Chapter 148: Manipulation

"Aaaah~ This is some good tea... Anyway, do you mind if I’m the one to speak frankly now?"(Olivia)

"Not at all."

"Until I spoke with you directly, I thought you were a perverted gigolo who’d be happy with any woman who fell into your arms, and I was a little worried about Lys’s future."(Olivia)

"Even so, were you willing to go through with this?"

"Yes... but if things went awry and the situation turned out to be even more disgusting than I predicted, I would reveal everything to Lys... even if that meant Lys and I...you know(ノへ￣,)"(Olivia)

"I see you were putting a lot on the line, and I completely understand that line of thinking, because it’s one thing to do anything for the person you love and another to make her suffer because of it. I’m glad you draw that distinction, or I’d really put a stop to this right away, since I don’t want anyone in Iris’s life who doesn’t have at least those boundaries."

"Haaaah~ I don’t know why, but talking to you really puts my mind at ease for some reason."(Olivia)

"Yes, I probably know why. Even though you got yourself into this, you didn’t fully understand the boundaries and thoughts of everyone involved—but now you do. I didn’t do anything; I just clarified the situation for you."

"Thank you for that. Well, I understand everything—and the boundaries of all this—and I have to say, it’s a pleasure working with you, Mr. —"(Olivia)

"It’s Astan—my name is Astan—and it’s also a pleasure working with you, Miss Olivia. This has been the smoothest conversation I’ve ever had."

"Yes, I too... Huh? You know, Iris said something just like that earlier. Come to think of it, you and she are very similar... Wait, don’t tell me you’re also..."(Olivia)

Yeah, just as I thought—this girl is sharp. I only dropped a small hint, and she didn’t let it slip by.

It’s good that she brought up this part of the conversation on her own.

"What? Do you think I’m manipulating you or something, like Iris did?"(Olivia)

"Aren’t you?"(Olivia)

"Well, personally, I think you’re overthinking it, and it also makes me wonder what your definition of ’manipulation’ is. What do you consider that to be? Because, sure, I won’t deny it—I steered this conversation toward an outcome that benefits me and my goals—but you already know that, right?"

"Ugh! No, you’re even worse than she is. I don’t even begin to understand what’s wrong, but I feel like something’s off."(Olivia)

"Huh? Are you letting yourself be guided by something as vague as a mere hunch instead of something rationally intuited, Miss Olivia? I thought you were more of a rational type."

"Yes, there’s definitely something wrong—it’s just that you’ve kept it so subtle that it doesn’t add up to concrete facts. I just have to piece them together and... I know! Did you lie? Did you make up that whole story to win my sympathy? To create a bond so I’d believe I wasn’t alone?"(Olivia)

"(?_?), I don’t know how to feel hearing that, when I’ve gone out of my way to be especially honest."

"No! It’s too much of a coincidence. How much of what you said is actually true? It all seemed completely true—I didn’t doubt it—but is that really the case? Or is it a story you concocted to effectively win my sympathy and, by extension, my trust?"(Olivia)

"Yeah, I can see you’re a little paranoid, though I think it’s good to be at least that cautious—but you should’ve kept those doubts to yourself. Telling me wouldn’t do any good if what you’re saying were true."

"Gnn! Are you teaching me a lesson in manipulation or something now? Gghnn, you really are just like your wife!"(Olivia)

"No (?_?). Well, anyway, I’ve said everything there is to say, and—believe it or not—I was honest about everything. I just hope those paranoid thoughts you’re having right now don’t get in the way."

"Of course they get in the way. Do you think I can stay calm in the face of this uncertainty?"(Olivia)

"But that’s all it is, isn’t it? What does it matter?"

"No! Because things could escalate without me even realizing it, and I won’t let that happen."(Olivia)

"So, what do you suggest? Is there any way you could actually make me believe you?"

I knew there was a chance we’d come to this, and I was already prepared. In the shop, there was an item costing 5,000 myrr that would settle this.

It was a magical contract where, once an agreement was established, neither party could break it.

"You probably think I have no way to expose and truly reveal your vile intentions, but you’re wrong."(Olivia)

"￣へ￣, when did this go from being a civilized conversation about working together to a conversation where I’m the evil manipulator trying to harm you?"

"From the moment I realized you’ve been manipulating my thoughts from the very beginning. Ugh! And I, like a fool, was playing along."(Olivia)

"(?_?), yeah, you’re definitely paranoid."

"Ugh! That’s the problem—I really do think so too, but I’m not just going to ignore that horrifying possibility just because everything else seems too good and convincing. Like I said, I don’t want to drag Lys into something that could harm her."(Olivia)

"Putting everything else aside, I think that’s a very good way of thinking."

"No, don’t flatter me—it won’t get you anywhere, humph! And, as I’ve already told you, you’re wrong if you think there’s nothing I can do about it. If you dare, let’s have this conversation again—but this time while holding onto this."(Olivia)

This time, she pulled what looked like a twig out of her bag.

It was a small white twig with some intricate carvings that, if I’m not mistaken, are runes.

This twig had a few leaves, and just as she took it out, it gave off a slightly refreshing sensation.

’Oh, honey, how long have you two been talking? What happened? What’s that twig?’(Iris)

I heard Iris’s voice in my mind. It seems she finally figured it out. Normally I wouldn’t care, but...

"Could you explain what you meant by ’having this conversation again’?"

"Just as it sounds, we’ll go over every point we discussed, but while holding this branch. That way I’ll know if what you’re saying is true or not... If you don’t, I’ll simply leave and this will end here. Or won’t you do it because you know everything you said was a lie?"

"..."

’Ooh（⊙ｏ⊙）, looks like you’ve been found out this time. Should we go with Plan B? We’ll gag her, tie her up, and give her so much pleasure again that we corrupt her so she can’t live without you, hmm... She seems strong-willed; it’ll take more than a day, hmm.’(Iris)

’I don’t get why your brain seems to work better for stuff like this, but forget about it. And, most importantly, keep quiet. Didn’t I warn you about that before?’

’Right!, sorry, honey. I’ll be waiting for the signal in case things go wrong.’(iris)

Whatever. I really did have my doubts about grabbing that branch.

"I see. It seems like they were really just trying to win my sympathy so they could get their perverted hands on Lys, and I... are you really just like your wife, even...? But this... huh?"(Olivia)

"Okay, let’s start over... From the beginning, right? Starting with me saying how deplorable, foolish, and absurd the plan is, right?"

Before she could finish speaking, I took the branch she was holding.

Anyway, I was more or less trying to achieve the same thing with the contract, and it saved me from having to buy it, so, in its own way, it’s a good thing.

The only problem was that now Iris was listening, and just when I thought I’d gotten away with it before.

"Y-yes,...w-we should stay like t-this."(Olivia)

She seemed surprised that I actually dared to hold the branch, and besides, it seems that for it to work, both she and I have to hold the branch at the same time—and since it isn’t that big, I was obviously holding her hand, but that didn’t matter, so I went on and said:

"So, let me ask you, Miss Olivia, what are you willing to do for love?"

Now, the situation isn’t that simple; obviously, not everything I said was completely honest, and I won’t recount everything exactly, but I’ll make clear the important points and what’s of interest to both her and me.

..

.

’Ohue~ Honey, later, when we’re alone together, I want you to tell me that...’(Iris)

’I won’t say it ’.

’Honey, we’ve been married for over a hundred years—it can’t be that you only bring out your Dere side when you’re lost in pleasure.’(Iris)

’ I won’t say it again. If you don’t be silent, I’ll give your portion of junk food to the dragon.’

That’s why I didn’t want her to hear the part where I say I love her with all my heart.

Now she’ll bug me about it for a while until I say it, and I really don’t have a problem with that, but she’s insatiable in that regard—if I do it once, she’ll ask for a second, a third, and she won’t stop.

And I know from experience that it’s better to stop it now.

"Y-you—even though some things weren’t true, for the most part you were actually being sincere."(Olivia)

"Huh? What do you mean by that? I was completely honest!"

It’s strange that she’d say that—I skillfully sidestepped the lies I told the first time. This exchange should have been even more honest.

"I see. E-even you don’t seem to fully understand some things, but anyway, it’s not relevant. What matters is that I can confirm you weren’t making it up or saying what I wanted to hear just to win my favor and manipulate me... It’s just that, as you said, those were things I was thinking because of my paranoia."

"Right, I really do think it’s good to be cautious and all, but sometimes that very thing can backfire on you. Overthinking things isn’t always a good thing."

’Honey, I think you should put that into practice more, too.’(Iris)

’(?_?), today you’ll only be eating vegetables. I’ll give the meat and junk food to the dragon.’

’Nooooo!’(Iris)

"I-I’ll keep that in mind from now on, and I’m sorry for everything I said earlier."(Olivia)

Anyway, it was good that I took an honest approach with her from the start. I originally did it for two reasons.

The first is that I knew being honest could make this work, and there was no need to lie about anything.

And the second was because I knew from the beginning that at some point she’d start to doubt, to question things, and I’d have to pull out the contract to prove my honesty.

And now that we’re done, we let go of each other’s hands, and I brought up one last thing to ensure this works in the long run.

"Don’t worry, what you did was reasonable. Anyway, there’s something else I want to clarify with you, Miss Olivia. I think you have it in mind that Iris is a manipulative person, right?"

"Yes, you sounded a lot like her, and that’s exactly why I thought you were acting too—since she even told me that directly herself, knowing I couldn’t do anything about it... I think I’m within my rights to say this, but she’s way too devious... At one point, her plan even went from being highly questionable to something so solid that I had no doubts until you reminded me."(Olivia)

"I see. It’s normal to think that way, but let me clarify something: Iris isn’t like that. The one from earlier wasn’t really Iris. The real Iris is someone who acts before she thinks—or, to put it simply, you could call her a ’muscle-brained’ person... On the other hand, it’s no coincidence that the way she acts reminds you of me."

"Huh? What are you saying now? Are you telling me it was you in disguise?"

"Correct! I have the unique ability to transform, and it was me—disguised as Iris—who proposed doing all this to you and who had that intense session with you.(?_?)"