Chapter 41: The Old Man Stirs Up a Storm

If it’s come to this… I have to do it again…

On reflex, I activate “Standby Time” again.

But—

What the… For some reason, the duration is…

…My “Standby Time” is incredibly short.

Was it because of what just happened… with the Sisters… because I touched the bodies of such beautiful women without their permission…?

Pathetic, even for me, but my mind is in complete turmoil… No, my primal instincts have been stirred, and I can’t concentrate.

The shock of my opponents not being burly men, but young, beautiful women.

And though it was unavoidable, the guilt of touching their soft skin and leaving them in such a state of disarray, mixed with a tiny bit of… no, a rather significant amount of arousal.

And before that… there was that mysterious kiss from Emma-san…

All of it was robbing me of my composure and severely dulling my concentration.

It’s not that it consumes MP or anything, but activating Standby Time always takes a huge amount of mental effort.

In short, it’s not something I can just use over and over again.

Well… It might be different if I were in perfect shape… but I’m starving right now…

In the end, I didn’t get a single bite of that magnificent feast…

I look resentfully at the food scattered across the floor.

What a… terrible waste…

In any case, my “Standby Time” now feels significantly shorter.

Crap… While I was lost in thought… it’s already… my Standby Time is…

This is bad… I have to dodge their blades no matter what… At this rate, my life is in danger.

If it’s come to this… I have no choice but to dodge in real time.

I’ve been relying on Standby Time so much lately, I wonder if I can even move properly in real time anymore…

Has it been since I was running for my life in the Great Forest…?

The moment Standby Time ended, I focused every ounce of my being on evasion, trying to dodge the multiple approaching blades and attacks born from their fluid martial arts.

I dedicated the agility I’d cultivated through all my “escapes” up until now solely to the act of dodging, putting all my strength into the evasion.

I move to the edge of the room in a single burst, stopping just short of hitting the wall.

It’s probably because I covered a short distance in an instant and then slammed on the brakes.

My legs hurt like hell.

…Owow… Yeah, moving in real time always makes my legs hurt this bad… Damn it… I’m getting old…

But… it looks like I managed to avoid their attacks.

The Sisters are stunned that their target… me… has suddenly vanished from before their blades.

And it was at that moment.

In that instant, a ferocious gale raged out of nowhere inside the room… around me… no, centered on the spot where I’d just been standing.

What is… this wind…? Is it because the window broke…? Still, it’s incredibly powerful…

I couldn’t hide my surprise at the sudden gale.

Could a broken window really cause a wind like this?

Come to think of it, this kind of gale kicked up all the time when I was running around in the Great Forest.

Is it some kind of natural phenomenon unique to this region…?

No… more importantly, there might be a second wave of attacks.

Right now, I need to focus on the fight… no, on escaping…

But… the Sisters’ second attack never came.

RRRRIP!

WHOOSH!!

“Kyaaaaaaah!!?”

Because that inexplicable gale had swept up the attacking Sisters.

They lost their balance in the powerful blast, toppling over one after another.

Then, the wind tore the black robes they were wearing to shreds, as if they were made of paper.

Their already disheveled habits were torn even further, becoming mere scraps of cloth that offered no protection.

And revealed from beneath their black robes was unexpectedly feminine underwear—pure white or in pale shades, adorned with delicate lace.

Their young, supple bodies could hardly be concealed by the underwear alone—full, high breasts, a tightly cinched waist, smoothly curving hips, and slender, long legs.

Furthermore, their white skin, flushed from the heat of battle and glistening with a thin sheen of sweat, shone alluringly in the light of the chandelier.

Wait… what am I staring at?

This is incredibly rude… No… that’s not it… This is merely a tactical analysis of the situation; I’m definitely not looking with any lecherous feelings…

Still, a wind strong enough to tear clothes… just how powerful is it?

What on earth caused it…? I can’t believe it occurred naturally…

Did someone cast a spell?

I could only be bewildered by the abnormal phenomenon happening around me.

Unable to even stand properly from the impact of the gale, the Sisters let out short shrieks as they were thrown to the floor.

They curled up to hide their suddenly exposed bodies, their faces bright red with shame and astonishment. Some even had tears in their eyes.

Surely, they couldn’t continue the fight in this state.

“Are you alright!?”

I rushed over to the Sisters who had fallen to the floor and reached out a hand to help them up.

But, maybe because I was in a hurry or because my foot got caught on the torn scraps of cloth scattered on the floor, I lost my balance ungracefully.

“Whoa!”

And just like that, I ended up toppling over right on top of the half-naked Sisters already piled on the floor.

When I came to my senses, a beautiful face was glaring up at me with teary eyes.

And as for my hands… I felt the sensation of soft, squished twin hills.

The warmth of smooth skin and the sweet scent of sweat and hair tickled my nostrils.

And in my ear, I heard one of the Sister’s breathless moan, “Aahn…”

A contact so intense it stimulated all five senses…

Soft, and… warm… it feels so… good—

Wait, no.

That’s not it.

I have to get up, quick…

From an outsider’s perspective, this situation looks completely and utterly incriminating.

A scruffy man in tattered clothes sprawled on top of beautiful, blushing Sisters in their underwear, their eyes filled with tears.

Isn’t this a scene just begging to be misunderstood by anyone who sees it?

I’d really rather avoid any more trouble.

And it was at that moment.

BAM!!

The heavy doors to the dining room were thrown open with a force incomparable to before.

Standing there was Alicia-san, breathing heavily, an absolutely frantic look on her face.

Her forehead was glistening with sweat, and she looked incredibly worried, but…

“Mikami-sensei! Are you alrigh—!?”