She smiled and brushed it off

The Elflands, Beltox.

From within Karina's Spatial Magic base, Aishia watched her master and her favored companion Dea-kun through a small window—peering out like a voyeur granted divine permission.

The two had entered town and now sat side by side on the driver's seat, flirting shamelessly. To any passerby, they'd look like heartwarming sisters. Never mind that one was human and the other an elf.

The window itself was designed for communication, camouflaged to be invisible from outside. Voices could pass through, and those inside could see out clearly. It just so happened to be positioned slightly behind Karina—the perfect vantage point for observation.

Beside Aishia sat one of the Five Elders: Vermilion, or Mie-chan—leader and Queen of Tessin.

"Oh! Master just patted Dea-sama on the head! Completely unprompted!"

"Yeaaah, Kari-chan's unconsciously reaching out for him…!"

Mie-chan clutched a Magic Tool designed for private conversations—it let them hear voices from outside while blocking their own from leaking through. A proper spying setup, really.

"Come to think of it, Master's been doing a lot lately that looks like she's rubbing her scent onto Dea-sama."

"What's that, like marking territory?"

"Exactly. Ever since Rena arrived, you see…"

"Ahh, so she's staking her claim against Rena-sama. Well, can't blame her."

Mie-chan nodded sagely.

Now, Mie-chan represented the pinnacle of dwarven craftsmanship—but even she was outclassed in Magic Tool performance by Rena, the familiar of the Chaos God who governed alchemy.

Detailed handiwork was one thing, but when it came to raw tool capability, she'd lost handily. Hence the -sama honorific.

(Karina was also a divine familiar, but since their relationship was that of common-law wives, a nickname sufficed.)

"So, how does Dea-kun-chan react to all this marking?"

"He's head over heels for Master, after all. When Master pulls his head close and subtly rubs her armpit against him, Dea-sama doesn't seem to mind in the slightest—if anything, he looks delighted."

"Maybe I should distill a perfume from Kari-chan's armpit scent sometime. Gift it to Dea-kun-chan!"

"Oh, I'd like a bottle too, Mie-sama."

Discussing these somewhat desire-tainted products, they turned their attention back to the pair on the driver's seat.

Karina had lifted Dea by his waist and planted him right in front of herself. Arms wrapped around him from behind, Karina had essentially become a living chair.

They couldn't see from their angle behind the couple, but Dea's face was surely crimson.

"Mie-sama, do you think this is Master declaring she won't hand Dea-sama over to anyone?"

"She's checking off every possessive box, isn't she? Though knowing Kari-chan, it's probably all unconscious. Look—she's sniffing his ponytail now."

"Dea-sama's heart must be pounding!"

"We'd want the same treatment, wouldn't we…! Not a single one of the Five Elders would object to Kari-chan doing that to them! Oh, but having all five of us become chairs surrounding Kari-chan would be lovely too, y'know? Care to join us, Aishia?"

"That does sound fun, but I'll have to pass."

The chair idea did intrigue her, but if her grandmother was going to be there too, it would be… awkward. Even by dwarf standards. Just her mother, maybe. But still—yeah, no.

"Come to think of it, did Kari-chan bathe yesterday?"

"She's been spacing out on the driver's seat the whole time. I believe she's been skipping baths—being too clean would raise suspicions for a traveling peddler."

"Which means… hmm, Dea-kun-chan is currently wrapped in Kari-chan's ripe, musky scent… Dea-kun-chan's little Dea-kun-chan must be going through quite the ordeal!"

Aishia smiled and let that one slide.