Chapter 862: Visits from the Prostitutes 11
The stowaway girl perched herself in the middle of the 「Sexroom」, looking around uneasily. Well, with the clan chief and her representatives—a veritable who’s who—all focused on her, it was hardly a comfortable situation.
“What’s your name?”
“……Charlotte”
“That’s a nice name”
Well, judging an elf’s name as good or bad based on human standards feels a bit nonsensical, but I said it anyway. Her ears twitched. Was she concerned? Or simply pleased? Or perhaps offended? I couldn’t quite tell yet.
“Why were you hiding?”
Irina asked, arms crossed. She might not be tall, but she carried a hint of the clan chief about her. Charlotte shrank back, head bowed. I stepped in, trying to smooth things over.
“I’m not angry. Irina, you shouldn’t press her like that”
“I don’t think I was being particularly harsh”
“Just talk normally. We need to decide how to get you to Laila. ……Where did you want to go when you boarded? If you just ride silently, you’ll end up outside the forest. Or maybe you’ll be transported somewhere far away again. If you’re left alone, this 『Hut』 could take you anywhere”
Maybe she wanted to leave the forest. Or perhaps she just boarded on a whim and got carried away. Or maybe she didn’t like the Labyrinth Village and intended to hitch a ride to the clan village to return home. Technically, I don’t have to go out of my way for her, but I can’t just abandon her either. After all, she’s a child from the same oppressed side as Selenium and the others. I want to help her as much as I can, don’t I?
“At least tell me where you want to go. I’m not going to snitch or anything, and I won’t force you to stay somewhere you hate”
Right? I crouched down, peering at her as if persuading a child. She curled up tighter, trying to avoid my gaze. ……Ah, right. She faces discrimination because of her 「Eyes」. Getting closer might backfire. I stepped back, wondering what to do, when Selenium stepped in to break the deadlock.
“It’s okay! Andy-san wouldn’t make a girl unhappy”
“Hey”
Suddenly, that’s a huge leap. I’m not that omnipotent, I wanted to say, but Irina and Christie silenced me with 「Don’t stir things up」.
“Unless you’re here by mistake and just don’t want us angry at you. ……But sneaking into a hut carried by a dragon requires serious resolve. You must have had that much thought, right?”
“……Emm”
Charlotte relaxed her curled posture just a little. She looked around again. Irina, Christie, Aurora, Selenium, Hilda, Isabel and me and Laila. She tried to say something, hesitated, swallowed to moisten her throat, and showed resolve.
“……U, Umm……I wanted to see……the outside……the human town”
“Yes”
“And I……I have no one to rely on……I have nothing, so”
“You figured begging for free would be too bold, so you wouldn’t get a yes, right?”
“Yes……”
Her momentum fades. But that doesn’t mean she can just barge in. For them, the elves, the world outside the forest is a 「Foreign land」. Leaving requires many permissions and a great deal of resolve. It requires a level of determination and preparation that we, who come and go so casually, would likely think, 「It’s not something you need to make such a big deal about」. Should we patiently explain this to Charlotte and send her back? Considering the authority of the clan chief here, it might be best for appearances’ sake. However.
“Well……not having any extra baggage might actually be a good thing, don’t you think?”
“That’s true. Outside, experience or status in the forest means nothing. What truly matters is whether one possesses the drive that elves often lack. If you come to Polka, you are welcome, Blue Clan´s Charlotte”
“……Eh……is, is that……okay?”
“Irina is the self-proclaimed ambassador. I am her assistant. Our duty is to promote exchange with the outside world and prevent elves from slowly perishing as they bask in the forest’s blessings. If there are elves eager to participate in this work, we won’t refuse them”
“Blue, huh? ……Someone said she was the great-granddaughter of a clan chieftain. Was she related to Old Man Vois?”
Irina says, sounding surprised. I’m a bit surprised too. That old man didn’t seem like the type to make such gloomy, discriminatory remarks. ……Well, he is the type to think, 「This is too much trouble to think about, so I’ll just dump it on my old ally from my youth, even for important clan meetings」. So maybe it’s difficult to settle such internal clan squabbles. Also, that withered old man’s great-grandchild having such a lovely appearance……wait, that doesn’t matter for humans, does it? Elves are a race of striking beauty, and anyone gets withered with age.
“Ho. So we may fly then?”
“Ah, yeah. For now, straight to Polka as planned. We’ll deal with the rest when we get back”
Anyway, I’m exhausted. It’s not even noon yet, but it feels like night already……well, I guess it’s my own fault for spending all night with this group. Night is for secret affairs, sure, but with this many partners, I simply couldn’t rest. Maybe I should take time to rest when I can.
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It didn’t take long to return to Polka. Then, seeing Isabel’s arm perfectly reattached, Princess Ran and Fiona marveled anew, while it became clear Elenia apparently couldn’t tell the difference between her mother Selenium’s breasts and Apple’s breasts (she didn’t seem particularly surprised that no milk came out), and Anzeros was still showing her usual, unwavering doting towards both Peter and Elenia. Still, for now, I decided to dive into the massive bed in the Smithson mansion and let myself sleep. Even if there’s a healing spring that cures anything, sleepiness is sleepiness. Come to think of it, would chronic sleep deprivation be cured by the spring? Someone who’s been awake forever and is completely worn out is pretty miserable, but it feels like they’d probably recover after bathing in the spring. But even after bathing in the spring, sleepiness is still sleepiness. I guess physical damage and immediate sleepiness are separate things. ……While I was thinking such scattered thoughts, my eyelids dropped without me noticing.
When I woke up, it was still the middle of the night.
“Hmm……
I stirred and sat up. Luna, Sharon, and Beatrice were all sleeping beside me. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with that, and it didn’t seem like they’d done anything while I was asleep, so I let it slide. Sharon, for some reason, was completely naked though. Actually, maybe I should do something to them while they’re asleep.
Surely I could at least fondle their breasts. No, maybe they even wanted it. Not just breasts—maybe they wanted me to suddenly shove my dick into them while they slept. As these thoughts swirled, I reached out toward the utterly defenseless body of the Elf Princess……only to suddenly notice glowing eyes in the corner of the room and get the shock of my life.
“Uwaaaaaa!?”
There was absolutely no sign of it. Even cats can mask their presence sometimes, but they never blend into the scenery this thoroughly to get this close. Charlotte jumped at my scream, startled, and then Sharon, Beatrice, and Luna, who had been sleeping, reacted to my voice too, each springing up in their own cool way, ready for battle.
“Hand it over!”
“Wh, What!?”
“……Who?”
At the point where their gazes met stood a huddled elf with bangs. No recognition.
“Who are you!?”
“Should we just take it down?”
I frantically pulled back Sharon, still fully naked and ready to fight, and Beatrice in her nightgown, both radiating killing intent, shouting 「Whoa, wait, wait!」 to stop them.
“Wh, Why were you hiding your presence there, Charlotte?”
“Presence……I, I wasn’t hiding it, but……”
“Come on, you must have given off some! Even Luna and Sharon didn’t notice? That’s pretty bad!”
“……Even if you say it’s that hard……”
Charlotte let out a voice that sounded utterly flustered. Well, I guess not many girls get told to 「Show your presence」 like that.
……Apparently, since a place to stay couldn’t be decided on short notice, she was advised to just stay in some room at the Smithson house for tonight. Somehow, she ended up sitting in the corner of my room. She said she didn’t use the bed because she thought she’d get scolded for using it without permission.
“For us elves……whether we sleep in a bed or not is just a matter of personal preference……”
“Use it next time. No, I don’t mean you should just get into my bed or anything like that”
Well, she is a forest folk. Lately, everyone’s been adjusting to my lifestyle, so this kind of cultural gap—「You can rest without a bed」 might be a rare occurrence. That aside, I’m starting to think Charlotte’s lack of presence is actually the main reason she stands out so much.