Temptation (2)
Did I drink too much?
"Urrgh..."
My tongue felt tied in knots, incapable of forming proper words, and my spinning vision flickered and blurred out of focus.
If I let my guard down for even a second, I felt like I would pass out cold, my fading consciousness blurring the line between dream and reality.
"Um... Lord Alzen."
"Nnngh...?"
While I was drifting in that stupor, a sudden, warm sensation against my left arm made me turn my head.
I must have blanked out for a moment, because Rebecca, who had been sitting across from me, was now huddled right beside me, hugging my arm in a slightly awkward embrace.
"Whash...?"
When I peered at her through half-lidded eyes, her cheeks flushed bashfully for reasons unknown, and she wriggled her thighs closer, pressing against me.
"It's... a little chilly."
"Huh...? Is it...?"
Come to think of it, she had a point.
My stomach burned from the stiff liquor, but the brisk late-night air had stolen the warmth away in a flash, making the contrast in temperature feel sharper than usual. My hands were trembling, too... wait, or was that just because I was hammered?
"So, could I stay like this for just a little while...?"
"......"
Pressing her chest against me with a subtly sultry expression, she leaned her face in close.
A sweet fragrance, searing heat, and soft flesh—no man could resist that combination.
Even less so when completely drunk.
"Well... why not! What kind of guy turns down a beauty throwing herself at him?"
"Heheh, oh, Lord Alzen..."
Shudder.
At that exact moment, an icy chill raced up my spine.
Startled, I glanced back and found Muriel staring holes through me from the other side.
Her deadpan gaze looked just as composed as ever, yet for some reason, a bone-deep frost seeped through me, making me shiver without knowing why.
"Brrr... what the...? Am I not drunk enough...?"
Gulp, gulp!
I hastily chugged another drink, but the chill didn't vanish.
Instead, a fresh wave of drunkenness surged, scrambling my already overtaxed brain.
"Urrgh..."
Unable to fight off the intoxicating haze, I closed my eyes and let the current carry me away.
The drinking party drew to a natural close.
Having grown utterly wasted, Alzen nodded off a few times before succumbing to sleep right then and there.
"Tch..."
"Rebecca."
Muriel, who had been keeping a wary, sharp eye on the tongue-clicking Rebecca, called out to her as she pulled Alzen toward herself.
"Yeah? What?"
"Are you aiming for the position of concubine?"
"What? Ahaha! Come on~ nothing like that. How could someone like me ever dare dream of such a station?"
"Then how else am I supposed to interpret your behavior?"
"...Ahem. Was it that obvious?"
"Blatantly. You showed up dressed like that in the first place. You might as well have shouted to the entire world that you intended to seduce him."
As Muriel pointed out her outfit, Rebecca finally looked down at herself, scratching the back of her head with a reddened face.
"Ahaha... man, this is embarrassing."
"So, what are you actually aiming for by going to such lengths?"
"Aiming? What do you... wait, just to be clear so you don't misunderstand, I'm not doing this for money or power, okay?"
"Then what?"
"His body. I only want Lord Alzen's body. His touch, and his massive... ahem. Anyway, that's all I want."
"...Uh, well."
It was such an unexpected answer that even Muriel was momentarily caught off balance.
"...Wait! You're getting the wrong idea! I-I'm a virgin, alright?! I'm not the sleazy kind of woman you're imagining! Not at all!"
"I wonder about a virgin who seduces someone so brazenly... Even for a carnivore, there are limits."
"Ugh... w-when you work as an adventurer and a mercenary, you just end up like this! It can't be helped!"
"Haaah..."
Detecting no sign of deceit in her flustered excuses, Muriel let out a sigh and nodded as if resigning herself.
"Fine... that is not something I can interfere with. Nor should I. However, you have already failed for tonight, so please head back."
Hoisting Alzen's limp body with ease, Muriel carried him over to the bed, then tilted her head at the hesitating Rebecca.
"What is it? Do you still have business here?"
"No, well, um... ahem, Muriel. You know... if possible, I'd like to sleep in the same bed with Lord Alzen tonight..."
"What?"
When Muriel glared at her, Rebecca flinched, but stood her ground.
Under normal circumstances, she would have backed off, but she was tipsy, her flushed body showed no signs of cooling down, and so she simply blurted it out.
"What nonsense are you—"
"No, no! Don't get the wrong idea! Seriously! Just... yeah, I'll just hold his hand while I sleep. That much should be fine, right? Huh?"
A claim nobody would ever believe.
After all, a sticky, smoldering heat burned clear as day in Rebecca's eyes.
"Do you honestly think that will fly, Rebecca?"
"Why wouldn't it? Lord Alzen probably wouldn't mind either. You saw him earlier, didn't you?"
"......"
The memory of Alzen's dopey, loose grin flashed across Muriel's mind.
When she herself had approached, he had rejected her with sheer malice and madness, yet when Rebecca touched him, he had giggled and allowed it. Witnessing that had caused a dark, murky emotion to surge unbidden from the depths of Muriel's heart.
"...That is a separate matter entirely. Stop talking nonsense and get out."
"Ah, could it be you're jealous?"
"...What?"
"From what I've seen, you and Lord Alzen don't have that kind of relationship... but the way you look at him is pretty curious, you know? I happen to be quite perceptive about these things."
Seeing Rebecca's smirk made Muriel's temper flare, but she swiftly clamped down on it.
"Phew... It is nothing like what you are imagining, so return to your room immediately."
"Ehh~ no way. I'm sleeping beside Lord Alzen tonight."
"...Rebecca."
While it fell short of true bloodlust, an aura bordering on it began to flood the room, causing Rebecca's expression to shift.
"Now this really is suspicious, Muriel. Showing your emotions so easily isn't like you at all... Were you really jealous?"
The moment Rebecca's creeping presence clashed against Muriel's in a tense deadlock, both women sank slightly into their stances, their muscles coiling tight with tension.
"Heheh, want to settle this with skill? Fine by me. I'll knock you out in a flash."
"...You truly are drunk, Rebecca. Let me put you to sleep peacefully."
As the two women ratcheted up their battle intent, dark and blue auras began to wreathe their bodies.
With their heart rates and blood pressure spiking in an instant, dilating their perception of time, they scrutinized every inch of each other's posture in a hair-trigger standoff.
"Gasp, huff, ugh...!"
Just then, a pained groan cut between them.
Reflexively turning toward the source of the sound, Rebecca froze in shock.
Drained of color, Alzen was sweating buckets and visibly spasming.
"Wh-what? Is he sick?"
"Tch...! Step back."
Pulling out an artifact, Muriel activated it, filling the room with a vibrant emerald glow.
"Nnngh... haah, haah..."
Though Alzen stabilized somewhat as the light seeped into his body, his arms flailed wildly as if he were trapped in a nightmare.
"I-I'm here... I'm right here... I'm telling you, I'm right here...! Don't... don't...!"
"Lord Alzen? Are you awake?"
"Quiet."
Muriel snapped coldly at Rebecca, then rushed to Alzen's side and took his hand.
Tugging violently on the hand in his grip, Alzen fumbled for a moment before sinking his teeth into it so hard that the crack of bone seemed to echo.
"Wh—Muriel?! What is this...?"
Sobered by shock, Rebecca cried out in bewilderment, but Muriel merely stroked Alzen's hair without offering an answer.
"Remember me...!"
For a long while, only the grisly sound of flesh and bone being gnawed and ragged panting filled the air.
The sheer bizarre, grotesque atmosphere was enough to daunt anyone; even Rebecca could only watch on with cautious, wide eyes.
"...Hey, Muriel. Mind explaining this?"
"Explaining what?"
"I mean... what's wrong with Lord Alzen? Does he have some kind of illness?"
"An illness... Does this look like an illness to you?"
"Yeah. Probably..."
Glancing at Alzen, Rebecca's face hardened.
"Looks like Warrior's Sickness. The symptoms match."
"Warrior's Sickness? Ah... the term adventurers and mercenaries use."
"Wait, is there an official name for it?"
"I do not know. Never heard one."
"How dry. Still, Warrior's Sickness... why would Lord Alzen have that?"
Warrior's Sickness referred to post-traumatic stress disorder—PTSD. Because adventurers and mercenaries rubbed shoulders with combat and death more closely than anyone, they occasionally suffered from it, earning it the name Warrior's Sickness.
"I do not know either. He has been like this ever since I was assigned to guard him."
"...Huh? Wait a second. That doesn't make sense. If he's had these symptoms all this time, there's no way I wouldn't have noticed during our travels. Why am I only seeing it now?"
"Because until now, I secretly slipped sleeping pills into Lord Alzen's food. Very potent ones."
Rebecca's face instantly froze stiff.
"Was that... for Lord Alzen's sake?"
"Yes."
Meeting Muriel's unhesitating gaze, Rebecca realized it on instinct: a storm of twisted possessiveness and affection raged within those dark pupils.
Whatever Muriel's reasoning was, she hadn't drugged him out of concern for his well-being—she had done it in secret to hide his agonizing nightmares from anyone else's eyes.
"Ha... You really are one dangerous piece of work, Muriel. Don't you think you're in no position to preach to me?"
"No, I am in that position. I am his attendant and bodyguard. You are merely an adventurer and mercenary hired for a job."
"......"
"......"
After staring each other down for a moment, the sound of Alzen's groans drew both of their gazes down at almost the exact same time.
"...Fine, whatever. I'll keep your little secret, so don't you get in my way either."
"You may tell whoever you like. Lord Alzen likely would not care."
"...So you really want to see this through to the end?"
"Haaah... Do you truly have no intention of backing down, Rebecca?"
"None."
"...Very well. Then..."
Rebecca tensed her muscles once more, dropping into a combat stance.
Contrary to her expectations, however, Muriel simply pulled back the blanket, slipped beneath it, and poked her head out to look at her.
"What are you doing? Come in."
"H-huh...?"
"Allowing you to sleep beside him is preferable to waking Lord Alzen by fighting you."
"...Well, if you're fine with it."
Climbing onto the bed with a bewildered expression, Rebecca's face lit up the moment she saw Alzen's sleeping profile, her body growing visibly heated. She was truly down bad.
"...Let me state this clearly in advance: do not even think about doing anything strange to Lord Alzen's body."
"Heheheh. I told you not to worry, didn't I? I'm really just going to hold his hand."
Anyone who saw her face wouldn't have believed a single syllable.
"Haaah..."
Halfway resigned, Muriel tended to the wound on her hand, then gently stroked the hair of the somewhat calmed Alzen.
"...Say, Muriel."
"What?"
"What do you think Lord Alzen meant by what he said? Saying he's right here, telling someone to remember him... It sounds pretty deep, doesn't it? Could it be related to his Warrior's Sickness?"
"...Who knows."
Muriel's brow furrowed faintly, but Rebecca, lying on the opposite side of Alzen, couldn't see it.
"If you ask me, it sounded like he was giving voice to what's deep in his heart..."
"Why don't you stop rambling and go to sleep?"
"Tch. Cold-hearted woman..."
Silence finally descended upon the room.
Muriel began to let her consciousness drift, preparing to sleep.
"Hey, Muriel. Do you know Lord Alzen's type? What kind of woman does he like?"
"...I told you to sleep."
"Come on, can't we chat a little? It's a rare occasion, after all."
Before anyone realized, Rebecca had snuggled deep into Alzen's embrace, slinging a leg over his and rubbing her entire body against him.
Muriel noticed, but merely scowled without stopping her. She believed Rebecca wouldn't cross the line, at least.
"Be quiet. Just sleep."
"......"
"......"
"...Hey, Muriel."
"Ugh, seriously...! What on earth do you want to know so badly?!"
When Muriel snapped in genuine irritation and glared at her, Rebecca grinned like a fish that had caught a bite and began chattering away happily.
In the end, it was well past the dead of night before either woman finally fell asleep.