Ep.6 - Witch Apprentice (2)
Ep.6 - Witch Apprentice (2)
***
Meanwhile,
roughly ten minutes before Eva recovered her memories.
"Hoo..."
I let out a sigh.
Thinking about the bizarre creatures Eva had faced, and the women who had ultimately overcome even those horrific entities, I kept sighing without realizing it.
Gathered around the warmly crackling campfire, this was a moment for the hero's party to bask in the afterglow of battle while agonizing over future plans.
A moment when everyone was too exhausted from the fight to bother me!
In these moments, which passed quite peacefully with the women, I sighed deeply and replayed the eerie twins' words.
"..."
My own personal goal, which I could never tell the women around me, and an important secret that absolutely no one else could discover...
It was an enormous problem, no doubt about it.
I had planned to hide the fact that I came from another world until the very end!
'Could they have caught on...?'
I worried that the twins' words might have tipped the women off to my secret. There was no way around it. If I got caught...
If I got caught...?
Would it just end with being caught?
No way in hell.
The journey to God's Garden would probably end on the spot. It was obvious what kind of wish everyone would make there.
They'd all fight like mad, and I'd get tossed around in the middle of it...
I'd probably never set foot on Earth again, spending my whole life here... no, not even a whole life. With Save&Load, even a short human lifespan becomes eternal.
'No...!'
I was gradually starting to feel the blind spots of the Save&Load ability. It was an ability that could obtain anything if used well, but if I couldn't use it proactively, it would just become a curse.
'Let's just play dumb. If I deny it to the end, no one will catch on. No, as long as I handle myself well, there's no reason they'd figure it out. What those twins said was ultimately just superficial talk anyway, right?'
Was the chakjeong debuff finally wearing off? My mind was turning with a fair bit of seriousness. Of course, that didn't mean a clear answer came to mind... but it was still better than sitting there like an idiot and whining.
'...'
I subtly glanced around. Riko fiddling with her dagger, Kaede grooming her tail, Neva holding her little sister in her arms, Chichi meditating to stabilize her mana...
The only one looking at me right now was the archbishop, puffing away on her cigar with a beaming smile.
She met my eyes and sent me a little wink. Her beautiful face visible through the acrid smoke was quite striking.
But all I felt toward her was an unease that churned my insides. Like the smoke she enjoyed, thick and heavy...
'...If only she weren't here, I could've insisted I was from the Holy Kingdom.'
I recalled the archbishop's face when she had looked puzzled by my claim of being from the Holy Kingdom. As a high-ranking official of the Holy Kingdom, it probably wasn't very difficult for her to notice the contradictions and awkwardness I carried.
It seemed I would have to pull her aside later and persuade her.
If she just kept her mouth shut, we could certainly reach God's Garden without a hitch, and from her perspective as the one guiding us there, it definitely wouldn't be a losing proposition.
She'd probably accept readily. There was no need to refuse a mutually beneficial offer, was there?
'But before that...'
Right.
First, I needed to focus on other important tasks rather than that stacked sister.
"...Status window."
At my quietly murmured voice, the status window appeared. The conveniently sized window had given me several unbelievable pieces of information during the fight.
'...Let's check it out.'
I needed to digest that information thoroughly and understand my abilities inside out. Knowledge was power, and soon it would become a crucial weapon for handling the women.
The first thing I checked was the soul bond with Kaede.
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[Kaede] +2
(Self) Ejaculations: 17
(Partner) Orgasms: 6
Remaining Enhancements: 10
-----------------------------
It was something I had glimpsed before, but those simple and clear words alone were enough to engulf me in terrifying horror.
If what was written matched my expectations...
'...Just how many more times do I have to do it?'
First, to check the detailed information, I pressed the part written as +2.
The status window, ever so helpfully, explained this and that with clarity. It felt like the perverted author who shoved me into this insane world was showing me one last bit of consideration.
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[Enhancement]
:Makes a soul-bonded comrade stronger. Sincere love and joyful pleasure with the target increase the Enhancement Count, and you can attempt Enhancement by using that count. The base success rate is 3%, and each success enhances the target's abilities.
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'3 percent? What the hell...'
This isn't some mobile game gacha, and you're setting the success rate at 3 percent?
Have you completely lost your mind? Are you fucking insane?
'...Calm down. Calm...'
First, I forced myself to take a deep breath and suppressed my churning insides. Right. Seeing how Kaede overwhelmed those twins with just 2 enhancements, there was clearly enough merit to break through that 3 percent chance.
Whoa, but then did that mean I rolled 13 times and succeeded twice?
I came 17 times, and Kaede-noona climaxed 6 times, so adding them together gives 23. That was the total possible enhancement count.
The remaining count was 10, meaning I enhanced a total of 13 times during the fight...
So I broke through a 3% chance two times in 13 rolls?
Holy shit! I was insanely lucky...!?
'Whew. Calm down. Before that... the Enhancement Count is...'
————————————
[Enhancement Count]
:Obtained in the process of confirming love. Male ejaculation and female orgasm are each counted as 1. (+Satisfying the target's hidden desires yields additional Enhancement Counts.)
————————————
'So basically, if I come or the person I'm with climaxes, I can enhance once, right? Hmm...'
A standard that was both blatant and clear.
Well, fair enough. It's a smut isekai, so that figures.
If there was something a bit puzzling, it was the part about satisfying the target's hidden desires...?
'What are hidden desires? Could it be...'
Could it be?
Like, Chichi-noona is actually a pathetic pussy who gets off on having her ass spanked... something like that?
Does it mean satisfying their preferred positions or fetishes... things like that? Let's just assume that for now. I'll find out for myself later.
"All of you shut up!"
Eek!
Th-that startled me...
Neva suddenly shouted. While I was distracted checking my status window, something seemed to have been progressing.
Neva began muttering continuously while gripping the girl she'd been holding tightly,
and around her, the others were clicking their tongues and each adding their own remarks...
"It's unnecessary, so reverse it right now. Right now. There's no way I'd hate her."
Neva threatened and pressed Chichi with a sharp voice. Deducing from the conversation, it seemed her little sister had been captured by the witches and had her memories sealed.
From Chichi's explanation, it seemed less like a seal and more like a sort of protection...? but this wasn't something I could recklessly jump into.
I had to act carefully since the twins' incident might have made me a suspect. I just had to be quiet as a mouse, go with the flow of the mood around me... naturally...
"Alright."
With a gentle motion, Chichi drew a beautiful magic circle and brought it to the girl's forehead.
And just like that,
the girl collapsed forward and...
but it didn't take long before she lifted herself back up a moment later. A groan escaped her lips, and a few tears trickled from her eyes, but...
"Ugh, uhh..."
Those tears weren't from pain. They were tears loaded with emotion.
What was reflected in her tears was her own older sister, right in front of her.
"Ahh, Eva! It's your unnie. Do you remember me? Eva..."
Thus began the reunion of the two sisters, who apart from their hair and eye color, were so dissimilar it was hard to tell where they were alike.
"Eek...!"
But unexpectedly, the small girl immediately grabbed her staff and shouted at Neva.
"Magic Missile!"
Everyone watching the scene couldn't hide their shock. Unlike the older sister, who had opened her arms wide preparing for a tearful reunion, the younger sister had launched an attacking spell without a shred of mercy, her eyes filled with intense hatred!
"Eva...?"
Of course, Neva wasn't the kind of woman to fall to such a spell. The Magic Missile struck her square in the face, but with no change in her expression, she just stared blankly at her younger sister.
"Wh-what are you doing? It's your unnie?"
The two of them seemed to have some hidden family history.
This time, Eva gripped her staff tightly and charged at Neva, starting to hit her repeatedly.
"Die! Die! Just die!"
"E-Eva! Why are you doing this? Huh?"
"Are the sisters a matching set of psychos?"
The feeble attacks weren't working at all, but Eva persistently beat on Neva. Her tightly clenched fists showed unmistakably how much genuine intent was behind her attacks.
'Now what on earth...'
Watching that spectacle, I couldn't help but let out yet another sigh.
It seemed like the list of things I'd have to intervene in had just grown by one more.