Chapter 20: A Disappointing End

"That one’s a half-wildling, a half-goblin—of course they’re up to no good!"

"Maybe helping with the treatment was just a way to cover their tracks."

"I still think they’re the ones who tipped off the bandits…"

"I told you, that’s not it!"

"Um… may I say something?"

The brown-haired guy kept insisting we were the culprits, while the caravan leader suspected I was secretly in league with the bandits. Ereki-san raged on about finding the traitor, and Master kept defending me, saying they had it wrong.

Meanwhile, my shameless female companions were squeaking and whispering about how wild it was to do it outdoors, how unfair it was that I got to go first. Just as the chaos reached a fever pitch, a clear voice cut through it all.

It was the priestess of the adventurer duo who had joined us—the kind-looking young man and his adorably sweet priestess partner. Glancing at me now and then, she cautiously voiced her opinion.

"Um… are we even sure this child is a half-goblin? I mean, she looks way too clean and cute for that, and she’s so well-behaved… More importantly, goblins can’t use magic."

I couldn't decide if I should thank her for the nice save or scold her for saying too much.

Her support wasn’t exactly a plus—it could backfire. If the wrong people figured out what I really am, it’d be bad. Even if owning slaves is technically protected by law, if someone powerful wants you, they can twist that law however they like.

"Now that you mention it…"

"But if not a goblin, then what is she?"

The discussion about traitors vanished somewhere along the way, and now everyone was staring openly at me—particularly at my ears poking out from under the cloak. Not many races have pointed ears. Besides the well-known elves, only dwarves and goblins come to mind—but neither of those can use magic.

"…No way. Could she be an elf?"

"Don’t be ridiculous. Elves went extinct ages ago."

A member of the caravan murmured, and the whisper alone rippled unease across the group. Ugh, I didn’t think I’d get exposed this easily… but yeah, once the information lines up, it all falls apart fast.

For the record, I only managed to fool the slave trader thanks to a former adventurer lady in the next cell, who gave me this advice: “Pretend to be a crude goblin until you find someone you can actually trust.”

She was really good to the younger slaves—kind and dependable. That’s probably why, as a warning to the rest of us, they used her as live bait for a monster show and then… yeah, she ended up literally eaten.

Looking back, that was the moment I truly broke as a slave. That image is burned into my brain. Compared to something like that, selling out a bit of my pride as a man, being treated like a cute girl by Master… honestly, it’s nothing. Really.

Though lately, I’ve been slacking a bit thanks to how sweet Master is.

"Could she be… like, half-elf?"

"Even then…"

The caravaners and some adventurers now had gold coins in their eyes. So easy to read. Just yesterday everything was fine, and now this. Really shows how effective that half-goblin disguise was.

The merchant who seemed to be the caravan leader now had the unmistakable look of someone eyeing prey. I finally understood what Lulu meant when she said he gave her the creeps.

Still… this situation isn’t looking good.

"Do eyes like that mean they already think they own you?"

"Yes. Exactly like that."

As Yuria and I whispered to each other, suddenly Lulu stepped forward.

"…Ahh, so the secret’s out, huh?"

She said it loudly, like she wanted everyone to hear, and then turned to us and gave a big wink. She must be planning something.

"You see, Senpai here is actually a half-succubus! Even if she looks like this, she’s really amazing, you know?"

"Huh?"

"You’re kidding…"

…Hey. Hey. Are you really still running with that setup? I mean, I guess it’s better than being outed as an elf, but still!

The merchants all went from startled to whispering, then gulped hard and glanced over at Master.

"I’ve heard half-succubi are crazy dangerous."

"And he’s been dealing with that…?"

Their gazes started drifting toward my chest and waist. Dangerous? What exactly is dangerous about me, huh? The real cheat in our group is that guy over there.

"Exactly. So now you understand why he went to see her in the middle of the night?"

"Y-yeah… I get it now…"

Would You Really Accept That Explanation?

Is that really enough to convince them? What even is a half-succubus supposed to be? Wouldn’t it have been simpler to just go with dwarf?

"You did it, Senpai!"

"Ugh…"

Lulu returned wearing a smug grin. I went from being looked at like filth, to being eyed like gold coins, and now… now they’re looking at me like I’m some kind of pervert. What kind of reaction am I even supposed to have in situations like this?

"…I’ve had it with all this pointless nonsense! I told you this crap doesn’t matter! What I wanna know is, who’s the damn traitor?! Show yourself so I can rip you apart with my own hands!!"

Just as the conversation kept going wildly off-track, Ereki-san finally snapped. His bloodshot eyes and drawn sword said it all—he’d hit his limit. Turns out he’s a lot more loyal to his companions than I gave him credit for.

"It’s them, isn’t it?! I mean, this guy keeps slaves—girl slaves! It wouldn’t surprise me if he was in bed with bandits too!"

Brown-hair still wasn’t giving up. The moment he realized I wasn’t part goblin, he started giving me this weird look… Yeah, no, he’s trash.

"What kind of logic is that…? I said it’s not true. Besides, if we were working with the bandits, we wouldn’t have attacked them. What about you? You were on watch duty when the raid started, right? Funny thing—I didn’t see you anywhere."

Come to think of it… I didn’t see him either. I glance at Lulu and Yuria, and they both shake their heads—no sightings on their end. He wasn’t with Master’s group either. Which means… he was alone during the raid. And somehow walked away without a scratch.

"W-what?! You’re turning this around on me now?!"

"I’m not accusing you. I just asked where you were."

He’s sweating bullets. I thought he was just a transparent person, but maybe it’s worse than that—maybe he literally can’t lie. His pathetic floundering was basically a confession. And Ereki-san wasn’t the only one giving him suspicious looks now.

"I-I didn’t do it! It wasn’t me, I swear! Please, Ereki-san, you’ve gotta believe me!"

He was practically in tears as he clung to Ereki-san. Pathetic.

"You bastards seriously doubting my comrade?!"

"Well, if he’d just explain where he went, that’d clear things up, wouldn’t it?"

The gentle-looking young man chimed in, clearly troubled. But he was right. Heads nodded in agreement all around. The color drained from Brown-hair’s face. This wasn’t just suspicious—this was serious. And now that I looked closer… he kept fidgeting with his chest, holding it like he was trying to hide something.

"Master! He’s hiding something in his shirt!"

"Wha—?! You little brat!!"

I pointed straight at him, and he lost it—exploding in rage. Bingo. Definitely hiding something.

"Hey… Kaul, what’s this about? Depending on your answer, I might not be so forgiving."

Ereki-san seemed to finally calm down just a bit, but now his expression was one of disbelief as he stared at Brown-hair—Kaul. Kaul’s face was pale, and he was sweating like mad. Ereki-san’s group slowly tightened their circle around him, cutting off any route of escape.

"S-stay back! I didn’t do anything!!"

He shrieked, clutching his chest as if his life depended on it—but it was too late. His companions grabbed him and wrestled him down.

"Then show us what you’re hiding!"

"Don’t! Noooo!!"

He screamed as they tore open his shirt—and what they pulled out was…

A bundle of soft white cloth, clutched tightly in a burly hand. At first glance, they just looked like a few random pieces of fabric.

"…What the hell is this?"

Confused, the man unfolded the cloth. It was triangular, trimmed with frills and lace—decorated in a cute, girly style.

I recognized it immediately. That piece of cloth was the kind my fellow girls—my friends and coworkers—liked to wear.

"A-aahhh?!"

"Those are our panties! The ones we hung up to dry!!"

Yes. They were panties.

---

The Whole Mess Was Pathetically Stupid

In the end, the whole thing was unbelievably stupid. The guy who was supposed to be on watch? He got carried away and started stealing underwear—specifically, Lulu and Yuria’s—from where it was hanging to dry beside the tent. And naturally, the bandits just so happened to break through right where he had gone missing. So yeah… turns out there wasn’t even a traitor to begin with.

That said, we were technically his charges, and he not only stole our property, but also completely abandoned his post—so he's facing a serious penalty. For the record, the stolen underwear was incinerated, as requested—no, demanded—by Lulu and Yuria. Apparently it had gotten damp.

I thought they’d be devastated over having their underwear stolen, but nope. In no time at all, they were begging for new cute ones with bright eyes and cheerful voices. Their resilience is… impressive.

Port Dena is known as a hub for foreign trade goods, including imports from the Shenlo Empire, so it’s been decided we’ll do a bit of shopping while we’re there.

In fact, Shenlo is so closely associated with women’s underwear that the mere phrase brings them to mind. One of the former summoned heroes apparently left a huge impact there—he's the reason cosplay culture caught on, apparently. The power of eroticism is not to be underestimated.

For some reason, they’re also buying cute underwear for me. I don’t know whether to be happy or horrified. Dressing up to look pretty for Master? Ugh. Gross.

Anyway, with all that behind us, our journey officially came to an end, and we arrived at our destination: Dena, the port city carved into the white cliffs.

"I'm… really sorry."

"I-I didn’t do anything wrong! Help me, Lulu! Yuria!"

There he was—Kaul, the brown-haired underwear thief—all tied up and acting way too familiar.

"Excuse me? Why should I have to listen to some pervert thief call me by name?"

"Could you not act like we’re friends?"

And just like that, they’re both max-level pissed. Guess who’s going to have to butter them up and smooth things over? Yep, me. Master seems to have no intention of getting involved.

"Why are you both being so cold?!"

Love may be blind, but this guy’s downright delusional. His head’s clearly full of flowers and fantasies. Honestly, may he find happiness—somewhere far away from us.

"Alright, we’ll take him in. You all take care, alright?"

"Damn it! It’s you, isn’t it?! You brainwashed them with magic, didn’t you?!"

"…Yeah. You too. Take care."

He’s desperate. I don’t even think he knows what he’s saying anymore. His face just screams “must escape,” and he’s flailing for anything that might work. It’s honestly pathetic.

Master won’t even look at him. No one else will either. At this point, it’s kind of entertaining—like watching some rare exotic animal. Still, I suppose it’s time for goodbyes.

"Well then, Kaul-kun, take ca—"

"Shut it, you filthy half-wildling goblin! Your breath stinks, it makes me want to puke!"

"—re not to get yourself killed. Truly."

Hmph. As if the petty insults of some moron could get under my skin. My breath doesn’t stink—I brush my tongue every morning, thank you very much.

"You smell just fine, Senpai!"

"If anything, there’s this faint, flowery scent to you. All around, really."

Stop. Please stop helping.

"Yooou bastards! I’ll remember this! I will save the two of you!!"

He’s forcibly rewriting reality in his head at this point. Is he really that delusional? Now I’m starting to wonder how he survived this long. Or wait… maybe that’s why he got kicked out of the supposedly peaceful Shenlo Empire?

Well, either way—it’s none of our concern anymore.

As Kaul was dragged off to be handed over to the guild for punishment, we waved him off and headed toward the inn we’d reserved.

"What kind of environment does it take for a human to grow up that weirdly entertaining...?"

"Probably one where no one ever listens to anyone else."

Yuria must be pretty pissed too. Let’s go shopping tomorrow and blow off some steam. Luckily, it seems we wrung a hefty sum in compensation out of him, and Master also gave us a generous allowance.

Anyway, we’ve finally shaken off that troublesome guy, so tonight let’s just relax and rest at the inn.

---

The hotel Master chose was secure and peaceful—really quite a nice place. It was meant for parties of several people, with a layout that had two bedrooms branching off a shared living area. The price range was upper-mid tier, which made it a bit extravagant for adventurers.

Inside, everything was wooden and beautifully kept. After putting our belongings into the safe and rinsing off using the hot water we received, we split into two rooms for the night: one for me and Master, the other for Lulu and Yuria.

As the two of them saw me off with vaguely envious looks, I entered the room. Master followed behind shortly after. However, the scene that greeted us was… not quite what I expected.

"Um, Master… there’s only one bed?"

That’s odd. I’d heard it was designed for multiple guests, so I assumed there’d be more than one bed. When I asked, Master smiled as he answered.

"You’re tired, right? A big bed will let you sleep better."

I see. He was being considerate. And yes, it does look big and soft. The pair of heart-shaped pillows is cute, too. As I stood admiring the bed, I heard a click behind me.

"Um… Master, why did you lock the door from the inside?"

"Well, it’s dangerous if we don’t lock up properly, isn’t it?"

True enough. Even if it’s just us in here, not locking the door is careless. As I nodded in agreement, he suddenly slipped his arms under my knees and lifted me up. Carrying me like that, he headed straight for the bed.

"Um… Master, why are you carrying me to the bed?"

"You’re tired, right? No need to hold back."

He’s still being considerate, it seems. If I were a girl, maybe my heart would flutter. But I remain entirely silent. Master gently lays me down on the soft bed, then starts to reach for my clothes.

"Um… Master, why are you taking my clothes off?"

"You’ll be uncomfortable trying to sleep in those, right?"

That’s fair. Even if they’re comfy, they’re not quite pajamas. But still, even so—

"Um… Master, why are you trying to take off my underwear too?"

I looked up at him, a trace of fear creeping into my gaze. Just moments ago, Master had been smiling kindly, but now his face, lit by the room’s lamp, looked entirely different.

At that moment, Master’s expression was like—

"Because… Sora is just too cute."

—yes, like a starving wolf.

---

◇◆ADVENTURE RESULT◆◇

【EXP】
BATTLE TOTAL 15
◆【Sora Lv.45】 +15
◆【Lulu Lv.15】
◆【Yuria Lv.12】
◇―
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Sora Lv.45 [456] → Lv.47 [471] Level Up!!
Lulu Lv.17 [173]
Yuria Lv.15 [154]

【RECORD】

[MAX COMBO] >> 30
[MAX HIT] >> 30

【PARTY】

[Shuya][Lv.55] HP 772/772 MP 1380/1380 [Normal]
[Sora][Lv.47] HP 50/50 MP 420/420 [Normal]
[Lulu][Lv.17] HP 602/602 MP 32/32 [Normal]
[Yuria][Lv.15] HP 1040/1040 MP 60/60 [Normal]
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

【Comment】

"I finally understand how Little Red Riding Hood felt. Also, it's only the first day of the trip and my legs have given out, you damn pervert..."

「「(……Must be nice being doted on like that.)」」