Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Girl
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Before long, the shift was racing toward its end.
After that earlier incident, there were no more unexpected events.
- Ding... Ding...
A bell tolled in the distance.
It meant 6 o'clock... Finally, time to clock out.
"Is it finally over...?"
I was down to just the final checkpoint before wrapping up.
That's when a girl's voice called out.
"Um... Does that include me too?"
The red-haired girl in front of me fidgeted, clutching at my sleeve.
She looked like she'd just turned of age.
Her hair was braided all the way down to her waist, and her bare face was dotted with freckles.
The kind of face you saw all the time in the countryside.
"Yes, just the body search, and you'll be cleared to pass."
I pressed the tips of my gloves tight against my fingers, finishing my preparations for the body search.
"B-body search too...? I thought you skipped that...?"
"Sorry, it's mandatory. I don't have a choice."
I straightened my uniform and shifted my gaze toward the combat zone.
The girl seemed to catch the meaning behind my look and started flustering about.
"R-right, makes sense. This is the front lines, after all..."
"Then let's begin the body search. Grab that chair over there, climb up, hands behind your back, and face the wall."
The girl was an adult, but she was on the very short side.
If she didn't step up on the chair, I'd have to sit down to do the search.
Today was finally my first body search on a woman.
All the entrants so far had been men.
There was no reason for women to come to a place this dangerous.
'Thank goodness...'
I didn't want to see hairy old men blushing like that.
Most men would agree.
Plus, I'd learned something today.
[Hand of Abstinence] had zero effect on men.
Back in the village, I used livestock gloves because I hated seeing men lost in pleasure.
But I couldn't do that here.
I had no choice but to proceed with the gloves I was wearing.
Thankfully—truly thankfully—[Hand of Abstinence] had no effect on men.
Probably due to some quirk in the pleasure system.
Stats were absolute by nature.
They never deviated from the text—not less, not more.
That left one clear conclusion.
[Hand of Abstinence] only worked on the opposite sex... or maybe just women.
"L-like this...?"
At that moment, up on the chair, the girl shyly thrust out her hips.
"Now just face forward. I'll be using the gloved palms."
"Ah... Okay."
She kept glancing back, embarrassed by her exposed rear.
I placed my hand on her waist.
- Twitch...
The girl startled at the unfamiliar sensation on her shoulder.
The reaction was definitely weaker through the gloves than bare-handed.
So I boldly swept my hand from her waist up to her shoulder blades.
- Ssshh...
The fabric and skin rubbed together, making a sound.
"......Ngh."
The girl bit her lip to stifle a noise.
My hand continued from her shoulder blades up her arms.
- Flinch.
Her shoulders jerked up.
I didn't stop, sweeping under her arms and the soft inner flesh.
"...Ngh."
Her soft skin dragged along with the glove.
She didn't even have any stretch marks.
The gloves definitely dulled the Hand of Abstinence effect.
I could feel it clearly.
The girl seemed to enjoy the sensation on her skin, tensing wherever my hand passed.
As if she wanted more.
Now I moved my hand to the girl's hips—still so unripe compared to Selena's.
"...Ah...?!"
She twisted her head around in surprise at the sensation on her butt.
Her flushed face met mine.
"Face forward again, please. This is standard procedure."
"B-but that's...!"
Embarrassed, she turned back around.
And covered her butt with her hand.
"Then we'll end the body search here."
Relieved at my words, she hopped down from the chair.
"Th-thank you..."
"Head to the exit."
"......Huh?"
Her pupils dilated in shock at my words.
"The buttocks are a clear body search target. Since you've refused a reasonable inspection, I have no choice."
"Ah... B-but. My brother's inside..."
I turned away and spoke to her.
She fidgeted like something terrible had happened.
Brother? Did she have a soldier brother?
It wasn't like I wanted to grope her butt or anything.
In truth, the buttocks were the prime spot for women to hide weapons.
Most gatekeepers never went that far.
Get caught up in the wrong rumors, and you're done for, so they avoided it.
But this was the west.
On the front lines, full-body searches were protocol, no matter the plea.
The soldiers here were mostly locals from the village... They'd probably let her slide.
"W-wait a sec. I'm sorry. Let me try again, please..."
She grabbed my sleeve and pleaded.
"Then get back on the chair. One more try."
"Yes! Thank you!"
She scrambled up like I might change my mind.
I placed my hand on her butt again.
And rubbed in circles.
- Flinch. Flinch.
Her waist bucked with every rub.
Her arms trembled faintly.
Then I pulled my hand away from her butt.
I stared at her rear, flexing and unflexing my right hand.
Hmm... Yeah, no way...
Skipping that part of the body search felt half-assed, but oh well.
With all these soldiers around, it was too risky anyway.
"Turn around now."
- Tap tap.
She twisted her body bit by bit on the chair to face me.
Now we were face-to-face.
Her pupils shook.
I scanned her body from top to bottom.
Her modest chest didn't look big enough to hide anything.
Still, had to check.
"I'll sweep the front once. Interlace your fingers and put your hands on your head."
"...H-haah... Okay."
Too shy to meet my eyes, she looked away.
I placed my hand on her pelvis and swept upward.
Then settled it on her collarbone.
"Hoo... Hnngh. Ha... Ngh."
Her body shivered.
She bit her lip hard, unable to hold her breath any longer.
My hand on her collarbone was about to move toward her chest.
"Haa, fuck this. Can't do it."
Her small hand snatched my wrist.
"What the hell's with these perverted hands, gatekeeper?"
She flung my hand away.
Then raked her fingers down her face, muttering nonstop to herself.
"Can't even carry one damn thing!"
"That's why I said use someone smart. You picked the idiot and fucked it up."
She was arguing with something inside her.
Her tone and expression shifted constantly—like watching a one-woman show.
She kept bonking her head while rambling.
Multiple personalities?
Her behavior screamed it.
Talking to another self, and her vibe was totally different from during the body search.
"Um..."
"Hey... Don't talk to me. I'm in the middle of a conversation."
Definitely different from before.
Maybe acting, but her speech pattern was completely changed.
She scratched her head, then pulled something from between her breasts.
A square of paper, folded neatly.
Stuck tight to her hand—some kind of sticky material.
She'd hidden it in her cleavage...
"Hmph... That gatekeeper probably would've found it anyway. Waste to leave it, so we'll take it."
She gulped down the whole paper.
Then kept talking to herself.
"Hmm, so now what?"
"No, but then we just let him go?"
"He's hearing everything we're saying?"
She looked utterly unhinged.
Asking herself questions, answering with more questions.
All while relentlessly bonking her head.
What a exhausting day.
Was one body search such a big deal?
Hero, Saintess, terrorist, and now the grand finale: a psycho with multiple personalities.
I felt proud of my packed day.
"So what do we do?!"
Finally, the rougher personality bellowed.
It was genuinely scary.
Her actions were so bizarre, I instinctively backed away.
To survive, I kept distancing myself from her.
"How do we even undo the hypnosis...? Did we do it right?"
She bonked her head again, questioning herself.
Come to think of it, I didn't know her name or exact age.
Just that she was an adult—that was all I remembered.
Anything else...? Nothing.
I wouldn't make a mistake like that.
Before I knew it, my backing away had taken me near the exit.
"Fuck if I know, let's just kill him... Don't? Why?"
Suddenly, black shadows rippled from her hand.
I sensed disaster and hurriedly jammed my key into the lock.
Please, if this door opens...
- Splurt...
"Bad hand."
"?!?!"
A shadow shot from her hand and severed my wrist clean off.
My left hand hit the ground limply.
Pain hit me like a truck, and I collapsed, clutching at it.
"Pfft! Serves you right~ Who told you to grope my ass?!"
She cackled at me rolling on the floor.
Her face beamed with satisfaction.
Agony poured into my wrist.
Like flames engulfing my entire arm.
"Haa... Haa..."
Couldn't breathe right.
Blood poured from my wrist like a waterfall.
I gripped it with my other hand, but it wouldn't stop.
"Alright, time to finish you?"
One side of her face controlled shadows, the other waved me goodbye.
She could do that too?
Impressive, multiple personalities.
Ah, I'm dead.
The shadows from her hand swelled, rushing toward me.
Dark red flashed before my eyes.
I closed my eyes... and waited for the save screen.
Pondering how to fight this psycho.
.
.
.
Nothing.
Did the save/load glitch?
Am I just dead?
Anxiety flashed through my mind.
...My mind?
I opened my eyes and looked ahead.
"...Huh?"
Incredibly, I wasn't dead.
Instead, the girl was split in half, twitching.
Had I awakened some power?
But it wasn't just her—the entire checkpoint was cleaved in two, demolished.
Someone had clearly sliced it.
Not something current me could do.
"Ah... There you are. I wondered where you'd gone when you vanished mid-fight."
Bluish hair. It was the Hero.
She glanced at me and walked past.
The Hero was in unfamiliar attire.
Not the full-body tights and swimsuit-like top from before—more like underwear.
"Whoa... Bet that wrist feels nice and cool. I got my arm chopped earlier too—super refreshing."
The Hero picked up my severed left hand.
She pressed it to the rune on my glove.
The rune glowed blue, flaring bright.
"Retrieval... done. Now just wrap this up."
She smirked faintly.
- Thunk.
The Hero yanked a massive sword from the floor.
The greatsword I'd seen her haul from the carriage.
It was toothless, basically a blunt slab of rock.
"If I'd known you'd come here, I'd have grabbed my rapier. Decoy tactic... Not bad for demonkin. Using your head."
She walked forward slowly.
- Drag... Drraaag...
The greatsword scraped the floor, sparking.
"Talk it out? Or fight? No hypnosis."
The Hero approached the bisected girl.
Her greatsword prodded the writhing mass.
Black shadows began gathering around.
"Ha... Failed again. You gonna let some rando distract you?"
The shadows reformed her shape.
The cleaved body filled in with clumped darkness.
It was grotesque.
"Fake rune, my ass!"
"No, when did I say it was real? Never!"
"What? You wanna talk to me like that?!"
The girl resumed her disjointed mutterings to thin air.
Meanwhile, her shadows rebuilt bones, then flesh.
Truly grotesque.
"Pervert with a powerful backer. Ugh... Annoying, and the plan's busted..."
Soon, even her skin regenerated fully.
"Haa... Rain, catch you on the other side next time."
The girl seemed to lose her will to fight the Hero, promising a rematch.
They seemed to know each other.
"Bye-bye."
With a real farewell, she melted into shadows and vanished.
"Hmm... She's really gone?"
The Hero stared at the spot, then nodded.
Too much had happened too fast—my head couldn't process it.
The Hero turned to me.
"Well... Guess I owe you a reward for all your hard work. Come on, time to see the Saintess. Get up."
The Hero's fox-like eyes curved into sly arcs.