Otome Game Mob Villain

Chapter 717

"When my father was young, he apparently couldn't get along with others and spent a lot of time reading alone.""Oh, that's unusual.""Amon, what do you mean?"

Since Amon sounded surprised by Johann's words, I tilted my head and asked.

"Beastmen have a strong survival-of-the-fittest ideology, so the great clans, in particular, focus on martial arts from a young age. That's common across all tribes, so hearing that Lord Altavar, the Beast King's husband, spent his time 'reading' alone struck me as a bit unusual.""I see. It might indeed be unusual when you think about it in the context of beastmen."

I've interacted with various beastman tribes, starting with the Foxmen, and it's true that prioritizing 'martial prowess' is a common cultural trait. Even the Ratmen, led by Luva, are rooted in the belief that 'a minimum level of martial skill is necessary.'

Hearing our exchange, Johann shrugged. "Well..."

"I don't know if Father was unusual or not, but anyway, Mother, seeing him like that, apparently started talking to him, and that's how they became close.""Ooh, childhood friends, huh? That's a nice story. Tell me more if you have any.""Let's see..."

Johann crossed his arms and thought about my question, then said, "Well...""According to Mother, Father's talent was head and shoulders above others his age, but he was also the weakest.""Eh, what's that? What do you mean?"

His talent was exceptional, yet he was the weakest... So, was he hiding his power, or did he neglect to hone his talent? Thinking about Tabal's personality, 'hiding his power' seems more likely.

"I'm not really sure either."

Johann shook his head at my question, then leaned forward. "More importantly...""It's about time you told us your story, Ridd. It's just been me and Brother Amon talking.""Um, well, that's..."

Just as I hesitated, trying to think of a way to evade, Amon cleared his throat, his eyes glinting."Johann is right. It's about time you told us about your wife, Lady Fara.""Amon, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

Feeling ambushed, I asked. He scratched his cheek, looking somewhat embarrassed."Actually, I've been a little curious too. You see, I've only met your lovely wife once, but we didn't have time to talk.""Now that you mention it, that's true."

When Amon visited Baldia for negotiations, he did meet Fara. However, due to Elba's scheme involving a surprise attack by the Foxmen and the invasion of Hazama Fortress, Fara and Amon had almost no time to talk.

"Ooh, so you've met Ridd's wife, Amon?""Just briefly when I visited Baldia. But even from that short glimpse, I could tell they were deeply in love.""Oho, I definitely need to hear about this now."

Amon answered as if it were obvious, narrowing his eyes. This seemed to pique Johann's curiosity even more, making his eyes sparkle intensely.

"Deeply in love, huh? I'm happy to hear that said about us, but having it stated so directly is a bit embarrassing."

I smiled to hide my embarrassment. Both Amon and Johann leaned in together.

"Ridd, you admitted you're deeply in love! It'll be easier if you just talk about it.""That's right, Ridd. I talked like you asked. Now, confess!""Confess? This isn't an interrogation..."

Though exasperated, I began summarizing how my engagement with Fara came about and our meeting in Renalute. Of course, I carefully omitted the things I couldn't reveal. The two listened with sparkling eyes, genuinely fascinated by my story. Perhaps adding a bit of emotion, like I do when reading to Merle, was well-received. They asked questions along the way, and before I knew it, time had flown by, and the night had grown so late that moonlight was streaming through the window.

By the time I finished, Tink, who was waiting outside the room, called out, "Everyone, it's about time to rest." I intended to disband and have everyone sleep in their own rooms, but Johann said, "I want to sleep in the same room as you two."

"It's making our last memory together. This much is fine, right?"

Johann's eyes grew moist, and he tilted his head cutely. Although Amon and I were initially reluctant, we eventually gave in to his insistence and ended up sleeping together in the large bed, lined up side by side. (For reference, the order from the left side of the bed was Amon, Johann, and then me.)

I'm too soft for my own good, aren't I...?

Thinking this, I closed my eyes.

◇

"Hmm..."

Sensing a presence, I woke up to find Johann, in his sleepwear, smiling happily right in front of my face. A quick glance at the window showed it was still dim, though the morning sun was out. It must still be early morning.

Yawning and rubbing my eyes, I slowly sat up.

"What is it, Johann?""Nothing, I just thought this is the last time I'll get to see your sleeping face, Ridd. I was burning it into my eyes.""Ah, ahaha. You're energetic first thing in the morning..."

I smiled wryly, half in exasperation, at Johann's confident, chest-puffing response. But now that he mentioned it, there might not be another chance for the three of us to sleep in the same room like this.

"Ridd, more importantly, look at Brother Amon. He's hilarious.""Hilarious...?"

Tilting my head, I looked over at Amon sleeping next to Johann as instructed. The sight that met my eyes made me burst out, "Pff, fufu..." Amon's hair was inexplicably messy, sticking out in all directions like an explosion, and somehow his head was positioned opposite to how it was when he fell asleep. Was he a restless sleeper, or just... skilled? Not only was his whole body out from under the covers, but all the buttons on his sleepwear shirt were undone, revealing his chest and navel, and his pants seemed slightly pulled down too. It was truly an 'indecent state of affairs.'

I knew from the other day that Amon's bedhead was bad, but I had no idea his sleeping posture was this terrible. He probably isn't aware of how poorly he sleeps. If he knew his sleeping posture was this bad, he'd likely hesitate to suggest sleeping together.

How in the world did it end up like this...? Struggling to hold back my laughter, Johann showed his white fangs like a mischievous child.

"See? Funny, right? But what's even more amazing is that despite such sleeping habits, he didn't let me, sleeping right next to him, sense a thing. Judging by his scent, Amon might have hidden potential.""Fufu, is that a compliment or are you making fun of him?"

Johann spoke with a completely straight face, but his demeanor just made it funnier, and I couldn't stop my laughter.

"Of course it's a compliment! And you, Ridd, how long are you going to keep laughing?""You're the one making me laugh, aren't you?""U...uun. Wha... what's going ooon, you two...?"

Perhaps disturbed by our conversation, the sleeping Amon slowly began to sit up. But when Amon and I saw his expression, we gasped, quickly covered our mouths with our hands, bowed our heads, and shook with suppressed laughter.

Right now, Amon not only had explosively messy bedhead but his usually wide-open eyes were narrowed into a single horizontal line. His clear enunciation was gone, replaced by a uniquely spaced-out, dull tone. Combined with his indecent sleepwear state, the contrast with his usual neat self was so extreme that Johann and I were completely overcome with laughter.

"Fufu. Ridd, let's give the pajama party victory to Amon, shall we?""Kuh, kuku... I don't really get it, but sure."

As I nodded in response to Johann's whisper, Amon's slit-like eyes slowly opened. Soon, as if his consciousness fully returned, he seemed to notice his own state, turning bright red and exclaiming, "Wha, wah wah...?!" as he hurriedly adjusted his open sleepwear. His gestures were somewhat girlish.

After quickly fixing his sleepwear, Amon cleared his throat and straightened his posture as if nothing had happened.

"...You two, keep this between us.""Understood, Brother Amon.""Fufu, sure. A secret between brothers, I suppose.""Ooh, that sounds nice and brotherly!"

Seeing Johann's eyes sparkle at my words, Amon looked relieved and patted his chest.

"Thank you, both of you. Well then, what happened from last night until this morning is a secret among the three of us. Promise?"

And so, the pajama party concluded as a secret shared among the three of us.

Today is finally the day we depart from the Cat tribe territory. Our next destination is the Wolf tribe territory in the mountainous region.

Well now, I wonder what the next territory will be like.