100 Ch-101: Queen Maker

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Not a single speck of light entered my field of vision.

An expanse of dark space was all.

There was no sensation, only a feeling. Feeling of levitating listlessly.

Still, I wasn't surprised.

Because it was a familiar situation.

[Ah, master. Can you hear me?]

An elegant voice spoke.

However, the owner of that voice was anything but elegant.

[Hey. Didn't I tell you not to enter the spirit world until I'm done? What if I get caught?]

[That's why I haven't contacted you for more than a year. We're talking after a whole year and this how you greet me, huh?]

""

[Oh alright. Nice to meet you. Satisfied?]

[Insensitive bastard.]

[Huh?]

[Nothing. Do you know how surprised I was back then? Does a person just suddenly collapse and become unmoving, closing off his mental world at the same time? ]

[You think I did it because I wanted to? It just happened that way.]

[And what made you almost parcel an NTR game?]

[…god, I even have to answer this? I didn't buy it to enjoy it, but to give it as a gift to that guy for not paying me back—]

[Huh. But Master's friend already paid the money back.]

[What? When?]

[A month after Master collapsed. He even paid interest and remitted 3.1 million won?]

[…]

Damn.

If you're going to give it to me, give it to me sooner.

I was a bit annoyed, but since he had paid me back with interest, letting go…

[I installed a new computer set up with that money, how's that?]

Already spent!?

[Hey! Why waste money to buy a new one, wasn't our last computer in good condition?!]

[But Elden Ring came out? Who would have thought FromSoftware would pull such a move? You know that pretty much left me with no choice.]

[But you could've played it on our previous computer as well! Dark Souls 3 worked on it just fine!]

[Oh, Master, please! Dark Souls 3? You haven't changed your graphics card in years. Does it make sense to use a 1060 in an era where even 3080ti has made its appearance in the markets! How do I run the Elden Ring on a computer like this!?]

[Goddamn it…]

This insidious b!tch doesn't understand the real value of money…!

I held back the tantrum that was about to rise.

[Yeah… What can I do when you have already bought one? Enjoy yourself, yeah. Just do what I told you to do and do it right. Oh, speaking of which. How much longer until you are finished?]

[Yes? Ah… that… I…]

[…don't tell me you haven't even started.]

[No! Of course, I have. I'm working hard. That, and… how is Master doing these days? How's everything there?]

She changed the subject in a hurry.

It looked obvious, but I decided to pass it on. There's more than one way for me to check, other than just asking verbally.

[It's much better than the place I was taken to before. I just gather my colleagues and loiter around.]

[By colleagues… you don't mean a bunch of rambunctious men, do you? Alas, my poor master. Doesn't even have a girlfriend…]

[I actually have one?]

[Huh?]

[I have a girlfriend.]

[Huh??]

[And… I don't have any guys either? They are all women.]

[Huh???]

Leah was silent for a while, as if stumbling to carry the conversation.

After a while, she spoke again.

[You mean, real girlfriend? Not like, friends with benefits?]

[Hey.]

[No, how can I not be surprised?! Your ideals, your—]

[People's minds can change. Anything surprising about that?]

[Still…]

Leah stretched out her words, then let out a sigh.

[Oh right. It's time for Master to wake up, so let's hold on over sweet, stretched conversation for later. And Master—]

Leah's tone turned serious.

[I'm saying this just in case, but even if your c*ck dominates your brain, you have to be patient. Otherwise, you might really regret it later. You know?]

""

[What? Hey, what do you…]

Just as I was about to ask what she was talking about, a crack broke through the darkness and light leaked in.

My consciousness awoke and was forcibly ejected from the mental world.

When I opened my eyes, what I saw was an alien ceiling.

"This is…"

"Hero, you're awake!"

Turning my head, I saw Ophelia with a bright expression on her face.

* * *

Leah wormed out of the mental world and returned to reality.

She was lost in her thoughts with her arms crossed. It was because of her master's attitude in the spirit world.

'It's true that people's minds can change…'

Leah remembered the image of the broken man holding a woman's limp, dead body in his arms and wailing under the rainy storm.

'Master is not a man like that.'

Even if he had a change of mind, he wouldn't react or act on it so readily.

In other words, it seemed something had affected his personality.

'…Did a small gap seeped in the mental spirit as the soul moved between planes?'

Someone, finding the chance, dug that gap.

Otherwise, it couldn't be explained.

Her master's spirit was so rocksolid that even Leah would have trouble finding a dent, much less a gap.

Leah frowned.

She didn't know who it was.

Maybe the one who whisked away his soul, or some other transcendent being.

But either one doesn't matter.

Whoever it was would pay dearly for daring to touch her master.

Starch, white eyes shone brightly. Every time she murmured, runes rose into the air, spinning around her.

Across her, a notification popped up stating the installation of the Elden Ring was completed, but she didn't even spare a glance over.

* * *

Opening his stomach and dumping in the potion directly proved to be a correct decision, as his wounds mended on their own.

However, he was not fully healed, and needed rest.

Originally, it would have been better to take him to the church, but the church was already a flurry of injured folks.

Just when they were musing on solutions, Eri and Neria belatedly joined them, seeing them worried.

After hearing about the situation, Eri suggested moving him to the inn she had rented out, and the girls complied.

After ushering Cloud to a room on the second floor, all the girls except Ophelia, who stayed behind to nurse him, came down to the first floor.

Eri, Neria, Katarina, and Leslie.

An awkward silence descended at the table, the four women seated across from each other.

In the trail of the situation, they coordinated deftly and with aptness, but now was the moment of awkward introductions.

In the minutes of awkward silence that continued, it was Katarina who was most nervous.

'You're pretty! Yeah, you good!!'

Since Cloud had stated he hadn't even held their hands, she honestly thought their appearances to be just good or average.

However, the Saintess Candidate she met moments ago, as well as the two in front of her, Cloud's colleagues were much prettier than she had supposed.

And it squirmed like a worm in her stomach.

'Didn't hold hands? More like attacked in less than a month!'

He apparently hadn't laid a single finger on the beauties, with all the time in the world he had?

No matter how she peered, it was bullshit.

'Maybe, really not? No one would spout a lie that would be torn off that quickly. Perhaps it's the truth.'

Her hope circuits rescued her from falling into despair.

She decided to gauge if Cloud's words were true or false.

"Hey… nice meeting you. Are you two Cloud colleagues, Neria-san and Eri-san?"

Eri tilted her head.

"Do you know us?"

"Yes. Cloud often talked about you all. A pair of an excellent wizard and a knight among his colleagues here in the capital."

Neria's and Eri's eyes shot wide.

They were surprised that Cloud had secretly praised them.

"Did he really say that? Excellent wizard?"

"Did he talk about me too?"

"…yes, he did."

Neria and Eri's faces turned red.

Two emotions coexisted on their faces: joy and shame.

'Calm down, Katarina. Don't be so quick to judge. You have to pry apart the layers.'

Katarina pinched her thigh, trying to keep her smile.

Unaware of her feelings, the smiles on Eri and Neria's faces did not disappear.

After a while, Eri came back to her senses and cleared her throat.

"Ehum, as you already know, I am Eri and this is Neria. Cloud has already talked about us, so we don't ought to introduce ourselves. Our introduction is over, now it's your turn. Who are you and how did you get to know Cloud?"

As if waiting for this moment, Katarina quickly opened her mouth.

"I am Katarina, and I was a dancer who worked in the Kingdom of Alitia. I met Cloud by chance, and with time, our friendship developed into a romantic relationship."

"So you are from the Kingdom of Alitia. Romantic relationship with Cl…oud?"

Eri and Neria's smiles hardened awkwardly.

Katarina swallowed her saliva.

The moment of the leap of faith.

Their reactions would tell everything!

"You… in a relationship with Cloud… what do you mean… that…"

Neria, her complexion pale, stammered to structure her sentence.

"…don't be kidding."

A drop of cold sweat dripped down Eri's forehead, who was perplexed.

Seeing the two people's reactions, Katarina realized.

That Cloud was indeed telling the truth.

If they had been his lovers, they would have grabbed her by the collar, not look so soul-stricken!

Katarina's expression softened.

"I'm not kidding. It's true that I'm dating Cloud."

No, she went beyond lightly loosening up and started spilling facts.

If she had seen the two women's expressions across her, she would have stopped short, but the released pent-up pressure considerably worked like euphoria.

Leslie raised her voice while Neria and Eri's expressions were getting serious.

"My name is Leslie, the Grand Duchess of the Principality of Polycia. I'm going to be Cloud's wife someday. Please don't worry, I won't oppress any of you on the virtue of my status, never."

"You want to be his wife? You think I would let you?"

"You will, of course. No, actually, you don't have to trouble yourself. Of course, in that case, an unfortunate 'accident' will happen."

"Watch your tongue, do you think I'll let it slip that you're threatening me!? The more you do, the more I will stick to Cloud."

"Are you certain? They say men get tired of such women surprisingly quickly."

"You, you..!"

"Stop playing on us!!"

Eri shouted and interrupted Katarina and Leslie's banter.

The gazes of the two women turned to Eri.

"A girlfriend or a wife, such childish pranks and jokes are not as fun as they look to be! In the first place, Cloud has no interest in such matters!"

Neria nodded her head frantically.

"Uh… well, it's really not. I… we… are already, you know…

Katarina, her face flushed, wiggled her fingers.

Pluck!

The string of rationality that supported Eri snapped.

"There's no stopping you!"

She grabbed her staff and jumped to her feet. Just when the jewel on her wand was about to glow red.

A cool blade sensation touched the nape of her neck.

"If you move, you die."

Shedia warned in a cold tone.

Eri turned her eyes to the side.

"So will you."

Neria placed her hand at the hilt of her sword.

The noisy inn became dead quiet.

Eri and Neria, as well as Katarina and Leslie, restrained moving hastily.

Nobody could any longer spot in Shedia the clumsy girl who wore a blank expression or laughed at little trinkets.

She was a well-forged sword, and her sharpness made even Katarina and Leslie leery.

Shedia suddenly turned to them and smiled.

As if asking for an encouraging pat, as would a dog.

Katarina and Leslie were at a loss for words.

– Kiik.

There was a sound of the door opening upstairs, and after a while Cloud appeared.

He looked at the situation on the first floor and frowned.

'What the hell?'

He wanted to question, but for that, he would first have to placate the atmosphere.

"Put down the sword, Shedia."

"She threatened noonas first."

"Yeah, alright, stand down. If you don't, one moonstone piece will be confiscated."

"…"

Shedia pursed her lips and lowered the sword she had steadied at Eri's neck.

You can read fully translated chapters, including the last chapter, for $20.

p(a)treon.com/Daoist02