Chapter 52

"Hehe, your infatuation, I will slowly... carefully savor it tonight!"

The crescent moon was occasionally obscured by clouds but still stubbornly illuminated the darkness of the night. Now, the wind once again blew away the clouds covering the moon, and the enchanting moonlight illuminated a certain building. To be more precise, the moonlight illuminated a girl who was skillfully descending from the eaves of that building using a rope, like a member of a special forces team.

She successfully landed above a third-floor window, then inverted herself, hanging upside down, and quietly peeked into the room with only her eyes exposed.

"The techniques I learned from Mr. Kristabel for this day were not for nothing! They were for this very purpose, hehehe. So, what kind of play is it? I must confirm it properly!"

The girl, who was breathing excitedly and gazing intently into the room, was none other than Sona, the signboard girl of the Massaka Inn in Brooktown. She was cheerful and energetic, or rather, overly energetic, diligent, and straightforward. Though not a top beauty, she was a simple and lovely signboard girl, like a flower blooming in the wild, and there were already many single men in the town who had their eyes on her.

Such a girl was now using all her skills to spy on a certain guest room. Seeing her expression, the men who were infatuated with her would instantly be disillusioned... that expression was like that of a perverted old man.

"Tsk, it's so dark, I can't see clearly. Let me adjust the angle a bit more..."

"Here?"

"Yes, yes, from this angle... Why is it so quiet? I thought I would at least hear some moans..."

"Using magic can block sound, right?"

"Ah!? There's that too! Kuh, cunning! But I won't give up, I must imprint that infatuation in my eyes... ..."

To repeat, this was outside a third-floor window. Unless one was nearby, it would be impossible to hear Sona's idiotic voice. Sona instantly broke out in a cold sweat, turning her head like a rusty machine, and there...

Aoi stood in the air, his face expressionless but with a slight cold smile.

"No, no, sir. This, this, this, yes! It's the regular inspection of the inn!"

"Oh, in the middle of the night?"

"Y-Yes, that's right! If you finish it at night, it will be fixed by the morning, right? Inns always think like that, don't they?"

"Indeed, evaluations are important?"

"Y-Yes, yes! Evaluations are important!"

"But, there seems to be a peeping tom in this inn. What do you think should be done?"

"T-That's a very serious matter! P-Peeping, that's unforgivable, right?"

"Yes, as you say. Peeping is unforgivable?"

"Uh, yes, of course it's unforgivable..."

Sona and Aoi faced each other, both laughing "hahaha" and "mumu," but Aoi's eyes showed no amusement, while Sona was trembling slightly, drenched in cold sweat, her smile contrasting sharply with her state.

"Die"

"Eh--? Sorry~"

Aoi suddenly turned serious, grabbing Sona's face with his iron claws. With a crushing sound, his fingers sank in. Sona struggled and screamed in the air, desperately begging for mercy. Sona was an ordinary girl, and Aoi's punishment was a bit too harsh. If it were her first offense, he might have been more lenient, but since returning from the Lysandus Great Labyrinth, she had been peeping every night, and when caught, she would make excuses. As a result, his desire to be lenient gradually faded. Incidentally, the reason Aoi still stayed at this inn despite being peeped at every night was because the food was delicious.

Seeing Sona on the verge of fainting, Aoi sighed and carried her under his arm. Sona, noticing her gradual release, felt relieved, but when she looked down... a demon. A smiling demon, a mother demon with eyes as cold as Aoi's.

"Ahahaha!!"

Noticing that Sona had noticed her, the mother slowly raised her hand, making a "come here" gesture. It was an invitation to hell.

"This time, a hundred spanks should be fine, right?"

"No, no, no--!"

Aoi listened quietly to the mother-daughter conversation, recalling past punishments and Sona's screams. At breakfast the next day, he would surely see Sona, her bottom swollen from the spanks, with tears in her eyes. Thinking about this nightly and morning routine, Aoi sighed.

---

After handing Sona over to her mother, Aoi returned to his room at the inn and plopped down on the bed.

"...Tired"

"Welcome back, Aoi."

The ones greeting Aoi were, of course, Tsuki and Shia. The moonlight streaming in from the window illuminated the room, faintly casting their shadows. On the opposite bed, Tsuki sat in a seiza position, while Shia sat on the edge of the bed. Both were wearing nightgowns, and their appearance could only be described as alluring. Combined with their beauty, if they were painted, even a second-rate artist's work would be hailed as a masterpiece.

"Hey, what's driving her... coming down from the roof is clearly unusual, right? Even if this inn has delicious food, maybe we should find another place to stay."

Aoi said this with a surprised tone, and Shia, smiling happily, stood up and sat on Aoi's bed. Tsuki also hurriedly stood up and moved to Aoi's bed, placing Aoi's head on her lap. This was a knee pillow.

"It must be our relationship that ignited the girl in Sona. It's impossible not to be curious, isn't she cute?"

"...But, her methods are getting more sophisticated, which is a bit... worrying."

"Like yesterday, using a homemade diving mask to ambush in the bath... when I saw those shining eyes from underwater, even I shivered."

"Umm, yes, as the daughter of the inn, it's a bit troublesome... It seems she doesn't do this to anyone else...?"

While chatting about Sona's peculiar behavior, Shia slowly moved closer to Aoi's body. She naturally reached out and overlapped her hand with Aoi's, guiding his hand towards her chest. Shia's face was flushed, and she was tense about what was about to happen.

Aoi gently held Shia's hand. This simple action caused a strong reaction in Shia's body. Shia happily increased the pressure of her grip. Aoi also gripped harder.

Q... biku, Q biku... biku biku, missi... gakupuru

"Wait! Mr. Aoi! You're crushing it! My hand is being crushed!"

Kara!

"Aah! I'm very sorry! I got a bit carried away! Please let go quickly! It's breaking! If you squeeze any harder, it will really break!"

"Why did you try to create a good atmosphere so casually? Your room is next door, right? Why are you here?"

Aoi's hand, which was gripping Shia's, was trembling. Shia tried to free herself, but the grip was like a vise, and she couldn't break free.

"Th-That's because I thought it might gradually lead to the bed☆. Besides, we've already kissed once. A little more wouldn't hurt, right?"

"There's no excuse. I already said that was a life-saving measure."

"No, my intuition is that Mr. Aoi is starting to be affectionate! You've become much gentler than before! If you just go ahead and make it a done deal... hehe, 'kara kara' sorry--! It's broken--!"

Listening to Shia's crude plan, Aoi unconsciously increased his grip. After that, Shia, holding her freed hand, trembled in the corner of the bed, enduring the pain. Aoi ignored her and turned to look at Tsuki, who was giving him a knee pillow. Tsuki also looked straight at Aoi.

"Tsuki, why don't you stop her anymore? What's changed in your mind?"

Hearing Aoi's question, Tsuki tilted her head slightly and thought for a moment. As Aoi said, since escaping from the Lysandus Great Labyrinth, Tsuki had become more lenient with Shia. In the past, whenever Shia approached Aoi, Tsuki would immediately push her away, but recently, even with some physical contact, Tsuki didn't say much. However, if it got too intimate... like kissing, she would still be unhappy...

"Shia is... trying hard. She will continue to try. She likes Aoi and me, so..."

"Hmm? Well, that's fine..."

"...I... don't dislike her..."

"Seems like you two are getting along well. It's obvious. Hmm~"

From Tsuki's few words, Aoi sensed that, overall, Tsuki had moved beyond just "caring" about Shia and now considered her important.

This was the truth. In the Lysandus Great Labyrinth, there was a powerful magic decomposition effect, stronger than a canyon, which prevented Tsuki from fully utilizing her power, and the same was true for Aoi. If it had been just the two of them, it would have been very difficult. Aoi might have been able to complete the challenge alone, but the likelihood of using one or two bottles of divine water would have been very high. In reality, they completed the challenge with almost no consumption, thanks to Shia.

Shia, who had been uninvolved in conflict until recently, was not just uninvolved but was actually averse to it. She must have been very afraid and anxious, but she never showed weakness and followed Aoi and Tsuki to the hell known as the Great Labyrinth. She gritted her teeth and finally achieved an excellent result.

It was all because of her love for Aoi and her friendship with Tsuki. Because she wanted to be with these two, Shia changed herself and moved forward with all her heart and soul.

Tsuki, of course, had possessiveness and jealousy. Therefore, she found it difficult to accept Shia's feelings for Aoi. That's why she was initially very strict with Shia... but no matter how harsh she was, Shia still clung to her like a moth to a flame, always trying to convey her friendship, and eventually proved herself by completing the Great Labyrinth challenge... to be honest, she had already been wrapped up in it.

Looking back, Tsuki had no memories of having friends. Before being sealed, she was busy with her studies and had no equals to call friends. She was a solitary figure. Now, with Shia, who called her "partner" and approached her with sincerity, Tsuki found that, apart from the issue with Aoi, Shia was not unpleasant at all.

Therefore, recently, regarding Aoi, "Well, since it's Shia, a little bit is okay..." she had become more lenient.

"Besides..."

"Hmm?"

Aoi looked up at Tsuki as she continued speaking. In his eyes, he saw confidence, allure, determination, sincerity, and a radiant smile that encompassed all of these. She was so cute and charming that Aoi was almost suffocated. It was as if she had a gravitational pull, and Aoi's gaze was drawn to her, unable to move. Tsuki gazed back at him.

"Aoi's heart, I've already won it."

"..."

Even if someone else liked Aoi, even if someone else was in Aoi's arms, the most special one... is only me. This was a declaration. Tsuki's declaration of war. A declaration of war to everyone she had met and everyone she would meet in the future.

Aoi was speechless. Looking into Tsuki's shining eyes, he felt as if he was being drawn in, and Tsuki, as if to claim him exclusively, accepted his gaze. Then, Aoi's hand gently touched Tsuki's cheek, and Tsuki, in a daze, overlapped her hand with his. The moonlight cast their shadows on the wall, and the two shadows slowly approached each other. Just as they were about to overlap...

"Gusu, even if you forget about me, can you stop? This isn't just a little lonely and empty... gusu"

Shia, kneeling in a corner of the bed with a pained expression, watched Aoi and Tsuki create their own world.

How pitiful she looked, even Aoi felt a bit bad. Tsuki waved her over. "Miss Tsuki!" Shia called out and flew into Tsuki's arms, sniffing. "It's okay, it's okay," Tsuki said, gently stroking Shia's head. Feeling comfortable, Shia gradually closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Aoi watched them and chuckled softly.

"More like a mother than a friend, isn't she?"

"Only Aoi's child is fine"

"..."

"Can you be a bit gentler to Shia?"

"Various, I'll handle it properly"

"Okay... I love you the most"

"..."

In the end, Shia on the left, Tsuki on the right, the three of them fell asleep together. From that day on, Shia, overjoyed to be allowed to share the room, later attacked Aoi with enthusiasm and received a painful punishment. This happened every night.

Incidentally, the screams Shia made during the handshake further deepened Sona's misunderstanding, curiosity, and imagination, and a signboard girl with high infiltration skills was suddenly born... but that's another story.

---

Kara, kara

The door of the Brooktown Adventurer's Guild opened with a sound. The three who entered were Aoi, Tsuki, and Shia, who had become famous in the past few days. The guild's restaurant was as usual, with several groups of adventurers enjoying their time. Noticing Aoi and the others, some raised their hands in greeting. Men were still enchanted by Tsuki and Shia's beauty, casting envious and jealous glances at Aoi, but there was no malicious intent.

During their week in Brooktown, countless people had caused duels over Tsuki and Shia. Once, Tsuki's actions caused panic and earned her the title of "Crotch Crusher." Now, no one dared to directly express their love to Tsuki, so some tried to win her indirectly by starting with Aoi.

Of course, Aoi would not seriously accept these troubles. In the end, "Duel uh!" As soon as the word "duel" was said, Aoi would shoot a non-lethal rubber bullet, causing the poor challenger to spin three times and kiss the ground. This had become a common occurrence.

Therefore, in this town, the combination of Tsuki, the "Crotch Crusher," and Aoi, who loved her deeply and instantly defeated opponents before the duel even began, was well-known and respected. So much so that even before they registered their team name, the name "Smash Lovers" had spread among the people. When Aoi learned of his nickname and team name, his distant gaze was memorable.

Of course, Shia's tears over her lack of presence were a given.

"Oh, all three of you today?"

Aoi and the others walked to the counter, and as usual, Auntie... Catherine greeted them first. Catherine's voice contained a hint of surprise, as they usually came to the guild alone or as a pair of Tsuki and Shia during the week.

"Yes. We plan to leave the town tomorrow. We've received a lot of care from you, so we thought we should come and say goodbye. Also, we want to accept a mission related to our destination if there is one."

The care was genuine. Catherine had lent a room in the guild to Aoi for free. To combine the gravity magic and creation magic he had recently acquired, repeated experiments were necessary, and Aoi needed a spacious room. He asked Catherine for a lead, and the guild's room fit the requirements, so she lent it to him for free.

Additionally, Tsuki and Shia trained gravity magic in the outskirts.

"I see. You're leaving, huh? That's a bit... lonely. The town has been quite lively since you returned."

"Please forgive me. The inn's pervert, the clothing store's pervert, the perverts who want to be trampled by Tsuki and Shia, the perverts who suddenly prostrate themselves in the town and shout 'Lady,' the perverts who follow them and shout 'Lady,' and the fools who challenge me to duels... there's no one decent. Seven out of ten people I meet are perverts, two out of ten are fools... what's going on in this town?"

Aoi said this with a bitter expression, and it was all true. Sona aside, Kristabel would lick her lips and give Aoi a predatory look every time she saw him, making him shiver.

Additionally, Brooktown recently formed three major factions, which clashed daily. One was the "Tsuki Stomping Squad," another was the "Shia Slave Squad," and the last was the "Sister Lady Squad." Each faction had the desires implied by their names, and now, they seemed to be competing based on the number of members.

Aoi and the others found these groups with such provocative names to be ridiculous. Suddenly prostrating themselves in the town and shouting "Please stomp on me!" was terrifying.

Shia couldn't understand the thought process behind such