Ep.5 - Infiltrating Laptel (1)
Ep.5 - Infiltrating Laptel (1)
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The plan to rescue that Eva girl, or whatever her name was, discussed impromptu around the campfire, roughly went like this.
1. At this point in time, since Chichi and Delin were just kicked out of Raftel, the two of them would cause a ruckus near Raftel's main gate, begging "please, just this once, Dragon, forgive us!" and draw attention.
2. In that opening, Philmark would infiltrate and kidnap her.
3. Meanwhile, Kaede, Neva, and Helen would eat around the campfire.
That's it!
"Haa... so annoying, seriously..."
The only one dissatisfied with that simple, clear plan was Philmark.
"Those bastards are just scarfing down food without doing anything—why the hell do I have to go alone!"
Her firm finger pointed toward the three women sitting around the campfire, busy introducing themselves to each other. Having to risk her life going into Raftel all alone felt like a massive loss.
Of course, thanks to Delin's ability, even if she died she could come back to life, but having to take on such troublesome work over a single girl was maddeningly unfair.
"Philmark, we already finished discussing this earlier..."
"Shut up! What the hell am I gonna do with your thanks!"
"Even so, we've been comrades through life and death, so please... I'm begging you like this."
Neva pressed her hands together and bowed her head deeply, asking for Philmark's help.
You might think that seeing the noble knight's humbled tone and earnest face would make her generously let it go—but Philmark wasn't a woman close to anything like sympathy or consideration, was she.
"Forget it. I'm not going just like that."
"Huh?"
She yanked Delin into a tight embrace and demanded proper compensation for her actions.
"When I get back, Delin's mine for three hours. Everyone else just go hide somewhere."
"H-How can there be such a thing!"
"How can you say that! To someone else's Seobang-nim, what on earth!"
Chichi and Kaede grew furious.
Both of them shouted and defied Philmark, but it was Philmark who held the upper hand in the negotiation...
"No? Then I won't go. Figure it out yourselves." She immediately plopped down and expressed a firm will not to get up.
"Don't be like that... please, I'm begging you." Hoping that Philmark might possibly cooperate in finding her sister, Neva paced restlessly.
But from Chichi and Kaede's perspective, wasn't the whole thing deeply unfair? No, they had to watch the person they loved get roughly mounted right in front of them over something that had nothing to do with them!
"Keureureung..."
Among them, Kaede showed especially violent rage and snarled. An instinctive threat to keep the man she'd already set her sights on from being taken away. A rough warning.
"If you lay a hand on Seobang-nim, this one will not stay idle."
Of course, Philmark wasn't the sort of woman to back down just because of a warning.
"But that goddamn brainless bastard, who said you could just call him Seobang-nim? I didn't like you from the first time I saw you, tch..."
And so the two of them began arguing.
"Shut your mouth! Delin-gun and this one have already sworn an oath to form a marital bond!"
"Go make your marital bond with some stray mutt~ Weren't you taught by your mommy and daddy? That beastmen give birth by thrusting into the asses of passing dogs?"
"..Take that back. Right now."
"I don't want to."
Perhaps because they were women from another world, the argument didn't last very long and instead the atmosphere quickly turned into one where fists were about to fly.
Between the wolf and the thief who glared at each other as if to kill, a considerable tension swirled.
It was completely different from the fights among friends I'd seen in middle and high school classrooms.
Clenching fists, grabbing weapons,
ready to end each other's lives...
The dispute being prepared by the women of this rough world was extremely violent and brutal.
"Wait! Both of you, don't fight. Please, just...!"
The one stopping their fight was, once again, Delin.
The man who was the cause of the fight now stopping it was truly ironic, but at any rate, the wolf and the thief heeded Delin's plea and each temporarily lowered their weapons.
"...Let's settle this later."
"As I wished for. I'm not scared in the slightest."
Between the two women snorting derisively and tearing into each other, Delin let out deep sighs.
'Why the hell are these people so desperate to tear each other apart...!'
No.
To be honest, Delin already knew. The reason they fought was simple and clear.
A romantic jealousy fight over one man.
A struggle to get what they wanted.
He'd been caught up in women's fights and had trouble a few times before,
but a conflict between strong women of a completely different caliber than the fights in his original world was too much for one man to handle.
"Please don't fight, okay? Kaede-ssi... no, Kaede-noona, stop fighting now too."
"Hmph... since I survived thanks to Seobang-nim, I shall live on remembering that gratitude. You frivolous person, you..."
"What are you talking about, you goddamn idiot."
A dangerous and precarious tightrope.
Delin was currently hanging on that rope, restless and helpless.
There was a limit to how much he could control the women.
Not everyone could get along.
Sometimes simply being close to one person could earn another's hatred,
and sometimes an entire relationship could shatter into pieces over trivial things.
How could people who already disliked and checked each other possibly grow closer?
'Haa... I'm going crazy...'
The man agonized,
the thief and the wolf fought,
the knight drooped her head gloomily,
and the witch kept her lips tightly shut in a silent protest—that very instant.
"How about doing it this way?"
Archbishop Helen shattered the tense silence.
She had been silently observing the five people's dispute from a step away,
then accurately grasped the situation they were in and interjected.
"Allow me to make a suggestion. As an outsider who is not a party to this, I can offer an even fairer proposal."
The five sets of eyes gathered on Helen.
"From what I see, you all seem to be entangled in all sorts of emotions and bonds... coincidentally, it appears you all harbor romantic feelings for Lord Delin. Isn't that right?"
It was truly embarrassing to say aloud, but Helen's words were an obvious fact and an excellent insight.
"Then instead of fighting like that... wouldn't it be better to come to a peaceful agreement?"
"How?"
Delin listened intently, ready to accept the advice. Wasn't peace better than fighting!
If these women started fighting, chaos would surely break out, and taking advantage of that goddamn chaos, the Queen's pursuit would grow even fiercer.
So they had to stop the women's conflict as soon as possible and depart for the Demon Continent! To that place where God's Garden was...!
"Just tell us. We'll listen and think about it...!"
"Very well. Since you all seem to wish to monopolize Lord Delin... just yield a little to each other. One day, Lady Philmark can be intimate with Lord Delin, and the following day, Lady Neva..."
"Huh?"
What was this?
"If you alternate sharing Delin—no, making love like that each day, then I believe Lady Philmark's complaint would also be resolved. Since Lady Neva is the one making the request, on her scheduled day Lady Philmark would get one extra night to hold Lord Delin."
Delin recoiled in shock and waved his hands.
"Th-That's absolutely not happening! How could there be such a thing!!"
But Helen reacted with ostensible surprise and continued her words smoothly.
"Oh my? Wouldn't it be better than fighting? If you keep fighting every day like this, you'll surely suffer the entire journey..."
It wasn't wrong.
If they were shoving blades at each other every single day, they obviously wouldn't be able to properly run from the Queen. They'd never be able to reach God's Garden either.
"W-Well, that's true but..."
Delin began sweating profusely. The vision of the future was being drawn out with vivid clarity.
The tragic storyline of heading toward God's Garden while getting squeezed dry every single day,
and getting fucked like a dog...!
"..."
Of course, the women's reactions weren't much different.
They were being told to share their boyfriend,
or lover,
or romantic partner,
or Seobang-nim with others!
Of course, in this other world, it was common for multiple women to jointly own one man, but cases of sharing a man among women who snarled at each other like this were exceedingly rare! There might sometimes be unavoidable cases, but...
The women gathered in this spot could not easily accept Helen's proposal.
"So you're telling me to just sit and watch those bitches fuck? Go fuck yourself. Anyone lays a finger on his body, I'll tear every last one of them to shreds and kill them."
"Th-This one opposes it most of all! No, why must this one's Seobang-nim be sent to other women? And not even a close friend, but to a mean and filthy criminal like that!"
"I am against it as well. Sharing love means sharing each other's hearts and cherishing one another. Doing it by setting up turns like this is no different from selling one's body, in my opinion."
"Me too. The proposal is so unpleasant it's pissing me off."
Strong rejections.
Facing all of them, Helen showed yet another smile.
"Dear me. I suggested it out of consideration for you ladies. If the four of you just keep checking each other the whole way, then probably none of you will be able to share intimacy during the entire journey."
A blind spot.
If they all ended up adventuring while bumping into each other, then everyone would likely keep their eyes blazing and surveil one another, and if by any chance someone crossed the line, wouldn't the other three immediately deliver a collective lynching.
The women again seriously pondered and imagined the future. Exactly how their annoying rivals would act...
"...It is a true statement."
"Better off not doing it at all! Rather than watching those stupid bitches shake their hips on top of Delin!"
Even so, the women did not cast a vote in favor of sharing Delin. A perfectly normal reaction!
"Everyone, calm down. It's not too late to decide after hearing Lord Delin's story first."
Helen soothed the furious women and naturally shifted her gaze to Delin.
The women's eyes blazed as they demanded an answer from Delin.
Daring to let his cock be permitted to another bitch!
Staring right at him as if to bore holes!
"I, I..."