Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 9 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Puppet’s Path to Romance ~Rose’s POV~

This happened on our way back to Diospyro from Draconia. It was the middle of the night, and everyone was asleep. Only those who required no sleep were active at this time. I could hear Mana’s peaceful breathing right by my side. Her sleeping face was even more innocent than it was during the day. Her dainty hand tightly gripped the hem of my skirt.

Now that I thought of it, during our time in the Woodlands, Lily had stayed by our master’s side during the night, while I stayed near Mana so that we could immediately act if something happened. Before we knew it, this had become a custom of ours.

We were no longer in the Woodlands, and our master had more servants and travel companions now, so our journey was exponentially safer than before. We didn’t need to stay close to the two of them anymore. Nevertheless, it gave me peace of mind when Mana was close to me like this. I’d gotten accustomed to hearing her soft breathing as I worked, so I didn’t plan on quitting this habit.

“Mm...”

Mana stirred slightly, perhaps having some kind of dream. I felt a sensation filling me up somewhere deep inside my chest, and that turned into a smile. This was probably the most natural smile I could possibly make with this fabricated face of mine.

I raised my gaze from Mana. In front of me, I saw an enraptured white spider. That was the only way I could describe her.

“Heh. Heh heh...”

Her satisfied smile and unsightly expression utterly warped her peerless beauty.

“Eheh heh heh heh...”

What exactly was going through her mind? First, it looked like she was grinning and turning bright red, then she put her hands to her cheeks and silently cheered. After that, she started rummaging through the magic bag that held her things.

She pulled out the comb and brushes she’d requested I make just the other day. She combed her hair, brushed down her spider fluff, and diligently smoothed the difficult-to-reach places using the long-handled brush. Once she was done, she began manipulating threads in her hands.

I’d seen this meticulously woven cocoon before. According to Mana, certain spiders wrapped their eggs in cocoons. She’d also said that it was like a human making clothes for a future baby.

Well, I could understand that she was preparing for the future, but as far as I knew, she’d made over twenty of them already, in the middle of the night. What was even more terrifying was that her pace hadn’t dropped at all. Wasn’t she making too many? How many was she planning to weave, anyway? I watched her, but Gerbera didn’t seem to notice. Her bloodred eyes were feverishly moist as she finished her meticulous cocoon and put it in her magic bag. After that, she returned to indulging herself in reverie, a huge grin on her face.

It was an entire festival of suspicious behavior. Lily, who was practicing partial mimicry by our master’s side as he slept, also smiled wryly at this. Gerbera slept in the manamobile during the day, since she had to hide herself within it, so she probably wasn’t lacking sleep. Still, too much enthusiasm could be poisonous.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself, Gerbera,” I said.

“Hrm?” Gerbera blinked in confusion.

“It looks like your relationship with our master is going well.”

“O-Oh? How can you tell?”

“It’s clear as day.”

Did she really have to ask after all this time? She lost all restraint like this at night when fewer eyes were around, but even during the day, she was always in great humor. It would be stranger not to notice.

Given the timing of her behavior, I could even conjecture that her relationship with our master had progressed during our stay in Draconia. Yet, somehow, Gerbera looked surprised to hear this.

“How amazing, Rose. You can tell just by looking?”

She couldn’t possibly be so unaware of her own behavior, right? I was speechless. I looked at Gerbera’s face again but couldn’t see anything there aside from genuine astonishment. I was even more surprised than she was. Having said that, this was pretty typical of her.

“In any case...I’m glad it’s going smoothly,” I said, pulling myself together. “Congratulations, Gerbera.”

Gerbera had been in love with our master ever since our time in the Woodlands. Even after he’d accepted her feelings, she couldn’t make love to him—and this was entirely her own fault.

If her heart’s desire had been granted, then nothing could make me happier. As her fellow servant, and as her older sister, of course I would give her my blessings. However, after I congratulated her, Gerbera gave me an odd look.

“What’s the matter?” I asked curiously.

Gerbera awkwardly scratched her cheek. “Mm. In truth, there’s a part of me that wonders if this is all right.”

“Surely you aren’t dissatisfied with your relationship with our master, are you?”

It wasn’t my intent, but my voice had come out deeper than I’d meant, and Gerbera jolted.

“I-I’m not. Never. There’s no way I could possibly be. Our lord was very gentle, and he tried many things until we both felt good, and was very considerate of me since it was my first time.”

“Is that so?”

That was fine then. In the confusion of the moment, Gerbera had said something rather descriptive, but taking our master’s feelings into consideration, I decided that I hadn’t heard anything.

“The kiss was particularly amazing. That surprised me. It felt like my mind and body were melting... I wonder if that’s a result of Lily’s training?”

Yes, I didn’t hear a thing. I didn’t see Lily’s huge smile either. Anyway, Gerbera didn’t seem displeased. In fact, it was impossible she felt that way, considering that unsightly expression glued to her face.

“Then what do you mean by, ‘I wonder if this is all right’?” I asked.

“Well... How do I put it? I worry that there is a proper order, you know?”

Her reply didn’t make any sense to me.

“A proper order?” I asked.

“I mean, consider Katou. When it comes to our lord, she is a complete train wreck. In a sense, I wonder if this will light a fire under her. But in your case, I don’t believe it will.”

“You don’t believe what will?”

“I suppose that’s exactly what I mean. I won’t stop marching on just because I worry about it, though. How difficult this is...”

Gerbera folded her arms beneath her breasts and began groaning.

“Say, Rose?” she started, her red eyes turning to me once more. “I asked you this once before, but...you’ve been adorning your body so that our lord will hug you, correct?”

“Correct. What about it?”

“Things were left unsettled the last time I asked. Even now, do you not think about what comes after that?”

She’d asked me the same question before we visited Diospyro the last time. I threw a glance at our master, making sure he was sound asleep, then answered as quietly as I could.

“No, I do. It’s true. Somewhere inside me, I want what comes next. I realized that desire was always there.”

I’d felt this way during my first date with my master. I wanted him to hug me. I wanted him to embrace me tightly, as a puppet and as a girl. I’d put in the effort to achieve that, believing that was all there was to my wish.

But I’d been mistaken. Somewhere inside me, I wished for more. Mana and Gerbera had once told me that I lacked desire, yet I’d been so happy just spending time walking around town with my master that I’d finally realized the truth.

“That means you were right, Gerbera,” I said.

“Ooh, I see. So you have also decided to ravish our lord!”

Gerbera leaned forward in excitement as I held out my palm.

“No. Please, wait. That’s wrong.”

“Hrm?”

“I don’t want to do that,” I said, pushing Gerbera back. “Actually, I don’t even know what I want to do with our master.”

“You don’t?” she asked, giving me a weird look. “What a strange thing to say. Is it not your own desire?”

“It is. But I really don’t know.”

I absolutely wished for what came after a hug, but that was nothing more than a vague expectation. It was blind hope. Even when I thought about what came after, I couldn’t picture it concretely. It was fluffy and brilliant like a shining cloud. That was about all I could see. But maybe that only made sense. Mana had once pointed something out to me. My heart was underdeveloped and inexperienced, so much so that I didn’t understand it myself.

“I guess I’m just terribly dense regarding my own desires?” I added.

“Mrgh. But you know you want our lord to hug you, right?” Gerbera asked.

“That’s because I’ve experienced it once. I can want for it to happen again because I know what it feels like.”

“You mean to say that you cannot wish for something you’re incapable of imagining?” Gerbera asked, swaying slightly. “Then, Rose, do you want to embrace our lord, kiss him, let him touch you, and make love?”

I froze. What was she even asking? Picturing those things was well beyond my reach. It wasn’t just that I lacked imagination—the concept didn’t even exist to me in the first place. Honestly speaking, I couldn’t even think straight after being asked such a candid question.

However, Gerbera continued to stare at me with a meaningful expression. She hadn’t said it in a joking manner; she was serious. She really wanted me to give it some thought. So, just for a bit, I allowed myself to fantasize about something well beyond my means.

I immediately reached my limit, though. Embrace? Kiss? Touch? Make love? With my master? When it was stated so specifically, it had no sense of reality. In the past, I’d thought that my simple wish of wanting him to hug me was already overreaching. Even now, there were parts of me that still believed it was. How, then, could I possibly describe any act beyond that? I didn’t know what they were, and it was difficult for me to picture what they’d be.

“I can’t even imagine it...” I honestly admitted.

“Unlike Gerbera, you don’t have a reproductive instinct as a species,” Lily said, throwing me a lifeline. “And you can’t learn from someone else’s memories and senses like I did from Miho. It makes sense, then, that you feel so estranged from these concepts.”

“Hmm. I see. Is that how it works?” Gerbera asked.

“Well, her personality is a factor too. Rose is like the personification of loyalty, and she’s so serious.”

Apparently, they could understand my feelings at a glance. I had no awareness that I wished for such an outrageous thing, so I was left bewildered.

Seeing me like this, Lily held back her smile and looked at me sincerely. “Rose, I don’t know what will kick things off for you...but when the time comes, you have to properly accept it, okay? That will surely become your most priceless treasure.”

Her words were filled with the affection of an older sister. At the same time, they were also filled with conviction. She knew that the day would certainly come.

Before I knew it, I nodded back to her. “Understood, sister.”

“Very good.” She smiled with satisfaction, but then her smile changed to a teasing grin.

“For the time being, you want our master to hug you, right? Speaking of kicking things off, that’s a good starting point.”

“S-Sister...?”

“Isn’t it about time you try coaxing him into giving you one?”

“I can’t possibly!”

“Ooh, that sounds nice,” Gerbera joined in. “Either way, there are things you won’t find out until you try taking action.”

They were having fun and half joking around, but the remaining half was definitely serious. It was a little troubling, since I hadn’t found a way to resolve myself. All the same, my sisters were trying to give me a good push on the back because I was always like this. I was grateful for their consideration, but I also felt pathetic that I couldn’t meet their expectations.

I was feeling a little down, but Shiran saved me by coming back from patrol.

“I’ve returned. Oh? It looks like you’re all having fun,” she said.

“Welcome back, Shiran,” Lily greeted her. “Huh? Were there monsters again?” Lily’s nose twitched. She’d detected the scent of blood. “Are you injured? You’re back a little later than usual today.”

“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern,” Shiran replied with a smile, which completely contrasted with Lily’s worried expression. “I apologize for being late. Berta has gone back to her master, so I figured it would be prudent to do a more thorough patrol.”

“Oh. Mhm. That’s perfectly reasonable, but...”

“A little blood sprayed on me, so I will go wash off. Rose, could you lend me the whole set?”

“Very well. Just a moment.”

I pulled out a somewhat large washbasin and a towel from my magic bag and handed them to Shiran. She accepted them with a smile and moved somewhere out of sight. The whole while, Lily stared at her back.

“Is something the matter, sister?” I asked.

“Hmm. It’s about Shiran,” she replied, looking pensive. “She’s been fighting monsters for us quite frequently, right?”

“Yes, she has. Shiran has been a major factor in maintaining our master’s safety at night.”

There were a fair number of nocturnal monsters. During our time in the Woodlands, we’d been attacked in the dead of night on multiple occasions. It hadn’t happened recently, though, because Shiran had been patrolling our campsites to exterminate any nearby monsters.

“I truly do admire her diligence,” I said.

“Mhm. I do too. But you know...” Lily said, her intentions unclear.

“Is there a problem?”

Lily hesitated for a moment, then said, “I feel like Shiran comes back having encountered too many monsters.”

“How so?”

“I mean, we don’t meet that many during the day, right? Do their numbers really jump up like that just ’cause it’s nighttime?”

“Aah...”

Now that she mentioned it, that didn’t make sense. It was pretty rare for us to bump into any monsters during the day. This region was close to the Woodlands, but it wasn’t actually the Woodlands. It was certainly a harsh environment to live in, but there were nowhere near as many monsters inhabiting the area. Also, the Order of National Defense eradicated ones in the vicinity of the main roads connecting Aker’s towns. These factors curbed the number of monsters we might encounter.

Nevertheless, Lily often used her wolflike sense of smell to point out that Shiran had fought monsters on her patrol. Even then, it wasn’t like she could detect it every single time. Maybe there’d been times she hadn’t been sure and hadn’t mentioned it. It was possible Shiran had defeated even more monsters than we knew of, then.

“But Lily, didn’t Berta also hunt monsters every evening?” Gerbera pointed out. “She also found several every time. Is it not the same?”

“She went out to hunt,” Lily answered. “She was going about actively seeking prey. Isn’t that different from what Shiran does?”

“Hmm. You have a point there.”

Now that Gerbera looked convinced, Lily looked toward the tree line where Shiran had gone.

“I don’t think this should be happening unless she covers a fairly wide area. That’s something to be grateful for, but...”

“Is she pushing herself a little too hard again?” I asked, looking in the same direction with concern.

“Maybe... Well, before she left, Berta said, ‘Do something about your own group’s problem.’”

“Our group’s problem, you say?”

“Mhm. I think it was a slip of the tongue. She managed to brush it off at the time, but just maybe...”

Our master had worried for a while about Shiran’s tendency to push herself too hard. It made sense then that the problem Berta had mentioned was related to her. Nonetheless, something about this stuck out to me.

If that was in fact a problem, why would Berta dodge the question? There was no reason to do so if the problem was already known. I didn’t know the truth, of course. Berta had returned to Kudou’s side, so we couldn’t ask her anymore. It wasn’t even definite that the problem she’d mentioned was related to Shiran to begin with.

Still, something about this bothered me. Perhaps it also bothered Lily, because a shadow of anxiety fell over her as she continued staring into the trees.

◆ ◆ ◆

In the end, we consulted our master about it and decided to indirectly keep an eye on things. Having said that, Shiran’s tendency to push herself too far was already on our minds, so we would spot any new developments right away. In the meantime, we arrived in Diospyro.

Much like last time, Lily stayed behind in the manamobile with the others who couldn’t enter town. First, we headed to the inn to rendezvous with Fukatsu, who’d been waiting for us there. Once we reached the street where the inn was, a woman called out to us.

“Ooh! Is that you, Shiran?! And Kei too!”

A young woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, and tapered ears walked down the street toward us. She was an elf. Her cheerful smile made her cheekbones more prominent, but her features resembled Shiran’s and Kei’s somewhat. It didn’t seem to be an accidental resemblance either. In a rare showing, Shiran looked at her in a complete daze.

“Auntie...?”

“Long time no see,” the woman replied with a nostalgic smile.