“This is it,” I thought, “I’m sure I left it clean when I moved out.”
My old room on the second floor.
As usual, it opened just by me touching it, no key needed.
Otherwise, a key was necessary, and the maids held it and were supposed to clean regularly…
(It’s understandable if a room I decided not to return to wasn’t cleaned.)
I braced myself and opened the door, but it wasn’t dusty at all. It was a clean room with not a speck of dust on it. It seemed they cleaned it every day so I could return anytime, which made me happy.
“Well, this is Lord Deles’s room.”
“Yes, it hasn’t changed, not even enough to apologize for.”
I thought it might have been turned into a storage room.
Or perhaps filled with those peculiar pots, but that wasn’t the case.
(Though, it might be because I sent him Elixir.)
But whether or not that kind of about-face happened, I have no way of knowing, and I have no intention of asking the maids.
“Uuuuh, nostalgic!!”
I dived onto the bed.
Ah, yes, this springiness, just like back then.
“There are various shields and medals displayed.”
“Ah, those are from the Royal Capital’s academy. If you attend normally, students receive some kind of award.”
I received a reasonably good grade, but there were also medals given just for being the Hero.
“And a lovely seashell too.”
“That was a gift from Mijuki (Older Sister), one of the members of my harem back then. See that painting of us gathered together? It’s framed.”
“Um, where is it?”
Clarice looked around the wall.
“Not over there. It’s leaning on the shelf… Huh? Where did it go?!”
The group portrait of my harem back then: Swordsman Ric, Cleric Frau, Magician Mijuki, and Tamer Harvey, all five of us together. It was displayed… but it wasn’t there!
“It doesn’t seem to have fallen.”
“What happened to it, something so important… Did a maid accidentally drop and break it?!”
Even if so, the picture inside should be fine.
“Is there a possibility that Lord Deles discarded it?”
“No, I didn’t return here after being betrayed and kicked out… Ah, right, maybe…”
I opened the window and looked into the next room!
“Clarice, can you put on the Flying Equipment?”
“Yes, coming right up.”
So, I had her put it on.
“Um, please go and see if it’s in that room.”
“Yes, then…”
She floated and looked.
The maids below were surprised, but I reassured them with a gesture that it was okay.
“That’s probably it.”
“It was there! Can you carry me?”
“Yes, then to me.”
It wasn’t as firm a grip as Nina’s, nor was it the magic-filled flight of Anju, but Clarice carried me to the neighboring window… yes, this was Ric (Older Sister)’s room.
“I knew it! Then I’ll open the window.”
“Eh? Can you enter?”
“It’s a trick, like a backdoor. Family members can open any window from the outside.”
Though I’d normally get yelled at.
“Here we go. It’s been a while since I was in here too.”
“This is…”
“As you can guess. Ah, there it is, there it is!”
It was the group portrait that should have been in my room. Conversely, the portrait that Ric (Older Sister) had received was gone.
(Ah, so this must mean…)
“This is Lord Deles’s, the previous…”
“Yes, a party consisting of the Hero and the False Hero who betrayed me. This is Mijuki (Older Sister), and over here are Frau (Older Sister) and Harvey.”
Most likely, when I returned here briefly after being banished, Ric (Older Sister) must have discarded the painting she had.
(The timing of the paintings is slightly different, so the pictures are also different!)
And after I learned the Hero’s true nature and the de facto execution was over, when I returned again, it was for the painting in my room in place of the one discarded… Hmm, thinking about it, Ric (Older Sister)’s words, “I atone for my sins,” still pricked my heart a little.
“Lord Deles, do you remember your previous harem?”
“Ah, yes. Well, it was the daily life before I went on an adventure.”
“…Do you have any lingering feelings?”
“No, memories are just memories.”
For some reason, Clarice closed the window she had just entered through.
“Ah, were you cold?”
“No… Lord Deles, I’ve just had a rather good idea.”
Saying that, she removed the Flying Equipment. No, she started to take off her Cleric’s robe underneath. She approached me and pushed me onto Ric’s bed!
“W-what are you doing?”
“Let us make love here, on this bed belonging to that woman, Ric.”
“B-but…”
“The maids will likely erase any evidence through cleaning, so this will be an act to etch into Lord Deles’s heart.”
In Ric (Older Sister)’s room, on her bed, with Clarice, engaging in the act of love…
“N-not here.”
“That’s precisely why it must be here.”
“W-well, I suppose so.”
“The memory of sleeping here…”
“If it was purely sleeping, it was when I was very young.”
…Though, I think the last time was around thirteen or fourteen. I was exhausted from the long carriage journey returning from the academy, and I accidentally slept here with them.
“Heh heh, I shall take him away from my sister-in-law, Ric.”
“N-no, taking away or anything…”
“Lord Deles, you intend to enact ‘Payback,’ right? This is also ‘Payback’ within Lord Deles’s heart.”
Indeed, well, it wasn’t just because it was my old home after so long, but the throbbing sense of taboo, or something like that, I felt it intensely!!
“Now, Lord Deles, I won’t allow you to refuse.”
“Clarice…”
“Let us thoroughly dishevel ourselves on this bed, yes, yes…!!”
…I did cast the silencing magic “Silent Venus,” just in case.
