Chapter 347: Backing Up

Oh—

Rod remembered.

The half-werewolf druid Olga in the forest had once asked him for help, saying a druid friend from the Balance Association had entered Coral Bay.

That druid had also said that if the dark elf chieftain was willing to stop the dispute, she could choose to marry him — the one who had taken a fancy to her.

For some reason she was later thrown to the sirens on the shore to be fed upon, and then, also for some reason, that dark elf chieftain slaughtered every last one of the sirens gnawing at her.

At the time Rod had listened, dumbfounded.

He had flatly refused Olga's plea for help.

That half-werewolf druid was a reclusive sort; Rod had caught a distant glimpse of her a few days earlier — she had darted off like a gust of wind before he could even say hello — and whether she had gone on to plan a rescue for her friend, he did not know.

Moving on.

Rosalia asked again, down to the last detail, about the situation inside Coral Bay.

She was far more thorough than Rod; many problems he had not previously noticed were now perfectly clear.

The time it took was also considerably longer.

The group chatted on from noon all the way until the sun set before stopping.

Atticus was secretly arranged into a safe house somewhere.

Of course, at this stage Rosalia's surveillance could not be dispensed with.

Afterwards, Rod took the lovely tooth-fairy along to a newly opened elven restaurant on New Lank Street for a meal.

Actually, there were quite a few restaurants on New Lank Street.

But after all, elves are the artistic sort among the long-lived races; compared with a halfling-disguised-as-dwarf restaurant, a gnoll-style barbecue joint, or Selmuer-style cold platters, when it came to class and ambience, an elven place really was a notch above.

Dim little lamps with drifting motes of magical light, suitably atmospheric high-end crystal glassware, and hand-painted little pictures in every small booth.

Bourgeois mood dialled to the max.

Watching Yuna was, true to form, a sensible girl.

On the grounds that her terrifying frame might frighten the others, she took the initiative to return to the forest, intending to take Tally with her — presumably to create some private space for her master and the tooth-fairy.

At first Tally was unwilling.

But after Watching Yuna whispered something in her ear, she left of her own accord with a wicked grin.

And Rod and Rosalia's dinner went reasonably smoothly, he supposed.

Rod pressed the attack on several fronts, hoping to deepen their understanding.

But Rosalia's defence was absurdly high — every appropriate response was there on cue: a sweet smile, suitably cute follow-up questions, and what looked like utterly sincere admiration.

Talking with her was certainly a pleasure.

One careless moment and you might even think she was interested in you.

But all of that was nothing more than Rosalia's stock routine.

She was a globe-trotting socialite type; she wouldn't be taken down by something so simple.

Of course, Rod could sense it too.

While he was on the attack, she was doing exactly the same.

The ambitious tooth-fairy's words were always baited with hooks, ceaselessly trying to snag them onto Rod's collar and hoist him up high for her own use.

The meal ended in a clash of wits.

On the way back to Henry Farm, Rod ran into the banshee Chris.

She wore a mournful face, looking deeply wronged.

An undead giving off a faint green glow, waiting for you by the road late at night — if it weren't Rod, anyone else would probably have been scared to tears.

"What is it?"

These past days Chris had been active on the front lines together with the ghoul Pan Ni.

Her performance was passable, I suppose; her Spirit rank had risen quite a bit, reaching the high end of the fifth tier, by the look of it.

So Rod still put on a relatively gentle expression.

Still, the main credit should go to the spirit seed he had given her.

To speed up the growth of the girls in the forest, he had fed each of them one.

"That spider woman of yours has no manners at all — I'm a senior here, after all — and she just suddenly kicked me out of the house and even hit me with magic missiles, boo-hoo—"

"What have you done this time?"

"Me? Nothing! I was reading the newspaper in my room, and she used a spell to open the door and told me to go sleep outside for the night. Isn't that just way too much?!"

Watching Yuna's rank wasn't high — only the mid fifth tier; long-lived races accumulated magic slowly to begin with, and she was still considered a minor among the dark elves, so naturally she couldn't match Chris, who had once been human.

"She's lower-ranked than you, and you can't beat her?"

Rod demanded, a look of contempt on his face.

Chris shrank her shoulders: "M-Master, it's just that she's got people backing her — Tally, Amy, that Pan Ni, and Vivian — they're all helping that stinky spider bully me! Master~~ you've got to stand up for me~~"

As she spoke, she became corporeal.

She pressed her arms together to squeeze the curve of her chest, revealing a stretch of milky-white flesh.

Then she clung to her master's arm and acted coy.

Rod's eyebrow rose.

Tally, Amy, Pan Ni, Vivian, Watching Yuna — all gathered under one roof — weren't those exactly the members of tonight's party?

Presumably they were commandeering the entire farm villa and had deliberately driven out the troublesome banshee.

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll go stand up for you right now, give each of them a good beating — you don't come back tonight, go sleep in my little cabin."

Rod pinched her cold cheek.

In his heart he couldn't help but begin to look forward to the surprise the girls had prepared.

Chris, seeing her master's gentle expression, could not help but be surprised.

What's going on?

When did he start treating me with such favor?

Right! It must be my great exploits in the Claw Valley Mountains that moved him!

It's too hard.

After spending so much time together, even a stone would have melted, yet this lecher only just warmed up a little today.

These women bully me; with him backing me up today, why shouldn't I act like a fox borrowing the tiger's might?!

"No! I want to see you beat them up."

Chris wore an expectant expression, her pale face flushing with excitement.

The time to turn the tables and take charge has arrived.

"Oh? Really?"

"Of course! I've worked very hard these past days; I'm no longer the Chris of before!"

Rod smiled.

Hehe.

Just yesterday, Pan Ni reported to me that you sneak out of camp every night to pick money from the pockets of corpses.

"Alright then, let's go."

"Great! Um, Master, may I walk in front? I also want someone backing me up from behind."

"Of course."

The Banshee was overjoyed.

【Chris's obedience to you +2, current obedience: 48】

She stepped past Rod.

Strutting arrogantly, swaggering with great insolence.

The two walked, one behind the other.

They arrived before the villa at Henry Farm.

Chris didn't knock; laughing, she kicked the door open with a sharp crack.

"Stinky Spider! I told you I'd return!"

Even her speech had become arrogant.

Yet the more she spoke, the quieter her voice grew; by the end, she stood frozen, eyes wide with shock.

A pink light washed over her face.

Reflecting the dullness and bewilderment on her features.

At the villa's entrance, Tally, Pan Ni, Vivian, Amy, and Watching Yuna appeared, clad only in aprons.

They bowed simultaneously; under the pull of gravity, their soft forms swayed in midair, maddening to behold.

The pink spiritual light of 【Blissful Party】 shone upon everyone's skin, adding a more ethereal beauty than ever before.

"Welcome home, Master," they said in unison, x5.

They spoke as one, then turned their gaze to Rod together, their eyes already glowing with desire.

The Banshee, Chris, turned to run.

Then she crashed straight into the arms of Rod, who was backing her up from behind.

"Don't be afraid; I'm backing you up, just in another form."

Rod said with a smile.

Chris forced a stiff smile: "I-I won't back you up anymore, okay?"

"What do you think?"

She struggled to escape, but Rod had already dragged her inside; five bodies filled with tenderness pressed against her almost simultaneously, leaving Chris able only to watch helplessly as the view outside the house was enveloped in pink light.

Boom—

The door closed.

Kisses, the friction of skin, laughter, and so on, sounds that never ceased to fill the ears.

(End of this chapter)