Atelier Tanaka

Book 3: Chapter 3 (5)

Witch

“Umm, why are you all here...”

“Oh, we were waiting for you! We still need to make plans for tomorrow.”

“Ah, right.”

I guess this is a continuation of the meeting from earlier.

They seemed to be waiting for my return for some time now.

Excluding Ester-chan, the other girls seemed to have other motives for being here.

“By the way, h-have you been out with the imperial knight this whole time!?”

This panicked voice belonged to Ester-chan.

The jealousy was obvious on her face. She’s now entered full marriage mode.

“Yes. We’ve agreed to work together on this.”

The Imperial Lesbian was the one that answered as Ester-chan looked at her nervously.

“M-More importantly, what is going on here? What are you doing in his room FitzClarence-sama!? I-I’d just like an explanation so I can understand. And who are those young ladies over there..?”

Her eyes were locked on the group of girls clinging to Allen. It looked as if she may attack them at any moment. She didn’t even seem to notice Allen sitting in the middle of them. This is true lesbianism.

“We have also agreed to investigate with them.”

“Investigation? That can’t be...”

“They have. Just like you and me. These young ladies are here out of the kindness of their hearts.”

“..I see. It’s like that.”

The Imperial Lesbian nodded.

Following a series of exchanges, Ester-chan also seemed agreeable.

“Hmm? If that’s how it is, I’d like to welcome you, Mercedes.”

“Thank you for your kind words, FitzClarence-sama.”

Mercedes-chan got down on one knee and slightly bowed to Ester-chan.

Throughout this entire exchange, I never took my eyes off Mercedes-chan’s face. Her head was down but her eyes were looking up in the direction of Ester-chan’s thighs at the area where her skirt created a shadow.

“Then, I’ll be in your care.”

“Yes! I’ll protect you even at the cost of my own body!”

Sophia-chan wants to avoid this Imperial Lesbian at all costs, but Ester-chan hasn’t reached that point yet. I wonder if this will be the lesbian’s chance to find the hole she’s looking for. Her glistening eyes were enough to reveal the greed lying inside her.

While this was happening, Allen stood up from the sofa and approached us.

I was watching him out of the corner of my eye and noticed he was having trouble tearing the girls off of him.

Whenever he would pull someone’s hand off of him, a cute “Ahn~” or “Kya~’ would follow.

“Umm, T-Tanaka-san, I’m sorry for the intrusion!”

The sight of him tearing school girls off of himself completed the look of ‘harem king.’ Has there been a single day that’s passed since we’ve met that he hasn’t had women throwing themselves at him? He’s even doing this in the same room as Ester-chan.

I think I may come to hate this dorm if Allen starts using it as his personal bachelor pad.

Now that I think about it, could this have been the loli bitch’s plan from the start? If I consider her character, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility.

When I recall how those girls were rubbing on Allen, they really were moments away from having sex. There’s no doubt in my mind that if I had arrived a few seconds later, I would’ve seen something entirely different.

The loli bitch could’ve let Allen join so all of her followers would focus on him. A knight offered as a sacrifice to the horny noble school girls.

Damn, I’m so envious of Allen.

Hasn’t he been given the best job?

“Don’t worry. Please, think of this as your own room and relax.”

“I could never go that far.”

“Oh, your cup is empty. I’ll go prepare some tea.”

I need to leave this room.

My heart won’t be able to take much more.

I turned to head towards the kitchen.

Then —

Pachin, the window in the living room shattered.

At the same time, the curtains came crashing down as something jumped into the room from the outside. I quickly turned to look in the direction of the sound and spotted a large creature resembling a bird. It reminded me of the Archaeopteryx that I learned about in a biology textbook.

Underneath this massive bird, Allen was prone on the ground. The bird must have landed a direct hit on him. The bird’s enormous talons were gripping onto Allen’s armour.

“Allen!”

Ester-chan yelled.

“Allen!”

I did the same.

I immediately raised my hand to launch a fireball at the creature.

However, the bird was alert and agile.

While still gripping Allen in its claws, the bird started flapping its great wings. Powerful gusts of winds erupted from its wings sending furniture in the room flying towards me. I was forced to crouch down to avoid the sofa.

The room was thrown into chaos. Everyone was forced to hide behind what little cover there was available. By the time, everything had settled, the bird flew back out the way it came.

I ran towards the window to see it racing through the sky. Its large wings propelled it forward at a rapid pace and it soon disappeared from sight. This entire sequence of events lasted for less than twenty seconds.

“No, A-Allen-sama!” “What..just happened...” “FitzClarence-sama! Allen-sama... Allen-sama has been kidnapped!” “What’s going to happen to Allen-sama!?” “Was that a Roc!? They’re not supposed to be in the city!” “Was that someone’s familiar!?”

Ester-chan’s entourage started panicking.

“I’ll go after them!”

I ran towards the window, placed my foot on the window sill, and launched myself into the night air. I activated my flying magic and flew up into the sky as a pleasant wind caressed my cheeks. I don’t have time to think about this. I quickly started scanning the horizon for any sight of the bird.

“I-It’s too dark. I can’t see anything!”

“Me either...”

Before I noticed, Ester-chan was next to me.

Furthermore, right behind her were several members of her entourage. Not all of them seemed to be able to use flight magic. Those that couldn’t were looking out of the broken window with faces filled with regret.

Mercedes-chan was also there but she seemed to be more disappointed than anything. She was desperately trying to look up the girls’ skirts but there wasn’t enough light to see anything.

“We’ll help look!”

“Okay, but be careful.”

“Yes, we know!”

Under Ester-chan’s command, the search for Allen began.

***

In the end, we weren’t able to find Allen.

After searching for any sign of the bird for half an hour, most of the girls were exhausted from using flight magic. We were all uncertain of what to do next, so we met up back in my room. Ester-chan’s entourage returned to the room first and I was the last to return shortly after Ester-chan.

“Oi, look at this.”

As soon as I returned to the room, Mercedes-chan called out to me.

She handed me a letter.

“What’s this?”

“After that bird creature flew away, I discovered this left behind in the room.”

It was a piece of paper folded over three times.

It’s nothing of mine. I glanced over at Sophia who was trembling in the corner. She didn’t seem to recognize it and shook her head slightly.

“I see.”

It seems like we didn’t need to search outside.

“Let’s see what it says.”

“Yeah.”

I gently unfolded the paper.

The contents of the letter weren’t far from my expectations. It said they have the knight. If we wish to see him returned unharmed, the imperial knight and the yellow man are to go to the designated meeting place in the capital alone. If anyone else shows up or we inform the guards, the knight will be killed.

“W-What does it say!?”

Ester-chan looked desperate.

She was turning pale after using flight magic for so long.

“It looks like they’re calling Mercedes-san and me out.”

“Eh? Why you? Why wouldn’t they ask for me..?”

I can understand why she’d think that.

However, there’s only one reason that comes to mind for why they’d be calling me out. And that same reason applies to the Imperial Lesbian. I could feel her staring at me and a cold sweat began to form on my neck. Don’t say anything. Please, don’t say anything. Don’t do it.

They can’t know about it.

“We don’t have any choice but to follow their instructions.”

“..right.”

“It’s a bit sudden, but I’ll go.”

“T-Then, I’ll come with you!”

“If anyone else comes, they said they’ll kill Allen. I can understand your feelings, but leave this to me and her. I promise I’ll bring him back safely.”

“...”

After telling her directly that she can’t come, she looked disappointed.

The loli bitch has been defeated.

Still, I’m sorry she has to wait here.

“Mercedes-san.”

“Right.”

The Imperial Lesbian followed me out of the dorm.

It was already late at night, but the day still had yet to end.

Why did that bird take Allen anyway? The letter described Allen so whoever took him must’ve been watching us. That means they decided specifically to take Allen even though the room was filled with daughters from rich noble families and even Ester-chan.

I don’t expect this to end well.

***

The place the letter instructed us to go to was only a few minutes away on foot.

“This must be it...”

The Imperial Lesbian looked at the building in front of us with a serious expression.

It was located in one of the slums in Kalis. This would be the perfect place for a criminal to hide. The building was made entirely of stone and was likely to remain standing for some time.

However, the surrounding buildings were wooden and falling apart. To me, it seems like this place will continue to decline until this country is no more.

“Should we go in?”

“Yeah.”

We nodded to each other and took a step into the house.

Then, the moment we entered the building, a voice could be heard.

“Oho~, you’re here early.”

It was the voice of a woman. As my eyes adjusted to the dark room, I quickly scanned the area.

Just past the entryway, I could see the figure of a woman. She was standing in a corner, wearing a robe, calmly leaning against the wall. Her large robe cast a shadow across her face. I could make out her slim nose and bright-red lipstick.

Despite the baggy robe, I could clearly see that her body was curvy in all the right places. Her body may even be better than Mercedes-chan’s. It’s like those Brazilian girls I’ve seen in certain magazines.

However, due to the lack of light, I couldn’t fully enjoy the shape of her body.

“Was it you? The one who called us here.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

She gave a calm response to my question.

At least it seems we’re in the right place.

By the way, what is that thing hanging beside her? It’s tied up with a rope that’s wrapped around one of the beams in the ceiling. It would occasionally twitch whenever the robed woman touched it. I can’t tell what it is but I have a bad feeling.

“Excuse me, but I’m going to make some light.”

Without waiting for her approval, I threw a fireball out that remained suspended just above my head.

In the next moment, the identity of the tied up object was revealed.

It was a completely naked man, bound by rope. The rope was pulled tight in his mouth and he was unable to speak. He was bent backwards in a shape that resembled a shrimp. The rope wrapped around his torso then went up and was secured to a support beam.

And this position created a rather large emphasis on the thing sticking out from below his waist.

“..Allen.”

“Mmgh... Mm, mmmhmm...”

The ikemen moaned with pleasure whenever the robed woman ran her hands across his body.

“Oho~, you noticed.”

Now that the room was lit up, she wrapped an arm around Allen and pulled him in close.

Why is she doing this? Is this supposed to be torture? Can’t she tell by how erect he is that he’s enjoying it? Seriously, Allen, I don’t think I can get anymore envious of you.

“I kidnapped him to lure you here, but he wouldn’t be quiet so I had to tie him up. Personally, I prefer them a little younger, but a man like this can be good from time to time. Besides, he is a knight, so at least his body is nice.”

“...”

“Fufu~, despite his age, he even made my heart throb a little. Of course, I didn’t do anything else to him. The rope may be a little tight but it will only leave him with a few scratches. His life isn’t in any danger. I promise.”

Seriously? Nothing about this situation makes me think his life is in any danger.

“If you listen to what I have to say, I’ll release him as soon as we’re done here. I think it’s something you’ll want to hear anyway. As two people that were in prison during the escape, I know you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”

“..I guess we have no choice.”

Damn that ikemen. His pole is sticking out right next to this woman’s face. I want to know what it feels like cumming inside a woman after she reverse rapes me. How envious can I be of one man?

“Which of you is the recovery magic user? Please, tell me.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“The people that escaped from prison, including me, have decided to join together. In the near future, we’re planning on leaving the Penny Empire. Of course, we don’t have many people, but we thought if we had the source of that mysterious healing we all received in the prison, we’d have a better chance of escaping.”

“...”