Chapter 209: East, Ishay (4)
This was my cardinal sin.
Inflated like a balloon that could burst at any moment, if I let go of it even once, it would go straight up in the air and disappear into the distance.
Maybe one day it will burst but it wasn’t supposed to be now.
“Uh, it’s Zetto, right?”
“Yes, Cadet Zetto.”
Aizel was followed by Yuri and Kaen.
It wasn’t a good sign that I ran into them while enjoying the hot springs alone.
“Haha… So this is how we meet.”
I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, but I couldn’t help but let my voice tremble slightly.
Their current state was dangerous in more ways than one.
I’d seen Aizel and Yuri in their underwear recently, but I hadn’t thought much of it then.
They’d been glaring murderously and exchanging spells of ridiculous power and I was too busy trying to stop them.
However it’s different now.
I knew that ‘that thing’ – the towel or cloth that I’d seen in the airship’s sauna before, barely covering vital areas – was dangerous.
It looked like it could be used for anything, and it left me with a terrible imagination.
“I shouldn’t interrupt the ladies’ time, and my presence would be uncomfortable, so please make yourself at home…”
I pulled myself up before it was too late.
“No, I’m not uncomfortable at all.”
Aizel, who had already reached the place next to me, grabbed my shoulder and pulled me down.
As if to say, cut the crap and sit down.
“What’s uncomfortable?”
“I’m fine.”
Yuri, who had taken the seat next to me, shook her head as if she couldn’t understand, and Kaen, who was sitting across from me, added.
“…If you are.”
It dawned on me that I had stepped into a trap.
My ankles were bound and I couldn’t get out.
The best thing I could do now was to dive into the hot spring and cover my lower half as best I could.
The dense fog created by the steam in the hot spring helped me.
“Is Zetto uncomfortable, is he embarrassed to be seen…?”
“That can’t be, I don’t know about Aizel, but Cadet Yuri and I have already seen that side of Zetto on the airship.”
Kaen answered for me, and her voice was followed by Aizel muttering something along the lines of, “He went with me last time.”
It was more of a whisper.
Apparently, I had gone to the sauna with her the previous time.
“…I’m fine.”
There was a moment of silence between the man and the three women.
“”……””
The first to speak up is.
“What did everyone do today?”
It was me.
Just in case a little conversation would take my mind off things.
“Nothing much, we all went to see Ishay.”
Yuri replied in a dull voice.
This was good news.
Aside from Yuri’s curiosity, Aizel thought she and Yuri had fallen out, but the fact that they’d been walking around together suggested that wasn’t necessarily the case.
“What did Zetto do?”
Aizel’s question immediately followed.
She turned her body slightly toward me and gave me a catlike look.
“I…”
I couldn’t honestly say, “I’ve been dealing with the problems the Princess and King of Ishay have been having.”
Geppeti said that their behavior was likely a form of overprotection born of obsession.
In that situation, it seemed like something bad was going to happen if she said, “I’ve captured a demon that’s been running the country.”
It was something that could be handled quietly, and it was something that could be hidden because it was done quietly, as planned.
“…I revisited the places I’ve been with my Master before, though it wasn’t easy since my memory is fuzzy.”
“Master… I see.”
“I thought you might need some time alone.”
“Haha, let’s go together tomorrow.”
“That’s a good idea.”
The mood was pretty good.
If it weren’t for the fact that Kaen, who was sitting across from them, slowly lowered the cloth covering her body.
“…Hmm.”
Kaen grinned sheepishly.
“Kaen, my eyes are starting to get uncomfortable, why don’t you pull that up?”
Aizel scolds her unnecessarily.
“Oh, sure, but I was just wondering about something.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like, how detailed Cadet Zetto’s senses can pick up shapes…? I’d imagine he’d be able to pick out armor or clothing, and Cadet Zetto is pretty good at exploiting his opponents’ weaknesses.”
“Shapes…”
Yuri looks down at her chest at Kaen’s explanation.
“I can’t imagine how our current form would feel to Cadet Zetto.”
Kaen suddenly lifts her arms and stretches, accentuating her breasts that I can’t help but stare at.
She was clearly provoking me.
She’s making sensual gestures, trying to gauge my mood, which she hasn’t been doing lately.
“It’s a little embarrassing to think that…”
“Are you idiots? Zetto hasn’t changed his expression.”
Yuri blushed and Aizel shrugged.
“I don’t really see any facial expressions in the first place.”
Kaen dabbed at the corners of her eyes as if to remind me of my bandages.
“I can tell, Zetto’s not feeling well right now.”
Aizel nodded in agreement.
The only thing that kept me from feeling uneasy was Sheddie’s faint presence at the bottom of the hot spring.
I was now desperately focusing on its fluffy fur as much as possible since it was the only thing that distracted me from my thoughts but Aizel’s next words shattered my efforts.
“Touch is the only thing that can arouse Zetto.”
Then she whispers to me.
“Isn’t that right, Zetto?”
Her hot breath was in my ear as she leaned in, her heaving breasts brushing against my bare skin.
“I… touch…? Come to think of it, I heard from Crank that it’s a man’s fantasy to bathe with a woman…”
Yuri’s words were interrupted by Aizel’s attack.
Damn.
How did Crank end up saying that?
“Cadet Crank and Cadet Amon were having a strange discussion.”
Apparently, a group of women had witnessed Crank’s discussion with Amon, and Crank was making excuses for it.
I wonder if the women were conscious of Crank and Amon and came to the hot springs at such an ungodly hour, when no men would come.
“…Are you going to do that to me, to Zetto…?”
“I don’t understand, but…”
“Well, then… The only way to make Zetto understand is to touch him…?”
The way Yuri had been stuttering and rolling her eyeballs this way and that from earlier was not normal, even for her.
It was more irritating than anything because her intentions were plain to see.
“That… For Zetto’s sake…”
She finished by muttering something that made Yuri think she was going to lose her mind.
“……”
Why are you closing your eyes?
My head didn’t move toward her as I couldn’t make sense of what was happening.
“Uh…”
Soon, Yuri’s closed eyes groaned.
“Zetto… It’s a little… rough…”
Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t me who was touching her breasts.
Aizel, who was on the other side of her, had reached out and was cupping Yuri’s breasts while her eyes were closed.
“I… Miss Aizel…?”
At the sound of my question mark in her voice, Yuri slowly opened her eyes, and her questioning exclamation was echoed by Aizel.
“Ah…?”
“It’s no different than my breasts, no? If anything, mine are better, so you might as well touch me.”
“Cadet Zetto, if you’re going to fulfill your romance, wouldn’t it be better if they were bigger? I’m sure you’re aware of who has the bigger titties.”
Kaen’s rant was calm yet frantic as she approached me from the other side.
Reaching the end of my patience, I pressed my brow and ran a hand through my hair.
“Please, can we…Can we talk about something else…?”
I couldn’t touch anyone’s chest or stand up and run out of the hot spring.
Sheddie, where is Sheddie?
I searched frantically for him, and then I saw him on the other side of the hot spring floor.
He was staring at me, then it craned its short neck and shook its head.
“Why…?
***
It’s very pleasant to follow my master around.
It’s the same as before.
Adventures and interesting things happen.
Even though Master’s bizarre spirit sealing technique has reduced me to a lowly beast, a shadow of my former majestic self, I now think that I was guilty of not recognizing him.
At the time, I felt a little unjust and unhappy about it, but I’m satisfied that my master found me again.
Did you know that the master you see there, surrounded by women, was once a great demon who struck fear into the hearts of all the demons of the world?
He was much sterner than he is now, and he didn’t smile as much.
I like him much better now.
For whatever reason, he seems much happier than before. As a spirit, it’s only natural that I want my master to be happy.
What bothers me is that the red-haired woman smells familiar.
One of the benefits of taking on the body of a beast like this is the ability to smell special odors.
She smells like the scent of my master’s former lover, Red Flame.
She looks the same too, perhaps she too has been reincarnated.
A reunion at the end of reincarnation, but it’s too bad neither of them recognize it.
Well, it doesn’t really matter because it looks like they’re going to be lovers again.
It’s just a matter of how.
She’s not the only one who might have been his lover in a previous life.
When he was a demon, he would occasionally tell me stories of his past life.
Among them was that of his wife.
He didn’t talk about her very often, but she was a beautiful woman with hair like a peach blossom.
I know that the hair color is not rare, but it is also not common.
I wonder if it was just a coincidence that the only woman in the academy with crimson hair took an interest in the master.
Whatever it was, I had a feeling that interesting things were about to happen.
To embrace them all, that was the ambition of a would-be demon king.
After all, it’s fun to be with him.
It’s a little overwhelming to have to eat demons until I’m sick of it, but my master’s blood tastes good, so that’s all that matters.
For now, I’m just enjoying the view of my master’s troubles from the comfort of my vantage point.
It’s none of my business.
Human love is beyond my understanding as a spirit.
Surrounded by the three women, master looks at me in confusion.
What? Don’t look at me.
It’s all your fault.
You’re the one who’s always been attracted to women, so you have to accept it.
That’s what it means to embrace everyone.