Toasteful: Chapter 69, Part 3

　I bowed respectfully, and when I said the words of my offer, the conversation from the other side of the sliding door was suddenly cut off. A few moments of silence prevail... and then a moment later.

　"Come in."

　"Whoa!?"

　It was at the same time as the command. Suddenly the sliding door is pulled with a mighty force, and my body is pulled by an unseen force into the room. No, I jump into the room.

　"Aaah!?"

　"Huh...!?"

　At the sound of a young voice, I realize that there is a small figure ahead of me as I jump into the room. I try to do something about it in a panic, but there is no way to react when I am in the air, and I am being pulled by an invisible force. All I can do is to adopt a passive posture...

　"What are you doing, Sumikage? Don't play."

　The words were mumbled with an icy deadly intent, but they echoed in the room with a strong, sickening resonance. Or maybe it was a kind of word art. Whatever the case, it pulled me up from the fate of being plunged into the tatami mats or someone else.

　'......'

　I was drifting in the air as if I was in a zero-gravity space, but in the next instant, the single hanging on the wall was laid on the floor by an invisible force, and I was knocked down on it like an apple falling from a tree by the universal gravitation. Of course, I plunge face first into the floor.

　"Waaa...!?"

　The impact of the fall knocks me back and forth, and I slowly raise my upper body while holding my head. But immediately, a sweet smell tantalizes my nose. It was the smell of incense like peaches...

　"Oh my, oh my, it's so wrinkled. I'm not sure I'll be able to use this."

　"Heh...?"

　I look at the pompous voice that is immediately in front of me. In front of me was a beautiful girl with peach-colored hair and a voluptuous body that could be seen even through the layers of kimono she was wearing. She was my Lord, smiling a pompous, arrogant, haughty smile. A gorilla with a lot of landmines. Kizuki Aoi...

　"......"

　I was stunned first, and then I looked down. Laying on the floor was a silk omotegi (outer kimono) brightly decorated with a cherry blossom pattern. ...Naturally, it was crumpled to the point of being absurdly wrinkled. It might have a little spit on it.

　"......"

　I look up again. I look at Kizuki's second princess. She smiles at me. Underneath my mask, I can only imagine how pale and bloodless I must have looked.

　"Do you know? It cost 30 kyos."

　Such a cruel declaration, of course, for a woman of noble birth, she would normally have said very little about the price. But there was only one time she would mention it. That is... harassment.

　"...Haha, are you kidding me?"

　The reply to my unintentional outburst was a cold, lecherous smile of the coldest kind. It was the kind of smile a beast would give its prey. Hahaha, not funny...

* * *

　"It's not good... Look at this pattern. Isn't it bright? It's my winter coat. I ordered it from the Tachibana Trading Company last spring and it finally came. Silk and gold and silver thread, it's really beautiful, isn't it?"

　So declares the pink princess, stepping on the clothes spread out on the floor. Standing up, she shows off her bare feet up to her thighs from the costume, wriggling her toes to the point where wrinkles appear right in front of me.

　If anything, the costume was still my rug. There was no way to escape. I tried to retreat in a hurry, but it would have been suicide to reverse the order not to move. Therefore, I was being forced to watch her bare feet, which were exposed right in front of my eyes, crumple the costume sarcastically. If this foot were to come right in front of me the next moment, my skull would surely be turned into a football. Or perhaps a soccer ball would be more appropriate.

　"........."

　"Hehehe, good boy. So you won't talk because I didn't order you to? That's right. There are a lot of idiots who make excuses for things they didn't authorize. It's much wiser than that, isn't it?"

　Gorilla-sama saw through my silence and complimented me. The irony was complete. Her bare feet lifted up and rested on my shoulders. Her five toes dug into my shoulder as if she were thrashing around.

　"......!"

　She pushes a little harder, but I remain silent. I knew from years of experience that she was testing me and playing with me. The most dangerous thing is to make her feel uncomfortable by resisting or making excuses. If I slap off her leg, my shoulder will be cut off. Or she'll swing me sideways and my head will fly off the wall like a filthy firework. Either way, I'm gonna die a horrible death. So, calm down... calm down...

　"I know what you're thinking, okay? You're probably thinking hard right now, what to do about this situation. How to make me happy, right?"

　As she said so, her legs go up further. They climb up my shoulders and rest on my neck. The warm, translucent white, resilient touch of the girl's bare feet was, to me, no different from having a dagger (tantō) on my neck. No, it was worse than that.

　"...Okay. Open your mouth. I'll forgive you if your excuse for ruining the 30 ryo is funny. But if it's not funny... you know what I mean?"

　With a grin, the gorilla says, her mouth twisted in a charming smile. It was the look of a predator on the prowl. Well, what should I say?

　"........."

　I glance to the side. The white fox girl, who is fidgety and has been ordered to play shell game with the guest, does not seem to be able to get into the game at all because of the situation. And the same is probably true for the guests. Who would like to see a human being turned into a meat ball? Especially in person.

　"........."

　"......!"

　Sensing that I'm distracted, Gorilla-sama's bare foot moves from my neck to my face. Her legs are raised so that I can almost see her inner thighs. Her toenails lightly run down my face from the top to the bottom. And from her feet, I could smell its sweet scent. Then, with a giggle, the princess laughs.

　"Come on, say it quickly!"

　"....Your fingernails are growing long?"

　At her urging, after a few moments of silence, I was just giving my frank impression of her bare feet from a very close distance.

　Silence filled the room. The atmosphere was somewhat listless... and the princess in front of me had an indescribable expression on her face. Disappointed, but not unexpected.

　"...I knew it... You have no talent, do you?"

　"No, what talent?"

　"...Clown?"

　"Why do you use the question form?"

　While we were having such a conversation, the killing spirit emitted from the girl in front of me had faded away before I knew it. She giggles again. This time I did not feel oppressed. She looked more like a child who had just finished playing a trick.

　"Oh, well. This time it's also the fault of 'Sumikage's' sloppy work. ...Hehehe, be thankful. You don't know what would have happened if I hadn't been so merciful, do you?"

　So blurts out Kizuki's second princess, moving her bare feet off my shoulders. At last I am free from the nagging that takes place while my Lord holds my life in her hands. Every her word is accompanied by sense of indebtedness.

　(I'd read it at least a dozen times, judging by the minute differences in atmosphere...)

　I knew it was a joke, but it still made me feel uncomfortable. If I had been a newcomer, I would have been incontinent or even fainted. I knew that power harassment is not good.

　"Ah, 'Sumikage'. You'll be punished later. Are you ready for it?"

　Gorilla-sama who was standing with her head resting on her hand toward the empty space, boasts with a cold smile. A distinctive roar sounded faintly. It sounded more like a frightened cowering than a threat.

　(Oh, I see. That was that guy earlier...)

　With the gorilla-sama's words, the events that have occurred so far, my knowledge of the original story, and my open mind, I finally determine the culprit who has caused this situation.

　One of the three main Shikigami of Kizuki Aoi is an invisible phantom youkai, the given name is 'Sumikage'... and its "tongue" is the identity of the thing that dragged me into this.

　In the original story, Kizuki Aoi, who does not trust people's loyalty, tamed this mainland monster for infiltration, information gathering, and assassination, and it uses advanced concealment techniques to blend in perfectly with the surrounding landscape, deceiving even the five senses. Its power is so great that even the lower calamity youkai cannot notice it. Depending on the route, this shikigami plays the role of capturing the main character at the order of the gorilla-sama, or killing Hina, the Madam Adviser, or the youngest daughter of the Ako family from behind with its tongue.

　...Well, in the case of the Madam Adviser, she is changed into a shikigami before she knows it, and in the case of the Hina, she is usually revived and burnt to death. Ako's daughter? Of course, she will die normally, right?

　"Thank you for your blessing, Princess."

　"If that's how you feel, then keep up the good work. Don't fail me."

　Although I feel unreasonable in many ways, the difference in status and position makes it impossible for me to rebel, so I show my gratitude for now. With a small laugh, the second princess of Kizuki accepts it with a smile on her face. ...Well, it's still better than dealing with some Blue Demon who has nothing but landmines.

　"So? What do you want? You didn't come here because you miss me, did you?"

　"I've just received a new order from the head of the servant group. I've come to ask your permission for my departure in the near future."

　"Hmm, I see."

　Yes, I'm here to get her, Gorilla-sama's permission. The chain of command in this area is quite suspicious, but... I am her protegee, and from her character in the original story, there's no telling what might happen if I don't tell her, so there's nothing better than a quick report.

　"Will Uemon's uncle be leading the group?"

　"Yes, indeed. Princess knows very well..."

　"That's what I suggested."

　"........."

　I see, it's your fault!

　"I'm afraid I'm not here. The last kappa incident made the governor say a lot of things. But I made sure to have a say in where to place you, at least, okay?"

　(Oh, so that's why I'm with Uemon? Is that some kind of harassment?)

　Shisui had told me that there would be one team for each of the east, south, north and west. And the members of the expedition. I had resigned myself to the fact that I had been squeezed into the most marginal position in the dispatched expedition team, thinking that it was just bad luck... Wait, could it be? Did she actually nominate me?

　Wait! This is definitely bullying! She planned it, didn't she? She did it, didn't she? She want me to curse my birth defects? If anything, I've been a little screwed up since I got here. I'm not just born unhappy, I've been unhappy my whole life. Why does she encourage people's misfortune?

　"Oh, umm... is my husband going to go out again?"

　A moment after I was lamenting inwardly spitting out words of abuse, such a frightened voice sounded from behind me.

　Perhaps it was not directed at me but at Gorilla-sama. But I involuntarily turned my head to look behind me. I knew she was a relatively safe person to interact with.

　There she was, the girl I had almost run into when I was brought into this room. The little princess who had been playing shell games with Shiro in her spare time while I was being played with by Gorilla-sama.

　Her name is Kizuki Kozumi, wife of Kizuki Uemon. She is a little girl with black hair, golden eyes, and dressed in a blue kimono, also called Princess Kozumi or Hagifune Kozumi after her family's name.

　...Well, from the original player's point of view, she is a "Loli-wife soaked in medicated tea", "NTR fetish converter". Or should I call her "a married woman who will commits suicide when the medicine wears off" or "The NTR-causing young wife who destroys the player's brain"?

　Hmm? Ah. Perhaps you can guess what I'm talking about from these too many disturbing aliases. Kizuki Kozumi, like the youngest daughter of the Ako family, was an unfortunate character in "Firefly of the Dark Night (Yamiyo no Hotaru)" who was created only to cloud the player's vision.