Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi

「Uunnh.」

Peticheri, formerly Mirkura, groans as she opens her eyes.

For some reason her voice sounds rather sexy even though it is child-like.

「So you’ve woken up.」

A hand her glass of cold water.

「Ah, thanks.」

Peticheri accepts with both hands and drains it in one go.

The cold water appears to clear her mind.

「I…… why did I fall asleep?」

「You suddenly collapsed in the corridor. You might have gotten too worked up emotionally.」

When I fill her glass with some more water, she drinks it after lowering her head slightly.

「This is…… Lord Hardlett’s bedroom?」

「I uncharacteristically panicked. So I took you to the closest room, which happened to be mine, and let you sleep on the bed.」

「Why are my clothes taken off?」

「To make you more comfortable. It’s so hot and you were wearing tight clothes.」

She seems to have accepted my explanation for now.

All that thinking when she was unconscious paid off.

Now my kindness should charm her.

「Lord Hardlett……」

「What is it?」

Oh that was quick. Now her tiny body will be mine.

「I’m not going to be fooled that easily! I clearly remember being strangled by you!」

She has a surprisingly good memory.

「Taking off my clothes doesn’t mean all of it! How dare you violate me! I’m reporting this to my superior!」

I did nothing of the sort, I’m not the kind of person who dives in without a woman’s consent.

Peticheri glares at me before throwing the sheets over her and writhing around in them.

「So I didn’t get raped after all……」

Did she check her own hole within the sheets? I should have peeked.

「Of course not, I won’t do something so cruel.」

I casually take off my shirt and get in bed.

「Why are you coming in?」

「We can talk easier this way, don’t you think? I know you have a job of keeping an eye on me, but we’re going to be living together for a while. It would be to our benefit if we don’t oppose each other and be more open.」

Peticheri opens her mouth after giving me a long stare.

「……if you lay your hands on me, I’m going to report to the royal palace that you sexually assaulted me. Also give me back my underwear.」

「Hahaha, of course.」

The small girl squirms around to get her underwear on, but doesn’t leave the bed, instead she remains beside me obediently. She turns her back to me and then makes a sulking comment.

「My name is weird, isn’t it? Everyone can’t help laughing at it.」

「Is that so? I think it’s a cute name.」

Peticheri lets out a big sigh.

「It might be cute for a young child…… not a woman who’s twenty years old.」

I still think it’s a suitable name, though she’ll probably get mad if I tell her.

「This is all my father’s fault…… that stupid parent!」

Apparently, she had cute red cheeks from when she was born to when she was young.

Her father went against those around him and named her Peticheri.

By the way, her father is a landlord of an area near the capital and is fairly wealthy.

She was praised for having a cute name when she was a child, although the praise turned to laughter as she grew up and she eventually stopped telling other people her name out of embarrassment.

She quickly moved away from her family, worked hard in her studies, and left for the capital of Goldonia.

That was where she landed her job as an information officer, which brings us to the present time.

I don’t say anything, only nodding my head and letting her continue telling the story.

「My father asked me to come back home, but who’s going to go back to all that! Everyone will call me Peticheri when I go back to the village. It was bad enough that they called me Cheri, and they just had to add ‘peti’ in front!」

She really detests her own name.

That’s why she got so angry.

「So you hate it that much…… I didn’t know, still I’m sorry for offending you.」

I pull Peticheri close for an embrace.

Then I realized.

Peticheri is only wearing underwear so my hand will be directly touching her skin.

However she doesn’t react.

I pretend to coincidentally touch her little ass with the back of my hand and she doesn’t react much.

I’m sure of it. Peticheri has been with many guys before.

I take another look at the girl.

She has pink hair in a bob cut, her height is 150 cm at most, and her body isn’t very curvy at all.

Peticheri is a very fitting name, even though it makes her upset.

Moreover, not only does it make her seem more childlike, her tense expression and narrow slanted eyes depict her as a person with a serious attitude, both attributes being completely opposite of someone who fools around with guys.

Hmm, I don’t know now.

「You didn’t really need to apologize. If you’re going to say anything, I would like if you could tell me one important piece of information.」

She’s probably half joking. Peticheri’s face seemed to relax a little.

Or maybe she was glad that I took the time to listen to her.

「Do you have anything?」

She brings her face closer.

Although we’re wearing underwear, our stomachs and the area between our shoulders and thighs are touching.

Regardless of her size, her body is giving off a nice womanly scent which I can’t resist, and so I ended up telling her about how Wilhelmina is making moves in the south.

「I never would have thought the new queen of the Polpo Kingdom would be doing that. You refer to her as if you know her personally though.」

I know I can’t say anymore than that, so I look up at the ceiling and whistle to try and dodge the issue.

「…… oh well, good enough. I’ll investigate on my own later.」

Peticheri takes out a notepad from her chest area.

Does she have storage space in her underwear? It seems impossible for her to keep it in between her breasts.

「Okay, thank you for such useful information. ……if you have more, I’ll give you something in return.」

She is not part of my family yet so I shouldn’t make the next promise.

「Then will you let me go one round with you?」

「…… I’m going back to work.」

Strange. My head is thinking of one thing and my mouth is saying another.

Peticheri silently stands up from the bed and starts looking for her shirt.

As expected, it was too sudden to ask. I have to follow up.

「Then at least let me kiss you?」

What’s going on? My mouth is moving automatically like a reflex. I might need to see a doctor.

「……no thanks.」

Sure enough, she refuses again.

We got so close just now and then we’re going back to being distant.

「I don’t want a kiss on the lips, but……」

She stands in front of me and tilts her head to one side.

「If it’s on the neck…… I don’t mi―― kyaa!」

Before she could finish, I pounce on her and put my mouth to her neck.

「T-that’s too sudden―― aah, geez! Nnh!」

I suck on the silky smooth white skin of hers.

She resisted at first but gradually let go after accepting it was a suggestion she offered.

「You have such pretty skin…… and it smells wonderful too…… let me suck it more.」

「Wah, hey!」

I use too much strength and end up pushing her down on the bed.

My dick is already in the mood, although touching anywhere other than her neck would be against what we agreed upon.

I keep her pinned down while sucking her neck.

「Nnh! You’re doing it too hard! And that thing of yours is touching me!」

My dick touching is an inevitability, you’re going to have to let it go.

「Thank you, that was great.」

「……you’re welcome.」

After the intense kiss on her neck, I send Peticheri to the guest room.

The girl hides the mark on her neck and then waddles off with her toes turned inward.

She gives one final bow before closing the door.

「It was only the neck, but I think my love was communicated quite clearly. It’s okay, there will be more chances to come.」

It was at that time when Casie comes in my direction while crashing into the left and right walls, moving in a strange way.

（Target’s room discovered, time to infiltrateー）

Aah, is she trying to move while hiding behind the pillars?

How interesting, let me continue watching.

（Fufufu, I’m going to find out the girl’s secret.）

Casie proceeds to stick her head into Peticheri’s room.

She must have been asked by Nonna or Celia to spy on Peticheri.

Casie sticks her head in with the assumption that Peticheri can’t see her, however things would get crazy if she’s the type of person who can see.

Casie stops moving. Did she get found out?

（Mufufu, mufufufu.）

Casie pulls her head back out and flies over to me.

（Come look.）

She pulls me by the hand and takes me to the front of the room door, even inviting me to look through the keyhole.

No, peeping isn’t really my thing.

（It’s fine, just look.）

I reluctantly close one eye and peer through the small opening to see Peticheri on the bed.

Is she taking a nap?

It wasn’t long before I realized what she was doing.

「Nnh! Nnh! Haa, haa…… aaah!」

She’s lying on her back and has one hand extended down to her crotch.

「Haa, haa…… such an intense manly smell……my body aches…… aah!」

「This is……」

She’s masturbating. And she’s going at it quite hard.

「Aaah, gosh! It’s not enough!」

Peticheri rummages underneath her bed and takes out a small bag.

She reaches into the bag and retrieves a wooden dildo.

「So she also had a dildo in that big luggage?」

She jumps back on the bed, holds the dildo with both hands and jams it into her vagina.

「As I thought, filling this place up is the best! Feels so good……c-cumming!」

Her body tenses up and she arches her back while holding onto the dildo.

「Haa, haa…… that was good, but I want the real thing. Maybe I’ll go look for someone in the city later.」

What did I just watch?

I kind of thought she had experience with men already, but Peticheri is actually quite the perverted cherry.

「Kuh…… I want to get in there…… but-」

She would know that I was peeping if I burst in now.

If I do that, I would destroy the trust I worked so hard to build.

I need to restrain myself even if I cry tears of blood.

「I will definitely harvest you, Peticheri.」

I walk away after leaving those words of resolution.

Casie’s hand gets pulled with me.

（Fueh? Eeh?）

I take Casie to the bedroom and push her on the bed.

（Ohーmyー, Iーamーgetーtingーrapedー）

Casie’s body feels fresh after not doing her in so long.

The smell of a dust cloth in my head bothered me a little.

After that, I told Leopolt about leaking the information, in which he replied, “having the Kingdom make preparations could be a good idea” to praise me, but also added “next time, please consult me before you divulge any information”, at the end.

Something doesn’t feels off about that.

–Third Person POV–

Vandolea Capital City: Vandola

「Citizens of Vandolea. It is a pleasure to meet all of you.」

Wilhelmina lowers her head in front of the crowd and starts speaking in a conservative manner.

The people remain unsettled and noisy.

After all, Wilhelmina was considered the general of the enemy army in their eyes and a detestable person who was their sworn enemy not too long ago.

「What did she come here for? Are the soldiers not going to apprehend her?」

「Wasn’t the ceasefire announced a week ago? Not only that, she came here alone without her soldiers.」

The reason they were not directing their obvious hostile intent to her was because their leaders had told them about the establishment of a ceasefire with Wilhelmina.

「Many of you here have lost family and friends in this war. I think it’s only natural for you to hate us.」

However the leaders of Vandolea are no more.

After the peace negotiations were postponed due to the explosion incident, all of the upper echelon came down with the fire pox.

Vandolea was thrown into chaos at the suddenness of the events and had no luxury to worry about war.

「But I believe there is something that should happen which is more important than your hate.」

Judging it to be the right time, Wilhelmina came to Vandola mostly on her own.

A single man accompanied her visit to the capital to show she had no hostile intent.

「That day…… during the negotiations for peace…… I feel that it is my duty to report what happened to everybody.」

The grumblings of the masses become softer.

Some people were at least a little bit interested to what Wilhelmina had to say.

Rumors about the peace negotiations circulated but not many details were known to the public.

Vandolea’s upper echelon intended to keep it hidden until the truth was uncovered, however they all collapsed from the disease and left the matter unresolved.

「In the middle of the meeting, when the representative and I were coming to an agreement, there was a large explosion that shook the earth.」

A few in the crowd gasped.

「The leaders and I happened to be standing from our seats and were able to avoid danger, but if we were sitting down…… all of us would be killed. I want to say we were lucky…… however one of my precious subordinates could not be saved.」

「Hey, is this for real?」

「My buddy actually works as security and I do remember him saying there was an explosion which resulted in one person from Altair dying.」

When Wilhelmina wipes her tears, she fixes her sharp gaze forward.

The impact of her eyes overpowers the people. After a moment of silence, she starts to talk again.

「There is an enemy. It is neither you or me. It is a powerful entity trying to crush the both of us!」

Her speech which started off quiet and subdued gradually became tinged with passion.

「Is it a coincidence that the leaders of Vandolea fell ill!? Is it also a coincidence that my food was poisoned at the same time!?」

Zaphnes shrugs his shoulders.

「It must be assassination. How inhumane for someone to use fire pox to kill someone.」

「Even Altair was affected…… who could the enemy be?」

The clamoring stops when Wilhelmina raises her hand.

Everyone wanted to hear the continuation of the speech.

「Aah, now that I think about it I also walked right into the trap. This war…… we first suffered a preemptive attack and only then did we invade as retaliation.」

The tone suddenly shifted.

「A-are you kidding me!?」

「You’re the one who attacked first!」

Booing was to be expected, and Wilhelmina quickly followed up by speaking over them.

「It was all part of the enemy’s plan. And I fell for it completely, so I apologize to you now.」

Wilhelmina closes her eyes and bows her head.

Fewer and fewer people complain and the booing also dies down.

She finally raises her head after remaining bowed for what felt like a long time.

Her eyes burned with anger and fighting spirit.

「All of what happened was a part of this enemy’s calculations. People who want to bury us certainly exist. Your representative was also bitten by their poisonous fangs!」

Wilhelmina’s hands rise above her head.

Her voice gets louder, which in turn pulls up the tone of the populace too.

「T-this is kinda amazing.」

「Yeah, I can’t explain what’s going on, but I want to believe her.」

「She’s quite the looker too.」

None of the soldiers and citizens could take their eyes off of Wilhelmina.

「There is no longer a reason for us to be against each other. The people of Altair do not move based on those mad teachings anymore.」

Shouts of “that’s right” and “no, they’re still suspicious” chime in as Wilhelmina definitively speaks about the current state of affairs.

It doesn’t deter her from going on.

「This is no time for us to be hating each other. That is exactly what the enemy wants, and you can even hear their laughter!」

「So who is this enemy?」

「Yeah, be clear about it!」

Wilhelmina nods in response to the prompts hurled at her.

「The enemy is―― the Democratic Nation of Libatis.」

Everyone goes deathly silent.

「Who would be happy if we continue to fight among ourselves? Which place would be rejoicing at their prosperity while watching Altair fight with Vandolea? Where has the disease not spread to? Where is there no ash covering the lands?」

「Libatis……」

「It’s true that they would be the only ones who wins if we fight.」

「I heard that everyone in that country is rich.」

Wilhelmina surveys the people and waits ten minutes before speaking.

「We will not let our suffering and anger go unanswered. We will definitely return the favor. That will be…… all of it will be for the condolences of the fallen.」

Having said that, she gets off the stage.

「I’m going back for now. I’ll let you deal with the city’s order.」

「R-right!」

The soldier automatically salutes when he gets addressed by Wilhelmina.

「They didn’t cheer “long live the queen”.」

Zaphnes casually makes a joke.

「Vandolea’s citizens are more clever than Altair’s citizens. This is sufficient. All I need to do is to elevate their lifestyle and bring the existence of the enemy to the front.」

Wilhelmina massages her face two or three times to restore her expression.

Not everyone gave her a standing ovation.

Still, the people of Vandolea did not react negatively to being grouped together as “we”.

It was enough for a passing score.

「It will get busy from now on. I need to fabricate believable evidence…… and then I need to call on the merchant of Stura for more gold. I will have to ensure the people of Vandolea are well off for the time being.」

「We’re already borrowing a lot. Anymore than that and――」

Wilhelmina interrupts Zaphnes, cutting his rebuttal short.

「I made contact with a new company. The Flitch company…… I will get another 300 000 gold.」

「300 000? ……wouldn’t that mean the annual interest rate will be quite high?」

Wilhelmina replies with a hmph.

「It doesn’t matter what annual rate I agree to. I don’t intend to pay it. ……do you know how to act big while riddled with debt?」

「No…… I have no clue.」

「You just have to borrow more than the lender’s limit.」

Wilhelmina glances out the window of the carriage emotionlessly.

The rest of her face is without expression…… however a smile definitely formed on her lips.