Laura came to me wearing a bunny girl outfit in the middle of the night.
Doesn't it make this some kind of booty call?
I never even ordered her to wear a bunny girl outfit.
I told her that I would put her in a bunny girl outfit, not that she should come to me wearing one.
I need to think about what's happening.
If I'm right, I have the upper hand in this situation.
Regardless of whether Laura is supposed to represent the player or if she's connected to the final boss of the Infinite Labyrinth, I have the upper hand as long as she's coming to see me in my bedroom.
She needs me.
I need to show her confidence.
"Scion, the guest has arrived."
"Bring her in."
I grabbed a wine glass, filled it up with something like wine or grape juice, and laid my eyes on the view past the balcony.
"Excuse—Eek…?!"
The blonde bunny girl was shocked out of her mind as soon as she walked through the door.
Of course, she would be.
All I'm wearing is a white gown.
With nothing underneath.
I tied the gown at the waist to hide Louie's pitiful upper body, but there's no doubt she saw the silhouette of his cock with the moonlight behind him.
"Welcome, Miss Laura. I'm glad to see you again."
"Yes, Scion."
"I can see you brought the right attitude to the interview with the bunny girl outfit. Have a seat."
I gestured towards a sofa and sat across from her.
With my legs spread open.
The gown barely covered my erect dick and was about to slide off with the slightest movement.
This is most definitely sexual harassment.
But since she came here in a bunny girl outfit, I had to approach her with the assumption that I could have sex with her tonight!
Even though Louie has an awful body, his face is annoyingly handsome.
It's just that he has a shit personality, behaviour, and attitude…
She must know that about him.
Or… maybe she doesn't?
Laura is new to this city.
It's possible she hasn't had enough time to learn about Louie Permarten.
Ugh, screw it.
I've already crossed the line.
Laura's awkward gaze has already brushed my cock a few times anyway.
This is my chance.
Even if it isn't, I'll make sure to turn it into one.
"Let's continue our conversation from earlier in the day. I'm recruiting a knight order to clear the Infinite Labyrinth. Well, that's what people will think."
"That's what people will think…?"
"Normally, you'd have to sign a contract for me to tell you this, but I'll make an exception for you."
Coming here in a bunny girl outfit means that she's willing to sign the contract anyway.
"I want to see what's at the end of the Infinite Labyrinth."
"...!!"
"That doesn't mean I'm going to destroy the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is responsible for the city's economy—no—the world. You can think of it as one of the legs that prop up this world."
A human can live without a leg.
But, it's incredibly inconvenient to live without a leg, and it's best to ensure you don't lose one.
"If I said that outside this room, the Kingdom or the Empire would tie me down to a bed and force me to seed a woman and keep me clinging to my life until the child is born. Afterwards, I'd be murdered, and the child would be forced to live with all its limbs mutilated."
"That… That's…"
"Cruel? That's life. Desire breeds cruelty beyond your wildest imagination. It'd be wise to remember that."
I vaguely remember something from her backstory.
Laura.
Just like the male player character, she isn't an ordinary human.
"I'm being watched. Every word I utter will be heard by others—maids, servants, knights… It'll all flow into the ears of the Kingdom and the Empire. I have no allies in Permarten Castle."
"Even this room…?"
"This is the only safe space."
"How come?"
"It's funny. It seems like they didn't like overhearing all the sex noises, which means that this room is completely soundproof. As a matter of fact, this is the only soundproof room in the entire castle."
No matter how badly they wanted to listen in, I guess they didn't want to overhear the sounds coming out of the bedroom of the man low enough to invoke droit du seigneur.
That was their mistake…
They assumed this room would only be used for cruel and dark sex and decided not to bug it.
"They must've thought it was best to stop the screaming from leaking out of this room. That's why we can talk about everything so openly."
"Then…"
"I needed to do this to survive. I won't say that I regret my actions, nor will I ask for your forgiveness—I did what I had to do."
There was no other way.
I became a scumbag to survive.
Even if I can't be forgiven, this is the only way to justify my actions.
I have no way of obtaining information.
I can't trust anyone and my public image is already in the gutters.
Given these circumstances, I have to become a villain that demands sympathy.
"If you join my knight order, people will look at you poorly. WhetherRegardless of whether you have sex with me or not, they'll think you did. Of course, I thought of an effective way to combat that."
"You mean you've prepared something for those of us who may not have sex with you?"
"Yes."
I'll learn magic to summon a unicorn to carry around all the women who don't have sex with me.
It's only an idea for now though.
"There aren't many things I can do here. Permarten has near-infinite wealth, but there's not much of that wealth I can use secretly. Everything will be recorded and become known. Do you still wish to join my knight order?"
"If…"
Laura began speaking cautiously.
"If I become one of your knights, will I get to see the end of the Infinite Labyrinth?"
"I will do everything in my power for that to happen, even if it costs me my life."
"Um, I know this will probably never happen, but…"
"What is it?"
"...What if we try to clear the Labyrinth but end up destroying it?"
This is it.
This is the watershed moment.
This isn't just a simple question.
Once the knight order is established, I intend to close the Labyrinth.
Does she want me to figure out her backstory?
The relationship between Laura, her brother who disappeared, and the final boss of the Infinite Labyrinth is why she's determined to clear the Labyrinth, even though she currently has no power to do so.
I can only come to a single conclusion when I put all the pieces together.
"It doesn't matter."
"...Pardon me?"
"It's like I said before. What's said in this room will stay here. Do you perhaps think that we were being too loud in our conversation?"
"Um, no…?"
"Let me show you."
How disconnected this room is from the rest of the castle.
I mouthed instructions to Laura and cleared my throat.
"St-stop! What are you doing with that knife…? You… You're here TO KILL ME!"
"HELP!!!!! SHE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!!!!!"
I screamed out.
Laura's eyes widened in shock as I raised my glass towards her.
"How's that?"
"...Huh?"
"No one's here."
Despite the cry for help, no one came.
"Louie Permarten is begging for his life, yet not a single knight, or even a maid, showed up. You see? This room is my secret base."
"..."
"Anything you say here will stay here. So tell me what's on your mind. Be honest."
"...I"
Laura placed her hand on her chest.
"I want to kill the creator of the Infinite Labyrinth, whom I believe must be at the end of it."
"The creator… What happens when you kill him?"
"..."
"From your silence, I gather that you're thinking about the worst possible outcome: the loss of the Infinite Labyrinth."
It means nothing will protect the Permartens anymore.
"Well, that's fine."
"What…?"
"It wouldn't be terrible to be the one to end the Permarten curse."
"Wait, but that…"
"But, if that ever happens…"
I put down my wine glass and sat beside her.
"You must take care of me."
"Whaaat?"
"If you can defeat the creator of the Infinite Labyrinth, that must mean you've become a powerful adventurer. When everyone in this world tries to kill me, you have to protect me. Do you understand?"
"That's…"
"Hypothetically speaking, of course."
Even I don't know how this story will end.
"My authority comes from the Infinite Labyrinth. Once it disappears, I'll be reduced to a common man. But,. I'll give you everything I can before that happens."
"Well…"
I snuck my hand on her shoulder.
Laura became timid as soon as I put my arm around her.
This could absolutely be sexual harassment if she didn't want it.
She could burst out of this room at any moment.
I just can't hold back any longer.
How could I hold myself back from a blonde bunny girl?
"S-Scion…?"
"What?"
"I wore this outfit… But I didn't come here to do that…"
"So?"
"For now, you…"
Laura's ears were a deep red.
"...You can promise me we'll see the end of the Infinite Labyrinth, right?"
"Of course."
"Then…"
Laura rested her small hand on my thigh.
"Please be gentle…"
"Of course. Why don't we sign our contract?"
"What? Right now?"
"Yes."
I whispered in her ear.
"I'll sign in your deepest, most intimate place with thick white ink."
Laura slowly closed her eyes and approached me.
"...I think you'll be using a red pen."