Chapter 47 The Outlook
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The master of the Workshop gazed at Suzuri with a teasing smile. “Even if I told you I would cherish you without rest all night long, your face wouldn’t twist into longing again, would it, Suzuri?”
”Th-that means dozens of times…! Can my body even handle it…! No, I thank you for this judgment, which is both a pardon and a blessing! I humbly accept this initiation for a new servant!”
”—Sure. Thanks, Ashley. You really helped me out. …First, let’s talk about Suzuri. Don’t expect to sleep tonight. It’s a path both Ashley and Marina have already walked, but I will give you all of this Labyrinth’s status effect resistances in just one night.”
As the master of the Workshop, he didn’t mean to act like he was better than them, but it was important not to treat their serious feelings lightly. Giving them some kind of sentence was necessary to keep order in this group, which had such a clear power difference.
It was almost certainly the result of her many years as a retainer that she kept the peace and then left the final decision up to him.
He quickly used (Purify) on Suzuri, who had slowly stood up, and then stood next to the youngest servant, gently holding her hand to cheer her up. Marina, who had also lowered her head while sitting, finally stood up and lined up with Suzuri, placing him between them.
The three servants stood in a line, waiting for their master’s words.
”Suzuri-san, too. I know that your refined seiza (formal kneeling) shows your sincerity, but please stand up here. Also, if you want a punishment, you should wait for the right time and place to be cherished by Yuuri. Our reason for being, since we accepted becoming servants, is to be useful to Yuuri without being a burden. …Right, Yuuri?”
The pressure that lay deep within her calm words made Marina, who usually joked back, feel quite defeated. Even though Ashley was her own maid, Marina lowered her head so far that it almost touched the table.
Suzuri, on the other hand, quickly floated up from the far side of the seat, gracefully landed in the aisle, and then immediately lowered herself into a bow again.
”I am so sorry! Yuuri, and Suzuri, and Ashley! I promise I’ll wait until the right time next time, so please forgive me!”
”I-I am the one who is truly sorry! I am a newcomer and did not know my place! If this is the case, I am ready to accept any punishment! Please tell me what to do!”
The two people who had just been making a suggestive atmosphere were now standing tall, apologizing with very serious faces. The intelligent Marina’s momentary loss of control had been stopped by the oldest servant, who was also an servant.
A strong sound of a cup being put down froze Marina’s pleasure-soaked expression.
It was impressive that Ashley hadn’t spilled the contents while hitting the table with two cups she held in one hand. Ashley, who had finished washing the dishes she had taken away, stood there with her usual calm face, but her eyebrows were slightly furrowed.
”—That is enough, you two.”
The moment he rightly wished for help, it arrived.
He hesitated for a moment, almost ready to give in when they pressed in with gestures that clearly asked him to take them to the bedroom for a practical demonstration. He looked at Marina beside him to see what was wrong, and there was the image of the longing princess, her eyes teary and her mouth half-open, letting out hot breaths. The sound of shallow breathing and purring came from the other side too, and he no longer even felt like turning around.
The content of their talk had lost all dignity until it was no different from a dirty joke.
He knew that if his past self could see the two beautiful girls linked to his arms, leaning their heads on his shoulders while chatting, he would be very jealous.
”Don’t worry, Suzuri. Our bodies have already been remade into tools for Yuuri’s joy♡ Once Yuuri’s… hmm, once Yuuri takes the mold from you, then it feels really, really good for both of us♡”
”Ohh. From what I’ve heard so far, the servant must bring joy to the master. …This is too much for a maiden like me!”
The sight of the new younger “sister” eagerly talking about the duty of the night with a feverish look on her face, while Suzuri immediately pressed her soft chest against him, was nothing less than torture. It was obvious that the innocent younger sister would imitate the clever methods of her older sister.
He felt heat rise in his lower body at this clear provocation, which he could not respond to since it was outside the rules. The slight support of her undergarment was pressed close, and he felt the soft sensation inside against his arm. As proof, she put more strength into the arm she had linked with his, pushing her perfectly shaped chest against him. She was clearly going to push through with the idea that this was simply part of their information exchange for their great goal, even though the words she chose were clearly on the edge of inappropriate behavior.
What Suzuri, who was blushing while clinging to his arm, was thinking was obvious, but he decided not to point it out. The rule against improper behavior outside the bedroom applied to the master as well.
”Y-yes, that is correct…♡”
”So, to successfully clear the Labyrinth, we servants must fully understand the functions of Yuuri’s Familial Workshop. After all, we have already been remade as servants, and it’s no exaggeration to say we are a part of Yuuri’s skills.”
Next, the topic switched to the future outlook and the functions of the Familial Workshop, which was their trump card for conquering the Labyrinth.
Ashley stood up and started taking the dishes to the kitchen, without even looking at her master, who was now unable to move. She knew that her lover wouldn’t be able to handle her passion alone, so she seemed to welcome a new servant becoming close to the master.
When the explanation of how Suzuri became a comrade was finished, the food they had served was gone. As he leaned back against the seat, the two servants on either side of him clung to his arms, which no longer needed to move.
They were doing so well at their duties—nimbly weaving around his arms, sometimes taking away empty dishes, and even wiping his mouth the moment he paused for a breath—that he really couldn’t treat them badly. They also never forgot to exchange information.
But even though he kept quiet and watched them share information, the talk was mostly between the two on either side of him.
Suzuri had pulled his arm, which forced him to sit almost against his will on the two-person seat at the table. On top of that, Marina followed and sat next to her, so even though the bench was long, there was almost no space left with three sets of hips lined up.
At first, he thought that their elbows and shoulders would bump and get in the way.
”You two should not have been caught up, Princess. Is it not more important that you are not causing trouble for Yuuri? Your invitation to Yuuri is only allowed twice: during bath time and before sleeping. Even if you were going into the bedroom with Yuuri, what you are doing right now is not allowed. Most importantly, you are too excited just because you have a new sister servant. If you keep tempting her like that, Suzuri-san will just imitate you.”
”Ah, Ashley… No, look, we weren’t doing anything really naughty, right?”
”No way! So those who rode on the coattails of your brother tried to kill Marina-dono!?”
”That’s right. From my side, all I wanted was to discuss the problems of the country as someone who holds the same claim to the throne. The fact that they won’t even let people who disagree with them stand in the same room to talk is a sign that the country is about to fall.”
”And that is why I was sent flying to the fifty-seventh level. It was Lady Shelm-sama’s (Goddess Shelm) guidance. When she found out that Yuuri had a Familial Workshop, she let me become an servant so I could try to turn things around by conquering the Labyrinth.”
”Goddess Shelm, to think she actually exists…. I see. That Goddess told the person she loves, Yuuri-sama, that I was still alive.”
”She visits the Workshop sometimes, so I think you will meet her soon, Suzuri-san. You should thank her then.”
It seems that the lecture for Suzuri was still happening even while he was resting, unconscious.
Since he had joined late, he had no way of knowing how far the conversation had progressed. He also needed to eat the meal he had missed, so he held back from speaking up.
”Yuuri… I know you finished explaining everything to Suzuri, right? Can we please start soon?”
Sensing the desire swirling inside him, Marina, whose long wait was now certain, begged him with upturned eyes, trying to make the time go faster.
He looked at the other side, where Suzuri nodded with determination and Ashley remained silent with her usual calm expression.
Since nothing was left to stop this rush of emotion, he embraced his beloved childhood friend’s slender waist and whispered in her ear.
”Get ready.”
”—Yes!♡”
The usually lady-like Ashley let a small smile show.
He could not stop the shiver of excitement as this seductive charm flowed from her modest appearance. He desperately wanted to hug Ashley from behind as she walked silently toward the bedroom.
But with Marina and Suzuri watching, he suppressed that desire and simply followed after her.
—What should I do to please the person I love most?
That thought alone swirled in his head as he pictured her full, beautiful body, visible even through the clothes she wore.
* * *
”—By the way, how long do you plan to take to conquer the Labyrinth?”
After he had mostly finished explaining the facilities inside the Workshop, Suzuri, who had been enjoying the orange juice poured from one of the drink bars, took the cup from her mouth and asked. She understood that the environment made the conquest much easier, but she worried that if too much time passed, there would be no way to intervene in the political situation again.
Since the Labyrinth conquest was meant for the political fight, it was definitely better to finish as quickly as possible.
Marina hugged Suzuri and stroked her head, praising her for understanding the importance of speed.
He then explained the time-stopping feature, which made the outside world pause, a feature he had saved for last because it was difficult to grasp. Suzuri just tilted her head in confusion, unable to understand it.
”Time, stops…?”
The Workshop itself, which allows the existence of this unique space, already ignores the normal rules of spatial scale, so this kind of feeling was likely familiar to Suzuri.
However, there are no generally known skills that can manipulate time. The idea that the flow of time could change seemed to be a phenomenon that the people of this world found hard to understand.
Unlike those reincarnated with knowledge from a previous life, or Ashley, who was given information directly by Shelm-sama (Lady Shelm), Suzuri had no basis, academic or experiential, for the idea that other people could experience different lengths of time without her knowing.
”Perhaps it’s because space can be changed freely, but time is always constant everywhere, which makes it harder to even think of such a thing…”
He had no way of knowing what the physical laws of this world truly were. However, the fact that the Workshop had a feature that made its own time flow was clear proof that the flow of time was not absolute.
The gods likely kept secret the fact that manipulating time was easy for them, probably because the disadvantages of letting people use skills and the Labyrinth outweighed the advantage of increasing their own power. When he thought about it that way, he realized that the time-related features of the Familial Workshop must not be made public to avoid them being criticized.
”Ohh, I will try my best to hide the secret and make excuses even if it’s just on the surface…”
Since the need to keep one’s true ability hidden is a mindset common to a shinobi (ninja), Suzuri seemed to understand the necessity of this.
In the end, by checking the time difference that occurred when Ashley took her pocket watch outside the Workshop, Suzuri seemed to understand the feature, even if she still had question marks over her head.
”In short, if I were to go out on scouting and then go missing, the time limit would be wasted for as long as I remain alive, yes?”
”…I’m telling you, you are more important than the time, My servant. I don’t care how long it takes, just make sure you come back.”
Suzuri had understood that stopping time was part of the strategy for a quick conquest, and she was subtly suggesting that he could abandon her if necessary. He naturally could not accept that.
”If you ever got into a state like that, it would be My fault for not being able to prevent a situation that would force you to overwork yourself. Between your life and Marina’s political situation, I would choose your life without a doubt.”
”That’s right. I will also speak my mind to Yuuri so that won’t happen, and I want you, Suzuri, to use your experience to advise us. You must not forget that you are now My important little sister.”
”—Yes. I feel that being alone is unbearable now. Even if my life were to scatter, I would wish to pass away in Yuuri-sama’s arms in the end. I promise to return to your side.”
”Suzuri-san, you are a valuable person in many ways. You must never lose hope.”
Even though everyone was pleading for her to value her own life, Suzuri still treated her life lightly.
Even if this was a sign of her trust, he needed to change her mind.
—It seems Suzuri is not the only one I need to “make understand.”
”I don’t think so! I can’t possibly win against Yuuri’s presence—, hmm, against Yuuri! Oh, I will look so embarrassing in front of my little sister!”
He embraced the princess, who looked pathetic, telling her that this was her punishment.
He was partly concerned that the addition of Suzuri might create factions among the three servants. Marina was probably unaware of it, but she might have thought that by siding with her sister Suzuri, she could compete with Ashley, the person the master openly called his most beloved.
However, as the master of the Workshop, with absolute power backed by the compulsory nature of the skills, he could not ignore any friction among the servants caused by considering personal gain.
All the servants are equally dear to him, and they just need to contribute with their own strengths.
If any of the servants tried to rank themselves based on their own opinions, he had a duty as the one who controls the group to stop it.
”Marina. I will say it again. You are the one I respect and trust the most. Tonight, I will make you understand that. Wait and let yourself be tormented until then.”
He truly wanted to throw his frustrating feelings into Marina’s body right now.
He pressed his heated lower body, which had risen up from the emotion swelling up from the pit of his stomach, against Marina’s lower abdomen. He repeatedly kissed Marina’s face, whose relaxed body was trembling from the vibration of longing.
”Hah! Ah!♡ Yuuri, you are so mean, you are a monster!♡ When I start to lose control like this, you dangle your presence—, right in front of me to make me work!♡ Knowing I’ll get this makes me feel like I just have to try my best!♡♡”
Even if the dark desire swirling in his stomach was real, on the surface, this was merely an embrace of deep affection. He fully enjoyed the softness of the now-relaxed Marina, with her mark clearly visible.
He handed the princess’s now completely still body to Suzuri, crossed in front of Ashley, and sat in the opposite seat. He sat his sensible childhood friend next to him and told Suzuri and Marina to sit back in their previous seats.
It was only then that he could finally move on to the long-delayed explanation of the Workshop’s features and characteristics.
”Next is Ashley. You will be the first one tonight. …Don’t look so surprised. Not choosing you first, even though you are the most important person to me, is part of Suzuri’s punishment. And the rest is both a reward for keeping the peace and, I’m sure, an example for Suzuri, too.”
”—I understand. I will show them what it truly means to behave as a proper servant, so that Suzuri-san may follow My example.”
Ashley gave a brief agreement while remaining perfectly straight, then bowed deeply, her mark rising up proudly. Suzuri seemed impressed by this picture-perfect image of an servant, gazing at her with awe. …But everyone else seemed to have a faint feeling that Suzuri was the only one who didn’t understand what kind of behavior Ashley was going to use as an example.
”Finally, Marina. I will hold you last. …Don’t make a face like that, as if that is all. In front of Suzuri, you will have a contest with Me.”
She had straightened her back and accepted the command with her naturally serious nature, but only she seemed not to notice the mark had risen up over her clothes.
Notes:
• Suzuri – A scout who braved the labyrinth and lured a petrifying monster to protect her friends, she endured long isolation while frozen in stone and relied on inner magic to preserve her sense of self.
• Ashley – Count’s daughter, royal attendant, has a crush on Yuuri.
• Marina – First Princess of Restea—needs labyrinth escort.
• Shelm – Wicked Goddess, reincarnated Yuuri, manipulative, wants him to use his power.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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