With an awkward smile, I slowly lowered my arms from my chest.
Although as a man, I didn't technically lose anything by being seen by a girl—especially one as beautiful as Theresia—I didn't exactly have exhibitionist tendencies.
So... this was really awkward.
Right now, Carol's face had turned bright red.
This wasn't due to shyness, but rather a spike in blood pressure caused by extreme embarrassment and anger.
"You rude scoundrel! How dare you! How dare you commit such an indecent act again! I..." Her voice trembled with rage, and she drew the longsword at her waist fully this time.
For her, the accidental nature didn't matter. What she couldn't tolerate was that I had once again defiled her young lady's innocent eyes.
"What are you doing! Why are you yelling at me? Whose fault do you think it is that things turned out like this?" I yelled back, channeling my inner indignation.
"You!"
"What do you mean, 'you'? You're not even that big, what are you yelling about?"
I stepped forward, pointing an accusatory finger.
"And don't shift your responsibility to others. Do you think that just because something like this happened, I, as a man, don't feel embarrassed? I am a normal person with a normal sense of shame, so naturally, I feel violated!"
I took a breath and continued my rant.
"Okay, now you should think carefully about how you're going to make it up to me. The cost of repairing the clothes, the compensation for emotional distress, and the fact that you saw me naked violated my right to privacy! All of which requires compensation!"
"Furthermore," I added, raising my chin, "an apology is essential. If you've done something wrong, you should openly admit your mistake. Only then can you be considered a responsible and principled person. Isn't that right?"
Carol was momentarily stunned, her mouth hanging slightly open in the face of my relentless rambling.
Where did this talent come from?
Aside from the clothing, which was reasonable, she had never heard of such ridiculous demands for compensation.
No... even the clothes argument was shaky. My clothes were already stained with blood and completely ruined before she cut them. They were practically unusable rags anyway.
"I..." Before Carol could sputter a retort.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing," Theresia interjected, stepping between us.
To be honest, this was likely the first time she had ever seen Carol being criticized into silence like this. She also had a strong feeling that if she didn't stop me, I would continue to argue until the sun went down.
But if this continued...
Unable to win the argument with words, an angered Carol might actually lose her temper and resort to violence to shut me up. Theresia couldn't let that happen.
"Hmph~ I'll let you off this time for the sake of the Young Miss. But if there's a next time, I'll definitely... chop you up." Carol's eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"Hehe~ That's exactly what I should be saying."
"If it weren't for Miss Theresia, you wouldn't be leaving here unscathed today," she retorted defiantly.
But to be honest... her gaze and the aura she exuded were truly quite eerie.
This was probably what they called killing intent.
For someone who had lived in a comfortable, peaceful world like myself, this was something I might never have experienced in my entire previous life. Even a common murderer back on Earth wouldn't be able to condense such a clear, suffocating aura.
Carol glared at me. I glared back, channeling the arrogance of a Sin Archbishop.
Neither of us continued arguing, solely out of consideration for Theresia.
As for Theresia... faced with this tense atmosphere, she looked somewhat helpless.
It was truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road. Two stubborn people, unwilling to back down.
She glanced at me, noting that I was still covering my private parts with my hand. This wasn't a sustainable solution.
"Mr. Regulus, let me take you to the nearby river first," she suggested. "As for the clothes, it was indeed Carol who damaged them. I'll have Carol buy you a clean set of clothes as compensation."
"Young Miss!" Carol cried out, extremely indignant. Why should she pay for this scoundrel's clothes?
"This is for the clothes. Hurry up, we'll wait for you by the river." Without waiting for a protest, Theresia took out her purse and pressed it into Carol's hands.
Given Carol's stubbornness, Theresia knew she definitely wouldn't be willing to pay out of her own pocket.
"But..." Carol felt extremely unwilling as the money was forcibly stuffed into her hand. She didn't want to go. She absolutely didn't want to leave her lady alone with this man.
However, Theresia had already anticipated this.
"You don't want the same accident to happen again, or for me to see something... bad, do you?" she whispered to her servant.
Carol immediately frowned.
Indeed. If I stayed in these rags, another "wardrobe malfunction" was inevitable. Did she want her lady to see that again?
Absolutely not!
"I understand. I'll go buy the clothes right away," she replied seriously.
"Okay, go ahead." Thearesia smiled.
This method was effective—manipulating Carol's protective instincts worked every time. It felt a bit like taking advantage of Carol's loyalty, but what else could she do when we just didn't get along?
If Carol stayed here to watch over things while Theresia went to buy clothes, we would almost certainly start fighting.
With Carol's departure, I followed Theresia to the riverbank she had mentioned.
The river was neither large nor small, and the water flow was very gentle and peaceful. Looking down at the plump fish swimming lazily in the clear water, anyone who enjoyed fishing would love this spot.
"I'll wait for you over there," Theresia said, pointing to a spot in the distance. "Once Carol returns with the clothes, I'll put them on the shore for you."
"Thank you for your help."
"Don't mention it. Go quickly, you must be feeling very uncomfortable like this. It's best to wash off the blood as soon as possible."
With a slight smile, Theresia turned and walked away, finally giving me some privacy.
I sat down on a smooth, protruding boulder near the water's edge.
This arrangement gave me enough private space. If it had been Carol... she probably would have kicked me into the water fully clothed and refused to let me out until I drowned or cleaned myself.
Their relationship really had started off on the wrong foot. If given the chance, I would definitely find a way to get revenge on that woman.
While thinking about my petty vengeance, I stripped off the rags.
I took out my cell phone and other personal belongings from my pockets. They were in terrible condition. Smashed, soaked in blood. Useless.
Falling from a height of several hundred meters had destroyed them.
On the contrary, I was fine. It was strange that I had fallen hundreds of meters and was completely unharmed.
But if I thought about it carefully...
Such an absurd thing as being summoned to another world had happened. I had even obtained a relic from a chuunibyou senior and gained the power of the Sin Archbishop of Greed.
Given all this, was there anything impossible?
I dropped the broken phone into the water. Plop.
This was my formal farewell to the past.
Standing naked by the river, I closed my eyes and, for the first time, calmed down to carefully feel the changes within myself.
I discovered that it wasn't just the Authority; my own body seemed to have changed fundamentally.
This feeling... it had actually existed as soon as I woke up.
My hearing had become more acute. My senses were sharper. My eyes could see things with terrifying clarity—I could make out the texture of a leaf from tens of meters away.
Pay attention! It wasn't just seeing; it was processing every detail instantly. This was not something an ordinary person could do.
I slowly opened my eyes, and at that moment, my hands clenched into fists.
Another change was my physical condition.
Comparing it to my former self was impossible. Saying I completely outclassed my old body was an understatement. I felt powerful.
....
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