DBOFS 45

Chapter 45

The guiding on the terrace, and then the news that Jade had dragged Alucas off somewhere afterward.

“…That mercenary bastard.”

After receiving the full report, Harris remained in his office for quite some time even after Jade returned home.

Where did the two of them go together?

And they even held hands? The emotion boiling up inside him was so hot, it felt dangerous.

Skkang—!

“Die!”

The timing was so perfect that he actually felt glad assassins had shown up.

“Phew…”

After slaughtering the assassins as a way to vent, Harris washed the blood off and thought,

An S-class Esper barged in—what could Jade have done about it?

Aside from his emotional agitation, he could understand logically.

From the perspective of the delicate Jade, the best course would be to go along with whatever that bastard wanted and get out as quickly as possible.

And the matter with Count Artu’s daughter and her maid—Jade had handled it wisely, considering her own position…

When the hell is that damned identity change going to be finished?

Bang—! The marble bathtub shattered, water spilling across the floor.

Harris irritably stomped the broken tub to pieces, then smoothed out his clothes, forcing down the surge of anger trying to creep back in.

When he reached Jade’s bedroom door, he checked his reflection in the marble and took a deep breath to calm himself.

First, a rational conversation to figure out exactly what happened…

“My baby, I love you sooo much—!”

Bang—!!

Forget rationality—his self-control blew away, and his body, unrestrained, barged into the bedroom.

Large blue eyes, rosy cheeks, fresh as a flower kissed by a light rain—the girl stared at him with wide eyes.

“Jade.”

So she’s fine enough after guiding another man?

Is my guiding the only one that’s so hard for her to handle?

And “love”? Even after hearing her excuse, bitterness welled up from deep inside.

Harris reached for his Guide. He was about to force a guiding without holding back—

“W-wait—!”

Her raised hand made him pause.

“Wait?”

The look in Harris’s eyes, halted right in front of her, could have killed someone.

Frankly, she should’ve been grateful he even stopped…

But I’m the one in more of a rush here!

I quickly blew a sharp breath—Hyaah!—onto my palm, then shoved my nose into it and sniffed.

“…”

“…”

A moment of silence.

I lost to Harris’s silent, piercing gaze and let out an awkward laugh.

“Ah, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet…”

“…”

It’s not like I’m unhygienic! I was just having a late-night snack! I was going to brush again before bed!

Why guiding now, of all times…?!

Honestly, it felt unfair.

All those times I’d brushed in advance to be clean, fresh, and ready—wasted. And now, right when I’ve been stuffing my face with every salty-sweet snack in sight, he wants to do this!

I’m not even asking for a day’s notice—just five minutes, is that too much?

Even an extra could be afforded that much dignity, right?

“What?”

…Apparently not.

Facing Harris’s intense stare made cold sweat trickle down my back.

“Hey, my teeth—”

But my trembling lips still blurted the truth. Even now, I was obsessing over whether my breath smelled.

I tried to back away to let the smell disperse, but Harris’s arm blocked my path.

“What?”

“I-I just ate a bunch of stuff right now…”

Even just standing under his looming height was crushing.

“Can I please just brush first? I’ll be quick! Thorough! Fresh and cool with mint flavor!”

My attempts at damage control turned into pure babbling.

Ahhh, I want to die—no, not literally, but I’m mortified.

Having to plead my case about bad breath to my favorite person—was this real life?

“…”

The silence stretched.

Apparently, he didn’t give a damn about my breath; he seemed ready to force it right now.

Another sewer-flavored kiss—no, guiding—was coming.

Screw it.

I swallowed my tears and lowered my hand.

It’d be fine. I’d just checked, and it smelled like snacks, right?

Well… maybe my hand just reeked of snacks from stuffing my face, but still…

“…Pfft.”

A faint sound?

When I peeked open my eyes, Harris’s broad back was trembling.

Pfft—pffft! It sounded like he was stifling laughter.

Why?

It’s not that funny, so what’s the problem?

Wasn’t he so displeased with our last kiss—er, guiding—that he didn’t even show me his face afterward? And here I was, ready to be all service-minded…

“…So.”

But before I could ask, Harris lifted his head, expression back to normal.

“Did you enjoy guiding another man?”

Apparently, my desperate tooth-brushing plea had been completely erased from his mind.

“No, I didn’t.”

“It was on the terrace, Jade. With witnesses everywhere—why lie?”

“It’s not a lie—”

“So you’re saying he didn’t guide from you and still let you go?”

“I’m telling you, I didn’t guide him!”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t me—it was Adrian! I gripped my “Adrian” (the rock) tightly and boldly stuck to my story.

And I’d even prepared the proof in advance.

“Really. The reason Alucas was calm today…”

“You’re already on a first-name basis, Jade?”

“…The reason the Mercenary King was calm.”

“Why the hell are you using honorifics with him?”

“…”

Can’t even get to the point without interruptions.

“That damn Mercenary King kept still because of this.”

I reached for the box on the bedside table, but my arm was too short.

Harris, still braced over me with one arm, grabbed it instead, opening it easily with his large hand.

“…This.”

“Yes. It’s exactly what you think.”

His eyes narrowed.

“A sedative for Espers.”

A sedative potion I’d made using ingredients I personally gathered from the dungeon.

That was why Alucas, who’d been half-mad for guiding, had let me go so easily.

A few hours earlier, in the afternoon.

“This way.”

I had brought Alucas to the Rodus Trading Company where Anella was staying.

“L-Lady Jade?!”

Specifically, to Nate’s lab, where he was manufacturing sedatives from dungeon byproducts.

“Hi, Nate. Sorry for dropping by without warning. I’ll bring something next time.”

“Not at all, Lady Jade—you’re always welcome—”

“Really? That’s good. Could you prepare the thing I mentioned before?”

“Huh? Oh, yes!”

While Nate was dealing with me, Pedro slipped out of the lab.

“Lady Anella!”

The one who’d practically saved the Rodus Trading Company from bankruptcy—Jade—had brought an outsider straight into their top-secret lab.

“What?!”

When she ran over after hearing the report and saw who I’d brought, Anella froze.

“T-the Mercenary King…?!”

And that it was Alucas only made it worse.

I patted her shoulder reassuringly.

“Yup, that’s right.”

“W-why did you bring him…?”

“Introduction. The Mercenary King is going to be one of our main clients from now on.”

“According to who?”

Alucas scoffed.

The entire way here, he’d mocked my claim that there was a potion that could calm an Esper without a Guide’s guiding.

Well, I can’t blame him.

It’s not that sedatives for Espers didn’t exist on the market.

But they all had serious drawbacks—like causing hallucinations or complete paralysis.

Some people actually prefer that.

For example, Harris’s garbage father. Or the current Duke Godwin. Or that bastard Norman Godwin.

People who had intense prejudice against Espers and wanted to keep them under control used those kinds of “sedatives.”

So of course Alucas felt suspicious.

But…

“H-here it is.”

This was the result Nate had produced after obsessively researching since the dungeon expedition.

“Hah, you’re telling me to drink that crap?”

“Correct.”

“And why would I?”

Still not believing in its effect, Alucas only agreed to drink after I promised him a “one-time extra guiding session” if something went wrong.

“You’d better keep your word.”

“Says the guy who’d deny it even if it worked—don’t go playing dumb afterward.”

“If this is poison—”

“Oh, we’d all die then! Can’t you see it’s just a bunch of nobodies here? You’re the all-powerful S-class, stop being so petty! Just drink it already!”

“…”

After staring at me like I was some bizarre creature for a long while, Alucas finally put the potion to his lips.

“…”

“…”

With the predator Alucas in the room, the tension was so thick you could choke on it.

I was nervous too—truthfully, I’d only gathered the raw ingredients; I didn’t actually know the full recipe.

I believe in you, genius potion-maker Nate…!

When his Adam’s apple bobbed and he grimaced at the taste…

“…!”

His expression gradually froze. Even the heated air around him seemed to cool and freshen.

It worked!

Grinning, I asked,

“So? How is it?”

Alucas, having seen undeniable results, reluctantly answered,

“…Not as good as your guiding.”

So he couldn’t deny it had an effect.

Honestly, the fact it’s even being compared to the world’s strongest Guide’s guiding is amazing.

Thud—Nate, the most tense of all, collapsed into his seat, and Anella clutched her chest in relief.

“T-thank goodness…!”

“But.”

Glancing around, Alucas added in a cold tone,

“It’s still worse than a normal Guide. Don’t compare it to that.”