Chapter 52: Teacher-Type Masochist

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『Please take care of my little sister.』

Could this possibly mean that her older sister officially approved of me ending up with her younger sister? Alisha had been evaluated harshly, but if I separated public and private matters, I actually held her in extremely high regard.

That cheeky attitude… That sly way of speaking…. That personality of calmly touching on the very things people didn’t want touched and enjoying ruffling their feathers… How utterly outrageous.

Magnificent…

It was as if she had been born just to meet me. No, had I been born to meet her? Alisha gained pleasure from hurling insults. I gained pleasure from being insulted. There was no compatibility more perfect than that.

Sorry, Marianne, Carla, Astrea… I’m going to become Alisha’s pet. She’ll buy me. Or rather, she’ll keep me.

Kya-ha♡

I’m such a loser~♡

So pathetic~♡

I got stolen away, how pitiful~♡

That would genuinely be pitiful…!

『Finn-san, do you understand what I want to say?』

Yeah. I understood without you saying it. Even I thought I’m disgusting.

『Then that’s fine. Gross.』

What part of that was fine? You clearly said it. Thank you. I love you. Mwah!

『Get lost.』

Get lost!?

“Well, it’s been a while. Have you been well?”

Hm, the presence of the big-breasted crossdressing elf. Also known as Griselda, she still looked like a noble young gentleman as ever, but made absolutely no effort to conceal her ample chest, so for a moment I felt like I was hallucinating about what I was seeing.

“Yeah. It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“Of course. Ever since you saved me, I’ve done a lot of reflecting. Discriminating based on race is foolish. There are exceptional individuals among elves and among humans and those who are not. Perhaps living your entire life within a single group isn’t such a good thing.”

“You just had bad luck. I probably have my own prejudices too. What matters is how you digest what you learn afterward and how you change for the better going forward.”

“…Yeah. I think so too.”

Griselda had become such a good person… It would now be extremely difficult to find an elf who would bully me head-on. Maybe I should just go to the village and ask them to give me all three sisters, then I’d get beaten to a pulp. Ah, but given Astrea’s attitude, I probably wouldn’t even be able to talk back… 

Never mind. I won’t drag others in just for the sake of being bullied.

“And about Alisha-sama as well. I should have spoken to her properly.”

“It can’t be helped. Judging from what happened with Astrea before, you probably couldn’t defy a High Elf. I can figure that much.”

“…I’m sorry about that.”

Apologize? Absolutely not! That was nothing but a reward. It had been so long since someone had thoroughly and directly provoked me like that that I’d savored the afterglow after returning. It felt different from just being casually mocked. It almost felt like love. If Dark Marianne hadn’t helped me, I would have already ended up as her pet.

“So where is she staying now?”

“For the time being, I borrowed a room managed by the Adventurers’ Guild. Ah, it’s a fairly nice place, so don’t worry.”

“You are a Silver-rank adventurer, right?”

“Yeah. I’m about at the point where I could be promoted to Gold soon.”

Ability-wise, that was perfect. From my estimation, Alisha was at the level where she might or might not qualify as Gold-rank. As a Silver-rank adventurer, she was satisfactory. She had room to grow. She just lacked experience outside. Her behavior in the Tainted Zones could be corrected eventually, so I wasn’t too worried. If it didn’t stick, then we’d just have to give up.

“You weren’t originally living outside, right? You trained well.”

“Ah… y-yeah. Well, you see. I’m, um, a bit masculine, right?”

Not at all. With that chest, being masculine is impossible.

“Masculine…?”

“H-hey. I know you’re looking.”

“Oh, sorry. Occupational hazard as an adventurer.”

“Honestly… Before this part of me… developed, I was treated that way. Combined with serving Astrea-sama, I was often praised by the other attendant elves.”

“I see. That must’ve been tough.”

“…Yeah. But it wasn’t all bad.”

Oh no oh no she noticed I was staring. This is bad. If she spreads this around I’m dead, what do I do? How do I keep this secret? How can I silence her? Do I have to devote my life and threaten her into silence!?

『I’ve known for a long time that Finn is looking at my breasts.』

Wha—!? C-Carla-san!? That’s… no way!

Okay, sure, when we ran into each other in the bath, I looked. I thought it would be rude not to, so I looked while averting my eyes. But she was incredibly confident about it! I even started wondering if I was the weird one for being embarrassed! If a woman is that bold, there was no way I, as a man, could cover myself up—!! Of course I didn’t avert my gaze either. It was necessary to live an honorable life.

『Pervert. Lewd. Sicko.』

Mufufu… Dark Marianne, that’s a bad move! You’re just giving me proper excitement. Proper excitement from having my private parts seen, is it!?

『…………』

Yes.

“I’m surprised. You’re interested in that sort of thing?”

“There’s no way I’m not. If I weren’t, I wouldn’t be an adventurer.”

“Fufu, true enough.”

“Elves don’t like that, I suppose.”

“Well, being looked at that way by strangers isn’t the best feeling. But…”

Saying that, Griselda looked at me and smiled.

“If it’s you, and you insist, I wouldn’t mind…?”

Wha-…!! T-To refuse that would be unthinkable! Everyone, sorry, I’m ending my journey here! Griselda, marry meee—!!

『I will not allow it.』

Ah, understood. Right. I have Dark Marianne, after all.

“I appreciate the feeling, but I’ll decline. We don’t know each other well yet.”

“Just keep it in a corner of your mind. I wouldn’t want to incur everyone’s displeasure.”

So she wasn’t serious? Or what? Am I just insurance? Heh… in the end, I’m just insurance. Not the kind of man who becomes the main choice….

『You’re the main choice for me, you know?』

Geez, Dark Marianne really does love me! The real Marianne doesn’t, though. Ah, ow, my heart hurts in a pleasant way. Throb-throb, squeeze-squeeze… so this is love. But it still feels like an unhealthy kind of pleasure. I want something healthier. Something proper.

『It’s already too late.』

I see… If the Saint says so, there’s nothing to be done. In the end, you’re the only one who can take responsibility for me, Dark Marianne.

『Yes. We’ll be together forever.』

“More importantly, Finn… um, Finn-kun?”

“Call me whatever you like.”

“Alright. Then, Finn. Have you decided what to do about Alisha-sama?”

“More or less. We’ll use the Adventurers’ Guild for her training as an adventurer. As for increasing her strength, as long as she progresses step by step, there won’t be any issues.”

There was no rush in educating Alisha. I wasn’t going to recklessly drag her into the Abyssal Forest on short notice. If she could help Master in the future, that would be enough. Besides, she was a valuable presence to me. Someone who would lay into me that thoroughly had to be treasured.

Yes… As if gently teaching her that it was okay to be honest with oneself…

『It is good to be honest with yourself.』

Exactly! That’s what I think too. Even if I’d be scolded for expressing it outwardly, there is no reason to change who I am.

『There are limits, though.』

Sorry. I’m reflecting on it.

“I see. I’ll do anything I can. If there’s something you need, just tell me.”

Anything? Then could you insult me like you did before, like, right now? If possible, with Alisha too. Verbal attacks combined with physical attacks would be wonderful.

『Knock it off already.』

Yes, sorry! I’ll stop here!

“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”

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