Vol 3 Chapter 48 – Possessiveness

Once we were alone in the room, the very first thing Garon-san said was this:

“You seem to have gotten quite close to Puria.”

Gotten close.

That was certainly true, but in the end, I am a human.

In order to survive in Agusta—a territory of monsters like her and the werewolf right in front of me—I merely dragged Puria-san and the others into my hell using Tia-sama’s power.

However, that ultimately didn’t serve as an element to deny Garon-san’s question in the slightest, so I simply replied like an idiot.

“Yes, we’ve gotten close.”

“Hmph.”

Very unlike her, a completely indifferent reply came back.

You’re the one who asked, I couldn’t help but think, but because her atmosphere felt so different from usual, I hesitated to string any more words together.

As a result, a strange, awkward silence was born.

Garon-san sat cross-legged on the floor without looking at me, and having not been told whether I could sit or not, I just stood there like an idiot. I could do nothing but listen to the slow, thump, thump rhythm of her tail striking the ground.

Perhaps five minutes passed like that.

“Hey, Nine. That girl isn’t my direct subordinate. She’s just a scout.”

“Right.”

By “that girl,” she was probably referring to Puria-san, but what was this suddenly about?

“She’s obviously stronger than a human, but speaking purely in terms of strength, she’s near the bottom around here.”

“Is that so?”

That was all I could say.

What in the world was Garon-san talking about?

“…Come to think of it, you were with that girl for a whole month, weren’t you? In Tiamaria.”

“Yes. She was a good partner.”

“You’re wrong. She’s just a watcher. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

That’s right.

It would probably be a bad idea to carelessly say Puria-san helped me. It might cause trouble for her.

“Earlier, she said something. About Alice or whatever. Is she talking about Aroma’s lapdog, Alice Crux?”

“Umm, ah, well, probably.”

What is going on here?

This isn’t like Garon-san at all.

“When did you meet her? She’s in intelligence, isn’t she?”

“We met by a stroke of luck.”

What’s with this interrogation? It makes no sense.

What’s her deal?

“I don’t get what a stroke of luck means. Tell me.”

I was genuinely starting to get annoyed.

“You’re being a bit persistent. Why are you pressing so hard? You shouldn’t care about things regarding someone like me.”

“Hah?”

The atmosphere changed.

“I’m asking you a question, so why aren’t you answering, hey? Got something to hide?”

“Hiii.”

What is this?

Wait a second, this atmosphere is giving me some serious deja vu.

It reeks of a bad premonition.

What is this, w-w-wait, eh, no way, wait a sec.

“I-I-I really just happened to start talking to her, and she just vaguely knows my face, okay?”

Th-That’s a lie, though.

“…Haaahn. Well, fine. That girl is just like a rat in the end, anyway.”

“A rat… I don’t really understand, but isn’t that quite an important role? Handling information must be a massive duty in the military…”

“That doesn’t matter. What’s important is that she’s weaker than me.”

Heeh. What are you saying?

What is this person saying?

“G-Garon-san. I… don’t think it’s very good… to judge your comrades with that kind of measuring stick.”

When I said that, Garon-san glared up at me with those sharp eyes of hers while still remaining seated.

“You’re wrong, aren’t you?”

“Eh?”

“It’s Mother, isn’t it… There’s no one else here right now, you know…?”

Save me, Tia-emon!

Garon-san is acting crazy!

—W-Well, even I find this a little unexpected—

T-Tia-sama, did you do something?

But I haven’t formed a contract with Garon-san…

—W-Well, you’re the one who imprinted the whole “Mother” thing on her. Why don’t you try letting her spoil you to your heart’s content?—

I-Is this really going to be okay?

I mean, if it were the usual Garon-san I might happily let her spoil me, but isn’t this pretty dangerous right now?

—You can do it if you try. What a wonderful phrase. It teaches us the importance of a challenging spirit—

That’s not an answer!

Tia-sama, you really are an irresponsible woman!

Because you’re like this, you’ll end up forgetting where you stored your food after hibernation and come crying to me for help!

Leaving behind Tia-sama, who was fussing about saying, How cruel, how cruel, I told you to forget about that, I decided to tackle the problem in reality.

“Hey, are you listening, Nine?”

“O-O-Of course. I’m sorry, Mother.”

“…Fu, kuku. Mother, huh. Yeah, that ring to it really isn’t so bad after all.”

Saying that, Garon-san stood up and circled around behind me.

What is she planning to do?

S-Stop, somebody call a man!

“Hey, you can call me Mama too, you know.”

With her hands placed on both my shoulders, that slightly embarrassed voice rained down from above.

“Th-Th-Th-That, I will have to respectfully decline.”

“I see.”

She isn’t too particular about the specifics, then. That’s a lifesaver.

“…Because you’re weak. You understand you need someone to protect you, right? You remember you promised me that you wouldn’t die until the Ojou properly conquers the world, don’t you?”

“…Yes. It’s an important promise between me and you, Mother.”

“Nn, kukuku. That’s right. An important promise made only between you and me.”

With a happy little chuckle, Mother Garon sat down right behind me and wrapped both her arms around my stomach.

The image of a snake coiling around me crossed my mind.

Even though the snake is supposed to be Tia-sama.

Even though Mother Garon was supposed to be just a young puppy.

“Puria and Alice just aren’t cut out for that role… Hey, do you get what I’m trying to say…?”

“Umm, umm! By the way! What do you plan to study today…!?”

“Today is orientation. It’s our first lecture in a while, after all. Let’s get to properly know each other again.”

Saying that, she wrapped both her legs around me too.

Wait, is this puppy okay?

Is she perhaps in heat or something?

Is this really okay?

“…You were with Puria this past month, right? You didn’t do anything weird, did you?”

“W-When you say weird things…”

“Idiot, like I could say something like that out loud!”

You’re getting embarrassed over it?

After acting like you were practically inviting me, I really don’t understand Mother Garon anymore!

“…No, I didn’t do… those kinds of things with Puria-san.”

It was a pretty close call, though.

That little bird slipping into my bed every single night violently chipped away at my rationality, though.

I endured it, you bet I endured it.

Because the moment that shameless woman saw my patience reach its limit, she would casually disappear.

A true wicked woman.

Well, whatever.

Lust isn’t the only form of love.

“…You don’t need that kind of stuff yet. You’re a brat, after all.”

I’m already twenty-two years old!

There’s no way I don’t need it.

How cruel, how cruel.

I want to graduate from being a virgin soon.

Preferably with Chris, if possible.

“That’s right, even you get it now, don’t you? Crying out Mother, Mother in a voice like you were about to weep. You should just stay right here in my arms.”

…This was about the other day, after she told me to call her Mother.

In the end, she didn’t let me suck her breasts at that time… Ah, a shame, an absolute shame, but setting that aside, she let me cling to her and be spoiled for a while.

Calling for my mother while feeling the warmth of another person’s skin was, above all else, the most comforting act for me.

Up until seven years ago, it was something I begged Tia-sama for almost every night, but it had been so long, and it felt so good.

The fact that Tia-sama’s body temperature was slightly low, like a snake’s, was just a charming quirk.

Even so, even at that time, I was unable to cry.

For these past ten years, I can’t remember crying even once.

I thought I might be able to cry back then, but it was no use after all.

…That means it’s still insufficient.

I need to get my family back quickly.

Leaving me to my thoughts, Mother Garon buried her nose in the nape of my neck and began to sniff, sniff, smelling me.

Super embarrassing.

And on top of that, it tickles so much.

Please stop.

“…You smell kinda like a bird. And I smell El and the Ojou on you, too.”

Smell like a bird. What a cruel way to put it.

“…I was just with Puria-san a moment ago, after all. But I only talked with the Demon Lord and El-chan yesterday, you know? I washed properly with water this morning.”

“Wash your body better from now on. It bothers me, and besides…”

“I don’t like it.”

Adding that, she pulled her body away… and began to lightly shake herself.

I thought she was just bouncing her leg, but something… is different.

Gradually, the motion changed into her rubbing her waist against me, her hands gripping tightly around my torso, her thighs radiating heat.

The core of her body that she had supposedly pulled away was now rubbing against… Stop, your breasts are totally hitting me.

I said they’re hitting me.

“Hey, please give me a break. Are you inviting me, with this?”

“Idiot, I told you it’s still too early for you for that kinda stuff, didn’t I? …I’m just making it easy to understand whose you are.”

…Hey, could this be? I highly doubt it, but.

I don’t want to think about it, but.

This isn’t that thing called marking, is it?

—They say dogs mark with their scent to show something belongs to them, don’t they?—

Abababababa shut up please Tia-sama stop it!

Just stop!

I don’t want to think about it!

“The only one who can acknowledge you, who can protect you. It’s just me. It’s only me.”

“…I’m incredibly happy about those feelings, though.”

Truly.

For her to be this attached to me is truly unexpected.

Tia-sama says she didn’t do anything, but honestly, I can’t believe it.

Because with Puria-san and Alice-san, I practically bound their hearts with Tia-sama’s contract.

Why is Garon-san directing so much attention toward someone like me, who she hasn’t even known for that long?

…Perhaps she too had some sort of void in her heart.

Because this is absolutely abnormal.

On my end, even if she’s a beastkin, having a voluptuous woman do something like this naturally elicits a normal reaction, but considering how fixated she is on the word “Mother,” she probably doesn’t hold much consciousness of a male-female nuance.

She called me a child, but I still can’t shake the impression that she herself is also childish.

And that is surely not wrong.

She too must have left a piece of herself behind somewhere.

And she is desperately trying to take it back using me as compensation.

How pitiful.

For her to seek that kind of sympathy from someone like me, from a guy like me, is pitiful.

And for me to be carelessly evaluating her like this makes me an incredibly comical man.

“Hey, those priest clothes really don’t suit you. Wear something else.”

“This is all I have, so it can’t be helped, can it?”

“Then, I’ll give you my clothes. The ones that match the jacket I gave you before. They’re men’s clothes, so it should be fine, right?”

“…Are you aware you’re saying something incredibly embarrassing?”

“I’m your mother, there’s nothing embarrassing about it. I’ll give you my undershirts too, and pants.”

“…You’re telling me to use them?”

“Yeah, make sure you use them, got it?”

This feels exactly like being told to use them for something weird, doesn’t it?

But looking at her expression, she probably simply means to use them to wear.

This person is naturally erotic in a completely different direction from Puria-san.

…Could this also be a type of marking behavior?

Telling me to wear things covered in her scent?

My hair stood on end, and I instinctively turned around to look at Garon-san’s eyes again, but she merely returned a blank, uncomprehending look.

She’s doing it unconsciously. What a woman.

…Well, whatever.

She is enjoying playing house as my mother.

There seems to be no mistaking that.

And there’s no mistaking that I’m happy about these actions and feelings, either.

For a while, let us enjoy licking each other’s wounds in a mutually beneficial way.

Yes, therefore, I have absolutely no objections to going along with this game of make-believe.

“Hey, I didn’t let you do it the other day, and I haven’t taken a bath yet today so it’s embarrassing, but… next time, wanna try sucking my breasts a little?”

I have absolutely no objections.

――――――――――

My perfectly agreeable playtime with Garon-san came to a close, and leaving the room, I headed toward my bedroom, the prison cell.

These past few days have been quite heartful and harmful.

El-chan, Puria-san, and Mother Garon; I’ve been completely at their mercy.

However, this is not very good.

I don’t dislike having them take the initiative, but at this rate, it’s highly inconvenient.

I am the one forcing them to accompany me in my hell.

It is not preferable for them to come to this side of their own free will.

I must not get the wrong idea.

Especially Garon-san.

For her to grow this attached to me without a contract is no good. My guilt will fade.

I am a cowardly piece of trash.

At this rate, I’ll easily end up soaking in comfortably lukewarm water.

If I allow her to come to my side on her own, I truly won’t be able to forgive myself.

The “love, and be loved” that Garon-san taught me—Tia-sama said that was no good.

She told me to forget the puppy’s teachings.

She said if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my goal.

She said I had to become the one who gives.

Affection is something you must properly give, far more than the other person.

You must not seek to receive it.

Garon-san said something like that isn’t love, but this too is surely a magnificent form of love.

Because this is the true essence of the “magic” that Tia-sama gifted me.

Because it is the teaching that has kept me alive all this time.

I cannot live without love.

I’m a little rabbit, heeheehee.

I’ll die if I get lonely, kukufufufuhaha.

I will squeeze out my love until I die, and even when there’s nothing left to squeeze, I’ll wring it out like a dirty rag.

I’ll squeeze myself dry down to my very roots.

More, more, more. May I be able to love them.

…Uwaah, but I wanna be loved.

—That’s no good, you don’t need it anymore. Throw it away—

…want to be . want . Alright, it’s not coming out, I forgot it.

Deleted, Tia-sama.

Now, umm, what was it again?

Right, right, may they despise me to the absolute limit.

Even if I am despised, I can love them endlessly.

I will love them. May I love them.

Self-deprecation and guilt, atonement, hypocrisy, pleasure, humiliation, pain, superiority complex, the threshold between sanity and madness.

It’s about balance.

Because balance is what’s important.

Squeeze the love out from there.

Kuhyaahahaha.

Heehee.

Aaaaah.

…Yes, this is good.

Adjustment complete, everything is fine now.

I’m sure I can give them a love much, much bigger than their love and hate, right, ehehe.

It’s fine, it’s fine, I’ll give my love to all of you, to everyone.

Right, Tia-sama?