Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 142: Harems Are Overpowered

But I didn't.

Because, again, I had observed just how patently absurd those girls' senses were, and I wasn't confident in my ability to take him out without alerting them.

Although the Black Wisp was suppressed, it's not like it was silent, and even if I used the Villainous Blade to slice his neck, I already knew from experience that that wouldn't come without a degree of mess either, both in blood and in screams.

So, I waited.

Calmly, until one night, we arrived at the base of the mountain just in time for setting up camp once more.

Because this part of the mountain had a forest that covered until about halfway up where the first of the Dragon Tribe's caves was supposedly located, we decided to stop right before we entered the forest to continue tomorrow morning, our projected arrival time to be right around noon.

Whilst everyone else had already gone and fallen asleep, I remained awake, sitting on a fallen stone slab just a short distance away from the carriage, gazing up at the Full Moon, which drew out my buried chill and enhanced it to its zenith.

It was always on nights like these that I found it exceptionally hard to sleep due to that persistent thing, albeit not impossible.

Still, this time, probably due to being stuck in that closed space of the church for so long, merely existing in such an open area felt strangely refreshing.

As I casually thought about such meaningless things, I heard a faint shuffling from behind me, and after a short while, some footsteps.

"Enki, Enki! What are you doing out here so late? It's cold!"

Always energetic like the animal she seemed to take so much after, Cassie appeared, taking a seat next to me on all fours.

"Tone your voice down a little, everyone's sleeping. And I could ask you the same thing, why are you up?"

"Sorry! Master told me off for making a mess in the carriage yesterday and said I need to go outside in the future, so I did this time!"

'Ah, so that's what that smell was...'

"Right... Well, it's good that you listen. You like him a lot, don't you?"

"Yep! I really do!"

Watching her declare that with a radiant smile and just as bright eyes, a golden, fluffy tail wagging enthusiastically behind her, I thought it was cute. Internally, I even felt the rising compulsion to pat her head.

But just for a moment, before I forced myself to face the reality.

And that was, putting it gently, the fact that I was here to make her sad.

I was about to inquire a little deeper by asking how it was that they met, perhaps to glean any sort of clue of a weakness from their history together, before I noticed something.

Around her neck, there was a mostly faded, yet still subtly present mark.

"..."

"I really, really really really love Master!"

I didn't need to think very deeply to figure out what it probably was, but as I realised it, I wondered if the same was true for the others, Katya and Feanya.

"Master smells like a good person from the first time I saw him!"

"He smells like a good person?"

"Yep!"

"What... what about me? Do I smell? I-I mean, like a good person..."

To be honest, asking a girl how I smell wasn't something I had ever done before, and it wasn't exactly something I felt comfortable asking, either, but... well, I was curious, so I just did it...

Anyway, as I was scratching the back of my neck to ease the light flush that had emerged on my cheeks, Cassie responded seemingly without hesitation.

"Enki smells like winter!"

"...Winter?"

For a moment I was stunned, but I quickly nodded my head and thought about it logically.

I did possess the Blessing of the Winter Goddess, so indeed, I guess it made sense... although it didn't answer my question about whether I smelled like a good person or not...

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"―You two are still awake."

At that moment, Ryoko suddenly emerged from the carriage.