Chapter 57
Pila said.
"I, um, have a favor to ask."
"What is it?"
He adjusted his slipping glasses, and his voice held a note of tension.
"Could you let me be alone with Miss Elena for just a little while?"
A chill ran down the back of my neck.
Pila and Elena, alone together?
Pila had filled in Elena's shortcomings like her soul mate in the game,
whether tactically, physically, or emotionally. She had an obscene body with a vicious weapon attached to it, yet she was raising a beast in her heart beneath the warm embrace of a mother.
Scenes I had seen countless times in the original game flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.
My mind went blank for a moment, but I asked at least what it was about.
I had wanted to repay Pila someday for all the help she had given me.
At the very least, I wanted to settle the debt in my heart.
"What do you need her for?"
"Th, that's......"
Pila's eyes trembled.
"A, a secret?"
She raised an index finger to her lips.
That made it even more suspicious.
I looked back at Elena.
With Elena as she was now, she could probably deal with anything that came up.
"You shouldn't make someone do something they don't want to do."
And I decided to trust Pila.
There was no chance of her losing her reason and pouncing on Elena. If I suspected her even over something like this, how could I trust a companion enough to have my back in the future?
Pila smiled brightly at my answer.
"Elena, Pila says she has something to talk to you about. I'll step outside for a while."
"Yes..."
I opened the workshop door and stepped outside.
The back of my neck felt bitter, but I had to trust her.
I would give her the benefit of the doubt.
If I couldn't trust her over something like this, I couldn't keep her around as a companion anyway, and if she were the type to do something, I would get caught no matter what she tried while we were together.
Pila had outstanding alchemical abilities, after all.
"Haa..."
I shuffled away. I should buy something simple to eat while the two of them talked.
***
The man left the workshop.
The heavy workshop door closing rang out especially loudly.
Only Elena and Pila remained in the room.
Pila swallowed nervously.
Whenever she fidgeted and shook herself from side to side, Elena's gaze drifted toward her breasts and hips.
Her pink hair cascaded down in abundance.
Her breasts looked ready to burst, and her ample, luscious hips could not be hidden even by her loose robe. Every time her body trembled, the empty space beneath the robe, pushed out by her huge breasts, trembled along with it.
When her restless hands fidgeted together beneath her chest, they drew the robe upward and revealed the devastating size of her breasts.
They were as large as Pila's head.
The round, oppressive fullness of those breasts made Elena's lips go dry.
She perfectly matched the criteria for the kind of woman the man liked, as Mira had found out.
Large breasts.
A slim waist.
Wide hips too.
Was that really the figure of someone who spent every day shut away in a corner researching?
That was terribly unfair.
Their eyes met over Pila's glasses.
"Um, excuse me."
Pila rubbed her fingers together before opening her mouth.
"Miss Elena, you're close to Eck, aren't you?"
"......So?"
"Th, that is..."
Pila's cheeks flushed as she lowered her head.
"Do you, um, happen to know what Eck likes? Could you tell me?"
What?
"Miss Elena, you're Eck's... you know, woman, right? You're special to Eck. I thought you would know best how to get closer to him."
My mind went blank.
Was this woman asking me for romantic advice?
Was she asking me how to seduce the man?
Elena flinched without realizing it.
"......I'm not the man's woman."
"Pardon? But he takes you around with him."
"Traveling together and dating are different things."
"Is that how it is?"
Pila's expression brightened.
"Then let's share what Eck might like. I may not know as much as you do, Miss Elena, but I do know one thing Eck likes."
"...What is it?"
Pila took a small glass bottle from a desk drawer and held it out.
"What's this?"
"An aphrodisiac."
For a moment, Elena wondered if she had heard correctly.
The man liked aphrodisiacs?
"......What?"
"Eck really likes this. He said he loved how he could move his body like this and this without getting tired after drinking it."
Pila held both arms bent at ninety degrees and swayed her body back and forth.
Elena's thoughts ground to a halt.
"You have no idea how incredible Eck was when he slept over at my workshop last time. He said my potion was especially effective."
Her heart plummeted.
"I invited him over to test the aphrodisiac I made. After drinking it, he kept moving his body like this and this all night. He was a real monster, so I was the first one to collapse from exhaustion."
Pila lowered her head in embarrassment.
A bright smile spread across her flushed cheeks.
Elena's mind went white.
While her conscious mind had stopped, her unconscious coldly analyzed the situation.
The man had spent the night with Pila.
He had drunk Pila's aphrodisiac.
He had tested the aphrodisiac's effects.
The aphrodisiac was a drug for that purpose.
The man had not grown tired,
and Pila had collapsed from exhaustion.
In Pila's workshop,
the two men and women who drank the aphrodisiac had spent the night together there.
"I was really surprised that he was still perfectly fine by morning. How could a person keep going all night without even resting? I was having a hard time even while staying still..."
"The man likes small breasts."
Elena cut Pila off.
She grabbed her own breasts with both hands.
Breasts that could be completely covered by her small hands.
Though they were hidden beneath armor, she knew their size better than anyone.
Pila reflexively grabbed her own breasts as well. They could not be held entirely in her hands; they were compressed, making their soft curves swell over her robe.
"The man also likes modest, petite bottoms like mine."
She twisted her waist and placed a hand on her petite, adorable buttocks.
Pila felt her own bottom and flushed bright red.
Every time her fingertips pushed the robe aside, the contours of her body showed. The curve of her hips widening naturally from her smoothly flowing, narrow waist was a refreshing sight to the eyes.
"Ugh... The man... likes pretty people..."
Pila touched her own face, disappointment spreading across it.
When she wiped away the soot and ink on her face, the spots and wrinkles that had marred her beauty disappeared. Faced with her smooth skin, elegant features, and distinct features, Elena could not bring herself to say the next words.
"The man only looks at me."
Pila nodded repeatedly.
"Yes. I know that too. Even someone as oblivious as me can tell how much he cherishes you, Miss Elena. It's probably only because you're so precious to Eck that he can't bring himself to touch you. Look. You have small breasts too."
Elena reflexively touched her chest.
"And your bottom is modestly petite too."
She covered her buttocks.
"And you're so pretty as well. A book said that keeping someone who perfectly matches Eck's tastes at your side without touching her is impossible unless you cherish her immensely."
With a clear smile, Pila sincerely praised Elena with all her heart.
"I, um... actually... I feel uncomfortable around men."
"What does that mean?"
"D, don't misunderstand me. It doesn't mean I dislike Eck. It's just that men as wonderful as Eck aren't attracted to my, my vulgar body."
Elena tilted her head in confusion.
"S, so I just want to become a little, a little closer to Eck. I thought we could be friends. I may be this vulgar, vulgar woman, but I want to be there as a friend. If we can become friends, Eck will be my first friend. Hehe."
Pila's eyes sparkled as she looked ahead to her relationship with Eck, like a child gazing at a treasure chest filled with dreams.
"So, if there is anything Eck likes, could you, um, tell me?"
"Are you planning to give it to him as a gift to get closer?"
"Yes! To thank him for being friendly with me. A gift. For someone. This is my first time giving a gift to anyone. Could I ask for your advice?"
She twisted her body shyly.
This person...
Elena looked down at the aphrodisiac that had fallen into her hands.
"You said you spent the night with the man?"
"Yes? Yes. It was truly incredible."
.....
The man had not met another woman since meeting her.
He had cut ties with Rebecca, his ex-girlfriend and former fiancée, and Jaina, whom he used to visit often, was now nothing more than a backdrop.
Mira had told her that he had not even visited the brothel he used to frequent.
Could the reason he had not met any women be because he had met Pila?
'Not me?'
Pila shook her vulgar body, unaware of how embarrassing the things she was saying were.
She swayed back and forth as she repeatedly talked about what had happened with Eck.
If Pila's waist were where her hands were, and the man were where Pila was, would that recreate the night the two of them had spent here?
Every time those large breasts swayed, a spark inside Elena's chest grew larger.
Elena's mind settled more coldly than ever.
***
I left the workshop, bought a simple snack, and returned.
'They should be finished by now, right?'
On the way back to the workshop.
As I held a chicken skewer in my mouth, I recalled the truth I had learned in the workshop.
'Kyle was a woman?'
In the original game, Kyle had definitely been a man.
But at this point in the past, Kyle was a woman.
There was no male-transformation item among the game items.
Because of the way Kyle had thrown a fit demanding a woman, I had assumed Kyle was a man, and the game itself had openly presented Kyle as male.
Kyle's appearance was identical too.
'I don't think the game information is wrong.'
From the outset, that assumption was impossible for me.
Without the game information, I could not move forward.
I had no choice but to trust and follow it, at least where it had already been verified.
I could suspect that things might have changed, but nothing changed.
Then why was Kyle a woman?
'Well, it's a game. There could easily be one or two legendary potions that weren't implemented in-game.'
Since Kyle was a hypnotist and had hypnotized people to find a male-transformation potion, Kyle would have had an easier time getting their hands on a legendary potion than most.
'Even so, what a shame.'
I felt the firm texture of the holy potion in my arms.
'The goal was to change Kyle's appearance.'
My plan needed to be revised.
I arrived at the workshop and knocked on the door.
When no one opened it, I pushed my way inside.
"At the Old Temple..."
"You went to the Old Temple too. Just the two of you."
"Yes!"
They were talking across the desk, and it sounded like they were discussing what had happened between me and her.
"Pila, are you still not finished?"
"Ah! I, it's finished. I'm sorry. I got excited while we were talking."
.....
Elena lowered her head, her blond bangs casting her eyes in shadow.
She murmured.
"Miss Pila is a really good person."
"Is that so?"
She called Pila 'Miss.' It was unfortunate in many ways that she still did not know Pila's truth.
The aphrodisiac was sitting on the desk.
"Miss Pila said this is something you really like, sir."
"I do like it."
It was the secret to infinite stamina, after all.
"Drink it?"
"She said it was yours, sir."
I picked up the aphrodisiac, uncapped it, and tossed it straight into my mouth.
Energy surged through my body.
I looked around the workshop.
I had come to the workshop to give Kyle the potion, but with that plan falling through, I had nothing to do.
"Elena."
"Yes."
"Before we head back, how about a spar? It's been a while."
"A spar?"
Elena climbed down from the chair and gazed up at me. She had seemed listless, but her eyes quickly sharpened.
"Okay. But if I win, you have to grant one of my wishes. You can't refuse."
"A wish? What kind of wish?"
"If you win, I'll grant one of your wishes."
"Hmm..."
I shrugged.
"Sure, why not."
***
Elena and I faced each other on the quiet street in front of the workshop.
Elena raised a wooden sword.
I pointed my wooden sword at her as well.
Feeling the infinite energy circulating through my body, I calculated my odds of beating Elena.
PvP was not my specialty, but infinite stamina was a tremendous advantage.
'I should take the win while I can.'
That could be called the purpose of this spar.
Since I had just replenished my infinite stamina, I was going to claim a victory for once.
Elena's gaze swept rapidly over my entire body.
With her accumulated experience, she quickly filtered out information unnecessary for combat and focused her eyes clearly on my movements alone.
Standing before her now made me feel as if I were naked.
The spar began without either of us waiting for the other,
and I kicked off the ground first.
I approached with measured steps.
Clack!
Elena twisted the trajectory of her wooden sword and deflected it.
I pulled my wooden sword along with the deflection and continued the attack.
I launched a succession of strikes.
She blocked every one, but because I knew every tool at Elena's disposal, I caught her next move and judgment before she did.
'Got you.'
Just as I was about to land the decisive blow,
Elena suddenly pulled far back and came to a stop beside Pila, who had come out to watch.
"What are you—"
With an emotionless expression, she grabbed the hem of Pila's skirt and lifted it high.
"Eek?!"
Pila screamed.
Her robe flew high, fully revealing the body hidden beneath it.
Inside the skirt.
Between her legs.
White cotton panties.
My gaze was sucked toward the center.
The woman's slit between her legs——— but Pila——— then again——— what———? My brain stopped at the contradictory information.
There was nothing beneath Pila where it should have been.
Why wasn't it there?
Just as I fell into confusion,
"It's because you become frustrated when you drink things like aphrodisiacs."
Elena's wooden sword touched my neck.
"I win, sir."
Elena let out a gloomy smile, as if she was not particularly pleased with her victory.
But my mind was not filled with the shock of defeat.
My heart was pounding like mad.
The sight was etched clearly into both my eyes.
Pila, you really were a woman?
Pila was a woman?
But Pila...
While I stood there blankly, some conversation took place between Elena and Pila, and before I had time to come to my senses, Elena grabbed my hand and dragged me somewhere.