The Snow Woman's Secret Motives
Squishy sounds, conversations, shouts, moans... A cacophony of noises filtered past her hypersensitive cat ears. Ears dozens of times keener than any human's. Perking up those sleek black ears, Necoma poked her head out from under the covers.
"Nyaa?"
She barely cracked her eyes open in the toasty warmth of the blankets. That cozy heat brought on drowsiness, luring her like a siren. She stared at the devilish temptation for a moment.
No. Her instincts whispered.
"I know, nyang."
For beastkin, instinct was more trustworthy than anything else. Even if the whole world screamed otherwise, if her gut said it was true, then it was.
And so, Necoma crawled out from under the blankets.
"It's dangerous, nyang."
Warm. So damn cozy. Those sensations tried to take over her body—artificial feelings she could've spotted with a moment's thought. But the overwhelming comfort clouded her mind into a haze. Without her instincts kicking in, she might've wasted the whole day buried in that warm nest.
And while she frittered away the hours, her comrades and Kairan's party would be...!
"...Nyaa?"
The party? Her party... what about them?
"Something... feels like I forgot something..."
"Awake now?"
As Necoma clutched her head, straining to remember, the door swung open. The snow woman stepped in, and the room's temperature plummeted. Necoma dove back under the covers on reflex.
Ah...
The instant she burrowed in, that soothing comfort flooded her brain again. Tension melted away, and every lingering doubt dissolved into a foggy mist. Her animal instincts screamed danger, urging her body toward the edge of the bed.
"Oh dear, no you don't."
With a firm shove, the snow woman pushed her back under. She pulled several more thick blankets from her inventory and piled them on top.
"Sleep a bit more. Okay?"
"N-No, I can't, nyang...!"
"Mmm. No can do. Sleep more."
Until your comrades are completely separated.
"Nyaaaak!"
Necoma bolted upright from the mountain of blankets. She flung them off and leaped to her feet, cold sweat beading on her skin as she scanned the room.
"Nyaa, nyaa..."
She rotated her head slowly, piecing together the situation. How much time had passed? Were her comrades safe? Someone had stepped on her face or something. Felt kinda nice. Wait, no—that wasn't right.
...Was the snow woman an enemy? She had no clue. She knew nothing.
"H-Head... hurts, nyang."
Even now, her vigilance kept slipping away, fading into the ether.
"Gotta go, nyang. To my comrades, nyang!"
Sweating from sheer anxiety, Necoma dashed out of the room. She felt a chill gaze midway down the hall, but she had no slack to care.
"...!"
The room of one of her comrades—the knight. Besides the knight, she sensed another presence inside.
Should she knock? The thought flickered, then died. Clutching her pounding heart, Necoma pressed her ear to the door.
"Grooooh♥ Hoooh♥ Fuuoooh♥"
"Hiiik!"
Thud! Necoma toppled backward, landing flat on her ass. The beastly roar hit her the second her ear touched wood—like a wounded animal wailing in agony.
"Kn-Knight nyang? Th-That's the knight nyang...?"
"Hooooh♥ Ugh♥ Kr, grooooh♥"
"Ah, aaa...! Ar-Are you okay nyang? You okay nyang? I-I'll save you...!"
Was she getting her head chopped off? Was it dangerous? Did she need help? Her mind raced with worries. She knew better than anyone how strong the knight was, but that only made her panic worse.
"Le-Leader...?"
"Knight!"
"W-Wait...♥ I, me... oooh♥ Kr, krrph♥"
Crashing sounds. Something toppled, followed by shouts and moans. Open the door? Wait it out? How long did she agonize over it?
"W-Waited...?"
The door flew open amid a cloud of steamy mist, and the knight beamed at her. The saintess trailed right behind.
"Wha-What? Why're you two together nyang?"
"Uh, yeah? Ah... Ex-Exercise! We were exercising... Y-Yeah...♥ Ho, oooh♥"
"Kn-Knight?! Wh-Why all of a sudden...!"
Mid-sentence, the knight rolled her eyes back and let out a moan. Necoma panicked and started toward her.
"Eyepatch!"
"Hyaek!"
"...St-Stretching. M-Muscle soreness."
"Th-That nyang?"
"Mm. Sweaty smell's bad right now... Come taste♥"
At the knight's firm words, Necoma looked up at the saintess—Eli. She wore a condescending smirk as she caressed the knight's ass.
"I was helping her stretch."
"R-Really nyang...?"
"Wanna join?"
"Nyaang?"
Eli's offer to exercise together. Necoma hesitated—just a split second.
"Sh-Shall I...?"
"No!"
"Nyaak!"
"N-No... Don't touch the leader..."
"Oh my."
The knight trembled, her voice resolute.
"Don't. Touch. Leader."
"...Hilarious."
Smack! A sharp, resounding slap. Eli's face hardened as she struck the knight's ass hard.
"Grooooh♥"
"Can't do that? We're just exercising healthily♥"
"Hiiioooh♥"
Pssshhh! A gush of the knight's juices soaked Necoma's foot. Necoma stared blankly at the climaxing knight.
"...Nyaa?"
Her brain flatlined. Couldn't process what just happened.
"We need more exercise."
Eli dragged the spasming, leaking knight back inside. As a parting whisper to Necoma:
"Come anytime. I'll be waiting♥"
Necoma stared blankly at the firmly shut door.
Necoma wandered the halls in a daze. Unconsciously, her feet took her to the room of her other comrade—the mage. Another presence lingered inside besides the mage.
This time, no hesitation. She flung the door wide.
"...Hweh."
What met her eyes: the mage collapsed on the floor, semen gushing from her in spurts, and Nia from Kairan's party frozen stiff with her soles caked in the stuff.
"What're you doing nyang."
"...Hic."
"What nyang. For real... Head hurts nyang..."
Necoma grimaced in disgust and backed out of the room. She didn't want to think about anything anymore.
"Nyaang."
Plod, plod. The corridor stretched on forever.
"What're you doing here?"
"...Snow woman nyang."
"Yes. The snow woman?"
"What do you want nyang."
The snow woman had appeared at her side. Necoma glared daggers.
"What exactly do you want from me—from us nyang. Maou's orders nyang?!"
"Huh? What're you...?"
"Don't play innocent nyang! I'm a hero too nyang! You think I wouldn't notice your tricks nyang?!"
"..."
Necoma growled at the snow woman. Tears streamed down the woman's face as she sank to the floor. Hatred flickered to life in Necoma's eyes.
"Spit it out. What you want nyang."
"Hmm, what I want..."
The snow woman pondered, then smiled.
"Your complete recovery."
Then darkness swallowed her vision.
The snow woman gazed down at Necoma, collapsed in the corridor. A soft blanket now draped over her.
"This is my inn. Meaning I can do whatever I want."
She scooped Necoma up. A blink later, they were at the door to Necoma's room.
"I want you all to recover fully. That's the truth."
She'd snag some compensation along the way, pull a few pranks. But the wish for their recovery? Genuine.
"You can't take on the Maou's army like this."
The remaining Four Heavenly Kings were Rahatrik and Seraphila. Word was they'd added the Dragon King recently, but she was no match for the first two.
"You need to be at full strength to even stand a chance."
Even then, solo? Impossible. They'd need at least three heroes—and more Sword Masters than that. Especially the Maou herself—only heroes could face her.
"Sorry for messing with your comrades, though."
Still, it'd be fine. Kairan and Eli weren't the types to toss away their toys. One of them would knock her up, fuck her through the night, turn her into a plaything—but she'd be happy.
"Sorry. No choice."
Kairan's party was unscathed inside the inn, thanks to Eli's mental barrier. Even with tampered time perception and forced serenity, they held firm. No snow woman could breach a saintess's defenses.
"...Besides, I'll end up as a toy too."
The snow woman stroked the sleeping Necoma's head.
"See you later."
By then, not as snow woman and hero—but toy and toy.
"...Ah."
For some reason, tears fell.