'Jackpot…'
[It seems we need to gather more concrete information. If we don't know the sleep intensity of the beverage she's consuming, we might run into trouble.]
As Armonia said, while she was deeply asleep beside me, if Lena were to wake up clumsily and attack me, I could really die.
At her level, she could easily overpower me and send me to the afterlife in one move.
"Do you know exactly what she's drinking?"
"I think it's Lev Herb… She brews it and drinks it… But why are you asking?"
As the kid spoke, it seemed like he was starting to feel uneasy about me asking questions about Lena.
Armonia explained to me.
[Lev Herb, a type of sleep-inducing herb. When brewed as tea, it guarantees about 3-4 hours of sleep.]
'Sweet!'
[However, you should be cautious. While it induces sleep, its anaesthetic properties are weak, so pain could wake her up.]
'Yeah, that's enough.'
I approached the kid.
"Ah, are you leaving now?"
The kid seemed to want me to leave, so he started making assumptions on his own.
My gaze fell on the kid's hand.
It was a key.
The kid noticed my gaze and hid his hand behind his back.
I didn't think she'd give it to me easily if I asked.
I muttered while looking at him.
"Sleep... sleep…"
"…? What…? Uh…?"
Thud!
The kid collapsed to the floor, closed his eyes, and started sleeping.
"The effect is killer."
I took the kid's key and flopped back onto the bed.
'Armonia, will the herb's effect kick in immediately?'
[If she's been taking it frequently, she might have built up a tolerance, so it might not work instantly. But if Lena hasn't been drinking it since she arrived at the Demon King's castle, she probably hasn't developed a tolerance yet.]
'Then should I wait about 10 minutes before going?'\
[You'll know for sure if you go and knock on the door.]
'Oh, good.'
If there's no response when I knock, it's certain she's asleep.
I looked at the kid sleeping on the floor and said.
"Hehe, sleep well."
[Guardian.]
"Hmm?"
Armonia raised a question.
[You have an old-fashioned lock-picking technique, so do you really need to forcefully take the key?]
"Ah…"
I smiled bitterly while looking at the kid.
"It's just another way to hold a weakness over him."
***
Knock, knock, knock!
"..."
Click, creak!
After the sound of the lock opening, the wooden door creaked open.
The interior had the same layout as the kid's room.
On the shabby bed, Lena was sleeping soundly.
'Hehe, she's asleep, she's asleep.'
[It's rare to find someone so suitable for hypnosis. I recommend using her for practice.]
From Armonia's perspective, she seemed to think this hypnosis would be useful for future missions, so she encouraged me to keep using it.
But then, Armonia's worried tone came through the communication.
[You're not planning to spank her again like last time, are you?]
'Ah, don't worry. That was just a one-time thing.'
[But why did you do that?]
It was a valid question.
To Armonia, it must have seemed like I was impulsively enjoying sadism in the dream.
But it was all part of the plan.
'First, I wanted to leave a strong impression.'
[…?]
If I spanked Lena in her dream, would she be angry at me?
No, since it happened in her own dream, there's no reason for her to be mad at me.
She might feel a brief surge of anger, but someone as rational as her would likely blame herself for having such a dream.
And if an unexpected person appears in her dream, she'll be thinking about that person all day.
'I made sure Luna had a bad impression of me at first too. A strong impression is important.'
[…Was there no other reason besides that?]
'Well, it did feel good…'
No joke, Lena's butt was so firm that I couldn't help but keep spanking her.
I only stopped when her white silk panties started to glisten with moisture.
'But it seems like my hand technique works even in dreams?'
[It's truly an overpowered skill.]
'I'm not sure, maybe Lena was just a wet pervert.'
[…]
I was planning to test the hand technique while I was here.
I stealthily approached the bed.
On the floor near her bed was the cup that had contained the beverage.
I confirmed she had consumed the drink.
'Armonia, you said she won't wake up unless I hit her, right?'
[It might vary from person to person, but a light touch shouldn't wake her.]
'Good, good~'
I crawled into Lena's bed.
Since it was a single bed, it was narrow, and as soon as I got in, her lips were right in front of mine.
I wanted to kiss her right then, but I held back.
I decided to save the real action for later.
Even though she probably didn't wear any perfume, her subtle scent wafted into my nose, stimulating my brain.
Since it was so cramped, I decided to hug her.
"Hmm…"
There was a slight resistance, but she quickly settled down.
'This is killing two birds with one stone. Easy hypnosis and pheromone effects.'
[You're really lucky.]
'Hehe, I should thank the kid.'
Hypnosis aside, getting to directly apply pheromones for a week like this was a rare opportunity.
Through her thin pajamas, I could feel her warmth against my body.
'Wow, this is driving me crazy. I might get addicted to this.'
[Still, be careful. Any rough actions might wake her.]
The situation of invading her space and hugging her without permission was more exciting than I thought.
Just this situation alone was enough to make me erect…
I focused and cast the hypnosis.
***
"Huh? There's nothing here?"
As soon as I entered the hypnosis, all I saw was a dark place.
And in the distance, Lena in her pajamas stood still with her eyes closed.
"Is she not dreaming yet?"
I had used up all my mana earlier with the hypnosis and sleep spells.
I had replenished my mana, but considering mana exhaustion, I didn't have much time.
"Should I manipulate it…? A dream with an impossibly happy ending isn't good."
Such dreams might feel good for a moment, but the backlash upon waking up is no joke.
I immediately constructed the Demon King's castle in my mind and started the dream.
In front of me, the guest room I was staying in appeared, and Lena stood blankly in front of the door.
'…Where is this?'
When Lena opened her eyes, she saw the guest room in front of her.
Her mind immediately recognized it as the dream world.
'Right, I'm… a guest… in the Demon King's castle…'
As soon as she grasped the situation, the man sitting at the dining table in the center of the room called out to her.
"Come here."
"Yes."
Lena immediately approached the man and stood beside him in a proper posture.
As she got closer, a scent began to waft from him.
'…It smells good.'
While she was entranced by the scent, the man spoke to her.
"Do you have something you like?"
"…I enjoy playing the piano."
"Oh… Why do you like it?"
"My late mother used to play it for me, so I've liked it since I was young."
In reality, Lena wouldn't have answered the man's questions so directly, but since it was a dream, she answered honestly without realizing it.
"Then play something for me."
"Yes, of course."
At the man's command, a piano appeared in the corner of the room.
It was the piano from her memories.
The large brown-striped piano that always sat in her room.
Her mother's keepsake.
Despite the sudden command, Lena was delighted to be able to play the piano and immediately sat on the bench, placing her hands on the keys.
She began to play.
Though Lena was talented in swordsmanship and spearmanship, her piano skills were average.
However, she loved playing because it reminded her of her mother.
The beautiful tones of the piano began to fill the room.
Even though it had been a long time since she last played due to the war, her fingers moved naturally.
'It feels like I'm playing much better than before…'
After playing happily for a few minutes, she finished with a refreshed feeling.
When she finished playing, the man was sitting beside her.
'When did he…'
She had been so absorbed in playing that she hadn't noticed.
The man asked her with interest.
"You play well. Can I play too?"
"Yes."
The man, who didn't seem to need permission, asked anyway and began to play the piano beside her.
Lena sat beside him, closed her eyes, and listened to his playing.
It was ordinary.
'But it feels nice…'
The scent coming from the man was pleasant, and the way he played was exactly the same as hers.
Since coming to the Demon King's castle, Lena hadn't had a single day of rest.
The people here only relied on her, and with no one to lean on, her spirit was wearing thin.
But just having this man sit beside her and play the piano made her feel at ease.
It was the first time she felt such tranquillity.
When the performance ended, the man asked her.
"Do you know any other songs?"
"Yes. Shall I play them for you?"
Lena found herself asking without realizing it.
She wanted to play immediately, but she felt she needed to hear his answer.
"Sure, play for me."
"Yes, of course."
Lena placed her fingers on the keys beside the man and began to play another song.
After Lena finished playing, the man played the same song.
The two of them took turns playing the piano for quite some time.
Lena wanted to prolong this feeling of peace, which she hadn't felt since arriving here.
But suddenly, the music stopped.
"Huh?!"
The man sitting beside her had disappeared without a trace.
***
"…Where am I?"
Lena woke up in a daze to see her room bathed in the light of dawn.
"…Why him again?"
Lena clenched her eyes shut and recalled the dream she had just had.
The man who sat beside her and played the piano.
She had been wary of him because of his connection to Gardia.
But she hadn't expected him to appear in her dreams like this.
When she had dozed off briefly during the day, the man who appeared in her dream had stayed in her mind all day.
The sensation of being spanked for the first time in her life had been too shocking.
Moreover, both the dream from the day and the one she just had were incredibly vivid.
While it's common to remember some dreams vividly, this level of vividness was a first for her.
"…But I feel refreshed."
Since coming here, she hadn't had a single peaceful day.
In this life devoid of dreams or hope, the man in her dream had momentarily stabilized her mood.
She got out of bed and began to calmly change her clothes.
But as the thought of another day beginning settled in, a suicidal urge began to rise in Lena's chest.
'I want to die…'
The naive children continued to talk about hopeful things without understanding the state of the world, while the older nobles shamelessly began to push everything onto her.
At first, she took on the responsibilities of the nobles in the castle out of a sense of duty.
She thought she wouldn't regret it.
But she was wrong.
She was whipped for other children's mistakes and went hungry.
The other children encouraged her while pushing everything onto her.
In just a few months, her spirit began to erode, and she became a ticking time bomb.
At some point, insomnia set in, and she became unable to go a day without medication.
The Lev Herb, which she had humiliatingly obtained by bowing her head to low-ranking demons, was her only solace.
To her, this place was worse than a battlefield.
What kept her going wasn't the royals or nobles here.
"Father… everyone… I'm sorry."
If she were to commit suicide, all that would be left were her father and the people, who would be dominated like livestock.
If she could save them, she could endure even if her spirit was eroded.
Now, world peace meant nothing to her.
She just wanted to ensure that the people could live with at least some basic human rights, even if it meant becoming a servant of the Demon King.
As she finished tidying her room and was about to leave the dormitory to start her day, a low-ranking demon who managed her approached and said,
"You, the Demon King is looking for you."
***
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