When I asked Sue for further details on her suggestion to beat Silvia, she said she'll tell me more in private later. She did say she was confident that I could overcome our Succubus opponent with the level of my [Vigorous Libido], alone. Once again, I couldn't sense a hint of lying from her with my [Intuition].
Well, considering Sue's circumstances, if she says I can take Silvia on, I'll take her word for it. Maybe I could convince her to change sides like Tyvera did, if there's a chance of that happening. Still, her past history with other men is worrying. I'll have to see what she's like before considering taking her in.
Getting back to the other disciples, we next have Rowling's right-hand man, a Devil named Blaine. He's likely Klash's older brother who had Krigeran come to fetch him earlier. Just mentioning him being a Devil meant he was very strong, and he was apparently the only member in the group who was a bronze-ranked adventurer, compared to the other disciples being black. Blaine leads a small party of six, with the others being Devils, as well, whose ranks range from red to violet, so his team had more strength in quality than quantity. It seems he has great strength in both close-quarters and magic combat like Sue.
It's surprising that Blaine works under Rowling's authority, even if that Vampire's rank was silver. Apparently, Blaine and Klash were nephews of the Duke of Demons, Vask, and I guess he found both of them not qualified to lead his disciples. Either that, or Rowling had something in his sleeve to win the spot. Klash, by the way, was a red-ranked adventurer, and I had confirmed that after using [Size Up] on him earlier. Recalling his stats, they were impressive, he would have no problems taking down Winny's brother, Kenny, who was the same rank. It would be safe to assume Blaine's party members would be around the same strength as his little brother. Noire could still take Klash down with stats alone, however. If his brother was stronger than him, though, Noire might have a tough time, as would I if I tried to hold back like I had in our sparring duel earlier. That was if we were fighting one-on-one, too. Facing him and his party all at once, it's going to be tough to fight, next to Rowling, anyway.
The last of the disciples was the main brawn in charge of the majority of physical labor, the Minotaur, Bufo. He was scouted as the strongest Minotaur in his clan, and he leads a small party of other strong Minotaurs who’ve sworn loyalty to him. It’s been said that if there was an attractive female in his sights, he would stop at nothing to ‘mark’ her as his property, and as a result, he’s got half a dozen Minotaur women waiting on him. Within the last few years, though, he and his party have been off finding his little sister who went missing. What was unsettling was that for Minotaurs, some males would keep their younger sisters as one of their own women once they reached adulthood, and Bufo has been quite the siscon for some time. This sister went missing some time before she reached adulthood, and I couldn’t help but pray that the poor girl was in a safer place where he couldn’t find her.
“I can sympathize with that girl,” Ren said after hearing about Bufo’s ‘tastes’. She was currently in the same position with me before everyone came back together, but with clothes on. I had an arm around her waist while my free hand was petting her head.
“Does your brother … feel that way about you, too?” I asked her with a raised brow.
Ren shook her head, “I’m honestly not sure what he feels for me, exactly, but I know it isn’t good. I was sympathizing with that little sister Minotaur for having a persistent and scary older brother to find her.”
I nodded in understanding.
“Do you have siblings, Master?” Ren asked.
I shrugged, “As far as I know? Not really.”
“You don’t know?” Ume asked.
“My dad vanished on Mom when I was born,” I explained, “She wouldn’t tell me the circumstances on why, but I could only make some reasonable guesses after learning some of my family history on my own much later. Whatever his reasons were, though, I’ve wanted to beat him to a pulp for ditching Mom like that, especially when I’ve sometimes seen her cry over him when I was young, something that I rarely saw of her, knowing how strong a woman she is. Anyway, he could be married to another woman with another kid by now and I wouldn’t even know.”
“What would you do if you saw him and his new family now?” Ren asked.
I looked up in thought, trying to envision myself in that sort of setting, “Hmmm … I don’t know, it would depend on how that old man and his new wife are, but I’d definitely feel awkward. I’d probably be more comfortable getting to know their new kid, since there was a time I thought what it would be like having a blood-related sibling. Considering how I’ve scared many Humans away with my looks back home, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if they got afraid of me, especially if I sent our dad flying with a punch to the face.”
“If I may ask, Master Jinma, what are your stances on incestuous relationships?” Kalline asked, “Among some clans of Demons, incest is more common than others. I have heard that sort of thing is taboo among Humans, but I have also … read a few of such things happening in fiction. N-Not that I was searching for such things actively! I was just surprised they appeared in some Human literature! I was just wondering what you, as a Human, might say about these different approaches in the topic!” At the end, the Centaur got as flustered as she was red in the face.
“Uh … that would be difficult to answer,” I said, “Back home, I knew an aunt who wasn’t a part of such a thing, but she was still in a relationship that many would still look down on, despite how accepting it is in other places: being with another woman. ‘If they’re happy together, why bother making a big deal about it?’ That was my thought there, but I know a relationship between two women is different from one of a brother and a sister, or some other pairings within a family. I’ve never known anyone having gotten involved with that, and it’s hard for me to have an opinion on something I haven’t seen for myself. The general opinion back home calls incest a taboo, yet I’ve also stumbled into some … literary works that centers around the subject.
“If I had to guess why that’s a thing, part of it might be the excitement that comes from doing something that you know is wrong. Another is that, since you’re reading about it objectively, it isn’t as dangerous and dramatic as having it done in person. They’re just more comfortable fantasizing about it than doing it themselves. Some people just like to imagine themselves getting raped for kicks, but would definitely not want to have it done to them in person, even if it was part of a consented roleplay,” I finished with a shrug.
“I see, so it’s like Eri having the masochistic desire of being dominated, but not by anyone who’s inferior to her,” Ren said.
“D-Don’t just spout things like that with everyone in the room!” Erizora exclaimed with a flushed face, “And unlike those weak cowards, I enjoy Master dominating me in my fantasy and in real life! I wouldn’t call myself his sex slave I half-ass it!”
“That … doesn’t have anything to do with this, I don’t think,” I said awkwardly.
“Going back to incest, what about you, Master Jinma?” Kalline then asked me, “Incest in fantasy or real life … what is your take in both of those for yourself?”
I closed my eyes and thought on it, Ugh, I blame my mangaka aunt for even introducing me to the many doujinshi genres and tags with such passion. Would I have these tastes if I never stumbled into it?
“Well … If I met my younger sister for the first time in my fantasy, I’d likely be surprised at how cute and attractive she would be. ‘How is this cutie related to a terrifying demon like me?!’ would be my first thought,” I explained, “And if she hasn’t run away from my scary looks at that point, I’d be happy, for sure. Since Mom had never introduced me to anyone in her family other than my grandmother, I was always a little afraid of not being accepted by blood-related relatives. It was especially so since it seemed my so-called ‘dad’ ended up not wanting to see me after I was born. That’s why, if my little sister accepted me as her brother, I’d be up to practically anything she’d want to do to make up for lost sibling-bonding time, maybe even some, I don’t know, ‘adult-play’ if she was single and seems like a cool girl.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Really? Even if other Humans will go against it for being taboo?” Ume asked with a raised brow.
“Well, Mom did tell me once that our family was anything but normal, and that fact seemed to apply to her blood-related family as well as the one made up of all her friends becoming my aunts,” I answered with a shrug, “It would be different if we lived together for a long time, but if I saw her now without knowing, she'd be another girl in my eyes, first and foremost. If my little sister was abnormal and wanted to get closer through those relations, well, who am I to turn it down after she accepted a monster like me as her brother? I’d never impose that idea on her, of course, not if it would risk me losing my only blood-related sister to where she wouldn’t want anything to do with me anymore. I’d be happy enough with her accepting me enough to maybe let me spoil her from time to time, spoil her in ways I had wanted to do as a ‘normal’ older brother. But, again, this is all part of my ‘fantasy’. How I would want things to go ideally in a ‘perfect world’. The chances of that happening in reality now are … very, very small, almost nonexistent, and I have no idea how I’d react if I did meet my little sister … or an older one, if Mom wasn’t the first girl that bastard knocked up."
"Hmm … alright, I think I get it. Thank you for answering my question, Master Jinma," Kalline said.
Now that I know my family has roots that could extend to this world, I won't deny the possibility of seeing a relative existing, even if it was small. Since I had only personally known Mom and Granny from that family, though, the other Kotori's and remnants of the Kurokichi Clan are total strangers to me. Unless I had a DNA test, or some skill that worked like one, there's no way in me knowing I was speaking to someone from my family. The chances of me finding someone from the old bastard's side are even lower than that.
I glanced over to Sue sitting on a chair, she stiffened up at my sudden attention directed at her.
<... Don't bother. I don't want to hear it,> I answered.
Yep, there is very, very little chance of me meeting a relative in this world. The probability is near nonexistent. I firmly believed in those facts, I wanted to believe in them. If by some miracle I do run into a relative—or more likely, they approach me—under peculiar circumstances over the course of my journey to meet the Demon King, my first question wouldn't be 'How did you find me', but either 'Why are you here', or 'What do you want'.
While I learned a great deal of my family origins from Obina, that didn't mean I wanted to find my other relatives, and I have no plans for doing that. What I learned from the Goddess of Lust was family history, that history has no power over how I want to live. I wanted to believe Mom secluded me from the rest of her family for that reason, among others. For that reason, I wanted to live my new life in this world on my own terms, not having anything, family or otherwise, veer me away from that path. If I had to be honest, I got anxious just thinking about meeting a family member I have no knowledge about. I wanted to avoid that meeting from ever happening, if I had the choice.
Which is why, should I meet someone from my family, it couldn't be out of coincidence. They were seeking me out for reasons I don't know, and I'd rather not get involved with whatever they want from me. It was especially so after I learned their yakuza origins, and how they could still be active in the underground.
The fantasy I described earlier was just that, whether it was with my sister, brother, uncle, aunt, or whatever. To be accepted with no ulterior motives while sharing mutual feelings of affection and/or camaraderie, that's all my fantasy really boils down to. I have to accept the fact that that may never happen with me and my family's curse. I can't think of any reason someone from my family would seek me out other than to establish familial connections.
That is why I'm going to ignore that one's feelings in the topic. No matter how likely it is, it's just too crazy for that to actually happen. There'd be many more questions that follow if that is the case, and I don't want to put up with it. After all the mental olympics I was put through today, I couldn't think anymore about this topic, not with a bunch of other things going on.
I don't care what you may throw at me, bad luck, curse, or whatever, but please, anything but that. Don't make this any more troubling than it already is. At least give me time to prepare my heart.
Before my mind got heavier with worrying thoughts, a 'gira gira' sound rang through the room. I immediately recognized that tone after hearing it the first time before we confronted Gabriella on our first meeting.
"That's Noire," I said as I took out the blinking Messaging Crystal from my pocket with a lighter mind, thankful for her timing. Gesturing everyone to keep quiet, I activated the magical connection like pushing the 'call' button on my phone.
"Hello?"
"Helloooooo, Jinma darling," Noire sang, "I have my things ready and the situation is calm in my cottage. If we're still getting into the action, now would be the best time."
"Perfect, I'll pop over to your room in a little bit, just give me a moment," I said.
"Don't keep me waiting, my love. Toodle-oo," Noire greeted before the lit up Messaging Crystal dimmed in brightness.
"I never thought a noblewoman like Lady Krauss would behave so … womanly, like a maiden in love," Kalline commented with tinted cheeks.
"It's Master we're talking about, after all. He can make any female swoon," Ren said while puffing her chest in pride, though I wasn't what there was to be proud of.
The Werewolf stiffened in surprise as I lifted her from our position with ease and gently set her on my side before I hopped off of bed. "I have a personal matter to attend to with Noire, but I'll be back as soon as I can to help prepare dinner," I said.
"Actually, why don't you let me take care of that?" Ume asked, which made me widen my eyes in shock.
"I see … so I'll be tasting my wife's cooking for the first time. I'll look forward to it. Could you also prepare the meals in rations for the dungeon crawl?" I asked.
"Leave it to me!"
"Ren, Erizora, help Ume with food prep and whatever else she asks of you," I said.
"Yes, Master!" they answered in sync.
"Um … I can cook a bit, too," Sue said while shyly raising a hand up, "I know a few recipes that you may like, if that's okay."
Seeing Sue offering, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, Ume and Ren would watch her while I was gone. On the other, Sue would be preparing our food. She mentioned she won't harm my party, and she seemed to be telling the truth, but after what I've seen of her so far, I don't know what to expect. I can't not turn down her offer, either, being my 'fan' who wants to prepare her hero a good meal. The others who aren't in the know would get suspicious. Guess there's no helping it.
"Ah, something made by my biggest fan, huh?" I asked, trying to get my best acting face on, "Alright, you can join in and use whatever ingredients we have to make your best dish. Ume, Ren, look after her progress and help her if she needs anything."
Ume and Ren nodded, getting my message between the lines. Okay, that should ensure Sue not putting anything weird in our food, should she try anything.
"I won't let you down, Jinma! What I've got in store will knock your taste buds out!" Sue exclaimed with vigor.
For your sake, I hope it doesn't knock me out.
Then again, my [Poison Nullification] should save me from any poisons and Sue should already know I have that skill. If she intended on doing something to me, she probably wouldn't have offered to cook, unless she tried something at my party, despite what she promised me. Maybe the stress is making me paranoid?
"Everyone else, stand by in the inn and rest, limit yourselves of going out unless it's absolutely necessary, by that point, tell one of my Familiars so they can relay the message to me," I said, "Mametama had sighted what may be the disciples and their parties in town today, as well as heard about a pack of White Werewolves camping outside."
Ren trembled slightly after hearing the Werewolf tidbit.
"Things might get complicated from here on, and there's still Yukino who may be coming later tonight," I continued, "Keep yourselves on the lookout, don't go out by yourselves, and rest while you can. I'll be back when my business with Noire is finished. Everyone good?"
"Yes!" everyone exclaimed in confirmation.
With the plan set, I switched gears and prepared myself for what may come as I opened [Portal] in Noire's room and helped myself inside.