Confronting the Past

The other reward for winning against Shiraki was the right to a meeting with Eclair Feradria and her party members.

I'd been thinking of exercising it when an invitation to a tea party came from Eclair Feradria herself.

Thank you for the other day. This time, I would like for you to attend a tea party that I am hosting.

Aah, to think that I, who'd been ground down as a slave, was now in a position to be invited to a tea party hosted by that Eclair Feradria… it stirred something faintly sentimental in me.

"Welcome, Naoto. I greet you most warmly."

With that, Eclair, dressed in a sumptuous gown, came out together with her companions to receive me.

The neckline was open just slightly; by this world's standards, the exposure was kept quite modest. It was a noble, ornate, and beautiful gown.

In modern Japan it would have been a touch anachronistic, but on Eclair, Sario, Hizaki-san, Himuro-san, Vyletta, and Presea, each of them peerless beauties, it suited them perfectly.

It was a magnificent sight, and it made me glad I'd come.

I stepped forward, with Kanan on my right and Yumi on my left.

"Eclair-sama. Thank you so very much for inviting us today."

"Thank you very much."

Kanan and Yumi took the lead and bowed. The gowns had been hastily put together for this day, but they suited the two beauties wonderfully.

And so, before long, we were invited to the table.

"… Please."

Sario poured tea for us.

"… The gown suits you, too. You look truly lovely."

"… Thank you."

Sario, in response to my entirely sincere flattery, kept her expressionless face fixed.

I brought the cup to my lips.

"… Mm, this is delicious."

I didn't have a palate refined enough to claim I knew tea, but even so it was wonderful enough that I could declare with certainty this was a fine cup.

"In tea, the quality on this world's side may actually be the higher one.

"The technological civilization is supposed to be behind, but whether it's because the cultivars are better to begin with, or some effect of magic, I can't say…

"My tea times have been more enjoyable here than they ever were in Feradria."

"As I thought, the tea really is better in Europe."

"You can get good tea in Japan as well, but the home countries really are…"

To think the day would come when I could share such peaceable small talk with Eclair…

"It really is most interesting. To think that two of the three young women who once reigned as empresses at Reido Academy are now ruled as slaves by the very man who used to be Kanan's slave."

So Eclair said, looking thoroughly amused.

Hmm, what was the right thing to say to that?

"I suppose so. Maybe it is interesting."

I let the reply roll off lightly.

You're going to be the next one joining their ranks, I wanted to say that, but picking a fight out of nowhere while being treated to refreshments wouldn't have been good form.

Once we'd had our fill of the spread…

"… Now then, may I broach the main topic?"

I had quite a few things I wanted to ask Eclair.

"Yes, please do."

When I cut in, Eclair agreed without fuss.

When Eclair softly clapped her hands and spoke up, the chattering crowd fell silent at once.

Smoothly, the formation of Eclair's party shifted.

… Free-spirited Kanna Hizaki, the cool, theory-minded Nami Himuro. The two of them differed in type, but the hierarchy of Eclair on top seemed firmly ingrained in them.

Eclair sat with composure at the center, the place of honor. Sario stood one step back at her side. Hizaki-san and Himuro-san were arrayed to her left and right, and beyond them stood Vyletta and Presea.

It made it plain at a glance that the mistress of this entourage was Eclair Feradria.

… All right, the main topic.

"From what Yumi told me, you behaved as though you'd known about this world in advance, with everything you did precisely on the mark.

"And, the slave battles you ran in our world… was the slave count being eight each just a coincidence?

"Could it be that you've known about this world all along, from the start?"

I threw the question I'd long held at Eclair.

"… Why do you ask such a thing? What will you do with the knowledge?"

Eclair asked back instead.

"… No, well, knowing won't necessarily make me do anything in particular.

"… Even if, hypothetically, you were the one behind this whole otherworld transition…

"For me, who's grown to find this world more attractive than my old one and decided to settle here for good, I'd really only be grateful.

"It's purely curiosity. Even if knowing won't change anything, I want to know what's going on. When something itches at you, it itches, doesn't it."

I answered honestly with how I felt.

"Well, I've already formed my own conclusions, so even if you played dumb and said you knew nothing, I might not believe you.

"But you wouldn't lie pointlessly.

"That answer would carry the meaning of there being some reason or feeling behind it.

"With all that in mind, I'd like to hear Eclair's proper answer."

"Is that so… Very well. I shall tell you.

"I… have known about this world."

Oho. I'd guessed as much, but having it admitted so easily came as a surprise.

"To begin with, we of the Feradria line are descendants of a visitor from this world.

"The reason transition phenomena from our Earth to this world occur from time to time is, more than anything, that we of the Feradria line have endured with our power intact.

"Through my existence, the world is in a state with a hole opened in it; that hole destabilizes the dimensional wall, and otherworld transition phenomena occur intermittently.

"The phenomenon by which that hole expands to its maximum occurs once every hundred years, and large-scale transition phenomena take place on a hundred-year cycle.

"… That, in essence, is the principle.

"There are said to be three worlds from which otherworld transitions to this world occur.

"To put it the other way around, despite the existence of countless other worlds, the reason only three exist is determined by whether or not natives of this world have prospered there in great numbers, the way our line has.

"From dimensions and worlds where they have died out, transition is impossible.

"And in worlds where they survive, but only in dwindling numbers, large-scale transition is impossible.

"At most, only the soul retains its memories and is reborn, a reincarnation phenomenon.

"Conversely, in our world, where prosperity has gone so far as to build a kingdom, transition phenomena occur at a respectable rate of about ten cases per year.

"… Even on the same Earth, in a parallel-world Earth where the Kingdom of Feradria does not exist, large-scale transitions to this world might not happen on this kind of scale.

"… That said, since Feradria's ancestor was a beautiful girl, she would surely have been taken to wife by some local power-holder.

"As long as a trace of that bloodline remained, the possibility of rare transition or reincarnation phenomena might still linger."

And so, a piece of the world's secret had been imparted to me.

"Eh, that sort of thing, isn't it confidential, outsiders-prohibited information? Is it all right to share?"

"In our home world, of course, it's confidential information. But once we've made it to this world, what meaning would there be in keeping it secret? The fact that it's confidential there is only a self-protective measure to keep the Feradria royal line from being branded as having gone mad."

Eclair said, revealing the secret passed down through the Feradria royal line.

"I-I see… Could I ask in more detail about the Feradria royal line?"

"Yes. The Feradria royal line has as its founder a girl named Suzette Feradria, who transitioned to Earth three hundred years ago.

"Suzette was admired by a certain French noble, and bore many daughters.

"The story goes that sons were rarely born, but as she gave birth to many lovely princesses, she was sought after as a bride by many royals and nobles…

"Through those many connections she gained power, and in time even founded a kingdom. That is the Kingdom of Labroua.

"It was the homeland of Princess Charlotte, of around year 100.

"The Kingdom of Labroua, though small, continued to develop, but financial difficulties led to its annexation by a similarly small neighboring kingdom. It was through the marriage of a queen renowned as a beauty without peer. Thus the Kingdom of Fauria was formed.

"At that time, too, a princess… Mille-Feuille Fauria, transitioned across.

"… The Kingdom of Fauria too eventually fell, but the Feradria line, having long cultivated connections among the royal houses across Europe, at last succeeded in establishing a queendom of their own. Which is the present Kingdom of Feradria.

"That's a relatively recent matter.

"The current Kingdom of Feradria is a country that built its wealth on finance, information, marital ties to Europe's various royal houses, and the slave trade in beautiful women.

"What Kazami and Tsuchiya were after as their stake in Feradria corresponds to those things."

Eclair explained.

"Hooo… I see."

I listened with interest.

Well, I'd already known about the Kingdom of Feradria's behind-the-scenes business, the trade in the highest grade of beautiful young girls as slaves.

Among us slaves, it was talked about as an open secret.

"I was told the fairy tale Suzette Feradria was said to have related, when I was very young.

"By now it's been hollowed out into the story of a distant otherworld."

And then, Eclair began to tell it.

… Suzette Feradria was born in a far-off, different world, not here.

There, eight slaves served a single Goshujin-sama.

The eight slaves loved their master, served their master, fought at their master's command, and competed for the top of the world.

But the slaves found their highest joy in serving their master, loved their master purely, were always faithful, and would joyfully die at their master's command.

The slaves were very happy.

By her Goshujin-sama's command, Suzette came to this world to seek out new slaves for her Goshujin-sama.

But even though Suzette found a girl worthy of being a slave, there was no way to return to her original world.

While she was at her wits' end, Suzette was admired by a prince of this world.

The prince, who loved Suzette and the girls she had brought together, doted on her dearly.

Suzette bore many princesses with the prince, and her prince's nation flourished greatly.

Suzette could no longer meet her Goshujin-sama, but her love for her Goshujin-sama was never forgotten.

A bit of a strange story for a picture book, you might think.

… Well, now that I'd come to this world, it was easy enough to imagine it was based on real events.

"I, drawn to that fairy tale, tried to recreate slave battles, where slaves fight slaves…

"And that was the beginning of slave battles.

"And, looking at history, I could foresee that once every hundred years a large-scale otherworld transition would occur.

"In such times, a peerless beauty whose name would be left in Feradria's history would be born.

"A hundred years ago, Princess Mille-Feuille. Two hundred years ago, Princess Charlotte. The same was true of them.

"This generation, that one is myself, of that I was certain.

"Therefore… that Reido Academy would be caught up in an otherworld transition, that too I had foreseen.

"No, I had been awaiting it eagerly."

So Eclair admitted it all without hesitation.

"Well? The mastermind of this otherworld transition phenomenon is myself.

"Hearing that, what will you do?"

Eclair posed the question to me again.

"Uhh… A pretty hefty secret has just been laid out for me, hasn't it…

"For that, well… thank you.

"If this is being explained to me as a reward for winning the slave battle this time, then I think it's more than reward enough.

"And as I said at the start, I'm now nothing but grateful for this otherworld transition phenomenon.

"If it was thanks to Eclair that I got to come to this world, then there's nothing I can do but be thankful.

"For that, too, thank you. I'm grateful. This world has its bad parts, but it's a wonderful world.

"But…"

I glared at Eclair.

"I'm the type of person who can't stand being made to dance to someone else's tune.

"You did give me an environment that's truly wonderful for me, Eclair.

"But the fact that it's something handed to me silently by another person honestly grates on me.

"No matter how good the thing is, you can't just hand it to someone unilaterally and call it good."

I answered honestly.

"… Fufufu, then, what will you do?"

Eclair, even seeing my irritation, was in high spirits.

"For dragging me here without my consent, I'll see this through to a proper accounting.

"Just like I said before.

"… I'll defeat you, make you my Garumon, and make you my lover.

"If it's mischief done by a beloved lover, I can laugh and forgive it.

"If not, I won't forgive you."

"Fufufu! Splendid. Then, in the end, nothing has changed from before."

"Yeah. When I become S-Class, I'll challenge you, and you'll accept.

"That's all.

"My reasons to absolutely make you mine have only multiplied. I'm truly glad I got to hear this today."

"Fufufu, if I've stoked your fighting spirit, then it was worth it.

"Telling you was worth the trouble."

Eclair tied it together that way.

"… Just one more thing I want to ask. Eclair, what was it you wanted to do when you came to this world?

"And is that dream coming true now?"

"Let me see…

"Speaking with Yuria-san was very meaningful."

"Me?"

Yuria reacted, suddenly named.

"By Yuria-san, who, born as a Garumon, holds the wish to become a Master, I, too, was greatly encouraged.

"When I learned of the existence of a world in which all women were slaves, I thought I wished to go to that world.

"That was because in our home world, standing at the very top was not particularly difficult for me.

"In this world, where women were so disadvantaged, I wished to stand at the top… that was my wish.

"On that point, I think it's fair to say my wish has been granted, for now.

"Though I can hardly say I've reached the top yet."

"Speaking of which, Eclair. If you're a Master, that means… you have one growing on you?"

That was another point I wanted to ask about.

"That is incorrect. The one who drank the Yin-Yang Divine Elixir was Sario.

"… Submit a motion to the S-Class assembly, and if it passes… whatever the contents may be, they can be made law.

"In point of fact, there are precedents in which the S-Class assembly recognized a Garumon as a man, and as a Master.

"The moment Sario reached S-Class, he submitted a motion to the S-Class assembly.

"Since I am a retainer of this Eclair Feradria, please grant Eclair Feradria the status of S-Class Master, and recognize myself as her Garumon.

"Debate over the motion was contentious, but… it was significant that S-Class number 2, Aqueria, sided with us.

"And the resolution was reached, on the strict provisional basis that so long as Sario Shard was an S-Class Master, Eclair Feradria would be recognized as a Master.

"However, since I have not been recognized as a man, a Garumon Battle staking myself is possible.

"If I am taken by another Master, my Master rights are forfeit.

"And if Sario is taken by another Master, my Master rights are likewise forfeit, in which case the party falls apart, of course."

I see… was my thought, but the mention of S-Class number 2 Aqueria caught my attention.

"Eh, what? Are you on close terms with Aqueria?"

"It isn't that we're close, exactly… but is it not perhaps that Sario is looked upon kindly as a fellow futanari Master?"

… I see, so even getting close to Eclair didn't mean she'd introduce me to Aqueria…

"… You have your eye on Aqueria as well? … The loftiness of your aspirations is worthy of respect…"

Eclair… rather than exasperated, gave the impression of genuinely respecting it.

"… One more thing. Eclair. If you so fervently desired to become a Master yourself, then would you not want to lose and become mine?

"I'd be perfectly fine if you stayed a Master under someone else, and we just became regular lovers, getting all lovey-dovey and having sex."

"… You really are gentle to your lovers.

"That kind of Master-in-name-only is what we call laughable.

"If, while in a woman's body, one means to aim for the position of Master at the top, even a single defeat is unacceptable.

"… There would be no end of Masters apart from you who'd come to take a woman like me.

"Unless you make me your Garumon, if I lost and were taken, you would lose your lover."

"… Ah, that's no good. I really can't accept that."

"Fufufu… yes, I, for my part, would also say that if there exists a Master who can defeat me head-on…

"… I would not be averse to serving them.

"The love for one's master that Suzette is said to have continued to embrace forever…

"Whether one truly can, as a Garumon, embrace such a thing.

"That, too… is something I'd like to know.

"… Of course, I have not the slightest intention of losing, nor do I think I'll lose.

"Hold nothing back. Come and take all of me, Eclair Feradria, away.

"… However, on the day I emerge victorious, I shall take all of you away as well.

"Your dignity, your pride. Everything you rely on, I shall strip from you.

"You shall use the entirety of your long life in this world as a toy to amuse me.

"Be prepared for that, and come at me."

So Eclair laid bare her confidence.

S-Class number 17, Eclair Feradria. After winning against Ursula, a contest with her was waiting.

… Until then, I absolutely couldn't lose. I steeled my resolve.

"May I, in turn, ask about the rest of you?"

Conversely, Eclair had questions for us as well.

"Yes, please."

"… I've read these magazines."

Garumon Battle Weekly and Garumon Battle Communications lay side by side.

"Basically, they're written from your perspective. Did you cooperate with these articles?"

"Yeah, since the Patty here is the one who wrote them.

"And I oversaw the contents too, so there's not a single lie or fabrication."

"Is that so… But I'd like to hear the events up to now from your own mouths, freshly. Kanan, would you tell me?"

Aah, that's right, because of the magazines, we'd had Yumi tell her story, but Kanan's hadn't been told yet.

"… I don't mind, but…"

Kanan glanced at me. I nodded.

"… Then I'll explain. Naoto and I came to this world eight months ago.

"Because the place we transitioned to was a lake, Naoto, thinking I'd drowned, tried to give me CPR with mouth-to-mouth and accidentally formed a contract with me.

"At that moment, a local man with this Adelia in tow suddenly challenged us to a battle, and we won safely and added Adelia to our party.

"Then through Adelia's introduction, we met this Leone, and Lyuka… We climbed up steadily through F-Class and E-Class.

"Eventually, in D-Class, we ran into Maika, who'd been taken by Noda; we won handily and rescued Maika.

"And around the time we were promoted to C-Class, we were challenged by the B-Class Master Kensei, who had Sawako with him."

There, Eclair cut in once.

"Yes, I, too, would have said that if there were anyone to lead you, my first candidate would be Kensei Yamagata.

"How Naoto Akai broke past him… could you let me hear that?"

"Yes. Through Lyuka's introduction, I met Yuria, and was reunited with Haru and Setsuna who'd been with her.

"Training with them, growing… I defeated Masayuki Nezu. Then I was promoted to B-Class.

"After that… oh right, that was when I met Colette, Luna, Patty, and Suzanne.

"I sent off Yuma Ishiguro and Masaomi Noda…

"After that, I met Ursula and the others, and they trained me.

"Thanks to growing rapidly that way, I won the match against Kensei and added Sawako to my party.

"And then… I was promoted to A-Class.

"There…"

"The rest I know. Through Eclair-sama's introduction, you encountered Shogo Shiraki who had me with him, and… you added me to your party."

Yumi cut in.

"… And? When did you actually unite with Naoto?"

"… When we defeated Kensei. Because of him, we hadn't been able to be united…

"Once we beat him, the two of us were finally and properly joined.

"Now both my body and my heart belong to Naoto."

Kanan answered with her chest puffed out proudly.

"… I see. The way you spoke was matter-of-fact, but I could tell during all of that, how much you've come to trust and love Naoto.

"You've come this far overcoming considerable hardships, haven't you?"

"What about you, Eclair? How much hardship did you go through to get here?"

"Let me see… we don't really feel as though we suffered much hardship.

"The three of us, myself, Kanna, and Nami, fought our way up… but from G-Class through C-Class it was almost a straight run, no struggle to speak of, anticlimactic, really.

"The only real struggle was that man who proclaimed himself the No.1 of our generation… what was his name?"

"It's Albrecht. We met him in the C-Class match."

"That's right. He had this Presea, plus many other powerful UR-Class Garumon, and we struggled somewhat."

"Gau…"

Presea spoke up.

"… We were fighting six-on-six, three of us together."

"Well, I had no desire for any Garumon who, lined up next to me, would look inferior, lacking in beauty.

"The only one I thought I wanted was this Presea.

"We wagered myself and Presea against each other…

"It wasn't like me, but I struggled a little. Still, I won safely and obtained Presea.

"With the four of us, we could form two parties of six-on-six, and things became much easier.

"After being promoted to B-Class, we added Vyletta there as our secretary…"

Vyletta gave a bow.

… Sure enough, Eclair had a sharp eye. Both of them were beauties of the highest caliber.

Presea had whitish hair shot with mottled patterning… a tiger-pattern head with rounded ears. A spirited, sharp-eyed beauty, the upturned-eye type.

A Weretiger girl.

She wasn't just cute and beautiful, her oppai were also so perky and full and large… irresistible.

Vyletta, I'd described her before, hadn't I? A beauty with her lovely blonde hair gathered up on top of her head, and gentle-looking eyes.

Her oppai size was wonderful as well.

"We were able to keep up too, all the way to B-Class promotion. Luckily we matched up against the lowest-ranked B-Class Master…"

"I went up against Idosen, the C-Class hunter. Well, I don't recall struggling particularly."

"I read that issue of Garumon Battle Weekly."

"Speaking of which, this Virida girl, we never met her, did we?"

I noted belatedly.

"Ah, the one I beat partway through, I'm pretty sure was named that."

Kanan spoke up.

"… She was the linchpin of my team's defense. Because Virida couldn't link up with us, we used Crea as a substitute. By rights, the four of us should have been able to fight together."

Yumi explained.

"… Oh, if Kanan hadn't taken out Virida partway through…"

"We might have been able to hold out a little longer.

"… If that had happened… aah, it was close. Thank you, Kanan. Well done."

Yumi gave a little shudder, holding her shoulders.

"… I thought I'd gone down without doing anything useful, but I actually pulled my weight, huh."

"No, Lizalind would be furious… after all, Kanan shaved a fair number of skill uses off her side."

We chatted about that sort of thing.

"Fufu… in the A-Class match, we were promoted easily, but it took you all a while, didn't it?"

"Yes, it took quite a while to grasp that rank-34 Radock was easy to beat with a Thunder-element party.

"A-Class's information blackout is a real pain…"

"… Though for the S-Class match, even I figured we couldn't win one-down.

"If we were going to add one more party member, Sario was the optimal choice.

"To that end, we got hold of information that there was an item called the Yin-Yang Divine Elixir…

"And we relied on Yuria, who could make that item."

"Once we get past there, I can be the one to explain.

"Up till now I couldn't because of confidentiality obligations… That's all right, isn't it, Eclair-sama?"

Yuria cut in.

"Yes, no problem."

"Eclair-sama… at the time, Sario-sama came to me back when I'd met up with Haru and the others and was struggling in D-Class.

"At that time, the A-Class Master Sario Shard came and asked,

"I've heard you can make a medicine called the Yin-Yang Divine Elixir. Would it be possible?

"Now, as you know, I'm temperamental, so I had no intention of making it for someone I didn't like…

"But if a beautiful boy of this caliber was going to become a futanari beautiful girl, well, isn't that wonderful?

"Of course, if there was leftover medicine, I thought of giving it to Haru… and using it on myself too.

"So I decided to make it. The materials I'd originally gathered to make the Yin-Yang Divine Elixir for myself were already on hand.

"The items I was short on were Light's Droplet and Dark's Droplet. Both S1-Class rare items.

"Ah, drop items are ranked across thirty tiers: E1 through E5, then D, C, B, A, S, all in five tiers each.

"What doesn't fit anywhere is treated as EX, but that's just an unclassified bucket, with rarity ranging from top to bottom. You'll find S5-and-up things in there as well as E1 stuff.

"The fifth-from-the-top tier was rough enough that you'd have a hard time getting it without being an S-Class Master.

"… Yet Sario gathered them up in no time at all.

"More than that, even though I hadn't asked for it, he gathered enough materials for three doses. True, I hadn't said the number, but since one of each was enough, I'd left it out.

"Well, not specifying the number was my oversight; I honestly told him this would let me make three…

"And then we got into a row about whether Sario alone would drink one, or whether Sario and Eclair both would drink them.

"But…"

"Yes, that for me to drink one and become a futanari Master would not be breaking the rules of this world.

"True, I did feel attracted to the prospect of becoming a Master myself…

"But after speaking with Yuria-san, while Yuria-san was someone who herself wished to drink the Yin-Yang Divine Elixir and become a futanari, I came to think that I, as I am now, wished to become a Master.

"Yuria-san explained to me that as long as I became an S-Class Master, that would be possible.

"… As thanks, the two leftover doses of the Yin-Yang Divine Elixir were given to Yuria-san."

"And that's why we, myself, Haru, and Sario, shared in the same medicine. We're like siblings."

"Yuria-san… I don't really think that's quite how it is."

Sario gave a wry smile.

… Huh. Were Yuria and the people in Eclair's party actually on good terms?

I'd known they were old acquaintances, but they seemed unexpectedly close.

"With Sario now welcomed into the party, we conquered the A-Class tournament, picked the S-Class number 17 Master to challenge, and made it to S-Class.

"After that, about a year… we've been steadily honing our skills, but I judged that challenging the mid-tier ranks was still too high a risk, and passed on the year-end exchange match.

"S-Class number 16 is the infamous Bandit King Julian. He absolutely won't accept a contest unless it's on the condition of swapping Garumon.

"With only six of us, the risk of losing a comrade if we lose is heavy…

"And in the first place, defeat is not permitted me.

"Well, that brings my account to a close."

… Indeed, she'd given a brief account up to the present.

"Thank you, Eclair."

"… Fufufu. From here on, in telling the history that lies before me, in some form or another, you will surely be an indispensable piece.

"… Of course, my aim is, in order to climb to the throne, to once again take Kanan and Yumi back and round out my fighting strength.

"My reasons for wanting to fight you the moment you reach S-Class also exist on my side."

"No. I will be the one to take you."

We exchanged crackling glares.

… That said, all of that was a tale for after I was promoted to S-Class.

It looked as though even after promoting to S-Class, there'd be no time to relax.