It was Fransisca who
was crouching on the bed early in the morning without even getting dressed.
（I-I'm definitely going
crazy...）
Fransisca was pouting
with red cheeks.
She had been like that
for a while now. She had been aware of the fact that she had been gradually
losing her mind ever since Alexis had started to do naughty things to her.
But it was the first
time since yesterday that she knew it so clearly.
（I-it feels so good,
like I'm not myself anymore... w-why Alexis-sama...）
Fransisca closes her
eyes and exhales.
「...I can't wait to see
you...」
Fransisca's face turns
bright red as she blurts out her own words.
**a
「What...!? W-why am
I...!」
Fransisca shakes her
head, and then rises from the bed.
「I-I've got to pull
myself together. I can't keep thinking about Alexis-sama!」
After all, today is the
day they're going to start conquering Avalon's dungeons again.
（Alexis-sama still told
us that we will continue to focus on getting crystals until the blacksmith is
arrived. But how many days are we going?）
"Geez, soon, that
place will be tingling again. But Fatima sounds like a good place to have an
excuse," Fransisca thought and blushed.
「Wait...!? W-what am I
thinking...?」
Fransisca reaches for
the cabinet, reminding herself once again that she has to be firm.
* * *
「All right, we're going
to collect crystals again today. The blacksmith will be coming to the fort in
three days, so I hope to be able to bring back enough crystals to at least have
enough for the members of this group to have their own weapons when we return
next time」
Alexis said this to the
four members in front of the fort, the meeting place.
After he said this, he
tapped the carriage beside him.
The carriage in use is
an unroofed type with only a seat in a wooden frame. In a corner of the
carriage, a human-powered cart was loaded.
「I want Lorenzo to use
this cart. I asked him to choose a small one because the dungeon is narrow, but
it might be a little difficult to get around. ...Well, since we are only going
to search in the first layer where the enemies are not so strong, I think we
can cover it with our skills」
After explaining all
this, Alexis said, "Well, that's it, let's go!" and everyone
departed.
* *
*
That being said,
collecting these crystals is certainly an easy task for the body.
Unlike the
time-consuming descent to the second leayerand below, they can easily return to
the outside of the dungeon since they have decided to collect crystals only
within the first layer
And outside the
dungeon, there is an encampment, not quite a fortress, where soldiers keep a
line of defense.
The encampment is more
comfortable than camping in the dungeon, since it is well-equipped with tents,
beds, desks, and chairs, and it is even possible to gather wild animals and
nuts from the nearby forest and cook them over a fire for eating.
Although there are no
bathrooms or toilets, there are plenty of places to hide and there is even a
riverbank nearby where people can cleanse themself.
**b
* *
*
After a full day of
exploring the dungeon, Fransisca, Fatima, and Sara gather at the riverbank where
bonfires are lit here and there to cleanse themselves after the sun goes down.
「...Upstream of this
river, there was a town called Asarea, wasn't there?」
It was Fatima who
suddenly spoke up in this way.
Fatima's eyes were
directed toward the darkness where the upper reaches of the river were
swallowed up, but it was too dark at this time of the day to fully see the
darkness.
「...Asarea town? What
kind of place is it?」
Fransisca asked.
「I see. Your Highness
never went out when serving as a Princess-maiden, did she?」
Fatima thought it was a
pity.
But for Fransisca, that
was the way things used to be.
「Yes. I was usually in
the palace or the temple all the time. The first time I saw the outside world
was when Fatima took me to the Krangal Kingdom to ask for help after the
outbreak of Avalon...」
Fransisca's eyes narrow
as she reminisces about the past.
「I used to long for the
outside world... but now that I haven't had contact with singing and dancing
for such a long time, I feel sad about it」
After saying this,
Fransisca laughs, "...it's like asking for something you don't have."
「...Your Highness」
Sara, who had been
listening to the conversation, suddenly took Fransisca's hand.
「If things go back to
the way it was, we will be living in the temple again. Let's experience many
things while we still can, okay? I'll teach many things too!」
「S-Sara will teach...??
I beg you, don't teach Her Highness anything bad...!」
Fatima turns pale.
Sara's lips pouted, but
Fatima wanted to insist that she had no choice.
「I mean, you've been a
priest for a very short time and you've been a troublemaker about the precepts
since the time the state existed」
「Don't call me a
troublemaker!? I mean, all priests from the right to the left have their heads
in a bunch. Although I agreed to be recruited because the salary was good, it's
suffocating」
「...Is that so?」
Fransisca tilted her
head.
「Well, maybe Your
Highness doesn't know because a princess is born to live like that...」
Sara's argument did not
make sense to Fransisca.
Nevertheless, the night
goes on as the three women talk in an adulterous and congenial manner.
「Hey, whatever you do,
hurry up!」
But then, Alexis called
out to them through the bushes.
For some reason, he had
been assigned to watch the bathing of the three women.
He had wanted to ask
another soldier to guard the baths, but Fransisca insisted that no other man
would do it.
（You appointed me to do
such a troublesome thing. I'll punish you later）
Due to this, he told
Fransisca about it, but she nodded her head after her cheeks were stained and
her gaze drifted thoughtfully for a while.
**c
「I-I will come to
Alexis-sama's tent around bedtime」
Fransisca whispered in
his ear while fidgeting.
Yes, that was it. She
didn't seem to mind being punished so much.
（Whatever, I had already
told her that, so...）
Alexis is still doing
it. Even though there is nothing else to do but to sit here with boredom.
「I-I'm terribly sorry...」
「Yes, yes, just a few
more minutes!」
It was Sara who
replied, interrupting Fransisca's voice.
「Oh, Sara?」
When Fransisca was puzzled,
Sara said, "It's okay, it's okay, just a little bit is okay, right?"
Hearing this, Alexis is
convinced that it's going to be a long conversation.
“...Anyway,
if I can screw her later, that's fine,” Alexis thought.
And so, he takes this
time to think about what he is going to do to her.
* *
*
Thanks for reading...
