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The Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter Chapter 123 Part 1

Marianne’s Aunt, Ophelia

「It wasn’t the tiger, but here’s to celebrating the subjugation of a high-ranking monster, cheers!」

「「「Cheers!」」」

When we return to the post town, they decide to hold a dinner that day, too. Everyone is happy to be able to return safely, the food is delicious, and the alcohol goes down well. The knights should be from fairly notable families too, but as they introduce alcohol into their system, the atmosphere becomes casual and relaxed, forgoing any sorts of formalities, so I am able to enjoy myself, too. To let everyone rest their bodies, we’ll have days off tomorrow and the day after, so they are drinking a lot of wine. Ophelia is the only one who doesn’t enjoy dinner, and she sips her wine slowly, occasionally stealing glances at me. When her eyes meet mine, she reacts with a jump and looks away. I hold nothing against Ophelia. I couldn’t help but flip out when I got my bones broken by the baboon, but it was completely healed by my healing magic and Lunamilia’s sacred magic, and most importantly, I gained a new skill thanks to this woman. From now on, too, we’ll work together to exterminate the tiger, so I don’t really want to create a rift between us. Besides, Ophelia is Kyllian’s aunt, so it would be very bad for me, a commoner, to make an enemy out of her here in Neurath territory. Anyway, I think I should just deal with her in a business-like manner.

As we enjoy dinner, the knights get drunk and some return to their tents. Lunamilia must also be tired from using magic, as she has gone to her room. Feeling the urge to pee, I go to the bathroom to relieve myself, and when I am about to go back, I find Ophelia waiting for me in the hallway.

「Hey, Sei-kun, let’s talk. Do come with me.」

Geh?! Don’t tell me… I’m not getting myself into any trouble, right? As expected, it seems that using the intimidation skill on a woman from a high-ranking noble family was a bad idea. At the place she’s taking me to, there won’t be any knights standing at the ready to beat me up, right? No, tentatively, my status should be something like Lunamilia’s attendant, so I’d like to believe that she won’t resort to violence. Let’s see, at the very least, I believe I repelled her appraisal, so no one should have found out about my origin. If I were to get into any trouble, let’s just say I’m someone belonging to the Holy Kingdom who has been tasked with the duty of protecting Lunamilia.

I follow Ophelia to the second floor, turn the corner, and arrive in front of her room. I thought maybe she would take me into her room, but as expected, it seems like she isn’t going to go that far.

「No one can hear us here. Sei-kun, did I do something to offend you?」

「Huh?!」

「Hii」

Flipping out, I shove my hands into my pockets and crank my face down as I glare at Ophelia, who is about 20 centimeters shorter than me, with my brows furrowed at a 45-degree angle right in front of her face, like a high school delinquent from the countryside. I had to cancel my body enhancement to repel your appraisal, and as a result I suffered a serious injury, breaking several bones, you know? Remembering this, I gradually become angry.

「Err, ah, umm, I don’t think there’s any reason to be so angry about someone doing an appraisal during a battle, though.」

Ugh, now that she mentions it, it’s true that normally someone might be annoyed by being appraised, but they wouldn’t be this angry. Besides, she’s a noble, while I’m a commoner. She’s done nothing wrong. What should I do? How should I reply?

「Ahem, that may be true, but I’m in a situation where I can’t afford to reveal my true identity. Due to a certain reason, I’m currently tasked with the duty of secretly guarding Lunamilia-sama.」

「I see. Sure enough, I did think you were no ordinary person. Your magical energy manipulation, which was skillful enough to repel my appraisal, and your fighting power were both so incredible, after all. You must have your own circumstances.」

Good, good, looks like I managed to mislead her. It seems like we’ll be able to get along without any hard feelings from now on. Let’s take advantage of this momentum and play the victim.

「Besides, I never thought that Ophelia-sama, who I trusted, would shoot me in the back during a battle, so I ended up overreacting.」

「Ugh, about that, umm, you happened to be in the same position as the baboon when I was appraising it, so I merely appraised you by accident, umm, you don’t have to call it shooting you in the back….」

I see, I was stabbing the baboon with my spear, so she simply appraised me by accident, huh. Still, Ophelia is awfully weak-willed, isn’t she? She’s the daughter of a count, so she could’ve just carried herself in a more overbearing manner. Judging from her attitude so far, Ophelia was probably raised like a princess, and has never had malice directed towards her by others. Up until now, perhaps there has never been anyone who has shown disrespect to her, or perhaps those around her have gotten rid of them for her. The situation is like: when a young lady, who has studied at a private school for young ladies, becomes an adult and goes on a trip, she gets tangled up with a country delinquent for the first time, and doesn’t know how to deal with it. Rather than acting like a gentleman, it might be better to approach Ophelia rudely like a delinquent.

I take another look at Ophelia. She’s timid and wary of me, and not only does she seem to not have any ill will or elitism typical of nobles, she is trying her best to better my mood, so it seems like she’s a woman with a good personality. She’s not yet thirty, wears light makeup, and has bulges on her chest. Hmm, quite the nice woman, isn’t she? She seems to be a bit of a pushover, so maybe I could embrace her?

「W, what can I do to better your mood?」

Good, good, despite the difference in our status, she being a noble and me being a commoner, the conversation is moving forward with me in complete dominance. No, maybe she thinks I’m of noble descent. This looks like it’ll work. With a thud, I press my hand against the wall next to Ophelia’s face.

「Wh, what is it?」

「Let me do it.」

「Huh?! Umm, by let you do it, what is it that you want me to let you do?」

What a slow woman. I was prepared for her to say something like, 「Men are all the time」, but as expected, she’s probably a naive young lady. However, this is a very disrespectful attitude, so it’s a risky move for me. However, since Ophelia doesn’t seem to be the type of person who would tell on me or ask for help, I see no harm in giving it a try, so let’s try pressing her.

「This is your room, right, Ophelia-sama? If you allow me to spend the night with you, my mood will get better right away.」

「Wh, what are you talking about? You see, I may look like this, but I’m married. I’m a married woman, you know? I even have three children, after all. Well, I often get mistaken for a teenager, so it’s understandable that you would get the wrong idea, though.」

Ophelia, who doesn’t seem to completely dislike it, brushes her hair back with her right hand. No, no, no, as expected, there’s no way she’d be mistaken for a teenager, is there? It seems like she’s living in an environment where the people around her are sucking up to her quite a lot. She seems to be ignorant of the way of the world, so if I can induce her well, I think I will be able to embrace her.

「Huh?! To think you’re married, I totally thought you were about the same age as me. If you don’t mind, would you like to talk about life with me in your room, Ophelia-sama? Worry not, if you spare just a bit of your time to have a talk with me, I will get off soon.」

「Hmm, in my room, is it? I wonder if it’s okay to do such a thing. I don’t usually spend time alone with a stranger…」

「It’s okay. I’m an attendant of the monk of the Holy Church. I’m not a suspicious person. Come on.」

「Huh, umm…」

I push Ophelia’s back and half-force her to go to her room. Ophelia grumbles, but she goes along with it and opens the door. Fufufu, once we go into her room, she’s mine.

The room is quite on the larger side, but it’s pretty normal. Well, it’s a post town under construction, so even if she’s the daughter of a count, she can’t afford to be extravagant. After all, the knights live in tents.