The Hunter's Depression and Deception (1)
The Hunter's Depression and Deception (1)
#
"Where did they go?"
I got back to the inn, but the two of them were gone.
"Well... the black-haired young lady told me. Said she got caught by a slime and nearly got into big trouble?"
"...What did she say, exactly?"
"Said she was held captive by a sticky slime? Anyway, they're all in the bath right now."
Looked like she hadn't told them much. Which made sense—going around telling people you got violated by a slime was a bit much.
She'd looked remarkably fine for someone who had been violated, aside from seeming a little dazed.
"She was such a sharp kid when she was little, so how in the world did she end up... tsk..."
The innkeeper went on yapping for a long time after that. To sum up: she never thought her daughter would do such a thing, she never imagined trouble like that could happen in a dungeon even kids visited for fun, she'd have to give her a piece of her mind and tell her to rethink this whole adventurer thing, it was just too bad she spent her life chasing foolish dreams like that, young people ought to give up that nonsense and put down solid roots in the ground instead...
"..."
At this rate, her chatter was going to rub off on me.
At the very end, she told me she'd move us to a double-bed room since the caravan had pulled out today. How she'd arrived at that conclusion, I had no idea.
"...Then I'll head back to the room first. Please let them know I'm back when they come out."
"Will do."
#
The innkeeper had kindly moved all our luggage already. Or maybe the girls had done it. Well, it wasn't important.
I'd taken a quick wash, but it was an awkward time to do much of anything.
Still, I'd ended up creating a familiar without meaning to. Good thing I had spare Divine Fluid... without it, I would've had to jerk off out in the open in the dungeon.
I needed to build up a little stock of Divine Fluid. But resorting to masturbation at this point felt kind of... unappealing. It had to be poured into the girls.
Wait. Would this work?
I dripped a little Divine Fluid onto the bathroom floor and released the slime. Then...
[Mode: ▶Direct Command / Autopilot]
[Disposition: Aggressive / ▶Neutral / Defensive]
[Additional Command: Absorb Divine Fluid. Do not ingest; store it in the flask.]
[Execute?]
[▶Yes / No]
The moment I executed the command, the slime wriggled over, swallowed the Divine Fluid, and then spat it out into the other flask I'd placed.
That was pretty useful. Use it on the girls before I used Clean to scrape up the semen...
...
No. The only thing allowed to slip in and out of the girls' insides and play with them was my own bodily appendage. How dare a mere monster...
...
But on the other hand, I was a little curious too. Imagining the sight of the two of them with sl—slime poured over them, that was also pretty decadent and depraved...
The inner torment grew. I didn't want to, but part of me was a little curious. Was there some way around it?
Well, I'd shelve this dilemma for later. I had a feeling I could pull off something incredible using the slime. Last time, when I made a goblin into a familiar, I'd used an injection dart. If I could use the slime to force Divine Fluid into monsters' mouths instead...
Honestly, it practically felt like cheating. I'd have to give it more thought.
I tidied up and hid the slime well inside my bag so it couldn't be seen, but the two still hadn't come back. Going into the women's bath myself wasn't an option either. It was a profoundly awkward stretch of time to do anything.
In that case... I'd have a little chat with the Holy Sword.
The fact that she hadn't been able to talk properly for a while worried me, and I was also curious why she made such a huge fuss every time she got an electric shock.
I used Dream Sharing and slipped into a slightly early sleep.
#
"Hey. You alive?"
"..."
The Holy Sword lay with her eyes closed as though dead, sprawled with all four limbs flung out. She wore a blissful expression and sucked her thumb like a child.
And beside her was an empty candy tin... This little shit. She'd passed out eating that and that was why she'd gone unresponsive.
That aside, what a slovenly posture to take when her master had arrived. Absolutely insolent.
"Hey. Wake up."
"..."
I pulled her finger out of her mouth and stuck my own finger in.
"Mmm... ptooey."
The Holy Sword immediately scrunched up her face and spat my finger out. Truly an infuriating creature.
"Get up... Get up!"
—Bzt, bzzzt!
"Kyaaahhk?!"
The Holy Sword shrieked and shot upright. Electric Finger's output was restricted against her too, meaning I couldn't use it offensively as I did against monsters. Why, then, was her reaction so extreme?
"D-don't! Don't do that!"
"What? Why're you like this."
"M-my body's been weird ever since you did that! Something's off, I tell you!"
Ridiculous. I'd called her an AI or whatever, but she wasn't actual electronics, so what was wrong with her... Wait. Now I thought about it.
"Hey. Come here a sec."
"Wh-what... don't do that..."
"I won't. Here."
I spread both hands to show I meant no harm, and only then did the Holy Sword shuffle forward hesitantly. That attitude made her exactly like a frightened puppy.
Still, I wasn't really doing anything bad—just running a quick test.
"Wh-what are you doing..."
"...It'll just take a sec."
It was exactly as I expected. When I gave the Holy Sword's chest a little fondle, her breathing immediately grew ragged and her nipples sprang right up.
Had an electric shock increased her sensitivity? No wonder she'd reacted so strongly when I touched her while she was unconscious. What was this, some kind of 3,000-fold Sensitivity Enhancement? It was absurd.
...But since her reactions were good, she was fun to touch. And so I started seriously groping the Holy Sword's chest.
"Hah... um. Uhm..."
"What?"
"Th-that... hoo... c-can't you give me a little more?"
The Holy Sword pointed at the empty candy tin. The tin was gleaming—she'd licked every last speck of powder off it.
"You pass out when you eat that. And then you don't answer me properly."
"I-I won't pass out... I'll be good..."
The Holy Sword lowered her head slightly and peered up at me, gauging my reaction. I didn't understand why she behaved so much like a person. I increasingly felt as though I ought to treat her kindly. But...
"Did you do that recording thing I asked you about back then?"
"..."
"So much for 'being good'..."
"B-but when I eat that stuff you gave me, I just can't keep my wits about me..."
"Then don't eat it. What's the matter with you?"
"...Th-that stuff was my first time... y-you guys eat it every day... but I..."
Tch. Even knowing she was an AI, I felt my resolve steadily weakening. She was the spitting image of a truly terrified puppy. And I felt like a bastard who tormented small animals.
"..."
"Haa... I-I'll endure... doing this too..."
At those words I pulled my hands away. Hearing her say that made me feel sort of, how do I put it... like I was sexually harassing her by leveraging my power. Something like that.
But if I gave her the candy, she'd pass out again... what was I supposed to—hk!
The Holy Sword had pulled my hand back and placed it on her own chest. Not only that—she started moving my hand around, making me knead her chest...
"Th-this is what you want, right? Yeah?"
"A-alright! Stop! Stay still! Don't make me into a rapist exploiting my authority!"
"Huh?"
"...It's a thing. Wait here a moment."
Phew. Let's see... She'd passed out because the flavor was too strong, right? She wasn't a puppy. Wait. Had I caused it by increasing her sensitivity?
...Then I felt a little sorry. Still, I had to test it.
[Purchased Item: Assorted Fruit-Flavored Candy]
[Order Request: Reduce sweetness level to 50%.]
[Price: 5p]
[Would you like to purchase?]
[▶Yes / No]
"Here. Try this."
The moment I handed over the candy tin, the Holy Sword tore it open feverishly and popped one into her mouth.
"Kgh."
She let out an unsightly moan and passed right out again.
"..."
Did she think I'd fall for the same trick twice?
"Wake up!"
-Bzzt!
"Kaghk?!"
I put the 50% candy tin into my Inventory. The Inventory was otherwise completely empty; apparently, real objects couldn't be brought into the dream space.
Anyway, even the 50% candy had been too strong, so this time I'd go with this.
[Purchased Item: Assorted Fruit-Flavored Candy]
[Order Request: Sweetness level to 25%...]
"Here."
"Haaahh...."
The Holy Sword popped the candy into her mouth and slumped back with a face of sheer contentment. She looked somewhat limp, as if the strength had left her limbs, but thankfully she didn't pass out.
"...Good?"
"You wouldn't understand. I never knew the first thing I ever tasted could be this good... I-I don't know what to call it."
"Ah. That's called 'sweet.'"
"Sweet? Yeah... sweet..."
...A stupid remark that had come out reflexively. Only the Holy Sword had heard it, so there was no chance of it spreading. Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness.
The Holy Sword giggled, rolling the candy around in her mouth. Then she suddenly made an exclamation mark pop up over her head and brought up a screen to show me.
"Shouldn't you go there?"
On the screen the Holy Sword displayed, Yuri was shaking me with a stiff expression. Where had Reni gone, and why was Yuri alone?
"Oh, yeah. Wake me up."
#
"You're up?"
Sitting on the bed and looking down at me was Yuri. Her face was slightly flushed. Was it from the long bath?
"Yeah. Where's Reni?"
"...Reni said she had something to discuss with someone she knew—a junior, maybe. She said she'd probably stay with her tonight."
"What?!"
If I left that naive priestess alone, the same sort of trouble that happened at the Church might happen again. I had firmly warned her not to reveal my abilities, but I still had no idea what other predicament she might stumble into. I needed to bring her back immediately.
"Let's talk for a sec."
As I sprang up, Yuri grabbed the hem of my clothes.
"Talk about what? Sorry, but I need to go to Reni right now..."
"Am I a nuisance?"
"...What?"
#
"Am I a nuisance?"
"...What?"
"Did I... for no reason... butt in between you two?"
"..."
What nonsense was she... The smell of booze! She'd been drinking?!
"What are you talking about. There's no way. Are you drunk? Stop talking nonsense and get some sleep..."
"But you're always, always looking for her. You don't even notice me."
Yuri hung her head, hiding her face. Her voice trembled a little.
"..."
...That struck a nerve. I couldn't deny that I had a tendency to do exactly that. When Yuri saw me fall silent, her voice rose.
"...A-and what did you two do last night? In front of the dungeon, too..."
"..."
...So she knew everything. Then again, there was no way she wouldn't.
"...I really am a nuisance, aren't I."
"...N-no."
"It's not too late. I'll go back. Sorry for getting in the way."
Yuri kept her head down and headed for the door.
"No."
I seized her wrist.
"Why. The nuisance is gone now, so you should be happy. Let go."
"What nonsense are you talking. You were the one who asked to be in the party."
"I'm canceling that. Give me my stuff."
"..."
"Let go."
"No. You can't leave."
Once I had something in my grasp, I had no intention of letting go.
"Why? You only need her, right?"
"No. You can't leave. She's her, and you're you."
"...What's that supposed to mean..."
What did she mean, there was no such thing? There was. She was drunk and saying whatever came to mind, and I felt my temper rise. I lowered my voice and forced myself to calm down before speaking.
"There is such a thing, right here. It's no use. Your mistake was talking to me in the first place."
I knew I was being unreasonable. But I had absolutely no intention of giving up anything once it was in my hands. You were mine too.
"...What are you saying..."
"The only reason I went to that Goblin Dungeon in the first place was because of you. When the goblins poured out, I could have run away, but I didn't, and that was because of you too. If it hadn't been for you, I couldn't have cared less if some village burned down."
"..."
"Let go of you? No. Sorry, but I can't do that. You picked the wrong guy."
Yuri tried to pull her hand free. Resisting, was she. I used Saint's Authority and erased Yuri's buff.
"You asked for amplification, didn't you? You know it's been dispelled now. You need the amplification refreshed, so come here."
"..."
Yuri kept her head lowered, her face hidden. A little unease crept in. If she truly refused, then what was I supposed to—
"Pfft."
...Huh?
"Pfft... heehee..."
This—this damn girl... was laughing?!