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486 – 「Did You Have Fun Last Night?」

 

「Did you have fun last night?」

「Ugh…」

As soon as Serena and I returned to the Black Lotus and moved to the lounge area, we were greeted by Mimi, who had a big smile on her face. Just to clarify, the one who let out a groan wasn’t me, but Serena. It seemed she felt overwhelmed by something in Mimi’s smile.

「But it’s my turn today. You understand, right?」

「Ugh… yes.」

Serena was unable to withstand Mimi’s undeniable pressure and conceded. Mimi sure is strong… Maybe the imperial blood flowing through her veins compelled Serena to submit? After all, Serena knows both the truth about Mimi’s origins and the face of Her Highness Princess Luciada, who looks exactly like Mimi, it’s probably quite challenging for her to deal with Mimi.

Serena, having been effectively pushed aside by Mimi’s imposing presence, slumped her shoulders and trudged towards the lounge area. Following behind her were Tina and Wiska. With the fearless and cheerful Tina, and the thoughtful and kind Wiska, I’m sure they’ll manage to support Serena just fine.

「Mmm…」

After watching Serena’s retreating figure, Mimi turned and clung to me. She began rubbing her head against my chest, almost like a dog or cat trying to mark its scent on new clothes.

「Mmm… oh!」

「Hmm?」

Mimi looked up at me, her gaze fixed under my chin, or rather, around my neck. What’s the problem?

「Smooooch…!」

「Ow, ow!」

Mimi suddenly stood on her tiptoes and started sucking on my neck. Did she just notice the mark Serena left?!
Still, I don’t think it’s necessary to overwrite it with her own, it hurts! I do appreciate Mimi kissing my neck, but come on…

「Oh my, doing something interesting, aren’t we? Should I join in too?」

「May I partake as well?」

「Sure, go ahead. Smooch away!」

「Shouldn’t I be the one giving permission, Mimi…?」

Elma and Kugi, who had gathered around amidst the commotion, also started sucking on my neck. Unlike Mimi, they did it gently, so it didn’t hurt, but instead of just sucking, they also started licking, which made me get into the mood. Why are they doing this?

「Well, it’s fine to endure a little jealousy like this from time to time, right? At least no one’s pulling out a knife or a laser gun.」

「Yes! I have no complaints whatsoever!」

Surrounded by the three of them, resisting wouldn’t get me anywhere, so I obediently complied. Complete surrender.

「How nice… spending the night out together just the two of you… I’m a bit jealous.」

Kugi’s soft voice came from behind me. She was tugging gently on the edge of my jacket, which was rather endearing.

「I’ll do the same with everyone sometime in the future. I promise.」

「Hmph… Who knows when you’ll keep that promise? We’ve got a pretty packed schedule from here on out, you know?」

「We’ll probably be staying in the Holy Vuelzarus Empire for a while, so how about we do it over there? What do you think, Kugi?」

「Yes, my country has many scenic spots, and there are plenty of inns and lodging towns in such places—many of which are popular tourist destinations. I think it’s a great idea.」

The rhythm of Kugi tugging on my clothes from behind quickened. I could also faintly hear a soft ‘whish, whish’ sound, as if something was cutting through the air—likely the sound of Kugi’s tail wagging rapidly.

「So, it’s settled then… Is that okay?」

Mimi and the others all nodded in agreement with my suggestion. Phew, with this our home won’t become a battlefield, it seems. To begin with, it’s pretty much impossible for someone like me to handle so many women at once… I’ve probably made them endure a lot and caused them a lot of stress up until now. To repay them, I need to be more considerate than ever before.

☆★☆

「Please… please come back soon. You absolutely, absolutely have to return, okay?」

「Yes, yes… I’ll definitely come back, so make sure you’re doing your job properly until then.」

I hugged Serena tightly as she clung to me, speaking in a tearful, adorable voice. You don’t have to be so sad, there have been times before when we didn’t see each other for a month or two… Still, I feel lonely too. Seeing Serena cling to me like this makes me want to whisk her away right now.

Just then, a small figure forcefully wedged itself between us, pulling us apart.

「Okay, okay, time to separate. It’s not proper for a lady before marriage to cling to a man so much.」

「T-That’s the same for you, isn’t it…?!」

「I’m his fiancée, after all.」

「I’m his fiancée too!」

Pulled away by Chris, Serena stretched out both hands toward me, almost in tears. It was a bit pitiful, but also cute. Why does Serena look so adorable when she’s on the verge of tears? I just don’t get it.

「It’s unfair you get to cling to him so much! It’s just a temporary farewell, you’re abusing it too much!」

「Aaaaaaah!」

The two highborn noble young ladies started wrestling with each other. Probably due to the difference in their builds and simply their levels of training, Serena, who sounded like a seal being whacked with a stick on the beach, was overwhelmingly dominant. As expected of a military woman.

「Don’t you have to help your mistress?」

「I’d rather not get caught up in that…」

In response to my comment, Edeltrud, Chris’s bodyguard, gave me a look that clearly said, ‘Please spare me’. Well, I can understand her reluctance to get involved in a scuffle between two noble ladies with enhanced physical abilities. They are just playing around though, probably.

After a while, when they seemed to have had enough, and their wrestling came to an end, it was finally time to see Serena off for departure.

「Um, could you come with me to the vehicle…? I want to stay with you until the very end…」

「No, Hiro-sama. She might just whisk you away. Go on, shoo, shoo.」

Chris—whose clothes were slightly disheveled from losing the wrestling match—stood in front of me to shield me from Serena, waving her hands like she was shooing away a stray dog or something.

 I don’t think you need to go that far… huh? Serena, why are you making a face like you have been busted? Was she really planning to kidnap me? When push comes to shove, Serena doesn’t hold back.

「Ugh… See you again…」

Saying this, Serena walked slowly towards the ramp, looking back at me multiple times. It was adorable. Each time she did, Chris let out a ‘Hiss!’ like an angry cat, trying to intimidate her, which was also cute. If Chris had a cat-like tail, it would probably be puffed up by now.

「Good grief… Well then, Hiro-sama. I’ll be in your care for a while.」

「Yeah, sure. Welcome aboard. It’s been a while since we traveled together on the same ship like this. I’m actually looking forward to it.」

「So am I. Oh, I’m going to go unpack with Edeltrud, so please take care of me later!」

After making sure that Serena had exited the ship via the ramp, Chris smiled and, accompanied by Edeltrud, walked off towards the living quarters. By the way, Mimi and the others had already left the ramp area to prepare the room for Chris and Edeltrud’s stay, so I ended up being the last one to leave the ramp.

「…I’m already feeling tired, and it’s still morning. But I can’t really complain.」

Most of the work is being handled by the girls, so there isn’t much for me to do personally. However, that doesn’t mean I can just laze around in the lounge while everyone else is working hard.

「Guess I’ll do a final check on everyone’s tasks…」

The procedures for departure from the Imperial Capital and the arrangements for supplies had all been taken care of. I have received the reports already, so I should go to the lounge area and review them. The lounge is located close to both the living quarters and the hangar and cargo spaces, so it is the most efficient place to work.