Did she already know what I would ask her for?

Ch 272: What’s the worst that could happen?

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'How does a little taste of your own medicine feel, Master? lets see if you learn to pay a little more attention to Delia and me and stop going around looking for other women… but... Haa… maybe I've gone too far with the joke... Master looks like he's about to have an anxiety attack.'

Then suddenly Alessia starts laughing at me and says, "... I'm talking about you, silly."

'What? How? I... I don't remember teaching her anything like what we did last night.'

Even in spite of my confusion, relief rushes through my body like a healing balm, and I realize that I had unconsciously tensed every muscle in my body.

"Explain yourself!" I say in a slightly high-pitched voice, coughing as I make an effort to swallow the piece of meat that had gotten stuck in my throat.

"During the time I was training with my mother-in-law, I would often go to your old room when we stopped to rest..." says Alessia, still with tears in her eyes from laughing.

"... One day I discovered the hiding place of your books. THOSE books."

"Ahhh, that explains a lot," I say, sighing in relief.

Now I finally understand how Alessia learned those things from me, even though I haven't taught her any of it.

My erotic books have quite graphic descriptions of various scenes and positions.

Some even include painted pictures as illustrations.

It's surprising that Alessia discovered the place where I hid those books from my mother's gaze, but I'm glad it was Alessia who discovered them, not my mother.

A shiver runs down my spine as I imagine the possibility of my mother discovering those books.

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'I was such a jerk... I should have gone back for those books as soon as I acquired my ability to use my inventory.'

"How could you leave them there? I mean, the hiding place wasn't very good..." says Alessia mockingly.

"... Your mother could have discovered them if she went to tidy up the drawer where you keep your underwear. That false bottom in the drawer was quite evident."

"I did the best I could with the materials I had at the time!..." I exclaim with some exasperation.

In part, I agree with Alessia.

Given her luck, I don't know how my mother didn't discover my hiding place.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it was my father who gave me those books when I turned 13.

I imagine that in this case, my father's luck counterbalanced my mother's, since it wasn't in his best interest for my mother to discover the books either.

"... Besides, what were you doing rummaging through my underwear drawer?"

"I... I was just looking for a place to keep my workout clothes," Alessia says, blushing slightly.

"I understand..." I say, not lingering much longer on the subject.

I know she's probably lying to me, but I can't tease Alessia right now.

Not when she can use the fact that I left them alone this morning as a throwing weapon in an argument.

"... Haa... Anyway, when I left my parents' house, I had no way of bringing those books with me to the capital. And then I found you. A much more beautiful woman than any of the goddesses depicted in those books."

Alessia blushes a little more at my words and leans affectionately against my side.

' - Hmt, stupid Master, I can't make fun of him if he says that sort of thing to me... he should at least thank me for putting his books in a safe place.'

"So... What kind of books are you talking about? I really like reading..." asks Delia, who had been listening to the conversation silently until now.

"... When I was a recluse, reading was the only entertainment my fellow Saints and I had."

"They are some... very special books. I'll explain to you later. And if you still want to see them after my explanation, I'll show them to you. I have them in my inventory," Alessia answers quietly, snuggling against me with her eyes closed.

'So Alessia has the books with her?

Should I ask her to give them back to me?....

Hmm... I'd better not...

I don't need them at all, as I have read them more than a hundred times, and she can learn several things from those books...

But later I have to explain to Alessia that there are some limits that should not be crossed...

Fiction is one thing, and reality is quite another…

Haa…

Knowing Delia, I don't think she would find those books very appealing, but who knows...

It wouldn't be the first time that my little Saint has surprised me by doing something totally unexpected.'

...

After we finished eating, the three of us left the house and went to the place that would soon become Delia's workplace.

It took us a few hours to clean the place and set up everything they'd bought to equip the future clinic.

When we finished, the inside of the place looked like it was somewhere between a temple and a medical care area.

Delia emphasized the importance of placing several statuettes of the Solus god in strategic locations throughout the area.

So we named the place 'Saint Delia's Clinic'.

It's not uncommon for a healing place to be named after some saint, as most temples are named after some religious person from the past.

And we won't have to worry about revealing Delia's true identity, as she will be well protected by the perception inhibitor while she works.

In addition, she will continue to use the name 'Emilia' whenever she is with strangers.

This way, no one will associate the prodigious priestess of a clinic that does not belong to the Solus Temple with the former Saint who lived in the Solitary Temple.

Even more so since only a few members of the Solus Temple should know Delia's name, as personal information about the Saints is classified even within the Solus Temple.

After we finished organizing everything, I left the girls to promote the place from the entrance, while I went to Erick's store to see how he was doing with my order.

But, before passing by Erick's, I stopped by the adventurer's guild to buy a huge amount of energy potions.

Yesterday, the smart clone didn't seem too sure about it, but I think he's being overly cautious this time.

After all, what's the worst that could happen?

When I entered Erick's store, I immediately realized, based on the look he gave me, that he still hadn't been able to make the object of my order.

Still, just in case, I spent several minutes inspecting the shields he had created so far, as well as some weapons and armor he had stored for me to take a look at.

I don't owe Erick anything anymore, so I could refuse to help him with the identification of his creations.

But it wouldn't make sense, and it would be very mean of me.

He has been a wonderful friend thus far, and I can quickly evaluate his creations to identify those that have multiple free slots.

Besides, all of that will serve to cheapen the cost of my shield once Erick finally manages to produce it.

I bought Erick a sword and a spear with Chain to test my theory of using multiple weapons with Chain at the same time.

If my theory isn't correct, I can give the weapons to my girls to use on the monsters I can't take out without breaking my chain.

This way, we can still increase our already bulging cash reserves by doing multiple chains at the same time.

I also ordered a great sword with two chain runes on it. 

Anyway, that order is going to take a few days, as the blacksmith didn't have any great swords available that had two free slots. 

Erick seemed to be somewhat curious about this last order, as the exact effects of the chain rune are not known, so probably it seems very odd to him that someone would order a weapon with the enhanced version of it. 

However, he does not say a word about it.

At this point, I guess he has already gotten used to the fact that I always order strange and complicated things from him.

After leaving Erick's store, I went back to see how my girlfriends were doing.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

When I arrived, I found Delia a bit discouraged, as it seems that pedestrians have been ignoring her and Alessia pretty hard and plain during the whole time they were trying to promote the clinic.

Even if you have to be a real jerk to ignore my beautiful girlfriends.

However, in this case, it's not entirely unexpected, given that there aren't many healing places other than the ones at Solus Temple.

Additionally, the people in charge of those locations use non-magical methods to heal individuals, a process that is significantly slower and has questionable effectiveness.

But I’m not worried about it.

It's just a matter of time.

Sooner or later, Delia will get a chance to heal someone at the clinic, and then it will just be a matter of word getting out about her healing abilities.

We are currently going to the Golden Labyrinth to test my theory.

I could have used space travel to appear directly inside the labyrinth. 

However, we're walking to the place, so Delia has a chance to get distracted and clear her head a bit before she has to fight. 

' - Why are we walking towards the labyrinth? Couldn't Master have used space travel from the clinic to appear directly in the labyrinth? Hmmm... Maybe he hasn't thought about it, or maybe his ability is not as unrestricted as I imagined'.

'I hope Delia gets some encouragement from fighting the monsters of the Bajamira Labyrinth. After all, they're a lot easier to take out than the Altamira labyrinth ones. They're basically mountains of money with legs.'

' - Hmm... I could ask him directly, but Master doesn't usually respond well to that kind of question, and I don't want to be the kind of... wife who questions her husband about every little thing... Master is right. It feels a bit strange to use those words to describe our relationship.'

' - Emir seems to be worried about me... I can't continue being like this! After all he's doing for me, Emir can't see me discouraged. I mustn't let the failed start of my clinic affect me so much. It was only the first day; I know Emir's idea will succeed! I just have to be patient and trust Emir, as I have done since I met him. That is the path that God has marked out for me'

As we are about to reach the entrance of the labyrinth, Delia suddenly pats her cheeks with both hands and finally seems to shake off the gloomy air that has enveloped her so far.

'Nice!... I knew this little walk would help her clear her head.'