Eclair's Companions: Sario / Presea / Vyletta

Being allowed to talk with Eclair's companions had been one of the conditions for my victory over Shiraki.

Holding to that, Eclair gave me permission to speak with each of her companions individually.

With the proviso that, so long as it was consensual, doing erotic things was also fine, so go right ahead.

And so an opportunity that had been almost nonexistent back in Japan came to me: a chance to talk one-on-one with Sario Shard.

Sario Shard.

He could be summed up in a single phrase as "Eclair's attendant," but he was himself an extremely high-spec individual.

He was Eclair's exclusive SP, her bodyguard, always standing by to protect her from being drawn into any crime.

Yet his striking good looks made it seem entirely plausible that he himself might become the target of some crime instead.

To begin with, his appearance was beautiful enough to be mistaken for a woman. And not just any woman, but a peerless beauty.

Platinum-blond hair that looked silver, sharp slanted eyes with silvery-gray irises…

At a glance he looked like Eclair's little brother. Apparently he wasn't, though he too was undeniably a descendant of Suzette Feradria of the Feradria clan.

And now, on top of all that, he had been given a feminine figure and splendidly ample breasts.

From a state where the only regret was that he was male, "female" had now been layered on top, leaving him a flawless, perfect beautiful girl.

"It's been a while, Sario. Though, you probably weren't paying me much attention back then."

"… That isn't quite the case."

Sario answered me curtly.

"… Back in those days, you had no value.

"But now you've become an A-Class Master and are even reaching for S-Class. I can't treat you lightly anymore.

"What is it you want to talk about?"

Sario looked me straight in the eye.

This might have been the first time we'd ever traded looks like this.

… No, wait, there had been one other time. When Sario and I had spoken. That had been, I think…

The day of the athletics meet Eclair had organized.

Back when we slaves were being made to compete pathetically in races and the like, Sario had come up out of nowhere and spoken to me.

What sort of conversation we'd had, I'd save for another time.

But because of it, I had come to hold a fairly favorable impression of Sario.

… He was on the side that mistreated me, yet I had never disliked Sario.

Then again, since we'd had basically zero contact, that was probably only natural.

"Ah, no. I just wanted to hear about you.

"If we're going to be companions someday, isn't it better to start getting along now?"

"… That sort of opportunity will not come. Eclair-sama will not lose."

Sario seemed to grow a bit displeased.

"No, but isn't Eclair planning to make me her slave if she wins?"

"… That is so. But in that case, you would be no more than a slave. Not someone who could be called a companion.

"What you wish for will not happen."

"… I see. Well, even so, isn't it fine for the current you and the current me to be on good terms?

"We came over from the same Reido Academy as comrades, and we're both Masters. Even if there's still the gap of you being S-Class and me being A-Class."

"… Well, I suppose that's fine. There are also instructions from Eclair-sama.

"I'll respond to your conversation."

Sario went along with it.

"Um… you already know all about my circumstances, right? My birth, my upbringing, why I was Kanan's slave and so on."

"Yeah."

"Then I'll skip the explanation… I know almost nothing about you, Sario. Could you fill me in?"

"… My name is Sario Shard.

"The Shard family is descended from a slave that Suzette Feradria took in.

"It's a concubine lineage that always devotes itself to the king, but as a noble house we are also of the royal bloodline, and several times we have produced kings of our own.

"Because I was born in the same year as Eclair-sama, I was raised from earliest childhood to become her Imperial Guard.

"Ever since then, I have lived with the mission of serving Eclair-sama. That's all."

"Hmm, I see. Born with a duty to serve another, huh…

"Then, Sario, do you have nothing of your own? No fun, no hobbies, nothing like that?"

"It's only natural that I take a back seat to my own self. All of me exists for Eclair-sama."

"But still… you were such a beautiful boy, you must have been popular with women and men alike. Didn't you have any interest in that sort of thing? Like a lover… Ah, originally you had a feminine appearance, but sexually you're normal, right?

"After you completely obtained a woman's appearance, did anything change sexually too?"

"…"

Sario's face twisted with a hint of distaste.

"I don't care for that kind of vulgar conversation."

"S-sorry about that, but…

"In this world, sex is just naturally part of everything, isn't it?

"You really mean to tell me, Sario… with such alluring companions, in a position where you can give even Eclair lewd orders, you've gone this whole time without exercising any of that and just discarded it?"

"Of course."

Well, I've also held back as much as possible from giving lewd orders… aside from the very first time when I told Kanan to take her clothes off, I haven't given any commands outside of battle… I think.

"Have you ever thought about doing that sort of thing with Eclair?"

"No. It would be disrespectful to my beloved master."

"But Eclair too will eventually marry into another family or take a husband, won't she?

"If it comes to that, then surely you yourself…?"

"You're being persistent. I do not consider such things."

He seemed completely serious.

"Well then, what about Hizaki-san and Himuro-san?"

"Those two are like high-maintenance little sisters."

… I am laying my hands on my little sister, though. For now I'll stay quiet.

"What about Presea and Vyletta? They're Garumon of this world, so they shouldn't have any resistance to doing erotic things with their Master, right?"

"… None at all. To do such a thing to those whose kindness in becoming our companions I owe a debt for would be tasteless."

… Which means, is he a virgin? Two whole years in this world, and a virgin…

Unbelievable.

"… You don't really have much interest in erotic things?"

"Well, it might be that I have no interest in them at all."

"… Even though you've got such an erotic body…"

"M-my body has nothing to do with it!"

"No, the body matters. If you've got an erotic body, you'll be put in an erotic mood."

"… Honestly, you…"

Sario held his head in his hands. Hmm, he was unexpectedly prudish, or rather, erotic things just weren't his strong suit.

… There was even a part of me that wanted to teach this innocent Sario all about erotic things…

"Ah, but if you're completely sexually normal, do you find it unpleasant when men come on to you?"

… Or rather, this was actually the thing I most wanted to ask Sario.

If a man came on to me, I'd absolutely hate it.

I'm someone whose principle is not to do things girls don't want, so what would I do if I were told,

"I prefer women, so being approached by a man is just gross."

What should I do then? I wouldn't be able to approach him at all.

"…"

Sario let out a fed-up sigh.

"The remark 'you may approach me' wouldn't be possible in the first place unless there were already favorable feelings.

"There's no way I'd say it was fine. Even with a body like this, I am a man."

That was perfectly fair.

"… I won't go so far as to say it would be gross, but don't think I'd ever let myself be swayed by you."

That was how Sario summed it up.

… Hm, did that mean coming on to him was, by all means, allowed?

If so, all the better.

There was something fun about gradually getting closer to a girl who started off with a low affection level.

"… What about you? Isn't it gross to have a former man hitting on you?"

"Not at all. Haru was originally a man, but he's my lover now.

"I can't imagine there's a man out there who wouldn't want to have sex with a beautiful girl as gorgeous as you, Sario."

"Beautiful girl… You really are a strange one.

"I thought as much before, but coming to this world has only made you weirder."

… Strange, huh. I didn't really know myself how much I'd changed since coming to this world.

"I do think it's the result of having gained confidence in myself."

"Maybe so."

Sario let out a wry smile.

… Sadly, however, the truth was that "approaching" Sario would only be allowed after I won the duel with Eclair and everyone became mine.

While we were still enemies, he had no intention whatsoever of cozying up. He was firm about that.

"Got it. Then, once we become companions, let me court you all over again."

"… You really are a strange fellow. But the day you come on to me will never arrive.

"… Because I will never let Eclair-sama lose."

"… I know."

He had been an exceptional swordsman from the start. And now he had become a Garumon. Just how strong he had become was anyone's guess.

It was clear that Eclair too possessed extraordinary talent, and the rest of her companions were all UR-Class Garumon valued at 5000.

They had to be… considerably strong. In this Garumon Battle world, if there was a person stronger than me, I'd been thinking it was probably this Sario. Just how strong was he, I wondered.

But I would absolutely not lose.

I had no particular grounds for it, but for now, in my heart at least, I resolved firmly that this was so.

 

*

 

Since Sario didn't talk much with me, I went next to meet Vyletta and Presea.

"… I serve as Eclair-sama's secretary. My name is Vyletta."

The lady knight gave a crisp bow… Beautiful. At first glance her eyes seemed gentle, but her bearing had an unmistakable core to it.

The way she combined loveliness with coolness was charming.

"… Gau, I'm Presea."

The one who said that was a lovely beautiful girl with sharp upturned eyes. With round ears and striped hair, no matter how you looked at her, she was a Weretiger.

These two, I was told, were inhabitants of this world whom Eclair had met after coming over.

"Nice to meet you, Vyletta, Presea."

I bowed too.

"I heard before about how the two of you met Eclair, but…"

"Gau, Eclair is strong. The strong are obeyed. That is the tribe's law. If you beat Eclair, then I will follow you."

Presea's logic was crystal clear.

"As a Garumon, I too am one who serves Eclair-sama. Even if you ask me to interact with you now…

"Should Naoto-sama defeat Eclair-sama, at that time I will serve you with all my heart and sincerity."

So Vyletta said, with a bow.

Hmmm… the two of them had logic so airtight that there was no opening to push in further.

"Um… the thing is, once I win and we're in a Master-and-Garumon relationship, we won't be able to talk as freely as we can right now.

"This is the only opportunity for us to chat openly, while we aren't yet Master and Garumon, so I wanted to ask…

"… You know, if there's anything you think about me."

"What I think about you… You look weak. If you win, I'll acknowledge you. If you lose, you're weak.

"That's all."

Presea was extremely straightforward. Obey the strong. Don't obey the weak.

And whether you were strong or weak was decided by who won the fight.

… It was perfectly clear. There was no further room for debate.

"A-all right. So with Presea, before we settle things with a fight, there's not much point talking further, huh…

"As far as I'm concerned, I just wanted to talk in a fun way."

"… G-gau… d-don't make such a troubled face. Presea doesn't really get talking and stuff.

"Presea just fights. Fights and wins. That's everything."

"Sure, fighting is important too, but since we're going to spend time together as companions from now on, talking matters too.

"After you use up your skill counts, we rest until you recover, and during the breaks we'd talk and stuff.

"About hobbies, things like that. Don't you have anything you like?"

"Other than fights and training, Presea eats food and sleeps."

"Eh… Ah, food. What kind of food do you like?"

"Presea likes fish. Presea likes Mui."

"Ah, Mui. It's delicious, isn't it. I love it too."

Mui was the most commonly caught fish in this world, the soul food of the place, roughly equivalent to salmon.

The flesh itself was rich and delicious, but Mui's salt-cured roe, called Muimuru, was even more incredibly tasty.

It was less like ikura or tarako and more like the flavor of crab innards, and Muimuru soup's deliciousness was on another level entirely.

Mui and Muimuru came up often in this world, so if you weren't a fan, life here would be tough food-wise.

Well, there were plenty of other ingredients too, so it might not be that tough.

Fortunately, my companions had all reacted with surprise at how delicious Mui was. Of course, that was thanks to Leone's cooking.

Grilled, fried, or steamed, it was all delicious.

A Muimuru-don, where you piled Muimuru on top of Mui fillet over rice, was just unbelievably good.

A salmon-don with soy sauce poured over it got reasonably close, I thought. Plus crab innards or something like that.

To replicate it with Earth ingredients you'd be looking at thousands of yen, maybe even more, but a single Mui could be bought for 10 silus, about 1000 yen, which was amazing.

For one bowl of donburi rice, it worked out to about 1 silus, about 100 yen.

I told Presea that sort of thing.

"…Drool. T-that sounds tasty."

I'd captured Presea's heart!

"If you'd like, please come eat some sometime. Leone is an incredible cook, you know."

"… Gauh. N-no, I can't after all. I won't take handouts from an enemy!"

She'd really been on the verge, but in the end Presea refused. Hmmm, just one more step.

Well, with Presea, at this rate, I had a feeling we could gradually become friends.

Now, as for Vyletta…

"Even if you say you want to know what I think… There's nothing in particular from me."

This one didn't give me anywhere to land.

"Anything is fine… Like, what are your hobbies?"

"I have none."

Hmmm…

"You look weak, anything at all, I'd rather you said something…"

"Such things… well, let's see. I think you are cute."

"Eh."

That might have been the first time I'd ever been complimented on my looks. I was used to being told I was unimpressive or pathetic.

But being called cute as a man was kind of a bit…

"That said, my supreme joy is solely in serving the commands of my master.

"If Naoto-sama becomes my master, then upon your command, I shall gladly offer you everything."

"… Whoa, that's a bad fit for me.

"On the contrary, I want my partners to open their hearts and bodies to me of their own will, not because I commanded them to.

"That's why I'm having this conversation with you before becoming your master…

"If you don't desire it of your own will, I absolutely don't want to give a command that would warp that."

"… What a strange Master. The Master commands the Garumon.

"It is by now the natural order. A Master who doesn't command her Garumon couldn't possibly exist."

"No, even if it couldn't exist. In reality, that's how I feel."

"… Understood. Should the day come when Naoto-sama becomes my master, I shall do my utmost to live up to your wishes."

"Well, in the end that's how it'll be, but…

"… Vyletta, please tell me what you like, the things you enjoy. I want to set up an environment where you'll be happy and have fun, where you feel good."

"My Goshujin-sama's preferences are my preferences."

"Hmm, but right now Eclair isn't here.

"Right now, doing what would please Eclair has no meaning.

"… Do something that you yourself enjoy. Games, anything you'd like to do, do you really not have anything? When you're alone, what do you do?"

"… Nothing in particular. I review the things that happened that day and consider whether there were any points to improve."

What stoicism. The hobbyless type devoted entirely to her work, huh…

"How about eating? What kinds of foods do you like?"

"Nothing in particular. The meals served by my Goshujin-sama are the finest treat of all."

"What about sleeping…?"

"So that I can rush to attend to my Goshujin-sama's command immediately, I keep my sleep light."

… She really was the model of a Garumon.

Well, with a body that erotic, maybe if we did something erotic she'd get hooked on that. But to ride it out to that conclusion was kind of…

It would defeat the whole point of taking the time to interact like this since she was going to become a companion.

But it was a bit of a problem how Vyletta had so little sense of self.

If you've got nothing to do unless you're doing erotic things, that's basically a couple in their period of disenchantment.

What was it. Maybe with someone like this I could drag her out into the streets and forcibly create something fun.

But that, in turn, would feel like forcing it on her. Like saying "Have fun with this!" as a command.

The model Garumon, whose supreme joy was being commanded by her master. Maybe I had to acknowledge that value system too, huh.

"But it's true that, while I don't like commanding, it's not strange for there to be a Garumon whose values say she wants to be commanded. In fact, that might actually be the more common case.

"Even if you tell some people 'act on your own will,' that troubles them too…"

Hmmm…

"On that point, are you on good terms with Sario? I'd think you two are similar types."

"… Sario-sama is the very model of a Garumon for those of us who serve. He's someone to be respected."

So Sario's loyalty was at a level even Garumon acknowledged.

"… But even if you try to live just as faithfully as he does, in a contest of who can heed Eclair's orders most, you wouldn't beat Sario, would you."

If she had pride in her work, I thought maybe this would land…

"For a newcomer like myself to push past Sario-sama and serve Eclair-sama would be presumptuous.

"I serve Eclair-sama with loyalty within the bounds of what I can do."

… Hmm, weak reaction. Not much rivalry toward Sario either, then.

She was single-mindedly devoted to her work, but even if she lost out at work, it wouldn't shake her all that much.

I had a feeling she was a girl whose individuality was thin overall. But that, in itself, was a kind of individuality.

Not everyone had to have a strong self.

"Well, I'm glad I got something of a sense of you, Vyletta.

"If you're enduring something, I'd want you to be set free from it sooner, but from the looks of it you don't seem to be straining yourself, you're just being natural…

"You're a really reserved girl, aren't you. That kind of thing is cute too, I think."

"…"

Vyletta's cheeks colored slightly. Oh, looked like she didn't dislike being praised.

"People all talk like having no hobbies or things you like, no real self of your own, is a bad thing, but it isn't bad at all. That kind of thing is just one more form of individuality. Vyletta, you're really cute and charming.

"If you became my companion, I'd be very happy."

I praised Vyletta.

Vyletta moved her mouth a little, mumbling, and somehow looked a bit pleased.

… How cute.

What was that, she did have a clear individuality of liking to be praised by others.

I was bad at flattery, but I had no trouble at all praising a beautiful girl as cute as this one.

"Even your hair is pretty. You tie it up so it's easier to move, right? It's so pretty… your brown eyes are pretty too.

"Your features are nice as well. There's a loveliness inside the beauty…"

"…"

Vyletta looked happy.

"You're tall and slender, your figure is wonderful too.

"Your breasts are big and lovely. From watching how I am with my companions you can probably tell, but I just love wonderful breasts like Vyletta's…"

Vyletta looked softly happy.

… What was this, she was cute.

That she'd be pleased by being praised by me, who wasn't her master, was a relief. It meant I could tell she wouldn't be pleased solely because I'd become her master.

If I praised her after becoming her master, surely she'd be even more pleased.

"You won't do erotic things now, right?"

"… Yes. This body has been offered to my master… to Eclair-sama. I cannot allow myself to be touched by anyone other than my master."

There she was strict, as expected.

"Got it. So that I can hold Vyletta to my heart's content too… I absolutely can't lose."

That was what I resolved.

"… I will give my all for my master. I will not hold back at all. Bear that in mind."

Vyletta said.

… The fact that she'd bothered to say something so obvious… did it perhaps mean that, deep down, she was a little bit hoping I'd hold her in my arms? Considering the thought made me happy.

In that fashion, I deepened my exchange with Vyletta and Presea a bit.