"I almost forgot, there are still a few matters I haven't discussed with Your Highness. I wonder if it would be convenient for you to stay a little longer?"
Since she had spoken up to keep me there, it meant the deal was done.
"Of course."
This was her giving herself a way out. After all, I had just turned the tables on her, and it would be embarrassing for her to simply surrender and bow down immediately.
Staying under this pretext changed nothing.
Earlier, she had turned her cup upside down to dismiss me, yet now she was personally asking me to stay. That alone proved everything.
As a magnanimous ruler, I naturally had to allow my subordinates these little vanities.
I stepped back, but just as I walked off the floating platform, I realized that Nara probably shouldn't hear what was coming next.
"Nara, go down first and let the others know we are safe. I have a few more things to discuss with Miss Ligeia."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Nara agreed almost without hesitation and reached out to press the switch.
At that same moment, a panicked voice reached my ears.
"Don't press it!"
But it was too late.
The moment Ligeia's cry of alarm left her mouth, Nara's index finger had already tapped the downward symbol.
In the next second... Nara's figure completely vanished, leaving only the empty platform behind.
"Nara? Nara!"
I didn't react when I first heard the voice, but when I finally processed it and turned around to look, Nara was nowhere to be found.
Nara might not be a mastermind or a powerhouse by my side, but at least she kept me company. Having been in this world for so long, she was one of the few people I could actually talk to, and now she was suddenly gone.
My heart skipped a beat.
My expression instantly turned dark.
In that moment, without even realizing it, as fury surged in my heart, the aura of a superior completely crushed Ligeia's own presence.
I whipped my head around, staring directly into Ligeia's eyes.
"Ligeia, I need an explanation. Where did Nara go?"
"Your Highness... I, I didn't expect her to press it so quickly."
A hint of panic appeared on Ligeia's face as well.
"Where is she?"
"Rest assured, Your Highness, it is not fatal. It is just..."
She looked somewhat conflicted.
"Just what?"
I took a step forward, looking straight into Ligeia's eyes.
At this moment... Ligeia almost didn't dare to meet my gaze.
"It is just that things might be... a bit messy."
"Messy?"
Hearing those words, my mind was filled with question marks.
What did she mean by messy?
"Enough. I don't want to know the details. I need you to bring her back before me right now, completely unharmed!"
"Of, of course. Not only will she be unharmed, she might even have a little... extra."
"Fine."
I nodded, signaling for her to bring Nara back quickly, but...
Huh???
Extra?
Extra what?
While I was utterly confused, Ligeia picked up her staff and began chanting an unknown magic spell.
"O ancient and unknown elements, reveal your hidden side—Space Transfer."
Ligeia's voice echoed through the hall. Simultaneously, I could feel a mysterious energy surging through the air.
In the next second, following a flash of white light, Nara's figure abruptly appeared in the hall.
And as if to confirm Ligeia's words, she indeed... had a little something extra on her.
Nara, who was originally in her black Saintess's robe, was now in a state of total disarray. The robe was clinging tightly to her delicate, curvaceous body.
In fact, parts of the clothing had become slightly transparent, as if the original dye had been devoured, and even the texture of the fabric had been altered.
It seemed even her undergarments had been corroded away.
However, that wasn't the most important part.
At this moment... Nara's body was covered in something transparent like flowing water, yet exceptionally viscous. It was constantly wriggling and crawling over her, devouring her clothes.
Slimes!!
And not just any slimes, but the clothes-eating slimes that were the hallmark of perverted fantasies!
"Your Highness... waaah!"
She seemed to be utterly terrified. The moment her panicked eyes saw me, she suddenly burst into a loud, aggrieved cry.
She stood up and tried to run toward me!
"Nara! Stay calm—stay calm!"
Seeing Nara about to charge over, I hurriedly raised my hand to stop her.
Are you kidding me? Those are clothes-eating slimes!
Those things love human body heat the most, and they get into every little nook and cranny!
Yes! The most important part was that last bit!
They get into everything!!
But Nara couldn't listen to reason at this point; she was scared out of her wits. She stood up frantically and tried to run toward me!
"Ligeia! Do something!"
Ligeia was also taken aback by the sight and quickly raised her staff, pointing it at Nara.
"Expel, Cleanse, Suppress!"
Three spells in a row enveloped Nara simultaneously.
In the next second.
The clothes-eating slimes on Nara's body were instantly stripped away, falling to the floor.
The magical radiance surrounding her quickly cleaned the residue from her body.
The clothes-eating slimes on the ground, which had intended to leap back onto Nara, were suppressed where they lay.
It all happened in an instant. By the time Nara threw herself at me, it was all over.
It gave me quite a scare too.
"Your Highness, I was so scared... waaaah!"
Nara collapsed at my feet, hugging my legs and crying loudly.
My heart was still trembling, but thankfully, the situation was resolved.
"Ligeia! What on earth is going on?!"
After the fear came anger. I looked up and glared at Ligeia. Under my questioning, a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face.
"That... Your Highness, please do not be angry. Actually, those switches are all fakes. They were meant to punish anyone who tried to sneak into my home. I... I didn't expect Your Highness's person to fall for it."
"So... if I had pressed that switch just now..."
Ligeia nodded awkwardly.
"Your Highness would also have fallen into the room I prepared full of clothes-eating slimes."
I didn't even need a mirror to know that my facial muscles were tensing up; my expression must have been incredibly dark.
Ligeia also seemed to realize the atmosphere was wrong and hurriedly waved her hands to explain.
"But please be at ease, Your Highness. The Saintess's robe you are wearing has a self-defense function. Furthermore, the holy aura you emit at all times would make these low-level monsters keep their distance. Um... most importantly, these clothes-eating slimes are not like the rumors say."
I stared at her without a word, prompting Ligeia to explain further.
"Although these clothes-eating slimes like human body heat, they do not crawl inside the body. They only stay on the surface of the skin. Please be at ease, Your Highness, your chastity as a nun would definitely not be compromised by them."
What the hell... did she just spend all that time explaining useless things?
Still, it was somewhat useful. At least I knew that my nun... was still a maiden rather than a woman.
For some reason, after learning that the clothes-eating slimes wouldn't cause those strange situations for women, my tension suddenly relaxed.
But in an instant, I realized something... I seemed to have started getting used to this body, thinking and acting from a female perspective.
Indeed, human adaptability is terrifying.
In less than half a month, I had actually adapted to my current identity.
I shook my head inwardly, unsure if this was a good or bad thing.
At least for now, it seemed like a good thing.
"Alright, alright, stop crying."
I comforted the terrified Nara, finally getting her to stop crying. She stood up from the ground, still sobbing.
But the moment she stood up, I suddenly felt a bit inferior.
The ability of a clothes-eating slime was simple; its name highlighted its function.
These slimes would devour the fur and clothing of living beings. In the wild, they often attacked small beasts, eating their fur and then living on the skin to eat any new hair that grew.
However, when it came to humans, what they usually ate was clothing.
No one could explain why these clothes-eating slimes didn't eat human hair, but without a doubt, they were the favorite monsters of gentlemen everywhere, bar none.
Because this was an eroge world, as an old gentleman myself...
Actually... I did have a bit of interest in such things.
So I had researched a bit of data on them.
When a clothes-eating slime devours its food, the first thing it does is spray gastric juice on what it wants to corrode. This melts the clothing or animal hair, changing its texture to a transparent state, and then it devours it once the material has lost its original toughness.
And now, although Nara had only fallen into that room for a dozen seconds, her Saintess's robe had already been sprayed with the gastric juice of the clothes-eating slimes.
Almost all of her clothes had become semi-transparent.
Those two surging, heaving mounds that even made a special sound effect when she walked.
'Boing... boing...' those two massive objects.
It instantly made my heart feel cold.
I couldn't help but subconsciously compare them, and a sense of failure naturally rose in my heart.
I lost... I definitely lost, without a doubt.
This wasn't just an ABC; it was practically an EFG level!
Though I didn't know the exact size, they had undoubtedly reached the level of massive objects—F!
And... those two little pink buds, like fresh red grapes, were quite a sight.
You could tell at a glance she was a girl who had never experienced anything.
It was enough to make one's mouth water just looking at them.
Um... that's just a figure of speech. I wouldn't actually drool.
I wiped the 'imaginary' moisture from the corner of my mouth and took another quick, careful peek before looking away.
Yes... spindle-shaped, with a rounded lower half that protruded forward, so they already looked bountiful, but now they were even more aggressive!
As a side note, mine are hemispherical, and... based on my own observations and measurements, they seem to be a D.
Ahem... that's not the point.
I should have Nara prepare some milk when we get back tonight; I suddenly felt strangely hungry.
"Ligeia, is there anything you can do about her clothes?"
"That... I don't have a good solution for the clothes themselves. However, I have some spare clothes here. If this little nun doesn't mind, she can change into one of mine. It's much better than what she's wearing now."
That was true. If Nara went out wearing these transparent clothes now, she might as well hang herself tomorrow to prove her innocence.
No, maybe even tonight.
"Go, Nara. Change your clothes quickly."
"Yes... Your Highness."
Nara, still sobbing, looked down at her clothes and realized that they had indeed lost their original function. No matter how dissatisfied she was, she could only compromise for now.
Soon, Nara changed into Ligeia's clothes. However, when Nara walked out of the adjacent dressing room...
I suddenly noticed that Ligeia's expression seemed a bit stiff.
I subconsciously turned to look at Nara.
Only to see... that 'boing... boing...' pair had already burst the first two buttons of the top, and the third button looked like it was in critical condition!
Alright, from a woman's perspective, I instantly understood why... Ligeia's expression was so stiff right now.
If it were me, I probably wouldn't be much better.
Is it true that beauty is only skin deep?
This Nara... could it be that all her nutrients went to that 'boing... boing...' area?
Nara was a bit shy right now. After all, her usual Saintess's robe wasn't this revealing. The clothing for Saintesses and nuns had strict regulations.
The appearance of the Saintess's clothing rarely changed much.
There were fixed sets with white stockings for spring and autumn, while the legs were bare in summer.
Even in winter, it was at most a pair of thickened white stockings.
Yes, I had already confirmed this. Although I was a bit resistant, rules were rules.
But the black robes worn by the nuns were not allowed to expose too much skin.
In most cases, except for the hands and face, a nun's clothing covered every inch of skin.
And now, the Nara before me... those massive objects that were practically bursting out were dazzling.
This definitely didn't comply with the nun's regulations.
However... it was surprisingly quite a sight, wasn't it?
Hmm, maybe I should consider a large-scale reform of the Saintess's robe.
I didn't know what others would think, but at least for me, it was quite easy on the eyes.
"Alright, Nara. Go and let the others know we're safe."
Looking at Nara, whose third button was about to give way, I didn't even know what I was thinking.
I wanted to look, yet a sense of defeat naturally welled up within me.
It felt as if a few large words had dropped out of thin air onto my head.
【A lifelong loser】
In front of her, I might be a loser for the rest of my life.
Not just me, but probably the vast majority of women would be losers for life.
They were so aggressive that one couldn't even muster the slightest desire to compare them.
"Mm."
Nara nodded.
Though she wasn't particularly bright, she at least understood that her Highness was going to discuss important matters with this mage, Ligeia.
She couldn't act spoiled at a time like this. No matter how aggrieved she felt, compared to her Highness's grand ideals, she couldn't get in the way.
"Alright, stop crying. Go on. And tell Hilda to come in."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Nara took her leave. This time, Ligeia personally saw her off, so naturally, no traps were triggered.
Now, I was the only one left in the living room.
Naturally, when one is bored and alone, one looks for things to pass the time.
For example... the book sitting on the tea table.
Subconsciously, I reached out and picked it up. Turning to the title page, I could see the name of the book.
【A Few Things About Dragons】
At the same time, there was a line of printed notes below it.
【Author—Ligeia Astaria】
Rate on N.U.
