Ep.4 - Back to the Kingdom of Albator! (1)
Ep.4 - Back to the Kingdom of Albator! (1)
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When Delin stirred awake and rubbed his eyes, he found...
the witch and the wolf still locked in exactly the same standoff as before he'd fallen asleep!
"Y-you two... have you been like this the entire time?"
"Indeed. The whole time. Did you rest well?"
"Nothing happened, so you can relax. Did you rest well?"
Hours must have passed, yet the two women's eyes still burned with intensity. Despite having stayed up all night, they glared at each other with fiery resolve, not a single hair out of place.
"Y-yes... maybe you two should get some sleep as well..."
"How can I sleep when I've no idea when they might strike? Don't worry about me and just rest. I can last for days with fatigue recovery magic anyway."
"I possess no such magic, but I am naturally sturdy, so fret not — I can endure just as well."
Triumphantly, Kaede planted her hands on her hips and stretched her back with pride. Her pride in her body was truly something to behold. Her figure, striking even among beastmen, stood as a magnificent symbol of beauty impossible to extol enough.
"At least your body serves you well. They say a dull mind makes the body suffer, but I suppose you won't suffer quite so much~"
Chichi glanced at Delin, briefly mocked Kaede's dim wits, then gripped her broom and rose from her seat. It wasn't as if they had exchanged only words through the night.
...Of course, that being said, there was no particular need to invoke the heavens about the bandages wrapped firmly around Kaede's flank or the still-untreated bruise on Chichi's upper stomach. Chichi could use healing magic herself, and Kaede had her own regenerative abilities, after all.
"We've decided to return to the Albator Kingdom. Once we're there, we'll be able to get more help from others."
The plan, as laid out by Chichi.
The supplementary explanation fell to Kaede.
"We are already wanted women, but they will surely come charging to capture you, young Delin. So we need only to make thorough preparations in the Albator Kingdom and wait. Even if they strike before then, we have a prearranged plan, so worry not, young Delin."
Though they were still keeping each other in check, their shared goal of protecting Delin aligned, so the two joined hands. There was no way they could surrender him to those heinous criminals. The wolf and the witch had no choice but to join hands!
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Time passed, and the three hurried toward the Albator Kingdom. The wolf and the witch in particular had to keep their mouths shut and walk with deadly seriousness, ceaselessly scanning their surroundings for any hint of unusual mana or scent.
The only one at ease was Delin, riding the broom. The very first time he'd been placed on a broom, the sexually discriminatory design that stimulated his testicles had caused him considerable distress, but now he'd figured out how to ride properly and could do so without pain. Truly, were humans not creatures of adaptation?
However, it was still a terribly disadvantageous mode of transport for a man when ridden for long stretches, so Delin, worrying about what lay ahead, made a request of Chichi.
"Um, but... once we arrive in Albator, could you please fix my ankle first? Riding the broom like this is fine and all, but if you could just mend my leg, then I... could also walk..."
It wasn't that Chichi disliked Delin asking something of her, but she knew that in the *long term*, carting him around on a broom like this would highlight her importance far more than healing his ankle right now. So she shook her head and refused Delin's request — with a most regretful expression, of course.
"I want so badly to fix it for you, too, but as I mentioned before, it isn't simple. It requires a *very* long period of concentration, and if Neva or Philmark attack during that time, I won't be able to fight properly."
A lie. An hour or two would suffice to lift Philmark's curse, yet she was determined not to undo it. But there was someone who interfered with even that scheme of Chichi's!
"Oh my. If riding the broom is so terribly uncomfortable, how about I carry you on my back? Someone of your weight, young Delin — I could walk for a week with you on my back with ease!"
That sly wolf bitch...! A dimwit in many respects, yet outstanding in *that* particular regard — a beast-like beastman! True to beastmen who are so honest about their own desires, Kaede too would stop at nothing to satisfy her own cravings. A method for securing a man, etched into her very instincts!
"Ah? There's no need for that. This is better than being carried... eh?! W-wait a moment!"
"Wh-what are you doing right now!"
It may have been slightly excessive kindness, but Kaede unhesitatingly snatched Delin from the broom and hoisted him onto her own back. Delin flinched in alarm and waved his hands at the sudden change in position, but against Kaede's overwhelmingly superior physical prowess, it amounted to no more than *very slight* resistance!
"It's fine, it's fine! I'm sturdy, so this is nothing — just say the word anytime!"
Hoisted up semi-forcefully, Delin found himself thrust far too close against Kaede's considerably glamorous body, and his face turned bright red. Her short, thick hair, reminiscent of a wolf's fluffy fur, of course, and the two ears twitching softly at the top of his vision, and—
"Aheup! Um, this tail... heup..."
—even her tail, thrashing wildly as she could scarcely contain her excitement at the thought of carrying Delin!
"No, what on earth are you doing right now! Delin is saying he doesn't like it!"
"Young Delin has never once said he dislikes it. Enough of that, and keep walking while watching our surroundings! Besides, I am the one skilled in close-quarters combat, so wouldn't I be better able to protect young Delin if I'm stuck to him?"
Buried as he was in the nape of Kaede's neck, where her thick, warm scent of her body and her tail wafted profusely, Delin couldn't even properly voice a refusal — but anyway, Chichi feared that if she grew any angrier here, Delin would see her as a *woman with a foul temper*, so she swallowed her rage and retreated a step. She'd already left a poor impression in several areas; if she lost more points, Delin might simply abandon her. So she had no choice...
"Pahup! Th-the tail... eubup..."
One truly excellent advantage beastmen possessed when carrying a human on their back: because their tail grew from above their buttocks, the human being carried wouldn't easily slip down!
"Tail... heup..."
The strong tail that served as a support for Delin was more than worthy of gratitude, but the fact that its upper portion kept thrashing and slapping Delin's body as if dusting him off was far too great a disadvantage. Of course, Kaede was probably overjoyed that the act allowed her to rub her scent onto Delin, but from Delin's perspective, was this not a considerably trying situation?
The thick feminine scent wafting from Kaede also emanated from her wolf-like tail and beyond her back, so it was no exaggeration to say he was being thoroughly steeped in those female pheromones. Moreover, Kaede was naturally prone to sweating, so that even more intensely wafting bodily scent was enough to make Delin flush hot even without any exertion.
"Delin? Are you all right? Hm?"
Chichi glanced back several times as she walked, worried about Delin, but—
"Where would you find a traveler as comfortable as young Delin! The chance to be carried by none other than Kaede of the Gale is a rare one indeed. Young Delin is thoroughly enjoying the fluffy, pleasant fur that is the pride of our wolf tribe!"
That was Kaede's judgment, seeing him being carried with his arms and legs dangling limply — he must be *perfectly comfortable*. And since Delin didn't voice any particular refusal, Chichi could only swallow her tears inwardly. In truth, Delin had simply been exhausted into limp weariness under the beastman wolf's intense onslaught.
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Meanwhile, Philmark and Neva...
"Sseup — looks like we're a step behind. Damn... we just ended up taking a pointless detour. Let's get the hell out of here fast."
...had finished gathering intel by eavesdropping on the conversations of many other witches. What they said was that [Chichi (a witch) who'd fallen for some males (Delin and one other boy?) had been exiled and cast out.] If that was true, there was no reason to remain in Raftel any longer, was there?
"I don't want to just leave like this... but it's for Delin's sake..."
Neva's insides boiled with rage as she listened to the witches brag about gang-raping Delin, but locating Delin's whereabouts took priority, so she agreed to leave this place without causing an incident.
But fate is truly a perverse thing. Sometimes you meet unexpected people in unexpected places...
"...Wait."
Neva grabbed Philmark, who was about to slip out of the sewer, and stared intently at something.
"What? I said let's get out of here!"
"..."
"Ah, damn it! Stop spacing out and come on! If we don't chase them down fast, it'll be even harder to find that bastard Chichi!"
Neva, staring up above the sewer with her eyes suddenly wide open... Philmark tried to slap the frustrating knight — peok-peok — and drag her away by force, but—
"...Eva."
A rather unexpected word slipped from Neva's mouth.
"Eva. I said it's Eva."
"What the hell are you talking about now!"
"That girl. It's Eva. I'm sure of it."
Neva grabbed Philmark's shoulder, shaking her back and forth, and shouted with force.
"Eva...! It's Eva! I'm telling you, I'm certain!"
"Who the hell is Eva, goddammit! Is she your girlfriend? Get a grip and hurry the hell up and follow—"
Kwadeuk—
Neva punched through the quite thick sewer ceiling with her bare hands. Even Philmark flinched at that insane strength, her eyes — no, her one eye — going wide as she yelled.
"Wh-what are you...!"
The scene above was even more gruesome. A hand suddenly bursting through the stone-paved street from underground.
"Kyaak! Wh-what the...!"
"Oh, dear gods..."
"Everyone get behind me...!"
Watching the woman widen the hole with her bare fists and squeeze through, two of the three witches above promptly lost their nerve, and the remaining one hid the two terrified ones behind her back and aimed her staff with a trembling hand.
"Magic Miss..."
But before that tearful witch could even finish speaking, Neva fully burst through the ground, seized her delicate wrist, and spoke thus.
"Eva... it's you, isn't it? Hm?"
Of course, Philmark, caught by Neva's other hand, spoke thus.
"Oh, for fuck's sake! This is such goddamn bullshit!"