, and my master is….”
“Miss Aris, put that status aside while you’re here and think about it. Isn’t the relationship between a man and a woman more important?”
What did she mean by a relationship between a man and a woman…? Dating? How could I possibly do something like that?
At my core, I was male. There was no way I could act coy as a woman and do such things.
I’d merely become a robotlike woman who surrendered her body and did only what she was asked to do.
“Do you want to date him?”
But if I simply answered that question honestly, it wasn’t a bad idea.
If I really became Claude’s wife, perhaps I could escape my status as a slave…?
But no master would ever marry a slave.
Claude was certainly a good person, but in the end, he was the person who had bought me—a slave.
To simply set me free after spending his money on me would be incredibly foolish.
I didn’t answer. I averted my gaze in a faint show of refusal.
“Heh, hehe….”
But Livnil laughed in an unsettling way.
“Are you two really dating?”
What had Chris seen or heard to make her ask that?
“Ah, no. We aren’t dating.”
“Why not? Mr. Claude is so handsome! And Miss Aris is pretty, too!”
“Right? Right? You think so too, don’t you, Chris?”
Livnil was using the innocent girl to get her to nod.
It was frightening how impossible it was to tell what her intentions really were.
Let’s drop the assumption that we were dating. I needed to speak sincerely here.
I lowered my voice to show the two of them that I was serious.
“Still…I want to become closer to my master.”
“Oh! That’s it! Exactly! Miss Aris, I understand that feeling perfectly!”
“Is that so? Lady Aris, I’ll support you!”
The two of them had golden sparks in their eyes, as though they had discovered a treasure chest.
I truly had no idea what mistake I had made.
Were all human women, unlike Wolpis, like this?
Ugh, it was so hard to adapt….
“You aren’t dating yet, but let’s work up our courage! Ah, Miss Aris! How about taking his hand by surprise?”
Chris made me a bold suggestion with utterly innocent eyes.
Livnil looked at Chris as though she wanted to bite her.
“Sorry, pure-hearted cleric Chris.”
“I’ve already done more than hold hands with Claude. I’ve had sex with him.”
“Chris, I saw Mr. Claude holding her hand while we were eating.”
“Huh? Wow! Wow! Then, d-d…couldn’t they d-date…?”
“Exactly. That’s what matters.”
Ah. Was that it? Was that what it meant?
With my tiny Wolpi brain, I finally arrived at the truth.
I got the gist. These two women were simply enjoying talking about someone else’s love life.
So that was it? I had been taking it far too seriously!
It seemed certain that Livnil had no feelings for Claude.
Then I should show some grown-up behavior, too.
This was the rosy, girlish pastime called girls’ talk! I needed to respond calmly.
“Of course, we said we’d set our statuses aside, but it’s still impossible not to be conscious of them.”
“That’s true. Miss Aris, how about appealing to him with delicious food?”
I can’t even enter the kitchen….
“There are quite a few ways for a man and a woman to grow closer. Miss Aris, I think this is rude to ask, but….”
Livnil looked me straight in the eye and asked,
“Has Mr. Claude ever…touched you, Miss Aris?”
“Th-that….”
“If that brings up bad memories, I’ll stop.”
“It’s all right.”
Claude had never done anything bad to me. Besides, I should respond like an adult.
Should I tell these innocent girls a huge, daring story?
They would probably be shocked and blush.
They had boasted that they would help me, but in fact, I was already much farther ahead!
“I’ve had relations with my master.”
“Oh…oh! Really? Miss Aris, is that true?”
“Relations? What kind?”
But the two girls’ reactions were a little different from what I had expected.
Livnil’s face did turn red, but her eyes sparkled even more as she slammed her hand down on the table.
And Chris had no idea what I was talking about.
“How far? Inside? Pfft, pfft?”
“Huh? Uh…y-yes, I suppose.”
“Eee~lucky you~! Ah! No, I don’t mean that I want Mr. Claude.”
“Yes…thank you for making that clear.”
Chris looked back and forth between Livnil and me, trying to read the mood.
“Then I know how to help you have an even better relationship with Mr. Claude!”
“What? You mean there’s another method beyond that?”
Honestly, I had already given him my body. I couldn’t even imagine there being a higher stage than that.
But Livnil nodded confidently.
And then…she pulled something out of her bag.
“It’s all about technique!”
Wham—! What she pulled out was long, huge, and thick.
It looked like a model of a man’s most important part.
I was startled by the enormous object swaying strangely back and forth.
“L-Li…Livnil…?”
“What do you think, Miss Aris? You can practice with this!”
Livnil was visibly excited….
Chris, on the other hand, stared blankly at the object and tilted her head.
“Livnil? What is this?”
“Hehe, Chris. This is called a dildo. Do you know what that is?”
“Huh? D-dildo? D-d…dil…do? Is it the one I know?”
At least Chris knew the word…?
Her innocent, snow-white cheeks turned bright red.
“Eek—! Why did you pull out something like that, Livnil!”
“Because it’s something Miss Aris needs!”
“No! No! No indecent things!”
How strange. The two of them started bickering as if I weren’t even there.
“Chris is an adult now, too, right? Maidens, I shall teach you about men!”
“Eeeek!”
Ah. I feel like my dizziness is about to return….