Cute…? Yuda let out a wry laugh at his own thought. Perhaps due to the alcohol, a faint flush colored her cheeks, and her usually sharp eyes were softened, almost unfocused. Even her tongue was slurring, making her words spill out clumsily.
The liquor Chapelin Piercen had served wasn’t just good by word of mouth, it must have been truly exceptional. Yuda felt a twinge of envy. He wasn’t a heavy drinker, but he enjoyed the occasional sweet cocktail or drink. Especially during conversations, even drinks he usually couldn’t stomach went down smoothly. Thinking about alcohol again, he felt a thirst that water couldn’t quench. With a small sigh, he looked at her.
“If it was that good, you should’ve let me have some.”
“Pshh! Our Yudaaa’s still too young! Right?”
Right now, she seemed younger than him. Her playful, drawn-out words made him chuckle, and Tia’s eyebrows shot up, her eyes narrowing sharply. But with her head swaying, it wasn’t the least bit intimidating.
“Hey, what’s that? Why’re you laughing?! Your teacherrr’s talking here! Naughty! Come here, you need a scolding!”
Tia spread her arms wide, nodding as if to say, “Come into my arms.” Afraid she might start yelling in the carriage if he didn’t comply, Yuda quickly nestled into her embrace. More than the warm, soft sensation, the sweet smell of alcohol hit him strongly.
“She really drank a lot.”
Tia hugged Yuda tightly, rubbing against him. The soft sensation of her chest was unmistakable. Even if there was some selfish intent, she didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she hugged him even more fervently. Yuda gave a wry smile, tinged with a bit of guilt.
“Ohh, our pretty Yudaaa! How can you be so cute and adorable?! Your teacherrr loves our Yuda sooo much! Yudaaa?”
Her words of affection made his heart race. He wanted to ask, “Do you love me?” but couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“I like you too.”
He said it timidly, barely loud enough for her to hear. The fact that he could express his feelings, even like this, felt pretty good. The moment she heard his reply, her face lit up with affection, and she showered him with kisses.
The smacking sounds of her kisses echoed loudly in the carriage. Seeing her so undone, Yuda couldn’t help but giggle. Would she remember this when she sobered up? He started worrying that his face might be covered in her lip marks, but then she stopped. She grinned broadly. As a mature woman, her smile felt almost seductive.
“Our Yudaaa, you said earlier you wanted to try the liquor, right?”
“Huh?”
At that moment, a sharp slap brought pain to his cheek. Her palm pressed against his face, forcing his lips to purse comically.
Huh?
“Your teacherrr’s gonna let our little Yuda have a taste~ Hehe!”
What followed left Yuda’s eyes widened in shock. Tia, who had been holding him, suddenly pressed her lips against his. His surprise only lasted a moment—soon, he felt his heart pounding wildly at the soft sensation of her lips. It wasn’t just beating fast. It was racing like crazy.
The first woman he had ever thought was beautiful after coming to this world.. The one he had given his heart to, but who hadn’t reciprocated because he was too young. The love he’d thought impossible and had given up on was stirring again.
Without realizing it, Yuda closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her neck. Tia skillfully nibbled his lower lip, gently sucking before swiftly slipping her tongue inside.
Her tongue was soft. The kiss, which he had expected to be sweet, tasted of alcohol. But that was fine. Tia greedily explored his mouth, taking the lead.
“Mmm? Nngh—”
Tia made wet, smacking sounds, sucking up all the saliva in Yuda’s mouth and licking every corner of his teeth, leaving her mark.
“Haa… Hah… Tsuu…”
Both Yuda and Tia felt breathless from the intense kiss. Sensing Yuda panting, Tia pulled back. A silvery thread connected their lips.
“How was it? Tasty liquor, right?”
“…Uh, um. Yeah. Really… tasty.”
Still lingering in the afterglow of their kiss, Yuda answered with a hint of reluctance. “See, I told you it was tasty!” she said gleefully. Her ears, poking through her hair, twitched adorably. Still in her arms, Yuda reached out to touch them.
“Hauu?”
Perhaps a sensitive spot, the moment he touched her ear, a sweet gasp escaped her lips. Shivering, she gently pushed Yuda away. Her expression looked almost pained, as if holding something back.
“Y-Yudaaa… beastkin ears… are sensitive, y’know. If you touch them without permission, you’ll get in trouble.”
“I did it because they’re cute.”
Tia tilted her head, seeming to ponder for a moment in silence. Then, her face flushed, and she broke into a bright smile.
“Cute, huh? Well, then… can’t be helped. Your big sis, your teacher, will specially allow it!”
Seeing her tilt her head to let him touch her ears freely, Yuda reached out his hands. As he gently played with her ears with both hands, he noticed her tail, crumpled against the seat, swishing lightly.
“Hah… g-gently.”
“Oh, yes.”
Watching her tremble occasionally, Yuda realized he was breathing heavily without noticing. Just then, the carriage stopped. They had arrived at the house. Had the coachman overheard? It felt likely. He could only hope the carriage was well soundproofed.
When he let go of her ears, Tia gave him a reluctant look, but there was no helping it. They had to get off now.
“Yudaaa…”
“Tia?”
Leaning against Yuda, who was much smaller than her, she started snoring softly, fast asleep. He nudged her, but there was no response. She only let out small groans and waved her hand as if annoyed. Watching her, Yuda gave a hollow laugh.
“What the heck.”
He poked her sleeping cheek. It felt like if he turned to give up, she would grab his wrist and pull him back, saying, “Look at me!” Just when he thought he had seen all her charms, a new side appeared. Until the carriage came to a complete stop, Yuda touched her sleeping face, lost in thought.
The carriage door opened. The coachman, acting as if he had heard nothing, opened it with a kind greeting. Yuda asked him to place the case from the seat by the house’s front door. Then, he carefully hoisted the passed-out Tia onto his back and stepped down from the carriage.
The coachman drove the carriage back to the castle.
Tia’s breath and soft snores tickled his ear as she lay on his back. Breathing in the cool night air, he took out a key and unlocked the door.
Rather than closing the front door, he decided to get her to the bedroom first. Kicking off his shoes roughly, he dragged her along. It was rude to say, but her unconscious, drunken body was heavy. Due to their size difference, her dress dragged on the floor as he laid her on her bed.
She slept, unaware of anything, mumbling softly as her tail swished. It made him let out a hollow laugh. What happened in the carriage felt like a dream. Taking off her high heels, Yuda sighed.
“Should I change her clothes…?”
She had said she cherished that dress, but sleeping like that would wrinkle it. It had probably gotten dusty from dragging on the floor, but that couldn’t be helped.
He considered changing her clothes, but undressing her to do so would likely make it impossible to stay rational. She was already defenseless, sleeping so deeply from all the alcohol that she probably wouldn’t wake no matter what he did. Tormented by devilish temptation, Yuda hesitated but shook his head.
He didn’t want to twist their relationship for a moment’s pleasure. To avoid stray thoughts, he covered her with a blanket and closed the door. She might complain tomorrow about her wrinkled dress, but that was her own doing. Yuda had told her to drink moderately from the start, but she kept going because it was delicious.
He closed the open front door and brought the case from Lord Chapelin Piercen inside.
Though he hadn’t sweated, he took a quick shower in the bathroom. Shaking the water from his hair, Yuda sat on the living room sofa and opened the wooden case on the small table.
A slightly ornate bastard sword gleamed elegantly, too fancy for everyday carry.
As a gift presented to a lord, the box was lined with soft fabric, making the act of drawing the sword feel pleasant. It felt like holding a great treasure.
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[Name: Bastard Sword]
[Grade: Rare _ Famed Sword]
[Equipment: Longsword]
[Durability: 30/30]
[Attack Power: 40]
[Effects]
Strength +1
[Description]
A longsword commissioned by the ‘Mami’ merchant guild to the blacksmith guild, intended as a tribute to win the lord’s favor, but due to bad luck, it barely qualifies as a famed sword. Far too inadequate for a Spirit Sword Bearer to wield, it’s merely a practice sword, but its balance and quality are still excellent, making it sufficient for those of lesser skill.
Status Quo (Passive): Resists staining by foreign substances (blood, fat), maintaining sharpness and reducing durability loss rate.
-Dignity Enhancement (Passive): Crafted for a Spirit Sword Bearer. Of course, no Spirit Sword Bearer would use such a sword, but it will still elevate your dignity.
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…Not bad.
Lifting it and swinging it lightly through the air, he found the balance as described to be excellent. Compared to the ordinary sword he’d been using, this was significantly better. The generic weapons sold at the forge felt less impressive the more he used them, but this was clearly different.
“If the attack power is 40…”
Items are graded based on quality and stats, further divided by attack power. An attack power of 40 was exactly that of a famed sword—the lowest tier. The description’s claim that it “barely qualifies” wasn’t wrong.
It was about twice the stats of his current sword, but it still felt lacking. For something given by a Spirit Sword Bearer, the attack power was a bit low. After a moment’s thought, Yuda recalled a way to boost it. He took out two codes from his 〈Inventory〉—one obtained from defeating the alpha wolf ‘Korcan’ and another recovered from a broken longsword—and applied them to the bastard sword.
[Would you like to apply the effect of 「Code Prefix: Vilely Targeting Only the Enemy’s Wounds」 to 〈Bastard Sword〉?]
[Would you like to apply the effect of 「Code Suffix: Sharpness Of~」 to 〈Bastard Sword〉?]
[With the successful application of prefix and suffix codes, 〈Bastard Sword〉 has been renamed to 〈Vilely Targeting Only the Enemy’s Wounds “Bastard Sword” of Sharpness〉.]
A bizarre, vicious name was born.
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[Name: Vilely Targeting Only the Enemy’s Wounds “Bastard Sword” of Sharpness]
[Grade: Rare _ Famed Sword]
[Equipment: Longsword]
[Durability: 30/30]
[Attack Power: 40]
[Effects]
Strength +1
[Description]
One of the merchant guilds…
-Status Quo (Passive): Resists staining by foreign substances (blood, fat), maintaining sharpness and reducing durability loss rate.
-Dignity Enhancement (Passive): Crafted for a Spirit Sword Bearer. Of course, no Spirit Sword Bearer would use such a sword, but it will still elevate your dignity.
Code Prefix: Vilely Targeting Only the Enemy’s Wounds
└ Bleeding damage +5%, Attack Power +10 +3%, Durability loss rate +2%
Code Suffix: Sharpness Of~
└ Wound Aggravation – Bleeding damage +3%, Regeneration -1%
──────────────────────────────
“Nice.”
With this, the attack power exceeded 50, moving beyond the lowest tier. Satisfied, Yuda examined the sword before storing it in his 〈Inventory〉. Stretching, he felt a wave of fatigue despite not doing much. Going upstairs to sleep felt like too much effort.
He was about to sleep on the sofa when a scent hit him. It was Tia’s fragrance, likely lingering from her constant lounging there. Thinking of her, the memory of what happened in the carriage flooded back, making his face flush.
“Maybe she was just pretending to be drunk?”
Had he missed a golden opportunity? But he soon dismissed the idea as unlikely. Yuda had to shake his head to dispel the wild thoughts that kept surfacing, and with his heart racing, he couldn’t sleep properly.
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Tip 18: Items are graded based on the number of skills they possess and their attack power.
Common (White): Weapons have 1 or fewer skills.
Rare (Green): Weapons have 3 or fewer skills.
Unique (Purple): Weapons have 5 or fewer skills.
Ancient (Orange): Weapons have 7 or fewer skills.
Legendary (Yellow): Weapons have 10 or fewer skills.
The number of skills varies by grade. Of course, it’s unlikely, but even a Legendary-grade item could have only 1 skill.
Grades based on attack or defense power are broadly divided into 〈Ordinary Item → Famed Item → Treasure → Mythic〉. For example, with swords based on attack power:
Attack Power 10 or higher: 〈Ordinary Sword〉
Attack Power 40 or higher: 〈Famed Sword〉
Attack Power 100 or higher: 〈Treasure Sword〉
Attack Power 150 or higher: 〈True Sword〉
Attack Power 200 or higher: 〈Divine Sword〉
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***Author’s Note***
Don’t worry, everyone.
I won’t turn you down.
Within 10 chapters… you’ll see it.
