Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: By Chance (2)
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Deep into the early morning hours.
It was a cloudy night where even the moonlight was barely visible.
At a time when everyone else was asleep, Lia had been lying in the inn room's bed for hours, still unable to drift off.
After keeping her eyes closed for a long while, Lia let out a deep sigh and slowly opened them in the dark room.
Already several days like this.
Lia, who had been spending these sleepless nights until such late hours, finally sat up in bed.
She swallowed hard, but the faint heat rising in her chest showed no signs of calming.
Lia irritably set the water pitcher down on the table.
...She already knew full well what was causing this feeling.
The tingling desire welling up inside her.
It was because of that certain urge that kept surfacing every time she lay down to sleep.
"Haa... Again."
Lia finally let out a deep sigh.
...She had really tried not to do it this time.
After mulling it over, Lia stared blankly at the ceiling before slowly getting out of bed.
She slipped on the light outer clothes and coat hanging by the bedside.
A moment later, now dressed, Lia carefully opened the door and descended the stairs, moving slowly.
She tried to be as quiet as possible, but the creaking of the wooden planks echoed loudly in the silent inn at dawn.
Someone sitting in the corner of the first floor, with a small lamp lit, looked up toward the stairs.
"Who's there?"
The inn's elderly owner recognized her before even hearing a reply.
After all, it wasn't the first time Lia had snuck out for a walk in the early morning.
"Lia, huh. Out for another stroll?"
"...Yes."
Called by name, Lia flinched, her shoulders shrinking as if caught doing something bad.
She had hoped to slip out without anyone noticing.
But the old lady owner rarely slept, so about half the time Lia headed out for a walk, they ended up running into each other.
"What kind of stroll at this hour? Off to meet a lover?"
"No!"
Lia snapped back indignantly and walked out of the inn without another word.
What a temper.
From behind came the old lady's chuckling laughter, soft and faint.
They exchanged jokes like this every time she left, part of their routine...
But the old lady probably couldn't even imagine what Lia actually did when she went out.
Caught leaving by someone, Lia hurried her steps out of pointless embarrassment.
The streets at dawn.
Labyrinth City's days might start early, but this was still more late night than early morning.
Naturally, not a single pedestrian passed by at such an hour.
Lia walked quietly down the empty street and arrived at a small park near the inn.
Not in a great location, nothing much to see.
Because of that, it was usually deserted and peaceful—a place she often visited precisely for its calm atmosphere.
Lia plopped down on an empty bench and took a deep breath of the cold dawn air.
I'll head back soon.
...I just came out for a walk to change my mood since I couldn't sleep.
The cold wind should settle my heart.
But the more she did, the more Lia felt that lukewarm desire heating up intensely.
A walk? What an excuse, coming all the way here.
Even she thought it was a flimsy pretext.
...This really is the last time.
She murmured that same "final" resolution she'd made countless times before.
Glancing around to confirm no one was there...
Lia cautiously reached for the buttons on her coat.
One by one.
The clothes she wore slipped from her body.
Carefully placing each garment on the bench, Lia soon stood in just her undergarments.
She hesitated a moment, then her hands moved tentatively, finally shedding even those.
Lia stood completely naked in the middle of the park.
"......"
Haa.
A hot, breathless sigh escaped her lips, and a chill wind brushed over Lia's body.
The eerie sensation of the cold dawn breeze.
The thrilling fulfillment crawling up her skin...
Lia began walking slowly.
Her bare feet pressed into the cold dirt, her skin absorbing the frigid morning air.
What should she call this feeling?
Satisfaction? Liberation? Fulfillment?
Craving that emotion she couldn't quite understand herself, Lia wandered the empty dawn park for a while.
Lia had discovered this peculiar taste of hers purely by accident.
One day, out on a solo expedition, she unluckily ran into a downpour in the forest.
Fortunately, the rain stopped quickly.
But while she built a fire to dry her soaked clothes and hung them up...
A strong gust blew through in that brief moment of neglect, carrying all her clothes away.
Running naked through the woods, she luckily recovered a few pieces, but in the end, she couldn't find the rest, including her undergarments.
Lia had to return to the city relying only on a single top and a thin robe, no underwear.
Walking the streets crowded with passersby in such a state, Lia felt a strange emotion.
With the robe on, no one would suspect anything wrong from the outside...
But Lia imagined every glance from those passing by was fixed on her.
In that moment, Lia felt shame... and an inexplicable pleasure.
...She knew such behavior was abnormal.
But ever since experiencing it, that feeling kept resurfacing.
Even in her dreams.
How many times had she jolted awake from nightmares of strolling naked down a busy daytime street?
After months like that, Lia finally had to admit she harbored a somewhat unusual taste different from others.
Even so, she couldn't actually do something like that in front of people.
The solution Lia came up with after agonizing over it was to venture out at these empty dawn hours and relieve her suppressed desires.
...Though even that should only be once or twice.
Lia sighed softly to herself.
Hoo...
How long would she have to keep doing this?
She'd thought about confiding in someone, but she could never find anyone to share such a worry with, so she always swallowed it down inside.
She couldn't resist the thrill of that tension—the "what if someone sees me?"
Of course, no one ever came to such a quiet park at this hour.
Still, wandering like this inevitably brought such fantasies to mind.
What if someone saw her?
What if someone recognized her face?
What if they learned who she was...
Maybe they'd have dirt on her.
"If you don't want this getting out, obey me," they might command.
Forcing her into a slave-like existence, compelled to follow any unreasonable demand.
It was a horrifying thought on the surface,
but imagining it sent a shiver of eerie pleasure through her body, making her tremble.
Lia shook her head vigorously.
Is it really just stress? I feel like I'm going crazy.
Muttering to herself as she strolled the dawn park, Lia's steps suddenly halted.
Just in case, she'd checked the area during these early mornings and even investigated if any shops opened at dawn.
No one had ever passed through here, not once.
Confident in its safety, Lia had let her guard down a bit without thinking.
So her reaction was a little slow.
There was a person standing in front of her.
Not her imagination...
A real person.
Even blinking didn't make the shadow before her vanish.
"......!"
Lia was so shocked she couldn't even think to do anything, frozen like stone.
Leaving her motionless body as it was, a flurry of thoughts raced through her mind.
Maybe he doesn't know who I am.
Among Labyrinth City's countless people, he couldn't possibly identify me.
It's so dark; he probably couldn't see my face clearly.
I could just turn and run, hide somewhere.
Just some inexplicable dawn mishap.
It could end like nothing happened...
"You're Lia, right?"
Hearing her name, Lia felt a shock like someone gripping her heart.
He knew her.
It was just as dark, so Lia couldn't make out his face clearly either.
She desperately rummaged through her memories, trying to recall who he was.
Why does he know me? He seems like a stranger...
Observing his face amid her turmoil, Lia belatedly recalled his identity.
The man Rebecca introduced me to...?
A torrent of thoughts flashed through her again.
According to Rebecca's introduction, this man was probably a D-rank mercenary.
Though Lia was completely naked and unarmed right now, if she ambushed him, she might win barehanded.
Once she subdued him, she could threaten or negotiate in reverse...
Somehow clean up this mess, right?
She thought that, but her body wouldn't move an inch.
As if someone had her on a leash.
Strangely enough.
Lia felt like her body... wanted this.
She should run or attack or threaten—do something, anything.
But ignoring her will, Lia's body remained perfectly still.
Instead of her will, overflowing desire dominated her body.
Lia felt Ian's gaze on her naked form.
Every sweep of that gaze brought a chilling pleasure far beyond what she felt wandering alone—a whole different level.
Ian took a step closer to Lia.
Their faces nearly touching... Ian whispered softly into her ear.
"Come to the mercenary corps tomorrow."
With kind eyes,
in a voice impossible to resist,
he told her firmly.
"Answer."
"Y-, yes......"
Lia replied without thinking.
And until Ian turned and left the scene,
she stood there, unable to do a thing.