Ore wa Mada, Honki o Dashite Inai

Chapter 103

To Disputed Territory

Translated by Mlzkzr
Edited by Mlzkzr

“Haa…… I’m tired……”

I was soaking in the bathtub alone in a large bathhouse filled with rising steam.

I was mentally exhausted from many things, and to relieve that exhaustion, I soaked myself in the bathtub halfway up to my head, so much so that the tip of my nose was “pukopuko” letting out air bubbles.

I am extremely tired after a day of work.

The reason is ―― Erica.

Her straightforward and unadorned affections ―― I’m happy to hear it, but it’s so straightforward that I’m pressured.

She’s beautiful, she’s cute, she’s competent, her affections are genuine, and there should be no reason for me to be tired of her in the normal sense of the word, but……

Ah, I see.

It’s the same thing as saying that if an old person eats too much good meat, he or she gets a stomach ache.

Somehow, I think I’m beginning to understand how that feels.

The same goes for her favors, but when I’m with her, I feel guilty about a lot of things.

Every time I feel guilty, Erica’s likability goes up and the people around me look at me like I’m amazing.

For someone like me who doesn’t want to stand out too much, it’s a bit of a painful flow.

And so, I was recovering from the fatigue that had accumulated within me.

“Darling――Kyah!”

Rattle, rattle, then Erica entered the large public bath with such noise from the sliding door.

As soon as she entered, Erica covered her face with her hands and let out a deliberate scream.

“Hey! Why did you come in?”

“You’re being indecent already darling. I can’t believe you’re naked in a place like this.”

“A place like this is the bathroom!? Or rather, why is Erica naked!”

I was the one who was supposed to scream.

I was entirely immersed in the bathtub up to my shoulders, and Erica was completely naked, not even wrapped in a towel.

This is where I scream.

“Darling is so weird. You know this is a bathroom, right? It’s normal to be naked here.”

“I’m going to use that line right back at you, just as you did just a moment ago!?”

I made a quip that my voice turns inside out.

Looking closer, I saw Eleni hiding behind Erica’s back.

In contrast to Erica, who is completely naked but proudly hiding nothing, Eleni is also naked but is covering the important parts of her breasts and crotch with both hands.

Seeing her, I was relieved in contrast.

Yes, yes, this is how it usually is ―― just when I was thinking so.

“Muh…… darling!”

“Eh? Wha,what is it?”

When I was called and turned around, I saw Erica pouting for some reason.

“If you want Eleni, I’ll give her to Darling, but for now, look at Erica.”

“No, no, no, it’s nothing like that.”

Apparently, she mistakenly thought that I was pleased with Eleni.

“Because…… Darling’s face when he saw this child, has a huge smile……”

“I’m relieved! I mean, please hide your front.”

“Why?”

“Why, is it, because it’s embarrassing to be seen, isn’t it”

“Uh,uhmm……”

From behind Erica, Eleni spoke up timidly.

“E,Erica-sama has been Erica-sama ever since she was born, so she has never had to hide herself in the bathtub.”

“Ah…….no, no, no!”

I was almost convinced for a moment, but I quickly denied it.

Certainly, for a queen―― it’s logical for a noble of the princess class that they would not feel shame toward others in the bathroom, where they should be naked, since they have been left to their servants to change clothes and bathe since birth.

“I’m here now.”

“It’s okay! Since darling is darling. Everything in Erica’s possession belongs to you, so there’s nothing to hide.”

“Eh……”

If she makes it that clear, then I get the sense that I am the one who was wrong.

“More than that, darling. Erica will wash your back.”

“Eh? No, it’s fine”

“I want to! Hey, please.”

Erika looked at me in the bathtub with upturned eyes.

I was like “uh”.

Due to the fact that I’m not used to Erica yet, I’m weak to this kind of “begging”.

What should I do? Run away?

If I could solidify the bath water like jelly, it will be possible for me to get out through the window behind her without having to go through Erica, who is blocking the entrance.

“……It’s no good”

Yes, this is my hunch.

My intuition has worked until now. (TN: Really?)

I could probably use force to get out with the water still around my body, but using force in a situation like this would definitely make things worse.

If I am going to do that……. then it might be better to have my back washed obediently.

“……Ha, I get it”

I gave up and stood up in the bathtub.

Zaban, I stood up with such sound of water ――

“Kyaah!”

Erica screamed again.

It was a smaller scream than before, but a scream with a high degree of seriousness.

“Wha,what is it?”

“Bi,big……”

“Eh?”

“Eleni! Is it really this big, that man’s thing!?”

I think this is the first time.

For the first time since we met, I see Erica getting agitated.

She turned around and asked Eleni in a panicked tone.

“……”

“Eleni?”

“…………Kyuh”

To my surprise, Eleni fainted.

She collapsed on the floor, her eyes rolling around.

She panicked even more than Erica, and it seems that it easily exceeded her limit.

“Eleni…… a,amazing……”

“Don’t say amazing there!”

☆

I sat in the bath chair and let Erica wash my back.

After that, I did my best to hide my front.

I can’t afford to worry about my intuition anymore, so I collect the steam in the bathroom, and the fog ―― I hid my crotch with it as if it were cotton candy.

So I calmed down Erica and woke up Eleni to wash her back.

“Is this fine? Eleni”

“Ye,yes. But I hear that gentlemen would be more pleased if one were a little stronger. The,the,they’re physically stronger than we are.”

“Is that so, darling!?”

“Yeah? Well…… that’s right. Maybe a little more force would be nice.”

It was purely a story about the force of her rubbing my back, to which I normally responded.

Surprisingly, Erica was serious about washing my back.

Although her hands weren’t good, she asked Eleni for advice each time, and she tried her best to wash my back for the first time(probably).

Her appearance is so praiseworthy, and she looks cute.

“……I don’t like this”

“What happened darling, did Erica do something wrong?”

Erica panicked, then I panicked too.

“No, it’s nothing, it’s about me.”

“Really?”

“Ah, just keep doing that.”

“……Yup! Got it”

Erica scrubs my back with a smile.

I, on the other hand, was calming down my arousal.

I was in a situation where I could have penetrated the cotton candy if I let my guard down.

To distract myself, I changed the subject to a completely unrelated direction.

“Speaking of which, Erica, is it fine for you to stay here forever?”

“……”

“Erica?”

“……Darling. Darling……. can you come see Erica?”

The tone of Erica’s words clearly dropped, although the hand that was washing my back hard remained the same.

“Erica, has to go back to Caramba in a little while. Ah, of course I’ll come back, you know?”

“……”

I was a bit surprised.

If it was the Erica I know, the Erica I’ve seen so far, she could have said something like, “I’m quitting being queen for Darling’s sake.”.

I didn’t realize she would return in such a serious manner.

As a result, the thing that was inside of the cotton candy fog calmed down, but a slightly different feeling was about to sprout.

The fact that she washed my back, and her self-awareness as a queen.

Maybe Erica is a much more serious girl than I thought.

If so ――

“That’s right, I thought of something good.”

“Eh?”

I heard a clapping sound behind me.

“Something good?”

“Erika could just attack this place.”

“What are you talking about!?”

My voice turned inside out grandly.

“I should drop this place down and turn it into a royal villa. Yeah, that’s fine, let’s do that.”

“Let’s not do that! Don’t go to war over such a thing!”

“That’s because……”

“Not because. Or rather, if you do something like that here, Kaori won’t shut up about it.”

“Hmmmm the Demon King, huh…… it might be a little troublesome……”

“Don’t take it so seriously!”

I threw a loud quip again.

Because it looked like Erica was really thinking about it.

Seriously, if I leave her alone like this ――I have to divert the conversation so that doesn’t happen.

“Don’t start a war over something like that. If you do, I’ll have to fight Erica under the king’s orders.”

“With darling? That’s a problem…….”

“Right? So, you know.”

“Got it”

I was relieved.

Apparently, I stopped her properly.

“Haa……a queen’s idea is scary. The way they talk about land, is something at the level of normal people buying or renting one.”

“……Renting?”

“Eh?”

Erica’s hand stopped again.

I glanced over my shoulder to see what happened.

“I see, I can rent it. Thank you, darling! You’re amazing, darling!”

“…… What are you talking about?”

“Darling’s territory, I’m going to rent it from Aegina.”

“No,no, you can’t do that ――”

“I,I,it’s possible. Aegina once rented out a land to a merchant named Homeros for a long time.”

“Eh?”

“If there is a precedent, it will work! Come on, Eleni, let’s look into that.”

“Ye,yes!”

Erica left me and left the public bath with Eleni.

I…… Did I say something unnecessary?