A Moment of Doubt
The night air was thick with heat and unspoken longing.
“Haa… Ceres….”
Every night, as if desperately trying to heal him, Ceres had climbed atop him with careful devotion. But tonight, she was unusually aggressive.
Slurp. Sluuuurp.
The childhood friend he had always adored was straddling his waist, her fingers gently stroking his neck while her tongue flicked across his nipples. The sight felt strangely awkward, yet it stirred an excitement in Dain unlike anything he had ever known.
Zarko, Hans, those other wretched bastards—none of them had ever seen Ceres like this.
“Ceres….”
His arousal, swollen with lust, pressed insistently against her entrance. Something felt different today.
Unlike the previous nights where he had simply received, he felt as though he might actually be able to give her something in return.
In a sudden motion, Dain gripped Ceres’s waist and rolled her beneath him, positioning himself on top of the Saintess.
“D-Dain…?”
“….”
“I love you, Ceres.”
His eyes burned with sincerity. Ceres’s face flushed crimson as she pulled him into her arms and whispered back.
“I love you too. More than anyone else in the world.”
Only now did he fully feel the weight of her full, moist breasts pressing against his chest. With trembling care, Dain took hold of his shaft and aimed it at her folds, nudging the tip between her pretty petals.
It was still hard.
“Nngh…!”
Ceres’s shoulders trembled as if she had sensed something. At the same time, the faint moan that slipped from the Saintess’s lips nearly made Dain’s nose bleed.
“Hnnng…!”
“Mmph!”
It went in.
Dain’s length slowly parted the walls of Ceres’s pussy, sinking deeper. The slick, squeezing heat offered a pleasure he had never experienced in his entire life.
“C-Ceres…!”
“Dain….”
Worried that his clumsy movements might hurt her, he studied her face as he gradually pushed his hips forward.
“Hah… mmm…”
“Does it hurt?”
“No… nngh, it’s okay. Come on, Dain.”
“Ceres….”
“Hold me… all the way…”
The sight of her flushed face gazing up at him ignited something primal. Permission granted, his awkward consideration gave way to raw desire.
Squuuueeeze.
Her slippery depths swallowed his entire length in an instant.
“Ugh!”
The overwhelming pleasure surging from where they were joined pierced straight into the warrior’s—no, the Hero’s—mind.
“Haaang…!”
It was in. All the way in!
Hearing Ceres’s genuine moan as their bodies truly met for the first time turned his mind completely white. Her skin was slick with sweat, and the inside of her pussy was astonishingly soft.
When he pulled his hips back to thrust again, her juices glistened along his shaft. Squelch.
He drew out until only the head remained, then drove back in. The wet sounds of their connection filled the room, and with each renewed thrust, the pleasure built higher—until a familiar sensation suddenly rose.
Squelch, squelch.
Slap, slap.
‘You came here to fuck too?’
The image of Zarko slamming into Ceres’s tight pussy over and over flashed through his mind. The way that bastard had shown him everything while shamelessly mocking both him and Ceres.
‘N-no… not now…’
Spurt. Spurt…
After only two full strokes, a small load of semen spilled into the Saintess’s depths.
“Dain…?”
Ceres felt the slight twitch inside her but had no idea he had already finished. All she registered was the way his shaft was shrinking within her.
“….”
He couldn’t say a word.
But Ceres simply offered a gentle, beautiful smile and pulled him close, burying his face between her ample breasts.
“It’s okay, Dain. Hm?”
“…I’m sorry, Ceres…”
“You saw it today, didn’t you? If we keep trying, it’ll get better eventually.”
The way she patted his back only deepened his guilt. He knew it couldn’t be helped, yet he hated how narrow-minded he was for constantly thinking about the men who had taken her.
“I love you, Dain.”
“…I love you too. So much.”
“I’ll only ever love you. Until the day I die.”
Those were the words he needed most. The Hero’s expression softened just a little.
Ceres was right.
After all, he had managed to go all the way inside her today. If they kept working at it, someday they would reach a future where the two of them could live happily together.
A faint smile touched the Saintess’s lips as she playfully poked the nose of the deeply sleeping Dain.
He was such a lovable man. Having him sleep beside her filled her with joy—but the reason she had been so unusually eager tonight was the guilt she felt after spending the afternoon with Grahn.
When Dain had entered her, she had acted far more aroused than she actually felt. And when his cock had wilted inside her almost immediately, she had felt a momentary wave of relief. She wondered if he had noticed.
It wasn’t the ending she had hoped for, but the fact that penetration had succeeded at all made Dain’s morning noticeably brighter.
The same bed. Beside him lay Ceres, wrapped in the blanket.
Waking up to the sight of her sleeping face—what could be more perfect?
It was the best morning imaginable.
The curves of Ceres’s body were visible beneath the sheet. From her shoulders to her waist, the elegant line flowed beautifully before rising again at her wide, graceful hips. His twenty-one-year-old cock, which grew hard every single morning, stiffened to the point of aching.
Dain clicked his tongue and gave a bitter smile.
He didn’t have the courage to try right now, but if they kept making progress like yesterday, step by step, he was sure he would be able to satisfy her soon.
They would make love day and night, have many children, and live happily ever after.
But first, they had to deal with the Demon King.
Today’s schedule as the Hero was packed, so after pressing a kiss to Ceres’s forehead, he decided to start his day a little earlier than her.
Her steps seemed lighter than usual, but he chose not to dwell on why.
Being the woman loved by the true Hero Dain made her happy. Yet after breakfast, her feet carried her straight to the blacksmith’s workshop.
“Ahem, Ceres.”
“Grahn.”
A chair had already been prepared for her beside him.
“How about you drop that ‘sir’ already?”
“Hehe, no way.”
“Kahaha!”
The atmosphere was the same as always. If she told him that penetration had succeeded last night, he would surely be happy for her.
“Um, Grahn. About yesterday…”
“Yeah?”
“Last night… Dain managed to put it all the way inside me.”
“…O-oh! Is that so? Mm-hmm.”
His reaction was a little slow, but Grahn soon broke into a wide grin and patted her on the back.
“That’s good. Real good. Kahaha… Wait, all the way inside?”
“Ah, well…”
She briefly explained that while Dain had succeeded in penetrating her, he had only managed two thrusts before finishing.
“Mm-hmm.”
“…And from the look on his face, I think… he was remembering Zarko again.”
At the mention of the fake Hero’s name, Ceres’s head dipped slightly.
“What good does thinking about the past do? The important thing is that you took another step forward.”
“…Yeah. Hehe.”
His comfort was sincere, but the sight of her shy smile made an impulsive question slip from the blacksmith’s lips.
“…So, what about you?”
“Huh?”
“Were you satisfied?”
“…U-um…”
Ceres’s face turned red—not from embarrassment at the question, but because the entire walk here, her mind had been flooded with memories of the rough sex she had shared with Grahn the day before.
“….”
“There’s no way two measly thrusts would’ve been enough for you.”
“…I-I don’t know.”
“Kahaha, I’m just teasing. Just teasing.”
Grahn lit the forge and slid a weapon into the flames. He continued working as if he had nothing more to say, but Ceres’s flushed cheeks refused to cool.
It wasn’t just the heat from the forge.
‘…He did it on purpose…’
He had planted the thought, then pretended to ignore her while focusing on his work. The blacksmith was clearly waiting for her to say it out loud.
No matter what she said, it would be mortifying and embarrassing.
It wasn’t that she had no desire at all… but the thought of doing it the dwarf way kept echoing in her mind.
“…What about you, Grahn?”
“Hm?”
“You said that because you want to do it, right?”
“…Yeah. That’s right.”
“…H-huh?”
“I said yes.”
The blacksmith set his hammer down.
“So, what do you want to do, Ceres?”
“….”
“Did you only come here to say that?”
For some reason, he was being especially mischievous today.
“D-Dain!”
“Yeah?”
“…It’s only until Dain gets better… that’s all…”
With her head lowered, Ceres whispered the words, then hurried deeper into the workshop with slightly quick, embarrassed steps.
The front of the blacksmith’s pants, as he followed close behind her, was already straining hard.
“Grahn, you in here?”
At dusk, the Hero came looking for the blacksmith, but the usual spot by the forge was cold and dark.
“Grahn?”
“O-oh, is that you, Dain?”
The voice came from the storage room deeper inside the workshop.
“Yeah. Are you busy?”
Following the sound, Dain stepped inside and froze.
“Dain! Hehe.”
“Ceres?”
He had not expected to find the Saintess here.
“What were you doing in here?”
“Um, I was watching Grahn work.”
“…I see.”
Her face was slightly flushed. Her hair was damp.
“Hey there, Hero.”
Grahn emerged from the storage room carrying weapons, his clothes soaked through with sweat.
‘…No way. It can’t be.’
She had said she was watching him work. If it was blacksmithing, sweating made sense. And he knew all too well how endlessly curious Ceres had been since childhood.
She had probably pestered him, saying she wanted to try it herself.
“So, what brings you here, Dain?”
Grahn.
Not Grahn sir, but just Grahn?
Were the two of them that close?
“Ah, it’s about tomorrow’s operation. I wanted you to take a look at my sword…”
“Mm.”
After handing over his blade, Dain tried to push away the thoughts that kept resurfacing.
This too was part of the curse Zarko had left him.
Get a grip, you idiot. It’s Grahn.
If not for Grahn, he wouldn’t have made it this far. Ceres would never do something like that. Grahn wouldn’t either.
Even as he told himself it was just needless anxiety, Dain’s gaze kept drifting to the cleavage visible between the slightly disheveled folds of Ceres’s top.