"So Cool Armor!"
As soon as Charlotte put on the armor, a surge of strength filled her body. It felt as if she had suddenly become much stronger.

She wanted to show off!
She wanted to show it to Dirt Dirt, to the maid sisters, and to Yulia right away!
Just as Charlotte was about to dash out of the room with an excited expression, she heard—

“Once you’re dressed, you should go. Yulia was really scared earlier, perhaps because she saw a ghost, so if you can, please stay with her.”
“Hmmm...”

The legs that were ready to run immediately lost their strength, and her shoulders slumped.
Why is Yulia being brought up here?
It seems like Uncle is always filled with thoughts of Yulia...

What's the big deal about seeing a ghost?
If she were really scared, she'd be trembling all over and clinging to someone!
But the fact that she’s trying to stick close to Uncle suggests that she’s probably not that scared.

‘It’s somewhat irritating.’

They’ve been stuck together all day.
She would probably be clinging to him while sleeping too, right?
At this rate, wouldn’t it mean she’d spend the whole day just being with Yulia?

Charlotte was desperate to show off this armor and run out to play, but her irritation toward Yulia grew stronger.
There were so many opportunities to express affection towards Uncle, yet she was still being all grumpy, which was just incredibly frustrating.

“Is Uncle really busy? Is me going out actually helping?”
“...”

Sticking to Aslan's back, Charlotte let out a slightly disappointed voice.
Right. This was to create some tension for the relaxed Yulia.
It was a warning that if she kept being careless, I would snatch him away!!!

She remembered giving that warning last time, but Yulia still hadn’t gotten her act together.
If one time doesn’t work, then two times!
This was a direct shot for the jealous Yulia.

So, yeah.
This was all to provoke Yulia.
There were no ulterior motives...

“Would you like to take a break and receive a massage?”
“Where did I put the massage voucher...”

Fumbling.
Aslan searched through his pockets.
This made Charlotte wear a satisfied smile.

‘Oh? But this time Yulia isn't spying...?’

She stiffened.
Charlotte’s body froze as she glanced towards the door.
Now that she thought about it, she had forgotten to close the door slightly.
The maids who were eavesdropping had quietly closed the door and left.

What do I do now?
If Yulia isn’t spying, how can I provoke her jealousy?
Mission failure?

‘Ah, I don’t care!’

Whatever.
It doesn’t matter whether Yulia sees or not.
I will go my own way!

Having quickly rationalized her thoughts, Charlotte said—

“Where are you in pain? Where shall we massage today?”
“My back hurts, my shoulders hurt, my calves hurt, my neck hurts...”
“You’re saying everything hurts! Uncle works out every morning, so why is this happening?”
“...You have a point.”

Looking at Aslan, who sighed deeply, Charlotte showed a slightly worried expression.
From what Charlotte had seen, Aslan was indeed diligent.
Though he spent a lot of time indoors dealing with work, he never skipped his morning jogs.

But why is his skin still so pale that his veins are visible?
His arms and legs are so frail without any muscles.
It seemed as if Aslan’s body type had a preset configuration, and he couldn’t break free from it.

“If this keeps up, you’ll be getting massages all day.”
“Then let’s skip the other places and just do a face massage.”
“Why? Because it looks so scary? Should I soften it up for you?”
“...No. It’s just that my facial muscles are tired.”
“Hehe! If that’s the case, leave it to me!”

Charlotte rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward.
Well, he always frowns, so it’s bound to hurt his face!
They say if you frown often, you’ll get more wrinkles when you’re older.
And what if those wrinkles show up on that already scary face...?

‘Ah, no way! Uncle will look even scarier...!’

I have to stop it!
I must stop it!
I have to massage Uncle’s face so that he doesn’t get wrinkles!
Charlotte’s face was soon filled with a sense of responsibility and mission.

Aslan lay down straight on the sofa with his eyes closed.
Looking down at him, Charlotte found herself a little stunned.
Now that she thought about it, she had never seen Uncle sleeping.
This was her first time seeing him with his eyes closed, and somehow it felt...

‘He looks handsome?'

When his eyes were open, he had a somewhat wicked look, but this was less so.
Uncle could look nice! How interesting!
Charlotte swallowed her admiration and took off her shoes.

‘Uncle liked it when I massaged him with my feet.’
Then, she struggled to take off her socks and stepped barefoot onto the sofa.
Looking down at Aslan, who was lying between her legs, Charlotte felt hesitation creeping in, causing her body to stiffen.

His face. Is it okay to step on it?
I know Uncle likes being stepped on, but it’s his face.
Wouldn’t he get angry?

“Shall I begin?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it really okay?”
“Stop asking and start.”
“Really?”
“...”

With his eyes closed, Aslan slightly furrowed his brows.
Ah! He frowned again!
That’ll add more wrinkles!
Without hesitation, Charlotte thrust her petite foot forward.

“Eh.”
“...?”

The moment the sole of her foot landed on Aslan's cheek, his fierce eyes shot open.
Charlotte was filled with chills and trembled.

Ah. Is this not it?
.
.
.
“Face massages are done with hands. With hands.”
“Eheh, I didn’t know. I thought Uncle liked it done with feet.”
“...”

She decided not to deny it.
Charlotte’s soft soles.
In the brief moment they touched, the squishy feeling wasn’t bad, but if it kept going, it felt like they’d cross an irretrievable river, so she stopped.

‘Salty taste...’

It felt like it was significantly deviating from the proper human etiquette.
There was a slight sense of regret, but since she had been stepped on once, she decided to be satisfied with engraving that feeling in her memory forever.

“Alright. Lay down here.”

Charlotte changed her position.
She knelt behind Aslan and laid her head on his thigh.
As she awkwardly began to touch his face with her hands, she said—

“Put some pressure with the tips of your fingers. This is called acupressure.”
“Oooh.”
“Acupressure massage helps relieve tense muscles and promotes smooth blood flow...”
“Eh, you’re being too loud.”
“...”

Pressing firmly.
Charlotte’s thumb pressed lightly against his lips.
As his mouth closed, Charlotte burst into laughter, shaking the room with her joy.

[The evil god, ‘Carly,’ says our dark knight looks happy and is also glad, so he smiles.]

...The two of them were happily excited together.
Is it really that fun?
Well, I understand since I can’t help but touch Yulia’s cheeks when she falls asleep.

After a while of playfully pulling and pressing on his face, Charlotte finally seemed a little tired and began to focus seriously on the massage.
Maybe because she was naturally strong, her pressing power was very firm.

“Ah. Ahhh. Right there. Yes. That feels good.”
“Uncle... You usually don’t look that old, but at times like this, you look super old...”
“...”

Try leading this body around, not sleeping, and handling a harsh schedule.
Let’s see if any moans come out or not.
Aslan's physical age was still only 21, a prime age, but as he dashed about trying to revive a crumbling family, he felt like he had aged drastically.

“Are we making you age quickly by bothering you?”
“That’s not the case.”
“Yulia is always grumpy and annoying. I’m anxious about when I might suddenly cause trouble with my super-duper sword.”
“...”

Oh, you know that, huh?

“I won’t say not to worry. But for this moment, just set aside your worries and relax. Uncle, you’re always either looking serious, rushing, or busy; it’s one of the three.”

With a gentle tone, she whispered while rubbing his forehead.
The moment he opened his eyes wide, he found himself staring directly at Charlotte.
Surprised, Charlotte blushed and pulled her head back.

“Good job. Thanks to you, I feel a lot of my fatigue has lifted.”
“Ah! You can’t just say to rest comfortably and then get up right away...!”

With a disappointed snort, Charlotte tugged at my sleeve, but I paid her no mind and stood up abruptly to adjust my clothes.
Though I wanted to receive about 10 more minutes, or even an hour, of massage, I had to get up quickly as it felt like I’d turn into a useless person if I kept lounging around like this.

Charlotte’s thighs were firm yet soft.
I wanted to order a pillow custom-made to fit the shape of Charlotte’s thighs to sleep on every day.
Those thighs were terrifyingly enticing, making one go slack.

“I should ask for face massages often. After receiving one, I feel like my complexion has brightened.”
“Hmm. I don’t think so.”
“...”

What a cold response.
With her blunt tone, I had no retort to give.
At that moment, my stomach let out a cute noise.

“Eheh. I think I’m hungry.”
“Let’s eat a little earlier today. Get the dog food bowl out of the pantry.”
“Yes! I’ll go call Yulia...”
“Master!”

Bang!
The door swung open roughly, and a gust of wind swept through the room.
The only one who could generate such strong force, besides Charlotte, was just one other person.
Turning around, I found, just as expected, Sylvia entering the room, panting heavily.

“Did you forget to knock?”
“Please forgive my rudeness. It’s an emergency.”
“What emergency?”
“Right now, a monster outbreak has begun on the mountain, and the Arient Territory is in danger!”
“...What?”

What are you suddenly talking about?
Monsters coming out from the mountain?
Why are they suddenly appearing from a mountain that hadn’t shown a single monster for hundreds of years? Just as that thought crossed my mind, I recalled the huge upheaval that had recently occurred in the mountains and realized.

‘Ah. Is it because the mountain was split in half?’

Could that possibly be our fault?