Ep.3 - An Uncomfortable Journey
Ep.3 - An Uncomfortable Journey
The moon's hour came to an end.
Now, it was time to wake.
"..."
Delin regained consciousness wedged between the two witch lovers.
He couldn't even remember when he'd lost consciousness. He was simply grateful he could open his eyes at all.
He hadn't died. Amid the merciless pleasure, he had stubbornly opened his eyes and lifted his body once more.
"Ugh, ughhu..."
Even as he braced against his own weight, his arms trembled. He couldn't muster any strength.
His entire body ached, and his head throbbed.
Wincing from the awful headache, Delin surveyed his surroundings.
"..."
The women sprawled around him were all deep in sweet slumber, their expressions utterly peaceful and joyful. Sweet sleep always followed satisfying sex—that was the rule.
Except Delin hadn't had [satisfying] sex. He'd been subjected to [brutal] rape, so sweet sleep was pure bullshit. He had nothing but an aching, groaning body, fatigue, self-loathing, and the bone-deep realization of his own weakness.
Still, Delin took the chance while the women slept and slipped out of the bed. He still had just enough strength for that.
Now—when he was freer than he'd ever been—wasn't this his one and only chance to escape?
His body shaking, Delin haphazardly gathered his own clothes and headed for the wide-open door. He leaned on a broom like a crutch and fled, each step a struggle.
He'd never once thought about how he would descend from Raftel, a sky island so high above the world, but he still left.
Because he simply did not have the capacity to endure the fishy, lewd stench filling the house...
But as he stepped outside, a familiar silhouette came into Delin's view.
It approached slowly, staggering.
"...Delin."
Pain seeped into that voice which had always been unfailingly gentle.
"Chichi... -ssi?"
"I'm sorry. I was too late."
She approached with difficulty, clutching her bloodied forearm.
"Where are you going? You should come home."
She flashed Delin a brief grin and limped toward her own house.
Delin had no intention of returning to the house he'd just escaped from, but the sight of Chichi walking away with blood dripping down was so utterly pitiful he couldn't tear his eyes away.
"Come in now. It's still cold outside."
Her back, covered in wounds, should have looked fragile with pain.
But she entered her own house as if nothing was wrong.
"..."
A moment of silence.
The torn-off front door and the rank scent wafting from within.
The sight of the women who had taken over her bed, along with Delin...
Chichi seemed to freeze for a moment as she took in the scene,
then burst out laughing so hard her torn hat shook.
"Ha, hahahuk... kuk... ahahaha..."
It was probably the first time in her life she had laughed so hard.
Of course, to anyone else, it would have seemed an utterly awkward and strange laugh, but for the first time since she was born, she laughed with [genuine feeling].
"Ah, it's so funny. Isn't it just so funny?"
Chichi turned back around and trudged toward Delin, patting him on the shoulder as she spoke.
"You went through a lot too. Yes... shall we take a little walk?"
Her steps were unsteady again.
Her body hardly seemed fit for a walk, yet she led the way.
"Don't be afraid. I won't touch you anymore. I'm your teacher now, and you're my student, aren't you? A student and a teacher must cherish each other."
Delin looked at her, straightening his shabby clothes.
Unlike the formal smile she often showed before, the expression on her face... was rather bitter yet joyful... agonized yet happy... That subtle, natural smile lingered there.
------------------------
At the break of dawn, as the encroaching darkness lifted and light slipped through, Chichi endlessly cast healing magic over her battered body as she walked with Delin.
The wounds on her body didn't heal easily. Yet she never lost her smile.
"..."
Delin still couldn't drop his wary gaze and walked at a distance from Chichi.
He kept his distance more out of fear for her condition—wondering not so much about his feelings for her, but how she was still alive—than any lingering resentment.
Well. Honestly, a bigger factor than any of that was that he was hobbling with a crutch and couldn't keep up much speed anyway.
"Fufu..."
Chichi glanced at the broken, herbivore-like state of Delin and chuckled. So the two of them trudged down the street, both utterly haggard after just one night.
It was Chichi who broke the silence first.
In her mind, the meeting with the two women she'd encountered late that night lingered with no sign of fading.
"Delin. My cute student... it seems you went through quite a lot in the world below, didn't you? Am I right? You've been mixed up with hard people to handle... but still, you were beloved. Truly..."
Delin flinched at the word "beloved" and stopped walking.
The two women rose up in his mind.
"...Don't tell me you met them?"
"Yes. I met them, what can I say."
Philmark was supposed to be in the underground prison... So did Neva do such horrific damage to her?
"...They're looking for me."
"Yes. They are looking."
"Looks like Chichi-ssi lost, too. Huu... Neva's unstoppable..."
"Neva... that knight, and Philmark was there too. You know them?"
Ah, fuck.
Both of them?
"They were together? That's insane! Just a few days ago they were fighting like they'd kill each other...!"
"Perhaps they're helping each other to find you? A heavy love indeed."
Silence returned for a moment.
Within that silence, even the faint morning sunlight couldn't reach, making it so terribly sad and cold.
Both of them knew by instinct.
Those two would come crashing up to Raftel soon, no matter what it took.
"Don't you worry too much. No matter how strong those two are, I can protect you here."
"...Protect me? My ass. Whether I get devoured here or dragged off and devoured by those two, it's the same either way. And you think they'll just sit still? They'll definitely come all the way up here, grab me by the scruff of my neck, and haul me off. Definitely... fucking hell!"
"Are you angry? I'm sorry. Still... it's fine here. I'll make the other witches promise not to lay a hand on you from now on."
"I'm not angry. It's just that the whole situation feels so utterly hopeless it makes me feel like shit, so don't worry about it. Fuck... promise, my ass. Haah..."
Delin didn't trust Chichi, but he still didn't shout "Load."
It was already far too late to call "Load."
No. There had never been a chance to call "Load" from the start. As long as Neva was searching for him with fire in her eyes, Load was useless now.
"Even so... it wasn't a lie that you have talent. Truly. You're the first one to ever break my magic."
"Talent my ass! If I had talent, I wouldn't have gotten fucking ravaged like that when those three witches came in!"
"Calm down and listen to your noona. I mean it. Your noona never lies when it comes to magic."
"..."
"Learn magic. Noona will make you the greatest. Let's aim for the top together, you and me. You... probably can't become an Archwitch, but you could certainly become a great mage."
"What's the point of learning? So I can kill Neva and Philmark all by myself when they barge in here? Haaah..."
"Exactly that."
Just as Chichi's wounds were slowly healing, the sun slowly rose.
"I'll give you everything I have. Ever since I met you, a light has finally shone on me too. I finally... feel alive. Finally."
To her, Neva and Philmark weren't objects of terror or fear.
Rather, they were fireworks
set against a life that had been too precious and...
far too boring.
Strong ones who radiated a true light.
Futures she couldn't even begin to predict.
A man that women like that loved.
That man was now her student, the one and only existence who had ever broken her magic, which no one else had ever cracked.
Chichi was happy.
She felt more alive than ever before.
"Why are you trying to be so good to me?"
Delin asked.
"You're my first student."
"Then what are the other witches to you? They're always following you around going 'Professor~ Unnie~.'"
"Those kids are students, and little sisters. You're my one and only true disciple."
"..."
"Delin. Trust me. Stay by my side and learn magic. The fact that you, who knows nothing of magic, resisted my spell... do you know what that means? It means you could surpass even me."
It was clearly nonsense.
It reminded him of those people who'd approach a third-year high school student who'd bombed both the June and September mock exams,
and spout things like, 'You'd be great at essay exams! I'm sure if you just learn under me a little, you could get into a top university!'
He remembered one friend who'd trusted only their words and ended up crying his eyes out.
However.
Chichi was the only one Delin had to lean on.
"...First, hurry up and get that promise from the other witches. That they won't touch me."
"Yes. We'll go as soon as it's fully light out."
Before he knew it, the sun was poking its head up and vigorously scattering light over the world.
That warm solar mana enveloped the earth, looking down upon all.
Now, morning would come for them.
Beneath the brightening sky, Delin and Chichi opened their hearts a little.
--------------------------
"Heok, heeook..."
Neva, carrying the badly injured Philmark on her back, grunted as she ducked into an alley.
For them, with morning not yet arrived, a dark back alley was safer than beneath the warm, bright sunlight.
"You idiot...! You couldn't even properly dodge something like that! Why did you jump in when you don't even have the ability to avoid it...! Fuu..."
The mana spear Chichi had formed from her blind spot had ultimately pierced through Philmark's side.
The attack hadn't been meant for the thief, but in the end, the thief was the one hit.
She'd managed to avoid a direct heart strike, but with a chase likely, a wound this large was terribly troublesome, wasn't it?
"Shit... you fuck... just get these damn handcuffs off me..."
It wasn't because Philmark cherished Neva that she saved her. It was purely a selfish decision made from rational judgment—that if Neva died, an utterly irredeemable, dogshit situation might arise on the next Save & Load point.
Nor did Neva open her heart to Philmark for saving her life. She was simply helping her not die because if Philmark died, she couldn't properly track Delin.
"Wait here! I'll bring someone to help...!"
Grab—
Philmark caught Neva's wrist.
"...Dumbass. You think she'd help?"
"..."
What was truly sad
was that the only ones they had to rely on were each other.
"Just... fuck... take these damn cuffs off. I can handle a wound this bad by myself..."
"Promise me."
"What...!"
"That you'll search for Delin together with me. That even if you stab me in the back, you'll do it after."
"Ah geez, this idiot is really... Fine, I said fine..."
"Good. Then I'll make you a promise too. If everything works out well... I'll make sure to help you so you don't die."
The back alley was still dark.
Neva and Philmark, beneath the dark shadows, opened their hearts a little.