Liana

I looked at Lorraine, whose anxiety seemed to have somewhat eased.

She had been saying for quite some time that she was close to becoming a Master, but perhaps because she hadn't reached it yet, her impatience had grown, and she was clinging to her training to an excessive degree, which had worried me.

*It seems like she's found some release with this opportunity.*

Just as I was watching her, thinking it was fortunate, Lorraine looked at me and continued speaking.

"Young Master, what kind of being was the Master you saw before?"

Lorraine seemed to firmly believe that I had regressed. She asked me this question with a somewhat expectant expression. I looked at her and replied with an awkward smile.

"Well. It's just a gut feeling, but I don't think I should tell you, so I won't."

Of course, it was a lie. It was difficult to say anything precise based solely on what appeared in the original story, so I deliberately avoided answering. However, perhaps because Lorraine's trust in the regression theory was already high, she said:

"Ah...! You're right, Young Master. It's probably best not to hear such things. If I were to hear it and my thoughts became fixated on something strange... it might even lead to a bad outcome."

"Th-that's right."

"Thank you so much, Young Master!"

Lorraine smiled brightly for the first time in a while, grabbed my hand, and shook it vigorously. I looked at her with a wry expression and subtly averted my gaze.

*Anyway, it's a relief that things worked out well.*

So, I decided to leave Lorraine as she was for now and slowly head back to my room.

* * *

*A way to apply what Daisy showed me...*

I fell into thought, looking at Daisy sleeping in my arms. How could I apply the technique I saw back then?

*Bombardment, immense power, large numbers...*

As I pondered how to use the keywords of the attack I had witnessed, someone knocked on my door.

"Lord Damian, do you have a moment?"

Hearing Liana's voice from outside the door, I told her to come in. Liana entered, clutching some documents, and spoke to me.

"I came with some additional information. According to the intelligence I've gathered, the Imperial Faction has been withdrawing Troops at some point."

"Withdrawing?"

"Exactly what it means. They should originally be fighting the Demonkind on the Front Line... but they're acting as if it doesn't matter if they're attacked, and they're pulling back."

I couldn't hide my bewilderment at her words. If all the forces on the Front Line were pulled back, all battlefronts would immediately be breached, and the entire country would collapse. I couldn't understand why they would make such a foolish choice.

After a moment of thought, I asked Liana, just in case.

"Did that order come from the Princess?"

"No. From the Emperor."

"The Emperor...? The Emperor hasn't been seen for a long time, has he?"

"That's the strange part. Even though the Emperor hasn't been seen for quite a while, these orders have been consistently issued."

I questioned whether the order truly came from the Emperor, but whether it was the real Emperor or not wasn't a particularly important factor, so I decided to move on for now.

"So, the conclusion is that the war will likely intensify soon. What will you do now?"

"What do you mean, what will I do?"

"The Imperial Faction withdrawing Troops means more personnel gathering in the Imperial Faction... I was wondering if it might be dangerous."

"That's fine. More Troops don't make things particularly difficult."

The problem was that there were stronger individuals than me. At my words, Liana nodded in understanding and said,

"If so, that's good."

Just as I was about to open my mouth to thank her for the information, a mischievous thought suddenly struck me, and I playfully spoke to Liana.

"By the way, you promised to call me Older Brother, so why aren't you calling me Older Brother?"

"...Then have a good night. I have a lot to do, so I'll be going."

It didn't seem right to torment someone who had come to deliver information. I decided to stop teasing her and was about to tell her she'd worked hard, when she said,

"...Well. If you *really* want me to, I suppose I could."

Liana's ears were bright red as she glanced at me and spoke softly.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Just saying. It doesn't mean anything special."

"... ..."

Considering Liana's personality, the reason she was saying such things was likely a roundabout way of saying, “Please make me.” I paused for a moment, then spoke to Liana.

"Come here."

"...?"

Liana looked at me as if I were crazy. Thinking that her expression was amusing and I couldn't stop teasing her, I let out a small laugh and continued speaking.

"Call me."

"Yes, well. It's not difficult. I just have to call you, you know, O-whatever."

She was trying to act nonchalant, but her ears were even redder than before. I looked at Liana and urged her on.

"Really? Then call me."

"...You know what? I've thought about it, and I don't think today is the right time after all."

She had subtly signaled that she wanted to, and even said that calling me by that honorific wasn't difficult. Now, her trying to back out was endlessly amusing.

*Especially since she called me Older Brother last time.*

And her refusal to do it now was also quite funny.

*She's really entertaining, I tell you.*

Just as I was thinking there was a subtle pleasure in teasing her and was about to stop, Liana slowly approached me, took a deep breath, and whispered,

"...*Older Brother*."

It wasn't a normal way of saying it, but rather somewhat sultry, which made me look at Liana with a surprised expression, feeling a strange sensation. Liana looked at me with a slightly triumphant expression and said,

"Hmph, so Brother Damian likes this, huh?"

I felt like I would lose if things continued like this, so I felt the need to come up with a plan. I couldn't quite grasp what to do, so I pondered various methods. Then, a very good idea suddenly came to mind, and I nodded.

*Come to think of it, there was that.*

I remembered that Liana's weakness, which I had discovered on the train, was her 'feet,' and decided to use this to my advantage.

*The problem, though, is how to touch her feet.*

No matter how I thought about it, just abruptly touching her feet didn't seem like a good idea. It seemed I needed to use a method that Liana couldn't help but accept, rather than a forceful one.

*What could it be?*

I looked around for a good method when a thought suddenly struck me, and I spoke to Liana.

"By the way, aren't you tired these days?"

"Me? So-so?"

"Shall I give you a Massage?"

"...You're going to touch my feet again, aren't you?"

Thinking that I had been too obvious, I subtly averted my gaze, intending to postpone it for another time. However, Liana looked at me, a little embarrassed, then sat on a nearby chair, pulled down her stockings, and said,

"...Well, it's not like I *really* hate it. I suppose for a little while, it's fine."

Then she subtly extended her bare foot towards me and looked at me. She was trying to act nonchalant, but her face was even redder than before, suggesting her embarrassment had reached its peak. I suppressed a laugh, slowly reached out, and touched Liana's foot.

"Hmph..."

I wasn't doing anything lewd; I had simply held her foot, but a sound akin to a moan echoed around. Feeling like I was doing something I shouldn't, I paused. Liana wiggled her toes and spoke to me.

"Brother Damian... aren't you going to touch my feet anymore...?"

Even in her state of extreme embarrassment, she couldn't stop provoking me. She rubbed my hand with her toes and said,

"You can touch them as much as you want right now..."

After saying it, Liana flinched, as if she thought she shouldn't have. Seeing this, I seized the opportunity and massaged her foot more firmly, stimulating it. Liana trembled violently and urgently spoke to me.

"W-wait a minute. J-just a moment...!"

She seemed to feel something rather strange, and startled, tried to pull her foot away from me. However, since I was a Highest-grade Expert, not an ordinary person, I didn't let go of her foot and continued to hold it.

"If you're going to get a Massage, you should get it properly. If you run away halfway, it won't be effective, so I'll give you a little more Massage."

Of course, it was a lie. How would I know, having never learned Massage? But it was the perfect excuse to tease Liana, so I said it and continued to caress her foot.

*By the way, she has surprisingly many calluses on her feet.*

Liana's appearance was so refined and elegant that I had unconsciously assumed she wouldn't have any calluses at all. But feeling them again, I found it strange that she had so many rough calluses, and I continued to rub them. As I massaged, Liana covered her red face with both hands and spoke to me.

"...They're not pretty, are they?"

"Not pretty?"

"My feet have so many blisters and calluses... I think they look ugly to anyone."

"Not really? I actually think this is better."

"Better...?"

"Because it's proof of hard work. Look, see my hand?"

I showed her my callused and scarred palm and said,

"I feel incredibly proud looking at this. Don't you?"

At my words, Liana blinked for a moment, then let out a soft laugh and said to me,

"What is that?"

"No, I'm serious."

"Hmm, is that so?"

Liana seemed to have made a decision based on my words. She propped her chin on her hand, looked at me, and made a proposal in a calm voice.

"From now on, when we're alone, shall I really call you Older Brother?"

"Huh?"

"I'm serious, not joking, so please answer without teasing."

I paused for a moment at her question, then smiled and said,

"I'd like that."