Chapter 23

"Alright... let's go—"

After Lady Gylne muttered something softly, she lost her balance in the carriage and leaned against me.

"O-Oh! S-Sorry, Tim! I leaned on you because of the carriage's jolt!"

"It's fine, Lady Gylne. If you like, you can hold onto me. I'm a man, so I won't fall no matter how much it shakes!"

"R-Right! Then, I'll take you up on that offer..."

I firmly grabbed the carriage wall behind me and puffed out my chest.

I had been seen in my maid outfit by Lady Gylne; I had to show her my manly side and gradually make up for it.

"Tim is so soft, and you smell so good... Is this heaven...?"

"I use the 'Fabric Softener' skill on my clothes. You can sleep if you want; the journey is long."

It seemed that Lady Gylne was reassured and resting her head on my arm.

She leaned against me with a blissful expression.

"Hey, Tim. We're about halfway there. Should we take a break here?"

While controlling the horses, Rock called out to me in the cargo area, trying not to wake Lady Gylne.

"I'm still fine. Ask the other merchants."

"Thanks to these cushions, everyone is fine. The horses seem fine too, so let's push through to the Kingdom of Linhall—Hey, duck!"

The moment Rock shouted, ice arrows rained down from the sky.

The reins were cut, and the horses bolted.

"Bandits' attack!? Damn, the carriage is going to overturn! Jump out and roll!"

Before Rock could shout to the entire caravan, Lady Gylne had already carried me out.

Lady Gylne used a magic barrier to block the second wave of ice arrows.

Rock and the other merchants also jumped out of the speeding carriage with the cushions wrapped around their waists.

"Sorry, I let my guard down! Is everyone else okay!?"

While still holding me, Lady Gylne landed, slowed down, and checked on Rock and the others who had rolled out of the carriage.

"What the... The cushion transformed."

Rock was lying on the ground, wrapped in white fabric.

Lady Gylne and I let out a sigh of relief.

"It's the safety feature of 'D·S·C'. I thought it would be dangerous if we fell off, so it's designed to protect the whole body by wrapping around like a cat when impacted."

"With this, the merchants should be fine unless the ice arrows hit them directly. Let's go and fight the bandits first!"

Lady Gylne glared at the approaching bandits while still carrying me like a princess.

This isn't manly at all...

"Um, Lady Gylne... Thank you. Could you please put me down now..."

"Tim, it's dangerous to be away from me. You have no means of self-defense. Let's defeat the bandits like this."

"Um... I... I'm really embarrassed..."

My opinion was ignored, and Lady Gylne pressed her body against mine.

Ah, it's touching...

"Hey! We targeted this small caravan with magic, but we didn't expect someone with magic to be on board!"

"But the horses are gone! You can't escape!"

"Leave the cargo and disappear somewhere!"

The bandits surrounded us and threatened us.

"Hmph, you should be the ones to disappear! You'll regret it with my magic!"

As Lady Gylne snapped her fingers, lightning fell from the sky.

The bandits flinched at the sight.

"Hey... He cast lightning without incantation."

"This guy is a high-level mage..."

"Damn! Don't be scared! A mage is no problem if you get close!"

"Use your speed! Approach and attack that woman quickly!"

Following the leader's orders, the bandits ran towards Lady Gylne, who was still carrying me.

"Hmm, you thought it through. Indeed, I am slow, and all mages are like that."

Lady Gylne smiled wickedly at the approaching bandits with knives.

"But, 'I' am fast now. After all, I'm wearing Tim's clothes."

She dodged the bandits' knives.

"Ha ha ha! Too slow, too slow! I'm almost yawning! How can you hit me!"

"G-Gylne... I... I can't breathe...!"

While dodging the knives at super speed, Lady Gylne pressed my face against her "chest" to protect me.

To protect my head from the knife attacks.

It's for safety, but... this is... a bit bad...

The attacks don't hit, but something else does...

It's so... soft... and smells so good...

"Tim!? You're bleeding from your nose! Your face is red, are you okay!?"

"G-Gylne... I'm really sorry... I'm the worst man..."

Lady Gylne's face turned pale when she noticed my condition.

"Damn! I don't know what you did, but how dare you to Tim!"

Lady Gylne raised her hand in anger, and a giant magic circle appeared in the sky, crackling with magical energy.

"Ah, ah! This guy is crazy!"

"Let's run! Retreat!"

Seeing the magic circle, the bandits sensed the overwhelming power difference and fled quickly.

"Hmph, don't come near us again! More importantly, Tim! You're bleeding a lot from your nose! Are you okay!? I'll heal you now!"

"I'm fine... and I'm really sorry..."

Lady Gylne cast a healing spell on me, the worst and lowest of men, whose mind was tainted with ulterior motives.