Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 7 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Puppet’s Feelings ~Rose’s POV~

“Okay, it’s about time I get going,” Lily said in the middle of cooking. I was working with my knife in hand like usual. “Sorry Kei, could you watch the fire for me?”

“Sure.”

Today’s breakfast was leftovers from yesterday’s dinner—soup with monster meat Berta had gotten for us when she’d returned. Lily had prepared some edible wild herbs and used them to garnish the soup, so she left the rest to Kei, who was just waking up with a cute yawn. Lily looked to be in a great mood.

“Are you going to see our master, Sister?” I asked.

“Hm? Yup, that’s the plan.”

With a towel and bucket in hand, she came over to where I was sitting. But instead of footsteps, I heard something slithering across the ground. My sister’s lower body was still that of a slime. Her upper body did, in fact, have the voluptuous curves of a woman, but she couldn’t shape out the minute details. She was still recovering from surpassing her limit during the battle against the Mad Beast.

“His morning training should be done about now,” she said. “I was thinking of taking him a towel at least.”

“Our master has been training even more lately. Please tend to him as best you can.”

“Of course. Oh, I know. Do you two want to come too?”

“I have work to do,” I replied.

That was partly an excuse. I didn’t want to get in the way of their time together.

“I’ll also refrain,” Mana said with a bittersweet smile. She was in the middle of learning how to use a translation runestone. “It’s not even breakfast yet. I’ll overload on sugar if I go,” she added jokingly, brushing Ayame all the while.

“Kuuu...”

Ayame had been a little more docile lately. She was curled up in Mana’s lap, her ears folded down, quietly letting Mana brush her over and over.

“Mrgh. You know you don’t have to be so considerate of me, right?” Lily said, then she suddenly looked up. “Oh, it’s Gerbera.”

Our master’s training partner for the morning, Gerbera, was coming our way.

“Is their morning practice over?” Lily asked.

“It seems so,” I answered.

“Okay. Then, I’m off,” she said, turning around.

Her lower body slithered across the ground as she turned at the waist and gave me a smile. It was a gentle smile, as if the warm feelings deep inside her chest were oozing out. Her figure captivated me. Mysteriously enough, despite the state of her body, her womanly charm seemed more potent than before.

“Lily’s changed, huh?” Mana muttered, probably feeling the same sensation I had.

“She has...”

Before this, my sister had never really liked her true nature as a slime. However, even though she couldn’t hide her slime body right now, there wasn’t a single shadow hanging over her face. The sight of her nestling up against our master was the very embodiment of sweet happiness. Her mental state had definitely changed somehow.

Perhaps influenced by that change, Lily had been behaving differently than before. One such example was that she could be close to our master without caring about her slime figure. She also proactively used her recovery time to learn this world’s language. She wanted to read local books. Also, up until now, only my master had spoken to other visitors. But before Iino Yuna left, my sister had conversed with her on multiple occasions. I’d caught sight of them talking a few times myself. I didn’t know what had caused this change within her, but seeing her so happy, I was certain it was a good thing.

“Now then...”

After seeing my sister off, I returned to my work and took my magic knife in hand. Currently, I was working on various parts for a manamobile. They had decided that I would go to town with my master. If we could acquire the necessary runestone, I’d make us a manamobile. That was why I’d decided beforehand to make parts that would be easy to carry.

I was about halfway through analyzing the mechanics of a manamobile. As a result, I’d figured out that there were several secondary runestones installed in various locations of the vehicle. The vehicle’s size, as well as the magnitude and direction of the driving force used to push the frame, determined what size runestone was needed, so I could simply make them to match what we ended up with. I was having a hard time analyzing the main runestone, which served as the driving force behind the vehicle, but everything else I could already duplicate with imitation runestones.

A few days after the Skanda Iino Yuna parted ways with us, I’d heard I was going into town with my master. My work had progressed since then, so even though the parts I’d made were small, there were quite a number of them. More specifically, even accounting for spares, there was enough for four vehicles.

Maybe I made too many... They were getting heavy too, so maybe it would be good to start working on something aside from manamobile parts. For example, we had an item that was more practical than anything else we carried—the magic bag. It had an increased capacity, so even though it looked small on the outside, it could hold several times its size. As such, it made sense to make one for everyone.

The bag I used for all my tools was getting rather large, so something small enough to hang off my waist would be rather convenient. I would need time to fine-tune the runestone, but it seemed worthwhile to try some things out through trial and error.

As I was thinking of how to do this, Gerbera walked toward me. She came to a stop a short distance away from the campfire and folded her legs to take a seat. I started working out the size and design of a magic bag for my tools while I discussed it with Mana. Not long after, I started to hear quiet groaning. The voice was getting louder and louder. I stopped my work and looked up. Gerbera was holding her head in her hands, moaning over what appeared to be a difficult problem.

“Is something wrong, Gerbera?” Mana asked.

“Hrm?” Gerbera raised her face, her eyes wide. “Ooh. I didn’t see you there, Katou.”

“I’ve been here all along...” Mana said in astonishment.

“Is that so? Sorry about that. I didn’t notice.” Gerbera paused and cocked her head. “So? What is it?”

“What...? I’m the one asking you. You don’t usually come back right after Senpai finishes training. Besides, you’ve been groaning about something all this time.” Mana gave her a worried look, then asked, “Is something troubling you?”

“Hrmm. Yes. Actually, there is,” Gerbera said, a little hesitantly at first, but she honestly admitted it. She nodded at us gravely, and her brow wrinkled. “A few days ago, I made a promise with my lord to have a tryst.”

“Should you be telling me this?”

Mana had been prepared to give advice, but now her eyes were half-closed in exasperation.

“Um, Katou, wait a moment. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

“So you say...”

“I’d like your advice.”

Gerbera sounded seriously troubled. Still, I understood Mana’s desire to roll her eyes.

“It’s uncomfortable to hear all about your dirty endeavors, though,” Mana said.

“Be at ease. I’ve yet to embark on any such endeavors. I couldn’t tell you about them even if I wanted to.”

“Now that you mention it, you have a point. You’ve only ‘promised’ so far, huh?” Mana muttered, putting a finger to her lip.

Gerbera nodded happily. “Yes, that’s right. My lord told me we would flirt when we had time alone.”

“Huh. That’s a little unexpected. Did Majima-senpai put it that way?”

“Hm? No. Maybe I’m the one who said that.”

“So he didn’t tell you that at all...”

“Th-That may be so, but he hugged me! He also said he was sorry to keep me waiting!”

“Hmm. Senpai said that...” Mana turned my way for a moment. “So he’s finally thinking that way. That’s a good thing.”

“Indeed. So next, he’s going to take some time for me.”

“Haah... Is that so? Congratulations. But I’m full to the brim already. Are you going to keep bragging? Honestly, all this sugar is going to give me a cavity.” With that, Mana smiled wryly, though her gaze was gentle. “All that’s left is for you two to move things forward, right? If you’re finding it hard to get some time alone with him, I’ll lend you a hand.”

I knew very well that Mana was good at looking after others.

“Hrmm. If possible, I’d like to do just that. There is one little problem, though,” Gerbera said.

“A problem?” Mana asked.

Mana’s tone had been kind, but it wasn’t to encourage Gerbera to confess so honestly. Gerbera did so anyway.

“Indeed. It seems that when I get aroused, I can no longer regulate my strength. I’m liable to crush my lord flat in my embrace by accident. What do you think I should do?”

Mana stared back at Gerbera, squinted at her, then turned my way. The words “She’s a lost cause” were written all over her face.

“Rose, it seems we must absolutely keep Senpai from being alone with Gerbera.”

“Katou?!” Gerbera’s eyes shot open in despair.

Seeing Gerbera’s shoulders droop, I decided to join the conversation.

“Mana was just joking. It’ll be fine as long as you avoid doing anything yourself, right?”

“Hm? What do you mean?” Gerbera asked.

“If you don’t embrace him, you won’t be able to crush him.”

It was just a makeshift solution, but it was better than nothing. More importantly, our master’s life depended on this.

“I-I see. In other words... I must become a bottom!” Gerbera yelled cheerfully.

“That’s probably it,” I said with a vague nod as I watched her clench her fists. “I don’t really get it, though.”

“I don’t either,” Gerbera agreed. “Isn’t it like how our lord used to be?”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s fine, right? It’s all in the past. Lately, our lord has been rather assertive.”

“Is that so?”

“Hang on, Gerbera,” Mana suddenly cut in. “How do you even know that?”

“I have good eyes and ears. Once in a while, I see and hear all sorts of things. Such as this and that with Lily... I’d think you knew that, Katou. Have you not come across such a scene yourself lately?”

“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wha—?! I-I wasn’t staring or anything! So I have no idea whether Senpai is assertive!”

“Oh. Right. Now that I think of it, you immediately left after you saw them.”

“H-How do you know that?!”

“Like I said, I have good eyes and ears.”

Now that I thought of it, Mana had gone to relieve herself one night, and she’d come back flushed all over. She’d said that she couldn’t sleep, and I’d lent her my lap. She’d been strangely needy that evening, which was rather cute in my opinion. Apparently, this had been the reason for her behavior.

“Anyway, that makes sense. Playing the bottom may be an option,” Gerbera said, ignoring the now bright-red Mana and shooting up to her feet. “Very well! I’m going to be a bottom now!”

“I feel like your prospects just dwindled from shouting that so vigorously...” Mana quipped, looking exhausted.

“Perhaps, but this is the only way I know how to conduct myself,” Gerbera replied, then turned to Mana with a serious look. “Say, Katou. I don’t plan on stopping my march forward, you know?”

I had no idea what those words implied, but Mana returned Gerbera’s weighty gaze.

“How about you, Katou?” Gerbera continued. “How long do you plan on remaining a train wreck?”

“I...”

“Well, I do understand that you have your own pace,” Gerbera said with a sudden smile, removing all the tension in the air. “There’s no sense in forcing the matter. But just so you know, I also want to cheer you on.”

“Gerbera...”

“After all, you’re my comrade in wanting to ravish my lord!”

“D-Didn’t I tell you last time that you’re wrong?!”

Mana was once again crimson.

“Oh, yes, you did. That means you want him to pounce on you instead?”

“Where did you get an idea like that?! You’re wrong! I told you to watch your vocabulary last time too!”

“Oh, sorry. Umm... Then you’d like to share an embrace, lock lips, and touch and be touched by him, right?”

“Why are you being so specific! Oh, crap...”

It was strange to see Gerbera driving Mana into a corner like this. Just then, Mana suddenly realized something and turned my way, still flushed all over.

“That’s the first I’ve heard of this,” I said with a cock of my head. “Mana, do you wish for my master to pounce on you?”

She let out a soundless scream. Her mouth flapped open and closed like some sort of fish out of water. This went on for a few seconds before she swiveled her head back toward Gerbera.

“Gerbera...?”

“Y-Yes?! D-Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

Gerbera broke into a cold sweat before Mana’s teary-eyed glare. Her past trauma was still alive and well to this day, it seemed.

“Well, that aside...” Gerbera mumbled, turning her red eyes my way as if to escape from Mana. “Rose, you speak like this has nothing to do with you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked curiously.

“It’s simple. You also share the same feelings that we do, I think.”

“What feelings?”

She wasn’t making sense at all. Gerbera also seemed to realize this, and she looked at me with doubtful eyes.

“Rose, I’ve heard that you want our lord to hug you. To help that happen, you’ve been redesigning yourself as a cute doll.”

“Yes.”

“So, you obviously desire what comes after that, don’t you?”

“No.”

My tone must have conveyed my utter confusion, because Gerbera looked like she didn’t believe me. Not that I had any idea why that was.

“Oh my. So...what? You really don’t desire what comes after that?” she asked.

“I’ve never even thought about it. If our master wishes it, then I obviously intend on complying no matter what it is.” I thought it over for a while, then said, “But isn’t that impossible?”

“Wait just a moment, Rose,” Gerbera said as she pinched her brow. Then she turned to Mana. “Say, Katou... What’s going on here? It looks to me like Rose is serious.”

“I’ve been trying my best to help, despite this result,” Mana replied.

“I see. So that’s how it is...”

Gerbera turned back my way with a troubled look.

“Rose? I do think dearly of you as my elder sister. So allow me to say this. Aren’t you lacking...desire?”

“That’s not true. Our master’s affection belongs only to Lily, after all.”

I wanted to experience that night I’d spent in my master’s arms once more. I wanted to return to that dreamlike encounter. I was fully aware that this simple wish was the height of insolence. So wishing for more? Honestly, that would be like the sky falling. One could say my conviction was unshakeable.

“But, Rose,” Gerbera continued, “you say it’s impossible, but our lord now desires such a thing from me too, you know?”

In that instant, my thoughts slammed to a complete stop.

◆ ◆ ◆

Gerbera’s words had prodded at thoughts I’d never even considered before. It was just as she’d said; the situation had changed. My master had decided to accept Gerbera’s feelings. The sky had already fallen. There was no such thing as the impossible.

If so... If so...then...what? What does that even mean? Useless thoughts began spinning around in my head. Our conversation had come to an end, but everything was still hazy to me. Actually, Kei had been listening to us talk the entire time while she watched the fire, and because our conversation had been too stimulating, she’d ended up fainting and we’d been forced to stop.

Breakfast was now over, and we were in the middle of cleaning up and preparing to depart. I was gathering our luggage, but things were moving at a sluggish pace. I was well aware that I’d been shaken to the core, but I didn’t understand why I was so shaken. Well, that was a bit of a lie. I had a faint idea. In other words, just like Lily and Gerbera, perhaps I also desired for our master to love me.

Did I truly wish for such an outrageous thing? I didn’t know. The very concept had never even crossed my mind. That was why I’d never given it thought before, and I couldn’t imagine it now that it was on my mind.

However, it was true that I was restless just thinking about whether I wished for “that.” Within this bloodless body of mine, there was an emotion akin to a smoldering fire. It had always been there. It was what had driven me to want my master to hug me. I hadn’t been aware of it, but I finally grasped this sensation. What do I truly desire? I wondered to myself.

“Rose.”

Before I knew it, Mana was standing right in front of me. She was already dressed for travel. I then noticed that my hands had come to a complete stop.

“S-Sorry, Mana. Have I kept everyone waiting?”

“Not at all. We still have time. I was in a bit of a rush to get ready, is all.”

“I-Is that so?” I felt relieved to hear that, but then I realized that something had stuck out to me. “You were in a rush?”

“Yup. There was something I wanted to talk with you about,” Mana replied with a nod, then cut to the chase. “It’s about Majima-senpai.”

I jolted. I couldn’t hide my unrest at the sudden mention of my master’s name. If Mana had noticed my discomposure, she pretended not to see and continued.

“We’re accompanying Senpai into the next town, right?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“I think this is a good opportunity,” she said with a faint smile. “Rose, would you like to use this chance to go on a date with him?”