Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 309: Unwelcome Intrusions

Wait, wasn’t that the vine sculpture from earlier!?

And are everyone else okay!?

Leonide and the others, who had been further behind, were now drawing their short swords in surprise.

"Ah, sorry! No harm done, so don’t panic and stay calm," Elyon called out.

Although confused and struggling, Augusto and the others, who seemed to recognize Elyon’s voice, stopped flailing and quieted down.

However, even if there was no harm, they were still half-suspended, and Damien couldn’t help but wish they’d be lowered quickly.

What’s going on here?

"Apologies," Elyon said with an apologetic expression. "It seems my brother didn’t know about you all, so you weren’t included in the settings as exclusions. For now, Damien, touch the pillar where the vines are coming from. That should release them."

Damien, still not fully understanding the situation, did as Elyon instructed and touched the pillar that was binding the three of them.

As soon as he did, the vines slowly unwrapped from around them, retracting back into the pillar.

"Are you okay, Augusto? And Isaac, Miria?"

Damien hurried over to Augusto, who had collapsed onto the floor.

Augusto’s face was stiff with tension, frozen in place.

Damien gently embraced Augusto’s head, continuing to stroke it in an attempt to calm him down.

"I was startled, but there was no pain where the vines had wrapped around," Isaac said, bowing his head in thanks. "Thank you for your concern."

Both Isaac and Miria were rubbing their wrists, but there were no marks or signs of injury, and they didn’t seem to be in pain.

Damien checked Augusto’s wrists and neck to make sure there were no marks or bruises left, letting out a relieved sigh.

"Elyon, what in the world is going on!? Please explain!"

Damien, still shaken, called out in disbelief.

"Ah, I’m really sorry. It was my carelessness," Elyon said, looking regretful. "That pillar... well, the vine sculpture has magic placed on it by my grandfather. Any intruder that tries to enter this area without being registered in the office gets restrained like this."

"...Why would such a dangerous thing be in place?"

"Perhaps your grandfather intended it as a precaution to ensure you wouldn’t be harmed. It only restrains, and unless you give orders, it won’t cause any further harm, so please understand."

Damien couldn’t bring himself to argue too strongly when it was explained as the elder’s concern for his safety.

It might indeed be necessary if viewed as a security system.

"Well, that’s what it seems... I’ll apologize as well. I’m really sorry for scaring you all!"

Though he hadn’t known about it beforehand, this was still his house.

What happened here was his responsibility.

"No, it’s fine! We were just surprised, and it’s okay! In fact, I’m sorry for panicking and for showing such an embarrassing side of myself... Please forgive me..."

"It’s okay, Augusto. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re fine."

Damien embraced Augusto, who looked like he was about to cry, and continued to gently stroke his back.

Honestly, the ones at fault were Damien, the elder, and Elyon.

"There was no actual harm, so please don’t be too upset, Your Grace. We are grateful for your concern."

Indeed, there were no injuries, and Damien decided to leave it at that.

Although he felt he hadn’t apologized enough, continuing to apologize would only make Augusto more upset.

"Um, Elyon, can this be registered in the office?"

"Yes, all defense mechanisms can only be managed from the office."

...As Damien had thought earlier, the term "defense mechanism" sounded frightening.

He hadn’t expected such a serious security device to be in place.

What other systems were there?

"Well, we’re skipping ahead a bit, but should we head to the office for now?"

"Yes, that sounds good."

"Okay, everyone wait here for a moment. I’ll go take a look at the office."

Given that Yor and Elyric hadn’t met the others yet, it wouldn’t work for them to stay behind either, so he decided to have everyone wait for the time being.

Now, he had to check and confirm everything in the office.

Damien, along with Elyon, headed to the office with just a few people.

In the end, everyone except Theo, Sebas, Leonide, and Ithnan stayed behind with Augusto, who was still trembling a little.

"Ah, I’m really sorry," Elyon said. "This was completely my mistake. I want you to understand that neither my brother nor my grandfather had any ill intentions."

"Well, it was basically a malfunction of the security system, wasn’t it?" Damien responded. "No one got hurt, so don’t worry too much about it."

"I’m glad you’re saying that, but still..." Elyon looked slightly concerned.

Augusto had taken the incident quite hard, after all.

"I’ll check on Augusto later," Damien reassured him. "So really, don’t worry about it too much."

If Elyon knew that he was feeling down because of this, it might make him even more upset.

"Understood," Elyon said. "I’ll leave the rest to you. Sorry again."

"It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s for my adorable Elyon and Augusto," Damien smiled.

"I see, so it’s not just for your sake, but also for Augusto, huh?" Theo, who had been listening, chimed in.

Ah, Theo was getting into the conversation, ever sensitive about Damien’s relationships.

In fact, this sensitivity was probably encouraged, as he seemed very keen on making sure their bonds were strong.

Damien still wasn’t entirely sure what Theo thought about all this, but recently, he had begun to feel like he was starting to see his relationships as a way to expand his own circle of friends, which he was happy about.

Fortunately, all of his partners got along well with each other.

"Well, of course. Augusto’s an important person I’m looking after," Damien replied.

"Right, let’s just leave it at that for now," Theo said while nodding his head.

Damien noticed that Theo was grinning.

He didn’t think he was being insincere, as there didn’t seem to be any mist in his expression.