The Witch's Nightmare
Last night was intense too. Even when I tried not to make a sound, the moans that escaped on their own were impossible to hold back. The people staying in the next room must have heard everything. The inn doesn't have particularly good soundproofing, after all.
Ashtain said it didn't matter. Still, I felt embarrassed. I had let out such a disheveled voice and cried out like a bitch in heat. Meeting the other guests' eyes would be mortifying. But, you know? In exchange, I also felt an unbearable sense of fulfillment. The joy of knowing you wanted me was indescribable. Is that strange? I know you'll say it's fine. You're the one who tells me it's okay even if I become strange. That's why I like you. As much as you love me, I think I can love myself, even if only a little. It's all thanks to you.
I slowly lifted my eyelids. When I opened my eyes, your broad back came into view. That reliable back that so often carried me. “Did you sleep well?” Ashtain asked right away, having noticed me stirring.
“……Yes, I slept comfortably.”
Ashtain always wakes up before me. That bothers me a little. I want to look at your sleeping face in bed at my leisure. Someday, I'll stay up all night just to watch. Your face then will be incredibly precious, won't it?
While I was lost in my trivial fantasies, you turned around. Your neatly arranged appearance. Ashtain's face is incredibly handsome. If I'd seen it in the past, I might have called him a pretty boy. He uses that face quite skillfully. Look at that smile. It shakes my heart without permission.
“Cute today, too.”
“……Hyaah.”
“……?”
Ashtain raised an eyebrow, eyes widening. He probably said it without much thought. But I wish he'd understand. There are frogs that die from stones thrown without thinking. I felt that frog's plight deeply and clasped my hands over my chest.
“A-Ashtain is handsome, too.”
He pinched my cheek, saying, “Hmm, what? A compliment? You tried hard.” What kind of reaction is that? It wasn't said out of competitiveness. It was my sincere feeling. Why won't you acknowledge it?
I puffed out my cheeks. “It's not a joke. I-I really think you're handsome.”
“I think Aria is really cute, too.”
My face burned. No matter how many times I hear it, I never build up a tolerance. No matter how many times, it's always new. My heart pounding like this wouldn't be strange even if it stopped. He was grinning like a mischievous child. It was infuriating. I pulled the blanket over my head.
“Y-Your nonchalance is excessive!”
“I'm just stating facts, though.”
“Th-Then I-I also said it because I really think Ashtain is handsome, so why do you say I tried hard! You don't believe me, do you? You don't believe what I say, right!”
I raised my voice like someone who had lost their reason. Ashtain smiled gently. “I do believe you.”
“Liar! Otherwise, you wouldn't be so calm! I-I'm this flustered!”
Ashtain, who had been chuckling softly, suddenly yanked off the blanket I was under. With the blanket barrier gone in an instant, I covered my face with both hands and pulled my upper body back. Ashtain took my hands covering my face with his firm, large hand and placed them on his solid chest.
“See, it's pounding.”
“……Hearts are supposed to pound. If they don't, you die.”
“Isn't it beating harder than usual?”
“……I don't know.”
“Then put your ear here.”
He skillfully wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me in. I ended up pressed tightly against his chest. We were so close. It felt like my breathing might stop. I trembled, not knowing what to do. The heartbeat I heard from my ear—I couldn't tell if it was his or mine.
“Uwa, ah. I-I can hear it, I-I can hear it, so p-please stop.”
“Let's stay like this a little longer.”
“……Like this?”
“Yeah.”
“Heuk.”
A hiccup escaped. Staying still like this, my nose was going to twist from his faint scent. Th-There, you know? The stimulation is too strong. Ashtain might be fine, but I-I feel like my head is melting from happiness. Like I'm going to fly away somewhere. Below my navel feels tingly and itchy. It's hard to believe that after being so intense yesterday, my lust is stirring again. A-At this rate, I'll go into heat. My underwear will get wet and feel unpleasant. Not wanting to end up like that, I struggled with all my might. However, Ashtain held me tightly like a bear trap and wouldn't let go. No matter how much I struggled in his arms, he didn't budge. Right. If you set your mind to it, you could restrain me anytime. I know that fact too. But for some reason, that fact doesn't feel very unpleasant. ……Rather, I like it.
It's strange that even after being held by him for several minutes, I don't feel suffocated. My face must be completely flushed like a ripe persimmon by now. My thighs must be completely soaked. I didn't tell him. It was embarrassing. I stammered and asked, “Wh-Wh-When are you g-going to l-let go?”
“Aria's body is nice and warm. Like a portable heater.”
Well, that portable heater is going to explode on its own soon. I quickly changed the subject. “A-Aren't you going to eat? I-I'm hungry.”
“Ah, meals are important.”
He immediately released his arm. Now free, I let out a trembling breath. J-Just a little longer and my heart really would have stopped. “Then I'll go down and order food.”
“L-Let's go together!”
“You must be tired after what I put you through last night, so just lie down.”
That's sexual harassment. It is sexual harassment, so why am I smiling? No matter how much I try to pull down the corners of my mouth, they won't obey. Hehe, an undignified laugh is about to burst out. It's a life full of happiness. Like eating a whole armful of sweet desserts. So sweet that it almost feels bitter. I shook my head to clear the euphoria. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to speak properly.
“If I only make Ashtain do it, that would be too ungrateful of me.”
That's right. Ungrateful. Ashtain is someone who tries to do anything for me. His kindness is so sweet that if I keep receiving it, I'll become a spoiled person. I can order food myself. I tried to get up from the bed. Chu. A kiss. It's a kiss. You stole my lips. I lost my senses.
“A-Ah.”
Like a sinking ship, my consciousness is submerging. No, “submerging” doesn't fit. Ascension. This is ascension.
“Don't make a fuss and stay quiet.”
“Y-Yes!”
I shook my head vigorously. Before Ashtain closed the door and left, he asked a brief question. “Ah, but aren't you going to stop using formal speech now?”
“Th-That, I-I promised only yesterday……”
“That's a shame. I liked Aria when she spoke informally.”
At those words, my heart sank. “……D-Do you dislike me when I use formal speech?”
Because of the “conditioning,” formal speech had become natural to me. Forcing me to speak informally was quite an unreasonable demand. Even omitting honorifics for Ashtain required an enormous amount of courage in the first place.
“No, I like every version of you.”
He left the room with a smile to order food. I blankly repeated his words in my mind. “No, I like every version of you.” “No, I like every version of you.” “No, I like every version of you.” His voice was turning my head into a flower garden, as if replaying a video on loop. I kicked at the bedsheets. The world looks different. Was the world always this beautiful? “Huaa.” I take a deep breath. In the past, I couldn't breathe properly because of pain, but these days, I can't breathe because of happiness. Am I letting my guard down too much?
I calmed my excitement. After being saved by him, I made one resolution. What is it? It's a simple resolution. “I want to be helpful to Ashtain.” It might sound abstract, but for me, there's no more concrete resolution than this. If he wants it, if it helps him, I'll do anything. I want to be helpful to Ashtain. I don't want to be a burden. I want to walk alongside you through effort. For that, training is essential.
I look at the cluster of white light bursting from my hand. Lately, I've been able to draw it out whenever I concentrate. Holy Power. If I apply this Holy Power, couldn't I cast a Holy Spell that helps him? “It's worth trying.” Better than not doing it. I disperse the cluster of light in my hand.
“………That aside.”
I stared between my thighs. It's wet. Extremely. When I touched the vertically parted secret place, sticky fluids came away on my fingers. It's soaked. How can just being held and having love whispered make me this wet? Ashtain's usual words come to mind. “You're lewd, Aria.” “My Saintess is really lewd.” ……W-Was I such a lewd person?
Just as I thought I should change my underwear, creak. The door opened and someone came in. Of course, it's someone I know. Ashtain. He scratched the back of his head and said with a troubled expression, “Ah, I left the money……”
Ashtain couldn't finish his sentence properly. Why? I imagined the scene he must be seeing. Me on the bed, touching my groin. Then, with a stiff smile, I'd say, “Ah, th-this is……”
“Sorry for interrupting your fun time.”
Click. Ashtain closed the door, money pouch in hand. No. That's not it. I stood up. Then I opened the door and ran after Ashtain, who was walking quickly away in the distance.
“It's not! It's not what you think!”
“Hmm, no. Don't be embarrassed. I heard it's physiologically normal, though I didn't think it would build up so quickly. As expected, my stamina is lacking……”
“Uwaaaaah! It's not!”
It seems it will take a very long time to clear up the misunderstanding. In fact, whether it can be cleared up at all is uncertain. He crossed his arms, looked at the ceiling, and closed his eyes. That figure was like a philosopher facing an unsolvable problem.
“I'll go order breakfast, so do you want to do it briefly before the food is ready?”
“Do it”? I'm not so naive that I don't understand the meaning of those words. That was clearly an invitation to have sex. It's a misunderstanding. It's nothing more than a disaster created by a wrong perception and another mistimed moment. I tried to say that.
“………I want to.”
……Really.
* * *
Azazel hadn't slept a wink. She had been masturbating all night, using the sounds of their lovemaking as accompaniment. Only after the noises from the next room died down could she stop. Sexual desire is a volatile craving. After forcibly igniting that desire, all that remains is deep, deep depression and self-loathing. With her reason returned, she finally wondered if she had gone mad.
“……I'm tired.”
Dark circles had reached under her eyes. Just a few days ago, the girl who had maintained a neat and tidy appearance now looked haggard. It was a dramatic change. Still, if there was one piece of good news, it was that because her body was tired, sleep she hadn't been able to get was now pouring over her. Thinking she might as well close her eyes for a bit, she lay down on the bed when a dazzling ray of light came in through the window.
“……It's morning already.”
She should close the curtains. Azazel flicked her fingers and drew the curtains. A simple telekinetic spell. Even though morning had brightly dawned, the room was filled with darkness. Well, her night was only just beginning.
“……Sleepy.”
Azazel buried her face in the pillow. It wasn't a particularly satisfying bed, but if she could get some decent sleep, that was all that mattered. And so she went to bed.
“………Hurk.”
It was only for a very short while. She opened her bloodshot eyes wide and sat up. She had had a terrible nightmare. Ashtain had said he hated her. He told her to get lost. Just like that, he made love with another woman.
“It's awful.”
There's no way this could be reality. It must have been a nightmare. Azazel closed her eyes again. Whenever she fell asleep, she would have a nightmare and wake up, and whenever she fell asleep again, she would have a nightmare and wake up, repeating endlessly. As a result, her stress became extreme. The fourth time she woke up, she felt a terrible thirst. As she stood up to get some water, moans could be heard from the next room again. They're doing it again already? They've got energy. Azazel clutched her chest. It was frustrating, painful, dizzying, and she felt like she was going crazy.
“……Did I not wake up enough from the nightmare?”
Maybe. Azazel left the room and knocked on the door of the room Ashtain was staying in. It was an action she wouldn't have even imagined normally, but it stemmed from her thinking that she was still in a nightmare. Bang, bang, bang. After knocking several times, Ashtain, shirtless, opened the door. He looked flustered by the unexpected visitor.
“……Azazel?”
A lewd scent emanated from his body. Azazel made a bitter expression. “I'd appreciate it if you could be a little quieter. I'm staying in the next room.”
“……Uh?”
At her gentle voice, Ashtain reacted as if it was unfamiliar. Azazel turned around without listening to his next words. “It's enough if it's noisy at night.”
She tried to walk away. However, her body wouldn't obey. Soon after, Azazel's body swayed. She felt as if her vision was moving on its own. Thud. Azazel collapsed. It was a movement that could be considered fainting.
“Is this a joke?” It didn't look like a joke. This wasn't the kind of woman who would play such pranks. Ashtain approached the fallen girl. Azazel had lost consciousness. He wondered what to do about this situation. What would Aria say? With the feelings of a student seeking an answer, he turned his gaze to the Saintess.
“Heuk, huu, uuu, hue.”
……Had they overdone it? The Saintess was drooling from the corner of her mouth and convulsing her legs in a pathetic manner. She wasn't in a state to ask for an opinion.
“……Should I just move her to the room for now.”
Ashtain had a headache.