“You… monster-like bitch…”
The guy who had been glaring at me until the very end collapsed with a curse.
He really had no filter when talking to a lady.
“Phew…
This is exhausting.”
With this, I had captured all the criminals who had taken root near the estate.
Since I had been relentlessly cleaning them up without rest, I was feeling a little tired.
As I stretched my stiff shoulders and stepped outside, the security force, who had been waiting for the situation to be resolved, stood there.
“I’ve cleaned them all up.
Arrest every single one of them.”
“Y-yes, ma’am!”
Since these guys had taken Fairy Tale as their last act of desperation, I couldn’t just leave them to the regular soldiers, so I had to subdue them all myself.
It wasn’t particularly difficult, but it was a hassle since I lacked enough hands.
But what can you do?
At the very least, I had to leave this part to them.
The soldiers moved inside at my command, and I told the security captain to report to me if any strange items were found.
With that, I decided to return to the mansion.
Why do these bastards always settle in the outskirts and make things inconvenient for people?
If I walked back, the sun would set before I arrived, so I decided to fly instead.
Ugh.
Lifting off the ground reminded me of a bad memory from a few days ago.
I felt a little nauseous, but cutting through the wind as I flew made it more bearable.
‘It would’ve been nice if I found some solid evidence…’
Even though I had caught all of them, considering the scale I confirmed with my skill, this wasn’t much of a gain.
In a few days, more scumbags would try to move in anyway.
So I had hoped to gain some other benefit, but they had already consumed all the drugs that could have served as evidence, leaving me empty-handed.
If I could at least figure out their supply routes, I could use that information…
Well, the security force would handle the interrogation.
No, actually, rather than just waiting, it would be much better to go check on them myself later.
Lost in thought, I found myself back at the mansion in no time.
Lately, I’ve been away from home a lot.
Luckily, the sun hadn’t set yet today.
“I should rest at least until dinner…
I’m not even that tired, but I feel drained.”
For some reason, I had no energy and didn’t want to do anything.
So, without even greeting anyone, I just walked inside.
And then—
“D-Did you just get back?”
Heaven unfolded before my eyes.
Serena, dressed in a tiny maid outfit.
But unlike the other maids, her skirt was so short that it revealed her thighs, and it was so tight that it looked uncomfortable on her body.
On top of that, she seemed embarrassed, gripping the hem of her skirt tightly with both hands, her face flushed red.
Even so, the way she shyly greeted me tickled my ears.
What the hell is going on?
Did I unknowingly get influenced while beating up those drug addicts?
If you suddenly show me something like this, I…
“Heuhh.”
Ah, this is too much.
Unable to endure, I collapsed on the spot.
Why was my Serena suddenly doing something so out of character?
After hearing a rough explanation, it turned out it was because of Marie, one of the three people who had been looking after Serena in my absence.
I have no idea how she convinced her to do this, but I’ll definitely have to give Marie a bonus later.
Anyway, if I wanted more details, I had to ask the person involved directly.
So, I sat Serena on my lap.
Why?
Because she’s cute.
“…Do we really have to sit like this?”
“Yup.
Just for today, you agreed to be my maid, didn’t you?”
“I-I never said that.”
She sounded annoyed, but she wasn’t actually trying to get off my lap.
Tsk.
This dishonest little cat.
That unnecessary bit of tsundere attitude is seriously hard to resist.
Ah, no, this isn’t the time for that.
I need to focus on asking what’s going on.
Let’s get my rationality back for a second.
“Anyway, were you trying to change things up?
Why did you wear this?”
As I gently played with her hair and asked, she avoided my eyes and fidgeted with her fingers.
“…Because you keep going out all the time.”
“Huh?
Oh…
Yeah, I guess I have been.”
It’s not like I wanted to, but things kept coming up.
But why does that matter?
“S-So… she said you’d like this if I wore it…”
‘She’ must be Marie.
Wait.
Did she just say she wore this because she thought I would like it?
Even though she spoke in a small voice, I heard it all.
‘Now that I think about it, I did make this outfit a long time ago.’
The small maid outfit Serena was wearing was something I had prepared long ago with the determination that I would make her wear it someday.
After everything that happened, I had completely forgotten about it until now.
I was curious about where she found it and how she knew about it, but whatever.
One of my long-time wishes had come true, after all.
But still, I needed to clear some things up.
“Is that the only reason?”
“W-What?”
“I don’t think you did this just because you thought I’d like it. Are you hiding something?”
Because the context doesn’t make sense.
For her to do something this bold just for my sake?
There had to be another reason.
Of course, she had no intention of confessing, as she trembled slightly and clamped her mouth shut.
She really doesn’t realize that her reaction just confirmed my suspicion, huh?
I guess I have no choice. If she won’t be honest, I’ll have to make her.
“Alright, let’s see if you still won’t talk after this.”
“Eek?!
H-Hey!”
I lightly tickled her side with my fingers, and she immediately started shaking, her lips twitching.
Oh?
So this is her weak spot?
As I continued my soft attack, she twisted her body in a hilarious way, desperately trying to hold in her laughter.
But no matter how much she resisted, she refused to open her mouth.
She was so determined not to say anything that, even though her lips were twitching as if she wanted to smile, her eyes were welling up with tears.
Her expression, though—absolutely insane.
This was starting to feel like I was doing something I really shouldn’t.
“L-Let go of me!”
In the end, Serena couldn’t hold out any longer and escaped from my lap, finally freeing herself from the tickling hell.
Oh.
I might have overdone it.
Seeing her panting heavily and gritting her teeth, she seemed really pissed.
I was about to quickly apologize when—
“I-I was just bored without you…!”
She suddenly shouted out her true feelings, and for a moment, it felt like time had stopped.
“S-So… I just wanted you to pay more attention to me…”
—Hold it in.
You have to be Serena’s reliable guardian.
She needs to remain pure, not tainted by your filthy desires.
Deep breaths.
Yes, just breathe.
“Inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale…”
Alright.
I can hold back.
Even though I’m going crazy, wanting to hug her with all my strength, kiss her soft-looking cheeks over and over, and stroke her head until her hair is a complete mess…
I have to remember that I am a rational human being.
…Wait.
Now that I think about it, humans are technically just another type of animal, aren’t they?
So why exactly do I have to hold back?
Instincts and desires are natural.
They’ve been with us since birth.
Is it really right to suppress them?
And if we’re pointing fingers, this is Serena’s fault!
She doesn’t even realize how much I like her, and yet she teases me like this—does she really think I can keep my sanity?
Yeah.
There’s no doubt.
Serena wants this too!
Having reached my conclusion, I resolved to go all in—!
“Master, dinner is ready—”
—Only for Ord to walk into the room.
Ha.
I really need to put up a “Do Not Enter” sign or something.
But more importantly, why is he looking at me like that when I haven’t even done anything yet?
“…Oh.”
I was confused until I turned to look at Serena—then I understood.
Her breath was ragged, her face was flushed bright red, and shame was written all over her expression.
She was even holding her arms tightly around her waist, as if trying to protect herself.
And to top it off, after all the intense tickling from earlier, her clothes were slightly disheveled.
Yeah… this was definitely very easy to misinterpret.
No, actually, it wasn’t even just a misunderstanding—this looked bad.
Really bad.
“H-Hey, Ord.
You know I’m not that kind of person, right?
Do you really think I’d do something that terrible?”
“You already did!
You touched me all over, just doing whatever you wanted…!”
Serena, what the hell are you saying?!
Saying it like that is going to get me killed!
“…I believe in you, Master.”
Thankfully, it seemed Ord wasn’t entirely convinced of my guilt.
Of course—after all the years we’d known each other, there’s no way our trust would break over something like this.
“A wise man like you, Master, would surely recognize his sins and sincerely repent for them.”
—So much for trust.
Just how little faith does he have in me?!
“O-Ord!
I swear, it’s not what it looks like!
I was just messing around!”
I knew no matter what I said, it would sound like an excuse, but my mouth moved on its own in a desperate attempt to save my life.
Ord, however, simply rolled up his sleeves, revealing the thick, muscular arms of a man far older than his years.
He began approaching me with slow, deliberate steps.
At that moment, my life flashed before my eyes—specifically, all the brutal Spartan-style training he had put me through since childhood.
“It’s been a while… since I’ve had to personally discipline you, Master.”
“D-Don’t come any closer!
Serena, help me!”
I turned to the only person who could save me.
She just stuck out her tongue.
I swear, I’ll get you back for this later.
And so, Ord put me through a spiritual cleansing—in other words, a relentless, hellish beating—until I was completely drained, my limbs too weak to even move.