Once we left our belongings in the rooms, Eli told me. "Let's go shopping!"
It was our first date since becoming a couple.
Lily heard her and also wanted to go; Eli said it was obvious she would come too.
After changing clothes and getting ready to leave, Celia and Evelyn also came to join us.
(I forgot that they are also my concubines, but we don't have a strong or close relationship to want to be together all the time.)
(I have no problem with them coming; they are my future wives without inheritance, but it's not like I'm a popular or charismatic type to say. –Come, my little ones, there's room for everyone.)
(Phrases like that are what anime and light novels showed me, and I was very surprised.)
(Well, a harem is something I desired, so no problem.)
◇
(Damn anime and light novels! Those bastards tricked me!)
(They said a harem was wonderful and that every man desires one.)
(But...)
(This...)
(Is the opposite!)
"Lily-chan, you should try this on; I'm sure it will look good on you."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course! You have a good figure, so it would fit you perfectly."
Eli was groping Lily's butt to check if some pants fit her.
"Oh, I want this! And this... this one is good too!"
Celia was grabbing everything she saw.
As we walked through the commercial district of the duchy, we found a long line leading to a branch called the Valentine Company.
We were going to enter, but the line was so long that the waiting time was at least three hours.
No way was I going to wait in a line that long.
We went to another store.
We first entered a jewelry store.
Lily looked at the prices with fear.
Eli was a bit the same, as she hadn't bought rich people's things for a long time.
Celia looked with the eyes of a child in an amusement park.
Evelyn grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and asked me. "Is it okay to come here?"
I wanted to prove that their future husband was not a cheapskate. I extended my hands and told them. "Go ahead. You can take whatever you want."
(Am I not a good boyfriend?)
But that was my worst mistake.
(Stupid.)
(Stupid me.)
(AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!)
(If only I had kept my big mouth shut. I wouldn't be holding my head while my sweat turns cold and my eyes don't want to see what they're buying.)
When I went to the guild to report what happened with Xerxes, since I was the only adventurer present, they gave me a reward.
One million gold coins.
It was the first time in my two lives that I had seen so much money.
That's why I wanted to show off in front of my girlfriends.
(Now I'm terrified, observing that anime and light novels are a vile lie!)
(They make women seem like NPCs without needs! Something like a virtual pet.)
(But they have needs.)
(Food, clothes, bathroom, more expensive clothes, healthy food, more clothes. Didn't anyone tell me that having so many women was a lot of responsibility?!)
(And even more so, being the boyfriend, I have to pay for their expenses.)
(AAHHHHHHHHHHH!)
(Who the hell would want a harem knowing all that?!)
(I take it back!)
(I want to go back to the past!)
(Amy, help me!)
I heard the cash register bell ring every time the minimum value was exceeded.
It's already done it ten times.
I'm scared the money will run out.
(God, please make them stop already!)
(AAAAAAHHHHHH!)
◇
Once we finished shopping, we went to eat at an elegant restaurant.
I only ordered a glass of water, but even the water was expensive.
Eli and Lily ordered salad.
Evelyn a plate of shrimp.
And Celia...
"Yay~! I love you so much, honey!"
She ordered lots of meat and desserts.
(I would be very angry if it weren't for the fact that all that fat and sugar is going to those breasts to make them grow more.)
(But, still.)
(I beg you!)
(Don't order anymore!!)
... That amount of money didn't even last me a single day.
(Aah~ I want to go back to the past.)
"Sir customer, would you like to order the bill now or later?"
I watched Celia, who was still ordering another plate; the waiter seemed to understand that she would continue eating.
(Please, demon king... kill me now.)
"Excuse me, waiter, one more please."
(Please, stop it!)
◇
After paying a huge sum of money for dishes I didn't touch, we rented a limousine to return home.
I officially declare myself bankrupt.
I don't have a single copper coin left, much less a crystalia in my pockets.
Because of my ugly face, no one can observe my terrifying expression of fear from having no money.
(I swear you'll pay for this, Celia. I'll squeeze those breasts and that butt as much as I want for emptying my wallet.)
Now that we were outside the mansion, the big-breasted maid was waiting for us outside.
As she bowed to greet us, her breasts fell due to the force of gravity and returned to their original position with a slight bounce.
(Thank you very much, girls; my aching heart recovered a little.)
"Elize ojou-sama, Baron Razel-sama, you have visitors."
"Visitors?" -Said Eli curiously.
Nearby knights went to see our belongings, or rather, what the girls bought.
Upon entering, Eli and I went to the visitor's room. Lily accompanied us since she wanted to be with us; only Celia and Evelyn went to their rooms.
The head maid opened the door, and inside, I found unexpected people.
Sitting to the right of my position was Cid with a complicated face.
The old butler, Glenn, was behind him.
While on the other side were some very, very unexpected individuals.
One of them, the closest to the armrest, was a tall man, of slender build, pale skin, short, well-groomed hair; he wore glasses that only librarians would use.
His eyes were the same color as his hair, light blue. His face seemed to be that of an antisocial person, as his eyes looked at us very disinterestedly.
The other man next to him was sitting as if he owned the place, with both arms extended and legs crossed on the glass table.
Unlike the blue-haired man, who was dressed like a banker, this man looked like a pirate from that action movie.
His hair was short, styled to one side, and an intense red color. His eyes were blue with a sharp gaze, like those of a delinquent.
A fine mustache, cut so it looked like a lightning bolt, like his eyebrows, seemed to be his pride; with one hand, he touched it as if showing it off.
And, next to them were two people I thought I wouldn't see again.
"..."
One of them saw us and immediately averted his gaze.
The other simply ignored us, but his sweat of discomfort was evident.
Starting with the one who sweats, he was a handsome boy with pink hair and white streaks; his eyes were indigo, but only one was visible as his hair covered the right side.
He was one of the capture targets from the Otome game, Oscar von Pleven.
The one who averted his eyes from us was another capture target. Another handsome man who would drive women crazy.
Both his eyes and hair were identical to the man by his side. He was Jake von Fitzclarence.
(What the hell are these guys doing here?)
"Hasn't the duchess arrived yet?"
Asked the sharp-eyed man.
His tone of voice was very hoarse and hostile; he seemed to want to fight Glenn by the way he looked at him.
(I'm very sorry, but madam is still in a business meeting. I don't know what time she'll be back.)
"Tch."
The sharp-eyed man clicked his tongue.
"In that case, we'll have to deal with the heiress. We must not waste time."
Commented the blue-haired man; his tone was very dull, as if he felt no interest in being here, despite his response.
"Understood."
Glenn pointed to the men to introduce them to us, although I already knew or deduced who they were.
"Allow me to introduce these people."
The blue-haired man stood up and showed us a bow while Glenn introduced him.
"He is one of the seven dukes, Duke Myat von Luinberg."
"I am Myat von Luinberg, a pleasure to meet you."
His tone remained the same, but he was very polite.
Now it was the sharp-eyed man's turn, but he stopped Glenn as he preferred to do it himself.
In a very arrogant and presumptuous manner, he stood up while his cloak fluttered as if he were a great character making his introduction.
(Since he is, this man is...)
"Be amazed by the presence of not just a duke, but also the head of a principality. I am the one and only Fahren von Fitzclarence! Remember it well."
Jake's villain dad.
Two of the seven dukes were present here.
"By my side are these pieces of shit."
Said Fahren... his name feels strange and difficult to pronounce. So I'll just call him Jake's dad.
Jake and Oscar, upon hearing how they were called, complained.
"Duke, I'm sorry, but that was discourteous."
"Oyaji! That was too much!"
Jake's dad looked at them very coldly and then...
"Paternal Slap!"
He hit both on the head, leaving them on the floor with a bump.
(Hey, I hate these guys, but what they say is true. You went too far, old man.)
(But I still don't understand what they are doing here?)
Eli had a complicated face about having two of the five idiots who mocked her; Lily showed an angry face, even so, she looked cute.
"A pleasure to have you in our house, Duke Luinberg, Duke Fitzclarence and... classmates. Do you have any business with us?"
Jake and Oscar stood up and greeted with their heads bowed.
Duke Luinberg responded to us.
"Yes, you see, we came because we wanted to talk to the duchess about something personal, but she's not present."
"I understand. Okaa-sama said she would be gone all day and might not return until night."
"That's undoubtedly bad." -Commented the duke.
"Myat, in that case, tell these brats, as the legal representatives in the absence of the lord of this house, sorry, lady. The butler is of no use to us, much less the prince."
Jake's dad spoke as if he didn't care about the presence of others, but when referring to Duke Luinberg, he sounded very respectful.
"Good. The reason for our presence is that we have come to request the cooperation of the Rosenberg's for an operation."
"Operation?"
Said Lily as we sat near Cid.
"Yes. The operation is a big one, and we need help; we and Randy— Duke Wimlet need more hands."
"I understand. But, what is the operation about?"
Before the duke could respond, Jake's dad spoke up.
"We're going to hunt rats, or rather, crows."
My eyes widened upon hearing something unexpected.
(He means crows as in Black Crows, right? Those same crows, right?)
(Why?)
"Excuse me." -Lily raised her hand curiously. "Yes?" -Duke Luinberg responded to her.
"What do you mean you're going to hunt crows? Is it some kind of party or noble thing?"
"Obviously that's not it, girl." -Jake's dad spoke to Lily as if she were an ignorant child.
"We're going to exterminate pests hidden in the capital. Thanks to the academy incident, we managed to discover some bases; we are preparing our forces to launch simultaneous attacks."
"Oh! That's amazing!" -Lily seemed genuinely surprised.
"It's amazing that the palace investigated and approved something like that so quickly."
"... Approved."
"... Investigated."
The dukes made strange comments at Eli's affirmation, but by Duke Luinberg's expression, it seems there's something wrong here.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Jake's dad laughed very loudly.
We didn't understand what was happening.
"Do you really think those palace rats would support that?"
"Alvin's daughter, you really are funny."
Hearing her father's name, Eli's face contorted for a second.
It returned to normal when I took her hand; she looked at me and smiled.
"May I know the reason for the laughter?"
Jake's dad continued laughing, but after a short while, he stopped.
"Well... what you're saying is impossible; that place is full of their allies. If they ordered that, it would be after having cleared all the evidence and made us look like idiots."
"Come to think of it, Minister Olgren ordered that the evidence obtained from the survivors be sent to him so he could take action."
"That old fox is trying to profit by gaining the prestige of the information, undoubtedly."
"Olgren..." -I murmured because of what the fake Professor Lloyd told me.
(Minister Olgren, the main benefactor of Prince Blake, is the right hand of the Black Crows' leader; this is really annoying.)
"You're going to launch a massive attack, aren't you?"
"It's as you say, cat eyes."
Jake's dad called me by a strange nickname; (what the hell is with these guys calling me that?)
"We want the newly restored Rosenberg Household to provide us with your support in this."
"With all due respect, but why should we?"
Eli responded to Jake's dad in an annoyed tone.
"Hoh, you want to refuse?"
"I see no reason to help in something that doesn't bring us benefits, and even more so now that we have no allies or vassals."
"And the knights outside?"
"They're new, fresh out of the palace's knight academy. They're not exactly strong enough to just send them off to die."
"You have good arguments, girl."
"Thank you. I got it from my mother."
Jake's dad smiled as he saw Eli refute everything he said.
"You're right in what you say, but the main reason we came is not for your cooperation."
"Then?"
A wicked smile appeared on his face.
"We want to know if the Rosenberg's are not our enemies?"
Our hands turned cold at that comment.
Duke Luinberg said nothing, so it was a general opinion of theirs.
If a duke became an enemy of a house, it was trouble for that house. If two dukes became enemies, it meant danger.
But three dukes wanted our participation to know if we weren't a danger. That's not fair.
But who says life is fair?
I stood up and spoke to them.
"As the future head of this house, it's my responsibility that bad rumors are eliminated. I don't want the name of the Rosenberg's to be tarnished."
The girls looked at me with moist eyes when I declared that. (They seem to have fallen in love with me even more.)
(A harem like this isn't bad.)
"The cat eyes is the future head? I thought he was just a weird servant?"
(I definitely want to hit Jake's dad!)
(I think I understand why his father was a pain in the ass. My hatred for Jake only decreased a little.)
"That's fine with me. And you, Prince Cidfert?"
"He's not—"
"I'll go."
I observed Cid, who declared he would also go to something that wasn't his objective.
"After what happened at the academy, I also want to get rid of them."
(Hey, the reason I accept is not only to not tarnish the name of my future house; it's also because it's a game event very ahead of its time.)
"Good. We'll come to get you when everything is ready." -Declared Jake's dad as they stood up.
The others also stood up, ready to leave.
"By the way, Alvin's daughter."
Once again, Eli showed a bad face.
"Yes?"
"Did you read the apology letter?"
"Yes. But it's not like I care about their apologies."
"I see..."
Jake and Oscar had their heads bowed upon hearing that. (It seems they really had a hard time with their families because of that problem.)
"Finally, they're gone..." -Said Eli as the four left the mansion.
Once she could no longer see them through the window, she threw herself at me.
"Razel! What do you mean you're going on a dangerous operation?"
Lily also hugged me out of concern.
"Please don't go!"
Both were very worried about me.
Their large breasts pressed against me.
(This is why harems are wonderful.)
I calmed them down.
"Sorry, but it's as I said. I don't want the house I'll be the future head of to be full of bad rumors."
"But!"
I took both of their chins and kissed them on the cheeks.
"If you're afraid for me, remember that I was the one who truly delivered the final blow to that thing."
"And to a certain sword, too."
I turned to see Cid, who was saying things he shouldn't.
He doesn't seem to believe me that it was a pile of earth that left Lambert in that state.
His eyes look at me very coldly.
(Hey, bad things will happen to me if they find out I defeated a sword saint candidate.)
"If that's what my future husband says, as your future wife, it's my duty to abide by your wishes. Just be careful, okay? You still have the obligation to leave an heir."
Said Eli as she hugged me very affectionately; Lily also said lovely words.
"I don't want to lose you, but I also don't want to miss the opportunity to have a child."
(These girls are saying inappropriate things in front of people who shouldn't hear.)
(Hey, your perspiration is very heavy.)
(Are you in the mood perhaps?)
(Well, I'm also tired, so I don't see anything wrong with having a little fun before I get stained with blood.)
"U-Uhm, Cid..."
"You don't have to tell me."
Both Cid and Glenn left through different paths, while I walked with my girlfriends who wouldn't stop squeezing me.
(Hey, that hand is touching something that shouldn't be touched in public.)
(By the way, where is Barbara?)
◇◇◇
"I appreciate you taking some of your time."
Barbara was at a merchant company.
It was one of the largest and most honest in the empire.
They did business with anyone as long as it was legal.
It was the Reinfort Company.
"Don't worry; I wanted to meet with you anyway."
A well-dressed, short man with frizzy orange hair, round glasses showing his brown eyes, was sitting in front of her.
The man was overweight, which is why he used a handkerchief to wipe his face.
His name was Rean Reinfort. A support character from the game.
The protagonist could access paid items through him.
At the end of the game, he appears giving the protagonist a discount gift.
Rean was a man who, despite his appearance, was someone you could trust; for that reason, he had many enemies.
He always had bodyguards with him to protect him.
The former head of the Rosenberg's had dealings with him, but was also in debt.
Barbara came begging him to extend the debt until she could pay it. Rean accepted, as he was also a man without a partner.
His wife left him because he rejected a job offer of dubious origin.
It hurt him a lot, but he recovered.
For that reason, he gave Barbara the necessary amount of time to pay it.
Now that it was settled, she could show her face again.
"It's been a long time, but you haven't changed."
"Ohoho, not at all; I've put on a few kilos."
"Quite the opposite; I think you've lost a bit since the last time we saw each other."
"Really?"
"I am a woman who shows her sincerity through her actions, so I brought you a gift for the trouble."
Barbara handed him a box of chocolates from the Valentine Company.
Rean took them and devoured them one by one.
"They're delicious. And, what business do you have with me?"
"I would like your company to be one of our benefactors."
Rean's hand stopped.
"That is a very big proposal, madam."
"I know. I understand that in your position, being a benefactor to a poor or indebted house is very bad, but I would like to prove otherwise."
"And how would that be?"
"With this."
Barbara took out a contract.
"This contract is signed by me, the current head of the Rosenberg Household. If I fail to comply with this contract, my property will become yours."
Rean began to sweat a lot.
"Don't you think this is a bit hasty?"
"I know, but the Reinfort Company is the only one that can help us with supplies and the sale of products from our territory. I want to raise our prestige before I hand over my position to my son-in-law."
"I see you are very desperate for it."
"I want to deliver to my grandchildren a house and territory as it used to be."
"I understand; in that case..."
Rean took a quill-shaped pen and began to write things.
Upon finishing, he showed it to Barbara, and she was surprised.
"This is..."
"It's an improvement on this contract. If you fail to make the payment, we will take 1% of your territory."
The contract said it was 100% of the duchy, but the zeros were crossed out; she wanted to cry.
"Are you perhaps an angel?"
"No, not at all; I'm a merchant. I also went through hunger and poverty. I have a surname despite being a commoner, and the most important thing in my business is knowing my client. If they are a trustworthy person, I could wait twenty years for them, and they would still pay me. You have earned that trust through your determination."
Tears ran down her rosy cheeks.
"I thank you; I have no words to express how grateful I am to you."
"You can thank me by having some tea with these chocolates. Food tastes better with company."
"Thank you."
Barbara wiped her tears with a handkerchief while an employee entered with tea and another with a box.
The tea was placed on the table, and the box near her.
"This is?"
"It's a gift for your daughter from me."
Barbara opened the box, and her eyes looked like plates.
"Something like this!"
"They're young, so maybe they want to try new things."
Barbara smiled.
"I'm sure she will enjoy it."
But it wasn't a good smile.
"Since she is a very mischievous girl."
It was an obscene smile from a lustful woman.
(I'll surprise you tonight, my love ❤)
She nibbled her lips slightly while her cheeks reddened thinking that a certain man would be happy.
Her bottom wiggled a lot even though she was sitting.
Rean asked her if she was okay, and she mentioned that she just felt very happy about the gifts.
That's right, the gifts she looked at with great intensity.
_________________________
Okaa-sama: mother in a courteous manner
Oyaji: father in a vulgar manner
Fahren: German name