Chapter 36: Sweet Wine

December 13th, 2022

Beta Reader: My_Own_Worst_NPC

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The soldier named Cheryl quickly rushed forward after being called by Gram. She was one of the six officers and one of the only recovery personnel in the unit.

“Try to calm down, Okami, take deep breaths.”

Cheryl had narrow, hard eyes and a slender body. I know I have no reference image, but aren’t recovery-related jobs like the healer role in the game? Don’t they usually have wide eyes, flowing blonde hair, huge breast, and a gentle demeanour?

Too bad that Cheryl wasn’t that kind of person. Her long, flaxen hair was tied back in a bun, her eyebrows were thin, and her eyes were slightly slanted. Her personality was also a bit harsh, although she did have something of a gentle side to her. She never cut corners when it came to treatment, even when dealing with low-ranking soldiers, and she was also known for applying healing magic carefully.

“I’ll make you feel better now,” she said while unbuttoning the top two buttons from my shirt. With just that little thing I felt as if I could breathe much easier.

“It seems like you have palpitations; your heart is beating a bit too fast. Let’s use recovery magic.”

Cheryl then used a spell called healing hands, a magic that enhances a person’s self-healing ability to the maximum.

“∃⊆§⊥∂∝”

After chanting the spell, Cheryl’s hands began to glow with pale green light, and then she quickly put her hands on my chest through the open shirt which made me flinch by reflex.

“Don’t worry, this won’t hurt. You’ll feel better soon.”

She’s was right. I was starting to feel better already.

“Cheryl… Is direct contact with the patient really necessary?” Gram was eyeing Cheryl suspiciously.

“Yes. Some research results have shown that the healing process will be more efficient if the magic is delivered directly via skin to skin contact,” she said confidently. Gram accepted her words, albeit begrudgingly.

I would have been convinced too, if not for the fact that she was lightly caressing my nipples. I mean it was just the occasional graze, but I was still pretty sure it was intentional.

“Thank you very much for treating me, I really am feeling much better, so…” I tried to get up, but Cheryl stopped me.

“Not yet, you’re not completely healed. This is the most important part!”

Is that so?

 ……!!

Hey! Did you just pinch my nipple?

It was subtle, but I could’ve sworn that her little finger was teasing my nipple with more intensity.

“Cheryl is gentle, but thorough; she doesn’t do anything halfway.”

No! You’re wrong! This person is just doing it for her own enjoyment! Well, I mean, I am enjoying it too actually…

And so I stayed like that for some time before finally getting back up.

“How are you feeling now?”

“Thanks to the treatment, I’m feeling pretty good, thank you.”

Other parts of my body are feeling good too…

“That’s good to hear.”

As I took a peek towards Cheryl, I saw that her narrow eyes had widened slightly, and her red tongue made a licking gesture at the edge of her lips.

—————————————————————————————-

I ended up accompanying the soldiers until they finished clearing the first basement level, and since most of the day had passed in exploration, I’d had no time to prepare any sort of meal.

Instead, tonight’s meal was prepared by the military cook, and I was relieved of the responsibility.

“Okami, why don’t you eat dinner with us tonight?” Gram smiled warmly as she invited me to join them.

While it was nice that I didn’t have to cook dinner, I much preferred cooking dinner to exploring the dungeon, which was mentally and physically draining.

Dinner consisted of bread and cheese, grilled pork, boiled potatoes and beans with plenty of butter on top. The amount of food was good, but the taste was lacking.

Wine was our only beverage; a very sweet port wine, probably with sugar added to prevent spoilage. The pork and potatoes were very salty, so I couldn’t help but keep reaching to the wine to counterbalance the taste.

Before long, I was enveloped in a strange sense of euphoria. [1]

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“Ahahahahahaha! I’m so lucky to be surrounded by so many beautiful women!”

I don’t know why but I’m feeling so giddy, maybe because the excitement of going into the dungeon for the first time hasn’t going away yet.

We found three treasures today: A golden ring, a bracelet, and an old book. I wasn’t allowed to see the contents of the book, but they said it was an original copy of a book on ancient magic. All of them were in the treasure chest on the first basement floor.

“It seems Okami is in high spirits, that makes us happy too! Here, have another cup of wine.” One of the officers poured more wine into my almost empty cup.

“O-Oi!” Gram looked like she was about to stop me from drinking the wine. She had such a worried look on her face.

Don’t worry, this much alcohol isn’t enough to make me drunk!

“Worry not, Gram-shama… This amount of wine ish nothing… Where I come from, we call it a peesh of cake… A walk in the park…” [2]

Sure my speech was a little slurred, but I meant everything I said.

“Is… Is that so?” Gram replied half-convincedly.

“Okami,” the Vice Commander interjected, “We would like you to help us again tomorrow, if that’s alright with you?”

If it’s alright with me, she said?

I quickly faced Lane, took her hand into mine, clasped it with both hands and declared, “If it’s for the sake of Lane-san, then be it into fire, the sea, or the dungeon, I, Shirou Sanada, will dive right into it!” [3]

As I made the declaration, the officers around me were whistling and cheering.

“Whooaaa–! So Okami’s type is the Vice Commander? Dammit I’m so envious of her!”

Hmm..?? It sems they’re misunderstanding about something… [4]

“Don’t say something like that! You got me wrong!”

Everyone fell silent because of my outburst.

“I’m not joking around. I’m not that kind of man. You see, Lane-san is not the only person I like. Gram-sama, too. I like her too, you know!”

Everyone was looking at me with a blank stare. Yeah, I think I have to make a clear statement here.

“I like Lane-san because she’s mature. I like Gram-sama because she looks adorable. And I still like Cheryl-san for treating me with magic, even though she was using it as an excuse for touching my nipple with her little finger. Hm, maybe it’s more rubbing instead of touching… Or kneading…?”

“Cheryl… you bastard…”

Everyone suddenly glared at Cheryl who looks like she’s about to cry.

“No, no, it’s fine! I forgive you Cheryl-san!”

I gave her a hug to cheer her up. And while at it, I took the opportunity to rub hers back.  It was smaller than I had thought, but it was firm and nice to touch.

“See? This way we’re even now! So no hard feelings!”

“You…” Cheryl’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are you an angel?”

An angel? I think, someone said something like that to me.

‘…You’re my guardian angel, Shirou…’

Ah… that’s right… Chris had said that. She said I was her guardian angel…

“Ugh… Hics… Sobs…”

“Okami, why are you crying now? Is-Is there something wrong!?” Gram looked at me while unsure of what to do.

Everything was so happy and high-spirited before, but now… now I can’t stop crying….

Dammit, I can’t do this without drinking.

I grabbed a glass on the table and downed it in one gulp.

“H-hey, Okami, I think you should stop…”

“Please don’t stop me, Gram-sama. Rather, please listen to my story. You see, I had someone important to me.”

“Someone important?”

“Yes. When I first came here, she was the one who guided me when I had lost everything, and she gave me her love.”

Ah shit, I can’t stop my tears.

I drunk some more wine in the hopes of alleviating my sadness.

“What happened to her?”

“Chris-sama is already… I can no longer meet with her again…” [5]

And that is a hard reality for me.

“Gram-sama?”

“What is it?”

“Can I cry for a bit?” Actually, I was already crying so hard my nose was dripping, but I asked anyway.

“Don’t worry. You can cry until all the sorrow in your heart is lifted.”

Gram’s eyes were gentler than usual, so I clung to her chest and cried myself to sleep.

♢ Lotte’s POV

Lotte and the other officers were silently watching Shirou, his sleeping face blissful and calm, before finally the most senior among them, Lane, broke the silence.

“I’ve always thought that he’d have some kind of past, but it seems that he’s lost his wife or lover.”

“It’s as you say. Shirou said her name was Chris, huh?”

Lotte and the others were wondering what kind of woman this Chris might be, but they would never have imagined she would have been Princess Christiana, the War Princess of Regalta. Chris wasn’t exactly an uncommon name in either the Kingdom of Regalta or Rurugoa empires.

 “Anyway, it’d be bad if we let him sleep in a place like this. I’m going to carry him to bed.”

His face buried in her chest, the gentle rising and falling of his torso with every breath, Lotte never wanted this moment to end.  

“Lotte-sama, Okami is passed out. Don’t get any ideas, alright?”

“Y-you idiot. You think I would do something so cruel as to take advantage of a sleeping man?”

“I know you wouldn’t, but still…” Although Dianne completely understood that Lotte was not that kind of woman, she couldn’t help but worry. “…if you were to bring him to his room by yourself, it might start a rumor among the soldiers”

“I see…”

Her adjutant’s worry was understandable.

“If that’s the case, I want you all to accompany me in carrying Okami to his room. Except you, Cheryl, you’re staying here.”

“Yes ma’am…” Cheryl sighed in resignation as her colleagues taunted her mercilessly.

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1 I’m not an expert on wine, but I heard that port wine has higher alcohol content, and can make you drunk easily compared to regular wine.

2 Original dialogue was, “Where I come from, we call this [a piece of cake (English written in katakana)] which means we eat it for breakfast”

3 Hoo boy… He’s really drunk. Whatever happened with that much wine is fine? Oh yeah he was drunk when he says that.

4 What Shirou was trying to say by his drunken rambling is that he loves most of the women there (since his preference spectrum is so wide); Dianne Lane is only one of the women she likes. On why he thought it’s a good idea to announce it, well, he’s drunk.

5 Realistically speaking, the island is now part of the enemy’s territory so Chris won’t be able to freely return, but saying it halfway like that would make everyone thinks that the continuation would be [She is already dead], while the truth is [She is already went to Bawanda fortress which is in the enemy territory]