Chapter 52

The treatment room of the clinic.

Sitting in a chair, I face Luluka.

Luluka seems restless, repeatedly adjusting her seat while glancing at me.

Even though this is a common sight, it seems different after she told me she likes me.

"Ah, ahaha... H-Hi! It's been a while, hasn't it!"

Luluka, blushing, puts a hand behind her neck and looks away.

It's not like it's been that long.

Just a few days.

"O-Oh, yeah. What are you doing here so late? Need treatment?"

Probably, I'm just overthinking it.

That Miss Contest.

When she confessed, thinking I was about to die, and kissed me on the cheek.

At that time, there was the tension of possibly petrifying and dying, and the relief when it was over.

It was an extraordinary situation.

That's why Luluka probably kissed me out of the moment.

But now, it's different.

Some time has passed, and we've both calmed down.

I doubt either of us thought we'd face each other like this.

It feels awkward.

...And I'm a bit self-conscious too.

Thinking about the times she let me grope her chest to lower the treatment fee, when she wanted to explore the dungeon with me, the magical earring, and how she rushed to me when I was lost in the forest.

After she said she likes me, I can't help but connect all these dots.

Luluka is cute.

She has a pretty face, and I think her red hair is beautiful.

She has a large chest.

I saw her in a swimsuit during the Miss Contest, and she had a well-toned, healthy, and sexy body.

She's easy to talk to and has a light personality.

And unlike Yuel, she's of an age where I can pursue her.

What would happen if I told her I like her here?

Just thinking about it makes me nervous.

---But, I can't.

Regardless of how I feel about Luluka, I can't right now.

"..."

Yuel is sitting on my lap.

Not just sitting, but hugging me from the front.

I can see Luluka over Yuel's head, but the lower half of my vision is filled with Yuel's face.

From such close proximity, Yuel is staring intently into my eyes.

...In this situation, I don't have the courage to talk to Luluka about anything.

"It's not that I'm hurt or anything... It's not for treatment... I-I mean, is it not allowed to come here if it's not for treatment?"

As Luluka says this, blushing and embarrassed, I feel Yuel's hand gripping my shirt tightly.

No way.

It's not that it's not allowed to come here if it's not for treatment, but with Yuel so close, I can't have a proper conversation with Luluka.

I thought about asking Yuel to make some tea, but from the look on her face, that's not possible.

Yuel's eyes are already on the verge of breaking down just from Luluka's shy words.

Her blue eyes, trembling as if clinging to me, are focused solely on me.

...I can't put any more strain on Yuel's mental state.

If I tell the obedient Yuel to make tea, she'll leave, but she'll definitely cry.

I don't want to drink the slightly salty, sad tea that Yuel would make while crying.

For now, I gently stroke Yuel's head as a gesture.

"..."

Then, Yuel starts rubbing her head against my neck.

A small, almost inaudible sob escapes her.

...Maybe she's a bit relieved.

Yuel, as if confirming the warmth, wraps her hands around my neck and rubs her head against me.

"A-Ah!? S-Siki!?"

Luluka shouts when she sees this, but I can't stop Yuel now.

If this was just Yuel trying to intimidate Luluka as a woman, I would stop her, but this is probably different.

...Yuel is just anxious.

Yuel is looking only at my eyes, not at Luluka.

She is intently watching my eyes, trying not to miss any changes.

This means that Yuel is worried not about Luluka's approach itself, but about the changes it might cause in my heart.

If I want to be alone with Luluka...

Is there a place for Yuel, a slave, by my side?

Slaves are beings that can be bought and sold.

If I think she's "in the way," Yuel can be sold back to the slave market.

I would never do that to Yuel, but in this world, slaves are indeed such beings.

Yuel, who relies on me the most, might be considered "in the way" if I get involved with Luluka.

She might not be able to stay by my side, the only person she can rely on.

How lonely must that be?

Yuel is still young.

She is alone in the world, and the relationship between Yuel and me is one-sided, that of master and slave.

Thinking about Yuel's situation and her current state of mind, I start to feel sorry for her.

In front of Luluka, I stroke Yuel's head again.

"Y-You're stroking me again!?"

---At the moment Luluka shouts.

I feel a warm, moist sensation on my neck.

The position of this sensation is right where Yuel's mouth is.

She licked it.

Without a doubt, Yuel just licked my neck.

...No, probably, it's just that Yuel's tears got on my neck, and she's licking them off.

There's no deeper meaning.

Luluka doesn't seem to have noticed, so I'll ignore it for now.

...Well, regardless of Yuel.

The fact that Luluka came here for a reason other than treatment means she came to see me.

And the fact that she came at such a late hour...

I see.

"Luluka, I get that you want to continue from the inn, but you really need to pick the right time and place..."

In other words, she came for a night visit.

Luluka came for a night visit.

She wants to do what we couldn't do at the inn because it was full.

But, it's impossible now with Yuel here.

Yuel will cry, and even if she doesn't, she'll probably join in.

There's a high chance she'll help as a slave.

Yuel is still licking my neck.

"An inn? ...Ah, no, it's not that! I came at this hour because I sneaked out of the lord's mansion... The lord has been saying it's dangerous because of the recent monster incidents, so he told us not to leave the mansion...! Well, I'm staying there with Fran, and I was finally able to sneak out past the guards!"

"...I see, that's why you came at this hour."

Exactly, I don't want to be misunderstood.

It's not good for my imagination to run wild with Yuel on top.

"Y-Yeah! Especially Fran, the lord has strictly forbidden her from going outside!"

Well, the lord does seem overprotective.

If monsters are rampaging in the city, it makes sense.

...By the way, is Luluka staying at the lord's mansion?

I thought she was staying somewhere else, but I didn't expect it to be the lord's mansion.

Well, since she's in a party with Fran, it's not that strange.

I remember Fran saying that the lord has been prohibiting her from exploring the dungeon recently, so Luluka, as a party member, is probably not earning any money.

She might be being supported during this time.

"If the lord is so cautious, it means there might still be monsters like during the Miss Contest in the city? Like that dragon-like monster?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure, but the knights are investigating. They often report to the lord. ...Oh, by the way, that dragon, it's being kept in the lord's mansion garden now."

Luluka just said something incredible.

"Y-You said you're keeping that dragon?"

"Yeah, it's being kept. I even feed it every day!"

Like it's a pet.

Can you even keep a monster like that?

It's a large carnivorous beast that can breathe a petrifying breath.

I wouldn't want to get near it if I had a normal mind.

By the way, didn't Luluka almost get petrified by it?

After something like that, you'd think she'd hate the dragon, even if she said she liked it.

"A-And it doesn't attack? And you, even though your leg was petrified by that dragon... Are you okay?"

"It's fine. Dragons are really smart. All the attacks were because of that collar. ...Wait, but Siki, didn't I get hit by the petrifying breath that time?"

Oops, a slip of the tongue.

I was supposed to hide the fact that I can use Ex-Heal from Luluka.

Well, she might accidentally tell Fran or something.

I've also told Yuel to keep the healing magic a secret.

"A-Ah... H-How was it?"

But Luluka quickly forgets about the petrification.

"...And, you know, because the dragon was there, I... H-Hehehe"

Luluka says this, fidgeting.

She breaks off and looks at me meaningfully.

When our eyes meet, she blushes and looks down.

---I felt a bit of a flutter.

Luluka has shown signs of affection before.

I thought it was just an act to get a discount, but...

But there was a reason for this affection.

It wasn't an act.

It was a genuine reaction.

Just that makes Luluka seem even cuter.

---But, I can't forget that Yuel is here.

What kind of expression is Yuel making now?

Luluka's meaningful words just now.

She was already on the verge of tears earlier, so she might be crying now.

I check on Yuel.

But I can't see Yuel's face clearly.

But I don't think she's crying.

In fact, she's probably not even listening to our conversation anymore.

...She's nuzzling.

Yuel is nuzzling my collarbone.

Even when I stop talking and look at Yuel, she doesn't stop nuzzling.

I can't see her face because of the angle, but the sensation of her nuzzling is continuous.

She's nuzzling with all her heart.

...This is like that.

When a child is anxious, they might suck their thumb.

It's probably something like that.

It must be.

It must be.

"Well, if it's fine, that's good."

"Ah, and it's really attached to me. It won't let anyone else ride it, but it lets me on its back! It's so cute!"

Luluka says this happily.

Come to think of it, I remember.

During the attack, Luluka was trying to protect the dragon.

She was pleading with the holy maidens to somehow save the dragon, but they immediately rejected her.

I heard that dragons can understand human language.

If the dragon remembers the time it was controlled by the collar, it makes sense that it would be attached to Luluka, the only one who tried to protect it voluntarily.

If Luluka hadn't stayed to protect the dragon, I probably wouldn't have told Yuel to break the collar.

I would have taken Luluka and run from the holy maidens who were the target.

...Holy maidens.

Right.

I remembered something important.

"That's great. By the way, isn't there a holy maiden at the lord's mansion now?"

That holy maiden should be at the lord's mansion with Luluka.

I'm curious.

I thought the "I found it" was a misunderstanding, but I still feel something is off.

I want to probe Luluka about the holy maiden.

"Holy maiden? Yeah, she talks to the lord every day."

"Hmm, with that old lord? ...I think she was talking about donations or something. What did they talk about?"

"...Are you interested in the holy maiden, Siki?"

Luluka looks at me with a suspicious gaze, but I'm not interested in the holy maiden in that way.

She has small breasts.

"N-No, I'm not interested. You know, the monster attacks aren't just someone else's problem. For self-defense, I want to know what the holy maiden is talking about with the lord."

"...Hmm, well, it's fine. I heard a bit from Fran, so I can tell you a little. Well, the holy maiden apparently comes to the festival every year, but this year she has a different purpose, and she was consulting with the lord."

Luluka tells me this reluctantly.

"What's the purpose?"

"Something about looking for something."

---Looking for something.

The holy maiden's words "I found it" come back to me.

So, my healing magic was exposed?

No, but the holy maiden hasn't taken any action in the past few days...

No, I see.

The lord, who I helped by saving Fran, has a favorable view of me.

If the holy maiden was investigating the capable healing magic users in this city for the Crankheight Turtle incident, it wouldn't be strange for her to have done some preliminary research.

The holy maiden, knowing my relationship with the lord, might have approached the lord first.

But the lord wanted to pair me with Fran.

The lord couldn't afford to lose a potential heir to the church, so the negotiations were difficult.

A few days have passed since then.

It might be something like that.

...No, this is bad.

I don't want to stand out.

If the church gives me a position, I'll probably be surrounded by young priestesses saying "Oh, the hero who saved the city!" and fawning over me.

I really don't want that.

But, if it's exposed, there's nothing I can do.

If the lord is involved, it might not be so bad, and if they really want me in a position, I might not refuse.

"Hmm, so what was she looking for?"

"Um, I'm not sure. It's something they didn't want us to hear... I only overheard it through the wall with Fran, so I couldn't hear it clearly."

"...You heard it, but it was eavesdropping?"

Luluka is one thing, but Fran would probably eavesdrop if she was left out of important conversations.

Luluka was probably dragged into it.

...Well, if the lord is involved, there's probably no need to worry.

The lord would probably speak well of me to the holy maiden and help me if needed.

"...But, still."

"What's wrong, Siki?"

...Which is more powerful, the lord of a provincial city or the holy maiden of the church?

Religion often has a strong influence on politics.

Moreover, the Medine religion, which can perform real miracles like healing magic, is the headquarters.

Thinking about it, the title of a provincial lord seems to pale in comparison.

It feels like a mediocre middle manager.

I remember he said I could rely on him if I was