Chapter 59
The advance party's mission in the new dungeon was now complete.
We had pooled the information each party had brought back and drawn a rough map of the first floor.
The monsters' positions and whether there were any traps.
The weapons and tools we needed, along with the distinction between safe routes and dangerous ones.
Now, the advance party's goal was to return safely.
“We're not going to kill the boss on the first floor, right?”
“Yeah, our mission ends here.”
The mission only extended as far as the waiting room just before the boss room.
Now all we had to do was return by the safe route.
Everything had gone smoothly and worked out well.
Claude had obtained the magic stone he wanted, and Aris had learned how he felt.
But a slight misunderstanding had arisen in the process.
“Don't those two seem a little off?”
“So it wasn't just me who thought so.”
Livnil and Grif were keeping an eye on the two.
They did so both while subjugating and distributing monsters and while gathering and combining information.
Claude and Aris were still close and warm with each other, but something about the atmosphere was strange.
“Look at them now. Aris is one step behind him.”
“Hmm, even the angle at which her tail wagged was smaller than usual.”
By now they knew the distance between the two at a glance, having grown accustomed to it.
But clearly, things were completely different from usual right now.
“Since when?”
“Since you went into the forest with Aris.”
“I suppose that means you two had a good romp, but did something happen?”
If the atmosphere between an ordinary couple had changed, they would have thought, ‘They'll work it out themselves.’
But they couldn't think that about those two.
The two were clearly in a master-and-slave relationship.
But Claude's attitude toward Aris was by no means ordinary.
Livnil was certain of it. He definitely liked her.
He must have feelings for her that went beyond mere lust—something even deeper than what lovers felt.
The same went for the slave.
She showed no concern whatsoever for her master's demands.
If anything, Aris was the one taking the initiative.
The two were that close, and it seemed impossible that anything could happen to separate them.
But now, something about the atmosphere was a little different.
Claude hardly looked Aris in the eye.
Whenever their eyes met by chance, he even avoided her gaze.
◇
It was late when they reached the point in their journey back out of the dungeon.
The advance parties each chose a campsite and began preparing to camp for the night.
Our party settled down too.
“I'll be back!”
Chris was going around to the other parties, treating those who had been injured in the previous battle.
Mages capable of healing were rare, and priests weren't exactly a common profession either.
Minor injuries were sometimes handled by each party's healer.
“This time, Aris. You go with him. Watch over Mr. Chris.”
“What? Ah, all right. Master….”
Livnil had done the work at lunchtime, so this time I sent Aris.
To be honest, I did it because having Aris beside me was a little difficult.
I had thought we'd confirmed each other's feelings yesterday….
More than anything, until now I had believed that I had claimed a female by following my Wolpi instincts.
So I had been fairly confident.
If I confessed, Aris would surely accept me.
Though she was a slave, no… I thought the outcome would be even better because of the difference in our status.
But her answer was completely different from what I expected.
‘I want to remain a slave.’
What did those words mean?
She had chosen being a slave over becoming my lover.
Did she think that her miserable status was preferable to becoming involved with me…?
It had shocked me more than I expected… I had no idea what to do.
I thought I had treated her very well up to now.
Of course, I didn't regret it, and I intended to continue treating her just as well.
Because she was a combatant I needed.
Above all, no matter what she thought of me….
I really liked her.
As a man, I had never felt this way about another woman before.
It was partly because I had never been particularly close to any other woman besides her….
No, that wasn't the issue. I just liked Aris.
No other excuse was necessary.
It was because she didn't like me as much as I liked her.
On an instinctive level, because I was strong.
As a Wolpi, she had only been drawn to that strength.
Was I simply a cock to her?
When her heat made her lose control, was I merely a tool to relieve her?
It was enough to make me wonder which one of us was the slave.
Even so, I was willing to go along with it.
For the very simple reason that I liked Aris….
Whatever she wanted from me, I would do it.
Of course, even if she wanted to be freed, I would grant that too.
If she said she wanted to leave me….
That would be a little harder to accept.
I didn't want to pretend to be a good person.
To be honest, I didn't want to let her go at all.
So I decided not to be the one to say, ‘I'll free you.’
I had been planning to say it when I asked her to date me yesterday.
If we became lovers while she remained a slave, our relationship would be strange.
But Aris refused.
Before I could say anything, she said, ‘I want to remain a slave.’
Her words were practically the same as saying she had no intention of becoming my lover.
“Mr. Claude.”
While I was busy preparing dinner, Grif came back with a pig he had apparently slaughtered somewhere.
He set the pig down beside me and addressed me.
“Why did you send Miss Aris away?”
“She had nothing in particular to do, so I sent her.”
“Even so, didn't she usually help you with your cooking?”
Cooking was something I had always been perfectly capable of doing alone.
“Where's Ms. Livnil?”
“Well, we brought this one back together. She probably went over to Chris.”
“I see. Mr. Grif, are things going well with Ms. Livnil?”
At my question, he opened his eyes wide and gently nodded.
He looked embarrassed in a way that didn't suit his size.
Was I supposed to call it fortunate, or envy it?
It was obvious that Livnil liked him.
Aris clearly seemed to like me too….
Hadn't she? She had even said she liked me.
But was that all because I was her master…?
Had she only said it to please me?
It hurt.
“How are things with you, Mr. Claude? Miss Aris is always looking only at you.”
“That's…because she's a Wolpi. You could call it loyalty to her master.”
Like a wolf or a dog…something like that?
We were certainly different species, so perhaps I was a burden to Aris.
Today was the first time I had ever been annoyed that I was born human.
“Loyalty? Well, that could be it. But you two seem different these days.”
“Different…? We've always been the same.”
But he shook his head.
“You've been cold to Miss Aris since yesterday, Mr. Claude.”
“What? No… I've never done that.”
I had done exactly what I always did for Aris, without changing anything.
Answered her questions and did whatever she needed.
Made sure she got food first…and various other things?
“No, you were cold to her. That was the first time I'd heard you call Miss Aris ‘you.’”
“What…does that mean?”
Grif nodded and said,
It was when I called for Aris together with Chris.
I had said, ‘This time, Aris. You go with him.’
But I couldn't see what was wrong with that.
“Hadn't you been doing that deliberately all this time? You always called Miss Aris by her name.”
“I did? You mean I've never addressed Aris as ‘you’?”
Grif nodded.
He looked at me as though asking, ‘Why don't you know that?’
I had been with Grif and the others for quite some time by then.
At least more than two weeks.
“Not even once in all that time?”
“No. I wasn't keeping careful count, but I hadn't heard you do it even once until now.”
Had I really been that mindful of Aris…?
Even so, it wasn't as though calling someone ‘you’ was bad, was it?
It wasn't bad….
Then why did it bother me so much that I had called Aris that instead of by her name?
Come to think of it, when I sent her away.
Aris had looked startled and timid.
Her thoroughly dejected expression and drooping ears.
Even her limp tail….
Thinking back, all of it bothered me.
“Mr. Grif….”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Where should I start?
Would it really be all right to ask him for advice?
Grif and Livnil's romantic history didn't seem very long….
Help… Ah, no. No, that's not right.
Thinking like a mage wouldn't help in a situation like this.
It wasn't as though I was an expert on romance myself.
“I was rejected by Miss Aris.”
When I gathered my courage and said it, Grif looked as though he were seeing something not of this world.
Put simply, he was shocked.
“Why? How does that make any sense?”
“No, that's what I want to ask you.”
“How did it happen? What did you do? Don't tell me you twisted her tail while you were doing it….”
“No! I didn't hurt her, and it was like usual….”
I told him honestly that I had confessed my feelings to Aris.
And I told him her answer.
“I want to remain a slave…?”
“Yes. I had even been thinking of freeing her, but I couldn't say it.”
Grif folded his arms and fell into thought.
“You mean she'd rather be your slave than become your lover….”
“Did Miss Aris say that herself?”
“Well…no.”
Grif nodded and said,
“What did she say after that?”
“I don't know. I couldn't really take in what she was saying….”
“Miss Aris did follow you around as usual. No, maybe she hovered around you even more than usual.”
He patted me on the shoulder and said,
“You like Miss Aris, don't you?”
“What? Well, yes. I don't think my feelings will change, but….”
“That must be painful. I know because Livnil once did the same thing to me.”
I had heard that there had been some misunderstanding in their relationship.
It had been due to a privacy issue on Livnil's part.
“So, are you going to give up? I didn't.”
Grif said that he had stayed with her even after their relationship had fallen apart.
He had continued thinking about and trying to find a way to win her heart back.
Of course, none of it had worked….
“Your attitude matters. A woman says she doesn't like you? So what? The man likes her.”
“Haha….”
“You can't give up after one try. Keep going until she sincerely says, ‘I hate you.’”
Grif said it firmly.
To be honest, I didn't particularly like the idea of ‘until it works.’
If it worked someday, then no one would ever fail.
But if I could see an opening, that was different.
Magic was no different.
If a path appeared somewhere, it was surely a chance to move forward.
The same went for creating new magic where none had existed and improving things that were inconvenient.
I wasn't sure what romance was supposed to be, but….
Aris. I knew what she liked.
Food, combat training, sleeping…and sex.
If she did like me, but not enough to become my lover.
Then it was my job to make her feel that way.
Above all, Grif was right.
“I see. All right. Until she says, ‘I hate you.’… I'll give it a try.”
“Puhahaha! That's more like the battle mage I know.”
“Battle…mage?”
“Blocking the Goblin King's ax with an ice hammer was really….”
Since this had nothing to do with romance, I decided to let it pass.
As Grif had said, I had been avoiding her since yesterday and hadn't kept our conversations going for long.
I had probably been the one to cut them short because I felt sad and uncomfortable.
“I'll talk to her. I want to hear from Aris what she dislikes about me….”
“No, don't take it too negatively. Miss Aris definitely likes you.”
“Thanks for the consolation.”
My timid personality felt as though it were holding me back.
But thanks to Grif, perhaps I could find my courage again.
Because my desire to make Aris mine was sincere.