Alright… so we’re currently facing an ‘unprecedented crisis’ssu.
Well, ‘I’m’ fine, but… I’m kinda worried about the other twossu.
Aina’s… probably okay. But Sorte? She’s definitely in troublessu…
『……i』
Though, in a way, this could actually be a ‘good’ opportunityssu.
If Sorte-tan can overcome this on her own, it’ll help her grow in a really good wayssu…
『……oi』
Still, if she ‘loses herself’, that’s gonna be a major painssu…
Should I intervene or not? That’s the big question heressu…
『Oi! Are you even listening!!?』
「What’s up?」
『How can you be completely unaffected by my mental attack!?』
「Ah, I’m very good at that kind of thingssu」
The negative mass spirit, ‘Negative Hollow’, or whatever, seems frozen in shock by the truthssu.
Well yeah, makes sense.
「You’re a type of spirit that uses mental attacks to amplify negative emotions and make people fall, rightssu? Why not just give up and release the other two already?」
The two girls beside me were just standing there, glassy-eyed and lifelessssu.
They were clearly caught in the middle of this spirit’s attack.
『Release them!? You too must have some negative feelings toward your so-called “master”, don’t you!? Just one or two at least!?』
「Well, sure I dossu…」
『There! Focus on that! Feed it, let it swell!』
「Ehh… no thanks.」
『….What’s with that ‘look’!? Why are you amplifying your negative emotions toward ‘me’ instead, huhhhhh!?』
I mean… the fact that you’re peeking into people’s hearts and sniffing out their crushes is seriously creepy, dude.
And come onssu, it’s not like I don’t have any complaints about master.
Like how he reads the mood ‘too’ well sometimes, or completely misses it when it really matters, or how he gets hung up on the weirdest thingsssu.
But even ‘those flaws’ are part of what I love about him.
Besides, like I said, I was raised so that this kind of stuff doesn’t ‘work’ on messu.
「Hmm… looks like no other monsters are attacking while you’re doing the mental thingssu?」
『Guh…』
「Not that impressive, huh.」
『Wh… ‘Not that impressive!?’ I have claimed countless adventurers with my power, and you dare call me “not impressive”!?』
「I mean, wouldn’t it be way more efficient to attack with other monsters while the target’s mentally stunnedssu?」
『That wouldn’t fill ‘me’ up! My joy comes from endlessly devouring the life force of those trapped in spirals of despair! That is my purpose!!』
「You’re already dead though.」
『SHUT UUUUUUUUP!!』
Wow, this ghost’s got a lot of energyssu.
Doesn’t seem like it can hurt ‘me’, so maybe I’ll just wait this outssu, hm?
「…rana. Sometimes my liege puts on a serious face and… huh?」
Oh, looks like Aina’s back.
「Oh, Renge. I’m back」
「Welcome backssu. How’d it go?」
「Hmm… I’m not quite sure. It asked me to talk about my liege’s flaws, so I just started praising how amazing he is… then it sent me back」
「Oh… my condolencesssu…」
I’m guessing she just kept repeating the same stories over and over…
Probably didn’t even give the spirit a chance to butt inssu. Guess even a Negative Hollow couldn’t handle that kind of relentless praise.
「That just leaves… Sorte」
『Guh…』
「Yeahssu. I could try waking her up from the outside, but…」
「Let’s wait a bit longer」
『Hmph, you sure about that? Once she falls completely, she’ll never wake up again!』
「Nah, I can still bring her backssu」
『That’s impossible! Only holy priests or shrine maidens could interfere with me! You’re clearly neither!』
「Rudessu. And you couldn’t affect me at all, so where’s all this attitude coming from?」
『SHUT UUUUUUP!!』
「What’s with this negative spirit? It’s emotionally unstable」
『What the hell is with you people…』
Whoa, I’ve never seen a negative spirit this depressed beforessu.
But really, it just picked the wrong targets.
For now, all we can do is believe that Sorte will make it back on her ownssu.
If it starts to look dangerous, we’ll step in…
But I really hope she can pull through on her ownssu.
-0-
…
………
This place…
Right, after entering a big chamber like a boss room in a dungeon… that’s when the Negative Hollow appeared…
Ah, that’s right. I was hit with a mental attack…
『Correct. This is my world』
「…So you’ve shown yourself」
『Indeed. Kukuku, you seem different from the other two… I can sense a lovely smoldering inside you』
「What… are you…」
My head… it’s getting fuzzy…
『Kukuku. Oh? You have someone you’re in love with too? And it’s the same person as your comrades…』
In love… with my lord?
『Yes. Your lord. Let’s see… hmm. I see. At first, he treated you quite roughly』
That was… to protect Aina…
But still…
『Yes, yes. And now you’ve grown fond of him… Quite the turnaround, isn’t it?』
……
『Oho. Because of you, he went through some pretty terrible things, didn’t he?』
Renge’s… but I didn’t mean for that to happen…
『But the truth is, ‘because’ of you, that man suffered wounds he never needed to. Kukuku, such a cruel tale. I’ve never heard anything worse than this』
That was… that was…
『Given everything you’ve done, do you really think that man could ever fall for ‘you’? The fact that he hasn’t even laid a hand on you is proof enough, wouldn’t you say?』
That’s…
『Wouldn’t it be better to just give up?』
「…」
『He probably doesn’t even ‘want’ you getting close to him』
「Is… is that really true…?」
Am I just being selfish?
It’s true. I’ve done terrible things again and again.
Even though he’s my lord, I lashed out at him so many times, attacked him with my spear…
…Am I just a burden? Is it wrong for me to love him?
『Of course it is. You have no right to fall in love with that man』
「I… I see…」
I’m not allowed to love him…
Someone like me… shouldn’t love him…
These feelings… I should never have let them grow…
Tears spill endlessly from deep inside my eyes.
This is a world born of mental attacks.
There shouldn’t even be real tears, but still, they fall.
『Kukuku… Just a little more…』
What… what am I supposed to do now…?
『No need to be so sad. Maybe he wasn’t even worth loving in the first place』
「…What…?」
『Come now, I’ll show you his true nature. The ugliness of humans. Their filth. The darkness they hide in their hearts』
As the spirit finished speaking, images began to flood into my mind.
They gradually took shape… until they became my lord.
『Kukuku! Look upon the wretched face of the man you love!』
【……bs】
「…Eh?」
『Hahahahaha! Are you at a loss for words? Then let me see what he’s seeing too!』
【Boobs!】
「『……』」
【It’s a boob festival, woohooooo!!】
The image was of my lord, surrounded by naked women, rubbing his face against huge breasts with the dumbest expression I’ve ever seen.
『……What is this……』
As much as I hate to admit it, I totally agree.
Of course, the boobs in question belonged to Wendy and Aina, who were also clearly visible in the image.
『’This’ is the man you love!?』
「Fufu… fufufu…」
【It’s the Oppai Butterfly!】
My lord, please stop! This is too embarrassing!
I can’t swim! Not in a sea of boobs!
『…Even I have to say it, maybe you ‘really’ should give up on him?』
「Please… don’t say that…」
Ah… maybe I really ‘should’ just fall…
I’m starting to feel so sad.
I really do love him, don’t I…?
This man is an oppai lover.
But me… I’m just chippai… and there’s probably no hope of ever changing that…
When I place my hand over my chest, I feel something.
The pendant, my lord gave it to me. He made it with me in mind.
…That’s right. He said he’d wait for me…
『…Let’s refocus. So? What did you think of seeing the absolute ‘worst’ side of that man!?』
「Yeah… he’s the worst…」
『Exactly! He’s the absolute worst! A demon who ignores a flat-chested girl like you! It must’ve hurt so badly! Must’ve made you hate him!』
Yes.
You’re right.
It really does make me sick.
Men, honestly… they’re all the same, all of them, boobs, boobs, boobs.
Is that lump of fat ‘really’ that important?
Yeah, I know. I’ve got nothing. I’m flat.
I’ll never be the kind of woman my lord dreams of…
「Haaah……」
『Well!? Even if you confessed now, with that pitiful chest of…』
「Will you shut up about boobs already!? I’ll ‘kill’ you!」
『……Wait, what!?』
「Geez… this is ridiculous. What am I even doing? Whether or not my lord ever falls for me… that’s not the point, is it?」
That’s right.
All I want is to tell him how I feel.
Whether he falls for me or not, it doesn’t matter.
Besides…..
『B-but you’re almost certainly going to get rejected!』
「Then I’ll just confess again. If he turns me down, I’ll try again.」
『Wh-what!?』
「My first love, and every love after that, will always be for my lord. I’ll fall for him again and again. That’s why, I won’t give up!」
『B-but! But…!!』
「Now go. And thank you, for showing me the parts of myself I still need to face. Let me return the favor by erasing you completely. Don’t worry, rest in peace.」
『Nooo! Stop! Don’t fall into hope like this! Stop with that hopeful look on your faaaaaceeeeeeee!!』
The negative spirit in front of me shrinks rapidly and vanishes.
The light that had been sealed away returns, and I look around me.
I see Aina and Renge watching me, both grinning.
「I’m back」
「Welcome backssu」
「Yeah, welcome back」
Looks like they made it through too.
Well, Renge is especially good with this kind of thing.
Was it from her shrine maiden training…?
With the defeat of the negative hollow, both the entrance and the path leading deeper inside open up.
Apparently, that thing wasn’t the real threat after all.
A mid-boss, maybe?
This really is just like a dungeon…
「Kufufu… Sorte-tan, that was ‘so’ maidenlyyysssuuuu. My heart totally flutteredsssuuu!」
「What…? Why are you grinning like that…」
「『I’ll fall for him again and again. That’s why, I won’t give up!』」
Wh-what…!?
「H-hey, Renge…」
「So. You heard that…」
「Loud and clearssu! I mean, wow! Maiden Sorte-tan went full explosion modessu!」
「…Yeah, well, that’s fine. Because it’s true.」
「Oh?」
It’s embarrassing. Yes, it’s ‘very’ embarrassing!
So embarrassing I wish I could crawl into a hole and stay there forever!
But it’s the truth. And if it’s the truth, I should be proud of it! Right! That’s what matters!
「You’ve grown, haven’t youssu…」
「…Why do you look so emotional about it」
「Fufu… ‘Again and again,’ huh? You’re right. I should do the same」
「You’ll be fine, Aina. You’ve got oppaissu!」
「Wait, how much of that did you hear!?」
「All of it! You were saying it out loud, after all」
All of it…? Don’t tell me she even heard the conversation about being flat-chested!?
「Still, what exactly ‘did’ Sorte see? That conversation was…」
「Don’t worry about it! Or rather, please don’t make me remember it!」
Seeing my lord like ‘that’, once in a lifetime is more than enough!
And Aina… I can’t ever let her find out about how she looked in that ‘shameless’ illusion!
「Mmm… another secret, huh…」
Ugh, enough already!
Let’s just keep moving!
It’s not over yet!
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