Chapter 135: After Reaching for the Stars
Annemarie’s cakes at the stall are actually selling quite well.
Apparently, the fluffy and chewy cakes are a huge hit.
…Yes.
I’m the one who regularly supplies her with baking powder!
What’s more, I’m the one who taught her how to bake cakes!
That’s the situation.
I met Annemarie a few years ago…
When she was still around elementary school age.
It was around the time the war with the Empire started…
She was being bullied by some brats and was sobbing in the corner of the plaza.
When I saw her, I thought, “Oh, she’s got good raw material for a face,” and with the feeling of wanting to stake my claim early, I started taking care of her.
And then she fell for me.
Instantaneously, in two panels.
Well… yeah.
Unless a woman is extremely independent, she wouldn’t be able to resist me…
It’s not something I should say myself, but I’m a kind of妖魔.
That’s why I’m so easy to take advantage of people with weak or vulnerable hearts. Not that I intend to take advantage of them, though.
Anyway, my kind of “charm”… my “Allure,” works especially well on vulnerable girls.
To put it simply, if I say, “What’s wrong? Want to talk about it?” they fall for me 99% of the time! It’s the worst! No wonder I get looks that could kill in some regions. I’m practically an incubus.
I say it every time, but the people in this world discriminate without reason, and those who are discriminated against are often the kind of people who deserve it. It’s like an open-world dark fantasy Western game where every choice leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
“Humph, humph humph humph…”
Annemarie hums as she kneads the dough.
She has such a cute profile.
Wait, is she humming the Dragon Quest theme?
It really is popular…
But… this girl, too, is something else.
It’s true that she was bullied and treated poorly by her parents. But by this world’s standards, she’s had a much better life.
At least, it’s a much, much better life than Tristia, who was sold alongside livestock. Even if I hadn’t gotten involved, she would have been happy. In her own way, though.
But the reality is that she met me, was seduced by me, and learned about a “happiness” she didn’t need to know.
It’s like a naive girl from the countryside getting involved with a weird guy or a host in the city.
The happiness I give is pure “poison.”
I give her excessive happiness, validation, and pleasure that a normal town girl would never experience…
Of course, I intend to take care of her until she dies…
But she can no longer be thrilled by ordinary men, everything tastes bad except the food I give her, and she can’t fit into ordinary families.
I seduced her, loved her, and treated her with the sensibilities of a Japanese person… and that seems to be enough to break the values of the average person in this world…
In other words, even if I seduce her as a game, she becomes truly, truly serious. To the point where she would commit suicide if I abandoned her.
Seriously… I’m a human relationship destroyer… Changelings, no wonder they’re considered harmful. They should be driven out of the city!
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
Annemarie smiles at me.
This smile is probably a face that only I will ever see.
Even if I abandon her and she’s seduced by a new man, Annemarie will never show this face to anyone else. She can’t imagine any man other than me.
She has that much “dependence” on me.
“…I’ll make you happy, Annemarie.”
“Ehh? Oh, geez! Why so sudden? I’m gonna fall even more in love with you…♡”
I’m truly sorry.
I’ll take responsibility for destroying your view of men and take care of you forever.
I swear so and share a cake baked by Annemarie.
The ingredients are flour, a little salt, honey, butter, goat’s milk, dried apricots and grapes. And baking powder.
What you can make from these ingredients is… well, something like a scone.
Even so, it’s more crispy and fluffy than the flatbreads of this world, so it’s delicious.
I only give the baking powder to her, so I haven’t caused enough damage to completely destroy the market, so please forgive me.
Free competition is a thing of the distant future… If you did that in this era, you’d have a line of seriously dangerous stores like in modern England.
In other words, the Guild connections drive out illegal businesses and keep the quality and quantity of products circulating in the city at a certain level. It doesn’t grow, but it’s well-maintained.
And in this world, there are always many risks of “quality degradation” due to poor harvests and other things, so organizations that “maintain quality” by rigidly managing the idiots are more important than organizations that increase growth.
In such a situation, it’s not good for me to irresponsibly throw in a market-destroying bomb, saying, “This is more advanced.”
In the first place, even if I did that, all I would get is wealth and even more resentment, right? Unless you’re the kind of freak who enjoys seeing other people cry, you wouldn’t do it.
“Yeah… you’ve improved, Annemarie.”
“Really? Can I become your bride?”
“You can, you can, Annemarie. We’ll be together forever, you can come here anytime…”
In any case…
I should take responsibility for my reckless actions.
Even if it started with me calling out to her on a whim, Annemarie is giving me her whole life…