It was the day when my Goshujin-sama would bring the girl called Shuria home.
I had done all my duties for the day, including the making of dinner at the inn's kitchen, a place I was now thoroughly familiar with, and was in the middle of awaiting their return.
"Welcome home, Goshujin-sama. And, it's a pleasure to meet you, Shuria."
"The pleasure is all mine! I believe you must be Minnalis-san?"
The two of us exchanged this first greeting with amiable smiles. I had no doubt that she had at least an inkling as to my goals concerning certain things, yet she showed no weakness such as diverting her gaze.
She exuded a much stronger, more powerful impression than what I'd been told of. Perhaps her recent betrayal was what caused this dramatic change?
I'd been told that she only had traces of elven blood in her, so what was the deal with this odd color of skin? Her ears were still tapered like those of elves, but as far as I knew, elves all had an almost ethereal white skin. Was it really not a reaction due to her rare ancestry?
… No, that couldn't be. In the memories I had transferred over from Goshujin-sama, she was always white, meaning that she'd changed this much only recently.
And while Shuria and I were busy exchanging sparks behind our smiles, Goshujin-sama didn't seem to notice this turbulence in the least. He was being very nonchalant about this, saying things like he was glad we seemed to get along.
Seeing which, I myself felt my murderous intentions subside. It was troubling how I could see this undoubtedly dense side of him and still think it cute.
"Alright, I say we should have dinner now. I have everything ready and waiting."
I ended the stare-off, proposing that we eat.
I'll count this match as a draw.
☆
That evening, once the three of us had our stomachs filled and satisfied, it was decided that we would rest for the day and continue on our plans tomorrow.
Goshujin-sama was considerably fond of having a comfortable sleep, so we ended up staying at the expensive inn we were currently at.
With Shuria joining, we moved to a 4 bedroom that was recently vacated. We'd be leaving town by tomorrow anyway, so it was counted as a last indulgence before we go.
I had proposed that I could share the bed with Goshujin-sama without issue, but he got suddenly angry, preaching about how awful it was to sleep while congested.
His face had a slight blush, which told me that it wasn't as if he entirely disliked the idea of sleeping in the same bed, but I also got the impression that his honest desire was to have a bed he could fully enjoy to himself.
He also had a point that it wasn't a very comfortable experience having 2 people sharing a 1 person bed.
I was sad. I knew that Goshujin-sama wasn't genuinely angry at me, but it was still disheartening, having been scolded for the first time.
He finished his lecture saying that sleeping was the one thing he wouldn't yield on no matter what, no matter how impractical I said it was. I shall take that to heart as my own failure in understanding my Goshujin-sama's desires. I shall be deeply reflecting on this.
My attempt at being a levelheaded woman had ended up resulting in getting too invasive. An experienced female adventurer had taught me that I shouldn't be too indulgent to my man lest I run the risk of him running off; Please Miss adventurer, I need more of your advice! No, I do realize that Goshujin-sama won't run away, but having him come to hate me would be my worst nightmare.
That being the case, Goshujin-sama was currently asleep, his peaceful, utterly defenseless face displayed for my viewing pleasure. And yet, even if I so much as attempt to get close enough to touch it (with the purest of intent mind you), he would instantly open his eyes, sensing the approach as a threat.
My days were those of endurance, having a delicacy presented to me yet unable to touch.
Any other day, I would erase my presence, and without engaging in tactile contact, enjoy the sweet honey for my eyes that was his sleeping face, of course, only enough so I didn't lack in sleep the next day. But today wasn't any other day.
"… Shall we go?" I proposed.
"… Indeed." she assented.
Deep into the night, at a time when the town was sound asleep, the two of them quietly affirmed each others' intentions and left the room.
Goshujin-sama had already told her Shuria's full story. I had also received all of the vengeful memories and emotions held within the dark girl.
A new, black rage swirled in my heart.
It was a rage not at all lacking compared to my own.
So, I had no misgivings about welcoming her as a fellow accomplice. Despite that, once I'd finally met her, looked into her eyes, I knew that there were certain things we needed to discuss on.
And it seemed that she had similar thoughts.
I did consider holding off on what it was we were about to engage in for another night, seeing as she had undergone such a large change that very day, but her eyes told me that no, that was a needless worry.
For what dwelled in those eyes wasn't fatigue in the slightest, but a light that clearly demonstrated that she was hell bent on exacting her revenge.
Still, the body was something that required due rest, so I would be fine if we postponed this, but again, she didn't seem too tired to handle it.
Outside, I could see a half-moon casting down its rays. The cold night air chilled my skin.
"So," I began, "I don't have any experience dealing with this sort of situation, so I admit, I'm at a loss as to what we should start with…"
"And I am the same in that respect," Shuria complained, "I can't be proud of having participated in a love triangle even if I have."
"As you probably know, my reasons for being Goshujin-sama's accomplice include issues with that sort of relationship."
Thinking about how I met Goshujin-sama put a smile on my face.
"But," I continued, "that doesn't mean I can simply ignore this intrusion."
"Yes, and I expect it. What this is and what you had previously cannot even be compared! And in the first place, that wasn't love, that had no right to be called love. It was a betrayal, and by pieces of trash that never truly loved you in the first place. And love triangles, don't get me started. They're supposed to be so much more pure, and heartfelt, you know? Like in Ballroom of Love, or in The Baron's Garden or even..."
"T-too close, you're too close."
Shuria had started fuming about something different from the subject at hand. She was much more fluid, not only in emotion but also expression, than how Goshujin-sama had described her. Was this an effect of the demonic mana now inside her?
"Anyway," I said, bringing us back on topic, "what we have going on here can hardly be called fighting for a man. We simply can't do that in the relationship we're in."
"I have to agree, it's a predicament."
Yes, this wasn't a scene of carnage resulting from a love triangle, but a short meeting to lay down some rules.
In this 'predicament' of ours, neither of us were able to leave, neither could harm the other, and neither could simply lock away our feelings.
And of course, she was also like me, someone entirely betrayed by her whole world and who had sworn revenge. And an accomplice, and important existence, one of the only who knew the depths of my feelings. It should be the same for her. We were too important to each other to even attempt harm.
And If I couldn't technically beat her, I would have her join me. Honestly, before I met her, I was still holding on to the faint hope that it would be silly to think that any girl my Goshujin-sama happens to pick up will fall for him, but that hope was, as expected, undeniably dashed.
He was the one who would let her achieve her revenge, he was the one person in the world who saved her, and he would even share wholeheartedly in her dark desire.
I was the silly one to think that a girl wouldn't fall when there was so much to fall for.
(And if she hadn't completely fallen for him yet, I would still conduct a meeting like this, by force if I had to. She would be an asset if she were on my side, as an accomplice in our revenge of course, but also in countering the other problem.)
This was an important matter. There was one individual I had to be far more careful of than Shuria here.
"Then again," I said, "our common enemy and rival in love is definitely…"
"It's that demon lord girl. She's so unfair! How in the world are we supposed to compete with the feelings from his first run?"
Shuria stuck out her lips in a very obvious pouting face.
"Don't worry so much. A certain female adventurer who'd drifted into our village once told me this: Men may dream about a far-away girl, but they'll go for the one by their side."
"Such wonderful words of wisdom! We must make him look to us, and only us. Make him fall head over heels for our charms. I've read intensively on how men can be easily swayed by the female flesh!"
"But we need to be careful when we do. If we act too depraved, I know that Goshujin-sama won't like it. And once he gets feelings of distrust towards us, it's going to be incredibly hard getting his trust back. We need to do it very gradually, slowly increase the intensity of approach, if you will."
"Gradually, is it… Yes, I do recall reading on lewd seductresses who never get the man in the end."
"For now, let's aim to get to a stage where Goshujin-sama wouldn't shake us off if we happen to embrace him for no particular reason. And from experience, I can claim that Goshujin-sama is still a man who, despite everything, is still susceptible to a woman's wiles. Also, I should tell you about MP intoxication. It's something very easy to use to our advantage, as in, he doesn't really dislike it if you stick to him in that state. Goshujin-sama just needs a reason to say 'can't be helped' and it just works."
This, I knew for certain. When I pretend to be drunk on MP potions and start getting all over him, he might treat me a bit roughly, but he won't dislike it.
I wouldn't do it if he found it unpleasant, but despite his reluctant expression, his face always gets a tinge of red, which I find incredibly adorable. That sort of Goshujin-sama really gets me going.
"C-can you please explain that in detail…?"
"Let's see, so I do things like push my chest up against him while acting unawares. I also use my tipsiness to try an force a kiss and such…"
"M-m-my goodness, your chest!? And e-even k-kissing… ahh, ahhh!!!"
Shuria's dark complexion instantly took on a shade of red. What a cute little thing.
Though this wasn't quite what I wanted from an accomplice. She seemed not too reliable in that department. Seems she is in need of some traini… I mean, well deserved reeducation.
"You need to be able to handle at least that much without blushing so intensely. Once we get Goshujin-sama to let go of this Leticia-san, we would be the ones to console him. That means going much further than that."
Yes, like this, if I can keep her on a leash, she'll eventually begin to look to me for instruction…
"Y-you're absolutely right. When that time comes, I'm sure we can get him to ×× ×× on our ×× ××. We might even get him to ×× ×× our ×× ×× with his ×× ×× if we're lucky."
"!?"
My breath caught at the words I was hearing.
"Oh oh, and we need to ready some rope, candles, maybe a whip too…"
"!?!?"
"T-truth be told," Shuria revealed with hesitation, "earlier today, when Goshujin-sama was testing my resolve, he stepped on me hard on the back. I, well you see, I think I've awoken to some new inclinations due to that. My heart is beating faster even now as I'm remembering it."
"!?!?!?"
Shuria was saying all this while fidgeting around all bashful, as if some Lewdness Skill was manifesting inside her.
Th-this was getting out of hand. This little girl's dark desires were deeper than even mine. N-no, with the love I had for Goshujin-sama, if he desired such things of me, I definitely had the courage to comply.
"I am certain that Goshujin-sama has the qualities of a sadist. He's the type of person that becomes an uncontrollable animal in bed."
"A-and you're sure of that?" I wanted to know her basis for that conclusion.
Although, now that I think on it, I did sometimes feel a sexual gaze from him that sent this sharp chill up my spine, as if a wild carnivore was looking at me as prey...
"Yes, positive even! Even if he planned on only acting cruelly, it certainly wouldn't devolve into stepping on me like that!! Believe me on this, I am without an inkling of doubt that Goshujin-sama is very sadistically inclined!!"
"I-I think I'm starting to feel like you're right…"
Her words did ring a few bells.
Goshujin-sama was a gentleman towards me most of the time, but sometimes when I failed in whatever I was doing, he would start teasing me about it. And he always looked incredibly amused when he did.
That teasing laugh of his was different from when he laughed for revenge. And it sort of gave me some shivers when he did that, wait, oh no, was he really….
(N-no, I can't go with her flow on this. I'm supposed to be the one leading her along…)
"A-anyway, let's pause this discussion for now. We'll have a lot to do starting tomorrow, so let's continue on our plans once we're done."
"Huh? Oh, yes, with pleasure!!"
I stepped back into the inn.
This was certainly not my loss, it was a strategic retreat.
☆
Some time later, to further aid their plans on wooing Kaito, Minnalis and Shuria had secretly stolen a number of articles of a particular sort of literature which they would study together diligently.
Their levels were rising, now more than ever before.