Ep.9 - A Few Tears
Ep.9 - A Few Tears
***
Again,
to L'Myune.
Where dwarves who looked like young girls stood in droves,
right among them as they jumped and cheered for everyone.
Into the heart of the city that prayed for the expedition's success
and hoped for the Dragon to be slain.
"Huh...!"
I returned.
I felt sensation in my hands again.
Maybe because it had been so long since I Loaded, my head throbbed a little and my chest felt tight, but it wasn't a big problem.
The real problem was Chichi, who pulled out her staff and distanced herself the moment I returned; Kaede, who followed her trying to stop her; and Riko, who wore a dumbfounded expression as if she had no idea what was going on.
"You God-traitor! You God-traitor!!"
"Chichi! Why are you suddenly doing this!"
Chichi flew up into the air, kept her distance from Neva, and aimed her staff. Its tip glowed blue, warning that she was about to cast an attack spell.
"Th-that woman killed me! We'd clearly slain the Dragon, and Helen-ssi was alive, but that woman killed Helen-ssi and killed me too!"
Ah.
Even before I could properly come to my senses, the women's quarrel erupted. I struggled to my feet and ran toward them. Neva kept her hands clasped above her head, saying she would not draw her weapon, while Riko and Helen stood at a distance, watching the scene like an amusing spectacle. So the ones I needed to stop were Chichi and Kaede.
"Ch-Chichi-noona! Wait! Just hear me out first!"
"Yeah, stick with me. That side's dangerous. That crazy bitch backstabbed us...!"
"No, that's not...!"
Their dispute erupted like a volcano and began to rage uncontrollably. Chichi flew up into the air, and Kaede and I both clung to her legs trying to stop her, but Chichi was so furious that she couldn't calm down and just kept swinging her staff.
"Everything was over! You piece of trash!"
"Just stop for a moment! What in the world are you talking about!"
The conflict didn't look like it would end easily. Since distrust had arisen among women who had been in a transactional relationship, it was only natural that their bonds were now breaking.
"I will explain it myself. If you just give me the chance to explain."
Neva sent Eva over to Helen, then knelt on the ground. As if declaring her firm will not to fight, she had even set her sword far aside.
"She even abandoned her weapon! I don't know what misunderstanding there was...!"
"Right! Chichi-noona, please just calm down...!"
"I said let go! That bitch really stabbed me!"
Thanks to that, a fight to the death thankfully didn't break out, but the distrust that had already taken root did not easily subside.
"It'd be fun if one of them died. But they're not even fighting properly. Cowards."
We all needed new rules.
And along with new rules,
we needed a compromise built on a shared secret.
------------------------------------------
"So, Neva, you took advantage of us being dead and killed Chichi and that... um... that person. Is that what you're saying?"
"It's Helen."
"Ah. Right. Helen. Anyway, you killed Helen. Is that correct?"
Neva nodded. Kaede, who had been leading the conversation, clicked her tongue and shook her head as Neva readily admitted her crimes.
"How could you do such a thing! Goodness..."
"See! I told you that woman backstabbed us after we finished everything perfectly!"
Chichi shot up and shouted, pulling out her staff again and shoving it in Neva's face, but none of the noonas tried to stop her. Only Eva and I held onto Chichi's hand and begged earnestly.
"Ch-Chichi-noona... please hear us out too, okay?"
"Pro-professor-nim..."
Chichi looked into our eyes and, perhaps unable to bring herself to kill Neva, soon withdrew her staff. But she whipped her head around as if refusing to participate in any more conversation, and sat with her back to the group, nervously kicking the ground with a thump-thump.
"Is there more to talk about? No, if you backstab someone, you should be prepared to die."
"Still, killing her is a bit much. She's reflecting on her actions..."
"Reflecting means she gets to live? Wow... fuck... can I just shove my fist in your mouth once? I'll apologize right away. I'll reflect too."
"Don't be sarcastic like that!"
Their opinions couldn't be narrowed down. To somehow reach a consensus, we had to persuade Riko and Chichi, but Neva, who had already explained everything about her situation, didn't even get another chance to open her mouth, so defending her fell entirely to me and Eva.
"She promised never to betray us again. Neva-noona is truly sincere..."
"But this is ridiculous. It's obvious you drop a backstabbing bitch and leave her behind, so why keep worrying about her?"
"You, you also tried to betray us! If you had the chance, you would have betrayed us too!"
At Eva's trembling pointed remark, Riko chuckled. Of course it was true, and she had indeed planned to stab them in the neck several times, but right now it was Neva being punished here.
"Even if I had betrayed you, you would've forgiven me like this, right? Huh? Come on, say it."
So Riko had no reason to back down. On the contrary, she was confident. Of course, she was only confident when dealing with the other noonas; she was still watching my reaction. The things she had been through with me still remained.
"No! Don't do that, just let it go..."
Instead of the trembling Eva, I approached Riko to stop her. My hand over hers, holding Eva's slender wrist against her bronze skin, didn't change anything, but she clicked her tongue—'tsk'—and stepped back.
"Well, do as you like. Anyway, the party atmosphere is totally fucked. Because of that one crazy bitch."
Thanks to the secret I shared with her, Riko backed off readily, but even as she backed off, she didn't stop criticizing Neva. It must have been a kind of opportunity for her. Since the bitch she hated the sight of had caused trouble, it was only natural to take full advantage of it.
"Now we just have to tough it out, each watching our own backs, worrying about dying even in our sleep. Protect your own bodies."
As Riko said, everyone's expressions were dark. The women, who already didn't get along, would now all be wary of each other, and it was like embarking on a journey with a ticking time bomb...
The phrase 'between a rock and a hard place' came to mind. Faced with a task too overwhelming to solve, my head throbbed.
"But still..."
However, one thought occurred to me.
It didn't come out of nowhere; it came to me thanks to what Neva had said before I Loaded.
"Ah, from now on, we'll definitely be able to defeat magical beasts or Dragons..."
No matter how I thought about it, this was the only way out. So I had to play my trump card.
"What do you mean?"
Riko's voice suddenly stiffened, and Kaede was just wagging her tail as if she didn't understand.
And Chichi, still angry, and Helen, raising one eyebrow in reaction.
Finally, Neva, who had caught on to what I was about to say and was looking at me worriedly.
"...I also formed a Soul Bond with Neva-noona."
Only Riko and Neva understood what I meant,
and of the two, Riko was naturally the one who reacted more violently.
Riko got up immediately with a stiff face, walked over as if she were about to get angry at me, but then turned her fury not on me but on Neva, and started kicking her.
"You son of a bitch!"
Honestly, the backstabbing wasn't something to be that angry about. She never thought of Neva as a comrade anyway.
But the news that she had monopolized Delin for days and even gotten pregnant—that genuinely enraged Riko, and she poured out her anger.
"Urk, kergh..."
Neva didn't resist and just took the kicks. At first, Riko stomped as if to knock her down, then eventually she relentlessly targeted her stomach.
Neva, too, covered her stomach with her arms on instinct as she took the blows.
"Why are you fighting again all of a sudden! Stop it for a moment!"
Kaede, not even knowing she herself was pregnant nor understanding what Neva's words implied, wagged her tail frantically and tried to stop them, but Riko didn't back down and kept stomping on Neva. It was unbearable. This white-haired bitch kept getting in the way and being a nuisance, persistently clinging to him and acting like such a pain in the ass.
"You stupid bitch, this fucker is pregnant too! Aaaagh seriously...! You dimwit fuck!"
In the end, her fury also revealed the truth to Kaede—the matter of the Soul Bond and pregnancy.
"What..."
"Forget it. I'll just spill everything. Hey, you got pregnant, you stupid bitch. When you're pregnant, you get connected to Delin through a Soul Bond or whatever, and when you're connected, you get stronger. You get what I'm saying? You fucking thick-headed bitch!"
Kaede's tail fluttered then stood stiffly still. Even for the always cheerful Kaede, the sudden pregnancy news seemed to be quite a shock. No, perhaps what was more shocking than her own pregnancy was...
"Already three of us are pregnant. If you just sold your semen, you'd be filthy rich, right? A hundred percent success rate. Whatever, fuck..."
...the news that, without even knowing, other companions(?) were already carrying Delin's child.
"P-pregnant! What is this!"
"What do you mean...?"
Even Chichi's eyes went wide at the shocking news she was hearing for the first time, and she stared at Riko. The massive scandal Riko had detonated made my head throb terribly.
"Well, I guess you two didn't know. One of you is an idiot, the other's a saggy-titted premature ejaculator."
Soon, all eyes were on me. Yeah. My head hurt a little, but it was fine. It was no different from deliberately revealing Neva's Enhancement status for this very purpose...
"...That's right. Riko-noona, Neva-noona, and Kaede-ssi are all pregnant. Neva-noona also did Enhancement while she took me and Eva away. Twice, even."
However, I mixed in a lie for the last part. Neva would hear that lie and play along, and Riko would hear it and feel relieved, because her Enhancement level was higher.
"Just go around offering your body. Ah, shoot one for the Dragon too. That'll do. You used-up slut."
So her mind was probably at ease, but Riko still raged furiously and snapped at me. Now she couldn't hold back at all and approached me, holding both my wrists firmly and shoving her face right up close.
"What the other thief bastards said wasn't an exaggeration. Guys like you need to get smacked three times a day to come to your senses. I was being nice to you, and yet... fuck..."
She gripped me tight until my wrists felt like they'd turn red, and threatened me. It was a little scary, but since I knew Riko couldn't kill me, I spoke a bit confidently...
"I, I had no choice..."
A strange emotion seeped from her eyes. Even though she had already made up her mind to some extent, realizing that I had actually fooled around with other women made her angry... that kind of feeling.
It might have been that she reacted more violently to hide the sticky things between us, but her words definitely held sincerity.
I understood her anger because facing reality and imagining it were different. So I couldn't get angry at her, and I swallowed the tears that leaked out from the pain in my wrists and turned my head away.
"But still...!"
But I knew.
Now was the time to make new rules, precisely because the party that had barely held together had completely fallen apart, and to do that, I absolutely had to say these words and persuade everyone.
"I like you noonas that much! Really! I can't ask you to be friendly with each other, but still, for my sake, can't you stop fighting and go up to the Demon King...? If the noonas get stronger through the Soul Bond, you can definitely reach the Demon King Castle easily...! Maybe even faster...!"
The few tears that had just leaked out made my words even stronger.
...I felt a bit guilty for using my tears and acting shrewd, but I couldn't help it.