Ep.4 - War of Nerves
Ep.4 - War of Nerves
With the thief and the knight unable to know when they might come charging in,
the witch and the wolf kept watch all night without sleep, guarding their surroundings.
That despicable thief was a crazed bitch who would ruthlessly use every trick to win, so it wouldn't be strange to be ambushed while sleeping.
But strangely enough,
even as time passed and the moon rose directly overhead, there was no sign of anyone around,
and Kaede's exceptional nose picked up no scent at all.
No mana strong enough to disturb the thin mana barrier Chichi had laid out came or went.
If Philmark and Neva even brushed against that barrier, Chichi would feel it immediately, yet all she felt was a few birds and small beasts...
"It's strange."
In that suspicious situation, Chichi was the first to speak.
"If what Delin told us is true, those people should have come running to kill us even a little sooner..."
It was a reasonable deduction.
Those women who had wanted to cut off all his limbs and keep him by their side would surely use every means to get Delin back.
They had no time to spare and would be running around like mad to get Delin back even a moment sooner...
"So this silence is strange. Isn't it?"
"Mm. Now that you mention it, I suppose it is..."
Delin, who had been silently listening to that conversation, realized something.
Hadn't Neva and Philmark followed his own Save&Load?
If so, they would have already felt him Load this time to save Arwen,
and if so...
'...Wait, when was it that Chichi-ssi met and fought those two again?'
Thinking back, hadn't the meeting between Chichi and the two women happened quite some time ago?
The fact they met then meant Neva and Philmark already knew about the witches' existence,
and that they already knew at that point that he was captured by the witches...
'Which means they're going to Raftel to find me... is that it?'
Delin's lacking brain concluded a reasonably excellent deduction on its own.
The two women's actions, deduced with Save&Load in mind, matched perfectly,
and just as he said, Neva and Philmark right now—
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"Anyway, I never wanted to see that bitch Chichi's face again, so good riddance!"
"Right? That mannerless bitch who lived off her own arrogance every day. No wonder she got exiled."
Several witches were gossiping behind the departed Chichi's back. Beneath their feet, two women crept stealthily, gathering information.
"But did she really fall for a man?"
"That's what they say! It's so ridiculous~"
At the word "man," Neva and Philmark briefly looked at each other.
The man they were chattering about was surely Delin.
"Ah~ I want to have sex with a man just one more time~"
"Don't say that out loud, dumb■ss..!"
These witches seemed younger than the earlier ones.
Delin's information came through in their talk as well.
"No, honestly! You barely got to do anything either. How many more chances are there to bang him like that, ugh..."
"That was just education. What's there to be regretful about?"
"■itch. You climbed right on top, drool dripping everywhere, and now you're pretending you're not into it."
"I am not! Says you who couldn't even last a few minutes and went first!"
"I... I didn't go, that bastard shot his load first!"
It wasn't a pleasant story.
Listening to the two witches proudly boast about the vile things they'd done to the captured man,
Philmark and Neva's expressions gradually darkened.
Neva's expression darkened most of all.
Haunted by the memory of failing to protect Delin that day when he was trampled mercilessly by so many women, she gritted her teeth furiously.
So this time too, she ultimately failed to protect him.
Why on earth did he leave home and go through such hardship?
He would have always been happy if he'd just stayed on the bed.
He would have lived happily without ever having to think about anything.
("...Hey. I get how you feel, but don't cause trouble and hold it in. If we make the wrong move here, we'll have to fight all the witches before we even find Delin, you know?")
Philmark was equally uncomfortable in her heart because of her own past memories of handing him over to her subordinates and regretting it.
Let's get him back quickly and take him somewhere safe to live quietly.
Leave the secular world behind, forget everything, and quietly...
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Again, in the forest quite far from Raftel.
The two women kept guarding the surroundings, and Delin, who knew that even without a guard they wouldn't come after him for a while, felt a slight sense of guilt toward them.
'Would it be a good idea to say something...? No. Even if I did, I can't explain it. Would they even believe me if I said I have some special ability that lets me go back to the past whenever I want?'
Delin didn't choose the stupid act of revealing his own ability and putting himself in trouble.
Having only now truly understood the terrifying butterfly effects his own choices could cause through various events,
he examined his actions closely with a more cautious attitude than before.
'For now, just pretend not to know and lie low.'
He lay still, pretending to be asleep, breathing in quietly and slowly breathing out.
"More than that, there is one thing I wish to ask. Chichi, what do you think of Delin-gun?"
'Talking about me all of a sudden...?'
Kaede asked Chichi in a markedly serious voice. Chichi's voice in reply was also extremely serious.
"He's the last meaning left to me. Now I don't know anything except that. I don't know anything, but I do know that I want to be by his side."
"I appreciate your honesty. Seeing you try to protect Delin-gun from those utterly vicious people, you do appear to be a woman of upright character. However, even so, I have no intention of yielding Delin-gun. Among our beastman tribe, even when we lend out a ■ate, we only lend among fellow beastmen, so sharing a ■ate with you is out of the question."
"...Who decided he was your ■ate?"
Both their voices began to stiffen little by little.
The cold chill slipping between their words was felt even by Delin, who was facing away pretending to sleep.
'Why, why are they suddenly fighting over me like that...?'
Chichi's words, which had grown especially colder and more toneless, continued to snap at Kaede.
"So you were planning to help with that in mind from the start, I take it? You were all pretending to be righteous, but you're exactly the same."
Kaede, too, lowered her tail calmly and retorted.
"Are you any different? At a glance, you look like a vixen clinging to Delin-gun and aiming for a chance yourself."
"Yes. I'm the same. But unlike you, I don't go around pretending to be dignified. I'm grateful for the help, but once we've dealt with Philmark and Neva, please just go back."
Since they were both women who observed a degree of courtesy, they waged a bloody war of words instead of throwing punches.
Of course, they were also only restraining each other with quiet words for fear of waking Delin.
"Delin-gun said you were in no relationship whatsoever. I simply cannot fathom why you are under the delusion that you amount to something. Though it is said that natural law dictates jealousy upon seeing a more attractive woman, you, Chichi, seem to have a rather strong sense of inferiority."
"..."
From Kaede, now quite serious, a sentence that was extremely direct and utterly crushed her opponent burst forth.
Kaede was sincere. She couldn't miss a good opportunity like this.
"And I had not intended to say this much, but that body of yours is so scrawny and small, is it not inadequate to fully embrace a single man? Delin-gun is truly wasted on you."
"...What did you say?"
Chichi was dumbfounded and gritted her teeth furiously, but she had no particular logic to refute Kaede.
The tremendous insult that came from a stupid beastman was such an unexpected shock that it struck Chichi's head!
"That's enough. I think it best we end this conversation here. Saying more will only hurt each other's feelings, will it not? Try winning Delin-gun's heart fair and square first. I shall do my best as well."
Even the finishing touch was perfect!
Kaede, absolutely delighted with her own excellent attack, wagged her tail back and forth.
"Th-this bitch in heat! How dare you..."
"Shh. Delin-gun will wake. Please show some consideration."
Kaede folded her arms and smiled smugly.
Chichi, wanting to fire a Magic Missile straight into that grinning face, lifted her broom for a moment,
but soon worried for Delin's safety, took a deep breath, and lowered her broom again.
'For now, without that beastman, I can't stop Neva or Philmark...'
"Though your chest may be small, your heart does not appear to be so small. You made the right choice."
"..."
Kaede, having persistently landed one last hit even at the final moment, now whistled and brazenly looked up at the night sky.
Of course, it was not brazen at all, and the tail gently swishing through the air and the two perked ears betrayed Kaede's joy of victory without filter, but what did such a trifle matter.
"Whatever, just keep your heat cycle in check. The full moon will be rising soon."
"Hah-hah! How absurd. I already possess an upright ■pirit and a sturdy body that easily overcomes the heat cycle, so worry not. You had better beware your own heat cycle. Do humans not always call it the heat cycle as well?"
"We're not like your kind, beastmen. I'd rather that than whining like an animal no different from a beast every time the moon is full."
Delin lay still, briefly wondering whether this "heat cycle" might be the heat cycle he knew...
and soon, from the drowsiness creeping in without his notice, he fell soundly asleep.