Black Flame Dragon's Incarnation and Goblin (3)

#

Reni took Niniel's pale hand and pushed Cure into her. Even if stamina enhancement was only a temporary effect, she couldn't just leave a patient unattended right in front of her eyes.

"Haa..."

With her complexion noticeably improved, Niniel bowed her head.

"Thank you very much."

"It's nothing. Truly, this much isn't much at all. And you even arranged a place for us to stay, so this much is only natural..."

"For a great many things besides that."

Niniel wore a sad sort of smile.

"I heard from Rebecca. She said that he resolved Ariel's problem, didn't she? To think that her fiancé was such a..."

Such a monster. Niniel trailed off, but Reni could tell what had been omitted.

Niniel's hand trembled faintly. Reni could understand her feelings to some extent. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Her own flesh and blood had nearly been married off to a monster like that. The story Reni had heard omitted many of the details, but considering how gravely Yoo-jin had been injured, whoever had done it must have been quite a monster.

An injury. Reni felt as though the blood were draining from her body whenever she thought of the faint scar left on his abdomen.

Even after suffering such an injury, he'd said he was going into a dungeon alone. Didn't he know that his body was, in many ways, important? What if he came back injured this time too? What if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it didn't end with just an injury? Perhaps she ought to tie him—

"Nh."

"Ah, I-I'm sorry."

Niniel let out a small moan. Reni had unwittingly clenched the hand Niniel had extended. But it was rather Niniel who looked to Reni for her reaction.

"Are you all right?"

"Y-Yes."

Reni shook her head. To be fussed over by a patient. There had never been a time before when she lost focus this badly. Reni felt as though something inside herself was gradually changing. Before, she had been selfish only about Divine Power, but now, where he was concerned as well...

"Thank you. I think I'm better now."

"Ah... yes."

Niniel withdrew her hand from Reni's. Even if Reni poured more Cure into her, her condition wouldn't improve any further.

Niniel straightened her clothes slightly and spoke.

"We've already received so much that we don't know how we can ever repay you."

Her voice sounded forlorn, as if she had given up on everything.

"Even if I don't recover, I'll give you everything I can. Just knowing Ariel was spared that fate is enough for me. I don't want to die either... but realistically, I know recovery may be impossible."

Niniel spoke in a somewhat subdued voice, looking at the tree branches outside the window. Her demeanor was like someone waiting for the last leaf to fall. The Holy Sword was beside her, but perhaps reading the mood, she kept her mouth shut instead of fidgeting.

Reni snapped back to herself at Niniel's words, which sounded almost like a last testament. Niniel was speaking about her own life.

"Don't worry. Have you heard about his ability?"

"Ah, yes. That he has a special power that amplifies people's abilities..."

"That's not all."

Reni explained about the Divine Power he possessed. And even how that Divine Power had broken the Holy Sword's seal and lifted Reni's own restrictions.

"As a creation of the Goddess, there can be no curse that Divine Power cannot dispel. It will definitely have an effect."

"...Then that is a relief."

Niniel let out a small sigh. A brief silence. Then, with tremulous eyes, she looked at Reni. Her face was reddened, with a slightly different feel than before.

"Ah, b-but, um..."

"Yes?"

"The, the d-dispelling through Divine Power... is it the s-same method as the... amplification and such?"

"...Yes."

Niniel had apparently heard about that story as well. Amplification and Divine Power injection through sexual intercourse. Reni's face flushed as well. It was a story that was, after all, hard to get used to.

"You said you'd ex-experienced it directly, Reni?"

"Yes...."

Niniel swallowed.

"I'm a little frightened. I, honestly, I have no experience.... B-by any chance, does it h-hurt?"

"It does not hurt, does it?"

"Excuse me?"

The Holy Sword abruptly interjected as if it were suddenly her turn. As soon as the mood shifted, words poured out of her like she'd grown tired of keeping her mouth shut all this time. As if that weren't enough, she fidgeted and yanked on Reni's cheeks, stretching them out.

"If it hurt that much, would she cling to him like that? I saw everything. She says no, but she totally clings to him, you know?"

"H-Holy Sword!"

The color drained from Reni's face. They said she lacked common sense, and the Holy Sword truly couldn't tell what she should and shouldn't say!

"Judging only by the sounds, you would think she truly hated it, but her actions say otherwise. She cries while hugging, biting, and sucking him. Honestly, I do not even understand what she finds so enjoyable about it."

"Wh-When have I, when have I ever done that!"

Reni shrieked reflexively. Whether the accusation was true no longer mattered. Her mind was filled only with the need to escape the situation.

"When, my foot. I'm telling you, I saw everything. This girl goes sneaking over to his place every single night to ask for it?"

Not stopping there, the Holy Sword even started counting on her fingers.

"Just from what I've seen, there are one, two... five... and it's not as though they merely embrace and stop there. She even asks him to make a baby with her. Honestly... mmph?!"

Reni grabbed a whole fistful of candy, pried the Holy Sword's mouth open, and stuffed it in. She'd promised to give her one piece at a time whenever she listened well, but this was no time to be picking and choosing.

Reni was becoming more aggressive by the moment.

"Mmph... mmm... hnnn...."

The Holy Sword simply went limp right there with pleasure. Under the extreme assault on her sense of taste, her pupils rolled up slightly and drool even dripped from the corner of her mouth. But the corners of her lips were slightly upturned, an expression that seemed to say she liked it.

"...Ah. You called her... the Holy Sword, correct? Is she all right?"

Niniel looked dumbfounded by Reni's forceful ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠behavior.

"Yes.... E-Even if she looks like this, she's not human, so. She'll be fine."

Because he had said so. She would probably be fine. Reni was beginning to find the Holy Sword a little detestable. Then, carefully watching for her reaction, Niniel spoke.

"But... um...."

Niniel trailed off, but Reni somehow felt she ought to explain herself.

"Ah, that is! I-I was short on Divine Power! B-Before too, I lacked Divine Power, and I c-couldn't graduate! So! To receive Divine Power, I had no choice but to...!"

Reni had no choice but to babble incoherently. There was Niniel, with a hint of red rising to her cheeks, and Reni, red-faced and speaking without rhyme or reason.

...

After spouting nonsense for a while, Reni lowered her eyes and murmured.

"...I-It'll be fine. Because when he does it, he's really... g-gentle... with you...."

"Ah, yes. Yes... g-gently..."

Niniel's voice gave off a different feeling than before. Reni stole a glance at Niniel's eyes. For some reason, Niniel's eyes seemed to hold a trace of heat.

"Gently, please..."

At Niniel's words, Reni felt a small unease.

# # #

"Stop! Stop! You barbaric son of a bitch!"

"You talk pretty well. Now die."

"Kerurk! Kreurrrrk...."

After finishing the full castration of the last one, I retrieved the rusted sword. Because the sword Rebecca had given me was left with nothing but its hilt.

That damned Rebecca. How could she recommend such a defective piece of crap to me...

"..."

I had picked it. Damn it, I had chosen it myself! I had picked the sword and broken it myself! Was she going to make me pay for it?!

It didn't seem likely, though.

My bad first impression of her kept feeding my prejudice. In truth, apart from the nonsense she had spouted at first, she had been remarkably devoted to me.

Anyway, what to do now. There wasn't that great a distance left to the Witch House. But I wasn't sure if it was okay to go like this. If only I had the Holy Sword with me...

I never thought I'd miss that Holy Sword character. She was a little noisy, but her performance was undeniably reliable. The sword I'd taken from Ariel's armory had looked like a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fairly high-grade piece too, but it hadn't withstood the Vibrating Hand. Perhaps swords that can endure the Super Vibration Blade are rare?

Looks like I did need the Holy Sword after all.

But she seemed unwilling to turn back into a sword, and I didn't know how to coax her into it.

"I knew it."

"Whadduh?!"

A low voice sounded behind me. Uneasy, I turned and found the black-armored warrior staring at me, yellow pupils glowing through the visor. Had they been shadowing me?

"I watched the whole thing. As I thought, you use strange techniques. What exactly was that?"

"What do you mean, what... No, more importantly, what the hell are you anyway?"

"You didn't use mana while dealing with them, did you? It felt like something different."

I had not used mana. Could they tell?

Right. That must be because Sex Warrior-related skills use Vital Essence instead of mana. No, more importantly, you were watching the whole time?

"No. If you were watching, you could've helped a bit. Did you not see I almost died?"

The black-armored warrior ignored my questions and approached, tilting their head from side to side and sniffing as though trying to catch my scent.

"Hmm. As expected, my nose... my instincts weren't wrong. I've never met anyone like you. Where did you come from? Reveal your identity."

"..."

What the hell was wrong with this person? They had watched while I was nearly turned into ground meat, and now that it was over, they wanted to interrogate me?

"What a ridiculous human. What exactly are you?"

At those words, the black-armored warrior covered their helmet with one hand and straightened their back.

"My name is Ail Seshas! Incarnation of the Black Flame Dragon, descendant of the Rightfully Invited who crossed the jet-black sea, blacker than darkness and darker than shadow, and heir to the duty of watching the mountain range!"

"..."

This was bad. I had run into another lunatic.

That was a way of talking I'd heard a lot before. The sort of diction you'd expect from the kids at the back of the classroom who'd wrap a bandage around one arm and self-harm.

Come to think of it, the dwarf had casually mentioned something. The summoned Heroes had influenced the creation of things like bikini armor and bodysuits. If so, the bad influence of modern people had already spread this far.

It was horrifying.

I could not get mixed up with someone like this.

Watching the black-armored warrior's reaction while they kept rambling, I discreetly took a few steps back. Naturally, they noticed before I got far.

"...Do you have no intention of talking?"

"You were the one who suddenly appeared and demanded my identity. I do not know what you're talking about. I may not look it, but I am busy, so let's go our separate ways."

"...Then I will have to ask your body."

With that, the warrior drew the greatsword from their back.