The Scent of Another Woman
"Welcome home, Master.. Ah?"
After what felt like an eternity, I finally returned to the house. The moment the front door opened, Nero came bounding out like an eager puppy to greet me—only to freeze mid-leap, her face hovering near my neck as she began sniffing curiously.
"..Nero?"
"I smell another woman on you."
I flinched.
"Look at that, you flinched. Who was it this time...? You two?!"
She must have finally noticed the two figures standing behind me. Naturally, Nero tried to pull me into her arms and step back, but the rich feminine scent clinging to my body had clearly registered. Her expression shifted.
"Wait, you... No way. It can't be..."
"Nero, listen, this is..."
Words failed me. As I hesitated, she pushed me away, biting her lip hard as she glared.
"..Why can't you answer?"
"It's not..."
"Both of them?"
"Ah, no. Just Scarlet..."
...Damn it. I had slipped up. I'd denied it being both, but in the process confessed to being with Scarlet.
"You... How could you? You told me to wait, and then you went and..."
While I scrambled for a way to soothe the betrayed Nero, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around me from behind. The soft, heavy press of flesh against my back told me exactly who it was without needing to look.
"If we're talking about that, it's my fault. How many men could resist when such a charming woman throws herself at him?"
"You..! You...! Get off my Master!"
"Getting this worked up over a little hug? Women really do become so ugly when they're insecure..."
Scarlet's taunting only made Nero's face flush crimson with rage. She huffed furiously.
"C-come here..!"
In a rush, Nero grabbed my wrist and yanked me away from Scarlet, clinging to me possessively as she bared her sharp fangs.
"Scarlet, that's enough. Nero, you stop fighting too... We're neighbors now, after all."
"What?"
Right—neighbors. The two of them had moved into the unit directly across from ours on the same floor. I had been late mentioning it. Nero seemed to relax slightly upon learning they wouldn't be staying inside the house like the recent uninvited guests, Mini Undine or Founder, but...
"Let's not encroach on each other's territory, okay? This place is Master and my little nest."
"..Well, I have no intention of coming over uninvited, but if you come looking for me, I won't turn you away."
Scarlet accepted the obvious "thieving cat" treatment with an easy smile, then shot me an openly seductive glance as if Nero weren't even there.
Nero's ears perked up.
"Oh? What cute little cat ears."
"Eep..!"
Flustered, Nero shoved me away and covered her head before slamming her bedroom door shut.
"Seriously.. I hate you."
"Nero!"
I tried to chase after her, but Scarlet had already caught me again.
"More importantly, shall we do today's marking?"
She tugged her collar down, baring the pale skin of her upper chest right in front of me. Her finger pointed to a clean spot amid the fading kiss marks already scattered across her skin.
"Come on.. I'll be good today."
She hadn't been good at all just moments ago, but ultimately this was my fault. I licked the soft skin once, then sealed my lips over it and sucked hard, leaving a fresh red mark.
"Hn.. Hnn, hngh..."
Once she confirmed the mark of affection wouldn't fade anytime soon, she smiled in satisfaction. With the meddlesome gaze now gone, she pressed herself flush against me. The rich, intoxicating scent of a woman who had tasted pleasure tickled my nose.
"So... when's next time?"
"Next time..."
"Now that we have these rings, there won't be any more accidents while we're having fun, right?"
And those rings. The black rings now on both Scarlet's and Dorothy's fingers were none other than Founder's gift. Officially called the Improved Dog Collar Mk.3!!! Unlike Mk.2, which had complicated suggestion functions, this version was simplified to only block abilities. Still, shrinking that bulky metal collar down to ring size was impressive enough to earn the "improved" label. Though calling something this small a "collar" was... something.
Team Leader had insisted that even if they were no longer prisoners, we couldn't leave high-risk individuals unsupervised in the facility. Founder had provided the rings at just the right time. It seemed an odd cohabitation was beginning, but with surveillance cameras monitoring every angle of their rooms 24/7, the two were forbidden from leaving their designated space without permission or removing the rings that suppressed their abilities. It was far from true freedom.
The reason they ended up as my neighbors was obviously because Founder wanted them right beside me.
"I'm fine whenever.. Every day is okay too."
"..You do realize there are surveillance cameras in the rooms, right?"
"Yeah. Let's show them off. So everyone knows just how passionate we are together."
She wasn't content with just speaking—she rubbed against me while in my arms, her soft, elastic body chipping away at my reason. Dorothy, watching from the side, blushed and quickly looked away.
"If you want to hold me.. come find me? If you don't visit often enough, I might not be able to stay good."
She stole a quick kiss, then turned and walked away, her crimson hair swaying. I stood there dazed until Dorothy politely bowed her head and their door slowly closed.
"Haa..."
Even though I had finally come home after so long, I felt suffocated. The reason was obvious—Nero still needed soothing, and that task loomed right in front of me.
"..I can't believe it. You went and added another woman while you were gone?"
The door wasn't locked. When I opened it, Nero stood with her back to me, arms crossed, refusing to look my way. Her voice came out sharp and pointed, clearly meant for me to hear.
"A lot of things... happened."
"I'd love to know what exactly happened that turned the woman who wanted to kill you into one who'd rather kill you in bed."
"..."
Every single word stabbed deep. I hadn't expected things to turn out this way either, but I had no rebuttal.
"..What about me?"
"...?"
"What am I to you?"
She spun around. Her face was twisted with hurt, eyes brimming with unshed tears. Those small droplets hurt far more than any of her sharp words.
"Should I just go outside and throw myself at some other decent guy whenever I feel lonely too?"
"..."
"Tell me I can't! Say it!"
When I didn't answer immediately, she squeezed her eyes shut and raised her voice. She roughly wiped away the tears that had begun to fall, then stared at me—speechless as I was. I worried whether her lovely voice might have been damaged.
"You know I can't do that... You know the only one I want to hold is you. That's why you're doing this, isn't it?"
"...Nero.."
"This is too much.. How long are you going to make me wait?"
I couldn't say anything else. Drawn to her, I stepped closer. Yet the lingering sensation of Scarlet's lips on mine made me hesitate, guilt weighing heavy. Slowly, I leaned in.
"..Don't."
Nero turned her head away. I froze. Her next words were painfully reasonable.
"If you're trying to comfort me.. I don't want my first kiss to be like this."
"..Y-you're right. I got ahead of myself. Sorry."
Still, the fact that I had tried to do something seemed to soften her anger a little. Her voice had lost some of its edge.
Now... maybe it was okay. I hadn't forgotten about Nero. The moment their counseling sessions ended, I had applied for vacation precisely to keep my promise to her.
"This weekend... I think I'll have some time. Want to go out and play together, just the two of us, for the first time in a while?"
"...Okay."
Thankfully, Nero accepted. After much hesitation, I finally pulled her into my arms. Trying to kiss her just to erase my guilt would have been unforgivable. The hesitation had come from genuine remorse.
..It seemed I needed to prepare far more thoroughly to make up for my shortcomings.