Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi
chapter-370

After repelling the assassins, the attacks on the CL company, both tangible and intangible, stopped suddenly.

The Flitch company realized they attacked me and are probably panicking.

Meanwhile, I’m paying the price for what I did and getting lectured in the living room.

「We’re not talking about fairness for saving Claire-san! As a feudal lord, how could you expose yourself to danger like that!?」

「Aegir-sama is certainly strong, but fighting unnecessary battles will eventually lead to your death! Please don’t do this anymore!」

「It is our duty to keep Lord Hardlett from harm. However, if you jump into peril of your own will, there is not much we can do. Please be more careful from this day forward.」

「I can’t say anything about fighting…… though it’s not good to go on a vacation alone with Claire-san. Nonna-san has had this terrifying aura around her since the morning, please do something about it.」

I guess it’s a rather big deal if Myla and Celia are backing up Leopolt and Adolph.

It was a mistake not telling anybody aside from Claire.

Lastly, as I get blamed and soothe the crying Celia by brushing her cheek, I was informed of a visitor.

Already? That was fast.

「It was an unbelievable act of disrespect, a failure, and truly inexcusable……」

The man in front of me who is bowing his head to the ground is apparently the head clerk and a family member of Flitch.

Myla yelled at him, asking why the owner didn’t come, and apparently he is sick in bed.

I don’t know if it’s true or not and everyone I ask doesn’t know, so I let it go.

More importantly, I need them to approve of Claire going independent.

「There’s no use complaining about what’s done. I also went on a cheating vacation so I don’t want to make any unnecessary fuss…… anyways, I’ll need to see an appropriate sign of your sincerity.」

I deliberately drink alcohol and speak in a haughty tone. Woah, I leaned too far back and almost fell over.

Don’t laugh, Sekrit. Dammit, she only comes out of her room and she thinks there is something interesting to watch.

「Yes, something has been prepared. A sum of money as apology and also――」

I speak over the messenger.

「That’s fine, I just don’t want to see any of you in my territory again. Any interference will not be tolerated whatsoever.」

The head clerk waits for me to finish with his head touching the ground.

As expected of a great merchant, he isn’t someone who simply prostrates himself.

「I cannot recognize Claire and her group after she violated the store’s trust. If by chance it doesn’t trouble Lord Hardlett and your assets, then……」

So he wants to continue the dispute with Claire if it doesn’t bother me.

I exaggerate and kick over the desk.

「Fool! What would you know when your holes for eyes can’t tell the difference between me or a mal prostitute!? This isn’t a negotiation or even a request. It’s an order! If anything happens to the CL company, I will consider it your work and will report it to the kingdom along with the fact that you attacked me. You understand the relationship between Stura and Goldonia, right?」

I know it’s a cheap threat.

The head clerk closes his eyes and doesn’t say anything.

I can’t tell if he’s scared or angry.

「If you let Claire handle the rest and leave quietly, I will also forget about this matter. My wife told me not to make such a big deal of it.」

This method was advice I reluctantly accepted from Adolph.

Apparently, giving him a way out will allow us to guide his actions better than completely cornering him.

Nonna being upset is undeniably true. Not to mention Sekrit fanned the flames and added oil to the fire.

That girl is always doing unnecessary things…… one day, I’ll pretend to slip on oil and screw her ass.

「Neither our company nor our owner desires to make Lord Hardlett an enemy. I ask you to please resolve this amicably.」

「I told you I would do so if you don’t do anything to her. I like women and fighting, but I hate questions and answers.」

I make it easy to understand by playing the crude villain. It’s surprisingly easy to do.

「I think you’re simply acting on your instincts.」

I sense a little spite in Myla’s words.

As I glare at him while thinking about such things, the head clerk nods with his eyes closed.

It’s the gesture for “I’ll consent for now, but I still have a plan”.

Whatever, it’s unlikely he can tear apart the relationship I have with Claire.

His intentions were established soon after, though that’s a different story.

After the act was over, I head to Claire’s room where I can enjoy some alcohol with her and Laurie.

「I really want to express――」

「I’m getting tired of hearing your thanks. Move on to another topic.」

I smile and place a finger on Claire’s lips to stop her from going further.

She smiles bitterly and cuts short the sentence she started to say. Laurie happily pours a cup of alcohol for me.

「So you’re finally independent, free to act without compromise or assistance. That’s pretty big.」

「I’m deeply touched. It felt like a long time……since that day you let me go, it felt like I was walking a different life.」

Claire, who is sitting beside me, nonchalantly places a hand on my lap.

She doesn’t touch my private parts. She knows that things will get vulgar if she does.

「Can I act spoiled?」

「Sure, go ahead.」

After getting my permission, Claire clings to my neck and Laurie clings to my thigh.

They open up their clothes as their bodies are pressed against me, not letting me see their underwear.

……the way Laurie is baring her skin, I’m guessing she’s not wearing any.

Presently, Claire is controlling most of the trade in the eastern region of Goldonia, including my territory.

Small and mid-level feudal lords don’t have any issues with that amount of influence.

That girl is currently nestling into me.

I can probably wave a finger and get her to lay down naked for me.

It’s an indescribable feeling of superiority.

「At that time, I didn’t think I would be with you like this again.」

「Me neither. Fufu, my grudge towards Aegir-sama was also my driving force, you know? I would someday get my revenge and kill you.」

Laurie stares intently at Claire and makes a curious face when our faces don’t change.

「Do you still resent me?」

I killed her man, and he was someone she accompanied for many years.

Although she reaped what she sowed by becoming a bandit, it’s hard to separate logic and emotions when a loved one gets killed.

It’s natural for her to resent me and it would clear the air if she declared outright how she feels.

「That was destiny. If I didn’t meet Aegir-sama and Ash was still alive, I would still be living like a bandit…… become the head of a well-known mercenary company, then probably meet my end after being subdued.」

I let it slide that she didn’t affirm or deny my question.

「Bandits?? Ash? Errr, is this perhaps about a man in the past?」

Laurie can’t follow our conversation.

I’m sure Claire will explain little by little.

「Ash was concerned about my future most of all. If he was by himself, he could have become anything he wanted, yet he went along with me and became a bandit…… fufu, since embracing me, he never laid his hands on another woman, you know? Women who enticed him, the women of the villages he ransacked…… he had numerous chances to fuck. How comical for a bandit to stay virtuous.」

Strangely, complex emotions of loneliness well up within me from somewhere as Claire reminisces.

「Ara, are we feeling jealous of a dead person? You were the one who decapitated him.」

I spread my hands as if I lost to Claire’s unsarcastic speech.

「Eeh…… the Margrave-sama killed Claire-sama’s lover…… Claire-sama was a bandit…… uuu……」

Let us cease talking about old stories. Laurie can’t keep up.

「Hey Claire, are you really happy where you’re at now? I don’t know much about being a merchant, but you could have――」

This time Claire was the one who put a finger to my lips.

「I could have extended it more if I had Aegir-sama’s help. And then I could have used that extended time to grow my advantage. ……well, I think it was a good trigger.」

「A trigger, huh?」

I draw Claire’s body toward me.

She realizes my intentions and clings to me tighter.

Aah, Laurie wasn’t the only one not wearing underwear.

「Yes. The time I aspired to become a merchant, I decided that I would become independent and have my own company…… for that sake, I bet everything on myself.」

I remain silent, my hands continuing to rub Claire’s back and ass.

「The trigger was surely the change in the main store’s attitude and South Yuguria…… but I was determined to make things end this way.」

I let her speak, focusing on her ass instead.

Like a bad governor, I touch her body while a timid self comes out from somewhere within me.

「It was risky, maybe disproportionate to the benefits. Even so, I did it now. I can do it now. If I don’t do it now, I wouldn’t be able to do it forever.」

Claire grins.

「I couldn’t push it to a later date. That was the meaning of my life after all.」

I don’t say a single word. My hands keep fondling her.

I’m not craving her or trying to violate her.

I just have to do something to stay calm.

「Aegir-sama, your finger is in a dangerous spot…… if you could ease up a little…… aah, that’s my asshole!」

She gambled and she won the bet.

If I told Leopolt, he might have had a better plan, and the timing might not have been optimal.

In her position, a plan relying heavily on my favoritism was likely extremely incomplete.

Regardless, she accomplished what she wanted.

「Um, your hand…… g-going in…… aauu!」

I look back at my own life.

I’m living a dream-like life since starting out as a slave kid.

I’ve become a Magrave of Goldonia, a nation with millions of people under its rule, and I can act all important.

The record Adolph brought up to me today regarding revenue had a big number like 200 000.

In addition, I’m surrounded by beauties who love me from the bottom of their hearts, and I’m free to embrace them and impregnate them as I want, with even the maids in the mansion happy to spread their legs if I tell them to.

Yoguri even used my life as a basis for one of her plays.

Arrogant as it may be, I can say my life is a pretty big success.

「But I am not accomplished yet.」

「I-I’m about to reach…… n-no good! Auaah!」

「Kyaa! Claire-sama…… really squirted everywhere. Eh? You’re going to continue?」

Claire bends backward and screams, which to me, is trivial at the moment.

What is my life goal?

There’s no way I forgot. It’s to become king and meet Lucy again.

It isn’t to live as a great noble with beautiful wives and pass on while surrounded by my children and grandchildren.

I didn’t forget.

I was simply caught up in how comfortable my life is now.

Nonna is gorgeous, Celia is cute.

Carla is amusing, Mel is attractive.

The other girls who have fallen in love with me are also wonderful in their own ways.

I am truly happy when surrounded by all of them. That’s why I’m immersed in joy right now.

「You’re amazing. You actually achieved it.」

I take Claire’s hand and kiss the back of it.

It wasn’t a lustful action, it was to show my respect. The current me doesn’t come close to her.

「Eh? What are you……」

Her time was now.

On the other hand, my time is not now.

Acting for the sake of my goal and running wildly is not the same thing.

What I have to do now is to resolve myself.

I close my eyes and exhale.

「Hm, alright.」

I never had a sharp mind to begin with. Thinking long and hard does nothing for me.

Those few seconds I took were enough for me.

「Um…… did I do something to upset you?」

「I apologize if I bored you.」

Claire and Laurie look at me with worried expressions.

I guess I was uncharacteristically making a serious thinking face.

「It’s nothing. Anyways, we should get started.」

「Kyaa!」「Hiihn!」

I lift up Claire and Laurie, one on each of my shoulders, and then throw them onto the prepared bed.

I then proceed to strip.

「Your body is really incredible……」

「And somehow you have this appeal of a man who has decided on something……」

Claire and Laurie blush like virgins and lay on each other’s bodies with their asses turned toward me.

「I feel like getting rough today. Prepare yourselves.」

I declare my intentions and press down on the two of them.

「You’re as big as usual―― aagh!!」

「Doing it forcefully makes it more―― higyi!」

I won’t hesitate when ‘that time’ comes.

No matter how inefficient I must be or how many sacrifices I must make, I will be ready.

I mount the two screaming girls and make a promise to myself.

Side Story: Claudia’s Transformation.

「Uoh.」

It has been long since Claudia has appeared at the dining table.

Seeing her again is wonderful, although it was an indescribable voice that came out of my mouth.

「Uwa…… uwah……」

Nonna is also spilling the soup she scooped up onto the table.

That is very rude, especially for her.

「No way…… what is this……」

Carla is also wide-eyed and frozen stiff.

「T-this is terrible.」

Celia couldn’t keep her composure.

「How did this happen……」

Rita, who was serving food, dropped the plate which was just cooked on the floor.

Nobody blames her for doing so, rather the other servants were not focusing on that.

「Ara, do all of you have something to say, coming together like this?」

The Claudia in front of us smiles and turns her body.

Everyone stirred.

Not a single meaningful word was said. The shock of the situation left all those present speechless.

It can’t be helped, so I ask in their place.

「Claudia, what happened to your body? How did you get it like that?」

「Ara, ufufu. Are you curious, my beloved?」

Of course I am.

With that said, it isn’t the same kind of curious as when someone you adore changes their hairstyle.

It’s in the same category as when someone who was a woman yesterday suddenly changes to a man.

「It might be a good idea that I did such vigorous exercise then. The troublesome fat has disappeared!」

Claudia, who used to have a body as round as a ball and could be considered a lump of meat, has completely gotten rid of her flab.

「That day, the Madam ran furiously non-stop all the way to the North Teries River. After drinking a gulp of the river water, she returned.」

「Are you that stupid?」

Carla expresses her bafflement while everyone else sighs.

Does she know how far the river is from Rafen?

Not to mention she made a round trip.

「I couldn’t help succumbing to my sudden urge to run. Nnhohohoh!」

Well, that’s good I guess.

I’m fine with a slightly loose body, but Claudia has been a little intolerable lately.

She would sweat as soon as I embraced her and her bones would creak in the cowgirl position.

Showing off her leaner stomach, Claudia twists her body.

A single ounce of excess flesh can be seen on her.

「Becoming lean is good. It’s wonderful…… however, there is a limit to……」

「Hohー!!」

Claudia smiles and makes her distinct 6-pack abs wiggle around.

「I can’t get enough of how light my body is. Behold, this toned thigh!」

The muscles on her thigh bulge out.

She certainly doesn’t have any fat on her body, but the thickness is comparable to the circumference of Celia’s waist.

If she was a male, she might have more muscle than me.

「My upper arm might still be too fat. My clothes feel tight.」

I can see the muscles of her arm bulge through her clothes.

Her biceps are barely being restrained by her clothes……

I’m sure it feels tight, her arms are the size of Clara’s legs.

「Ufufu, care to go one round with me tonight? I will service you.」

「Sure, let’s do it.」

For a second I thought she was asking me to spar. No, this is an invitation to sleep with her.

Claudia’s chest seems to be jiggling, with help from her enlarged pectoral muscles, to match her happiness.

Muscular girls like Sekrit and Irijina are my favorite too.

I think Claudia just went too far, plus her sudden transfiguration is shocking.

She was a mass of flesh not too long ago.

「……the annoyance should be halved, yet I can’t seem to calm down.」

Celia says dejectedly.

「Should we make her overeat and return to her former spherical self?」

「Should we cook up a mountain of delicious meat?」

What are Carla and Maria saying?

That size was not healthy compared to the way she is now…… yeah, I can’t settle down either.

「Aaah, I want to move my body all of a sudden. Hmp! Hmp! Hmmh!」

As I watch Claudia wolf down her food and start doing push ups, I rack my brain over what I’m going to do.

Side Story: A Vampire’s Jealousy.

「Do you have any excuses for me?」

「No, none.」

I am currently tied up in a dimly-lit room of a house within Rafen.

The person in front of me is a blonde beauty.

Contrary to her childlike appearance, she is actually a vampire princess who is several hundred years old.

「Not only did you break the promise of letting me suck your blood, you wandered off here and there……」

「I’m sorry.」

I can only apologize at this point.

「Will you swear not to do it again?」

「No, I can’t.」

If something happens, I have to go out on expeditions.

It would be insincere of me to promise something I can’t fulfill.

「I’ll pluck this off you.」

「Spare me from that. Many women would be saddened.」

Brynhildr places her hand on my crotch.

With her monstrous strength, she can literally rip me apart.

「Gosh, you…… can at least tell me where you’re going before you go…… what will I do if you die in a place where my eyes can’t reach…… I won’t be able to help.」

Brynhildr mumbles.

She spoke softly enough that I couldn’t hear the last half. I’m afraid to say anything carelessly when she can tear my precious member whenever she wants.

「It is an important time for me right now. It has to do with the meaning of my life.」

I’m not lying.

Brynhildr peers into my eyes, is somewhat satisfied and shows me a jealous expression.

「…… then I’ll overlook it. However, you have to take me along next time.」

「Mu, but……」

If I have to set out, it will mostly be in the daytime.

Although sunlight isn’t fatal to her, it is at least extremely unpleasant.

「I’m saying it’s fine, so it’s fine! ……thinking you’ll die somewhere prevents me from sleeping during the day.」

Again, the last part was said so softly that I couldn’t hear. Well, if she says she doesn’t mind, then I guess that’s fine.

「That does it with what I wanted to say, but the worms in my stomach won’t settle down. Hey, come here!」

Brynhildr snaps her fingers and three females―― servant vampires judging by their pale skin―― appear from nowhere. All of them have attractive bodies.

After Brynhildr whispers something to them, they literally rip my pants off.

They bring their mouths down to my exposed crotch.

I guess the three of them are going to service me together.

Absolutely no indication of lust or affection shows on their faces as their faces draw closer to my dick.

Rather, they’re looking at me with scorn and disgust.

Vampires are typically condescending towards humans.

Most likely, they were ordered by Brynhildr.

I don’t prefer to have someone service me unwilling, though Brynhildr is the one who has the say in this case.

Besides, their contemptful expressions…… are unexpectedly not bad.

「Hey now, you’re making this into a reward.」

Brynhildr’s expression becomes cruel when I couldn’t suppress my relaxed emotions.

「I wonder what I can do. I can’t kill you, nor can I get my familiars to do it. You begged me to spare crushing your balls too.」

At her orders, the girls around my crotch open their mouths.

I close my eyes in anticipation of the pleasure, except I got a sharp pain instead.

「Guaaaah!!」

Six fangs, and then two more a bit later, sink down into my dick, literally poking holes everywhere.

「…… tasty.」

「…… this is addicting.」

「……wow.」

Joy washes over the faces of the vampire girls, then their faces soon fill with disdain when they see me smile.

No, it really isn’t that bad.

Next time I’ll get Celia to curse at me while stepping on my dick…… wait, what am I thinking?

「This is the only time you girls will get. His blood belongs to me.」

Even through the intense pain, the feeling of four girls sucking blood from my cock isn’t bad.

The next day came.

「Um……master?」

「What happened here?」

Rita and Adela ask me fearfully in bed.

I don’t blame them for being concerned, after all despite the quick healing of the injury made by vampires, a bump was left in the places where I was bitten. Eight marks in one night isn’t something I can hide.

A little more time and they’ll get better though.

「It looks even more fiendish than ever…… like a vegetable from hell. I won’t last five minutes……」

「Master will actually kill a woman in bed one day.」

Adela and Rita, both panting, gulp nervously and cuddle up to me.

Thinking on it now, the girls I get with casually at the bars and brothels also gave me nice reactions.

They would pass out repeatedly during sex and won’t wake up the next morning.

The girls who are accustomed to me and wake up insist on staying with me a little longer.

When I grant them a rematch, Celia usually bursts in and causes a scene.

「What a sinful man.」

「What a sinful thing.」

While receiving their love, I fall spread eagle on the bed.

Brynhildr forgives me no matter what I do.

That adds to her considerable beauty and loveliness, though I believe the large cause of my affection comes from the traces of ‘that woman’ I feel from her.

If I say that to her, two more holes will be added to my dick.