Chapter 230: The New Assassin (Maid, Child)

"Onii...sa..."

"......"

"Onii-san... wake up..."

"......"

"Onii-san, wake up. Dinner's ready... uh!"

"......?"

"Whoaaaa! That's not okay there! It's perverted!"

"Hmm...?"

I was brought back to consciousness by a somewhat startled voice.

As I slowly opened my eyes on my bed, there was the flushed face of a young girl before me.

"O-Onii-san..."

"...Monica?"

"Ah..."

The one emitting a shy and embarrassed sound while closely pressed against me was Monica Brave.

She's the little sister of the protagonist Leon Brave in [DunBrave], currently under intense training as a substitute hero while awakening to the 'Battle Maiden' job.

Monica, for some reason, had crawled into the bed with me, and she was now nestled in my arms.

In other words, I had inadvertently embraced Monica with both arms, turning her into a temporary pillow.

"Monica... Don't tell me you've got a habit of sneaking into guys' beds?"

"No way! You're the one who dragged me onto the bed, aren't you!?"

"Huh? Is that so?"

I tilted my head at Monica's high-pitched voice. Since I was asleep, I had no recollection of it. Did I really commit the atrocity of dragging a girl around middle-school age onto my bed?

"...Lately, I've been sleeping with someone else almost every night. I must have done it unconsciously."

Urza, Aeris, Nagisa, Levienna... Lately, I've been sharing a bed with someone almost every night, embracing their bodies as I sleep. Perhaps, out of habit, I unconsciously longed for a woman's presence and pulled Monica in.

"...I'm sorry. I must have been half-asleep. Please forgive me."

"Ugh... It's fine, but just don't move your hands too much..."

"Huh?"

Monica blushed deeply and her shoulders trembled. Upon closer inspection, my right hand was wrapped around Monica's waist, with my hand resting on her butt. My left arm was tightly holding her back, restraining her movements, leaving the defenseless girl at the mercy of this harassment.

"Sorry again. I truly didn't mean to."

"Ugh... If you had done it on purpose, I'd have called the police. Seriously, Onii-san, you're like Leon-oniichan."

"Huh? Did Leon also touch you like that?"

"It's not like he was touching me! Leon-oniichan has had a habit of stumbling and ending up with his face in girls' chests or skirts since forever!"

"I see... The protagonist's privilege, huh? He's quite the player too..."

Leon, as per the standard for eroge protagonists, had a predisposition for ecchi situations. Whenever he happened to fall, there was usually a girl there, resulting in a naughty event. Encountering the heroine every time he took a bath seems like a case that should be reported to the police if it happened in reality.

"I came to wake you up! Dinner's ready!"

"I apologize for that. Anyway... What's with that outfit?"

Monica was wearing a maid outfit, not the adventurer's outfit I provided her, nor the village girl's clothes she used to wear back home. It had the same design as Levienna's attire, but it looked different when worn by Monica, who was of a different style and build.

"Mom said, 'Since we're receiving their hospitality, we should help with the household chores.' So while I'm living here, I'll work as a maid."

"I see... That's a diligent attitude."

As expected of her parent, Monica's mother, Anemone Brave. While she's intimidating when angry, it seems she's a sensible person in terms of sensibilities.

"By the way... Does that mean Anemone is also wearing a maid outfit?"

"Yeah, Mom's wearing one too."

"I see..."

So, a girl of around middle-school age and a widow mature woman are both working as maids in the mansion. Somehow, even though I haven't done anything remotely inappropriate, I'm feeling extremely guilty. Considering their true routes in the game, both of them were imprisoned by Zenon Baskerville, turned into drugged pets; it's far from a laughing matter.

"Come to think of it... There were maid outfit variations in the illustrations."

Remembering the illustration of the mother-daughter pair being dressed in maid outfits and served as an oyakodon, I shuddered.

Hoping that this isn't a result of historical revisionism... I slowly got up from the bed and made my way to the dining area.