Chapter 887: The Showdown at Celesta Manor
I had Maia take down a few groups of rock monsters, and as dusk approached, we returned to Rennesto at a leisurely pace. While I watched Maia fighting hard, I spent most of my time doing pretty lewd things with the female slaves. I felt a little guilty, but since Maia herself joined in from time to time, I guess it’s okay. ……It’s okay, right? Well, rather than trying to show off by grabbing a crossbow and doing something unnecessary, it’s better to make the most of every spare moment and keep breeding them……that seems to be the general consensus among the female slaves, not just the dragons, so I’ll call it a day for now.
After cleaning up and leaving the 「Sexroom」, we headed to the 「Celesta Mansion」, where Aurora and Emma were already preparing dinner.
“Emma, can you actually cook……?”
“We don’t run our servants ragged like the blue dragon does, so we can handle the basics”
“Mu. It’s not like I rely on the elves for everything either”
“But you can’t cook, can you?”
“……I just haven’t done it yet”
Maia sulks after being put on the spot by Emma. I pat her head gently to comfort her.
“Let’s try it next time. Besides, Maia worked hard today”
“……Yeah”
Emma’s strong competitive spirit toward Maia is a bit of a problem. I can understand her feeling, since they’re both young dragons around the same age, she probably doesn’t want to be seen as inferior to this one.
“Emma-san. Speaking that way makes it sound like you’re flaunting your birthright. Andy-san wouldn’t approve”
Rebuked by Aurora in her elegant tone, Emma shifts her gaze and looks awkward. Even if she looks younger, a dragon is still a dragon. It takes guts to call her out like that. Aurora really does have a strong nerve.
“Emma”
When I gently prompt her, Emma purses her lips for a moment before apologizing.
“……I’m sorry. That was a bit mean of me”
“……Yeah”
Maia nodded in agreement, granting her forgiveness. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, their experiences and inexperience. She simply hadn’t needed that particular skill until now. There’s no need to rub her shame in her face over every little thing.
“A virtue can become a flaw if you let it go to your head. It’s a waste to ruin your own strengths”
“……I suppose so”
Aurora’s demeanor as she offered this advice while preparing the meal was truly dignified. Is she really only 19? And while Emma and Maia are both over sixty in actual age, perhaps because they’re treated like the youngest members of the community, I can’t help but feel they still lack emotional maturity. Watching the long-lived species, I realize that such emotional stages ultimately depend largely on one’s position and physical potential. When the body declines, one tends to avoid overexertion; conversely, if the body is young, one will push oneself to the limit even at hundreds of years old. If one holds a position of responsibility, even at a young age, one develops caution, decisiveness, and leadership skills and the reverse is also true. Even taking that into account, Aurora’s emotional capacity is truly exceptional.
“What about Anzeros and Neia?”
“They’re out shopping. Neia said she knows a little about how to navigate Rennesto”
“I wish they’d take the princess’s protection a bit more seriously……”
“It’s all taken care of. ……I’ve entrusted her to the three with the black collars”
“Ah……”
Normally, Shario and the others would only wield their power as dragons for the sake of Rainer, to whom they’ve pledged their loyalty……but military force for self-defense is an exception. If they use those three dragons as a shield, there’s certainly no one who could break through that easily.
“Though I don’t think even Leda-san alone would be insufficient. As long as the Gold Arm doesn’t storm in, that is”
“Well, yeah”
Even if Rennesto is a hotbed of thugs, they’re hardly a match for dragons. However, in Princess Ran’s case……there’s a slight chance she might be targeted by something other than thugs. As the princess of a rapidly growing theocratic nation and one in such a complex position at that, you never know what kind of motives might drive an assassination attempt. Normally, I wouldn’t expect anyone to be able to keep up with a dragon’s speed……. But sometimes, things happen that defy 「Normal」. Ever since the Kalwin Incident, where dragons clashed, I’ve been careful not to rule out that possibility when considering the situation.
“So, how’s Charlotte doing?”
“As for Charlotte……”
“One more time”
“Y, Yes……”
Charlotte and Luna were playing hide-and-seek on the second floor of the mansion. There was a time limit. Going downstairs was forbidden. Using magic to blind the seeker was forbidden. It seemed the game was to be decided by anything else.
“Luna was personally trained by Special Duty Commander Becker, so she should be quite skilled……but can she really compete with Charlotte……?”
“She says she’s starting to see her patterns……”
Leda, who’s been drafted as the referee, explains. Apparently, Luna asked her to help because she couldn’t handle it if Charlotte tried to cheat on the sly, but so far, Charlotte hasn’t broken any rules.
“There were times when she couldn’t find her within the time limit, but when I explain how Charlotte was hiding, Luna applies that knowledge to hide herself or use it as a clue for tracking. She’s picking it up pretty quickly”
The time limit is managed by an hourglass Leda found in a corner of the mansion. It seems to be turning into quite a heated game.
“But even though this place is huge, can you really play this game that many times……?”
“The time limit is pretty strict, so it’s set up so you can’t search every room too thoroughly……”
Just as I was talking to Leda, a section of the hallway suddenly flipped open, and Luna emerged from inside a room. Then, without making a sound, she hid in a different room.
“……What was that?”
“……It’s a secret passage we found while playing the game a few times. There are a few others, and it’s become a game of strategy where we use them against each other, block them off first, or leave them open as escape routes……”
“Isn’t this turning into a different game from hide-and-seek?”
“If we don’t allow free movement while she’s hidden, it’d be game over the moment a promising hiding spot gets exposed……”
……Well, Charlotte’s true strength lies in her ability to operate while hidden, so perhaps that’s where her true talent lies. And since that’s exactly what Luna is trying to steal from Charlotte, I suppose she’s not wrong. ……And at Leda’s feet lay several familiar-looking scrolls.
“What’s this……”
“……It seems to be something that was lying around in those secret passages and hiding spots”
I don’t even need to open it to know. It’s an erotic picture scroll. The secret passages themselves were probably security measures from when this place was used as a noble mansion, but is it impressive that the Masturbation Brothers found something like that without telling anyone, and of all things, used it as a hiding spot for erotic picture scrolls? Or.
“Surely they didn’t secretly remodel part of the place just to hide this……right……?”
“……I don’t know”
Charlotte is impressive, but these weirdos’ ability to assess things in bizarre ways is becoming increasingly unfathomable.