Chapter 72: 3.5.

“Thank you Sir Aaron..” Shiro heaved a sigh, sinking into the couch.

“What happened?” he asked.

All three girls were taken back to their own rooms by the maids who had arrived. They were given some medication for detoxification to speed up the metabolic process of excreting the substance out from their bodies.

“We went to Sequencee’s dorm thinking to apologize but.. he wasn’t there.”

“And?”

“Um..”

Shiro wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to tell Aaron about Schwii and Iona. He didn’t know people like him thought of demons, so he was wary.

“Just.. they were hit by aphrodisiac.. I’m not saying it was any of their fault it’s because we snuck in the room and..” Shiro felt his cheeks burn up at the memory.

“What do you mean you were hit? Who was it, the maid Iona?”

“Um..”

“She laced your drinks with medicine, I’ll see her after this. How about Sequencee?”

“No, no, no. She didn’t force us to drink anything..”

“Shiro, tell me the truth and stop beating around the bush. What exactly happened?” Aaron narrowed his eyes, the air in the room felt like lead.

“...”

“I take it that she told you not to say a word.”

“It’s not that..”

“Then what? Where is Sequencee right now?”

“He’s.. outside the campus.”

“Outside?”

“Or.. that’s what I heard...”

“I’ll go talk to her,” Aaron stood up and took the sword leaning against the table.

“W-W-Wait Sir Aaron! You don’t need to do this, I swear it’s all our fault.”

“Stop trying to do everything yourself.”

“.. Huh?”

“You’re not the only person who has concerns in this world.”

Aaron left the room without Shiro’s reply.

‘Shit..’

===

“How embarrassing.. we were found out.. just when I thought we would be able to enjoy our time alone..” Schwii said, stroking Iona’s wet hair.

“My apologies, Your Highness. I should’ve taken more precaution.”

“It’s not your fault.. it’s.. inevitable. Hm.. should we book a nice large place and enjoy ourselves there? That way no one can disturb us, and we get to play to our hearts content..” Schwii’s licked her lips, her eyes curled up delight just thinking about it.

“I concur. Should I begin making preparations?”

“Please do.”

“Then excuse me.”

Iona got out of the tub first. Schwii admired the beauty of her skin which she just can’t get enough of.

Iona left for her room after wrapping her body in a towel.

“Those bastards..” Schwii cursed under her breath. Couldn’t they act with more tact? Why would they resort to breaking in their room?

Just because they were heroes doesn’t mean they have the right to do anything they want. The fact that Schwii allowed them to use the apartment as their second home was lenient enough. But breaking and sneaking around when it was clearly warned against definitely crossed the line.

“Whatever. Sequencee already decided to leave their party. I’ll just tell them to stop coming here so often and it’ll be settled.”

Schwii pouted. Relishing the afterglow of having enjoyed herself with Iona, she got out of the water and wiped herself dry. Leaving the bath, she walked to her room to put on a proper dress.

Two loud knocks could be heard at the entrance.

“Again?” Schwii frowned.

“I’ll handle it, Your Highness,” Iona was dressed in her maid uniform.

“Be careful.. ah, have we cleaned the air?”

“I’ll tell whoever it is to not enter.”

The aphrodisiac excreted throughout the room was especially potent for females. It heightened the senses of their bodies and increased appetite for lust. Of course, the effect would wear out in time but a small dose could go a long way.

Iona opened the windows in the living room and created a draft of wind to send the scent upwards.

Only after that did she open the door.

Standing there was the person she didn’t wish to meet.

Aaron Smite.

Behind him stood the hero, Shiro.

“Miss Iona, I hope you have a good explanation for what you’ve done?” Aaron’s deep tone contained a hint of malice.

“Breaching into another person’s room and sneaking a peek while my master and I covet each other’s body, what reason do I not have to do what I have done?”

“.. What?”

“S-Sir Aaron, like I said, it’s our fault..”

“What did you say you did to Sequencee?” Aaron had a shocked expression as if the sky was falling.

“Sir Aaron, it isn’t..”

“I think you have it wrong. Sequencee is my second master,” Iona said calmly.

“Stop joking around. What did you do and where is he?”

“No remarks.”

Bloodlust perfused into the surroundings. Shiro flinched while Iona remained unwavering.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Schwii dressed in a fine black garment approached from behind Iona. Her eyes were sharp as knives.

“You really do have the guts to take on the whole kingdom huh?” Aaron snickered.

“Is this a declaration of war?” Schwii said in a despising manner.

“Can everyone just shut up and listen!” Shiro shouted, causing the heavy tension of the air to disappear. “Sir Aaron, we broke into their room and caught them in the act. It’s Schwii, not Sequencee. Sequencee isn’t here. We were at fault.”

“That doesn’t explain why you were drugged.”

“.. Drugged? I see.. so that’s what it is. My thoughts on the issue sir. The sublimating aphrodisiac we used to enjoy ourselves was quite potent. And they were the ones who entered without our consent. Hence it’s their responsibility to resolve the effects of the stimulant themselves,” Schwii said.

“Why would there be an aphrodisiac in the apartment?” Aaron was still dismayed.

“My maid and I were enjoying ourselves. Why else?” Schwii hugged Iona’s arm with a lewd, coercive smile. “Your students just had to come and disturb our pleasant time together. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone caught you doing the same?”

“...”

“Sir Aaron.. that’s the truth.. we were..”

“Why was he not affected then?”

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“A female-specific aphrodisiac. The effect on males is lacking. It'll wear off in time. Think of it as their punishment for breaching into our home. Is the explanation sufficient sir?” Schwii smiled.

“Where’s Sequencee?”

“A mercenary guild. Under which one, I’m not sure. He will return nearing the holiday’s end.”

“...”

“Have we clarified your concerns? Ah, one more thing. A message from Sequencee. He wishes to leave the party, and so I suggest you inform Hero Risa and Her Highness regarding the matter when they recover. Any other questions you wish for me to address, sir?”

“What?” Shiro blurted.

“No questions. Thank you for the information. I apologize for the misunderstanding,” Aaron gave an earnest bow.

“Wait but..”

Before Shiro could complete his sentence, Schwii shut the door on them, Aaron still half bowing.

“Shiro. I’m going to the guild. You watch over the girls.”

“...”

Not knowing what else to say, Aaron left at once.

In the silence of confusion, Shiro’s thoughts grew dark. The deep guilt inside his heart tearing open. But before he could make sense of his murky thoughts, the door opened once more.

Schwii peeked out and looked at him as if waiting for him to say something.

“Anything?” She asked.

‘Huh..? W-wait..’

“I’m sorry,” Shiro quickly addressed the first thing that came to mind– an apology.

“Apology accepted. Anything else?”

“Is there.. anything else?” Shiro's voice clogged up.

“Is that so? I had thought you wished to clarify the matter regarding Sequencee’s decision.. I suppose..”

“Y-Yes please. What else.. did he tell you?”

Schwii smiled.

“He wanted me to let you know that he’s not angry with any of you,” she stated plainly, “Hero Shiro, have you ever thought about why he wanted to join your party?”

“Why..? That’s because he wants to kill The Sovereign..”

“Do you know why that is?”

“.. It’s because The Sovereign killed his mother?”

“That’s both true and false. Just as a human can cause mistakes, demons can too. The death of his mother was an accident, one at a national scale.. if I may add..”

Perplexed by what Schwii was trying to get at, Shiro nodded in confusion. “..Do you want me to apologize to him directly? Is this what it is? If so then I’d..”

“Neither I nor Sequencee particularly detest what you’ve done previously. The dangers that come will continue to happen so long as he continues his journey to grow stronger. It was within his expectation that something would’ve happened the moment he chose to become acquainted with you.”

“But still.. it’s our fault for leaving him back there.. my fault for choosing to enter..”

“Sequencee left your party by his own volition. If I should be honest, what you did then though shameful, was what led Sequencee to begin his journey to reconcile with his past. So, thank you.”

“What?”

“And so I’ll forgive you this once. The next time you break in and sneak a peek at Iona and I, we won’t let you off simply. Take that as a big red warning.”

“W-What do you mean? What did I..”

“Send my regards to the others.”

Schwii shut the door again.

“What..?”

Shiro stared at the door blankly. Guided through a winding conversation–

‘In the end, that’s what she wanted to say? To stay away?’

===

“I’m sorry for everything,” Shiro said.

It was an awkward dinner for the four of them. Even Linzy who’d usually act indifferent was having a hard time facing her master.

The effects wore off after an hour or so, but the memories of what they tried to do remained. It was a new page to the dark history their life which they wouldn’t want to revisit anytime soon.

“It’s not your fault big brother,” Risa consoled.

“Everyone keeps saying that it’s not my fault when it clearly is. Thing wouldn’t have become like this if I didn’t decide on the most stupid method to resolve a problem– It’s all my damn fault. I’m sorry, Risa, Evelyn, Linzy.”

Previously it was exploring the uncharted region of the map. Now it was exploring the uncharted X scene in Sequencee’s apartment

“It’s.. fine. Shiro, we already talked through this didn’t we? Stop blaming yourself,” Evelyn said with a sigh.

“Big brother, isn’t this just the disaster magnet effect? We will stumble upon problems no matter how hard we try to avoid them,” Risa remarked.

“Sequencee decided to leave the party.”

“Sequencee? L-Leave?” Evelyn’s voice cracked.

“Sir Aaron is trying to find him right now. He’s probably in a guild somewhere, I’m not sure about the particulars.”

“Why would that.. didn’t he just recover? How could she just allow him to run off like that?!” Evelyn wanted to grab Schwii by the hair. What kind of fiancee allows her severely injured patient to do mercenary work before confirming that he had properly recovered.

“He should be fine.. I mean he’s..” a demon lord, was what Shiro wanted to say.

“Sequencee should be fine.. he’s a demon after all,” Risa hinted subtly, looking at Linzy. The beastkin merely nodded.

“He’s a demon but.. still, don’t they need rest?” Evelyn who didn’t know better couldn’t help but retort.

“You’re being too naggy, boo–” Risa shut her ears and complained.

“Ugh, so what now? Sequencee said he’ll leave? He’s mad because of us, isn't it?” Evelyn fummed.

“From what I heard. He’s not mad, I’m just incompetent.. that’s why he’s leaving,” Shiro really couldn’t think of any other conjecture. People look upon him as the hero, but the reality was, he isn’t all that worthy of such a title. Unlike his sister Risa, Shiro was always being supported by those around him, unable to stand on his own.

It was by his luck, good and bad, that things around him remained intact. Heck, he didn’t even understand how leaving Sequencee to die would earn him brownie points from Schwii.

Sequencee’s sacrifice, Evelyn’s forgiveness, Risa’s protection, Linzy’s reassurance, Schwii’s grace. If he were a normal person, none of these would’ve been possible. It was as if there was someone adjusting the world to his actions so that he wouldn’t end up in some kind of crazy disaster.

Who was he to be the leader, the hero? Just because he was summoned, who decided that he should lead? He grew up in a peaceful country where people his age were fooling around in school. A brat that thought it was fun to be isekaied until reality struck him hard.

“Big brother. You’re not the only one you know? I caused a lot of problems too,” Risa said, noticing Shiro’s doubt.

“Master, is not incompetent,” Linzy said.

“He.. hasn’t told us about it so it’s likely a pending case. We still have a chance to get him back if we apologize to him.. maybe..” Evelyn didn’t wish to see Sequencee go.

“Big brother. Don’t forget, he’s the key to solving this mystery. If we give up here it’s all over,” Risa remarked.

“I know that..”

“Mystery?” Evelyn asked.

“Remember that book we got from the big library? Rika had connections with the past demon lord Rizal and the current Sovereign for some reason. So we might need Sequencee’s help, or Schwii’s help to guide us to the demon nation some day,” Risa said.

“D-Demon nation? Why?”

“That’s because..” Shiro trailed off.

“..the bad guys here might just be the humans..” Risa followed up.

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