Atelier Tanaka

Book 7: Chapter 1 (8)

Ordinary Day

『Sophia-chan’s point of view』

The fight was over before it started and it resulted in the two knights’ complete defeat.

“S-Stop…gya….”

“I’m sorry…p-please, save….”

They were both beaten and fell to the ground where the rough adventurer continued to beat them, ignoring their pleas for mercy. The confidence they displayed when they were bragging about their exploits earlier was now completely gone. It was even two on one and they couldn’t stand against that adventurer. Now he’s put his foot on the head of the taller knight and he’s grinding his head into the ground.

That looks like it really hurts.

“What the hell? You two barely even put up a fight considering how boastful you were earlier…”

The adventurer was even less impressed than me.

This isn’t good for me, is it?

The two knights led me out of the restaurant but they’re in no condition to protect me now. The winner of the fight quickly turned his eyes toward me. I should have expected this. I followed them out and this fight started over the adventurer angry about seeing the knights with me. I am basically the prize for whoever won that fight.

“Oi, nee-san, come have a drink with me.”

“Hya….”

I froze in place.

I glanced past the adventurer and saw Misa-chan half-carrying Klein-san as she snuck out of the restaurant. Klein-san looked like he was passed out entirely.

This isn’t fair.

Maybe I should’ve gone for the younger guy.

“So? Sounds good, right?”

He slid his hand around my waist.

“No, u-umm, I….”

He is surprisingly attractive now that I can get a good look at him.

He also took down two knights without taking a scratch. He’s very muscular and his chest is so broad. His shaved head reminds me of Gonzalez-san and he’s around the height of Neumann-san.

Maybe a more bad type of guy like him wouldn’t be so bad.

The alcohol I’ve been drinking all night makes me more open to the idea.

If Tanaka-san looked like this man, I’d even consider him my ideal type. Does he work out at all? Nothing can be done about his face, but if he got his body in shape, it’s something I could overlook.

“Come with me. I know how to treat a woman right.”

“Ahn….”

I have a feeling this man is planning on taking this maid home.

I might end up losing my virginity to some strange man. I’m starting to get nervous and I can feel my body getting hot. I feel like I’m sweating a lot even for me. Why am I getting like this? I want a man’s penis so badly that it hurts.

“…what do you think you’re doing?”

“Eh?”

I was seconds away from allowing myself to be taken away when a familiar voice called out to us.

I turned my head to look towards the voice and spotted a familiar elf.

“Ah….”

She was standing by herself in the street. Maybe she’s returning home from eating dinner.

I know that she has an atelier somewhere in the capital.

“I don’t really like to say this, but you should be more careful about the type of man you choose.”

“No, u-umm, I didn’t…I wasn’t…u-umm….”

Was it that obvious what I was thinking?

It must have been clear on my face.

I can feel it inside me. The irresistible desire to do something perverted.

“…or is it not him you’re after? Maybe those two lying on the ground?”

“T-That’s not what I….”

“Why would you even do this? Are you drunk? Your face is quite red….”

She glanced around for a few seconds to take in the situation. She glanced past us at the restaurant, then back to us, and finally to the knights on the ground. A crowd had gathered around us after the fight started. She waited a few seconds before nodding.

She seems to understand what led to this.

She looked back at me once more and spoke,

“Remove your hand from the girl. I don’t think your fists will put up much of a fight against my magic.”

“Do you know this woman? She looks like an elf….”

“Your eyes aren’t deceiving you.”

“Hmm?”

The man stared back at the elf as if he was determining whether the risk was worth the reward.

The Elf-san didn’t give him time to decide.

“I’m already in a bad mood and I don’t want to waste anymore time on you tonight….”

“Then mind your own business. I’m going to buy this nee-chan a drink.”

“Mind my own business?”

“You’ve got the wrong idea. This nee-chan was being drugged by those knights. When she went to the toilet, they slipped an aphrodisiac in her drink. If I leave her to herself, she’s likely to be taken advantage of by every man in this city. By the morning, she’d have spent hours being used by them and left in the town square to be humiliated.”

“What? Is that true?”

The man said something that should have held a lot of meaning toward me, but my mind was so fuzzy I couldn’t fully grasp what he said. I know it was important though.

Something really perverted though. It involved me being used by a group of men. The thought made my crotch tingle.

“I understand. If that’s what happened, I can take responsibility for her. I’m an acquaintance of her.”

“Is that true?”

“Are you saying you don’t believe me?”

“No, well, whatever. If she’s your friend, take her.”

The man removed his arm from my waist and the Elf-san’s small arm took its place.

The Elf-san smells so good.

I want to try kissing her.

So this is what an aphrodisiac can do.

I think I could get addicted to this feeling.

***

『Sophia-chan’s point of view』

I can’t remember the last time I took a walk around the city at night.

The Elf-san and I walked for around half an hour through the busy streets without ever exchanging any words. She just silently held my hand and led me through the crowd. We made several stops along the way so I could drink water and sober up.

It took nearly an hour before I was able to regain my senses.

“Umm, I-I don’t know how to thank you….”

“You don’t need to. Just be more careful from now on.”

“…of course.”

Aphrodisiacs have a terrifying effect.

I almost let myself get lost in the atmosphere. The knights of the Penny Empire reminded me so much of Allen-sama that I allowed myself to believe they could be trusted. I need to be more cautious going forward.

Ah, that doesn’t mean I have to avoid aphrodisiacs completely. If I use them when I’m alone in my room, it shouldn’t be a problem.

It could be dangerous if I’m enjoying myself alone in my room and Tanaka-san were to request me to meet with him. The idea of it kind of excited me, and I’m sure I’d be very nervous, but I think Tanaka-san is the one person I can be sure wouldn’t take advantage of me.

Ah, Klein-san wasn’t as lucky as me and was taken back to Misa-chan’s home. Her pretty face masks her disgusting personality. She told me that she was gang-raped when she was younger in the slums and this led to her developing disturbing sexual proclivities.

“Do you think you’ll be able to make it home on your own?”

“Eh? Ah, y-yeah….”

Where should I go?

I never told my parents I was in town, but should I go there anyway?

“If you’re still not feeling safe, I might have a room for you to stay in for the night….”

“Ah….”

I never knew the Elf-san was so kind.

To think that she’d be concerned over a simple maid like me with nothing but dirty thoughts filling her mind.

“…what do you want to do?”

“….”

I really don’t want to return to my parents’ home.

I don’t want to show my face to my father after having been sold twice now. I think I should give it some more time before returning to see him with Tanaka-san accompanying me. If he’s there to help explain my situation, I think it will go over better.

“Umm, if you really don’t mind, I guess I….”

“Then follow me. My home isn’t  far from here.”

“T-Thank you.”

The Elf-san is such a great person.

So pure.

It made my heart hurt comparing my own filthy thoughts to her purity.

“…you don’t need to thank me. It was by pure chance that I ran into you.”

The Elf-san turned away from me to hide her embarrassment.

Such a cute Elf-san.

Maybe there’s still some of that aphrodisiac in my system, but I still have a strong urge to kiss her. I wonder if she’d be okay with it if I did? No, no, no, I can’t be thinking like this. I’m starting to get the mind of a creepy old man.

I think I’m starting to get how Tanaka-san must feel sometimes.

Maybe I should do something to show my appreciation toward him never being as creepy as I am right now.

“….”

“….”

The two of us fell into silence once more as we continued our moonlit stroll.

It was a quiet, peaceful night.

However, I know such tranquility can never last.

A boisterous pair of voices cut through the silent night.

『Oi! Are you sure this is where that Elf lives!?』

“…if you have doubts, you can just stop following me already.”

『I-I’ll wait a bit longer! Just a little bit!』

“You don’t have to stay. I didn’t even ask you to follow me.”

『Gurururu, you’re such an annoying little thing! If you don’t stop speaking to me like that, I’ll kill you! Oi, are you listening!? Don’t you have something to say!?』

“If you kill me, you’ll lose your title as mayor and never be accepted there again.”

『….』

The voices sounded familiar.

I glanced down at the Elf-san and we both naturally picked up our pace.

After we turned a corner and a block of houses came into view, a pair of familiar faces greeted us.

It was the Dragon-san and Goggoru-san.

They were standing in front of the block of houses yelling at each other. The two of them had some distance between each other and whenever Goggoru-san would take a step toward the Dragon-san, the latter would quiver and back away.

Her reaction was so cute that I wanted to kiss her.

“…she’s here.”

『….』

Goggoru-san was facing our direction so she was the first to notice us and pointed us out to the Dragon-san. The Dragon-san muttered something under her breath before turning to us with an embarrassed expression.

They both looked relieved to see the Elf-san.

While the Elf-san was surprised to see the pair of them.

“W-What are you two doing in front of my home!?”

She stopped dead in her tracks and couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice.

I guess one of these houses is the Elf-san’s.

“I thought the two of you were staying behind in Dragon City!? Back in his territory! I thought you never shut up about how much you hated that Goggoru, Christina-san!? What are you doing working with her…?”

『Be quiet! Just shut up and open this door like a good obedient little elf!』

“…did you two sneak on to the airship?”

『….』

“Could it be that y-you two came here without a plan and no have nowhere else to go?”

『….』

The Elf-san was clearly scared of the Dragon-san, but she couldn’t stop herself from abusing this moment of power.

The Dragon-san seemed unable to offer any rebuttal and she was forced to fall silent.

A complete victory.

“…I brought her here. Sorry.”

“No, well, I’m not even sure whether I care or not, but I do know yelling outside like this is going to cause trouble with the neighbours. It’s fine, you can all come inside.”

Goggoru-san offered the Elf-san an apology.

This seemed to calm the Elf-san somewhat and she made the pair of them the same offer she made me. The Elf-san is kind to everyone equally. I might have fallen in love with her.

The Dragon-san, on the other hand, kept up her attitude.

『Hmph! You should’ve just made that offer straight away, stupid Elf.』

“This damn dragon still has such a haughty attitude….”

『What was that? You want to go!?』

“….”

The Dragon-san was growling at the Elf-san with a gururu sound while the Elf-san gave her an annoyed look.

I’d imagine the former is the stronger of the two.

Personally, I would prefer it if the Elf-san won, but I know that the Dragon-san is a powerful acquaintance of Tanaka-san, so there’s not much I could do to help her. At the very least, I can wrap my arm around the Elf-san’s shoulder to offer her my emotional support. She looks frustrated with the Dragon-san but she knows she can’t stand against her.

I’m going to hug her.

“…eh?”

“Ah, s-sorry! I’m s-sorry….”

Are~e, am I starting to become like Mercedes-san?

The sudden warmth of the Elf-san’s body flowed into me and it brought me back to my senses.

“No, i-it’s just…uh? Nevermind!”

The Elf-san was either embarrassed or maybe she just wanted to put some distance between herself and me.

She quickly pulled a key out of her pocket and ran up to the front door of her home. I heard the lock click and the door swung open. The Elf-san waved her hand and the room lit up.

She really is letting us into her home.

“Come on, g-get in already! And be quiet about it, okay!?”

『Good』

“…thank you.”

I don’t know how to describe how I’m feeling, but I guess it just feels like I don’t belong with this group.

For the first time in my life, I experienced the thrill of staying over at a friend’s house.