Chapter 67: Madam’s request

April 8th, 2023

Beta Reader: My_Own_Worst_NPC

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An alarm is ringing at the back of my room inside the cave, telling me it’s time to wake up. At the same time, the light from the magic lamp is becoming brighter and brighter, before finally illuminating the whole room. There aren’t any windows in here, so I placed a timer lamp in my room, yet another magic tool I made using creation magic.

　I stretched as hard as I could and opened my eyes to see Sierra, who was sleeping right next to me. Her silver hair was spread around the sheets, framing her small face, with her red eyes gazing straight at me. The collar of her pajamas was opened, revealing her collarbone and her pure white skin.

I wanted to reach out and touch her hair, but this morning I was feeling a little self-conscious about it, even though I had touched her hair many times when we role play as brother and sister.

“What is it?”

Sierra asked me without even saying good morning first. Maybe it’s because of how weird I’m behaving.

“Sierra, you’re really cute, you know that?”

“I’m well aware of it.”

There’s no tone of self-boasting in the words she said, it’s just something that Sierra acknowledges about herself. My head was a little fuzzy from lack of sleep, but my consciousness gradually became clearer.

Yes, there was a murder last night, so Sierra slept here just in case.

But then again, why would Sierra go to such lengths? We’re not lovers, we’re just friends, even though we’re running the inn together as if we’re brother and sister.

“Sierra, why do you stay with me and keep me company?”

Sierra looked puzzled by the sudden question. “If you ask me why… It’s because you’re my Onii-sama… I think?”

Sierra once told me that she wouldn’t spend a night together with just any random male. They would have to understand her relationship tendencies first before they could be in a relationship with her. [1] Also, they would need to pass her criteria in personality, intelligence, and appearance first, so there was not many men who could been in a relationship with her.

“In Shirou’s case, your personality is perfect, and your intelligence is passable, if barely. Your appearance, though…”

“What’s wrong with it…?”

“Well, if I have to give your face a score, its 70 points, at most. But don’t worry, I don’t care much about a person’s appearance, so it’s not a problem.”

That’s harsh!

Well, even back on Earth, appearance is not usually the most important aspect after all, so I guess it’s more or less the same here. Compared to that, sexual attraction is more because of how you act and the style you have.

“Hey, Sierra… Uh, we’re friends, right?”

“Shirou, why do you keep asking me embarrassing questions this early in the morning?”

I guess I did, huh… It’s just that, I consider Sierra a friend. And while I consider her a friend, there are times too, when I look at her sexually. To think that I look at her that way, while she goes so far as to stay with me all night as my guardian, makes me feel ashamed.

“I know that it’s embarrassing. But, Sierra, I need to ask this… do you ever feel some lustful feelings toward me?”

“Hm? Quite often, actually. After all, you’re quite erotic.”

Hearing that, I can feel my shoulder relax a bit in relief.

“I see. So it wasn’t just me.”

“Why are you being so conscious of it?”

“That’s because, even though we’re friends, somehow we’re still having sexual tension. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

“Is it really that strange? For me, if I find someone interesting, I’ll definitely try my chance with them, even if said someone is a friend of mine. Isn’t that what our basic instinct is? The only question is whether the other side will accept our advances or reject them.”

“And Sierra, do you think I’m someone that you might try your chance with?”

“What’s that? Are you trying to hit on me?”

She replied in a playful tone, but I’m really asking serious question here. It’s not because I want to have physical relationship with her though. No, really, it’s quite the opposite in fact; if Sierra wants to have physical relationship with me, I think it’s better for us to keep more distance with each other.

That’s because, Sierra loves her brother in a sexual way. [2]

I’m fine with having a sibling-play relationship with her, but in reality, she’s much more mature than I am; an adult woman with lots of experience. I understood this after living with her for a while and having many conversations. And I know that even if I had a physical relationship with Sierra, it would never be an equal relationship with her.

I would be dominated. Since in order to be with Sierra, a vampire, I would have to become her familiar, and I would no longer have a free will.

And I feel that such a relationship would be unbearable.

Sierra, perhaps sensing my mood, changed her attitude a little. “Hmmm, well, I think I would be jealous if Shirou slept with another woman. But that is similar to a sister’s feelings when her brother gets taken away from her. Surely you understand, right?”

“I’m sorry, but I really can’t understand the feeling.”

 Rather than the sister’s feelings when her brother gets snatched away, wouldn’t it be more like a child’s feeling when her toys get taken away?

“T’would be incomprehensible to you, is it… Anyhow, do I still strike you as someone scary?”

“Hm, yeah, I guess… Maybe because I get the impression that you’re trying to mould me into someone you want me to be.”

“Just as I had thought, your intelligence is above par. And as for your concern, no need to fret over it. After all, there’s also the kind of pleasure of just surrendering to your partner.”

Yeah, that’s why it’s scary for me.

“I’m sorry, but my gut feelings are telling me to not do it.”

“Ah, I see.”

Sierra then laughed with great amusement.

“Please be rest assured, Shirou, I shan’t ever force such things upon you. You’re my important friend, after all! And also…”

“And also?”

“You seem to be a bit pent up. I’m thinking of giving a hand with that, but what say you?”

And as I look below…

It’s morning!

It’s as hard as wood!

My Little Joe!

Sierra was pointing at it with her index finger, and I can see her red tongue is licking the corner of her lip.

“Please be rest assured, Shirou. After all was said and done, we’re still just that; friends.”

N-No… This is bad… I feel like if I give myself up here, I’ll never come back.

“…………………………………………………………I’m sorry, no.”

“Hooohhohohoho! Tis a pity. And here I was, offering to comfort you as a friend.” [3] Sierra laughed and left the room.

Come to think of it, I’ve been freaking out since last night. I guess this morning’s ritual will take way longer than usual…

————————————————————————————————

I made financiers, madeleines and other baked pastries while making breakfast for the guests.

“I smell sweets. Is that for today’s snack?”

Sierra had come to the kitchen by following the trail of the sweet smells.

“Yeah. I already got the one for you made separately, this one here is for the men.”

I know they’re probably anxious about the murder of their fellow male prostitutes, but I wanted to hear more about it, so I decided to visit them while bringing some gifts. I may only have contact with them on rare occasion, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care what happens to them.  One of them had even come to our restaurant once to have dinner with the customer who had paid for his service.

“I’ll come along with you, then.”

“It’s daytime, so I think it’s fine if I’m escorted by Wonders and Harrys.”

They might be more comfortable talking to someone of the same sex, so I declined Sierra’s offer to go with me.

——————————————————————————————————-

The brothel was located on the outskirts of the commercial district.

I heard that the male prostitutes would usually wake up around noon, so I went there after I had my lunch. It was around 1 PM when I got there, and they were right in the middle of having lunch. They had fruits, bread, cured meat and vegetable soup, actually a decent menu.

“No customer would want to embrace skinny men, so our meals are assured, at least.” Lloyd, the balding man with the barcode-hair, and also the most senior amongst the male prostitute, told me.

As usual, his metabolic syndrome [4] and bright red shirt was really painful to look at.

He also said that while they usually have three meals a day, they rarely had sweets, which explains why everyone was squealing with delight the moment I brought them the baked goods.

“The customers never bring sweets, and yet they always demand our service to be thorough down to the last detail!”

“Hear hear. And whenever they come, they’re always asking us to lick their crotch. That’s all they ever think of. If they want it so badly at least wash it first with some water!”

The men were having lively conversation as they ate the baked goods.

“But still, it is really terrifying incident, right?”

“That’s right. By the way, I was the first to discover the corpse.”

The one who said that was Clive. He’s about the same age as me, I think. Among the male prostitutes that have come to this island, he is the most gorgeous.

Clive and Lloyd are the two most popular prostitutes on the island. I understand if Clive is popular, but it really struck me as surprising to know that Lloyd was also really popular. Though I hear tell that Lloyd always puts a smile on his face, accepts most of the requests from the clients, and is very attentive. To put it bluntly; he may be losing in face, body shape, and the age department, but more than makes up for it with the quality of his service. Also, his receptive and caring nature is said to captivate the hearts of the rough adventurers.

Clive, on the other hand, while young and good-looking, he only offers hand and mouth services without any real sex.

“So, Clive-san, you’re the one who first found the body?”

“Yeah! The memory haunts me in my dreams, giving me sleepless night. His body was lying in the bathroom, covered in blood. I heard later that he had been stabbed in several places with a knife.”

It seems that the victim had many wounds, some were made even after he was already dead.

“It was done by someone who has deep hatred against men. There’s no other explanation about it!”

I felt a chill run down my spine even though we were in a tropical country.

“Do they have some clues about who the culprit is?”

“We’ve heard nothing of sorts yet. Oh, I’m so afraid!” A tuft of Mr. Lloyd’s trembling bangs fell out and clung to his broad forehead.

———————————————————————————————————————

I went out from the front and took a peek at the bathroom where the crime took place, but it looked like it was already in normal use. In this Isekai world, there are no yellow lines to secure evidence. The blood stains had been cleaned up by the slimes and washed away by this morning’s cleaning duty.

The male prostitutes seem to be taking precautions; they are sticking together when they need to go to the bathroom, or asking the ladies employed by the brothel to follow them, but if a customer is the culprit, there’s no way to prevent it. Since you can’t possibly ask someone to keep look at you when you are doing it.

Oh wait. It seems like you can actually ask for it, but that costs extra for the clients…

Anyway, it seems that Clive, who has rather a lot of money to spare, said he will take a break from his activities for awhile and not accepting any clients. Afterall, he didn’t come to this island because he’s in need of money, he only came here because he needs a temporary refuge after having a dispute with a client’s husband (who was an aristocrat) back in the capital.

However, not all of the male prostitutes are able to do so. For those who are in need of money, they have no choice but to surrender their bodies to the customers who grinds their hips against them, while being worried that their client might be the very murderer herself.

As I walked out from the brothel building with a sense of helplessness, I saw Madam Damas, the Donna (the woman on top position) of the commercial district, bowing politely to me.

“Good afternoon, Madam Damas.”

“It’s a lucky coincidence that we’re able to meet here, Okami-san. Actually, I was just about to send someone to call for you.”

Oh? It is unusual that Madam Damas wants to see me. Maybe she wants to order a catered meal?

“Is there something I can help you with?”

“Actually, yes; I have a special favor to ask you with.”

“Is that so…”

“Okami-san, I was wondering if you could help me to the guard my boys, to ensure their safety…”

“…excuse me?”

“As I said, help me to guard them.”

Isn’t her request this time really unreasonable? After all, even whenever Lloyd and Clive were having a quarrel, there was nothing I can do about it.

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1 Basically meaning, the man must be able to get into brother-sister play with her.

2 As in, Sierra is longing for older brother, but at the same time she wishes for incest-like relationship too. Meanwhile, Shirou is uncomfortable with the idea of sexual relationship between siblings, that’s why she doesn’t want to be in sexual relationship with her while still maintaining the brother-sister relationship. That’s not withstanding the fact that Shirou needs to be her familiar before they can enter such relationship.

3 Oh man. Turns out Sierra is, despite her cute façade, is actually dangerous. By the way, Sierra is laughing in ojou-sama mode, not santa mode.

It’s these kinds of laughs:

 (source: https://remyfoolblog.com/2017/11/06/a-guide-on-the-noblewomans-laugh-or-how-to-ohoho/)

And not this:

(Source: https://www.deviantart.com/hetemsenar/art/Ojou-Santa-Merry-Christmas-778033476)

Actually… never mind…

4 He has a bulging stomach due to excessive fat content.