Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Stay By My Side Forever (2)
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"Doesn't even Siegfried know...?"
"Yeah, he hasn't shown up for training these past few days either."
Emily's expression darkened even further as she listened to Siegfried.
It had already been five days since Ken Fine Stein stopped attending the academy.
He had vanished without a trace, leaving no clues behind.
"H-Hey, what if something happened to him? Like, some kind of problem?"
"...Hmm."
Siegfried fell deep into thought at Emily's words.
"I think Ken could handle most issues on his own. He's probably dealing with something right now."
"But..."
Even Siegfried's matter-of-fact words failed to reassure Emily.
What came to mind was the week-long loop she had endured—the unbelievable experience that no one would believe.
Having gone through that herself, Emily worried that Ken might have gotten caught up in something similar.
"If you're that worried, I'll look into it with you."
"...Please do."
With no leads, Emily turned to leave.
She had asked Adrian and Alicia too, but neither knew anything.
Mary was also running around everywhere searching for him, but there was no new information.
He had really disappeared so suddenly.
'Where are you...?'
Emily's chest tightened with anxiety.
'Please... just please be safe.'
She didn't think she could bear it if she saw him in some horrible state.
Fueled by that anxiety, Emily resumed her search through the academy and the city.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ When I came to, I was sitting in a chair.
I couldn't remember when I'd fallen asleep, and opening my eyes left me disoriented.
The place was familiar.
It was the room at the top of the tower where Rafne and I had spent so much time together.
Only the moonlight filtering through the window illuminated the room; all other lights were off.
'How long was I asleep?'
As I tried to stand with that question in mind,
I couldn't.
My arms were bound behind the chair.
The chains rattled softly. But they were padded with cloth inside, so they didn't hurt.
It was a restraint that felt strangely considerate.
"...Ra, Rafne?"
I immediately realized who was behind all this.
And at my call, she emerged from the shadows into the moonlight.
"Ken... you're awake?"
"Rafne...! What the hell is this?!"
"But Ken was the one who messed up..."
Her face wasn't smiling gently like usual, nor was it tear-streaked in panic.
A cold, expressionless mask.
Her hollow eyes, drained of light like those of the dead, stared into me as if pulling me in.
"Ken's a liar..."
And she slowly approached me.
"You promised you wouldn't leave me..."
"L-Liar?! I'd never abandon you! Not back then, and not now...!"
"Liar."
Her icy single word drowned out my frantic explanations.
Then Rafne closed the distance and
"Liar, liar."
straddled my lap as I sat there.
The soft weight of her hips settled on my thighs.
"Ra, Rafne..."
Her smooth legs, peeking from beneath her white dress, wrapped around my waist.
She rubbed against my thighs, drawing closer and closer,
then draped her arms over my shoulders, bringing her face near mine.
The intense scent of Rafne at the tip of my nose and her hot body heat were overwhelmingly stimulating.
I couldn't meet her eyes straight on...
"I told you. I can't live without you anymore."
Rafne's blank expression twisted into sorrow as she said it.
No tears fell, but her face was filled with betrayal and despair.
That gaze pierced my heart with pain.
"No... no, Rafne. I won't abandon you. ...It's just that if you depend on me too much, in the future..."
My words were cut short by her touch.
Rafne's hand cupped my chin, her thumb brushing my lips.
"Hey, Ken. I've been thinking about that."
"Wh-What...?"
Rafne suddenly smiled gently.
Her eyes were still hollow and dark, but her cheeks flushed,
and she wore a seductive smile unlike her usual self.
"I'll die without you... And you'd be sad if I died, right?"
"Don't even say that. Of course I'd be sad."
"You're so kind. That makes me happy, Ken."
She tightened her arms around my shoulders, drawing her face even closer.
Closer and closer,
until our faces were near enough to touch.
Her lips stopped just a paper's width away.
"So, to keep me from dying and you from being sad... we'll stay together forever now."
"...Wh-What do you mean by that."
"Ufufu."
Her bell-like laugh sent chills down my spine.
Then Rafne lowered her body again.
She placed her hands on my shoulders, leaning back and letting her weight pull her torso into full view.
Her figure, alluringly lit by the moonlight, stole my gaze completely.
"This pendant. It felt like a lover's gift, and I was really happy."
She touched the pendant with one hand,
"But it's unnecessary if we're going to be together."
then removed it from her neck.
"Ra, Rafne..."
"Now no one can interfere with us, right?"
Taking off the pendant meant reactivating Rafne's curse.
Which meant
no one could enter this tower anymore.
She was serious.
Dead serious about keeping me locked here by her side.
"Rafne, think about this...! This is bad for both of us!"
"Sorry, Ken. But you'll get used to it here, and it won't feel so confining."
"......"
"I'll do anything you want."
Rafne's hand gently stroked my cheek.
Then she cupped my chin again, thumb caressing my lips.
Her soft touch made my heart race.
Her breathing felt quicker too.
"Hey, I actually knew?"
"Knew what...?"
"You'd sometimes stare at my chest with those lewd eyes."
"Th-That's...!"
Even now, my eyes drifted to her skin involuntarily.
I wanted to deny it, but I couldn't.
I'm a guy, after all. Being around an attractive woman like Rafne, instincts kick in sometimes.
So all I could do was avert my gaze.
"It's okay. I'm not blaming you. Ngh, I actually like it."
"...Huh?"
"I'll do anything you want now. I like it too. So it's fine."
Then Rafne wrapped her arms around my shoulders again, pressing her upper body close.
Her breasts smothered my face.
"Mmph..."
My face buried under her nose.
Through her skin, I felt her soft, plush flesh and hot body heat.
Concentrating, I could hear her heartbeat and smell her sweet, alluring scent.
A dangerous aroma that stirred male instincts.
My mind was dominated by a single thought, my body heating up.
"This is what you wanted, right? Me too... I've always wanted this."
Rafne gently stroked my head buried in her chest.
"Hehe, you're like a baby, Ken."
'No, if this keeps up...'
Barely holding onto my senses, I shook off the intense temptation, straightened up, and pulled away from her embrace.
"...Ah."
"We can't do this, Rafne...! A girl shouldn't tempt like this... it's not right!"
"...Why not?"
"Because this is for someone you like...!"
"I like you, Ken."
Her moist eyes gazed at me.
Her flushed cheeks and anxious expression didn't seem like lies.
"It's true. I like you so much."
Then her face drew close again.
"I've always seen you as a man."
This body of mine?
I'd never imagined it.
But her trembling eyes pleaded the truth of her feelings.
Her hot body heat.
Her face inching closer.
"Don't you... like me, Ken?"
"Th-That's..."
Her face closed in until our lips nearly brushed,
"Do you... like me?"
and with that question,
"...Mmm."
Rafne's lips overlapped mine.
'...Ra...fne.'
She slowly moved her lips, savoring mine.
With each motion, her moist lips and warm breath teased me.
Soon, through the natural parting,
our tongues met and entwined.
"Nnh, mmm... haa..."
The sounds of our lips devouring each other echoed in the quiet room.
My heart pounded like it would burst at the lewd noises.
Her arms around my shoulders tightened,
our bodies pressing fiercely together.
Her desire for me poured through her lips and hot breaths.
My mind was ravaged mercilessly by her tangling tongue.
Just as excitement peaked and thought grew impossible,
Smack.
"...Haa."
Her lips parted.
A thin strand gleamed in the moonlight between us.
Our breaths came heavier than usual, her face flushed with arousal.
"Ken... was that your first kiss?"
"...Yeah."
"Mine too. Hehe, we traded them."
Then Rafne hugged me tight.
"See? You're excited too."
She pressed her lower abdomen against me, teasing.
She smiled happily at the involuntary male reaction.
"Ken, tell me... do you like me?"
"......"
If I answered.
If I said I liked her here.
What would happen?
...No need to think deeply.
Choosing that option leads straight to a bad end.
So I kept my mouth shut.
"It's okay, even if you don't say it. I'll hear your true feelings someday."
Rafne stroked my head and whispered in my ear.
"So... let's stay together forever? Okay?"
Her soft voice left me speechless.
I knew no words of mine would reach her now.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Five days had passed since Rafne bound me.
She seemed truly happy during that time.
"Goodnight, Ken. Heehee."
"......Yeah."
At bedtime, she always hugged me tight, burying her face in my neck to sleep.
Her sleeping breaths tickled my neck, but I didn't hate it.
'...No chance to escape.'
The restraints stayed even during sleep.
She'd occasionally loosen them if I was uncomfortable, but then she'd chain my ankles instead.
More than that, I couldn't just run away recklessly.
Rafne's mental state was too unstable.
Even after I explained everything about the survival event and left,
on the final day, she'd been in such a dire state that she escaped the tower.
Forcing my way out wouldn't solve anything in her heart.
So using Calorie Burn or something to flee wasn't an option.
For everything to resolve properly, I had to change Rafne's thinking entirely.
The misunderstanding that I was leaving her.
I needed clear proof she'd understand—that I wasn't abandoning her.
'But I can't think of any way.'
No matter how much I explained, she wouldn't listen anymore.
She seemed happy when I said I wouldn't leave,
but she wouldn't budge on keeping me restrained.
"Here, ahh~"
"Nom nom."
I accepted the food Rafne offered.
Honestly, aside from the lack of freedom, I had few complaints.
She unbound me freely for the bathroom or washing up, and handled everything else I needed.
Of course, I didn't ask for anything naughty.
Crossing that line would probably trap me here forever.
It was just that since being restrained, Rafne clung to me more, making it hard to endure.
But I'm a man with Mental Fortification.
I can resist this level of temptation.
"Ken... I want a kiss."
Resi... st. I can resist!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'This must be it.'
An old tower standing alone in an odd spot.
Siegfried looked up at it, thinking.
Five days had passed since Ken Fine Stein went missing.
No matter where he asked around, no one had seen him last.
To be precise,
the last person to see him was Siegfried himself.
So he recalled their final encounter.
'Sure! Please tell Emily I went ahead!'
His joyful smile as he ran off.
'He said he was delivering a gift to someone.'
The direction he'd gone was the same as after every training session.
In other words, toward where he always went for breakfast.
So Siegfried had searched everywhere in that direction
and found this tower.
"What an unpleasant sensation..."
A throbbing headache and his body's instinct screaming to flee.
The chill down his spine told him.
Ken was here.
Decision made, Siegfried ignored his body's warnings and opened the tower door.