A Succu...bus?
"Another ordinary day."
"Aren't you trying to get a free ride here?"
"Just say my skills have improved."
It was true that everyone's confidence in battle had shot up recently, and their skills had... well, honestly, not enough time had passed for their actual skills to improve that much.
Instead, the boost in confidence meant less hesitation in their movements, which made them that much more adept in combat.
Myself included.
I suppose you could call that an improvement in skill.
And thanks to Riliel's spirits, things were much easier.
"I always think this, but I'm really jealous of how sharp that sword is."
"This?"
I hadn't heard much about Mr. Berentle's past or his true capabilities, but even for a Dwarven-made weapon, it looked exceptionally good.
I'd only thought of him as a blunt, weird old man, but I never expected him to actually be this strong.
"It's complicated to explain, but it's a weapon far too good for me."
"Why do you have so many secrets, Sis?"
"I tend to invest more in my shield than a sword, but when it comes to swords... well, even if it's not exactly a romantic ideal, I still think they're cool."
Because Draian held her shield in her right hand and her sword in her left, her blade wasn't very long; it was closer to a weapon meant for subduing opponents.
Apparently, even though she was right-handed, she did this to block and push more easily with her shield.
She said she'd gotten used to swinging the sword with her left hand despite being right-handed, and indeed, I had naturally assumed she was left-handed at first.
"I'll tell you guys once you become adults."
"I'm definitely going to follow you around until I become an adult, Sis."
Please, spare me from that.
"Oh, there was that one time."
"What was?"
I wiped the blood off my sword, recalling a faint memory from my past.
"When I was exactly twenty-two, back in January of this year. I was spending my time doing some volunteer work at the cathedral, and a twenty-year-old confessed to me. A girl."
"Bad girl."
"A sinful woman."
Shut up, you two girls.
"I think I first met her when I was seventeen. I didn't remember, but she said we did."
"But Sis, you said you have no dating experience."
"Yeah, well. I had no interest in dating, and even less with the same sex. She said she fell for me when she was fifteen after we spent about a year together. But since I was attending the academy back then and only spent about four months a year in my hometown, she couldn't bring herself to confess."
"Making a girl wait for years... You're the worst."
Renia spoke, her voice slightly raised.
I was dumbfounded and felt wronged, but I quickly realized those words weren't directed at me, but at Draian.
After all, Draian's pace had quickened, and Renia was glaring intensely at the back of Draian's head, not mine.
"It's a bit confusing. When I was eighteen, she was sixteen, and she liked me back then... She wanted to confess to me when I finally settled down in my hometown as an adult, but she felt she couldn't confess to an adult while she was still a minor."
"Who harbors a one-sided love for four years?"
"Anyway, so she confessed to me once she finally became an adult. Said she'd liked me ever since she was sixteen."
"You made a girl who waited four years cry. You're the absolute worst."
"I didn't make her cry."
Well, if sniffing and sobbing doesn't count as crying, then sure.
She said she knew she'd get rejected anyway.
After all, we didn't have that kind of sweet atmosphere between us; we were just close like normal sisters.
And we were of the same gender.
She said she had agonized over it for four years and confessed just to get it off her chest.
Ironically, after getting dumped, she seemed to have cleared her mind and clung to me even more, which was a bit overwhelming.
Before, she had harbored romantic feelings for me, hiding her heart and approaching me cautiously. But now that she'd confessed and gotten it out of her system, she just followed me around comfortably.
Thinking back, I feel pretty guilty about rejecting her like that, only to end up having a ton of sex with another girl of the exact same age later that year.
"Why are you grinning so much? You're going to get hurt walking backward like that."
My eyes met Renia's, who had turned around at some point and was walking backward with a grin.
"Hmph~ It's nothing."
I wondered if my story about rejecting someone even after they became an adult would sound like a preemptive rejection to Renia, but she didn't seem to think that way at all.
Then again, since I told her I was keeping my ring finger vacant, I guess she figured she didn't have to worry about getting dumped.
First Meria, and now everyone else... why is everyone so, how should I put it, proud? Or happy about claiming a spot next to me?
Still, Renia has liked Draian for years and even cried over her, so surely that's not the case here.
Leaving my ring finger vacant... I only said it in passing, but if I actually reject them, who knows what they might do to me.
"Shall we head back now?"
"Yeah."
Just as we were about to head back since there was nothing left to see even after a final look around...
"Who are you?"
"!"
At the sound of a woman's voice from behind, I hurriedly drew my sword and spun around, but there was only one person behind me: Riliel.
"W-What's wrong?"
Startled by my sudden movement, Riliel turned around to look behind her as well.
I leaned slightly to the side to see if anyone was hidden behind Riliel's body, but there was no one there.
"Syaruen?"
"Sorry. I think it was just the sound of a falling pebble or something."
Though I claimed it was just my imagination, I kept my eyes glued to the space behind Riliel as I sheathed my sword.
"Don't scare me like that."
That was definitely a person's voice.
Was it not directed at me, but just some people talking nearby?
"...so... that's why... the power..."
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a murmuring crowd of people walked past.
...I was just being overly sensitive.
"Ah, it was just those people's voices. Aren't you exhausted?"
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."
I scratched my neck awkwardly as I replied. It really must have been my imagination, because I didn't hear that voice again until we finally left the dungeon.
If they were really calling out to me, I would've heard it again.
"Alright, everyone, get some sleep."
There were three rooms: one for Draian, one for Renia and Riliel, and one for me.
Only after receiving her headpats from me—which had practically become a pre-bedtime ritual—did Renia finally head into her room.
I'd realized something recently: it might just be my imagination, but whenever I had a grueling day, my libido would spike like crazy.
And today, even though it was relatively ordinary, I'd done quite a bit of swordplay.
"Hup."
Since I preferred sleeping in just my underwear, I stripped off my clothes and immediately threw myself onto the bed.
I used to have no qualms about masturbating, but ever since the experiment, the frequency had increased so much that I felt a strange reluctance. By now, though, I had half-given up.
It wasn't that I was thoroughly enjoying it; it was more like regularly sharpening a blade.
No schedule tomorrow, so I'll just take it easy.
"Hey."
"......!!!"
At the sound of a woman's voice coming from somewhere in the room, my heart leaped into my throat. I bolted upright, instantly touching my ring to summon and grip my sword.
Holy shit, you scared the crap out of me!
I drew my sword and took a stance, but of all times, I hadn't lit a candle, and the moonlight wasn't reaching this spot. It was pitch black.
"Who's there?"
"......"
This time, the words came from my end.
I tried to pinpoint their location by getting them to speak, but despite being the one to initiate, they remained dead silent.
I need to get out of this room first.
"Mmph!"
Suddenly, an intruder clamped a hand over my mouth and pinned me down onto the bed.
Why, you...!
If they had intended to kill me, they would have stabbed me without warning. Still, with their intentions completely unknown, I had no reason to play nice.
Even as I was being forced down, I didn't lose my grip. I swung my sword toward where I estimated their thigh would be.
"Ugh!?"
The one who let out a startled, soft gasp wasn't the intruder, but me.
As if she possessed perfect night vision, she grabbed my arm mid-swing and threw me over her shoulder, slamming me onto the floor.
Ah, fuck, that hurts like hell!
Having slammed my elbow directly onto the floor, I rolled once more before pushing myself up in front of the window.
If things get ugly, I'm jumping.
"Are you human?"
If I were a hundred percent human, I would have wondered what kind of bizarre question that was. But since I wasn't, I couldn't help but tense up.
I am technically human, but my most vital organ—my heart—isn't.
This time, the silence came from my end.
Was she targeting me? Was she targeting a succubus? Was she targeting a human? Or was she targeting a half-human, half-succubus hybrid?
My heart hammered wildly against my ribs, my breathing turning shallow and rapid.
Could she be another hidden ally of those cultist bastards? Or is she just mistaken? I don't know a damn thing.
Besides a decent amount of money in my bag, I didn't even have any valuables on me.
And if she was going to the trouble of launching a stealth attack like this, it didn't seem like Riliel's group was her target either.
"Go ahead and rummage through my fucking bag if that's what you want."
I took a deep breath and threw myself out of the second-story window.
"Ngh!"
Even though the distance between the bed and the window was short in this tiny room, the intruder caught my wrist instantly. I was slammed back onto the floor, and this time, I was completely pinned from above before I could even try to stand.
"You're the one who called out to me earlier today, aren't you?"
"......"
Neither of us was listening to the other; we were just taking turns spitting out whatever we wanted to say without any actual conversation.
Whoosh!
At the sudden flare of a fireball's light, I grimaced and averted my eyes.
But only for a moment. I quickly forced my head back around to identify the intruder's face in the bright light.
A woman with pale, almost white-pink hair that deepened into a rich rose toward the tips, and striking purple eyes.
...And a pair of horns and wings.