Chapter 172 - The Raid on the Elven Palace and the Showdown with Mizuki
"First, we're heading for Fam. After that, Marmie's parents. Do you know where they are?"
Marmie nodded.
"Fam is where you just saw her—my room on the fourth floor. Mizuki and Claire are in the third-floor guest room. Mother, Cecily, and Aira are likely in the central courtyard or the library on the third floor, north side. Father is either in his study on the second floor, north side, or the meeting room on the west side."
Marmie's mansion was a building constructed in a hollow square. The second floor on the south side was allocated for guest rooms, where Fam, Mizuki, and Claire were staying. The third floor seemed to be their living quarters. The east side housed the living spaces for staff and the like, while offices and work areas were concentrated on the west and north sides. I had thought it was simply the residence of the Starunion family, but it had more of the feel of a palace.
"Why are Cecily and Aira with Marmie's mother…"
I trailed off, remembering. They were supposed to be learning the basics of magic from her. But with Marmie having run away like this, would they still be getting lessons?
"Alright, let's head to the third floor. We're going for Mizuki first."
We ran up the stairs.
Lini stood before Mizuki's room, gauging the distance. She then took out a rope, made a loop, and set it on the hallway floor. Then, from who knows where, she produced a bunch of bananas and placed them in the center of the loop. She stood before the door and tilted her head, as if determining the most enticing angle for when the door opened. Then she carefully repositioned the bananas. So they have bananas here. In my old world, I think it was a great king who unified the East who introduced them to the West after a grand expedition.
"There, that's perfect."
Lini nodded, satisfied.
"Hey, Mizuki isn't a gorilla. You really think she's going to fall for a trap like this?"
"Just hold this, and hide."
She handed me the end of the rope and went into the room. With no other choice, we went along with her plan and hid around the corner of the hallway. Before long, Lini emerged from the room, pulling Mizuki by the hand.
"Where's Mash?"
Mizuki was looking around restlessly.
"OH, LOOK. THERE IS A VERY-DELICIOUS-LOOKING-BANANA-HERE."
Lini pointed at the banana in a deadpan monotone.
"Huh? You're right. Why is there a banana here…?"
"I-WANT-TO-EAT-IT."
"You can't just eat things you find on the floor."
Mizuki unsuspectingly stepped into the rope loop and picked up the banana.
"Now!"
At Lini's signal, I pulled the rope, and Mizuki was brilliantly ensnared and fell to the floor.
"Wh-What's going on?"
While Mizuki was still confused, we trussed her up completely. Of course, I didn't forget to do it in a way that emphasized her chest and to run the rope between her legs so the knot rested against a certain spot.
"Mash, get that thing from your storage!"
Shizuka and Lini held out their hands.
"'That thing'? What are you talking about?"
"Hurry up! Now's our chance!"
Urged on, I checked my storage and found a club made of animal hide. When I took it out and felt it, I realized it was filled with cotton or some other soft material, safe enough to hit someone with. My companions grabbed the clubs one after another and approached Mizuki. They surrounded her and began to beat her.
"Take this! And this!"
"Ow! Stop it!"
"Divine punishment!"
"Please, forgive me!"
"Just because you got teleported with Mash, you think you can act like the main heroine?!"
"Take that up with Racshell! It's not like I chose this!"
It seemed some personal grudges were mixed in. As I stared blankly at the scene, Shizuka came over to me.
"Mash, what are you doing? Now's the time to unleash all your pent-up resentment."
"Ah, right…"
Even if it was a soft club, I was reluctant to hit Mizuki. But my companions had stopped hitting her and were now watching my every move. I gripped the club and approached. Mizuki squirmed, trying to escape the rope, and looked up at me with frightened eyes. Her gaze made my heart stir. I swung the club down. It happened to hit her chest.
"Mash, not the chest. It really hurts. At least hit my butt…"
She pleaded with teary eyes. At that moment, something new awakened within me. I hit her butt with the club.
"Auh!"
Mizuki let out a nice cry that was somewhere between a scream and a moan. The club also felt perfectly balanced in my hand, and it made a satisfying, dry sound when it made a clean hit on her rear. It had to be the work of a master craftsman.
"M-Mash… please, forgive me…"
What a beautiful voice. And her frightened, tear-streaked face was also beautiful. I swung the club down again.
"Auh!"
As always, a lovely voice. My sadistic urges were being fulfilled. This time, I hit her with a little more force.
Before I knew it, I was lost in the act of repeatedly spanking Mizuki's bottom. The knot of the rope pressed against her private parts was now wet and discolored. She was feeling it, too. My excitement grew. But just as I raised the club to strike again, the rope binding Mizuki snapped as if it had been sliced apart.
"Looks like Super Kill works on things that aren't alive, too."
With those words, she stood up. I froze, the club still raised in my hand. Mizuki snatched the club from Shizuka's grasp. Then, she struck her with all her might. Shizuka crumpled to the floor from the single blow.
"M-Mizuki-san…"
The circle that had surrounded Mizuki quickly expanded, leaving only me behind.
"I wonder if Super Kill will activate with a club like this?"
She flashed a defiant smile, radiating an intense, murderous aura. I was beaten to a pulp by her.
"So, what did you come here to do?"
Mizuki asked while Maira was healing me.
"I'm making Marmie a companion. And I'm taking her on our journey. I came to get permission from Fam and Marmie's parents."
"So how did it end up like this?"
"Because they wouldn't listen."
"And why was I attacked?"
"I heard that in the Ten-Person Committee, the CDX, if one person doesn't approve of Marmie, everyone unites to resist."
At my words, Mizuki's gaze shifted to Maira. Maira awkwardly averted her eyes. Seeing this, Mizuki sighed.
"Didn't you say, Maira, that the organization was a complete secret from Mash?"
"W-Well…"
Maira avoided Mizuki's gaze at all costs, looking elsewhere as she scratched her cheek. It seemed the CDX was a group rife with internal strife.
"Mash, I'll help you with Marmie's situation since it's a special case, but you have to make sure it's an ending everyone can accept!"
"Mizuki…"
As I murmured her name, she brought her lips close to my ear.
"Also, tying me up and hitting me is fine, but only when we're alone. And when I say stop, you really stop… Your scary face was kind of hot, though."
I nodded vigorously. Lini, who had caught Mizuki's words with her rabbit ears, began whispering them to the others.
"…I think I'd prefer things to be normal," Marmie murmured.
"I'd like it to be normal at first, too," Samueim murmured.
"Lini will do her best," Lini murmured last. Patricia bonked Marmie and Lini on the head with her fist. Then, for some reason, she hit me too.
"Alright, let's go to Fam's place."
With Mizuki now on our side, we headed for the fourth floor where Fam was waiting.
"By the way, who is that dog-eared person?" Mizuki asked.
"Oh, that's Samueim. She came to visit the inn last night."
Explaining the part about the duel would take too long, so I kept quiet about it.
"Is that so?"
Mizuki looked at Samueim in surprise. Samueim gave a nod, her expression an unreadable mix of a smile and bewilderment. Because of my first impression of her, I'd thought Samueim was a reckless, strong-willed woman, but perhaps her true personality was more introverted and shy.
"So, where did Claire go? I thought she was with you, Mizuki."
"Claire should be meeting with Marmie's father for a business discussion. She was with me last night, though."
"I see."
We had charged in at a bad time for her. By now, their business discussion was probably the last thing on their minds. As I was thinking that, we arrived at Marmie's room. Fam was inside.
"We don't have time. We're charging in."
After confirming that everyone nodded at my words, I opened the door. It wasn't locked, and we streamed into the room. It was a spacious room. Normally, it would have been a beautiful space adorned with fine furniture. Now, however, the windowpanes were shattered, and flower vases were overturned, creating a scene of devastation. In the center of the room stood Fam. Her lips were pressed into a firm line, and her gaze was fixed intensely on me. Yet, her shoulders seemed small, and I thought she looked as though she was crying.
"Everyone, please focus on Miss Fam. I will tend to the cleaning of this room."
Patricia said as she began to tidy up the room.
"Fam, I love Marmie."
"I know."
"I've decided to take her with me on my journey."
"…"
"I know she's your precious friend. But she's a precious person to me, too. I can't just hand her over to some fiancé I don't even know."
"The ones I don't know aren't Marmie's fiancé. It's you and Marmie, Master. It's true, I bragged to her about you. Because you're my one and only Master in the entire world. I wanted to tell my friend. I wanted her to know. That there was someone I loved. That I was happy. So why did it turn into this?"
"…Fam, I had given up. As my duty as a daughter born into House Starunion, I was to go to my arranged marriage. I knew that the 'me' who went there wouldn't be 'me' anymore, but I thought that was fine. Because, surely, the 'me' living that life would be happy. But then I heard your story, and I started to yearn for it. I wanted to be myself, and to touch the things you touch. The only one who can make that happen is Mash…"
Fam cut off her words with a wave of her hand.
"Please don't so casually use the name for my Master that I cannot bring myself to say."
"…Sorry. The one who can make that happen is M— I mean, uh, this old guy…"
"…You can call him by his name after all."
"…Understood. I'll continue to call him Mash."
Marmie said. Then she looked at me. She had a rather satisfied expression on her face.
"Hey, this conversation isn't over, is it?"
"…But, I've pretty much said what I wanted to say, so I'm done."
"Fam, I want to be with you. That's why, if that's what you wish, I'll do as you say. But is that the kind of man you want? A man who would leave Marmie like this and walk away?"
"Don't try to act so self-righteous."
Fam let out a heavy sigh. Then, her gaze shifted to Samueim.
"And who might this person be?"
"You don't recognize her? It's Samueim. She came to the inn last night to see you."
The moment I said that, the bodies of Marmie and Patricia twitched. Fam's eyes widened, then narrowed into a sharp, blade-like glare. She reached for a glove, realized she wasn't wearing one, then pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and threw it at Samueim.
"What do you mean by getting close to my Master by impersonating my best friend?"
"W-Wait, she's an imposter?"
I was the only one surprised. Everyone else had expressions that said they'd already figured it out.
"No, wait. I don't understand why she would impersonate Samueim to get close to me. This girl challenged me to a duel, demanding I hand over Fam. And after that…"
I was about to pour oil on the fire. I almost blurted out that she had offered her body, but I managed to stop myself.
"I brought up Samueim's name, but I never claimed to be her."
The woman I thought was Samueim said.
"But you took advantage of my Master's misunderstanding, didn't you?" Fam said.
"Master, please lend me your sword. I will cut her down."
"N-No, but… my sword, right now, is…"
"You gave her a short sword, but you won't give me my sword?"
Under her pressure, I took the sword from my storage and handed it to her. She accepted it and slid it into her belt at her waist.
Thank you for reading. To those who have liked, bookmarked, or rated this work, your support is a great encouragement. I'm also very grateful for the typo corrections.