Let's Start an Inn on the Dungeon Island!
CH 37
December 17th, 2022
Beta Reader: My_Own_Worst_NPC
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♢ Lotte’s POV
Lotte gingerly picked the sleeping Shirou up, and in unconscious response he clung to her.
Shirou’s face lay pressed atop Lotte’s breast, over her heart, and the sensation of his lips and his warm breath on her body filled her with sadness as she remembered the events before.
In that world, carrying a man in that fashion is called The Prince Carry [1]. Lotte would’ve never imagined that she would be carrying Shirou like this.
“I’m carrying Okami to his room, open the door.”
Lotte was fully aware that the other officers were looking at her with envy as she held Shiro in her arms, but she had zero intention of handing over Shirou right now.
The golems didn’t respond as Shirou was being carried off. They have been given the order not to intervene on his behalf unless Shirou was being attacked, so even if Shirou were to be stripped naked then and there, the golems would do nothing but watch.
Shiro’s oversight was that he hadn’t considered the possibility of being in a state of unconsciousness.
It was the first time in quite awhile that a woman had entered Shirou’s room at the back of the cave…
“Whoa… so this is what a man’s room look like.”
“It smells good, don’t you think?”
“It really is. The whole room is filled with Okami’s fragrance. Oh wait, this is bad, I think I’m starting to get wet…”
The officers looked around themselves in wonder at this forbidden realm.
“Hey hey, take a look at Okami’s bed. Don’t you think it seems too big for a single person sleeping alone? It’s as if it was made so someone could sleep with him…”
Of course his bed was huge, Princess Christiana had made it a king-size so that they could move freely in it together. Back then, it was only a simple stone slab covered with palm leaves, but now it boasted a mattress and sheets that Shirou had created with magic.
“I can’t stop myself, this may be my only chance to sleep on a bed like this,” one of the officers murmured excitedly, until Lotte silenced them with a sharp reprimand.
“Stop saying stupid things and move out of the way, I’m going to put him on the bed,” Lotte cast a cold glare towards the offending officer.
Slowly, as if handling a precious treasure, Lotte gently put Shirou down on the bed. Only Lane and the officers could see the deep expression of longing etched in her face.
“Hmmmm… oh, is this my bed,” a half-asleep Shirou mumbled drunkenly.
“That’s right, this is your own bed,” Lotte breathed in reply as she tenderly covered him with a thin blanket.
“Hmm… I’m… really sleepy tonight… Tomorrow… I’ll do my best…”
Shirou threw his around Lotte’s neck as she was tucking him into bed, and pulled her to him.
And then, just like that, he pressed his mouth to hers and stuck his tongue into Lotte’s mouth as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Mmphh!!!!!”
Shiro’s tongue entwined with Lotte’s in a passionate kiss, stroking the soft inside of her mouth. Stunned, she found herself unable to move.
“Haaahhh…… Good night… Chris-sa…ma…”
Shiro’s words stung her heart; on one hand, the physical sensation of his kiss was stronger and more erotic than she’d ever imagined a kiss could be, but on the other hand, the reality of the moment weighed heavily on her mind.
Shirou didn’t kiss me.
He was kissing the woman in his dream, a person named Chris.
So, where should my feelings go?
“Such an intense kiss… That’s the first time I’ve seen someone kissing like that!”
“This is bad… I’m getting really wet now…”
The officers’ excited murmurs filled the room around her, but Lotte remained oblivious.
“All of you, we’re leaving now. How long are you planning on loitering about this man’s room anyway?” Dianne’s command was sharp, prompting the soldiers to leave, albeit reluctantly.
Cheryl, who had followed the rest of them and watched from the doorway, scurried away before the others noticed her.
“Well, that was unexpected,” Dianne nervously chuckled, but her commander remained silent. She thought it only natural for Lotte to be so shocked by Shirou’s forwardness; even Dianne, with all her years of experience, had never seen a man kiss like that.
Given her awkwardness, it had likely been Lotte’s first kiss, and for her to receive that as a first kiss, well….
“Gram-sama, it’s about time for us to leave the room, too.” Diane shook Lotte’s shoulders, snapping her out of her reverie.
“Uh? What?”
“Come on, let’s go.”
“Y-yeah, you’re right.”
Despite saying that, Lotte’s legs still didn’t move. Looking down at Shirou, who was sleeping soundly, Lotte called out to her subordinate. “Dianne…”
“Yes, commander?”
“Notify all the troops. From now on, it is expressly forbidden to give alcohol to Okami. Those who break this rule will be severely punished.”
“Roger that. Personally, I think that’s a very good idea.”
“And you lot,” she turned her gaze to the golems, “You should more closely guard Shirou as well.” Of course, the golems stood silently and made no reply.
♢ Shirou’s POV
My head hurts.
I woke up at the same time as usual, but my head throbbed and my mouth was sour and unpleasantly dry.
“Goku, bring me a cup filled with water…”
The painkiller that I created seemed an obvious cure for a hangover, so I took one tablet. Honestly, I never expected that I would be the test subject. Fortunately the drug was really effective, and within seconds the headache was already gone.
Unfortunately it did nothing to cure my upset stomach. I can’t make stomach medicine until I reach level three in medicine production, and since I wanted to experiment a lot with food in the future, I would need to prioritize this category.
…
I really wanted to take a shower, but I didn’t have anything like that right now. How would I go about making a shower? Maybe I could put some holes in a bucket, fill it with hot water, and then tell Iwao to lift it up?
Oh, that could work!
I’m sure Gram and the others would be happy to try it too. As someone working in the hospitality industry, it’s my job to make my guests happy, and it has nothing to do with wanting to see Gram or Dianne in the shower! Nope, none at all!
—————————————————————————————-
While I was washing my face in the stream, I noticed the guests were already waking up.
“Good morning!” Thanks to the medicine, I no longer had a hangover so I was pretty confident that I gave them a proper greeting. Gram, however, quickly turned away when I greeted her, her face a deep red.
“I’m sorry, is there something wrong?”
“Nuh-uh… morning.” Gram proceeded to wash her face in the stream and said nothing further.
Hm? Did I do something wrong?
“Morning, Okami.” Lane appeared at the stream shortly after.
“Good morning to you too, Lane-san.”
“I’m looking forward for working together again today. Our exploration will start from the door by the base relief on the 1st basement, but first we’ll need to have Iwao remove the barricade that we piled up yesterday. Oh, and about yesterday…”
Yesterday what?
“Uh, the things you said to me last night, it made me really happy to hear them. Having a man like Okami saying that for my sake, you would dive right into a fire, a sea, or a dungeon, it made me feel like the luckiest woman alive. If I were 10 years younger I would seriously considering abandoning my position to stay on this island and live the rest of my life with you.”
Uuuhhh… wait, did I actually said that…?
…My memory of last night is hazy… but I think I did say something like that…
Stupid!
I’m so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, I’m such an idiot!!
Why did I drink so much wine last night?!
I don’t see a way to clarify things without offending her… I guess I can only do my best going forward.
“That aside, Okami, uh, about what was said last night…”
“Eh? Umm, did I make another promise?”
“No… you don’t remember what happened?”
“Did… did I do something?” I tried to recall what else happened, but I only vaguely remembered saying that I would help them again with exploring the dungeon… everything else after that was a blur.
Meanwhile, Lane had a troubled expression on her face. “…my condolences, it seems like Okami has been through a lot of hardship.”
Hardship?
“I mean… I heard your wife had passed away. Her name was Chris, right?”
…!
This is bad! Did I carelessly open my mouth and tell them about Chris when I was drunk last night?! If they found out that Chris was from Regalta Kingdom, an enemy of the empire… oh no what did I say?
Wait… hold on a minute… why do they think Chris is my wife? Or rather, was? They think she’s dead?
“Don’t hesitate to come to me if there’s something troubling you. I promise I’ll do what I can to help.”
“Could it be that, I did something when I was drunk last night?”
“Actually,” Lane let out a sigh, “you kissed Gram-sama last night. You were so drunk you mistook her for your deceased wife.”
I did what!?
Now I understood the reason why she avoided eye contact with me, I have apologize to her later. Haahh… I really messed up…
What’s worse, even though I was lucky enough to kiss her, I remember nothing at all, what a letdown.
I feel so disappointed in myself. I need to have a really, really, really long self-introspection.
—————————————————————————————-
After that, I asked another officer about the prior evening’s events; it seems like everyone is under the impression that I’m a widower. My wife had tragically passed away.
And later that day, three women tried to seduce me.
It seems that in the empire, the idea of a man being widowed and having to run a business by himself to make ends meet is a popular scenario for erotic fantasy.
I couldn’t think of a good explanation to clear the misunderstanding, so I just left it like that.
…I wonder if I’ll come to regret this.
=============================================================
1 I’m not 100% sure, but pretty certain it’s the equivalent of Princess Carry, only difference is it’s being done by a female to a male.
Beta Reader: My_Own_Worst_NPC
=============================================================
♢ Lotte’s POV
Lotte gingerly picked the sleeping Shirou up, and in unconscious response he clung to her.
Shirou’s face lay pressed atop Lotte’s breast, over her heart, and the sensation of his lips and his warm breath on her body filled her with sadness as she remembered the events before.
In that world, carrying a man in that fashion is called The Prince Carry [1]. Lotte would’ve never imagined that she would be carrying Shirou like this.
“I’m carrying Okami to his room, open the door.”
Lotte was fully aware that the other officers were looking at her with envy as she held Shiro in her arms, but she had zero intention of handing over Shirou right now.
The golems didn’t respond as Shirou was being carried off. They have been given the order not to intervene on his behalf unless Shirou was being attacked, so even if Shirou were to be stripped naked then and there, the golems would do nothing but watch.
Shiro’s oversight was that he hadn’t considered the possibility of being in a state of unconsciousness.
It was the first time in quite awhile that a woman had entered Shirou’s room at the back of the cave…
“Whoa… so this is what a man’s room look like.”
“It smells good, don’t you think?”
“It really is. The whole room is filled with Okami’s fragrance. Oh wait, this is bad, I think I’m starting to get wet…”
The officers looked around themselves in wonder at this forbidden realm.
“Hey hey, take a look at Okami’s bed. Don’t you think it seems too big for a single person sleeping alone? It’s as if it was made so someone could sleep with him…”
Of course his bed was huge, Princess Christiana had made it a king-size so that they could move freely in it together. Back then, it was only a simple stone slab covered with palm leaves, but now it boasted a mattress and sheets that Shirou had created with magic.
“I can’t stop myself, this may be my only chance to sleep on a bed like this,” one of the officers murmured excitedly, until Lotte silenced them with a sharp reprimand.
“Stop saying stupid things and move out of the way, I’m going to put him on the bed,” Lotte cast a cold glare towards the offending officer.
Slowly, as if handling a precious treasure, Lotte gently put Shirou down on the bed. Only Lane and the officers could see the deep expression of longing etched in her face.
“Hmmmm… oh, is this my bed,” a half-asleep Shirou mumbled drunkenly.
“That’s right, this is your own bed,” Lotte breathed in reply as she tenderly covered him with a thin blanket.
“Hmm… I’m… really sleepy tonight… Tomorrow… I’ll do my best…”
Shirou threw his around Lotte’s neck as she was tucking him into bed, and pulled her to him.
And then, just like that, he pressed his mouth to hers and stuck his tongue into Lotte’s mouth as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Mmphh!!!!!”
Shiro’s tongue entwined with Lotte’s in a passionate kiss, stroking the soft inside of her mouth. Stunned, she found herself unable to move.
“Haaahhh…… Good night… Chris-sa…ma…”
Shiro’s words stung her heart; on one hand, the physical sensation of his kiss was stronger and more erotic than she’d ever imagined a kiss could be, but on the other hand, the reality of the moment weighed heavily on her mind.
Shirou didn’t kiss me.
He was kissing the woman in his dream, a person named Chris.
So, where should my feelings go?
“Such an intense kiss… That’s the first time I’ve seen someone kissing like that!”
“This is bad… I’m getting really wet now…”
The officers’ excited murmurs filled the room around her, but Lotte remained oblivious.
“All of you, we’re leaving now. How long are you planning on loitering about this man’s room anyway?” Dianne’s command was sharp, prompting the soldiers to leave, albeit reluctantly.
Cheryl, who had followed the rest of them and watched from the doorway, scurried away before the others noticed her.
“Well, that was unexpected,” Dianne nervously chuckled, but her commander remained silent. She thought it only natural for Lotte to be so shocked by Shirou’s forwardness; even Dianne, with all her years of experience, had never seen a man kiss like that.
Given her awkwardness, it had likely been Lotte’s first kiss, and for her to receive that as a first kiss, well….
“Gram-sama, it’s about time for us to leave the room, too.” Diane shook Lotte’s shoulders, snapping her out of her reverie.
“Uh? What?”
“Come on, let’s go.”
“Y-yeah, you’re right.”
Despite saying that, Lotte’s legs still didn’t move. Looking down at Shirou, who was sleeping soundly, Lotte called out to her subordinate. “Dianne…”
“Yes, commander?”
“Notify all the troops. From now on, it is expressly forbidden to give alcohol to Okami. Those who break this rule will be severely punished.”
“Roger that. Personally, I think that’s a very good idea.”
“And you lot,” she turned her gaze to the golems, “You should more closely guard Shirou as well.” Of course, the golems stood silently and made no reply.
♢ Shirou’s POV
My head hurts.
I woke up at the same time as usual, but my head throbbed and my mouth was sour and unpleasantly dry.
“Goku, bring me a cup filled with water…”
The painkiller that I created seemed an obvious cure for a hangover, so I took one tablet. Honestly, I never expected that I would be the test subject. Fortunately the drug was really effective, and within seconds the headache was already gone.
Unfortunately it did nothing to cure my upset stomach. I can’t make stomach medicine until I reach level three in medicine production, and since I wanted to experiment a lot with food in the future, I would need to prioritize this category.
…
I really wanted to take a shower, but I didn’t have anything like that right now. How would I go about making a shower? Maybe I could put some holes in a bucket, fill it with hot water, and then tell Iwao to lift it up?
Oh, that could work!
I’m sure Gram and the others would be happy to try it too. As someone working in the hospitality industry, it’s my job to make my guests happy, and it has nothing to do with wanting to see Gram or Dianne in the shower! Nope, none at all!
—————————————————————————————-
While I was washing my face in the stream, I noticed the guests were already waking up.
“Good morning!” Thanks to the medicine, I no longer had a hangover so I was pretty confident that I gave them a proper greeting. Gram, however, quickly turned away when I greeted her, her face a deep red.
“I’m sorry, is there something wrong?”
“Nuh-uh… morning.” Gram proceeded to wash her face in the stream and said nothing further.
Hm? Did I do something wrong?
“Morning, Okami.” Lane appeared at the stream shortly after.
“Good morning to you too, Lane-san.”
“I’m looking forward for working together again today. Our exploration will start from the door by the base relief on the 1st basement, but first we’ll need to have Iwao remove the barricade that we piled up yesterday. Oh, and about yesterday…”
Yesterday what?
“Uh, the things you said to me last night, it made me really happy to hear them. Having a man like Okami saying that for my sake, you would dive right into a fire, a sea, or a dungeon, it made me feel like the luckiest woman alive. If I were 10 years younger I would seriously considering abandoning my position to stay on this island and live the rest of my life with you.”
Uuuhhh… wait, did I actually said that…?
…My memory of last night is hazy… but I think I did say something like that…
Stupid!
I’m so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, I’m such an idiot!!
Why did I drink so much wine last night?!
I don’t see a way to clarify things without offending her… I guess I can only do my best going forward.
“That aside, Okami, uh, about what was said last night…”
“Eh? Umm, did I make another promise?”
“No… you don’t remember what happened?”
“Did… did I do something?” I tried to recall what else happened, but I only vaguely remembered saying that I would help them again with exploring the dungeon… everything else after that was a blur.
Meanwhile, Lane had a troubled expression on her face. “…my condolences, it seems like Okami has been through a lot of hardship.”
Hardship?
“I mean… I heard your wife had passed away. Her name was Chris, right?”
…!
This is bad! Did I carelessly open my mouth and tell them about Chris when I was drunk last night?! If they found out that Chris was from Regalta Kingdom, an enemy of the empire… oh no what did I say?
Wait… hold on a minute… why do they think Chris is my wife? Or rather, was? They think she’s dead?
“Don’t hesitate to come to me if there’s something troubling you. I promise I’ll do what I can to help.”
“Could it be that, I did something when I was drunk last night?”
“Actually,” Lane let out a sigh, “you kissed Gram-sama last night. You were so drunk you mistook her for your deceased wife.”
I did what!?
Now I understood the reason why she avoided eye contact with me, I have apologize to her later. Haahh… I really messed up…
What’s worse, even though I was lucky enough to kiss her, I remember nothing at all, what a letdown.
I feel so disappointed in myself. I need to have a really, really, really long self-introspection.
—————————————————————————————-
After that, I asked another officer about the prior evening’s events; it seems like everyone is under the impression that I’m a widower. My wife had tragically passed away.
And later that day, three women tried to seduce me.
It seems that in the empire, the idea of a man being widowed and having to run a business by himself to make ends meet is a popular scenario for erotic fantasy.
I couldn’t think of a good explanation to clear the misunderstanding, so I just left it like that.
…I wonder if I’ll come to regret this.
=============================================================
1 I’m not 100% sure, but pretty certain it’s the equivalent of Princess Carry, only difference is it’s being done by a female to a male.