Chapter 62 Duel
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Her throat seems to be getting better with the treatment of medicine and hot spring water… but──.”
In the first-floor examination room of the ‘Rosen Clinic,’ I listen to Mr. Rudolf with Liz. Kazumi, Rena, and Martina are upstairs in the hospital room with Dorothy.
”The problem is… the crotch tattoo.”
Liz crosses her arms.
”That kind of magical thing can’t be fixed with ‘Dispel’.”
”Is it like a curse?”
Mr. Rudolf nods at my words.
”The only way to break it is to have a master, and it can only be done through the master’s ‘death’.”
”Since it’s just marked, there’s no master to serve yet. I mean, she hasn’t… well, you know…”
Liz asks, her face turning red.
”Yes. So, there’s no one she has to obey, which means she’s free in a way, but…”
”It’s ‘driven by lust at irregular times,’ right?”
Mr. Rudolf nods again. I mean, “lust” isn’t a word kids usually use.
”It would be best if there was a ‘man she loves,’ but…”
Even though Liz says that, Mr. Rudolf still looks serious.
”…It seems she doesn’t want to go back to the village.”
”That makes sense. With something like that marked on her, she can’t go back home. I don’t think the village would accept her anyway.”
”She lost her family and her home. Anyway, I’ve made a medicine to suppress her urges. It’s not great, but it’s better than nothing.”
The men from the merchant group were Dorothy’s family. Grandfather, father, brother…
”We’ll keep an eye on her for 2 or 3 days here. But after that, what to do…”
Mr. Rudolf crosses his arms and thinks.
”We can’t let her come into contact with any men.”
Liz is also deep in thought.
* * *
”Hey Hiroya. Are you going to take care of her?”
After leaving the examination room, Liz whispers to me.
”What are you talking about? I’m still a virgin and haven’t even hit puberty yet.”
Liz laughs at my response. Well, that’s not really the issue. I have Kazumi.
”But don’t you think it’s better to be with her than leave her in the village? Our party is all girls except for you.”
”Um, we go to school 2 days a week. If Liz and Martina can handle things during that time, then maybe that could work.”
”Hmm… If we just avoid letting her meet any men, we might manage.”
”…We might manage, huh…”
”Then let’s go with that. Elves can be a great help, you know?”
…Looks like it’s decided. Well, we’ll confirm Dorothy’s wishes first.
I thought about visiting Dorothy in her hospital room, but Rena and the others said she was sleeping. She must be tired after everything that happened.
We decided to take a rest day today and relax. While we’re adventurers, we’ve decided to stay at an inn instead of going home, so we all headed to the inn together.
* * *
”I see… her family was killed, huh?”
Martina sits on the bed, looking down.
”Even if she goes back to the village, there’s no one left…”
”And with a body cursed like this, she can’t go back…”
Kazumi and Rena, who were talking through ‘Telepathy,’ also sit down and look down.
”That’s true… but we were thinking of welcoming Dorothy into our party. Well, it depends on how she feels.”
”…Even if she lives in the village, if we don’t stay with her all the time, there’s a risk she might get involved with some strange man… so I think it’s better for her to join us as adventurers.”
Even though Liz made the decision, I’m the one explaining it.
”Oh… that might be okay.”
Kazumi looks up.
”Apparently, she already has someone she’s decided on. Right?”
”Yeah. She mentioned that.”
Kazumi and Rena look at each other.
”‘Until she fulfills her feelings for that person, she won’t let any other man touch her. She said she would resist the power of the crotch tattoo’.”
Kazumi says this while looking at me.
”Got it, that’s good for her.”
”That’s not good!”
”…Huh?”
After a moment of silence that felt like time had stopped, I made a strange sound. Why is Kazumi angry?
”You blockhead! It’s about you!”
”Huh?”
Another strange sound came out.
”I haven’t even been held by you yet! Are you planning to let Dorothy have her way first?”
Hey! That’s not something you should say in front of everyone, Ms. Kazumi.
”Well, I understand Dorothy’s feelings. You helped her out in a cool way, right? You changed the fate of someone who was caught in a manhunt and was about to become a sl*ve… Hiroya is that person. Do you realize it? You’re cool!”
Kazumi quickly threw words at me, but wait… am I being scolded or praised? Rena and Liz are watching us with smirks. Martina is nodding with her arms crossed, saying “Uh-huh.”
”Anyway! Hiroya’s first time… I’m going to take it! Waaaaaaah!”
…She started crying. After screaming something outrageous, she began to cry.
”We’re going out for a bit. Hiroya, make sure to comfort her.”
Saying that, Rena left the room with a worried-looking Martina.
”Um… I’m sorry. I didn’t know Dorothy felt that way about me…”
”I’m… Hiroya’s number one…”
Saying that, Kazumi clung to my waist.
”No, it’s not about being number one… it’s just you, Kazumi.”
I gently patted Kazumi’s head, which was still wet with tears, trying to comfort her.
”No, think about it a bit more. Martina is here too.”
Kazumi suddenly replied with a serious face. Huh? Is she faking her tears? No way, right?
* * *
”So, Liz isn’t here tonight?”
After finishing dinner, I returned to the room with Kazumi, Rena, and Martina.
”I heard she is staying at the same inn with Ares.”
Rena grinned.
”Ares and the others have been working hard lately.”
Recently, it seems that the leader, Guido, along with Marty, Isaac, and Roana, have been exploring the area around the ‘Goblin Forest’ dungeon.
It’s a place where ogres are common, and sometimes trolls appear. They’ve been working so energetically that we haven’t even seen them since we returned from the capital.
”Is Liz finally going to get her wish?”
Kazumi smiled enviously.
”Big Sister Liz is going to get it on.”
Even Martina had a smirk. Stop it.
* * *
After changing into my pajamas and enjoying the ‘Elf’s tea leaves’ that Kazumi made, the door to the room suddenly burst open.
”Hiroya! Duel!”
Huh? Ares? What are you talking about?
”Ares! Are you really going to fight Hiroya? Can you even do it?”
Liz, wearing a gown, rushed in after Ares.
”Hmm, then! Let’s see who can make Liz scream first──.”
Before he could finish, Liz kicked Ares in the neck.
”You idiot!”
Ares flew back onto the bed and seemed to lose consciousness.
* * *
”…Ares said, ‘Let me do it!’ so… I said okay.”
Liz started talking quietly.
”…This guy is pretty rough. He tried to, you know, without any foreplay. So, I accidentally said, ‘Hiroya was much gentler’.”
Ms. Liz! Wait! Are you really spilling all this here?
Kazumi, Rena, and Martina’s gazes are piercing. I could only look at the collapsed Ares.
”Oh, I told Ares too. ‘I was enchanted by an incubus and got excited, and Hiroya comforted me with his fingers.’ He wasn’t angry or jealous. He probably accepted it as something that couldn’t be helped.”
”Oh no.”
I put my hand on my forehead and looked up at the ceiling. Ms. Liz, you really said everything.
”Hiroya… was comforting during Liz’s excitement…”
”Even though Rena (me) and Kazumi comforted themselves alone…”
”I’m fine!”
…Well, Martina wasn’t enchanted, right? So it’s fine.
”Well, when I went to help Liz, it just happened to be the right time… I’m sorry for keeping quiet.”
Seeing me apologize to Kazumi and the others, Liz lets out a small “Ah!” Maybe she realized. It’s too late now.
”So, when he heards ‘Hiroya was nicer to me,’ that’s why this whole thing happened,” Kazumi says.
Liz nods at Kazumi’s words.
”…He was nice.”
Rena’s face turns red. Martina, don’t swallow too hard.
”Yes, He was nice.”
Kazumi’s gaze is intense. …I am nice to Kazumi too, huh?
”Well, that’s fine.”
”Huh? It’s fine, Kazumi?”
”…I understand why Liz has been so attached to Hiroya lately.”
Saying that, Kazumi points at Ares, who has collapsed on the bed.
”So, what do we do about this?”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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