CH 80

May 20th, 2023

Beta Reader: My_Own_Worst_NPC

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The restaurant had been closed by the time we got back to the cave, and both Miina and Rouge were there waiting for us.

“Welcome back, you two… Oh god…”

“Okami-san…!”

The two of them burst in tears when they saw me almost naked under the curtains.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. It was a dangerous situation, but I managed to get out of there safely.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. That woman drank wine laced with sleeping pills that she had prepared for me.”

I then explained to them what happened.

“Wait, hold on, doesn’t that mean she got to suck on your chest?”

“Aargh, how regrettable! Truly vexing, it makes my blood boils!”

The two were stomping their feet hard with frustration, but the one whose chest got sucked by isn’t so bothered with it, though?

“Calm down, you two. It already happened so no point in fussing over it.”

“Okami-san, aren’t you being too carefree about it?”

“If you’re being so unconcerned about it, it means you won’t mind if I suck your chest right now, right?!” [1]

I ignored Rouge’s request and decided to ask another question instead. “Have three of you eaten anything yet?”

When I left the restaurant, I only got to see them for awhile before I had to go, but it seemed that the Gokus has served them food along with the other customers. It’s amazing how the golems are learning things everyday and becoming smarter.

“If that’s the case, how about we get something to drink? I’ll also make some snacks to go along with it.”

“You should put on some clothes first, though…”

Rouge and Miina were intensely staring at my body, but Cecily doesn’t seem to know where to look.

…

I went into my room and opened my closet, thinking what I should wear for now.

I’m really glad that everyone is here tonight. Cecily came because she was worried for me, while Miina and Rouge helped keep watch over the store. Maybe, I should give them a little something back.

With that in mind, I finally decided and pick something to wear.

And then I opened the door.

“S-Shirou!”

“Shirou-san!”

“Okami-san, that outfit…!”

The outfit that I was wearing? It’s something called a naked apron. Well, not really naked though, since I’m still wearing my underwear.

Oh, it seems like Cecily is fine with staring at me now. This is it; this is the essence of exhibitionist fetish.

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That night, we drank together until late into the night.

After the ladies had retired to their rooms, I then locked the door and placed Iwao and the others in front.

I then took out the Staff of La Messeine that I had hidden and posed in front of the mirror.

“Equip armor! ΓΦΛΔΔΛΦΓ! “

Long bands with midnight color erupted from the 40-centimeter-long staff and instantly enveloped me, like a knight’s armor.

Hmmm, yeah, this is cool!

The magic armor Eminence Rock is a full-body suit of black dominant color, with purple jewels and red lines in some places, and it looks very cool. And even though it’s full plate, it doesn’t feel heavy at all; in fact, my body feels lighter than it really is. [2]

It also feels like I can do any kind of movement that I want now, which is how flexible my body has become. I tried doing a backflip as a test, and I was able to do it with ease. Normally, I wouldn’t even be able to do a proper forward roll.

The gauntlets on my hands seems to be able to fire two types of light magic attacks: a convergent beam and a diffused beam. In addition, there are sword hilts on the left and right thighs that can generate light blades. However, I found out that the magic armor consumes 1 MP per second of magic power just by equipping it. I have 3994 MP, so I think I have enough leeway, but I will have to be careful not to run out of magic power.

I wanted to check the performance of this armor outside, but it would be a big problem if someone saw me. Well, I’m planning to return this tomorrow anyway, so let’s just stop here and go to sleep instead.

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The next day, I felt restless from the morning I woke up.

Now that I think about it, I was the only outsider who entered the countess’ room. Even though I practically came out of the room wearing nothing, but if they found out the staff was missing, there’s no guarantee that I would not be suspected.

But if they really come searching, I can hide it again by using [Repair] so they wouldn’t be able to find it no matter where they look. I’ve scratched the staff by using some ten-yen coin, by the way. Alright, it wasn’t a ten-yen coin, but I certainly was using a copper coin.

…anyway, the opponent this time is a powerful and influential person who is willing to do unscrupulous things. Based on popular works that I’ve read, they are not above just grabbing someone suspicious out of the blue and torturing them until they make a false confession.

I was afraid that would happen, so I’ve told Poppo to fly to the Cimas and relay to them to get the sailing ship ready so I can evacuate from this island as soon as possible if anything were to happen.

“Miina, I’m sorry, but can you sell me the Invisibility Ring? There’s the possibility that I’ll need to use it and won’t be able to return it as it is now.”

Yeah, I guess I’ll need the Invisibility Ring too, for a mean of escaping.

“You don’t have to buy it, Okami-san. Feel free to use it however you wish.”

Regardless, I put ten gold coins, worth one million lehmens, into Miina’s hand. I hoped it would be enough for her to start living somewhere else if the fallout of the situation turns bad. And while a normal person can only use it three more times, I have [Repair] so I can use it indefinitely, though maybe I have 7 seconds interval during recharging.

Also, if worse comes to worst, if I use the spell Eminence Rock to put on the magical armor, I’m confident I would be able to outrun them.

————————————————————————————————————–

I was bracing myself the whole morning, but there was no sign of the countess or her soldiers coming to look for me at all.

I wonder why?

Could it be that, they are still unaware that the Staff of La Messeine has been stolen? That might be the case though, since the lock that I temporarily removed to obtain the artifact was a pretty sturdy magic item. I managed to phase it out of existence after I did a minor scratch on the lock, but I think trying to unlock it by normal means would actually be really difficult.

The countess might think that since the lock is still in place, naturally the artifact must still be inside it too.

And so, after wasting the whole morning just feeling restless and worried, I finally decide that it was time to prepare lunch.

“Is the restaurant open? I’m coming in.”

It was the voice of Master Elza. She looked really tired as she entered.

“Oh my. Please come right in. It’s rare for you to come at this hour, what happened?”

We usually don’t serve lunch and usually not open until dusk, so anyone visiting at this hour is really unusual.

“Haaahh…” Master Elza let out a heavy sigh. “I know this is off-hours, but I just finally done with a really annoying work. Can I order a beer? Even just a glass will do.”

“It’s no problem at all. Alright, Goku…” Just before I can give the Goku any order, No. 1 and No.2 had already sprinted toward the storage room as if they were competing.

Recently, their speed of learning is really impressive.

“Somehow, you look really exhausted, Master Elza.”

“I sure as hell am. Okami, did you know that some noblewoman was dispatched from Lulu Sanjion?”

Unfortunately, I do know about her, no matter how much I prefer otherwise.

“Well, I’ve heard news of it…”

“She was sent here to escort the retrieval of a certain treasure, but she’s really an annoying and loathful fellow.”

Ah. It seems Master Elza was coordinating with Countess Vebbles for the delivery of the treasure artifact.

“It seems like you’ve had a lot of trouble.”

I prepared her some snacks by grilling squid that I had planned to have for lunch, and made some cold sauce using fresh tomatoes, onion, olive oil, and other herbs. Meanwhile, Master Elza contentedly chugged the cold beer that Goku served.

“Pheww… Well, that’s all in the past now, since she’s already went back. Good riddance.”

“That’s certainly wonderful news to hear… Hm? Wait, she went back already?!”

“Eh? Y-yeah, she left first thing in the morning. Is something wrong?”

She already went back home?! But, but, I still have the Staff of La Messeine hidden under my bed!

“What’s wrong, Okami, were you hoping to see Countess Vebbles yourself? It’s good that you didn’t meet her, you know. She’s a lecherous, degenerate woman after all. I’m sure if she knows about you, she would plan something nefarious and ill-mannered toward you.”

“Already gone to Taklamakan Desert!” [3]

“Huh?”

Yeah, there’s no way Master Elza would understand Japanese pun. Anyway, my head is blank, and I can’t think straight now. What should I do? If I go out of my way to chase after her on a boat, it’s like confessing that I’m the culprit the moment they found out something was wrong with the staff… That’s even assuming they haven’t already realized that it’s gone. [4]

Yeah, at times like this, when we don’t know what to do, it’s best to just put the problem on-hold.

Maybe I’ll think of a better idea tomorrow, or maybe I’ll somehow get the chance to return the staff without them knowing… something like that… who knows…

For now, let’s just let it be.

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1 Rouge’s horniness knows no bound. Definitely not something to say to someone who just got molested and almost got raped.

2 In previous chapter it’s said that around a third of his body is exposed, but now it seems like it fully covered his body.

3 The Taklamakan is a desert in Southwestern Xinjiang in Northwest China. It has an area of 337,000 km2 (130,000 sq mi), making it slightly smaller than Germany.

4  Pretty sure losing the important artifact you’re meant to escort may risk losing your head. I almost feel sorry for the countess. Almost.