Chapter 51: Neria Cries
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 51: Neria Cries
In a small village in the Prona Kingdom, there lived a young girl.
Her grandfather was the village chief, so her family was among the wealthiest in the village.
But the girl’s home was not peaceful.
Flying dishes and vile curses.
The parental affection that should have been directed at the girl was instead a blazing hatred the couple felt for each other.
The girl hated her home.
The things she loved were always outside of it.
“Neria, you’re here?”
A red-haired boy.
“Neria has come.”
“Have you had lunch? We were just getting ready to eat. Want to join us?”
And his family.
They always greeted the girl with bright smiles.
Objectively speaking, the boy’s family was not well-off. His father sold firewood and carvings he made himself, which didn’t bring in much money.
But the boy’s family was the warmest in the village.
That was why the girl loved spending time with them.
It felt like a warm, sturdy fence was protecting her.
Then, one day, it happened.
The boy’s father, who had gone to the city to sell his carvings, did not return. The boy’s mother left to find him. She did not return either.
In an instant, the boy was all alone.
“The husband must be having an affair. Seeing as he’s not coming home, he must be completely smitten with someone else.”
“What about the kid’s mom? Is she having an affair too?”
“Goodness, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Do you know how much the mother loved the father? She probably saw him cheating and went at him with a knife. Since she’s not back either, the outcome seems pretty obvious.”
The villagers’ pockets and hearts were not generous enough to pity and help the orphaned boy.
Instead, they unleashed all the envy and jealousy they had harbored for the boy’s once-happy family upon him now that his protective fence was gone.
They did so knowing full well it would inflict a great wound upon him.
Then one day, just like his parents, the boy vanished from the village.
The girl searched for him frantically.
She didn’t want to lose the last person she had left. After scouring the forest, she finally found him.
The boy was sitting on a cliff.
He was crying as he gazed at the starlight.
He was sobbing, searching for his lost father and mother.
The girl embraced him.
Watching the boy sob in her arms, the girl made a vow.
From now on, she would be his fence.
*
Slam!
The sound of a door shutting violently.
Neria’s mind went blank.
What just happened?
The angel had looked flustered, then began to float in an unnatural way. Cloud’s body also lifted into the air, and the two of them were thrown into a room that had suddenly appeared.
Neria stared at the stone door that had slammed shut the moment they were inside.
She tried pushing it.
It wouldn’t budge.
No matter how much strength she used, it wouldn’t move.
Was it a pull door?
There was no handle.
Her gaze returned to the stone door.
Words were carved into it.
♡The Room You Can't Leave Unless You Have Sex♡
[Not having sex yet!]
As she stared blankly at the inscription, one word in particular caught her eye.
Sex...?
Sex, as in... that?
“Ah... Ahhh...!”
Only then did Neria realize the gravity of the situation. She pounded on the door and screamed.
“Cloud! Cloud! Can you hear me?! CLOUD!!!”
It was useless.
Iries had cast a spell on the room to block all outside noise.
No matter how desperately she cried out, her voice would not reach the inside.
Neria didn’t know this.
She believed her voice could reach him through the cracks of the door.
“Just wait a little longer! I’ll get you out from this side somehow! Got it?! Just... just wait a little longer!”
She didn’t know how to get him out yet.
She was just saying anything to reassure Cloud, to stop him from having relations with Rahmiel.
Neria drew her sword.
She swung it hard at the stone door.
[Cross Slash]
[Strong Blow]
[Moonflower Slash]
She used every attack skill she had. But all she felt was the door’s hardness vibrating through her wrist; she couldn’t even leave a tiny scratch on it.
“Why is it so damn hard!”
Neria started bashing the door with her shield.
If her attack skills couldn’t even scratch it, there was no way a shield would break through.
After dozens of strikes, Neria threw her shield to the ground.
“Ophelia. Can’t you ask the Goddess to open this door? You’re a Saint Candidate!”
“E-Even if you say that, I’m not a real Saintess yet... Besides, this is something the Goddess did herself, so even if I were to ask...”
Neria bit her lip hard.
She turned from Ophelia to look at Eri. Eri was still on her knees, staring blankly at the floor with dead eyes.
“Eri, snap out of it. Please?”
“Huh...? Giant Root Herb...?”
“Eri... please!!”
Neria grabbed Eri’s shoulders and shook her violently. The light slowly began to return to Eri’s dark, lifeless eyes.
“Uh... huh...? Neria? What’s wrong? Why do you look so frantic? And where did Cloud go?”
“Cloud is trapped in that room with the angel!”
“A room?”
Eri’s gaze followed Neria’s finger.
Her eyes narrowed.
“The Room You Can't Leave Unless You Have Sex...? What kind of fucked-up room is this?”
“That’s not what’s important right now. The problem is that this door won’t open. Eri, you can open this, can’t you? Right?”
Seeing Neria’s desperate expression, Eri let out a deep sigh.
“Hold on a minute. I’ll give it a try.”
She placed her hand on the stone door and channeled her mana into it. The pure mana scanned the door’s structure. Indeed, there was a spell cast on it.
...A spell so intricate she couldn’t even begin to analyze it.
Her expression hardening, Eri pulled her hand away from the door.
“I can’t do it. It’s a spell so complex I can’t even analyze it. Who in the world made something like this?”
“The Goddess.”
“Ah, well that makes sense. I almost felt inadequate for a second there.”
Eri’s expression relaxed in relief.
Just as Neria was about to yell at her for being so nonchalant, the inscription on the stone door changed.
♡The Room You Can't Leave Unless You Have Sex♡
[Preparing for sex!]
“Huh...?”
Preparing for what...?
Neria’s mind went completely white.
Frozen for a moment, she soon rushed to the stone door and began pounding on it like a madwoman.
“Cloud?! Is it because it’s hard being trapped in there?! I’m sorry! I’ll find a way to get you out quickly! So just stop for a moment. Okay?! Please... Cloud!!”
Even as her flesh bruised and her bones ached, she didn’t stop pounding on the door. She prayed that her words, her signal, would somehow reach him.
The result...
♡The Room You Can't Leave Unless You Have Sex♡
[Shh! Having sex.]
The inscription changed.
It meant that all her words and signals had failed to reach him.
Ping—
Neria’s head spun.
She leaned against the stone door and slid down to the floor.
—Kyaaak!!! Huu... huu... You... y-you finally did it.
Rahmiel’s scream seeped through the cracks of the door.
Voices from the outside couldn’t get in, but sounds from the inside could get out.
And only Rahmiel’s voice, not Cloud’s.
This, too, was the Goddess’s design.
Thanks to her, Neria fell even deeper into despair.
Ah... he really did it... He’s doing it...
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
—It hurts! I said it hurts! Stop! I told you to stop! Please! Stooop!!!
It hurts?
Is it painful?
If it’s painful, then switch with me.
If it were with Cloud, I’m confident I could endure that pain with a smile...
She prayed desperately, but such a wish was never granted.
As despair washed over Neria, an old memory surfaced.
A distant memory from when they were children.
She had resolved to become his fence. She had sworn to protect him from all the threats of the world.
It was a difficult task for a young, weak girl.
Sometimes, her will had been on the verge of breaking.
But whenever it was about to break, Cloud was always there to encourage her.
There was the time her arms were sore from swinging a wooden sword she’d bought with her allowance. Cloud had carefully massaged her arms.
—Does it hurt? They’re really tense. Stay still. I’ll work it all out.
—Don’t grab my chest in the middle of it like last time. No. You can’t. If I say don’t, then don’t.
Another time, her parents found out she was practicing with the wooden sword because of the calluses on her hands.
They scolded her, telling her to stop such nonsense and just focus on marrying well. Neria always fought with them over it.
Whenever she was feeling down after a fight, Cloud would come and listen to her complaints.
—Your parents are too much. You must be feeling awful. Should I make you some tomato soup?
—Hieeek?! W-What are you doing?!
She had also secretly gone into the mountains to fight a monster. She’d won, but she had nearly died. As she was trembling with fear from the near-death experience, Cloud held her hand and worried about her with all his heart.
—Why would you do something like that?! It’s dangerous! Don’t go. No, if you absolutely have to, then take me with you.
—...Just that? Hero, it may not be an important matter to you, but to me... Mmph?!
Once, after he’d grown into a young man, Cloud had spoken to her seriously, his face blushing.
—I-If you like the soup I make, I can make it for you every day.
At the time, she had laughed it off.
She thought it wasn’t the right time yet. She acted as if she’d heard a joke, leaving just a little room for possibility.
But Cloud had beamed, happy with even that little bit of room she’d left him.
The smile she saw on his face then was still...
—Haaa... Sex with the Hero... it feels good...
Still...
—Cloud... haa... I... haak... Sex with Cloud feels so good...
Huh...? What kind of smile did Cloud have back then?
I can’t remember.
Why?
I thought I’d never forget it for the rest of my life.
—Ahh... Cloud... Cloud... More... Lick me more... haa...
...Stop it.
—Ngh...! Good..! It feels good..! Cloud... So gooood..!
I said, stop it.
—Sex with Cloud... feels so goood...♡
“I SAID, STOP IT!!!”
Thud!
Neria slammed her forehead against the stone door. She didn’t stop at one. Twice. Three times. Four times. She kept banging her head against it until a startled Ophelia and Eri were about to pull her away.
Drip. Blood trickled down from her torn forehead.
“Don’t defile my memories anymore. Don’t... Don’t defile my Cloud!”
Neria wailed, her face a mess of tears and snot, hoping her cries would reach the angel beyond the door.
—Ahh...! There... that feels good, Cloud... so good...
But of course, her voice didn’t reach. Instead, as if to mock her, moans even more drenched in excitement than before slipped through the door.
In response, Neria screamed.
She didn’t even know what she was shouting. She simply surrendered to her pent-up emotions and let the words pour out.
—Ah... Ahhh..! Cloud, hold me..! Tighter... hold me tighter....!!
Whether she did or not, the moans continued unabated.
*
Neria was the first to tire.
Her throat was raw, and she could no longer scream.
As her body grew exhausted, the burning rage naturally cooled.
All that remained was the blackened heart of a dead woman.
Unable to watch any longer, Ophelia gently stroked her back and comforted her.
“...I’m sure the Hero is only doing it because he has no choice.”
“No choice? Can’t you hear those moans? Do those sound like someone who has no choice?”
“Neria, have you... lost your faith in the Hero?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
Neria’s brow furrowed fiercely.
If it had been anyone but Ophelia, she would have already grabbed them by the collar and started beating them.
Knowing this, Ophelia quickly continued.
“Neria, is the Hero you know the kind of man who would casually sleep with a woman he just met today?”
“...”
“Please answer me, Neria. Is the Hero that kind of man?”
“...No.”
Neria shook her head, her face grim.
Other men might, but not Cloud. He was a man of integrity, more compassionate than anyone.
He was definitely not someone who would chase a moment’s pleasure and sleep around.
“...Is he really doing it because he has no choice...? Because he realized it’s the only way out of the room...?”
Seeing Neria’s expression soften, Ophelia nodded.
“As you know, Neria, the Hero has changed from before. For the better. He’s stronger, and his decisiveness has improved beyond comparison. Perhaps this is just another instance of that decisiveness at work?”
“...You think so?”
A small flicker of hope ignited in Neria’s chest.
A hope that maybe...
Maybe Ophelia was right.
It was then.
Creeak—
The firmly shut stone door opened, and Cloud appeared.
“Ah... you guys were right in front of the door...”
“Cloud!”
Neria threw herself into his awkward embrace. As she buried her face in his chest, tears streaming down, a warm hand began to stroke her head.
Neria knew instinctively.
It was Cloud’s touch.
He was comforting her.
Ophelia was right. Cloud didn’t want to do it, but he had no choice.
As her wildly fluctuating emotions finally settled, a wave of drowsiness washed over her.
Neria closed her eyes.
...And fell asleep right there, in his arms.
*
Alright, let’s recap.
I came out after a damn good round of sex, and Neria threw herself into my arms, crying.
In the past, when a companion cried, it was natural to comfort them first before asking why. That old habit was still with me, so I immediately started comforting Neria when she came at me in tears.
Then, like magic, she quieted down and fell asleep.
I was wondering what the fuck was going on and was about to ask the other two, but they didn’t seem to be in any state to answer me.
Eri had turned her head away, her face bright red, while Ophelia was covering her mouth with her hand, staring blankly at something.
I followed Ophelia’s gaze.
“Hic♡ Hnn♡”
I saw a pigeon sprawled out on the bed with her ass in the air. She hadn’t come down from the afterglow of her orgasm yet, occasionally twitching and shaking her butt.
I gently laid Neria on the floor, walked over to the pigeon, and covered her with a blanket.
“Hoooook...!”
At the touch of the blanket, Rahmiel shuddered as if she’d climaxed again.
Looking at her, I realized something.
I wouldn’t be having any normal sex for a while.
Fuck.