CH 32

November 24th, 2022

T/L Notes: Work will be quite hectic until end of the year. It might impact the speed of translation, but I’ll see what I can do.

Beta Reader: My_Own_Worst_NPC

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Why does a morning bath always feel so good?

The breeze from the forest was refreshing, and the sunlight filtering through the foliage glittered in the hot water, making it looks very beautiful.

I didn’t have time to pick flowers and herbs, so I only put some essential oils I’d made into the hot water.[1] The scent of lavender was very relaxing…

For some reason, ever since I’d come to this world, I felt like I was getting more effeminate as more time passed. Is this the effect of having transferred to the other world?

Maybe it’s because the women here were all acting like men on earth, so it only seemed like I was becoming more feminine compared to them. Or it could also be that I was subconsciously perceiving how a man was expected to behave on this world, and was trying to play the role…

Either way, it meant I wasn’t strong enough to make decisions based on my own will alone… A person’s behavior really was easily influenced by the environment, wasn’t it? And I’ve always been especially susceptible to being influenced by my environment. [2]

“Goku, once we’re done with baking the pudding, put down the flame and let it cool down in the cellar. I’ll go to the construction site later.”

After giving new instructions, I stretched my arms and legs out and continued soaking myself in the hot water. If I was still on Earth, I would have been on my way to work by this time of the day.

At first, I was worried how I would live on this world, but now I was feeling more fulfilled than back on Earth. I didn’t know how, but I’d adapted with the environment here and was now living comfortably.                              

The bath slime was happily swaying along with my humming, as if agreeing with me.

♢Lotte Gram’s POV

Lotte Gram and her company were walking along the forest path toward the dungeon. The soldiers, led by the officers, had arrived at the site. Their important mission was about to begin, but Lotte’s mind was back at the inn, sitting down to a meal with Shirou Sanada.

He’s not only smart and sensible… but also playful and sensual… so a man like that really does exist…

That was Lotte’s honest impression of Shiro.

The breakfast this morning was delicious. The sausage made from goat meat was especially juicy, and the yogurt with mango was exquisite. The tablecloth was dazzling without a single stain, and the knives and forks were beautifully polished. Lotte knew that the golems did most of the cleaning and washing, but she doesn’t care about that.

Secretly, Lotte was happy that Shiro was interested in building moats and model sailing ships.

If it’s with that boy, I could strike up grand conversations… The commander’s heart swelled to bursting with excitement at the idea. If only he and I could become lovers.

Our rank is too different. A marriage would impossible, but maybe I could take him as a concubine [3]. Caravelle, galleys, and galleons; oh, how we would spend our days together making models and talking about them.

We would then eat together, enjoying the food that has been lovingly prepared by Shirou, and when the night comes…

Lotte smiled secretly as she dreamt of such a future.

“I see that you are looking forward to conquering the dungeon, too, Lotte-sama.”

Suddenly, she was brought back to reality by her second-in-command, Lane.

“Eh?”

“I mean, it is not often that Lotte-sama leaks a smile. It is good that you seem to be full of motivation.”

It was at this moment, that Lotte realized how her expression has mellowed out due to her daydreaming about Shirou.

“Mh…”

Reminding herself to concentrate to her work, she suppressed her imagination and resumed the familiar expression of neutrality. And then Lotte realized she had forgotten something…

She had left behind at the inn, the aerial view of the island that had been sent to her by the Land Management and Research Institute.

“I’m sorry, Diane. I think I left something at the inn, so I’ll go get it. You can go ahead and give them instructions.”

“Shouldn’t we send one of the soldiers to get it instead?”

“No need, I’ll do it.”

The documents were in her room, and she didn’t want anyone else digging around in her things. Not only because there were important documents inside her bags, there’s also several sensual novels to alleviate the boredom of the trip.

The stories were about a woman who liked to be dominated by men, so they were considered rather taboo by society; to be fair it a little unusual for a woman to be submissive, but Lotte was also a woman with a strong M tendency. [4]

“Be right back. I’m leaving the command of construction site to you.”

Leaving the rest to Lane, Lotte turned back along the forest path.

♢ Shirou’s POV

After finishing my bath, having cold river water poured over me by Iwao made me feel really refreshed. I walk back to the cave butt-naked, savoring the feeling of freedom; I could feel the wind from the forest breezes through me, especially my manly part.

As I was moving my feet energetically towards the cave, my little one also moving in tandem with the swaying of my body, and as I was thinking of quickly getting dressed so I could go to the construction site, I suddenly bumped into Commander Gram.

“……”

“……”

Both she and I were at loss for words, before finally shouting in unison.

“I’m sorry!”

“I’m sorry!!”

I used my hands to try and cover myself, while Gram turned her back to me.

“S-sorry for showing you something unsightly, I thought everyone had gone ahead.”

“N-no… I’m… I left something behind… Sorry!”

And just like that, she quickly fled from the scene. Her face was bright red, I just hope that she wouldn’t go faint again… Anyway, let’s hurry and get dressed.

♢ Lotte Gram’s POV

Lotte quickly entered her room and dived into her bed, writhing as if in agony.

Then, without even looking at her bag of papers, she rubbed her face and sighed in frustration; no matter how hard she tried to not think about it, the image of Shirou’s naked body would not leave her mind’s eye.

What am I going to do……I can’t continue my work like this……

In an attempt to somehow calm herself down, Lotte unbuttoned her shirt a little while she lay sprawled across the bed and took a deep, slow breath … Then, with a hurried hand, she took off her bottom as well…

I have to finish this quickly…

Ten minutes later, Lotte was indeed much more relaxed, lazily watching the dust dancing in the sunlight that shone through the cracks of the wooden door. [5]

It was past time to start work at the site, but she still couldn’t muster the will to get moving.

I feel sorry for my subordinates, but I want to stay like this for a little while longer.

Despite the warm afterglow and the welcome bed, Lotte’s diligent personality would not be denied, so as her head gradually grew clearer as her strength returned, she began to collect all the important documents and maps, making a mental list so as not to forget anything of importance this time.

She was checking her appearance in the mirror before returning to her duties, when she heard a faint knock at the door.

“Excuse me, Gram-sama… Could I bother you for a moment?”

Lotte’s heart, which had calmed down by that time, immediately began to hammer in her chest.

“You may come in…”

Her voice did not tremble, thanks to the fact that she took a deep breath before replying.

“I want to apologize for the incident earlier. And would like to thank you for sharing the various ingredients with me yesterday. This is a token of my appreciation.”

Shirou, holding a small box in his hand, entered the room.

“No need… for such things…”, said Lotte flatly. She realizes that she wasn’t making proper conversation, but it couldn’t be helped.

“But still, I want to give you something, so I tried making this as a thank-you gift.”

Lotte gasped when she saw what Shirou had taken out; it was a set of elaborately made small figures.

“These are… for me?”

“Yes. And I would be very happy if these figurines could be put on board on one of Gram-sama’s model ships.”

“You created… this many…?”

“Oh, yours is the only one that took real effort, Gram-sama. The others are just simple stock models.”

Shirou threw out a hastily contrived explanation for how he’d made so many figurines in such a short amount of time, but luckily Lotte was too absorbed in examining them to notice his flimsy excuse.”

“Actually, I have a figurine of me as well but… is it alright to put a male figurine on board of a model ship?”

“I-I don’t mind.”

“Hurray!!”

Shiro put his miniature next to the other figurines, and then lined them up beside the sailing ship model. The size of each doll was perfectly proportioned to match the sailboat model.

“What are these made of?”

“They’re ceramic.”

“And the coloring?”

“Simple pigments.” [5]

The miniature figures were a marvel of craftsmanship.

“Ah! I’m sorry, I’ve taken so much of your time. Weren’t you in a hurry?”

Actually, she was in a hurry, but Lotte herself had forgotten about it.

“Ah. Uh… Actually, I am.”

“If that’s the case, let’s ride on Silver. It’s a horse-type golem, and I was about to head down to the construction site anyway.”

“Thanks.”

Lotte and Shiro went out to the front of the cave together.

“Silver No.1, come here,” called Shirou, and a horse-type golem immediately arrived. “Would you prefer to be in front or the back?”

It seems Shirou intends for us to ride the horse together.

After slightly hesitating, Lotte chose the front.

I can’t let my men to see me on the back of the horse, clinging to a man.

Actually, Lotte preferred the rear seat, riding the horse while hugging a man from behind; that being said, just being able to ride in tandem with Shiro was enough of a treat so she didn’t intend to press her luck.

Lotte climbed onto the horse first, and when she pulled Shirou up he only said, “Excuse me” and proceed to silently hug Lotte from behind. Even though Lotte had managed to calm herself down before, she immediately felt that same fidgeting heat spread through her.

She hated that she couldn’t keep cool and collected in the current situation.

“Hang on tight!”

While trying to keep composed, Lotte lightly tugged on the reins.

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1 If any of you have never tried soaking yourself in a bathtub using herb and aromatic oils, you should try it. Especially after a long, tiring day.

2 AFAIK Japanese culture particularly demand them to really conform to societal norm, so he’s not really in the wrong, per se.

3 I think the term concubine is applicable to male. ((MOWNPC: It is. So is the term “consort”))

4 It means Masochistic, but I think the Japanese concept in the novel means more about being dominated, instead of being subjected to pain.

5 It’s not specified from what the pigment were made of. Naturally occurring pigments usually made from minerals and plants. ((MOWNPC: and insect exoskeletons)).