Surviving a Harsh Fantasy with Cheat Items (WN)

In the harem’s bathhouse, I was being washed by Ria and Sharon, sandwiched between them.

I’d rather take a leisurely bath alone, but I had been away for a long time due to my own circumstances.

「I want to be with you as much as possible when you’re here.」

When she said that, I couldn’t refuse.

When Sharon murmured something so pitiful with her ears drooping, I couldn’t help but be swayed by emotion. Ria was just an extra.

Oracle-chan didn’t join in washing my body, but instead floated around in the bathtub.

Well, she came along on my business trip, so maybe she’s reading the mood and giving way to my other wives.

In contrast to her childlike appearance, she’s the most mature one.

「Speaking of which, Takeru has added another wife again!」

「Hey, Ria. Don’t say things that are bad to listen to. Like ‘again’, this is the first time, right?」 Sharon was lathering me up from the front, and Ria was grumbling while washing my back.

I wondered if I should warn Ria about washing me with her breasts instead of using her hands, but decided to just let it go.

「Well, of course Takeru is a hero, but I, his wife, would have appreciated it if he had at least informed me…」

「No, I said this is a special case. I couldn’t help it.」

Of course, I was hoping someone would scold me.

But somehow, I can’t accept that the only one to do so is Ria.

And hey, wash me normally already.

My back is just getting lathery, I don’t feel like I’m getting any cleaner.

「Well, if you had even a single word of apology, I…」

「Sorry to taking the liberty of doing that, Sharon.」

Sharon, who had been silently lathering my chest, looked up sharply.

「No, I think you should do whatever you want, Master.」

「I see, I’m sorry for causing you trouble.」

I gently stroke Sharon’s orange hair.

Sharon’s dog ears twitched.

「No, if that’s what Master does, I’m …….」

「Well, Sharon is lovely.」

Sharon turns over again and gets down to the task of washing my body.

Unlike Ria, who is joking around and washing me in an improper way, it feels really good to be washed by Sharon.

「Wait a minute, why are you like that with me! 」

「Ria, you’re at the bottom of the pecking order in our harem, so you don’t get a say. 」

Ria must be made aware of her position.

You’re just a ‘bonus’, you know. You’re a sister in the first place so it’s strange for you to enter the harem. It’s already too late to say this but…..

Thanks to that, my sister hero companion slot is now open and things are about to get messy again.

「kuh …… but Princess Eleonora got in without any pros and cons, didn’t she? Then I’m not at the bottom anymore. 」

「No, you’re still at the bottom. Even though she is a helpless princess knight, she is the only daughter of the Duchy of Lanct, so we can’t put her at the bottom of the pecking order. 」

That’s what Lyle-sensei said.

Well, it’s the royal family’s rear court hierarchy, so even though it’s a formality, there are things that must be considered.

「What the hell, ……」

「By the way, Eleonora is below Sharon. 」

「Ah, master. I’m no better than the dunchy’s princess-sama. 」

「It’s alright. I already asked sensei about it. I heard that it would be bad to put Eleonora at the bottom, but I didn’t want to lower Sharon. 」

「Oh, master. ……」

「Good girl.」

I gave Sharon, who was spoiling me, a gentle hug.

The soapy lather on my chest got on Sharon’s white cheeks too, so I gently wiped them with a wet towel.

Sharon’s eyes were downcast, and I kissed her invitingly bloody lips. They taste soft and gentle.

The scent of soapy bubbles mingles with her sweet scent, and I embrace her with lust.

I gently stroke her orange hair, whispering love in her ear, and suddenly realize that I no longer feel Ria from behind.

I turn around and see her crouched face down in the bathtub at the edge of the tub. She is face down in the water, bubbling and blowing bubbles. I think I teased her a bit too much.

「Good grief, I think I’ve had enough of washing.」

「Yes, it’s because you’ve been teasing Steriana-san. 」

Not really.

I poured hot water over Sharon’s shiny body and rinsed off the bubbles, then I poured hot water over myself and zipped myself into the bathtub.

As it is, I swam straight to Ria, who was teetering on the edge.

I put my face to the surface of the water and make Ria look up at me as she continues to blow bubbles.

「I’m only joking, Ria. 」

「I’m at the bottom of the hierarchy anyway, right? I’m just a bonus. It’s like potato chips in a card, you know, potato chips. They’re destined to go down the drain without ever being eaten.」

「Again, another tease with a vain appeal to modern knowledge.」

What forbidden book did you learn that from? You don’t know the real thing. I don’t collect baseball cards either.

Besides, potatoes haven’t been introduced to the Eura continent yet, so there’s no potato chips either. If I could eat them, I would.

「Ria is also my wife, my precious wife. 」

「Really, regardless of rank? 」

The hierarchy thing is a joke. You wouldn’t understand even if I said it in words so I’ll just give you a hug.

Looking back, I think I’ve been avoiding Ria for a long time, but now that I’ve come this far, I’m ready to accept her. Ria’s fruit is too big for even my hand to hold, but I’ll accept it.

What should I say?

「I’m one of those people who wants a card but also eats potato chips properly. 」

「Well, then by all means. 」

I buried my face on Ria’s soft flesh and she hugged me tightly.

It’s a little painful. Ria’s strong so it’s okay to be rough to her.

「Right right, I will do so. It’s destiny that brought us together so I’m going to eat every last bit of you.」

「Ahhh, Takeru’s so good. I can’t help but forgive him. 」

No, I’m not good at all.

What’s more, there’s no romanticism in it, like the potato chip metaphor. If you’re going to be flattered by this, then Ria’s just too easy.

「Well, I’m a bit easy myself. I have never thought that the day I would come to Ria on my own would come.」

「Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever had Takeru do this to me in the bath. I’m sure this is all due to Asama’s guidance.」

Guidance, is it?

Well, I don’t think I’m going to run away from the fate of a hero now.

Sharon and Oracle-chan also came swimming in the bathtub to me and Ria, who were becoming one.

「Takeru, you should just get on with it and have a baby. Then women will calm down. Like me.」

Saying this, Oracle showed her slightly swollen belly in the bathtub.

Sharon touches Oracle’s blue belly and looks envious.

「So this is where you have master’s baby in you. 」

「Yes. Once it happens, a woman has no choice but to let it settle in her stomach. 」

「I envy you, Oracle-san. 」

「Hmm, Sharon. Maybe you are already one, too. 」

Oracle touched Sharon’s stomach with her hand and rubbed her lower abdomen in a probing manner.

「Are you sure? 」

「Hmm, it’s hard even for me to tell when the fetus is so small, but it could be ……. I think you may be experiencing some kind of subjective symptoms. 」

Sharon told Oracle about how her breasts have recently become tender.

Yes, about that. They’re not talking about anything lewd but I’m getting excited.

「I wonder if I’m bearing Takeru’s child as well. 」

「Nothing yet, Asama’s little girl. I know right away because I can see no shadow nor can tell with the shape. 」

Oracle says that with a smile on her face.

As expected of the youngest looking but actually the eldest, she can say something like that to others without making the other party too upset.

「They are talking happily about something, aren’t they? 」

「Areh, have Eliza and the others come in too?」

Eliza and Zither entered the bath, wrapped in towels.

Though separate, the building adjoined the harem of the royal palace, and thus, the baths were shared.

If an eight-year-old child were to join in, I wouldn’t think much of it. Zither, who should technically be twenty-four years old, doesn’t bother me either—perhaps because of her petite stature.

Mixed bathing is hardly a novelty. If no one minds, there’s no issue.

…However, the situation is a bit delicate now.

Intimate moments between a married couple are not meant to be witnessed by children.

「Hey, Ria, give me some space.」

「Ara, you’re talking nonsense.」

Ria clings to me, wrapping her limbs around mine, refusing to let go.

Darn, she can be quite persistent.

「Children are watching! It’s hardly appropriate for their moral education.」

「Ara, are you referring to me when you say child? You are husband and wives so please continue without minding us.」

How can I even go on when a literal little girl told me that?

Eliza smiles serenely, though her intention to be considerate won’t change the fact that we can’t continue.

Eliza is still a child, unable to truly comprehend the dynamics between men and women. Hence, this is an awkward situation.

As for Zither, despite not saying anything, her face is flushed. We, as adults, understand the embarrassment of the situation.

Yet, for some reason, Zither occasionally glances our way but doesn’t suggest leaving. As an attendant to the imperial granddaughter, she should be more considerate and usher the child away.

「Wait, we’re already getting out. Your Highness Eliza… Ria, enough!」

「Takeru, Her Highness Elizabeth says the same. Since it’s a matter between a married couple, there’s no need for embarrassment. Perhaps we should even show them. It’s all part of moral education, after all.」

Ria clings to me like an octopus, refusing to let go.

Enough already—I absolutely don’t want Ria anywhere near the imperial granddaughter. Her very existence is the worst example for moral education.

「Cut it out…..Ria! You’ve got a record, so don’t you dare fill Her Highness’s head with strange ideas.」

「Well, that’s quite an unfair accusation. When have I ever filled anyone’s head with strange notions?」

Not just sometimes, but always in your case. Ria teaches all sorts of odd things to the innocent Silhouette, and it’s been a nuisance for me.

If it were just Queen Silhouette, it might be tolerable, but if we were to expose the last heir of the Germania Empire to peculiar inclinations, it would become a diplomatic issue.

「Ria, give me some space!」

「The mysteries of male and female desire are something children will eventually understand without any fuss. There’s always one truth.」

This one doesn’t care about diplomatic issues at all.

Eliza, with her heterochromatic eyes of gold and blue, peers at us with curiosity.

Ria is doing something in the bath that absolutely should not be seen by a child.

It’s impossible not to panic.

「Ria, we’re in front of a child! Seriously, stop!」

「Your Highness Eliza, when a woman desires a man, she should first cry out ‘Amore! Shout it」

Unbelievable. We need to do something about this.

「’Amore’, did I do it right, saintess-sama?」

「More passionately! Lesson one: ‘Amore!」

Are you both Italians?

The imperial granddaughter keeps chanting Amore along with Ria. I can’t keep up with this alone anymore.

「Sharon! Sorry, but please help.」

「Yes, master. Let’s calm things down over here, Steriana-san!」

「Oh, this familiar flow of events—it’s been a while.」

Ria allows herself to be forcibly led away by Sharon.

Sharon truly is dependable.

「Haa, haa…… wife or an ex sister, Ria will still be Ria after all?」

I want her to mature a bit.

The disgusting thing is, she’s mature only in body, so make your heart grow, at least a tenth of those tits.

「Takeru, I’ve already told you. This is the only way to calm a woman down now.」

Oracle zapped up from the bathtub and patted her belly with a ‘pom-pom’.

Come to think of it, she’s grown a bit taller again. Just like the size of her belly, her body is growing too.

Well, it’s good to grow.

Oracle, for what it’s worth, might want to brag about having a child.

「Amore! Is that correct?」

「Eliza, that’s a lie, so you don’t have to listen to the delusions of that no-good saintess.」

The clergies of the Asama Church are so respected by the people that it can only be described as a mystery, given their usual behavior. Their persuasive power is at the level of brainwashing.

I don’t want my children to be influenced and learn strange things. I hurriedly got out of the bathtub and started to de-brainwash Eliza.

「o what do we say when a woman wants a man?」

「That would be: …….」

Long blonde hair with a blue tinge, a pair of gold and blue heterochromia eyes staring up at me.

Even if I say something deceptive here, the brilliant Eliza will understand.

「Just give the other party a big hug and tell him you love him. 」

「I see, so you were doing that with saintess-sama earlier? 」

When you say it so matter-of-factly, it makes me blush.

What is this? I am so embarrassed.

「We’re, well …… we’re still a couple. Eliza should do the same when she finds someone she really cares about.」

「Well, you are a couple, aren’t you? Perhaps that’s how you make a child? 」

What’s with this girl? She’s asking these questions so matter-of-factly.

A straight face, Elisa has a straight face. She is asking out of genuine interest.

No matter how royal they are, they don’t get sex education.

Maybe you really have to ask things like that in places like this …… but don’t ask me.

「Oracle! You tell her……. 」

「Takeru relies on me too much. 」

Oracle laughed amusedly as she came out of the bathtub. I guess she’s not too happy about being asked to do something for someone else. But I can only ask you.

Oracle began to explain the origins of a child, while letting Eliza pat her slightly enlarged belly.

I’ve already given up. I’m too embarrassed just listening to it.

Eliza is intelligent, so if I tell her something false, she’ll see through it, and if I teach her the wrong thing, it’ll be bad.

Sex education is best done by an expert Oracle.

When I turned around on my way out of the bathroom, I saw Eliza and Zither listening intently to Oracle’s explanation.

Zither is twenty-four years old, you know, she doesn’t need to be listening to the explanation.

No, wait, in her case, maybe she really doesn’t know. She’s an unbelievably natural airhead.

After all, the level of education in this world is medieval, so you never know what kind of ignorance is going around.

In that light, maybe this sex education session was a good opportunity.

You have to know eventually, otherwise you’ll be like Silhouette, who’s married but doesn’t know things related to men and women.

It’s not easy when you’re too innocent. I just think it’s too much too soon to teach at the age of eight.

「At least it’s better than having this girl spouting weird nonsense, right?

「We’ve been waiting for you.」

Ria and Sharon were waiting for me in the changing room.

Sharon towels my wet body, but all Ria does is get in the way. You’re out of the bath now, get dressed!

「I wonder if Ria will really settle down when she has a baby.」

「Ara yada, Takeru is already thinking about that? It’s still early in the evening.」

Shut up. And don’t shake me hard.

「I can’t imagine Ria being a mother. 」

「Well, I’m good at looking after children. 」

I remember that Ria grew up in an orphanage. No matter how much I think about it, it seems like a set up error.

If she grew up in that kind of environment, she wouldn’t be like this. No, wait, it’s an orphanage of the Asama Church…….

I want to ask for an hour what kind of upbringing they have, the saintess who became Ria’s parent figure, who used to run the orphanage.

I heard she’s already dead, but if anything, I’d rather she descends to that side than to Asama.

「Oh well, here we go.」

「Yes, on second thought, it’s night already. Ah, that means it’s getting dark.」

It’s still totally bright.

Also, I said we’re going, so I’m telling you to get dressed for goodness sake. Don’t shake your useless tits!

Is it bad that we’re the only ones here, in the paradise-like environment of the harem?

She was a depraved saintess who had been soaked in lukewarm water and was in a state of dull bliss. No, I can’t just say that about Ria, can I? I’m getting dallied with myself, too.

Life in the harem is a life of eating, drinking, procreating, bathing and procreating, a life of instinct. If you continue to stay here like this for too long, it will ruin any human being.

Eventually, we may have to establish a strict rule.