The Dragon of Mana, Yustitia (7)
In the end, the lion's den confrontation started in my room.
We sat facing each other in a row: Lilith, Hoaran, me, and Yustitia. Lilith was the one who broke the silence.
"...So, what the hell happened here?"
She asked me that, and I glanced sideways at Yustitia, but the bitch was calmly sipping the tea Hoaran had brewed like nothing was wrong.
"Hoaran, you make damn good tea. I had no idea."
I let out a sigh watching her savor it like it was the best thing ever.
Guess I'm the one who has to explain after all.
"...Well, it's like..."
But fuck, I had no idea how to even start.
"Spit it out already. Why the fuck did you show up with her? From the beginning to the end."
Watching Lilith urge me on while Yustitia slurped her tea like a pig made me feel a little wronged.
Come to think of it, did I really need to be this cowed?
If anything, I was the victim here.
I had every right to be pissed off, not sitting here like some criminal.
Sure, I'd been secretly meeting up with Yustitia behind Lilith and Hoaran's backs, so I wasn't exactly innocent, but there was no reason to be this scared.
Of course, that didn't make explaining what actually happened any easier.
"...First off, why we came together."
I set aside all the bullshit and tried to explain why I'd brought Yustitia here, but words weren't cutting it, so I decided to just show them.
"...Yustitia?"
"Yeah...?"
"Could you lift your top for a sec? Just to show them that thing."
"Sure thing."
Figuring it was faster than explaining, I asked, and she nodded before casually hiking up her shirt.
"What the fuck are you—"
To Lilith, me telling Yustitia to flash her tits or Yustitia actually doing it must've looked utterly ridiculous.
But what came next probably blew their minds even more.
"...What the hell is that?"
Lilith muttered.
Reflected in her red eyes was the subjugation mark etched under Yustitia's breasts.
It looked a bit different from the one on Liliana's ass, but the core shape was the same. Lilith whipped her head toward me.
"You... you don't mean..."
She was so shocked she was stammering.
Unlike Lilith, Hoaran stayed relatively cool, glancing between Yustitia and me before speaking up.
"...Hanjo. Did you... do it with Yustitia?"
What Hoaran meant by "do it" was obvious.
With Liliana, we'd shown Lilith and Hoaran the process of the mark forming before. It only appeared on women I'd fucked—and only if they were virgins at the time. Lilith and Hoaran knew that much.
Even then, there were conditions; it hadn't appeared on the other werehoneybees deflowered the same day as Liliana.
Anyway, Hoaran's question was crystal clear.
And my answer?
"No, it wasn't that."
If it had been, I wouldn't feel so wronged.
Well, even then it'd still be forced on me, so I'd be pissed, but not this pissed.
Point was, this wasn't like with Liliana. That time, the mark formed after we fucked. This one? Yustitia had carved it into herself using my cum as the medium.
I hadn't done jack shit.
My body wasn't exactly pure, but this time, I really hadn't done anything.
Or more like, I couldn't.
Anyway, the point was, I'd done nothing, and yet here she was, bound to me.
Was this what they called responsibility without the pleasure?
She had sucked my dick dry to get the cum for it, so there was some pleasure, but whatever.
Basically, it was like some stray cat wandering up with a collar, putting it on herself, shoving the leash in my hand, and hitting me with a "adopt me."
Slightly different, but close enough since Yustitia did it to herself.
And once a cat like that shoves itself on you, you can't just toss it out.
Unlike with Liliana, Yustitia's mark was incomplete—just like she said. It had side effects because it was half-assed in every way.
"...Side effects? What does that mean?"
Hoaran finally spoke after listening to my explanation, while Lilith looked like she'd lost the ability to speak.
Yustitia answered.
"The side effects were worse than I thought. Yeah, my bad..."
"...And what exactly are those side effects? This one is asking."
It was less an answer and more her mumbling to herself.
Even Hoaran looked a bit pissed at that; her fox ears perked straight up.
Watching them tremble with rage, I realized it might be the first time in ages I'd see Hoaran truly furious.
She'd only ever been that mad during that white-haired bitch incident or the terrorist attack when civilians got slaughtered.
If this counted as an achievement, cool.
Anyway, with even Hoaran pressing her, Yustitia finally gave a straight answer.
"Yeah, if I don't get Hanjo's cum regularly, my body starts falling apart. I tested it before coming here—might even die if I'm not careful. Almost did, actually."
And that was her answer.
She'd die without my cum? That was batshit insane.
And the fact that it was true made it even worse.
"What the fuck kind of bullshit is that...!"
Lilith finally exploded, having spaced out until now.
Thankfully, from what I'd told her, her anger turned on Yustitia instead of me.
"You fucking bitch, what the hell did you do?!"
She grabbed Yustitia by the collar.
Yustitia blinked at her, then opened her mouth.
"First off, the medium for the subjugation mark—Hanjo's cum, right? Using that—"
"Shut the fuck up, you cunt! No one's asking about that! Why the hell did you pull this shit?!"
Yustitia tilted her head at Lilith's words.
"Well... you would've said no otherwise, right...?"
"What...?"
Lilith froze.
Yustitia continued.
"You and Hoaran were already there... I didn't have many options. Thought you liked money, but even that didn't work. Considered reversing the mark on you, but you'd probably kill me... so that was out too..."
So only one choice left, huh? Her casual question made Lilith's face turn beet red, like her blood pressure was about to blow her head off.
And even then, Yustitia kept going.
"Oh, but I got an unexpected bonus. After the mark, my senses sharpened way more, and lasted longer. They weaken when I need cum, but... maybe the connection's stronger? Gotta experiment later..."
Yustitia being Yustitia deflated even Lilith.
"...You crazy bitch, for real."
She let out a hollow laugh and released the collar.
"...Is what Yustitia said true, Hanjo?"
Hoaran asked me if the side effects were legit.
"Yeah, it's real."
Who the fuck would believe her when she just up and marked herself then dropped that bomb?
Anyone would've called bullshit.
Like a cat pulling the "adopt me or I die" card—pure extortion.
So I told her to prove it, and she did.
Cast some acceleration spell on herself and rewound her own time in seconds.
The result?
I saw the side effects with my own eyes, confirming her story.
No clue how far back she went, but before a few minutes passed, she started visibly withering like a mummy.
She hadn't expected it either—"Huh?"—and collapsed.
I freaked, shoved a bottle of pre-cummed jizz I'd prepared into her mouth, and she recovered.
If I hadn't, or if I didn't have that bottle handy, she'd be dead right now.
As I explained that to Hoaran, Yustitia chimed in from the side.
"I really thought I was gonna die...? Didn't expect my mana to drain that fast... Even the dragon heart's mana vanished. Pretty impressive, huh...?"
Was that something you say after nearly mummifying?
Anyway, with my guarantee that the side effects were real, Hoaran fell silent.
Instead, Lilith snapped at Yustitia.
"Undo it now! If you put it on, you can take it off, right?!"
"Haven't fully decoded it yet, so no... It wasn't a perfect success anyway, hence the side effects. The compulsion's weaker than a real one too... like, I just really wanna do what he asks...?"
"Why the fuck put it on if you can't remove it, you psycho bitch..."
"But think about it, Lilith. Harder to remove means it's good for me, right? If it was easy, you'd undo it...?"
"You fucking lunatic...?"
Lilith grabbed her collar again.
"You call that an excuse, you goddamn psycho?!"
Yustitia, getting ragdolled, mumbled.
"Hey, Lilith... I'm dizzy... Is this motion sickness? First time feeling it... Not fun..."
"Just die already, you crazy bitch! Problem solved!"
"Don't wanna die though..."
This was making me dizzy.
Just watching was enough to fry my brain, so I turned to Hoaran.
"...Anyway, that's why I brought her."
Explanation over.
Hoaran nodded.
"...This one cannot comprehend what she's just heard."
Fair reaction.
I barely got it myself.
I nodded in agreement, and she continued.
"But one thing is even harder to understand. Don't you just need to fuck her periodically? No need for all this, right?"
True.
I thought the same.
If regular cumshots fixed it, visiting every 2-3 days like now would suffice.
But Yustitia's response had left me floored.
"Nah, that won't work... I'd forget and fall asleep or something."
Answering Hoaran while getting shaken by Lilith.
She pulled the same "I'd forget and wither" line on me earlier. Hoaran went speechless.
Even Lilith stopped shaking her.
And neither could argue back—must've sounded convincing as hell to them.
Yustitia said they'd buy it before we came, but I didn't think they'd actually swallow it.
How lazy do you have to be?
"...You proud of that, you fucking bitch?!"
"Lilith...? Stomach's really churning now..."
Instead of arguing, Lilith shook her harder. Yustitia's already pale skin went ghostly white—real motion sickness.
"Ahem... Anyway, let's move past that. But the most important part remains."
Hoaran cleared her throat, looking away from Yustitia.
"Hanjo, are you okay with this?"
"Huh?"
"This one grasps the rough situation. Yustitia undoubtedly forced this burden on you. That's her style. So, tell this one."
She was dead serious: was I really okay with this?
"...You needn't get dragged into Yustitia's nonsense. It's her self-inflicted mess. Pitiable as death-by-laziness is, it's her fault. Just stop being lazy if you don't wanna die, no?"
She had a point.
Forgetting medicine that cures you? Your fault.
"Hanjo. If you wish—"
Red patterns crept under Hoaran's eyes.
If I said no, she'd boot Yustitia out by force.
I shook my head.
"No need to go that far."
If Yustitia keeled over later from forgetting like she said, I'd feel guilty.
Better to keep her close and manage it.
Plus, we agreed on compensation.
"...Is that so?"
The patterns faded.
"If you've decided that, Hanjo... this one has no issue."
"What? Hey...?!"
"No helping it, Lilith. Hanjo's decided. They say even a mother can't stop a boy who's made up his mind. Once a boy decides—"
"Where'd you read that weird shit this time?!"
Probably some smut.
She'd been into weird stuff lately.
Anyway, Yustitia, still gripped by Lilith, spoke up.
"So, we're good then? Take care of me...? Lilith."
I swear I heard Lilith's last thread of sanity snap.
"Ah, now I can finally tell you, right? Hanjo said he needs your permission first... It's about his gift—"
Whether oblivious or not, Yustitia started yapping about my gift to that Lilith.
"Take care of you my ass?!"
BAM. Lilith headbutted her.
"Kyuhk...!"
Perfect hit. Yustitia flopped over with a weird yelp.
"...Hoo."
Lilith sighed, glaring down at her with a murderous expression.
"...Can't even throw this away."
Her voice was ice-cold lethal. If she could, she'd have yeeted her.
Guess I'm steering clear of Lilith's bad side for a while.