DAMSC | Chapter 1.4

Seeing Jerome put up such a wall, it seemed I still had a long way to go.

This was not easy. Not easy at all.

Still, this was pretty good.

Before I used the cheat key, Jerome would not even meet my eyes or speak to me as if I were invisible.

I had the charisma ability. If I could not raise affection normally, I could use the ability.

It was unfortunate that I could only use it once a day, but having it at all was something. If I avoided physical contact, the affection should not drop.

As I thought it over and lifted my head, my eyes met Lowell’s.

He was staring at me intently with unreadable eyes. There was a persistence to his gaze that made it feel more than casual.

What? Why was he looking at me like that?

Then Lowell let his eyes curve into a soft smile.

I returned an awkward smile.

‘It must be my imagination.’

Making meaning out of eye contact with a specimen maniac was pointless anyway, so I dismissed Lowell’s reaction without much thought.

* * *

The next morning. Lowell and I finished preparing to return to the capital. After Jerome checked that all the luggage had been loaded safely, he spoke.

“Are you really all right returning without an escort?”

Lowell answered with a bright smile.

“Do not worry. One imperial mage is equivalent to the strength of an entire battalion.”

“I spoke out of turn. I wish you a safe return to the capital.”

Before parting from Jerome, I used my last trump card.

[I activate ‘Charisma’.]

“Sniffle...... Thinking about parting with the duuuke makes Aisha sad! Sniff sniff!”

Fine, do whatever the system wanted.

I no longer even had the will to argue with the cringe-worthy line.

Then Jerome raised one eyebrow crookedly.

“Do you speak like that in other places too?”

As if.

I had not known I would end up saying things like this either.

“No. Not really.”

“That is a relief.”

He continued in a low, deep voice.

“Those kinds of words are enough if I am the only one who hears them.”

[Jerome Winston’s affection increased by 10.]

[Jerome Winston’s affection : 21]

Well, as long as the affection went up. It seemed like it would not matter if the man I was targeting had tastes that were half insane.

I opened the affection window, thinking that I would just target Jerome as quickly as possible and go home.

====================

Affection

Lowell : 25

Jerome : 21

??? : 0

??? : 0

??? : 0

====================

Good. I was catching up to Lowell. Let’s keep it up.

Even now, Jerome politely offered his farewell with a decent face.

“Please travel safely, at any rate.”

For someone who looked so normal to have such a horrible taste, the young man really was pitiful.

With Jerome’s sendoff as the end, the carriage departed. Inside the swaying carriage, I sorted through my thoughts.

‘Things are going more smoothly than I expected.’

But the real problem was elsewhere.

‘Vivian Angus.’

I thought of the young lady who had a crush on Jerome, and the name of the evil woman who had poisoned me.

In the previous playthrough, Aisha died after drinking tea at a tea party Vivian had invited her to. Vivian had definitely put poison in the tea.

I could not be fooled by the same trick twice.

But simply not drinking Vivian’s tea was not enough to put me at ease.

She was a woman wicked enough to kill people, so I had no idea what she would do next.

So I had to deal with her in one blow.

While I was thinking about how to get rid of this nuisance, Lowell spoke.

“Is the lady’s type a blunt man?”

“Hm?”

I looked at Lowell with a baffled expression. It did not take long to realize who he was referring to.

Instead of answering, I gave an embarrassed smile.

I did not want my boss interfering in my personal matters, especially my love life, so I pretended not to understand on purpose.

“What are you talking about? I do not really understand.”

Was my lie not working?

Lowell simply looked at me silently.

Just when I thought I should add some sort of excuse, Lowell’s eyes went cold.

He lowered his head slightly, then murmured in a low voice, “......How funny. Did you think I would not notice like this?”

Unlike usual, a faint killing intent lingered in Lowell’s gaze. I got goosebumps from that chilling sense of wrongness.

What had he noticed?

Just as my mind began to blur with confusion,

“Inimici Crocum Me Revelentur.”

When Lowell recited the spell, a pale green wave began spreading outward from the carriage.

A sense of déjà vu hit me. I had seen Lowell’s magic before in an earlier playthrough.

And at the same time, in the same place.

At last, the memory came back, and I belatedly understood Lowell’s actions.

“Are there monsters?”

“Yes. They are lurking nearby. A dozen or so. Probably snowfield spiders.”

What Lowell had said he had noticed was the hidden snowfield spiders.

“How foolish. It seems they thought we would not notice.”

Lowell stopped the carriage and slowly rose from his seat.

Pretending to get up, I asked the Lowell who was about to step outside the carriage, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I appreciate the thought, but there is nothing the lady’s mana can do.”

“Oh, what a shame!”

I obediently planted my hips back on the carriage seat as if I had been waiting for that.

“I really wanted to help. But I cannot be a hindrance to the master, so I will just stay perfectly still inside the carriage!”

I was the sort of person so weak to bugs that I might faint at the sight of a cockroach coming out of my studio apartment.

When I first played this game, I almost threw my console at the snowfield spider illustration.

Since it was virtual, I barely managed to endure it. I did not want to see a spider the size of a human body in real life.

Then Lowell, just as he was about to step out of the carriage, opened his mouth.

“Still, it seems like good practical experience, so it would be better to at least observe.”

“......”

I should have just stayed seated and said nothing.

I followed Lowell outside, regretting it too late.

When I got out of the carriage, a white snowfield spread before me. I could not feel any monster presence anywhere.

Then Lowell grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him. After that, he smiled gently.

“Do not leave my side.”

My heart pounded for a moment.

Lowell was the owner of a smile so beautiful it could make even the greatest beauty cry.

It was humiliating that my heart had skipped a beat for that smile, but I could not help acknowledging his outstanding looks.

“Fulmen Lance Ignis.”

When Lowell recited the spell, a yellow flash shot quickly from his palm.

The flash seemed to cut through the air, but it crackled as it burned something invisible.

Lowell spoke in a relaxed manner.

“Snowfield spiders spin webs and wait for prey to get caught. As luck would have it, they laid a very pretty net right in front of the carriage.”

Soon, as if a massive web had draped through the air, currents began flowing in a spiderweb pattern.

At the same time, a sharp, ear-splitting shriek rang out in all directions.

“Kiiieeeeeek!”

The lurking snowfield spiders started leaping out.

Their fur had a color similar to snow, making them hard to notice until now as they revealed their forms.

Some spiders rolled around on the snowfield, writhing, and others flipped onto their backs and trembled their legs as they convulsed.

Seeing more than ten spiders doing that together gave me goosebumps all over.

“Ugh......”

My stomach turned. The sight of a spider being charred crisp, combined with the nauseating smell of burning, made it hard to endure.

I took a few steps back.

“Can I go back into the carriage first?”

At any rate, it felt like Lowell had taken care of everything, and if I stayed here any longer I thought I might faint.

When I moved a few steps toward the carriage, a monster cry rang out.

“Kieeek!”

I saw a snowfield spider leap toward me. It must have escaped Lowell’s attack and hidden itself by luck.

Damn it......!

Cold sweat ran down my back. I had no ability to stop a snowfield spider. Just as I thought I was going to be caught helplessly like this,

“Perfora Tonitrus.”

A flash struck before my eyes.

I squeezed my eyes shut at the brightened vision, and then I heard an explosive roar and the snowfield spider’s scream.

“Kieeeeeeeek!”

When the scream faded, I slowly opened my eyes.

I saw the corpse of a snowfield spider, turned into a black lump of charcoal, sprawled in the snow.

And I saw swaying silver hair.

“Phew......”

A low sigh reached me. I felt Lowell’s chest rising and falling together with a warm body temperature.

At a distance close enough for our breaths to touch, I met Lowell’s eyes.

“I told you not to leave my side.”

His purple eyes seemed to bind me as if they would not allow even a chance to escape.

“Uh......”

My reason snapped back all at once, and I belatedly realized that I was in Lowell’s arms.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I-I’m fine!”

I reflexively pushed against Lowell’s chest. Then I sprang to my feet like a spring.

My heart pounded wildly of its own accord. The look in Lowell’s eyes from just now would not leave my head.

It was the same look Lowell had in his eyes right before I was turned into a specimen.

I almost pissed myself.

Not having the courage to meet the specimen maniac’s eyes, I avoided his gaze and awkwardly spoke.

“......Thank you for saving me.”

“As your master, it is only natural that I save my disciple when she is in danger.”

Lowell answered with a bright smile.

Meanwhile, I reflexively looked into the air, searching for the system window.

‘The affection did not go up. Thank goodness.’

If the affection kept rising here, being turned into a living specimen would only be a matter of time.

In the meantime, Lowell looked around. The snowfield spiders had all been turned over and wiped out.

“By the way, monsters really have been increasing. Snowfield spiders are nocturnal, so they do not come out during the day. They hunt large animals and monsters at night, not humans who come outside during the day and have poorer hunting efficiency.”

He walked up to the snowfield spider corpse.

“The snowfield spiders we killed were probably a group pushed out of their habitat by the growing population.”

Then he took leather gloves from his pocket and put them on.

“Still, this is good. I have something to do while I am here.”

With his gloved hand, Lowell opened the snowfield spider’s mouth and pulled out its fangs.

Seeing him pull out the deeply embedded fangs as if he were simply taking out a carrot made me wonder how such tremendous grip strength came from that slender frame.

“The imperial palace does bring magic materials, but sometimes the condition is terrible. There are times when important parts are damaged or the material is extracted too late and cannot be used. Magic materials require very delicate work.”

Lowell went on examining the snowfield spider’s body.

“The imperial supply corps seems not to understand that. So I usually fix it myself.”

Huh? Fix what?

When I looked at Lowell with a bewildered expression, he took a knife from his pocket.

I instinctively swallowed at the blade of the blue-steel knife.

“Right before or right after the breath stops. That is when it is best. You have to extract the organs before the blood flow stops to keep them fresh. And the most important thing is......”

Then Lowell drove the knife into the snowfield spider’s head. Every time the knife moved skillfully, I heard the sound of flesh scraping.

“To carve out only the needed parts without damage. Otherwise, the material is ruined.”

Lowell pulled the knife out of the snowfield spider’s head.

He stuck his fingers through the torn gap, pulled something out, and put it into a specially made glass bottle.

Then he smiled softly at me and showed me the thing inside the bottle.

“This is how you collect materials.”

I let out the breath I had been holding.

Only then did I realize that what Lowell had taken out was the snowfield spider’s eyeball.

‘Please learn how to use your subject properly and say it.’

Of all people, for those words to come out of the specimen maniac’s mouth.

I almost fainted right there from what I had not managed to do earlier.