Chapter 4: A Sleepover For This Gloomy Princess!

Part 1

After the incident with Sonia's break in, I returned to bed after a quick debriefing with Claire and Rain.

I tried to apologize for not telling them about my plan, but they only told me that they were also responsible for letting the thief break in.

One thing I hated about being a princess, among the many numerous other things, was the fact that people were always quick to forgive you.

I wanted them to yell at me, tell me how wrong it was so withhold information from them. I tried to fix the situation by myself, acting like some bigshot hero like onii-sama, but I ended up making things more complicated than it had to be.

The spot on the bed where Revi laid was still warm when I came back. I found myself actually kind of missing having another body beside me.

I remembered his lips on mine, his comforting touch.

I couldn't believe it, but I actually found myself wanting Revi's company.

I wanted any kind of intimacy and physical comfort that would let me forget my failure.

While thinking about these things, I felt someone's presence in my room, even though I didn't hear the door open. The window was still open from when Sonia entered my room.

I got up, thinking that Sonia returned, but all I saw was a girl with silver hair, a mask covering half of her face. The moon was behind her, illuminating her silver hair and fair features, creating a divine outline around her figure.

"Senpai… What are you doing here?"

She pulled her mask down and drew closer to the bed. I made room for her to sit down.

"I heard what happened. You faced the thief. Are you OK?"

I nodded, feeling even worse after all the concern she showed me.

"Thanks for worrying, but no one was harmed, fortunately. I have to tell you something, senpai. I'm sorry. You told me to stay out of it, to warn my retainers and leave it to them, but I got myself involved in some childish attempt to prove myself."

"...Is that what happened? Well, it's alright. I can't fault you…"

There it was again. Senpai was giving me special treatment because I was some fragile princess.

"Why isn't senpai mad at me? I screwed everything up. Can't you just be honest and tell me that I ruined everything? You don't have to go easy on me just because of my lineage."

I was sick and tired of people treating me like some fragile doll that will break at the slightest sign of adversity.

"I'm not going easy on you because you're a princess, Iris-chan."

"Then what is it?!"

"It's because you're just a teenager, and teenagers are allowed to make as many mistakes as they want."

"...That's even worse. Stop treating me like a kid."

"I didn't say you were a kid, did I? I said that you're a teenager. Or would you prefer I call you a young adult?"

I expected to see a condescending smile, but I only saw one of understanding.

"Being a teenager is all about making as many mistakes as possible, even though you should know better, so you'll know what kind of person you want to become in the future."

She sat beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder, rubbing it comfortingly.

"What do you think I should learn from this mistake, then? How will it shape me in the future, senpai?"

"That's all up to you to decide. Do you let failure define you, or do you move past it and try to learn something from your mistakes? You don't get as much leeway as an adult, and do you know why that is?"

"...I guess it's because there's a lot more consequences when you fail as an adult?"

"There's that, too, but there's another important reason. It's because we know you guys are always watching us. Even if we screw up, we at least have to look cool doing it."

Senpai grinned, striking a cool pose with her hands.

I laughed, even if I didn't necessarily want to, but that's the best kind of laughter, the kind you can't contain as it's bubbling in your chest.

"I wonder if onii-sama's made a lot of mistakes when he was my age?"

"Are you kidding me? That guy screws up every day! I think your perception of your 'onii-sama' is kind of skewed, you know?! Do you want me to tell you about the time he thought I was a thief breaking into his house and…"

"Wait! I have such a good impression of onii-sama! Please don't ruin it!"

Senpai then proceeded to tell me a bunch of embarrassing stories about onii-sama that I didn't want to know.

So much for adults needing to look cool.

Part 2

Before leaving, senpai told me that she would try and track down Sonia.

She couldn't leave the city without needing to go through inspection, and the security runes placed on a national treasure like Calibur would prevent her from using the [Teleport] spell without being locked by the city's defenses.

Unless she had some means to leave without being detected at all, Sonia wouldn't be able to leave the city without senpai knowing.

That gave me some relief, knowing that senpai was working to get the sword back. She also promised to let me help once she found Sonia.

I wouldn't be able to move on if I didn't get the chance to redeem myself.

In the meantime, I still didn't feel like leaving my bed, even after senpai's encouragement.

I didn't want to show my face around the castle, to all the people I failed.

I was the Sword Princess who was assigned to wield Calibur at birth, and I lost it due to my own arrogance.

I didn't blame myself as much as before, but I still couldn't help but feel bad about failing other people.

Perhaps it's a consequence of my own upbringing. I was raised to serve the kingdom and the people. Anytime I felt like I failed the kingdom, or when I let people down, I felt this deep sense of defeat.

The maids left my meals for me in front of my door. I ate breakfast and lunch in bed, spending the whole day reading all the books about heroes and adventures I used to read as a kid.

The others didn't really try to visit me during the day, when I told them that I wanted some time off to myself. Last I heard, they were going to tour around the capital. Even Regina-sama came along.

When they came back, I heard a ruckus in the halls.

Curious, and a bit bored from doing nothing all day, I peeked out my door to investigate the noise.

What I saw was the baffling sight of Regina-sama running along the hall, a rare look of panic on her face.

She was also wearing an elaborate dress that actually looked quite good on her.

I wondered what she was running from, but then I saw Claire in pursuit with a crazed look in her eyes.

"Please don't run away Gina-chan~! I still have to fix your hair and put on some ribbons!"

Claire said, as she dashed past my room and continued her determined pursuit. She had a brush in hand and an assortment of ribbons in the other.

"Stay away from me, you crazy woman! I'm not some doll you can play with!"

I didn't want anything to do with whatever it was they were doing. I silently closed the door.

…

…

Around dinner time, I heard a knock on my door.

"Oi, Iris, don't tell me you're planning on staying cooped up in there all day?"

It was Revi's voice.

"It's not like I'm planning to stay here forever. Just leave me alone for today."

"You see, you say 'today' but it's already nighttime, you know? Just open up already. You don't have to go outside."

I sighed and placed the book I was reading on the bed. Admittedly, I was already nearing my limits in terms of boredom. There were only so many books I could reread in my collection.

When I opened the door, I saw that Revi didn't come alone,, in fact, the whole party was there, including Regina-sama. They were all wearing their sleep wear and carried blankets and pillows with them.

"Pardon me, devil coming through!"

"Wah!"

Komekko-chan pushed past me once she saw an opening, leading the way for the others to pour in. Maids followed after them, carrying trays with various snacks and goodies. I also noticed that one of them was pushing in a tray of liquor.

I looked to Regina-sama, who was probably the one responsible for all the liquor coming into my room.

"Let's just say that I managed to convince that Claire woman by doing many things that I will forever regret doing. You better appreciate my sacrifice."

I couldn't say anything more after seeing Regina-sama's serious expression.

"If you already couldn't figure it out by now, we're gonna have a slumber party! It's a good thing you're already in your pajamas, you lazy princess."

Revi smirked as he looked at my attire. He was wearing a flannel top and bottom. Komekko-chan was wearing a camisole and short shorts. Rori-san, who was all smiles as she set up the blankets on the floor, wore a pink nightgown. It shouldn't be that surprising that Regina-sama chose to go with a revealing lingerie nightgown that was totally not appropriate for her body-type.

"A slumber party? Is this some kinda attempt to cheer me up?"

"Obviously! So why don't you stop being a mood killer and help us set up already!"

I sighed, unable to bring myself to ruin their good mood. They were doing this for me. The least I could do was go along with it.

Besides, I'd always wanted to do things like this with friends. I couldn't help but get a bit excited as I helped lay out the blankets and pillows.

The maids left after bringing the trays in. Regina-sama didn't hesitate cracking open a bottle of champagne. Revi wasn't far behind, taking a glass and having her pour some for him.

"You two are gonna get drunk already?"

"The party's more fun with a bit of alcohol in your stomach! Everybody's gotta drink!"

"I can drink too?!"

Komekko-chan eagerly took a glass and immediately drank the contents before I could protest.

"Oh, my. I have some traits as a devil that prevent me from getting inebriated, but I'll drink because everyone else is drinking!"

That's called succumbing to peer pressure, Rori-san.

That said, I was never good at rejecting the consensus. With all the expectant eyes falling on me, I had no choice but to accept the drink from Regina-sama.

"That's the first bottle done! We've still got more to go!"

The slumber party quickly turned into a drinking party. It didn't take long for us, who weren't heavy drinkers in the first place, to become blushing, giggling messes.

"Fufu… Now that everyone has some alcohol in their system, why don't we start with the games?"

I started to get worried when Regina-sama took out a blindfold.

"Oi, what are you planning, Regina-sama…?"

"It's a simple game, really! We each take turns wearing a blindfold. Everyone else gets a chance to make the blindfolded person surrender. You can do anything you want… Well, maybe not everything. Let's keep it rated 'T' here…"

"What happens if you lose?"

Revi said, seeming way too excited about this. He kept glancing at my direction.

"Of course, there will be a punishment game… Let's say the first two losers will get the punishment game."

"...What kind of punishment game is it?"

"You'll have to wait and see, boya! Try not to lose!"

Komekko-chan, who was very much tipsy, gave a thumbs up at Regina-sama's declaration.

"The devil thinks this is fun! There's no way I'm losing!"

"You see, that's exactly what I'm afraid about, Komekko-chan."

Komekko-chan was a natural born winner who excelled at everything. Meanwhile, Rori-san, despite her innocent appearance, was the type who had all kinds of tricks up her sleeve. Of course, there was no way that Regina-sama would allow herself to lose at her own game.

I wasn't worried at all about Revi, since he's the type whose role is to lose and end up as the butt of the joke. I only had to worry about the others.

When I looked at Rori-san, she already had a scheming look on her face. She chuckled mischievously to herself.

...Against those three scary girls, I might actually lose this one.

Part 3

Since it was Regina-sama who suggested the game, she volunteered to go first.

Her sheer confidence was frightening. The way she was acting made it seem like there was nothing we could do that would get her to surrender.

Komekko-chan started with one of the most obvious courses of action. She started tickling Regina-sama's sides.

"Coochie-coochie! Go ahead and surrender to the devil's tickle techniques!"

"Fufu… I'm sorry, young devil, but I'm not particularly ticklish."

"...But you were screaming when Claire tickled you earlier?"

"I-I was screaming in fear!"

Perhaps we should have invited Claire to join us in our sleepover… Actually, no, that's a terrible idea.

Next, it was Rori-san's turn.

"Ara… What can I do to get Regina-sama to submit? Maybe if I do something embarrassing?"

She went ahead and gave Regina-sama a kiss on the cheek.

"Heh… For a succubus like yourself, is that all you can do?"

Regina-sama only shrugged it off, though.

"Oh, my… It seems I'll have to use more… intense methods if I want to win this…"

Instead of being discouraged, Rori-san said something scary while that scheming look returned.

"Heh, I guess it's my turn… This will surely get you to surrender…"

When it was Revi's turn, he started taking off his socks.

He then hovered the sock in front of Regina-sama's nose.

"Sniff… Sniff… Oh, my, is this the fresh smell of a young boy? How delightful…"

"Eeeek?!"

Fearing for his life, Revi took the sock away and retreated from Regina-sama, who was emitting a dangerous aura.

Lastly, it was my turn. I didn't really have any good ideas on how to make Regina-sama surrender. I looked around the room for something to use, and saw a marker.

"W-What are you writing on my face?"

Regina-sama was worried for the first time as she felt the marker scribbling on her face.

"You'll have to take off the blindfold if you want to find out…"

"Well, it'll still be on my face even if I take off my blindfold, silly girl. I'll just have to endure this one."

Damn, she's tough.

Once I finished drawing, we had no choice but to give Regina-sama a pass.

She took off her blindfold and looked at herself in the mirror.

"...So you drew whiskers, huh? Oh, it's relatively tame? I thought you would have drawn a ***** or wrote **** on my face."

"Why in the world would I go that far?!"

The sheer lengths Regina-sama thought I'd go to win this silly game made me nervous.

Unfortunately, it was my turn to put on the blindfold next.

Komekko-chan was first to try and get me to give up.

I could hear her chuckling even with the blindfold over my eyes.

"Heh… I lost the first round, but my tickle attack won't fail this time!"

She then proceeded to tickle my sides.

...Is this the only thing she can do?

It was a bit difficult to endure, but it was nowhere near as intense as all the combat and physical training I underwent, as a kid.

Sorry, but a combat princess won't fall to something like a tickle attack.

"D-Darn it, the devil will succeed next time!"

Try something else next time.

I thought that Komekko-chan would be a tough opponent, but I easily survived her turn.

I didn't know whose turn was next, but I felt someone drawing nearer. Unlike Komekko-chan, they didn't reveal their identity right away. With a blindfold on, my other senses were heightened a little bit.

I definitely smelled Revi this time.

Although I'd like to claim that Revi has bad body odor, that isn't really the case. It's just that, thanks to recent events, I became familiar with how he smelled. I mean, we were making out in a bed and all, with his body pressed close to me. It's only natural that I knew what he smelled like.

In any case, since Revi was getting closer to me, I couldn't help but go on full alert.

What is he planning, getting this close to me?

If he was planning to make out, he should at least wait until we were alone.

Before I could do anything, I felt his lips on mine.

This bastard is really doing this in front of the others?!

I could feel their gazes on me, but I couldn't push him away. His lips felt so soft, even softer than they were last time. I felt his tongue poke against my lips, breaking through and entering my mouth.

Damn, I'm feeling hot.

I almost forgot that the others were close by, watching us, since I was immersed in the kiss.

I started kissing back, ignoring everyone else's stares. I reached out with my hand and put them against his chest.

"Hnn~!"

Revi made an oddly feminine moan. Also, his chest felt remarkably soft and plump.

W-Who the hell is this?!

Wait, don't tell me…?!

I took off my blindfold. Surely enough, Rori-san was in front of me with a flushed face, smiling as a string of drool connected our tongues. Revi was behind her, shirtless, while she wore his shirt.

"Ehe, sorry about that!"

She winked and I remembered that I wasn't supposed to take the blindfold off.

Damn it, she got me!

...And why does she have to be so cute?!

I know I like men since even Revi made me feel all hot and bothered. If he can manage to make me attracted to him, then surely that means I like men.

However, it was undeniable that I found Rori-san charming as well.

Could this be an awakening?!

"Fufun… Well played, my child. This means that Iris is our first loser."

"Ehe, thanks Regina-sama!"

Rori-san looked satisfied with her victory and Regina-sama's praise.

"Uwa… Two girls kissing… And Iris looked like she really enjoyed it too… I wonder why Rorisa had to borrow Revi's shirt, though?"

Komekko-chan said, as Rori-san returned the shirt to Revi, who quickly wore it over his bare torso.

I couldn't exactly tell Komekko-chan that Rori-san planned to trick me by pretending to be Revi, so I'd get myself caught up in making out with her.

The next one to be blindfolded was Revi. He had a confident look on his face when he tied the blindfold around his eyes.

"Heh. If your plan is to kiss me or do anything erotic like that, it won't work. It will actually be a reward for me."

"Heh… Then does that mean that you'll be susceptible to the devil's tickle attack?!"

"Gahh?! No, I'm ticklish?! Stop! I surrender!"

He's too easy.

Also, I couldn't believe that Komekko-chan's tickling thing actually worked.

"...Hah, I didn't know I was ticklish like that. I didn't have any siblings or friends who tickled me before, so I never found out until now."

That's really sad. Please keep that kinda stuff to yourself.

Regina-sama collected the blindfold from Revi. With a smile on her face, she pointed at the both of us.

"Seems we have our first two losers! That means that you'll have to go through the punishment game…"

"What's the punishment gonna be anyway? Don't make it too ridiculous, please."

"In that case, let's start out with something easy. The losers will have to be locked in a dark closet for fifteen minutes. Fufun…"

She pointed to one of my smaller closets meant for casual wear. My main closet was a walk-in closet with lots of room. This smaller closet had just enough room for two people.

"W-What kind of punishment is that?! The devil doesn't approve! What if they do lewd things?!"

Komekko-chan seemed very concerned about Revi and me being locked away in a closet by ourselves.

I'm sorry, little one, but Revi and I have already done this and that.

It's becoming kind of clear to me that Komekko-chan had a bit of a crush on Revi. Her reaction when we got hypnotised by Sonia and forced to act like a couple made it kind of obvious. Not to mention all of the jealous reactions she showed recently. Maybe it was kind of inevitable since he was practically the only guy around her age she spent time with.

I felt kind of bad for her, but it'd be better for her if she found someone else to crush on, anyway. Komekko-chan's way too good for a scoundrel like Revi. I did her, and the rest of the female population, a favor by keeping his eyes on me.

Regina-sama and Rori-san pushed us into the closet and closed it tight, giggling all the while from the other side.

"T-The devil is listening! Don't do anything too lewd!"

I heard a thump as Komekko-chan seemingly pressed her ear against the closet door.

Inside the closet, I could vaguely make out Revi's face.

"Hah, I can't believe I lost. Who knew that I'd be so ticklish?"

He said, sighing and slumping his shoulders. I began to see more of him as my eyes adjusted to the dark.

"At least I discovered one of your weaknesses. I'll add it to my book later."

"I really hate to think why you're compiling a book of all my weaknesses. Well, I guess I'll have to worry about that next time."

Silence fell upon us as we awkwardly thought about things to talk about, to occupy the time.

"So… Are we gonna talk about what happened last night?"

He finally brought it up.

Since I was sulking in my room, we didn't have a chance to talk about our heated makeout session the other night.

It wasn't exactly something you could randomly bring up in a conversation, but he somehow managed to do just that.

I guess, in this kind of situation, since we were stuck in this closet anyway, it wasn't a bad idea to bring it up. I coughed before responding,

"Yeah… I guess we should talk about that."

"So, um… Personally, I really liked it, but what about you?"

Handled like a true diplomat, putting the pressure on me to respond.

"Yeah, I liked it, too."

"Wow. You know, I expected some kind of tsundere response, like for you to punch me in the face and stuff, but that was surprisingly straight forward."

"What kind of impression did you have of me, exactly?"

I said, narrowing my eyes. I wasn't shameless enough to act all flustered like that after we'd already made out.

"I don't know. I mean, you've been rejecting me until now! I kinda feel like maybe it was just a fluke or that maybe you were still under Sonia's influence somehow? I was just a bit worried when I thought of it like that."

I didn't even consider that. I felt kind of giddy thinking about how he worried about me. My old self would probably barf seeing me get butterflies in my stomach because of Revi, of all people.

"If you're worried that last night might have been a fluke… Do you want to test it out now?"

"...?! W-Well, I wouldn't say no, or anything."

"Now you're the one acting like a typical tsundere."

I smiled, seeing his face flush in the dark.

I felt like my heart was being squeezed when I drew closer. It was somehow more thrilling the second time, doing this kinda thing, even though you'd think that the first time would surpass all the other times.

I drew closer, placing a hand on his cheek, meeting his lips, feeling a shiver run through my body. He tensed up for a second and relaxed as he started kissing back.

We deepened the kiss, picking up where we left off from last night. I couldn't help but smile when I felt him pull me closer by my waist.

I ended up on his lap, straddling him as he leaned against the wall. The cramped space didn't hinder us, only increasing the heat and intensity of our kiss. My hands ran through his hair and his hands roamed my waist and drifted down to my ass again.

I moaned into his mouth in approval, encouraging him. He got braver and slid his hands up my waist. He looked into my eyes, seeking permission. I nodded hastily and closed my eyes, holding my breath.

I felt his hands draw closer to my chest, each inch he travelled upwards making my skin prickle with aroused anticipation. His hands ended up on my chest, and he cupped them with hesitation. He let out a shaky breath and groped my chest through my top. I could feel his warm palms even through my top and bra.

"Alright, you two only got ten more seconds left!"

"...?!"

I forgot about the time limit. We must have lost track of time while we were making out and grabbing at each other's bodies as if we were in heat.

We separated from each other and fixed our clothes.

"Fix your hair…!"

I hurriedly smoothed out my hair, untangling it from the sweaty mess it had become.

"10...9...8… 7, 6, 5, 4-3-2-1…!"

The countdown got faster near the end. Thankfully, we were both presentable by the time Regina-sama pulled the closet doors open and let the light filter in.

"Fufu… You two got pretty quiet for a while there. And your faces look pretty flushed… Did something happen?"

I tried to put on a neutral expression.

"We got bored since we ran out of stuff to talk about. And of course we'll look flushed. It's hot and cramped in there. Let us out already."

"Fine, fine… Oh, my, boya, you seem to have a bit of a problem down there…"

"Urk…!"

Revi covered himself as he walked out. Ugh, I forgot about that.

Maybe I should have helped calm him down while we were in the closet...

No, what the hell am I talking about…?!

Part 4

Komekko-chan had been looking at the both of us suspiciously after we came out of the closet.

Afterwards, when the rounds restarted, she seemed to make sure that she and Revi were the ones who had to take the punishment game.

She wasn't exactly subtle about it, or maybe it was only because I was paying more attention to Komekko-chan now that I noticed her little crush on Revi, that I was able to notice these things.

Maybe she had been doing these kinda things before, and I didn't notice.

"You better not try anything with Komekko-chan in there."

I said, as they both entered the closet.

"...Why do I have to lose twice now?"

Revi looked ragged as he entered the closet. All this stimulation probably wasn't good for his nerves. There was only so much a guy as pent up as he was could handle.

This time, I was the one sticking my ear against the closet door like some obsessed creep. They chatted for a bit, but I couldn't really hear anything. Since this was the room of a royal princess, the walls and closet had some form of soundproofing to prevent eavesdroppers from obtaining potentially classified information.

I used to take comfort in the little form of privacy afforded to me as a princess, but now these same measures were turning against me in the worst way.

Thankfully, by the end of it, although Revi still looked flushed, it didn't look like he got any action. He'd have a satisfied afterglow otherwise, and it still looked like he had a problem down there. If he had any kind of relief, that 'problem' would go away.

Also, Komekko-chan looked really annoyed and dissatisfied… Then again, that didn't erase the possibility that they could have done something. Maybe she was only dissatisfied by the fact that they couldn't do more.

While these paranoid thoughts filled my head, we went through the third, and thankfully final, round of the blindfold game.

When it was my turn to wear the blindfold, and it was Regina-sama's turn to try to get me to surrender, I felt Regina-sama's hands on my thighs.

"W-What are you doing, Regina-sama?"

She didn't respond, only giggling. Her hands crept up, until I felt them on the waistband of my panties.

"Seriously, what are you doing?!"

"Fufu… If you don't surrender now, I'm gonna pull your panties down. Perhaps we'll give everybody here a show?"

"Oi, I told you not to do anything extreme?!"

"I'm excited to see what a princess looks like down there. Aren't you interested in such things, my child?"

"Indeed! I'm very interested in everything related to royalty!"

This royal otaku, Rori-san, only got excited when Regina-sama started encouraging her.

"It looks the same as everyone! Don't…?!"

I had no choice but to surrender.

Things were heating up between Revi and me, but I wasn't ready to give him an eyeful of my privates just yet.

But Regina just gave a smug smile.

"Boya, put the blindfold back on, and turn around...no peeking!"

"Ehh?! Uwaa, whatever…"

Revi is finally behaving a bit, a little service goes a long way it seems.

I suppose I should just resign myself to this little humiliation, Regina did provide this body after all.

"Sei, no!"

...

Do they have to get that close?!

"Ahh, truly the result of royal breeding. My best work yet recreating it on this body"

"Ahh, it's so cute! Is this the true domain of heroes?"

"Ah, the Devil has submitted to this before. It was my mother doing it though."

Yeah, yeah. So have I. After every time Onii-sama visited Claire would check if 'that' was intact.

"It's still there even after I put you in that closet together?! Damn, you kids are slow. Back in my day..."

Regina-sama, why do you look so frustrated!?

Next it was Rori-san's turn to be blindfolded.

The drinks went around again and everyone relaxed a bit.

"Ah, a succubus is very hard to trick! We are the masters of human psychology and manipulation."

Uh-huh. Let's put that to the test.

"Hey, look, Revi is stripping!"

"Wait, what!? Oh, my prince!?"

I didn't expect it to go this easily.

"That wasn't cheating, but I still feel cheated."

And now she's pouting.

God, why is she so cute doing that?

This girl was also the master of confusing my sexual identity, it seemed.

"Indeed, the Devil feels Iris has also lost something precious. Into the closet with you two!"

Hah? Oh, that's right, Rori-san and I were both losers this round.

Regina and Revi both smirked, while Rori-san just smiled and batted her eyes.

Part 5

"Ok, now that you got me here, what do you want?"

I said, after we were both shoved into the closet.

I didn't think that Rori-san would succumb so easily to my trick. She must have intentionally lost since she wanted to share the punishment game with me.

"Araaaaa...don't be like that? I just wanted to chat, is all."

"What did you want to chat about? It must be pretty important if you went out of your way to arrange private time like this."

"Ehe. I wanted to talk about you and Revi…"

She leaned in and wagged her eyebrows. I stepped back a bit, blushing.

"Was it really that obvious? The closet is supposed to be soundproofed. Don't tell me the others know?!"

"I've a succubus, remember? I can sniff things like lust in the air. I can tell, even through the door, deary. As for the others, I think Regina-sama also knew something was going on, but she couldn't tell to what extent. Kome-chan was completely clueless, though."

She looked so self satisfied while explaining this to me.

"And besides, I knew that something was brewing between the two of you for a while now. I've actually been acting as Revi's confidante, you know?"

"...What kind of things have you two been talking about, dare I ask?"

"Well, he wanted advice on how to get girls…"

I sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"As expected of that horndog prince. I bet he was asking you on advice on how to hook up with all the pretty girls in town."

"I must admit, he was like that at the start, but you were always in the mix. He liked to pretend that he didn't want your affection, but he couldn't fool my nose. He's always had a big crush on you, but you already knew that."

I couldn't help but blush. I felt a bit like I was cheating since I was getting insight into Revi's mind without him knowing, but it felt good hearing about how someone cared about you

"Is that all you've been doing, Rori-san? Giving Revi advice? I've been thinking about this for a while, but when we saw Revi on a date with that Crimson Demon girl, you seemed oddly composed during the whole thing. And we just had to come across them while we were out in town together…"

"Ehe, it seems you've got a good nose of your own? Let's say that I've been pulling some strings in the background to help you two out, in all kinds of ways."

It was just a lingering suspicion, but Rori-san confirmed it herself.

"Hah… To think that you were doing all that in the background this whole time…"

There was probably a lot she wasn't telling me, too.

"Iris...I just love you all, and I want everyone to feel it, too."

She moved closer, her face only inches from mine in the dark. Just how many times can I feel my cheeks blush tonight?

"I want everyone to be just a bit braver, but I know it will take some time yet. We devils have all the time in the world, but it doesn't mean we're happy. Well, I have been happy. I'm happy with you. You know, we don't really have families, but I think I'm starting to understand what it feels like, maybe?"

"If that's true, just who's in what role? I'm still working it out…"

Then she placed a finger on my lips, shushing me.

"You are a princess, and he is a prince."

Well, duh!

"And princes...no...kings...have queens, consorts, concubines...lovers."

She, she can't be serious? It's the alcohol talking!

But she just smiled, her eyes twinkling, full of mischief and emotion.

"H-Hold on, when you said that you want everyone to 'feel the love', you can't mean?!"

"Geez, do you really have to play dumb all the time? You've already suspected that you're not alone in having feelings for Revi, right? I don't want an ending where only two people are happy and the rest are left out, you know?"

Is that what she meant by queens, consorts… concubines?

"We aren't even properly dating, why the hell would I want a harem end?!"

"It's only something to consider. That's why I'm here, so you can just focus on developing your relationship."

"I don't know about that. If things get out of hand…"

"If things get out of hand, won't it just be more fun? Ne, don't you think that it's better to share the love…?"

She drew closer again, this time she placed her hands on the wall, trapping me in between them.

Is this a double kabedon?!

"I can tell that you've begun to like me, too… Or are you just gonna ignore those feelings?"

My breathing stilled as her lips approached mine.

All the previous times we kissed were spontaneous occurrences that had some kind of reason why they happened. The first one was out of necessity to keep our cover, the other one was during a game.

This time, it felt genuine. Those soft, irresistible lips met mine. I felt myself helplessly giving in.

Her scent excited me, an unnaturally pleasant smell of lavender. Rori-san's warm and easy personality had a way of making you want to drop everything you were doing on a busy day and cuddle up with her in bed.

And so I let go. I stopped worrying and opened my mouth as her tongue playfully poked and licked my lips. I let her pin me against the wall and kiss me deeply and skillfully.

It was a far cry from the clumsy fumbling Revi and I had engaged in. I felt Rori-san's knowing smile forming against my lips in between kisses, as if she was telling me she knew how to drive me crazy with pleasure at any moment, but was restraining herself for my sake.

Don't mess with succubi, ladies and gentlemen.

She finally backed away and let me breathe. I gasped for air but she didn't even look winded.

"Oh, god… Hah, hah…"

She giggled. Then she reached down and I felt hands on my waist. She grabbed the waistband of my pajama bottoms. After looking deeply into my eyes, she slipped them down.

Then she giggled, pulling her own nightgown aside.

Am I really gonna go all the way here?!

Maybe I should be saying no, but I couldn't help but anticipate what was coming next.

As she stripped, however...

"OK, time is up! 10...9...8… 7, 6, 5, 4-3-2-1…!"

There's that unnecessarily fast countdown!

The door swung open, and Rorisa happily skipped out, showing my childhood panties off for all to see. I didn't see them in the dark, but those were my panties, alright. I knew that I gave her permission to try on my clothes, but my panties… She actually tried them on?!

Not to mention that since she pulled my bottoms off, I was also flashing everyone with my own panties!

Revi gawked at her, then at me. Unsure where to look.

Fine, I'll own it. It's nothing he hasn't seen already.

"The Devil will not lose!"

And now Komekko is shucking her shorts off, bat prints out for all to see.

This situation was getting needlessly complicated.

Then again, Rori-san did admit that she wanted things to get 'out-of-hand'.

"Fufufu, isn't it nice to let your hair down, every once in a while, yes?"

I honestly wasn't sure Regina-sama had been wearing any under that, heh.

Hmm?

Revi is gawking. Time to establish my dominance.

I stood over his seated, cherry faced figure, turned.

I know you like this part of me!

The other girls moved to my sides, and did the same.

"So, whose do you like best, huh?"

…

...

After that momentary fit of insanity we all experienced, we somehow thought it would be a good idea to drink even more alcohol.

The night continued with drunken chatter, as we sat in a circle on top of the sheets, pillows and cushions the maids provided for us. We also munched on snacks in an optimistic attempt to weaken the effects of the hangover we were sure to suffer from, the next morning.

"S...so...Revi has gotten a few requests at the shop too, hic!"

Rorisa was drunkenly detailing Axels dirty, confidential laundry.

"Hah, I thought You didn't offer those services to girls?"

"We don't"

"A..."

She burst out laughing, and us other girls joined in.

Revi shrunk into his seat, thinking of the connotations.

Well that's one way to make that pillow on his lap unnecessary

"Ah, for Iris-chan, I can make a personal exception"

No thanks! M..Maybe…

"...Hic! ...You..don't want to know what Kazuma asks for, huh?"

"Wait, does he still!?"

I almost spilled my drink.

"No, sadly, he's settled down. He did ask for you, a couple of times though"

She said, taking a sip.

I see.

I took a sip of my own and brooded on that a bit.

Revi recovered enough to ask a question of his own.

"Say, who's the top requested girl at the shop?"

She tilted her head and looked at Komekko with a Cheshire cat's grin.

R-really?

"Ah, Iris's current form has recently come into the rankings, you are well ahead of Aqua or Darkness-san."

"Really, I would have thought Lalatina would have been-"

"Only for people who haven't actually met her, sadly"

Oofies.

I looked over at Revi, and couldn't help but smile a little.

He also smiled and gave a shrug, perhaps picking up on what I was thinking.

It was exciting to see where our strange, new relationship would take us, if you could even classify it as such.

But tonight, everyone was having fun and I was happy with that.

Perhaps this was what Rori-san meant, in a way.

I didn't know if I agreed with her opinion completely, but we did share the same desire to keep this party together.

And if that meant taking things slow with Revi until we figured out a way to keep everyone happy, then so be it.

I looked at Komekko-chan and she met my gaze for a few seconds, but then immediately glanced back at Revi, who she had been staring at the whole time.

I sighed, berating myself for not realizing until now.

Sorry, big guy, no action for you tonight. Not yet.

Tonight, we're together.

All of us.

Just as we ought to be.

Greetings! Another chapter down, and things are definitely getting spicier!

I'm proud to announce that this story is now also being uploaded over on AO3 (Archive of Our Own)-

Why you ask?

One big reason...pictures! Artwork!

I've long wanted to have a presentation more inline with the light novels I've tried to so hard to emulate. Another small matter, I've boosted the rating of the story mature over there...as typical Konosuba style type book inserts can be pretty risque. In fact, As you can probably tell by this chapter, things might actually get a bit more so in the story itself, and anything too far for the current rating here would be altered. In other words, this will be the 'Broadcast' version, and the other site the 'Blu-ray edition'. Story updates will happen here first as making the visual assets simply takes much more time. The first two chapters have been updated and uploaded over there. I trust anyone reading this with the interest can find it without much effort.

Thanks for staying with the story so far!

We've got lots planned yet!

-LordVTP - Boringbone - Uranophane