Priestess, Delusion, Hunter, and Pregnancy Threat (1)
Priestess, Delusion, Hunter, and Pregnancy Threat (1)
#
"Hahh... Hahh... Yoo-jiiin..."
As if burying her face in my chest wasn't enough, Reni tried to get my clothes off too!
"R-Reni?"
"Hold on. Reni. That's about enough. I already said it was my turn today, before we even left..."
"Nnht... hnk..."
Yuri said something, but Reni didn't listen at all and clung to me, refusing to let go.
R-Reni, wasn't this a bit too much? Sure, she had the Lewd trait, but she had never done this in front of people before.
Did the Aphrodisiac Slime escape?! No, wait, I had that on me. Then why on earth...
[Status Effect: 「Withdrawal Symptoms」]
[Status Effect: 「Separation Anxiety」]
"..."
That was one hell of a message. It had only been a few days, and she was already like this?
"Yoo-jiiin... hnk..."
"Uh, yeah?"
"I-I'll do better... please don't abandon me... hnk..."
"What?"
When Reni looked up at me, there were faint tears welling in her eyes.
This was beyond bewildering. What on earth was she thinking, talking about abandoning her or whatever? Reni, did you fire up your delusion engine all by yourself again?!
"Uh, huh? Reni?!"
When I was too stunned to move, Reni started trying to get my clothes off again!
"W-Wait! Just wait!"
Please, calm down!
# # #
A few days ago.
It hadn't been long since Yoo-jin had left with that butler, but Reni couldn't hide her unease.
The sight of Yoo-jin leaving the mansion was the sort that stirred protective instincts, the kind you just couldn't leave alone. Thin, thin limbs, a slender face, adorably small nose and lips.
Going out to work with a body like that. If Reni had been just a little more assertive in voicing her opinion, it was the kind of sight that would've warranted insisting that young Yoo-jin be locked up in a room.
But that level of anxiety was nothing.
The next morning, during her customary prayer to check her Divine Power, Reni felt her heart sink.
The Divine Power had vanished.
Reni nearly fell into a panic.
When she checked again, she realized the amplification had simply disappeared, but even so, Reni couldn't help shuddering at the sense of loss.
How could this happen? Why?
She soon understood the reason. Looking back, the Divine Power amplification he granted had a time limit. Since he had sought Reni out whenever he had spare time, she had almost forgotten, so it took her a moment to recall.
Of course, it was true that her Divine Power had increased beyond comparison to when she was a trainee priestess. He hadn't explained precisely, but he'd said Reni had some kind of seal on her that he'd undone.
Yet, having always received the highest-grade amplification, the emptiness was enough to make Reni shudder.
Three days.
No, one day had already passed, so two more. If she endured just two more nights, he would return.
But on the third night, he still didn't come back. Only that butler returned, and she even took the Holy Sword. Reni tried to catch the butler, but she refused to give a detailed explanation, saying she was busy.
As Reni began to look haggard from anxiety, Yuri couldn't stand by any longer and stepped in. Then she didn't return either.
Had something happened? Had he been discovered and thrown in jail? If so, Yuri should have returned with some news. Why had she not come back? What was she supposed to do? Should she go look for him now?
But he'd told her to stay put at the mansion.
...As if Reni was in the way.
'That's right. Come to think of it, I said I'd go with him and he refused.'
From Yoo-jin's perspective, it was because Reni's actions were clumsy, but once she started thinking like that, she couldn't stop.
It would've been better if he'd been thrown in jail. But what if he'd simply disappeared? Had he gone back to his original world? All sorts of absurd imaginations flooded in.
...What if he had abandoned her? The moment she thought that, Reni felt a dizzying sensation, like falling. An eternal fall with no bottom.
'I was too clingy, so he got sick of me. I forced myself on him even when he was resting and tired him out, kept pestering him...'
'Then the times he tormented me too, that wasn't teasing—he really hated me...!'
Reni clapped her hand over her mouth.
He'd grown tired of Reni. So the three of them had run away together! Leaving only Reni behind!
With the sense of loss over her Divine Power layered on top of Yoo-jin's absence, Reni's delusions spiraled out of control like that.
The fact that he had fought with the butler so much didn't matter at all. No—that had been a disguise. To deceive Reni!
Changing his appearance too, all to keep Reni from chasing after him...!
Reni collapsed onto her knees right there in the entrance hall.
Her body flinched at the cold of the floor. But that solid sensation brought back a sliver of Reni's sense of reality.
"Hoo— Haa— Hoo— Haa—"
As she steadied her breathing the way he had taught her, Reni struggled to pull herself together.
'He said he wouldn't abandon me. My Divine Power was gone... so I was just confused right then.'
Reni somewhat knew that when Divine Power was involved, her own judgment became terribly clouded. When Divine Power was involved,
'I got selfish... and mean...'
Self-loathing began to spread again. This wouldn't do. Pushing the bad thoughts aside to one corner as best she could, Reni started focusing on just one thing.
'Morning. Just until morning.'
Once it was light out. If only it would get light out, she would go find him. And after she found him? She didn't know that far. As long as she found him first.
As she sat huddled like that in the mansion entrance hall, at last, he returned.
Without even knowing what she herself wanted, Reni threw herself at him.
#
[Status Effect: 「Withdrawal Symptoms」]
[Status Effect: 「Separation Anxiety」]
"Uh. Um."
This was bewildering. There was something terrifying in those messages.
Removal... not possible! Of course it wouldn't be. 「Sex Warrior's Performance」 only applied to sexual matters. While I was spacing out like that, Reni mumbled something with her face buried in my chest.
"D-don't abandon meee..."
"Hold on. Calm down."
"I'll, I'll do better... hnk... don't abandon meee..."
This was bad. Reni had started talking nonsense. Don't abandon me? I'd heard this before. Right, back at that church where I got the Holy Sword, she'd said something just as ridiculous...
"!"
I opened Reni's traits.
[Name: Reni Liberit]
[Traits: Delusion (A - Strengthening) /...]
...She'd been running her delusion engine full-tilt while I was gone! What would happen if the delusions got even worse than this?!
"Reni. Calm down. Abandon you? What are you talking about? That's not going to happen. Okay?"
Even when I soothed her like that, Reni just kept her head buried in my chest, trembling.
"...That's not fair."
I could do nothing but hold Reni. Then Yuri spoke, her voice slightly choked with tears.
"I said it was my turn today. And you pull this again?"
Yuri looked displeased. And Rebecca... hmm. Her expression was blank, but the way her eyes were darting around made her look awkward in more ways than one. Right. It was bewildering, wasn't it? I was bewildered too.
A-Anyway. I needed to change the mood. I had to get out of this situation!
"Your turn? Were the two of you deciding stuff like that while I was gone? You must've been pretty worked up yourself..."
"..."
"...."
Yuri was glaring at a corner of the mansion as if she hadn't heard a word I said. Mood change, failed!
"L-Look, it's late now anyway. Let's push the turns back and all three of us sleep together tonight. It's been a while."
"...."
Yuri was still glaring elsewhere, but she didn't refuse my hand. That was a real relief.
"Uh. Um. Rebecca, good work. Let's get some sleep first. You should rest too. We'll talk tomorrow."
"...You've worked hard."
I quickly said goodbye to Rebecca and dragged the two of them back to the room.
# # #
Reni fell asleep in no time. Dark circles under her eyes, haggard skin. On top of that, she had a tight grip on the hem of my clothes. As if she'd never let go. I'd never seen her in such bad shape before.
"..."
I'd said the three of us would sleep together, but Yuri was lying with her back turned. Like she didn't even want to look this way. Yuri had been in low spirits from the moment Reni ignored what she'd said.
...Hmm. I'd better talk to her.
"Yuri. You asleep?"
"..."
"Let's talk for a sec."
Yuri's back twitched, then her body began to tremble.
"..."
Ah, man. Here it came. This was that thing.
'Let's talk'? That was the classic line people used when they were breaking up! I must've been flustered enough that I'd picked the wrong words.
"No. That's not it... It's about Reni."
"...What is it?"
Only then did the trembling start to subside. Wait. Before I started talking...
I discreetly fondled Reni's chest.
"What? Say it."
"No. Just a sec."
"Hahh... hahh... hnnn..."
"...Even at a time like this...!"
"N-No, that's not it!"
No matter how much of a horny pervert I was, I didn't just grope people during a serious conversation for no reason. There was a reason for everything I did!
-Tring.
[Sexual acts performed while the target is in an Unaware State do not award points: -5p]
See? I was waiting for this. Anyway, it was a relief she was really asleep. Now we could finally talk.
"This is going to be a bit of a long story..."
I told Yuri about Reni. How she'd lived at the temple as an orphan but remained a trainee priestess because she lacked Divine Power. How she'd suffered so badly that she developed delusions. And how, after gaining Divine Power thanks to me, she'd become almost entirely dependent on me.
After hearing the entire story, Yuri remained silent for a long time before speaking.
"...What? You tell me things like that... You always play dirty, and then I’m the only one... It makes me look like I’m the only bad one...."
The bad one? What was she talking about?! Was this girl planning to spout more nonsense about how everything would be fine if she just disappeared again?! No way. I wasn’t letting her go!
"What on earth are you talking about? If you were bad, there's no way I'd be that obsessed with you!"
"........That feels awful... obsessed...? Haah..."
Damn. I got worked up and my true feelings came out in plain sight. But Yuri wasn't finished talking.
"...Then prove it."
"..."
I swallowed.