Ch 262: I’m afraid

Ch 262: I’m afraid

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The three of us are sitting at the table, eating the strange dinner that Delia and Alessia have prepared.

When I saw the dishes, I immediately noticed something strange.

After all, everything was too green.

Delia prepared a beef stew with celery, or...

Would it be more correct to say that she prepared a celery stew with beef?

Because it was really hard to see the chunks of meat on the surface of the dish.

On the other hand, when they started cooking, Alessia had started to prepare a humble and normal tomato and lettuce salad.

But then Delia said something in her ear, and Alessia started adding large amounts of celery to the salad.

The once innocent tomato and lettuce salad now resembles a plain celery salad.

I don't know where this sudden fanaticism for celery has come from, but it seems that today it will be almost the only thing we will be eating.

I have nothing against celery, but this is just too much.

'Will they be mad if I tell them I'd rather eat some of the cooked meat I have stashed away in my inventory? No, I can't tell them that. Not after all the effort they put into preparing dinner.'

"How was your day? Did you have fun in the capital?" I ask as I spoon a spoonful of the greenish paste that is the stew Delia prepared into my mouth.

"Yes. It was very good to deepen our relationship," Alessia says with a warm smile.

"That's good. Delia, could you pass me the salad, please?..." I say, thinking that maybe the salad won't taste as strongly of celery as the stew.

My hand lightly brushes Delia's as she passes me the bowl.

Instantly, the fox girl winces and begins to stir in her chair.

'Hmm... They seem to be suffering from sexual abstinence too.... Could this be a side effect of one of our new classes? If so, I know which ones are to blame.'

[Harem Lord] [One destined to link his destiny with many people. His power is proportional to the strength and quantity of his loving ties]

[Harem member] [Those who have chosen to link their destiny with the Lord, and thanks to whom they will gain power]

Their descriptions don't explain much, as is often the case with class descriptions, but Harem Lord is the only one of my classes that mentions things like love or bonds.

And since the Harem Member class is related to the Harem Lord class, it is logical to think that those two classes are responsible for what is happening to us.

But these are just guesses.

I'll have to wait to see if my parents find any information about these classes.

That would only serve to complicate things further.

Therefore, it is best to remain silent on the matter.

' - I don't know why, but it seems to me that there's something he's not telling us.... Haa... It seems like things are always going to be like this with Master.... There will always be another secret'

"Is there something bothering you, Master?" asks Alessia as she finishes the remains of her portion of stew.

"No... Nothing at all. Why do you think so?" I say, making efforts not to choke on my food.

'There are times when Alessia is too perceptive.'

' - It seems that Alessia is right... Obviously, Emir is lying; I can tell now by watching his face. We weren't supposed to have secrets from each other.... Hmm, I guess whatever this secret is, Emir is hiding it from us for our sake. Sooner or later, he'll tell us if there's anything important that we should know.'

' - Bloody compulsive liar! Haa... But maybe I’m just overanalyzing things, and he's just worried because we found out about the story between Melisa and him and not about anything else more serious.... Anyway, I can't get mad at him right now'

"Hmt, nevermind.... Going back to before, even if that peace treaty is finally signed, you'll still have to go to the war zone every so often, right?" says Alessia with obvious irritation.

"Yes, at least if I want to keep Commander Cael happy. But don't worry..." I say, reaching across the table to touch the girl's hand.

At my gesture, the girl winces slightly in her chair and starts to blush, but she doesn't withdraw her hand.

Delia sees Alessia's reaction and begins to breathe erratically.

Despite the bitter taste on the roof of my mouth, a half-smile appears on my lips as I watch what happens.

"... I will always come back to you."

As soon as I utter those words, a knock is heard from under the table in Delia's direction.

"Emir, are you going to eat much more? Won't you want to go to b-bed?" asks Delia, looking at me intensely.

'I guess I'm cheating... in more than one sense... considering I had sex several times with Beatrice during the day. That's why I don't feel the same need as they do. But... Whose idea was this in the first place? Now they're going to have to play the game that they themselves proposed'

"Hmm, I think I still have room for a second bowl of stew," I say, letting go of Alessia's hand and refilling my bowl, which was already almost empty.

The dismayed look Delia gives me is almost enough to make me regret it right then and there.

But I have to be strong if I want to prove who has the final say in this relationship.

'I think I'm going to start eating very very slowly. That way, they'll learn not to use abstinence against me again as punishment. I want to see how long Alessia can hold out without saying anything about it.'

' - Ohh, no. I'm not going to let him play with us like that. I'm sure Master is perfectly aware of what he's doing. I don't know how he's so calm, but I've run out of patience.'

"Okay, Master. No more games..." says Alessia, suddenly getting up from the table and holding my wrist so that I stop filling the bowl.

"...We've already satisfied your needs; now it's your turn to satisfy us. And you are not allowed to rest until you do."

Delia nods vehemently at Alessia's words and stands up as well.

Then she reaches around the table and grabs my other wrist, at the same time taking the spoon from my hand.

'Well... I couldn't have fun for very long, but I guess they're right. I guess now it's my turn to fulfill my marital duties.'

"Okay, I'm in your hands," I say, amused, extending my arms towards them in surrender to being taken to bed.