Chapter 55 — Dream

Chapter 55: Dream.

When I open my eyes, Eris is straddling me. The morning sun hasn’t come up yet, and the room is still dark. I’m face-up in bed, and Eris is perched just above my waist.

I close my eyes for a moment.

…Calm down. Eris isn’t the type to do something like this. It’s probably Yuel and I’m just seeing things. It’s just my desire showing me a hallucination.

I try opening my eyes again.

Eris is straddling me.

「Eris!? What are you doing!?」

What’s with this situation? How did it end up like this? Is this a ‘night visit’? Could it actually be a night visit? Did that Eris, unable to resist my defenseless form sleeping beside her, embark on a night visit?

「…! I-I’m so sorry…」

Realizing that I’m awake, Eris awkwardly lowers her gaze. But at this angle I can still see her face quite well. It looks like she’s simply bashfully trying to endure. What’s the meaning of this? I wonder what the hell has gotten into her.

「What’s the matter, Eris? Did you eat something bad or what? Y’know, like Orc testicles, or softshell turtle…」

When I ask, Eris just knits her eyebrows in further embarrassment and shuts her slightly open lips. I wonder if she had some reason to climb over me? No, but she shows no signs whatsoever of getting off of me. Seriously, what the hell is going on?

「Ah…」

As I’m watching Eris and speculating, her eyes meet mine again. Did that embarrass her? She averts her gaze once more.

「Oi… Eris?」

However, right after I call out to her, she looks back at me with resolution in her eyes. And, just like that… lays her body down onto mine.

「Eris!? Seriously, what’s the matter with you!?」

Eris’ face is now level with mine. Her slender blonde hair is swaying softly. And above all, those breasts. Eris’ huge breasts are squashed between us, and things are getting very, very intense. This is dangerous. This is dangerous, really dangerous.

「I’m afraid I lied to you. I told you that I’m sleeping in the same room because I was worried about you and Yuel making a mistake, but the truth is… that wasn’t it.」

I hear Eris’ heated breath right next to my ear. The moonlight pouring in through the window illuminates her. Through her hair, her ears and her lovely nape are flushed red with arousal.

「It’s because I love you, and I always wanted us to be like this. But I didn’t want you to think I was an indecent girl…」

Was she good to go? Was she okay with it at any point? I’ve been ready and willing for the longest time, though.

「I feel strange. My body keeps getting hotter and hotter, and I can’t stand it anymore.」

Suddenly, a line of sweat trickles down the nape of Eris’ neck.

Her body is… hot…? Eris is clearly not herself right now. It’s as if she drank an aphrodisiac or someth…

…Wait. That’s it, the succubus.

Most likely, the succubus came back while I was asleep. And then Eris grew unable to bear her stirred-up desires any longer, and initiated a night visit with me, the man who had previously caught her interest. In that case, there’s no helping it.

Having her tell me she loves me and initiate a night visit, refusing to put my hands on her is not something a man would do. Besides, this is medical treatment. In order to return Eris to normal after the flames of her sexual desire have been fanned by the succubus, I need to temporarily release that desire for her. There’s no avoiding it. Finally, this day has come.

Then, I slip out from beneath Eris and strip off her clothes-

…And that’s what happened in the incredibly erotic dream I was having.

This time, as far as I can tell, I’m actually awake now for sure.

That was a dream just now. It wasn’t reality. It was merely an illusion, brought on by my desire.

The only one riding on top of me is Yuel, clinging to me in her sleep.

…Because it’s right after I was having a dirty dream, this is a hazardous situation. In terms of a male physiological phenomenon. I should move Yuel over a little. It’s a good thing she’s asleep.

…Man, I bet I had this dream because I read that book with the succubus doing all that stuff. It’s that Booble’s fault . There was the talk I had with Aria about Eris, too. The details left a deep impression on me, so it all ended up coming out in my dreams.

「…But maaan, I was this close…」

Just a little further and, even though it was in a dream, Eris and I would have crossed the line. Well, I’ve heard somewhere before that the way dreams work is that you usually wake up when you get excited, so dreams like that often stop just short. Unfortunately.

Although, after seeing a dream like that, the feeling of wanting to actually revive the supposedly sealed succubus wells up in me…

I mean, we’re presently living under one roof, not to mention staying in the same room. If the succubus does return and Eris becomes unable to hold back her desires, my earlier dream could possibly become reality. Perhaps I could do erotic stuff like that with Eris every night. I wonder if there isn’t anyone else like an apostle of the evil god who might really revive her?

Well, it was also written that after a while the succubus caused a population explosion and war broke out, so I guess it’s hopeless after all. Besides, I’m pretty sure the Bible said that she was sealed, but I have no idea how she would be brought back.

If the Bible’s contents are fact, the church shouldn’t want an apostle of the evil god to ever be resurrected. I doubt that anyone but the top-class members of the church knows about the sealing method. It’s impossible for her to come back in the first place.

Enough already. The term succubus makes my delusions swell, but there’s no point fantasizing about an impossibility. I’m gonna stop thinking about it.

Right now it’s essential that I raise Eris’ affection towards me somehow, and open the path towards the harem route. Alright, what’ll I do today?

「…You’re going to help out at an orphanage?」

As I’m observing Eris and looking for an opportunity to earn some points with her, she abruptly mentions that she’s heading out.

「Yes, it’s an orphanage in the neighborhood… I might not have told you.」

It’s just before noon, the perfect time for lunch.

It’s right after yesterday.

…Yesterday, my stock with Aria fell drastically. She spoke with Eris immediately afterwards, so she might have realized that Eris doesn’t really love me after all and gone off to introduce her to one of the city’s handsome knights. “You might have a chance to meet him if you visit his location indirectly during lunchtime… on your way to the neighborhood orphanage, or so I’ve heard.”

「…Oh yeah, I heard you love kids.」

I’m pretty sure Aria told me that yesterday.

「…! That’s not the only reason. That hospital, its management situation isn’t going well… the director is someone who looked after me when my parents died, so I’ve been helping them out occasionally in any way I can, ever since.」

Eris blushes slightly and tries to change the subject. I don’t think that liking children is particularly something to be embarrassed about, though. And I’m sure she doesn’t mean that in a weird way.

…Although, the orphanage is having financial difficulties, huh?

「Now that you mention it…」

I take a sideways glance at Yuel, who’s just finished brewing me some tea.

「…Yes, the orphanage I was at also went bankrupt from money issues.」

Yuel told me that she became a slave because her orphanage went broke, and she was sold to cover its debt. Chronologically, it must’ve happened a little before she became a slave, but that’s still relatively recent.

「I guess management is tough everywhere.」

Well, compared to modern Japan where I came from, it’s not like this world’s social system is that well-developed. Even if the budget is tight, just having a proper orphanage must be better than not having one at all.

However, Eris’ expression becomes a little grim, and her voice tightens slightly in anger.

「…No, it’s probably not so harsh elsewhere. The issue is just that… all of the city orphanages in this region are under the jurisdiction of this city’s Archbishop-sama.

Archbishop? Now that I think about it, I saw him at the beauty contest plaza. He was a chubby little pig-man. I wonder if there’s a problem with that archbishop?

「So the church runs the orphanages, huh… if things are that tight, why doesn’t that middle-aged lord shell out some money?」

「It’s not exactly that the church operates every single orphanage itself. The church just receives an endowment from Lord-sama in exchange for the charity work he entrusts to it, and it spreads that out in turn to the privately-run orphanages. The church in this city is probably skimming a considerable amount of money off the top.」

「…What’s with that?」

What’s with that subcontractor arrangement? I feel like there’s no need for the church to be involved. Moreover, like Eris said, there’s a good chance that it’s keeping a share for itself.

「But, austere though it may be, I’ve heard that it isn’t to the point of being unmanageable. Because of that, it seems our Lord-sama can’t do much to interfere with the way the church operates.」

「…Can’t the lord just reduce his contribution to the church and give money to the orphanage directly?」

「There are certain kinds of concessions included in these things, too… so it’s impossible to interfere too much.」

Concessions? So the church carries out charitable work using donations from the lord, and it’s already factored in that they’ll pocket some of it? Well, the Church of Medine is this country’s state religion and all, so the lord may have his own unavoidable reasons too.

Or perhaps I should say, one of those reasons already comes to mind.

「…Hey, Eris, how many people do you know outside of me who can use EX Heal?」

「Eh…? Err, I suppose I’ve only seen you, Saint-sama, and this city’s Archbishop-sama. Other than that, I’ve heard that some of the other archbishops can use it, but… what about it?」

「Nah, just curious.」

I knew it. So far, I’ve only seen two people who can use EX Heal. And both of them were members of the church. Eris too doesn’t appear to know any EX Heal users outside of the archbishop and saint from the church.

…Healing magic is typically something you acquire by studying at a church. That means the church can capture any rising talents at an early stage.

-Due to that, the church has a monopoly on EX Heal.

That may be the reason that such lucrative concessions exist for the church.

Sickness and injury strike unexpectedly. What’s more, if it’s a wound or illness at the level where EX Heal is necessary, you might not have enough time to call in someone talented enough to use EX Heal from elsewhere. For that reason, it’s necessary to maintain favorable relations with the influential church, even to the point of creating these artificial concessions. That may be the way of things. Well, that’s just my guess though.

「Man, Eris, the number of people who can use EX Heal must be really limited. To think that even you don’t know of that many when you trained at a church.」

「That’s right. I’ve heard that to use EX Heal, you need as much mana as ten or so healers who can use High Heal combined. Rather, you’re the strange one for being able to use it numerous times.」

Just being able to use High Heal makes someone plenty elite, so yeah, doing the share of a dozen of those elites certainly sounds demanding. Now I understand why there are so few of them.

As I’m digesting the information, Eris furrows her eyebrows as if she’s having some doubts. After that, she opens her mouth.

「Now that I think about it, you even used Area Heal on the entire city. And you can use EX Heal… that’s, you must have been through some incredible circumstances up until now to have that much ability, but I never thought to ask…」

With her hand on her chin in a thinking pose, Eris comments to me. I wonder if she wants to ask now? She’s looking at me with inquisitive eyes.

…But I do have some incredible circumstances, so I hope she doesn’t ask. I don’t know if she’ll even believe me if I tell her my mana capacity is enormous because I came from another world.

And, as I’m considering it, Yuel enters the conversation.

「Master, I want to learn to use amazing healing magic like yours. I want to increase my mana. So, well…」

Oh my, is she requesting for me to commentate the Bible again? But the succubus passages are off-limits. I pet her head to distract her.

-When I do, Yuel contentedly nuzzles her head against me.

…Ah, this is something else. She was just asking “Can we cuddle?” indirectly. Since being next to me increases her mana and all.

Yuel wraps both hands around my waist, and starts sticking to me like she’s trying to nestle her face into me. She narrows her eyes in total delight.

「Ahem…」

Seeing that, Eris clears her throat as she looks at me with a dissatisfied expression. I’m worried about those looks too.

「…This conversation has dragged on a bit too long. I need to leave soon or I won’t make it in time to prepare lunch for the orphanage. I’ll be back later, alright?」

And, saying that, Eris tries to leave the hospital.

Seems like her doubts from earlier have cleared up. Or rather, she might possibly have guessed that I don’t want to talk about it from my expression. She hasn’t pried too deeply into my origins up until now, either.

…Although, helping out at the orphanage, huh?

That’s it.

「Can I come too?」

I have no interest in the orphanage, but if Eris is going to help out there then so will I. I’ll appeal to her by showing her my dependable side. Having more workers shouldn’t be a bother, and Eris will likely be glad too.

…However, Eris looks at me with a conflicted face. No, at me and Yuel. Her attention is on Yuel hugging my waist, continuing to nestle her face into it.

「I feel a little uneasy taking you to the orphanage, though…」

Furrowing her brows, Eris’ face shows genuine concern as she says that.