71. Each Person's Circumstances
71. Each Person's Circumstances
Inside a dark room
Mars had lain down to sleep, but for three hours she couldn't fall asleep.
She tossed and turned, squeezing her eyes shut, waiting for sleep to come.
"Huuuuu....."
In the quiet room
Darkness before her eyes
And then───
[I love you]
".........Hih!"
Even though her eyes were definitely closed, the image from that moment rose up.
[Really, truly. I love you.]
"Ah....geez.....ugh....!"
Nothing should have been audible, but that bastard's voice rang right in her ears.
[So, Mars]
".............."
The sight of him looking unusually weak, unlike himself.
No, he didn't just look weak, he was weak.
He actually was weak.
His whole body was half-crushed, especially his right arm completely mangled, and in the midst of that he was clutching the sword I gave him preciously with his left hand and smiling like an idiot—
That truly, hopelessly weak bastard said.
[Marry me]
"Oo....aaaaaahhk!!"
Ahhk!
Aaaaaaaaahhk!!!
Thud thud thud thud
She kicked the blanket with her feet.
She pounded the mattress with her hands.
She hugged the blanket tightly with her whole body, and before she knew it, one hand gradually drifted downward beneath her body.
"Rea,llyyy......!"
If he says something like that,
If I hear something like thaaat...!
[I'll let you live with only blood on your hands]
"Oo....ooooh....!"
Fuck, seriously
You little bastard, just you wait
As soon as you're discharged, I'm gonna get skewered by you right away
'...Him doing cosplay, he really loved it'
It was the same when he collapsed before.
He sprang up the moment she mentioned dog cosplay.
So this time, just in case, she kept talking to the unconscious bastard who couldn't wake up.
"Huaaah...."
She told him she'd do anything if he just woke up,
That she'd put on ears and a tail and get skewered by him,
But when he still didn't wake up, she got a bit desperate and then just...
"....Mmm"
She'd said she'd do cosplay, wear a leash,
And it'd be fine to walk on all fours outdoors... but...
"That's a liiittle....no, but stillll....."
Had she crossed the line too much?
No matter what, there's a line a person should keep, and that was something that went beyond a lovers' distance to nearly master and slave level.
'Master and slave.....ugh...?!'
A sensation of something flowing down below.
She'd only placed her hand lightly on top, yet she felt a moist wetness on her left hand.
"Huuuuh....you perverted little shit....."
Seriously, a completely hopeless perverted bastard.
How does he wake up the very day after I said I'd do outdoor walks with him?
And, seriously, ah geez.....
"....We really met at the right time"
We're probably a match made in heaven.
No,
Not probably,
It's certain.
"I'm gonna fuckin', pop out a ton of kids for him"
Sometime ago, Mama had said:
The first day she saw Papa, her underwear got so wet it became a problem.
Back then she'd just thought it was because she saw a strong man and lost control, but now she could understand.
"Huuuuh......"
She'd gotten so sloppily wet that she could take it in right that instant.
If just thinking about that bastard kept making her wet, what else could this be but love?
"I love you, you motherfucker."
She buried her face in the blanket and whispered.
".....Hih!"
Love,
I love you,
"Hih.....!"
A strangely ticklish resonance in her chest.
Mars whispered again.
"I love you........I looove, youuu....!"
Why did just murmuring with her lips make her feel so good?
Before she knew it, that bastard's voice started rising in her head.
[I love you, Mars]
"I....love you too, you bastard....no, no, not that...."
I love you,
Chrono.
".....Kyaaaaaaaaaaahhk!! Ahhk! Aaaaaaahhk!!!"
Ah, no,
This is dangerous.
Mars felt it as she buried her face in the blanket.
'Love is...'
Receiving it is happy, but
Giving it is also happy, huh....
*******************
"".................""
Around that time, in the case of Ter and Yuno
They came out for an uncharacteristic nighttime walk, sitting on a bench, waiting for each other to speak.
The one who broke the silence was...
"...Ter"
"What is it"
It was always Yuno.
"Are you...giving gifts to Merk?"
"...Is there anything particularly strange about that?"
"They're getting more expensive, aren't they?"
"...She says she wants them but doesn't have the money. It's pocket change to me anyway."
"..........I see."
So it wasn't a lie.
A small, muttered voice.
But Ter heard it clearly.
"Someone told you, I take it?"
"....I don't know."
"Was it Chrono? That bastard again."
I really should deal with him.
Ter muttered quietly as well, and Yuno likewise heard those words.
"............"
"What is it? That look in your eyes."
"Ter...."
Why?
Why have you changed so much...?
"Changed, you say. That's strange. I've always been me."
"No. Ter is...at least, the Ter I knew──"
"──Diligent, clumsy, and just grinning like a pushover, you think?"
".....At least when it comes to Merk, it seems like you're a pushover."
"I was only truly a pushover toward trashy bitches who tried to take without giving anything in return. In Merk's case, the return was certain."
"........I see."
Yuno closed her eyes.
'How did it come to this...'
At least, the Ter I knew...
The Ter who confessed to me, who told me he liked me...
"Diligent in everything, a good listener, a bit stubborn but always looking out for people,"
Someone who was considerate of others, cherished them, never cursed at people,
Someone a little clumsy but still someone who made all the kids want to follow him, someone like a 'warm sun.'
"Not like now...jealous, busy badmouthing others, trying to buy women with money, only focused on what's right in front of him"
"Ha!"
Ter laughed.
Empty laughter. Laughter. A sneer.
And then
"So the price for that was whimpering in another man's arms?"
"What?"
Ter said.
"Well, whatever. I didn't expect to be understood anyway."
And this wasn't even a path that could be understood in the first place.
But still, Yuno.
"I love you. I like you. That's why I confessed."
"...Liar"
"It's not a lie."
Because if it's for loving you, I could even turn back time itself.
At Ter's serious words, Yuno's eyes wavered slightly.
Ter continued.
"Do you doubt my love?"
"......I..."
"Do you want a gift? Like the ones I gave to Merk?"
"I don't need it."
"Then what must I do to make your doubt go away?"
"..............."
How could she not doubt?
When he had done such a thing in the dungeon as well.
Yuno stared quietly at Ter.
"Alright. In that case..."
Ter asked.
"If I make the fruit of our love, will you believe me?"
".....Guh..!!"
He pointed with his finger.
At where?
'What the...!'
Her womb,
Her innermost place,
A place solely meant for one person, a place so very precious, and he pointed at it.
"Right now is fine with me."
Before she knew it, one hand covered her and rubbed.
The distance gradually closed. Faces drew closer.
"Uh....uugh..!!"
She should be happy,
She should definitely feel joy that Ter wanted her...!
"Mmph───!!"
Lips touched.
Rough, cold, crude.
He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her body close.
'I don't like this...'
Goosebumps rose.
Was it the cold night air?
No, no, it wasn't.
This feeling she had right now was...
Smack
"Guh──uuugh..!!!"
The moment something tried to worm its way in,
She didn't even want to know what it was anymore.
───Slaaaaaaap!!!
"Haah! Ha, uh....uuugh..!"
".....Yuno"
She pulled her face back.
She smacked Ter's cheek with the palm of her hand.
She pushed Ter away with both hands and wrapped her arms around her own body.
"Oo....oooh.....!"
It wasn't like this when she did it with Chrono.
Her heart had pounded, she'd felt warmly covered, her head had grown hazy, and a deep sense of happiness had gradually resonated.
But this,
This thing with Ter...
'...It feels awful'
Yeah,
It felt awful.
A kiss taken without permission when she hadn't even allowed it.
'It feels awful'
Before she knew it, her right hand clutched her chest, and the aching pain,
The hand digging between her thighs, the emotions trying to enter and violate her,
All of it,
All of it was disgusting.
Creepy, and awful.
"I get that you're embarrassed because we're outside...but if you didn't like it, couldn't you have just said so? I would have moved us somewhere else."
"......Ter"
She turned her head.
In Ter's eyes, which were looking at her, looking at him,
"Don't worry. I'll make it not hurt, I'll make it enjoyable"
"............"
There was no longer any trace of the Ter she knew.
*************
In Minerva's case
"Merk, there's something I want to talk about."
"Merk not here."
"Merk"
".............."
From the other side of the door,
She spoke toward Merk.
"If you truly stop talking here...that would be as good as admitting it's true."
".........."
Creaaak, the door opened just a sliver.
The door was latched with a chain, so one couldn't enter.
"....Merk, it's time to sleep now."
"Let me ask just one thing."
Minerva stopped breathing for a moment, then asked.
"Are you still continuing it?"
"....Merk doesn't know anything, okayy?"
"Didn't you promise me? That you wouldn't steal others' things anymore."
"Th-that's true, buuuut....."
Merk mumbled, dawdling.
"...When a thief sees something valuable, wanting to have it is just instinct, y'knooow?"
"Didn't I say that if you're going to steal, you should become a righteous thief who steals people's hearts and leads them all!"
"Merk doesn't like people who force others to keep promises they can't keep themselves."
"Guh! Uu....uuuu....."
Certainly,
I myself haven't been keeping my own words very well either....
"...But still, theft is clearly a crime. Even if I paid it off for you before and smoothed things over, if you keep going like this, there's bound to be a limit to what I can do as well."
"So what! You're saying give it back even now?"
"Let's go return it before it's too late."
"Uuuuu....they're Merk's collected 'treasures' thooough..."
A hesitant voice.
Minerva grew more and more frustrated inside.
"When I was younger, I didn't understand. I simply didn't like seeing my friend being badmouthed by many people, so I ended up doing it for you instead. But now I've realized.
...Sometimes, experiencing it once isn't a bad thing either."
"....Minae?"
Minerva took a step backward.
"Helping as a friend and 'defending' a 'criminal' are clearly different things."
"...Minae mad? You're not mad, right?"
"A little. No, I'm very mad."
"Oo....ooooo....."
A voice that gradually sank.
Then Minae's one statement struck down upon Merk.
"The safe under the bed."
"!!!...H-how do you know about...that..."
"Merk,"
Minerva said.
"This is advice from me as a 'friend' and as a 'person.'
A person's conduct piles up and piles up. Even if it looks like nothing is happening right now, when you're named in an innocent matter, your conduct will trip you up."
"...Is that a 'prophecy' you're giving, Minae?"
"Prophecy... I no longer do such things. Besides, I was simply stating something that's not even a 'prophecy' but an 'obvious fact.'"
"'Child of prophecy,' as expected of you?"
"I've said it before, but that's simply for guild promotion and advertising."
'Child of prophecy,'
'Essence of wisdom,'
Ultimately, what could a half-wit who can't even lead a single person possibly say?
'...In some ways, I am also'
Not really in a position to blame Merk, am I?
Minerva sighed quietly and spoke.
"Return them yourself, first. Apologize, and receive forgiveness. Otherwise, when you find yourself in big trouble, no one will help you."
".....Uuuu, oo...."
A conflicted sigh.
Judging that further talk would be meaningless, Minerva turned back toward her own room.
"Haaaaa......"
She exhaled a sigh as she lay atop the bed.
"The safe...actually..."
It was really there.
She'd thought it was a joke, but there really was a separate safe kept there.
Since this was the girls' dormitory, no one could freely enter and find out, so the only answer was one.
"Hell....Kaiser...!"
He was truly a great demon who had risen from hell.
Truly demonic wisdom...!
"Kaiser...!!"
Minerva's body trembled.
Then she sprang right up from her spot, put a half-gauntlet from the inner second drawer onto her right hand, and made a ☆peace sign☆ toward the sky.
"Kyaaahk....aahk....kyaaaaaaahk.....!!!!"
What a terrorist who had risen from hell!
Minerva jumped up and down, praising the great demon who rose from hell.
...In an unexpected place, a peculiar fondness-rating event was taking place.