Chapter: 429
Erin knew the fox that Lucy brought during her first vacation at the academy very well.
While Lucy was away, it was Erin who took care of the fox, so there was no way she could forget.
It was Erin who caught the fox rubbing its body against Lucy Allen’s clothes in the laundry room and gave it a bath.
It was also Erin who stopped the fox from trying to dunk its head into the leftover water after Lucy had washed up.
And it was Erin who prevented the fox from sticking its tongue out in the childhood drawing of Lucy.
Back then, Erin thought of the fox merely as an animal, presuming its affection for its master was deep. What a cute kid who looked for her owner’s scent anywhere and everywhere.
However, if that fox wasn’t just a simple pet, then the story changed greatly.
“…Uh, that glare looks a bit fierce.”
“Doesn’t it look fierce? Everything the fox was doing is flashing through my head.”
“Er, um. Well…”
Under Erin’s sharp gaze, the fox Lina naturally knelt down.
As the master of the forest, there was no pride remaining.
If Erin were to tell Lucy even a fraction of what Lina had done, it would be obvious what kind of horrors would unfold. How could she retain any pride?
Having come here with only a fraction of her main body’s power, Lina didn’t want to be chased away by Lucy.
“Please, can you give me a chance to explain?”
“Shouldn’t the excuses be made in front of the young lady, not with me?”
“Do you think I acted so abnormal without any thought?!”
“Yes. However?”
“No! There are unavoidable circumstances! The master of the forest would never commit crimes for personal gain!”
“…You, of all things, are the master of the forest?”
“Yes!”
Unlike before, Lina stood suddenly, having borrowed some of her original power, and confidently showcased her abilities.
“Look!”
As she ignited a flame in her paw, the smoke transformed into the shape of a fox, filling the room.
Seeing the fantastical scene that was more magical than magic itself, Erin raised an eyebrow, and Lina braced herself.
Up to this point, things were going well. Now, she just needed to come up with a decent excuse.
If she spun a tale about some spiritual power existing, this one could be persuaded.
“…The room is filled with cigarette smoke.”
Noticing Erin’s eyes sharp with suspicion, Lina quickly retracted the smoke and spoke urgently.
“Don’t worry! This smoke belongs to my authority! As you can see, it leaves no trace!”
Despite Lina’s excuses, Erin only nodded after checking around the room for lingering odors, still giving Lina a cold stare.
“…You still don’t believe me?”
“No. I think that could be possible. It’s hard to believe you’re the master of the forest, but there might be a peculiar creature.”
As Erin’s gaze bore down on her, Lina found it quite strange.
It was true that this one was Lucy’s servant, but after all, she was just a mere human.
There was no need to be this cautious.
Yet, strangely enough, there was power behind this one’s words.
As Lina pondered why, she sensed an aura in Erin’s speech similar to that of an apostle of the Arts Church.
…Oh, goddess. I knew you had an interest in Lucy, but did you really want to observe to the point of bestowing power on her servant?
“Fox?”
“…Hmm? What? Why do you ask?”
“You weren’t listening to me.”
“No. Um. Just calm down for a sec. Right. I’ll give you one creature from these dear ones I’m fond of. Since you cherish Lucy, you’d want this, right?”
“…Ha. What do you think of me?”
Erin pressed her forehead as if it were hurting, but her gaze subtly landed on the accessory from the Arts Church.
She was pretending not to, but inside, she was being honest!
Of course! How could those around Lucy ignore such things!
“Just look! Although the part to pay attention to in the accessories made by the Arts Church is indeed Lucy’s painting, it’s not just a functional item! There’s much power imbued in it!”
As the Apostle of the Lord Jushin and the one who monopolizes God’s affection, Lucy was like a holy relic.
Because of that, the accessory with Lucy’s painting possessed extraordinary power.
Thanks to the divine grace from the Lord and the Goddess, her body obviously improved. Luck would increase, and corruption wouldn’t easily approach. How amazing is this thing!
As Lina rambled on like a market hawker, when she noticed Erin was paying attention to her words, she raised her voice even more excitedly.
“More than anything, the best part is that a part of Lucy’s divinity is imbued in it, giving the feeling of always being with her! Do you think I was burying my face in this for no reason? There’s a reason!”
“Why does this beast seem to be degenerating more and more each day? ♡”
Hearing a voice from behind, Lina cautiously turned her head, meeting Lucy’s eyes filled with disgust and contempt, making her shiver.
“Do you really want to be treated like a beast? ♡”
“…I suppose?”
“Then will you kindly get lost? ♡ A filthy animal ought to be buried in the woods! ♡”
“That I can’t allow! Please forgive me!”
“Did you grow up in the forest and not know any manners? ♡ That’s not how you apologize! ♡”
After hearing Lucy’s words, Lina buried her head in the ground, only to have someone’s foot press down on her head.
At first, she thought it was Lucy’s foot and whimpered, but soon she realized something was off.
The foot pressing down on her was too big and rough to be Lucy’s.
With the faint hope creeping in, Lina cautiously looked up and saw Karl standing in front of her, prompting her to foam at the mouth.
The harsh reality before her was something Lina couldn’t endure.
In her fading consciousness, the last thing Lina heard was Lucy chuckling.
*
Dealing with the 100th floor doppelganger wasn’t particularly difficult.
No matter how you slice it, there was no way it would be hard when the power difference was so prominent.
But defeating the doppelganger didn’t fill the emptiness in my heart.
Even knowing that I had won the bet, I couldn’t muster any joy.
‘Congratulations~ cute sister~ It’s so nice to be stupidly strong~ But hey, sis, you know? If you train too hard, you won’t grow taller? Huh-huh. If this is why you’re so short, you’ll be buried on the ground forever!’
The words the doppelganger left me lingered in my ears, and as much as I had won, I felt I had lost.
I stepped outside the dungeon, deep in thought.
How should I punish Karl?
The conclusion came quickly.
Since he takes pride in being my knight, I’ll just treat him like he doesn’t exist until his anger dissipates.
If treated like air, he’ll come to realize how badly he screwed up.
It didn’t take long for me to see my assumption was correct.
Karl’s expression changed more drastically with every passing second.
“I’m so sorry! Young lady! This incident…”
“Young lady? Why are you pretending you don’t know me…”
“I’m sorry! I’ll take any punishment! So please, just listen to me! Please!”
The problem was how effective my punishment had been.
All attention naturally focused on Karl, who was banging his head till it bled on the ground.
At first, I intended to pretend not to notice, but as the murmurs grew louder, it became difficult to endure.
Ultimately, I gave up waiting for my friends and fled back to my dorm, only to find the sloppy fox ranting about the accessory from the Arts Church and Erin being entranced by it.
Still fuming from what had happened earlier, I took it out on the sloppy fox.
Hah-hah. It’s funny when I think about it again. She was huffing and puffing, thinking I was stepping on her, and then realizing the other party was Karl!
Who should I punish next time? I wonder if there’s someone so disgusting that the sloppy fox would gag.
“I’m so sorry, young lady. I should have informed you sooner.”
“Don’t worry about it. Being useless and sloppy isn’t Erin’s fault, is it?”
“Thank you for your kindness.”
If another person had heard it, they would have thought I was being sarcastic, but Erin, familiar with me, quickly understood the hidden meaning behind my words and let out a sigh of relief.
“But you know, sloppy Erin, do you want an accessory with my painting like that pervert?”
“…That is…”
“Hmm. So the servant has such lewd thoughts?”
Seeing Erin’s cheeks slightly turn red, I promised to get her one later.
Even though I didn’t want to see anyone around me with such an object, considering how happy she was, it wouldn’t do to say she couldn’t have it.
…Honestly, I was slowly coming to terms with it.
What can I do? As days go by, both inside and outside the academy, the objects featuring my painting keep increasing!
I can’t stop that trend just by wishing for it!
Instead, it’d be better to prepare something proper and earn some fondness!
“…Young lady. I also…”
“Sloppy dog ♡ Can’t you even play your role properly? ♡ If you keep showing this incompetent side, I’ll have no choice but to abandon you ♡”
“Eek…”
The groaning voice of Karl, who was treated like a dog instead, made Erin roll her eyes in disgust.
Receiving that stare, Karl trembled in humiliation but couldn’t bring himself to get up.
How could he move with me riding on his back?
“…I’m jealous.”
Watching all of this unfold, the sloppy fox emitted a serious jealousy toward Karl.
“I’m jealous ♡ Do you also want to be a chair? ♡”
“I do! I want to be one for several days!”
“But this is punishment for the puppy, right? ♡ The sloppy fox is still a fox ♡”
“Woof! Woof! Grrawr! Arf!”
“Puhahahah ♡ You’re so perverted it’s giving me sympathy~ But still, I don’t like that! ♡ I won’t offer it! ♡”
“Thennn…!”
Seeing the sloppy fox with its tail drooping down, a ding alarm rang in my ear.
For a moment, I suspected that the sloppy Lord Jushin wanted something perverted, but strangely enough, this time the sentence that appeared before me was something entirely proper.
[Quest Occurred!]
[Forest Anomalies]
[Ask the master of the forest about other forests]
Something was going wrong.
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