The Night of Three Women
A pitch-black night had settled over the village of Ludel. Even the moonlight was hidden behind thick clouds, leaving only a faint glow. Every light in the village had been extinguished, and an absolute silence hung over the streets—no sound of crickets, nothing at all. Yet within that quiet darkness, three women lay awake, each in her own room, tossing and turning for entirely different reasons.
In Masa’s house, the bedroom.
Masa stood motionless in front of her closet for a long time. She had already opened and closed the door three times.
“What on earth am I doing?” she muttered with a self-mocking laugh. Yet her hands were already reaching deep inside, pulling out garments she had buried there long ago—things she had never once worn for her late husband. They were the lingerie she had impulsively bought in her younger days, before she started running the inn in the capital.
A black sheer slip. A garter belt embroidered with intricate lace. And panties made of silk so smooth it felt like liquid.
Masa held the slip against her body and studied herself in the mirror. A woman in her early thirties, with a waist that still held its firmness and breasts that swelled with generous abundance.
“I still look all right.”
A mysterious smile curved her lips. Hans’s face floated into her mind—the way he had startled like a frightened rabbit when their hands brushed while she poured his drink. Those pure, innocent eyes that kept stealing glances at her cleavage before he forced them away.
“What a cute boy.”
Masa lifted the slip to her chest in front of the mirror. The thin fabric left the curves of her body shamelessly exposed. What if she wore this and stood in front of his door?
Her heart gave a heavy thud.
“This is insane. What am I thinking, doing this to a guest?”
She shook her head and folded the slip, but instead of shoving it back into the deepest corner, she hung it where her hand would reach it the moment she opened the closet door.
Masa slipped under the covers and placed a hand on her belly. Deep inside, something stirred restlessly.
Three years. Three years of desires she had suppressed since her husband’s death.
“Next time… I’ll need a better excuse than alcohol.”
Her fingers toyed with the edge of the blanket. She had thought she was used to lying alone in this wide bed every night. So why did the empty half of the mattress feel so painfully vacant tonight?
She remembered the warmth of Hans’s body. The solid shoulder she had touched when moving him to bed. The heartbeat she had felt through his shirt.
“Wait for me, Mr. Hans.”
Masa bit her lip and closed her eyes. Sleep refused to come.
In Eila’s house, the living room.
“Haa…”
Eila lay sprawled across the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling. Another day had ended safely—and tediously. The number of requests she had processed could be counted on one hand. The adventurers who stopped by were the same faces she saw every single day.
If anything had been different today, it was that clumsy new graduate from the academy.
“Hans… I think that was his name.”
Eila murmured as she propped her legs on the sofa’s armrest. Out of habit, she began peeling off her stockings. Wearing them all day made her legs ache.
The coffee-colored nylon slid smoothly down her thighs, and suddenly Hans’s gaze flashed through her mind. While he filled out the registration forms, his eyes had kept drifting beneath the desk. She had noticed everything. The target of those glances had been obvious—her legs.
“Pervert.”
Eila let out a small laugh. Strangely, she wasn’t offended. In this rural backwater where every man drooled over breasts, a leg man was something new. Almost refreshing.
She held the stocking up to the light, admiring the glossy sheen of the finely woven fabric that had hugged her legs all day.
“To lose his mind over something like this…”
It was a silly thought, but the corner of her mouth lifted on its own. If he came back tomorrow, maybe she would tease him a little more.
Eila tossed the stockings into the laundry basket, squeezed out some cream, and began massaging it into her legs—from calves to thighs. Keeping her skin smooth was both her hobby and her way of preserving her pride in this countryside.
“Coffee color again tomorrow,” she murmured with a soft laugh, neatly laying out a fresh pair of pantyhose beside tomorrow’s outfit.
It felt like a new toy had appeared in her monotonous daily life.
In the Security Force quarters, Karen’s room.
Karen lay perfectly straight on her bed. Her posture was flawless—both hands neatly folded over her stomach, legs aligned side by side. It was the sleeping position she had kept since her days in the knight order.
But her eyes were wide open. Sleep would not come.
“…Hans.”
The name slipped from her lips. The man she had seen in the village for the first time today. An odd fellow—an academy graduate who had somehow drifted into this remote rural town. He had fumbled while taking out his identification, gotten lost, and even managed to sink his foot in mud.
“Useless fool.”
Karen snorted. Yet the Valhalla Academy diploma was no forgery. That institution was the empire’s premier facility for raising elites. It was a place Karen herself had only reached the candidate stage before failing.
To graduate alive from that nest of monsters—even if he had been dead last—meant his skills were far from ordinary.
“He may be more than he appears.”
Karen glared at the ceiling. There was no decent sparring partner in this village. Leo was loyal but lacking in ability, and the rest of the guards were even worse. Her sword was rusting. She could feel her skills growing dull all the way to her bones.
Karen sat up abruptly and walked to the window. Beyond the quarters, the inn’s lights were visible. A faint glow came from the last room on the second floor—the room where that man was staying.
He’s still awake.
Without realizing it, Karen rested her elbows on the windowsill. Ever since her demotion from the capital’s knight order, every day had been the same. Patrols, paperwork, disciplining drunkards. That was Karen’s entire world. There was never a chance to draw her blade. Never a reason for her blood to boil.
If Hans truly knew how to wield a sword…
“Tomorrow… it wouldn’t hurt to test him a little.”
Karen glanced at the sword leaning against the wall. When she drew it halfway from its sheath, she saw it hadn’t been properly oiled. She took an oil cloth from the drawer and began polishing the blade.
Scrape. Scrape. The steady sound echoed through the darkness.
The next morning, the restless tossing from the night before had vanished completely. Ludel’s dawn broke crisp and refreshing.
The door to the Adventurer’s Guild swung open.
“Welco— Ah.”
Eila, seated at the reception desk, froze when she saw the man who entered. It was Hans, the academy graduate from yesterday. He approached the desk hesitantly, shoulders hunched.
When Eila’s gaze naturally drifted to his face, Hans flinched and quickly looked away. His eyes darted around as if searching for an escape.
……?
Eila tilted her head. Why did he look like a criminal caught in the act? Surely he couldn’t be… Her eyes narrowed. But Hans spoke first, cutting off her suspicion.
“Um… Good morning.”
“Yes. How can I help you?”
“I’d like to look at some requests.”
Eila rested her chin on her hand and stared at him. Normally she would have simply waved him toward the bulletin board, but this morning she felt like talking to him. It was a boring start to the day, after all.
“The bulletin board is over there.”
“Ah, yes, I know… but I was hoping for some expert guidance.”
“Expert guidance?”
“Yes, Miss Eila.”
Hans looked at her with an earnestly serious expression. He had spent the entire night reflecting. Those improper fantasies from yesterday evening? Forgotten. In this life, he would become a wholesome, diligent adventurer. That meant getting the very first step right.
“Among the requests you have here, the safest one…” Hans swallowed nervously. “The kind where it seems like absolutely nothing will happen. What would that be?”
“…Pardon?”
Eila’s hand nearly slipped from under her chin. She stared at him with wide eyes. Had she misheard? Not the highest-paying request, not the most honorable one…
“A safe… request?”
“Yes! The reward can be small. That doesn’t matter.”
Hans’s eyes shone with pure sincerity. He genuinely longed for peace—an instinctive urge to flee from all the dangers this world had to offer.
Eila was speechless for a moment. She had seen countless adventurers, but never one like this.
What is with this guy…?
Once the initial shock passed, curiosity flooded in. And right behind it came a mischievous, impish urge.
An alluring smile bloomed on her lips—lively and vibrant, nothing like her usual dry expression.
Eila rose slowly from her chair. She uncrossed her long legs and straightened her posture. She didn’t miss the way Hans’s gaze flicked instantly to her thighs before he jerked it back up to her face in panic.
Hmm…
She rummaged through a stack of documents and pulled out a request form buried in the farthest corner. It was dusty, clearly ignored by everyone.
“This is exactly the request you were looking for.”
No combat records whatsoever.
Risk Level: Lowest
Her voice was a tone higher than usual, sweet as honey. “It will be a truly, truly peaceful walk. So peaceful it might even feel boring.”
“Wow! Thank you so much! I knew asking Miss Eila was the right choice!”
Hans accepted the form with both hands, eyes shining with gratitude. “I never expected you to be this kind! You’re going to be blessed for this!”
“……”
His smile was so pure it bordered on foolish. For a brief second, Eila felt a tiny sting of conscience.
The Silent Forest had no monsters, but it was full of playful spirits that loved leading people astray. Most adventurers who took the request spent the entire day wandering in circles before returning empty-handed. It was, quite literally, a professional course for training hunting dogs.
Still, she pushed the guilt aside. It’ll be fun, right?
“It’s perfect! I’ll take this one!”
Hans signed the paperwork while humming a cheerful tune. “Well then, I’m off!”
“Yes. I wish you a safe return.”
Eila even gave him a friendly wave.
She watched Hans clutch the request form to his chest and leave the guild with light, bouncy steps. The bell above the door jingled as it closed, and silence returned to the building.
Eila rested her chin on her hand, staring at the door where he had vanished, and let out a soft chuckle.
“Pfft.”
Even she had to admit it was a little mean. But she didn’t regret it.
“Have fun out there, young master from the academy.”
She took out a small mirror and looked at her reflection. It had been a long time since she had seen such a lively expression on her own face.
A tiny ripple had begun to disturb the boredom of her everyday life.