Chapter 8: The Abandoned Prince is Thoroughly Savored
A week had passed.
“Oh? So that’s the Refrigerator you had Yellowna-neue make for you?”
“Yeah! With this, I can have ice-cold juice whenever I want!”
I was boasting to Rosemary about the large, newly installed Refrigerator in my room.
Just the other day, while I was repairing a broken shower in the bathhouse, I’d asked Yellowna to make this Refrigerator for me.
To think she actually made it in a week…
Yellowna might just be the number one magical device craftsman in the Empire.
No, probably the best in the world.
As I beamed proudly at the Refrigerator Yellowna had made, Rosemary seemed genuinely puzzled.
“Cold drinks might be tasty, sure, but did you really need to make a magical device just to chill them? Isn’t an icehouse good enough?”
“That’s a rich person’s way of thinking, Rosemary.”
“Hm?”
Certainly, if all you want is a cold drink, an icehouse might suffice.
However, an icehouse is something only the wealthy can afford.
In summer, ice costs a ridiculous amount, and in the Agaram Kingdom, it was so expensive that only nobles and some wealthy merchants could get their hands on it.
But this Refrigerator, while somewhat pricey, is something that can be used for over a dozen years.
Well, admittedly, the material and development costs aren’t low enough to sell it cheaply right away.
The plan should be to sell it to the rich at a high price first, make the existence of the Refrigerator known, and then improve it so that even commoners can buy it.
By doing so, eventually, everyone will be able to enjoy ice-cold juice and alcohol.
I explained this to Rosemary.
“…Hmm, I see. But you’re quite considerate of the common folk, aren’t you?”
“Eh?”
“Normally, such things are sold only to the privileged class to monopolize the profits. One would limit production, reduce the number of employees, and keep the structure and mechanisms secret. By selling what’s made that way at a higher price, one should be able to gain more profit.”
Ah, she has a point.
In Japan, having a Refrigerator in every household was a given, so I just assumed everyone should own one.
Even without actively spreading it to the commoners, selling it to the rich alone would generate profit.
For a moment, I thought so. But…
“Hmm, I don’t really like that idea.”
“You don’t like it?”
I nodded.
“I think things like this develop more the more people know about them, you know?”
“Hmm?”
“Someone tries to copy the Refrigerator and make a profit. But if it’s not superior to the original in some way, it won’t sell better than the original. So they imitate and innovate. I think technology is a repetition of that, so if you keep it secret, it’s hard for it to develop.”
That’s just my personal theory, though.
I don’t really want to say it, but it’s the same for weapons used in war.
To fight more advantageously than the enemy, you create weapons superior to the enemy’s.
To do that, you obtain the enemy’s weapons, understand their structure, and improve their performance.
The result of repeating that is nuclear weapons and other such dangerous stuff.
So what if you don’t use the weapons you’ve painstakingly made?
The answer is simple.
The enemy won’t try to surpass them by imitating or improving the weapons, so they won’t develop any further.
As I was thinking about that, a thought struck me.
“…Is that why guns and cannons haven’t developed in the Empire?”
I haven’t seen gunpowder in this world, but I’ve seen things similar to it.
Like exploding ores.
If the Empire, which likely has the technology to properly preserve and utilize such things, wanted to, they could easily make guns and cannons.
Right now, it’s just that the ‘idea’ of making such things doesn’t exist.
But thinking about it that way, what’s strange is that no one has come up with it.
There are geniuses in every world.
It wouldn’t be surprising if someone created something that could be the basis for guns and cannons, even if not the weapons themselves.
Could it be that such geniuses are being secretly eliminated?
…No, that feels a bit too much like a conspiracy theory.
It might be the influence of reading too many such novels in the Imperial Castle’s library recently.
Let’s put these idle thoughts aside for now.
“Well, anyway. Convenient things like Refrigerators, by becoming widely known, might eventually lead to a more comfortable life for me in the long run. Thinking about it that way, keeping it a secret is a bit…”
“…Fufu, hahaha!!”
Rosemary, who had been listening to me, suddenly burst out laughing.
“Eh, what? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“Ah, no, my apologies. I just found it amusing. I can’t tell if you’re being selfish or altruistic.”
“If I had to say, probably selfish? It’s my selfish desire to drink ice-cold juice, after all.”
“Ah, that’s why I laughed. Reichel-sama’s selfishness brings happiness to many. It’s a wonderful thing. Truly befitting the man I’ve fallen for. —Ah.”
…Eh? Oh?
“Ah, no, th-that’s not what I—”
“Ah, ah, yeah. I-It’s fine, it’s fine. I get it.”
“I-Is that so!! Ha-haha, it’s kind of hot today, isn’t it!!”
“Ah, well, I have juice chilling in the Refrigerator!! W-Want some!?”
“I-I’ll have some!!”
I took out a juice bottle that had been chilling in the Refrigerator, opened the stopper, and poured it into a glass.
When I handed the glass to Rosemary, she downed it in one gulp.
“Mmm, it’s cold and delicious!! Hahaha!!”
“Th-That’s good. …Hm?”
“What is it?”
I tilted my head, looking at the juice bottle.
Looking closely, it was a juice with a label I didn’t remember chilling.
“Did I put this juice in to chill?”
“Guh!?”
“Eh? Wh-Rosemary!?”
“Wh-What is this…”
Rosemary crouched down, gasping in pain.
Th-This is bad. This juice definitely had something in it!
Could it be poison!? Who!? No, I’ll think about that later!
“I-I’ll heal you right now, so stay still!”
I hurriedly touched Rosemary and used “Complete Regeneration.”
That should do it—or so I thought, but Rosemary remained in pain.
“Wh-Why!? I’ve never encountered a poison I couldn’t heal before!!”
“Rei-shel…”
“I-It’s okay!! I’ll definitely do something!! But, ah, damn it!! I’ve relied on my cheat ability so much, I don’t know what kind of poison this is!!”
“Hah, hah, Rei-shel.”
“Wh-What is it!?”
Rosemary called my name. And then, she continued.
“D-Don’t… touch me…”
“Eh? Ah, no, um, th-that’s not it. I didn’t prepare that juice! Someone else must have—”
“That’s not it!!”
Rosemary suddenly shouted, making me jump.
Then, her breathing ragged, her cheeks flushed red, she said.
“I-I can’t… hold back♡ Looking at you, the depths of my body are aching♡ If this goes on, I’ll♡ I’ll do something terrible to you♡”
I looked back and forth between the juice and Rosemary, and I finally understood.
I knew what was in the juice.
My “Complete Regeneration” prioritizes removing things harmful to the body.
Conversely, harmless things, like medicine, can’t be removed unless I consciously focus on them.
What was in the juice was probably an aphrodisiac.
Aphrodisiacs are legitimate medicines, after all.
But well, if I focus, I can remove even an aphrodisiac!
“W-Wait. I’ll heal you right now—”
I didn’t know who put the aphrodisiac in the Refrigerator, but I hurriedly tried to treat Rosemary, touching her body.
It was at that moment.
Rosemary grabbed my arm and pressed herself against me.
“R-Rosemary?”
“Hah♡ Hah♡ This is your fault♡ I told you not to touch me♡ It’s your fault♡ It’s all your fault, you hear♡”
“Wh-Just calm down for a second!!”
Rosemary advanced on me as I backed away.
However, I soon found myself cornered against a wall.
With no escape route behind me, just as I tried to slip away sideways along the wall…
Thump!!
Rosemary slammed her hand against the wall next to me, cutting off my escape in a kabedon.
“Reichel.”
“R-Rosemary?”
We stared at each other from extremely close range.
Rosemary’s breath washed over me, and my heart started pounding too.
My beloved sword also reacted.
I averted my gaze from Rosemary’s eyes and glanced down.
There were Rosemary’s large breasts, which only served to excite me more.
As if understanding this, Rosemary whispered to me.
“Reichel♡”
“Wh-C-Calm down. Rosemary, you’re, um, acting strange because of the aphrodisiac.”
“Silence♡ Aren’t you hard right here too♡ What an outrageous size and shape♡ I wouldn’t have imagined it from your appearance♡”
Rosemary said, caressing my beloved sword.
C-Calm down. Just as I thought that, Rosemary whispered again.
“Say you like me♡ Say you love me♡”
She was forcing a confession out of me.
This was likely the resistance of the sliver of rationality Rosemary barely clung to.
Not to violate me forcefully, but to convince herself that it was consensual.
Strangely, I didn’t feel any discomfort at all.
However, I couldn’t believe that being embraced by Rosemary here was what she truly desired.
Right now, she’s just not herself because of the drug.
Thinking that, I showed slight resistance to Rosemary’s coercion.
“W-What if I refuse?”
“Is that so?♡ Then until you say you like me, until you say you love me, I’ll ravish you!♡”
Ah, there’s no escape, huh.
Well then, might as well just say it!! I like Rosemary too, after all!!
Running away here would be a disgrace to my manhood, wouldn’t it?!
“Rosemary. I like you. I love you.”
“――Haaah!♡♡♡♡ Aaah!♡ I like you too!♡ I love you!♡ You are mine!♡”
And so, I ended up having every inch of my body thoroughly savored by Rosemary.
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Afterword
Author: “A normal protagonist would’ve somehow talked their way out of it and not gone through with the act, right?”
Rei: “Dun dun DUNNN!! Now, who was it that put the Love Potion Juice in my Refrigerator!?”
Author: “Ah, he changed the subject!”
To those of you who thought, “He’s guilty,” “He’s innocent because he was the one being pressured,” or “Guilty because I’m jealous,” please do leave your thoughts, bookmarks, ★ ratings, and reviews.