MI112: The Hand That Feeds (Patreon)

In between mouthfuls of food, Paul took a moment to swallow before saying, "Now that I think about it, there's something I needed to tell you about, Gorou."

As her brain immediately jumped to conclusions, Hina's legs instinctually closed as she tentatively inquired, "Wh-what is it...?"

Raising his brows, Paul asked, "What's with the bashful behavior?" before shaking his head, adding, "Forget it. The thing I wanted to tell you is that I ended up summoning Kokomi last night. If I'm not mistaken, you used to be her subordinate, right?"

After blinking in surprise, Hina sat a little straighter, her ears perking up as she replied, "It would be more accurate to say I was one of her retainers. The Shiba Clan has served the Sangonomiya Clan for generations..."

As her words trailed off toward the end, Hina's narrowed her eyes in a suspicious, ostensibly threatening manner as she asked, "Did the two of you...?"

Understanding what Gorou was trying to ask, Paul nodded in affirmation, admitting, "Yeah." despite the dog girl's ears angling backward as if she were about to attack him.

Inserting herself into the conversation, Rosaria narrowed her own eyes as she asked, "Just who are you baring your teeth at...?"

Realizing what she was doing, Hina stopped growling, averted her eyes, and softly muttered, "Forgive my impertinence. It's just...I have protected Mistress Kokomi since we were children. Back in Inazuma, I even led her armies to oppose the Vision Hunt Decree. I just...didn't expect something like this to occur..."

As she had at one point intended to 'sacrifice' herself in order to preserve Kokomi's purity, even if only for a short while, hearing Paul admit they had already slept together was like a slap in the face to Hina. She wasn't too surprised, understanding well the kind of person her 'former' Master was, but the suddenness of the revelation left her reeling.

Running her fingers through her hair, Hina shifted her gaze to the ceiling, a wry smile marring her face as she muttered, "So this is the price of my indecision. The Heavens must be laughing..."

Furrowing his brows, Paul asked, "You good...?" in a concerned yet mildly annoyed tone. The way Gorou was behaving made it seem as though him sleeping with Kokomi had tainted her. He understood why she was upset, but it wasn't like he had forced the salmon-haired Priestess to sleep with him...

More so in admonition of herself, rather than denial of Paul's query, Hina shook her head and replied, "I'm lamenting my decision to conceal myself the previous night. I was given the opportunity to join you in the bath but refused for fear of being judged. Had I been bolder, I may have been able to-"

"Seriously, Gorou? I hate to break it to you, but your presence wouldn't have had any impact on the outcome of last night. Don't get me wrong, you've certainly become more attractive these past three years, but I had already decided to spend the evening with Diona by then. My summoning of Kokomi was completely random, so, even if you threw yourself at me in the bath, the only thing you would have achieved is getting your cheeks clapped first."

"..."

While Rosaria exhaled a sigh at the side, Hina was completely silenced by Paul's repudiation. Knowing there was nothing she could have done didn't exactly make her feel better...

Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Paul began cutting into a piece of steak as he suggested, "Look, just talk to Kokomi, okay? If you still think I did something wrong after that, well, I don't really know what to tell you? I can apologize and perform a dogeza for you, but it's not like I can undo what's already been done."

Finished with what he had to say, Paul picked up the cut piece of steak and began chewing it with a visibly annoyed expression on his face. He had wanted to break the awkward tensions by mentioning something he believed would make Gorou happy. Her reaction, while understandable, had ruined his mood completely.

Realizing she had severely wronged Paul, Hina wanted to apologize but didn't know how to go about it. Back in her previous world, her previous life, she would have had no trouble apologizing and attempting to make amends. Ever since she had been summoned into the world of Mushoku Tensei, things that used to be so simple had now become progressively harder...

Hanging her head and shoulders, Hina's ears drooped as she stared at her plate with a listless expression on her face. Before she could even think to excuse herself, however, Rosaria surprised her by lazily asserting, "Relax. You didn't really do anything wrong, and our Master isn't the type of man who would condemn someone for wanting to protect the people they care for. Behaving all depressed like that is just going to make the both of you feel guilty over nothing..."

Raising her head, Hina briefly met Rosaria's gaze before looking up to find Paul with a visibly conflicted look on his face. His brows furrowed further when their gazes met, but he didn't say anything and just kept chewing on his food.

Furthering the feelings of awkwardness sprouting within Paul and Hina, Rosaria rested her cheek atop the knuckles of her right hand as she said, "Since you seem to have forgotten, allow me to remind you. Our Master might like to put on a strong front, but he's fairly sensitive just below the surface. He's also prone to negative thoughts, so he's probably thinking he actually 'did' do something wrong now that you've made a big deal out of it..."

"Rosaria..."

Setting down his fork, Paul gave the ashen-skinned beauty a disproving look that was undermined by the consternation in his eyes. He knew she was trying to 'help' him, but it was never pleasant hearing people casually reveal things he at least pretended to keep secret.

Rolling her eyes, Rosaria moved to exit the booth as she said, "Whatever. I finished eating a while ago, so I'm gonna head out. If you need me, I'll be in my or Lynette's room. Just be sure you don't bring that depressive cloud with you when you come."

Finished with what she had to say, Rosaria emulated Paul by raising her hand in a casual gesture of farewell. She would usually leave without so much as a word, but seeing Paul depressed over nothing always bothered her. Even if he was just putting on a mask, she preferred seeing him happy and behaving like an idiot...

With neither of them speaking as they followed Rosaria's departure, the atmosphere between Paul and Hina became tense the moment it was just the two of them. Neither really knew what to say, so Paul just focused on eating while Hina just stared at her plate, this time without the depressive aura.

Interrupting Hina's introspection, Paul surprised her with a faint, "Sorry...I should have taken your relationship into consideration before choosing to sleep with Kokomi..."

Opening her mouth, Hina's first instinct was to refute Paul's words and tell him he had done nothing wrong. Instead, she remained silent, a conflicted look marring her face as various thoughts assailed her mind. Even in her previous world, the notion of a Lord/Daimyo apologizing to their Retainers bordered on the absurd. Paul's status was inarguably much, much higher than that, so Hina couldn't help feeling as though she had betrayed both him and her former Master by baring her teeth at him...

"Hyan-!?

Snapping Hina from her despairing thoughts, Paul used the index finger of his right hand to poke her in the boob. He hadn't done anything special, but her body reacted as though it had been electrocuted, her ears and tail standing on end as she nearly jumped from her seat.

Surprised by the rather unexpected response, Paul's expression revealed a hint of incredulity as he remarked, "You're pretty sensitive, huh...?"

Covering her breasts with both hands, Hina adopted an aggrieved, almost teary-eyed expression as she half-turned away from Paul and said, "You wouldn't understand...everything about a woman's body is more sensitive than a man's. Wearing thicker clothes helps a little, but this body is prone to overheating if I cover too much..."

Though she was tempted to complain to Paul about the woes of sweat accumulating in specific areas and causing chaffing, Hina eventually came to her senses, frowning as she questioned, "Why did you touch me all of a sudden?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Paul replied, "You looked like you were about to say or do something stupid." before stacking his plates atop Rosaria's and adding, "Well, I'm off to see what Albedo wanted to discuss. Also, the last time I saw Kokomi, she was on her way to meet with Ningguang. If you go to her, I'm sure she'll be able to reunite you with your beloved Master."

Hearing Paul address Kokomi as her Master, a feeling of anxiety began to permeate Hina's chest. She had recognized Paul as her Lord and pledged to follow him shortly after her summoning. The time they had spent apart had evidently affected her views of him, but he was still her one and 'only' Master.

As Paul moved to leave the lounge, Hina ignored the fact she was wearing a kimono, practically leaping from the booth and dropping to one knee as she exclaimed, "Master Paul, please wait...!"

Though he was startled as shit by Gorou's behavior, muttering, "What the flying fuck...!?" under his breath, Paul managed to collect himself by the time he turned around and asked, "What is it?" in a calm tone.

Thinking the standard prostration wasn't enough, Hina transitioned into a full-on dogeza, her forehead pressed to the ground as she affirmed, "You are my Master...!" in a loud, firm tone.

As the corner of his lips twitched, Paul resisted the urge to say, "Yeah, and...?" Instead, he took a moment to choose his words before saying, "Then raise your head and follow my previous instructions by going and talking to Kokomi. As for the matter from before...just forget it. I learned from someone in a similar situation as you that it's best if we just forget about such things and move forward. While your memories of it remain in the past, the restoration of your world is a matter for the far future. Don't get so caught up in the present you stumble trying to move forward..."

Turning away from Garou, Paul didn't see it as the buxom dog girl stared at him with a look typically reserved for members of a cult staring at their Founder. Her previous movements had ripped and loosened her kimono, but, for the first time in years, she didn't consider her appearance as she adopted a radiant smile and replied, "Understood, Master." before rising to her feet and ostensibly following after him. In truth, she was heading off to carry out Paul's instructions; their destinations just happened to lay in the same direction...

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After separating with Gorou, who he now knew as Hina, Paul could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He didn't really know how to explain it, but it was like the entire atmosphere around the dog girl had changed from the time of their first meeting to the moment she affirmed he was her Master.

As the changes in Hina weren't necessarily a bad thing, Paul elected to simply ignore them for the time being as he made his way into one of the more secure regions of the underground compound. He even had to pass through an entire corridor where the ceiling was designed to drop twenty blocks of incredibly dense stone, each weighing more than 70,000kgs, as a countermeasure against theft and enemy attacks.

With projects that included the development of Elemental Explosives that could already rival Emperor-Ranked Ritual Magic, Albedo took the security of her labs very seriously.

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