"I get the feeling my reputation is getting stranger and stranger..."
Watching Riku flee as though he would be silenced forever if he were a moment too slow, Roland felt somewhat helpless.
Even with his indiscriminate tastes, surely he had not reached the point of actually falling for little girls.
Granted, precocious magical races like these were nothing like ordinary girls, and both the adorable trust they showed only him and their unhesitating obedience to his every command were genuinely appealing traits.
Given his history of picking up Jibril, then Azriel, and now Schwi, it was perfectly natural for Riku to get such an unfortunate idea.
Holding the soft body of the petite Schwi in his arms, Roland sighed as he looked at the surrounding Ex-Machina, who had not changed in the slightest with Riku's arrival.
But heaven knew he really was not a lolicon. This change in appearance had been entirely the Ex-Machina's own decision. Schwi's case was at least a matter of necessity, while Jibril's was simply because Roland could treat her equally regardless of her form.
Still, Roland himself was not entirely blameless for things developing this far.
Spending most of his time with a girl in Schwi's form, he had made a habit of casually gathering her into his arms and pinching her smooth, soft cheeks.
And as their relationship grew closer, that degree of intimacy could no longer satisfy Schwi, leading Roland to go further and further.
By now, Schwi had grown accustomed to putting her feet in Roland's hands of her own accord, so until Riku spoke up, Roland, despite being directly involved, had not even realized anything was amiss.
Jibril might have noticed, but for her, even realizing it probably would not have mattered.
All he could say was that habit was a