"Can you go back alone?"
"..."
"Hmm...no, I can't. Luna, excuse me, could you please escort the Earl to the gates of the lord's city?"
"Okay~♡Understood, Master♡ Come, Earl, this way please..."
"See you next time, please take care."
"..." Celestia didn't react to my greeting, only following Luna listlessly, staggering towards the lord's city.
Ever since regaining consciousness, Celestia had been in this mentally unstable state.
When she first opened her eyes, she was still frozen in place, staring at her swollen belly with an incredulous expression... Afterwards, the slaves washed, dressed, and even fed the stiff Celestia at noon,
she remained in that state.
Now, this makes me wonder if something is wrong... Is she really alright? Let me see…status bar…
......
Name: Radil Nef Celestia
Race: Human
Level: 52 (12800/164000)
Title: Defeaten Noble Female Awakening Inner Desires
Age: 42
Female Skills: [Lewdness LV.3] [Male Scent Poisoning: LV.2] [Horse Semen Poisoning LV.4] [Desire LV.4] [Submission LV.3] [Disgust LV.6] [Fear LV.2] [Confusion LV.9]
Female Records: [Husband: Radil Bell Albert] [Reproduction Record: 1]
Male Affinity: Radil Bell Albert 78% Shimo 22%
......
[Fear] – A state of fear of wild beasts. Not a good thing unless targeting a specific animal.
[Confusion] – A temporary state of confusion. This female's mental recovery will take time.
Uh, yeah. Confusion has reached LV.9. That's amazing.
But being different from others is only temporary, right? I'm lucky in that respect.
The problem is fear… It's not a good thing for my females to be afraid of me.
I don't know what this "special target" refers to, but it probably means domination through fear? Hmm… Celestia doesn't want to be dominated by fear, so I have to be careful.
Thankfully, my aversion has dropped from LV.8 to LV.6… and my affinity has increased… It feels like progress is fast, yet all that hard work lasting all night only resulted in this much.
Well, how about I take my time and enjoy it slowly? My relationship with Celestia is only just beginning.
...... After seeing Celestia off, I spent a very busy time preparing for the opening of Leona's shop and the building rental.
But an unfortunate situation arose during the rental preparations… Unfortunately, apart from the tavern, almost no other shops were willing to move into our building located within the entertainment district.
Because of the conflict with Holshof's business, we can't open the tavern… This is a real headache.
I thought convenience stores would be easy to bring in, but even the convenience store owners, like Ellie, reacted so coldly.
...Well, I guess so. Esendia's convenience stores don't even have hangover cures, so naturally they wouldn't want to open in a place like this with so many taverns.
For hangovers, you can just go to a potion shop for an antidote, or ask a mage or priest.
Hmm, I was thinking I could just rent out any shop and happily siphon off the rent.
I didn't expect there to be such a blind spot!
I thought building owners could just sit back and collect money, but it seems the world isn't that simple.
"Manager~ The fabric delivery is here~"
"Hmm. Good. Tag it and put it inside. We'll check on it together when Leona comes tomorrow."
"Okay~"
The only lucky thing is that Leona's clothing store staff were easy to hire, right?
To be precise, it was Leona's husband's shop that hired new employees during Leona's return, sending the extra three staff members over for a year.
Apparently, they're some friends who are just starting out as fashion designers, and they wanted us to arrange some everyday clothing production work for them to gain experience, which would be helpful...?
It's a bit much to have Leona, who only comes to work one or two days a week, in charge of everyday clothing design... but I'm grateful for that.
However, the fact that all the staff at the clothing store are women feels a bit awkward... well, anyway, she won't get involved in this kind of work, so it should be fine, right...?
"How's the revenue?"
"Not so good. The location is what it is..."
"Hmm... well, this shop's just for fun anyway. There's nothing we can do."
"At this rate, we'll be running a deficit... We shouldn't have to worry about salaries, right?"
"Hey. Don't worry. We've already prepared for a deficit. If it really comes down to it, I'll go out and earn some more to cover it."
"That's true, shopkeeper, you're an adventurer of legendary beasts. We only trust you, shopkeeper~"
"Pfft. Okay. I'll go upstairs now, call me if you need anything."
"Okay~"
......
"998... 999... 1000! Whew…!" During a busy period, I would start training in the shop whenever I had free time.
Going out on missions is a bit awkward in terms of time, so at least I have to do this.
And most importantly, there's the connection between attributes and levels that Lisbeth and Claire explained... Thinking about that, training like this in advance should make my attributes skyrocket.
Besides these exercises, there's meditation... It seems meditation is a prerequisite for gaining battle aura, so I do it for 10 to 30 minutes every day.
Although I've gained my Magic Eyes now, I don't have a specific skill I want to learn yet. I can try all sorts of things... but why can't I use battle aura? I really don't understand.
Once I gain battle aura, combined with my attributes, I should become incredibly strong... Uh, could it be that I can't use battle aura because I'm a monster?
"Master~ So many letters have arrived from the lord's city?"
"Hmm? From the lord's city?"
"Yes. Some need to be delivered personally, so I asked you to come down." Just as I was about to begin meditating, Lisbeth burst into the room calling me.
The lord's city? Oh my, this is...
"Pfft. Is it Celestia? I feel like I'm about to have a reaction."
"Is that right? What will she send... hehe♡" Filled with anticipation, I adjusted my coat and, kneading Lisbeth's breasts, took the magic elevator downstairs.
As I stepped out of the building, a soldier I'd never seen before stood at the entrance.
"Hello! Lord Divine Beast!"
"Hello. Thank you for your hard work."
"You flatter me! The Lord and the Tax Commissioner of Radhidia have sent mail! Please sign here!" Wow. A newbie? Quite enthusiastic.
But… the Tax Commissioner?
"Um… excuse me… was the mail that needs my signature sent by the Lord?"
"Yes! That's right!"
"What did the Tax Commissioner send? It's not tax season yet…"
"I don't know! I'm just here to deliver mail…!" Mail requiring a soldier's personal delivery must be quite important… Oh well, I'll find out once I open it.
"Okay. Thank you for signing! Well then…!" The recruit saluted respectfully and left.
Hmm. Good posture. Speaking of which, why are there so many documents from the Tax Bureau? I feel a little uneasy… With a vague sense of unease, I sorted through the mail and returned home to check them one by one with Lisbeth.
"Let's start with the lord's…" The first letter, to be opened, bore the lord's ornate envelope. Inside was…
"…An invitation to be a teacher?" The lord's letter requested that I be in charge of his daughter Cecilia's combat training.
Even if I refused, I would have to personally come to the lord's city to give a reply—this lord's letter was strange.
"…Could it be because I defeated Celestia?"
"Possibly? I remember she threatened to kill her master, though she probably didn't reveal all the details of the duel…"
"That grumpy girl…uh…" What a headache. Celestia's daughter, even more temperamental than her mother.
I'm supposed to train this kind of child? Even if I defeated Celestia, there are plenty of more suitable candidates in the lord's city, aren't there?
"…I'll consider this. The tax office sent…" Several emails had arrived from the tax office in quick succession; the situation was unusual.
With a heavy heart, I opened one of the emails…
"…What?" The moment I opened it, a hefty tax arrears notice loomed before me.
These were tax payment reminders from the Radia Tax Office.
The first was for the purchase tax on a building. The second was for overdue business-related taxes… nine reminders listing various reasons.
The deadline was only two weeks. Incredulously, I scrolled to the end of the emails and found the signature—the handwritten signature of Lady Celestia, the lord's wife…
"Pfft, pfft hahaha… Look at this?"
"Oh dear? Still not awake? Our Celestia?"
"That's right. I'm really…" A building bestowed by the lord now requires a purchase tax?
I clearly paid all taxes when filing the business return, why am I being charged again?
Each amount was painfully high, yet subtly positioned at the "pay or leave it" level, almost like a provocation.
So, that's what they were planning? Celestia?
"Looks like our arrogant noble lord needs some special instruction... Liz. Send a free slave to the church to fetch Cleria."
"Yes~ Understood. Master♡" I gave her time to come to me, and she made such an adorable, desperate struggle.
Looks like she forgot about the night she spent with my Сock... One night wasn't enough, was it? Very well.
Then she should experience something unforgettable.
This wretched woman destined to be my female dares to play me? You'll regret it. Celestia. Prepare to cry and beg for mercy.
Feeling Celestia's adorable struggle from the payment reminder in my hand, I began to devise my punishment.