The Important Thing is Avoiding the Charm
A Sweet Crime I Don't Remember
When with the Perpetrators, Weakness Infliction has an increased chance to apply debuffs.
Perpetrators grow faster when with Rohan.
Rohan furrowed his brow as he reread the alert window.
Even reading it word for word from the start, he couldn't make sense of it. He grasped the content but not the circumstances behind it.
Still, this sudden mystery was a welcome distraction in the moment.
It had briefly let him forget his embarrassment.
Perpetrators: Sion Testarosa, Clara, Ichinose Yui
All familiar and welcome names.
Including Ichinose, who was right there with him—names of people he missed and worried about.
'I wonder if they're doing okay.'
He wondered if Sion and Clara were eating properly. Had they figured out by now that he'd been caught up in the Monolith?
If they knew the situation, what kind of life were they living?
Both were worrywarts with sensitive hearts, so Rohan was deeply concerned for them.
'Anyway.'
Back to the main point.
'What the hell is a "perpetrator"?'
Not comrades or party members, but perpetrators.
He couldn't fathom why.
None of the three had personalities prone to crime.
They weren't the type to plot or commit shady deeds behind his back.
From Rohan's perspective, the term "perpetrator" made no sense at all.
'The achievement name too... Is it meant to sound light and cute? Or maybe it's tied to some past I don't know about.'
A Sweet Crime I Don't Remember.
Maybe the answer lay in those memory fragments marked "access denied."
That was as far as Rohan could speculate right now.
"Sigh."
He gave up after mulling it over.
In an unknown situation, good is good, right?
He didn't know the conditions for completing the achievement, but the reward was incredible.
'Insane.'
Even so, he kept sighing heavily. He hesitated to head back inside the house.
Ichinose was pretending nothing happened, but Rohan still felt deeply uncomfortable.
If she were a villain he needed to deceive, it would be one thing—but it was hard to put on a thick skin around people he liked.
'Because of those damn succubi...'
If not for Bianca's charm, everything would have been fine.
After dying, she'd saddled him with a massive black mark on his history. He had to admit he'd let his guard down and gotten hit hard.
"Tch."
Rohan clicked his tongue and dragged his heavy feet forward.
Returning to the shabby house, he asked Ichinose as naturally as possible.
"How's your condition?"
"Ah... I'm fine."
Normally, even with her eyes closed, Ichinose would nod to show she was listening—but now she subtly avoided it.
Rohan just felt sorry seeing that.
The guilt made even the nickname Baby Yui stick in his throat.
"Ichinose. How about we move somewhere else to rest?"
"...Where are you thinking?"
Ichinose still averted her gaze but showed no resistance to the idea, grabbing her sword and standing.
Her voice was softer, but audible.
"The succubus lair we hunted before arriving here? What about there?"
There was another ownerless shack nearby.
It was narrower than this one, but it had a roof and windbreak all the same.
"Mm..."
At Rohan's suggestion, Ichinose clenched and unclenched her pale hand, letting out a soft groan.
She seemed lost in thought.
"Tell me whatever direction you prefer."
How long had he waited for the girl's nod?
Having roughly sorted her jumbled feelings, Ichinose finally peeked toward him.
"Wh-what about going beyond the succubus mansion we just cleared...? It's the way we have to go anyway."
"If you're up for it stamina-wise, that'd be best. You okay?"
"I'm fine. My stomach's full, so I want to walk a bit... to lighten up..."
The bento portion wasn't that big, yet she still felt stuffed.
What an impressively efficient body.
"Alright. But if husks or low-level succubi show up, I'll handle them. Conserve your energy just in case."
"Yeah... Got it."
The two left the shelter and set off.
The mansion lay silent in its gruesome state, with a few husks wandering nearby—they hunted them down.
After crossing the boundary called Bianca's mansion, they reached a new area.
Still forested, but now alongside a massive river.
The flowing water wasn't blue but pale purple.
No fish or anything living inside—just unknown plants filling it, so it didn't seem drinkable.
He stirred the water with a long branch, confirming as much.
"Ichinose. Behind you."
"Be careful."
As expected, husks overflowed here too, and they occasionally ran into mindless succubi.
Spotting a house suitable for a short break, they evicted its succubus owner to the afterlife.
Ichinose, who needed the rest, settled in and lay down.
As Rohan unpacked his gear and sat, Ichinose naturally used his thigh as a pillow.
"..."
"Just for a bit. Tell me if it's uncomfortable."
Ichinose felt immense embarrassment and hesitation inside.
But knowing Rohan wouldn't refuse, she couldn't stop her impulsive action.
'This pillow's a perfect 100 again today.'
She thought facing him head-on like always—even after what happened while he slept—came from properly confronting her feelings.
Settling into the not-entirely-comfortable position, Ichinose spoke with her eyes closed.
"Rohan."
"Yeah?"
"You're not still dwelling on that, right?"
"..."
During their journey here, they'd kept talking.
Ichinose no longer avoided his gaze in conversation.
But Rohan hadn't fully shaken the thought that he'd put her through a bad experience. The shame was long gone, but he kept picturing her guarding that room thick with the heavy scent.
Whenever he showed subtle odd behavior because of it, that thick taste stuck in her throat resurfaced for her too.
Chewing on it made her head spin, so she felt the need to fully repair Rohan's guilt here.
"You're too hard on yourself, Rohan."
"Me?"
"You survived a succubus's charm and lived—that alone deserves pride. It's impressive, right? Be proud of it."
"..."
"So don't worry about it. You didn't commit a sin; it's just a natural reaction for a healthy guy... I don't mind at all."
Rohan chuckled wryly at Ichinose defending him.
She was truly a good woman.
She didn't match that ominous word "perpetrator" at all. The achievement must mean something else.
"Baby Yui's no baby."
"Of course not!"
The girl's triumphant look while borrowing his thigh lacked a bit of credibility.
Still, Rohan placed a hand on her shoulder with sincere gratitude.
"Thanks."
"No need. I'm the thankful one..."
Conveying her gratitude in multiple senses, Ichinose clamped her mouth shut.
The unforgettable thing occupying her mind again heated her cheeks.
"Rest up, then we move."
Rohan's patting hand.
The girl found stability with uncanny speed and drifted into dreamland.
..
..
After resting, Rohan and Ichinose hit the road again.
Rohan gave her potions in preparation for sudden combat.
Best case, they'd clear the dungeon unscathed without using them.
Even if used at the right moment, the points spent would be worth it. He didn't regret preparing.
"Baby Yui. Feel anything?"
"Yeah, it's coming."
Following the river while clearing monsters, a mansion came into view.
Rohan was certain it belonged to a named succubus.
They circled it like before, scouting the interior.
Grabbing their weapons, they burst inside.
Quickly dispatching the dazed lesser demons, a succubus absorbing essence charged out from the bedroom.
Not quite rage-filled, but she widened her eyes at Rohan all the same.
"This man...!?"
No exceptions, huh.
This succubus lusted after Rohan's essence too, calling it special.
At her contract proposal—same moves as the last one—Rohan answered with bullets.
The fight ensued immediately.
This succubus's specialty was using her huge, sturdy wings as both weapon and shield.
But Rohan was the grim reaper to such foes.
He applied Weakness Infliction through her wings, which blocked rather than dodged bullets.
Unlike Bianca's wide-range charm, he reliably avoided this narrower one while swinging his sword.
A focused charm would be potent. From a named succubus, getting hit could flip the battle—or socially kill Rohan.
Peeing!
The debuff popped on the first hit, ending it far quicker and more anticlimactically than expected.
Sheathing the radiant blade that cleaved the succubus, Rohan continued his thoughts.
'Next succubus is the last. The Monolith's there.'
Meeting this one solidified his certainty.
His memories sharpened.
Vowing like in this fight to never take the charm head-on.
Rohan moved on with Ichinose.