Inside the Narrow Hole (Complete)

After finishing off the last of the rats, Mela and I approached the dungeon's core.

The core was bleeding an ominous mana. Looking at it, I couldn't hide my anticipation.

We got lucky.

A dungeon's danger level rises the longer it is left alone. Land eroded by miasma gradually transforms into something closer to a demonic realm. As the mana held within the core grows stronger, the dungeon itself expands. The core then draws in more powerful monsters, corrupts nearby living things into magical beasts, and pulls those in as well — over and over. That is how a lifeless demonic wasteland is born around a dungeon. It was the reason a dungeon that spawns in some remote place becomes so dangerous if left neglected for too long.

But this dungeon was a sprout that had only just begun to grow. We had cleared it with relative ease for its rank, so calling it luck wasn't wrong.

Or… was it really that easy?

I glanced sideways at Mela. Her expression was colder than usual. The reason needed no explanation — it was me. After having her go down on me, I'd turned around and said something like "sex is something you do with someone you love." Of course she was pissed. It had been to keep us off the training route, but even I had to admit the whole situation was pure garbage. Turning a timid, fearful girl like Mela into someone who would react like this… I'd paid no small price for it.

"…."

Whatever she made of my stare, Mela wordlessly pulled out her tools. Her deft hands weren't only good for disarming traps and locks — they shone at this kind of work too.

Crack.

Mela carefully extracted the core, and we came away with a mana stone the size of a fist. Checking its quality, I could barely contain my joy.

This is a jackpot!

True to a dungeon that wasn't supposed to appear until mid-story, the reward was absurdly valuable for our current stage. Converted to pure cash, it was worth several times the travel funds our party was carrying. Beyond that, mana stones had endless uses — gear crafting, skill enhancement, and more.

Rumble…

With its heart torn out, the dungeon shuddered as if screaming, then settled into stillness. And a system window appeared before my eyes.

Clearing the dungeon had netted us a massive amount of city contribution. It was incomparable to what you'd get from completing ordinary guild requests. Even killing monsters near the city raised contribution — wiping out the dungeon that spawned them went without saying.

Still, it wasn't something to celebrate. I'd already maxed out city contribution when we drove out the demon, so any further points were meaningless.

They'll still throw us some kind of reward, though.

Whether it was a streak of good fortune or pure luck, gold kept raining down on us from every direction. Having money opened up options, and that would make the adventures ahead that much smoother.

But I couldn't fully enjoy the sense of accomplishment — there was a problem right in front of me that needed fixing. Steeling myself, I spoke to Mela.

"Hey, Mela."

"…?"

She turned to look at me with empty eyes. That gaze was far too cold. Even so, I had to say what needed saying.

"Let's keep what happened here a secret."

"…Trash."

Trash. The word drove into me like a spike. For someone who pursued pure love, the dishonor of being a sweet-talking scumbag was unbearably harsh. But Mela's reputation mattered more than that.

"…If people find out something like that happened between us, you're the only one who gets hurt."

At best, she'd be seen as Hex's victim. At worst, she'd be written off as some alley-thief slut with a loose ass — and that second take wasn't speculation. I'd seen those exact judgments while playing the game. That was why I'd asked her to keep it quiet. But Mela just kept giving me that same frigid look.

"Is that all you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have to say?"

Apparently that wasn't what she'd wanted to hear. When I couldn't manage a reply, Mela turned her back as if there was nothing left worth listening to and walked away. A gut feeling hit me — if I let her go like this, the damage to our relationship might become irreversible.

"Mela."

I called her name in a low voice, and she looked back. I closed the distance. She retreated until her back hit the wall.

Thud.

"Euh—!"

I blocked her path with my arm and leaned in close. Mela flinched, a flicker of surprise on her face. The situation felt oddly familiar. No — the difference this time was that Mela was looking up at me with a flushed, flustered expression. Thankfully, it wasn't the worst-case scenario. I couldn't read anger on her face.

Relieved, I met her eyes squarely and spoke.

"The reason I didn't go further back there is because I didn't think your first time should happen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while you were just swept up in the moment. It wasn't because I take you lightly. Not even close."

The method I'd chosen was to tell her my real feelings, honestly. Whether that would earn her forgiveness was a secondary concern. Honestly, if it hadn't been for the training route, I would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have been fine choosing a pure-love route with Mela.

"…."

Whatever she made of what I'd said, Mela stared blankly up at my face. Having said my piece, I let her go — and she bolted away in an instant, vanishing into the distance. Fast on her feet, true to a little thief.

"Guess that didn't work after all."

If a few words could have fixed things, we would have been laughing and getting along ages ago. So what now? Did I need to start grinding affection? Getting closer to Mela meant raising Layla's affection too…

I was turning those worries over when it happened.

A system window announcing that my Affinity Level with Mela had risen. Seeing it, I let out a breath of relief. Heart-to-heart, I supposed — speaking honestly must have worked.

I was smiling contentedly when another window appeared.

"…."

No — why the hell did that go up? Come to think of it, the Domination effect couldn't be cleared with a status ailment cure. And with Affinity ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Level rising while that was still active, it had taken effect. I felt like I'd been smacked in the back of the head. The world went dark in front of my eyes.

That evening.

"You. Come here a second."

Layla, back from her own request, stopped me cold. Her face was twisted with fury as she demanded answers.

"What did you do to Mela?"

The question hit the bullseye. For a moment I was speechless, but I answered as casually as I could manage.

"What are you talking about?"

"Mela hasn't said a single word since she came back with you! What the hell happened out there?"

I had no answer I could give. I couldn't exactly say "We both got worked up and she carefully sucked me off," or "She's pissed because we didn't have sex."

When I kept silent, Layla ground her teeth.

"I told you clearly. If you laid a hand on Mela, I wouldn't let it slide!"

"You did."

"…So you just laughed off what I said."

If Affinity Level hit zero, she wouldn't count as an ally — party member or otherwise. And with Layla's fiery temper, it wouldn't end at words. There'd be a fight. The problem was that I wasn't someone who could use the word "fight" when it came to Layla. One-sided slaughter, maybe.

Last time, even a half-powered spell nearly knocked me out cold. This time I might actually die.

Still, there was a chance. The fact that Affinity Level had stopped right on the brink of dropping meant she was still giving me an opportunity to explain myself. One last shot at talking her down.

"…What did you do to her?"

But I already knew what answer I had to give. The voice that came out was so calm it surprised even me.

"I can't say anything until Mela decides to talk about it herself."

"What?"

It must have been unexpected — Layla's momentum faltered for a moment. She turned my words over carefully, then spoke.

"So it's something I need to hear from Mela herself?"

"Yeah."

This was a matter of protecting Mela's honor over taking the heat myself. She shouldn't have a stain on her record just because a status ailment made her act out of character. Of course, the self-loathing of using Mela as a shield was unavoidable.

"…."

Layla seemed to be wrestling with whether this matched what she'd assumed.

Yeah. It's exactly what you thought.

I recovered a little composure and waited for her answer. Layla finished sorting her thoughts and spoke.

"You didn't do anything bad to her, right?"

"Right."

If anything, Mela had been the one doing things — so it wasn't a lie.

"Can you swear to that?"

"I swear."

I answered without hesitation. Layla looked at me as if seeing me in a new light.

"I see. Sorry for jumping to conclusions."

"That was easy."

"Hm? What was that?"

"Nothing."

It was a night that left me thinking I really needed to protect these hopelessly naive women — the kind who got taken advantage of far too easily.