Chapter 16
"Ultos-sama..."
Whispered into my ear, I felt the warmth of her body against my skin. A sweet scent brushed past my nose.
There was a soft, supple warmth against my right arm.
"Liera," I said in mild warning, but she paid no heed and edged even closer.
"...Liera."
I repeated myself.
"What is it?" the maid asked in a sweet voice, leaning against me. I asked her with a straight face:
"Do you know where we are?"
"Of course!"
Liera beamed with confidence.
I see. She really was stunningly beautiful.
"I see. Then—"
I met her eyes, then spoke firmly to those red, glistening eyes.
"How about not suddenly pressing against me inside the carriage?"
"Aww..."
This wasn't the time for "Aww."
—A few days had passed since I started thinking Enrique ought to pursue acting professionally.
At present, our group was traveling by carriage from the manor to Lyon.
The main members coming along on this trip were me, Enrique, and Liera, the maid who served at my side.
"Still, Ultos-sama, you sure do have a lot of luggage."
"Yeah. I thought we might use it there."
It wasn't a lie.
Ever since I started planning how to deal with the event, I'd been paying meticulous attention to what I packed.
It did seem like it had gotten pretty heavy because of that...
This should probably be enough.
Everything should fall into place, and I'll be able to stay away from the spotlight at last... or so I hoped.
Yeah, probably.
By the way, I'd left without telling Carla-san, who currently filled the role of my mentor.
She was certainly powerful.
When it came to magic, she was probably leagues above me at present.
But then again.
I thought she wouldn't be of any use.
Because—
Carla-san was probably under some kind of misapprehension.
For example, the other day, I was practicing magic.
As a side note, even people with Beyond-Domain Magic can learn to use the magic of the major affinities by practicing it.
So I was having fun practicing, but...
But.
What awaited me after I got absorbed in it was a passionate hug from Carla-san.
A pervert who started hugging a younger boy, saying, "It's okay, it's okay."
Even when I objected, "No, that's not it. I wanted to do this..."
She'd start tearing up and say, "Oh, you poor thing...!!"
She was like this even when I was just practicing magic.
If she found out what I was planning to do in Lyon, she'd stop me, one hundred percent.
Worst-case scenario, I might suffocate to death from being held too tightly against those ample breasts. What a ridiculous future that would be.
So I left without saying a word to that runaway pervert.
Well. If she didn't find out, it should be fine.
More than anything, I wondered how Sieg-kun, the protagonist of the original story, managed to handle Carla-san when she was like that.
I couldn't help wondering how he'd managed to bring a beautiful woman with absolutely no political finesse into politics and give Kuzutos his comeuppance...
As expected of the original's protagonist. To tame that walking bomb so easily...
My respect for Sieg-kun grew anew.
♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢
"Still, miss, um..." Enrique began, looking troubled.
"You seem to be having a pretty good time."
"Hehe. Can you tell?" Liera replied with a cheerful smile.
And, believe it or not—
Liera was the one who was most excited about this trip.
Humming to herself, she wore an utterly lovestruck expression over her naturally lovely features.
"I-I'm glad you're having fun... Yeah, Liera."
I knew why she was in such a good mood.
Because—
"Because, Ultos-sama...! You told me yourself. Once we get to Lyon, I can feed you 'Aah' as much as I want!"
She said it with all her heart.
Yeah.
No, I really did say that.
I remembered telling Liera that a few days ago.
But.
That was only so things would go according to the event.
It was all part of the act.
It was to play up the image of a noble idiot who had his attendant maid feed him 'Aah.'
"L-Liera. You know what I mean, right? I mean... that was all an act, okay? Acting."
I figured I'd better make that clear.
But apparently, Liera was too happy to hear anything I said.
"Actually, Ultos-sama, you haven't let me feed you 'Aah' at all lately... As a maid, and as a woman, I've been losing confidence."
"As a woman...?????"
"Yes. It really hurts when a wonderful man won't let you feed him 'Aah.'"
"...................."
Is being fed 'Aah' really worth that much?
I wondered if this girl was the high priestess of some Aah cult.
"Ultos-sama..."
Liera murmured with a dignified expression.
"I think I must have been born to feed you 'Aah.'"
Apart from the utterly insane things she was saying, she looked like a very capable maid.
By the way, I silently asked Enrique with my eyes,
"Is there some local culture that reveres 'Aah'?"
He shook his head, looking somewhat frightened, and mouthed, "No idea, no idea."
This was starting to scare me, so...
"Just change the subject already," I ordered Enrique with my eyes.
Then—
"I-I see...! So it's all part of a performance!!!"
Enrique suddenly raised his voice. He was probably trying to force the subject to change.
Nice...!!
I had never been more grateful to Enrique.
After all the times I'd told him to become an actor or change careers, I was truly sorry for saying such awful things.
Enrique. You're a capable man.
"R-right. That's right, Enrique. It's an act. Ha ha ha."
Go on. Keep it up.
At this rate, I was going to be made to join the Aah cult.
"In other words, it's like..."
"???"
But.
I'd underestimated Enrique.
"Like that thing young master did before—"
Enrique grinned like he'd just made a clever point.
"It's just like the bikini armor!!!!"
Enrique clapped his hands, getting worked up over how impressive the young master was.
"........................"
The carriage fell silent.
I was feeling a fear I hadn't experienced in a long time.
No.
That was not okay.
Enrique. You, of all people, shouldn't—
I slowly turned to my right. I cautiously looked toward Liera.
And there, in my line of sight—
"Wait, which should I choose, the bikini armor or 'Aah'????"
"No, better yet, is this my chance to wear bikini armor and feed you 'Aah'???? Is such a forbidden act really allowed???"
The maid was muttering to herself at high speed.
Please don't, I silently begged.
I only wanted to pretend to be some noble idiot swaggering around in a big city.
I wanted to keep my presence hidden while watching the event unfold.
But... making her feed me 'Aah' while wearing bikini armor????
That would make me a complete lunatic.
Not 'some noble idiot swaggering around,' but just an 'abnormal young master with a fetish.'
There was no way I wouldn't stand out. It was the furthest thing from being a background character.
"...Liera-san."
I called out, steeling myself.
—And so, until we reached Lyon,
I had to deal with Liera, who was raring to go, asking, "What kind of bikini armor would you like???"
and plead with her, for some reason, to please not do that, and to just feed me a normal 'Aah.'