The Neighborhood High School Girl, Miss Isezaki, Is the Great Saintess Returned from Another World~ And I, Suddenly Awakened as Her Exclusive Mana Supply Uncle, Travel Between Earth and Another World with Time-Space Magic~ - 193. Reunion with Maristel

193. 193. 193. 193. Reunion with Maristel

Maristel, who was staggering and had her hand on the wall, suddenly looked at me with a knowing grin.

“Hmm, I see… Matsunaga, you’re blushing because it’s been so long since we last met, huh?”

“No, that’s not it at all—”

I felt a bit guilty for overdoing it, but I certainly wasn’t blushing. However, Maristel interrupted me with her grin widening.

“Hehe, if that’s the case, I’ll forgive you. Let’s just get it all out and feel refreshed, okay? That way, you’ll calm down right away, Matsunaga. …Oh, Beard Guy, could you leave the room for a bit? I’m fine with it, but Matsunaga might be embarrassed.”

“Ma-Maristel-dono, even if you say that…!”

Captain Higuner stammered, his eyes darting back and forth between Maristel and me. Judging by his distressed expression, he must have a hard time dealing with Maristel on a regular basis. I felt a bit sorry for him.

Just then, I noticed a figure with silver hair entering my field of vision—it was Isezaki-san. She faced Maristel directly and spoke with a voice full of anger.

“Maristel… Do you need to learn your lesson the hard way again?”

“Oh!? Isezaki, you’re here too. Perfect timing, I’ve got something to say to you!”

Maristel’s eyes widened in surprise as she noticed Isezaki-san’s presence, having apparently been too focused on me to notice her before.

“…Something to say?”

“Yes! Hey, Isezaki, are you really—ah, uh…”

Maristel, who had started to say something with a firm voice, suddenly faltered and began trembling. Isezaki-san furrowed her brows in suspicion, and the next moment—

“Thank you!!”

“Eek!”

With a shout of gratitude, Maristel lunged at Isezaki-san, hugging her tightly. Isezaki-san let out an uncharacteristic shriek. What the heck is going on!?

“Hey, stop it, let go of me! Get off!”

“No way! This is how I’m showing my appreciation! See, even the collar isn’t reacting? It’s just my genuine feelings, so you better accept them. Alright, I’ll even let you have a kiss, just this once, mwah~~♡”

“Grr, if you do it, I’ll kill you! I swear I’ll kill you! My first kiss is—ughghghghghghh!”

Isezaki-san’s face went bright red. She struggled with all her might to hold back Maristel, who was trying to plant a kiss on her.

Though Isezaki-san was giving it her all, her physical strength was notoriously poor. At this rate, Maristel might actually steal her lips. It looked like they were just playing around, but this was definitely crossing the line.

“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s calm down a bit.”

I used spatial threads to bind Maristel’s torso and arms, pulling her away from Isezaki-san.

“Haah, haah, phew… Thank you, Husband. …So, Maristel, what exactly are you trying to do!?”

Breathing heavily and adjusting her disheveled hair, Isezaki-san shot Maristel a look of disgust.

However, Maristel, instead of being upset, beamed with a smile unlike any she had shown before.

“Because, Isezaki, you’re the one, right? The one who named the fortress ‘Magic Fortress Maristel’?”

“T-That’s right! And just so you know, I’m not changing it. The name’s already spread so far, there’s no way you can betray us now. You’d better work hard at that fortress.”

Isezaki-san crossed her arms and declared with a haughty tone, but Maristel nodded enthusiastically and remained unfazed.

“I’ll work, I’ll work hard! After all, it has my name on it! It’s like my very own home! I’ve been living like a drifter all this time, but now I can finally settle down and live a grounded life. Thank you so much, Isezaki!”

It seemed that Maristel was surprisingly pleased that the fortress had been named after her. It was as if she had rented a place and found her name on the doorplate.

I’d heard that necromancy didn’t have a great reputation even among demons, so perhaps Maristel was lonelier than I had imagined.

“Ugh, grr… Fine! Then make sure you work hard!”

Isezaki-san crossed her arms and turned her face away with a huff. She had intended the whole thing as a sort of prank, but Maristel’s positive reaction was clearly not what she expected. Despite her stiff expression, this was the best resistance she could muster.

“I already said I’ll work hard, stop nagging me. Well, anyway, what brings you two here today? If you come to visit my fortress, you’re more than welcome.”

Maristel invited us in, acting like the fortress was her home. While I was interested in checking out the fortress, there was something else we needed to do first.

“Actually, we’re planning to gather some medicinal herbs near the Magic Stone Mine.”

“Hmm, medicinal herbs? Yeah, that area does have a lot of those~”

Maristel muttered, her shoulders swaying in excitement. Oh no, I know where this is going—

“That’s right! So we don’t have time to deal with you. Come on, Husband, let’s go right away.”

Catching on quickly, Isezaki-san grabbed my hand and started heading for the door. But Maristel grabbed my other hand firmly.

“Hold on. In that case, I’ll guide you.”

“No need. My husband and I can find them ourselves.”

“The area around the Magic Stone Mine is huge, you know? It’s definitely better to have someone like me, who can sense magic, to guide you. Or do you want to make your precious Husband wander around aimlessly, Isezaki?”

“Ugh, grr…!”

Isezaki-san gritted her teeth in frustration. It’s true that we wanted to avoid wasting time searching for herbs. From what I’d seen so far, it didn’t seem like the tension between Isezaki-san and Maristel would escalate into another deadly confrontation.

“In that case, could we ask you to guide us, Maristel-san?”

“Of course! Let’s head out right away. Lala-lala-lun♪”

“Maristel! You’re standing too close to my husband!”

“It’s fine, it’s not like it’ll cost you anything. Hehe, it’s been so long since I’ve gone outside for something other than corpse-hunting~”

And with Maristel pulling us along, we were about to leave the room when—

“U-um, about the supplies…”

Captain Higuner’s words reminded me of the supply delivery we’d completely forgotten about.