The City of Whirling Winds

"…Federica. I made a mistake earlier. I was high on the drug and completely out of it, that's all. The stuff you make is just that good. I couldn't help myself. I'm fine now. It was an accident. You're not still mad, right?"

Santanu's voice was carefully measured — almost gentle. The fact that this bastard was even capable of that tone was both astonishing and revolting.

"…Shouldn't you be apologizing to me before you start pouring out excuses?"

"Ah, sorry. I was going to apologize. Federica. You'll forgive me, won't you? It'll never happen again. I swear."

"……."

Federica gave a stiff nod, her expression frozen solid. Santanu's crumpled face lit up at once.

"Thank you, Federica!"

His voice brightened. I fought desperately to keep the corner of my mouth from curling up. Santanu, that idiot, still couldn't read the room. From where I stood, Federica had already washed her hands of him completely.

"Federica. Give me a potion. My arms and legs won't move right, and my molars are loose."

"…Your limbs should start working again if you rest a bit. As for the molars… tough it out. I'd treat you if I could, but I don't have any healing potions ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left."

"No healing potions? Well, nothing we can do about that."

Santanu reached for Federica's shoulder, looking at her with a suggestive gleam. I knew exactly what that signal meant. My face twisted into a scowl. I seriously considered killing him then and there, Federica's opinion be damned.

Fortunately, she swatted his hand away.

"Focus on recovering. You can walk, can't you? We need to move ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fast — if you want that severed arm treated, that is."

"Ah, the arm. Right. Better get it fixed quick. Too late and treatment gets hard. But Federica — how long are you planning to keep that bastard around? We're almost there anyway. Just kill him."

Santanu shot me a glare. Playing the meek little lamb one second, then showing his true colors the next. I watched Federica quietly exhale a sigh.

"…We still have two more days of travel. And I need his strength right now. When you passed out, he was the one who handled the monsters that showed up. You already know how useful he is."

"Useful or not, I don't like his face or his attitude. And more than anything — knowing you've been screwing that bastard… am I just supposed to sit here and take it?"

"Don't get jealous. I'm just playing with him. His life is in my hands. You know that."

"…Federica. This isn't right."

"Santanu. When you were fooling around with other women, I kept my mouth shut. They were just toys, after all."

"…No. That's different from this."

"It is different. He's not some whore. He has real power. In our current situation, with everything stacked against us, we need that power."

Federica stood and took the lead again. Santanu, still not fully recovered, limped after her on unsteady legs.

"Federica! Federica! That bastard is dangerous! We need to kill him right here, right now! He's going to stab us in the back!"

"Enough, Santanu."

Having heard every word of their conversation, I strode up and walked boldly at Federica's side.

"Get lost! Walk somewhere else!"

"If a monster shows up and I need to protect Federica, better to stay close. If you don't like it, you walk farther away."

"I can protect Federica just fine without the likes of you, so piss off!"

I laughed in his face. He clenched his teeth and raised a fist — until Federica snapped her head around. Santanu lowered his hand.

That night, we camped out again.

As always, Federica handed Santanu a single Rose Drug pill. He leaned back against a tree, slipped the drug into his mouth, and quietly closed his eyes.

This bastard. He hasn't swallowed it. He's still awake.

Then Santanu cracked his eyes into slits and put on a performance of being high. The acting was superb — good enough that even I, watching him carefully, almost believed he'd swallowed it. In the end, I activated Heavenly Eye and confirmed the drug still sitting in his mouth.

Being a junkie must help. His high-act is flawless.

I could guess what he was after. He wanted to see what Federica would do while he was supposedly out of it. Probably also worried she might abandon him.

Federica didn't seem to notice the act.

I deliberately approached her, kneading her shoulders and making a nuisance of myself.

"Federica. Finally — our time."

"Hold on. Do you really want to keep doing this? Aren't you tired?"

"I'm tired, which is exactly why I need to work it off. Well, if you don't want to, I'll stop."

"…It's not that I don't want to. I'm just a little shocked by that monstrous stamina of yours."

I ran my fingers through her hair. That vivid red, bright as a rose — every time I saw it, I thought how beautiful it was.

Federica didn't push my hands away. In this stress-soaked life on the run, the pleasure of sex rivaled any drug. And today, thanks to Santanu, she'd been under more strain than usual.

Her black dress slid down. Her soft, full body gleamed in the moonlight.

"Ahng… ah…."

Her pleasure-laced moans were intoxicating. As she received my caresses, her hands diligently stripped me as well. Naked, we collapsed together onto the fur spread across the ground. She lay beneath me, her pale legs wrapping around my waist.

The pussy I'd been pounding every night welcomed my cock once more. My tip nestled against the mouth of her womb, and her plump, soft-pink inner lips hugged the shaft of my cock snugly.

I rolled my hips.

"Ang! Ahng! Aaaang!"

Cries of pure pleasure spilled endlessly from Federica's red lips. Her bouncing breasts were obscenely lewd.

"Federica."

"Hngh…. What? Don't tell me you're already about to come."

"Absolutely not. But tonight, I'd like an answer."

"…To what?"

"Whether my cock is better, or that junkie's cock. Looking at the state of your dripping pussy, I figure the answer's already clear… but hearing it from you is different."

"……."

Federica glanced sideways at Santanu. He was still putting on his high act.

"Does that really matter?"

"It matters to me."

It was a question she'd never answered before.

"…Yours is better. Length, thickness — you win by a landslide. Technique, too. Honestly, until now I never knew sex could feel this good. I only learned that after meeting you."

"Better than any drug?"

"…Yeah. Way better than any drug."

"Ohhh. Your pussy just clenched tight. About to come?"

"Mm… hah… ang. I'm gonna come…! Aaaaaaang!"

Federica's back arched. I bit down on her nipple and checked on Santanu. Given his personality, it wouldn't have been strange for him to leap up and attack me on the spot.

…Not going to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠attack? How well-behaved.

I saw his throat bob. He'd swallowed the drug he'd been holding in his mouth. The fist he'd been clenching went slack.

"Haaaang, aaaaaaaang!"

Federica's pussy was thick and springy.

The next day.

Santanu walked in silence, unlike his usual self. Federica found it slightly odd but didn't bother asking why. I kept a blank face as I stayed at her side. Inside, I was laughing the whole way. Federica and Santanu's relationship was already as good as shattered. All that remained was how the ending would play out.

By afternoon, we reached our destination.

District 1,471 was a windy place. Smaller than the City of Roses, but a well-developed city in its own right.

We had no time for leisurely sightseeing. The moment we stepped inside, soldiers were there to greet us.

Federica, who had been beaming when she first spotted the city, now stared ahead with a face full of despair.

"Dremi…! You're betraying us?!"

At the center of the soldiers, a middle-aged man in armor regarded Federica with a calm gaze.

"Betrayal? When did our relationship ever involve trust? We were merely former colleagues who once worked together. Not even a memory worth calling nostalgia — and even that is fading."

"…Dremi. I need your strength. You know exactly what kind of woman I am."

"I do. Of all the alchemists I've known, I've never met one as skilled as you. Given even a modest foundation, you'd build a power base in no time."

"I'm a woman who never forgets a debt."

"I know that as well. But it's too late."

Dremi's gaze shifted past us. We turned to look behind us.

Combat personnel stood arrayed around Kang Myeong-jin, Master of the A-Plan Legion. Ji Yeongbin, Lilsne, Ju Seo-hyeon, and more. Dozens of mercenaries beyond them directed naked killing intent straight at Federica.

"I've decided to join hands with them."

"……."

Federica sank to her knees.

It was over. There was no way out. That was what she believed. I moved behind her, already planning my next moves in my head.

Taking Federica to the Black Pillar Alliance or the Heavenly Demon Cult is off the table. Kang Myeong-jin won't let her go that easily. In that case, better to…

Just as I reached my conclusion, Santanu did something reckless. He suddenly lunged forward and snatched Federica's potion pouch.

"Santanu?!"

"Federica, you goddamn bitch. We're already finished. Stick with that bastard, fuck him, do whatever you want. I'm getting out of here."

He pulled potions from the pouch and downed them on the spot — gulping them indiscriminately without even checking what they were.

"Y-You're insane. Even beneficial potions cause side effects if you overdose! Stop right now!"

"Federica. Your drug-making skills were always top-notch. I trust your alchemy, at least. Hahaha. Power's flooding through ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me!!"

The joy on Santanu's face twisted into pure agony moments later.

"Ugh… fuck. My stomach hurts. Feels like my eyes are about to burst…. Drug… I need the drug."

He upended the potion pouch. Bottles tumbled out and shattered; Rose Drug pills spilled everywhere. He scooped up a fistful and swallowed them.

"That's better…. …Huh? …Wha? My body, my body… aagh, aaaaaaagh!"

Santanu's body ballooned as if contaminated by radiation. In less than ten seconds, he had shed any human form and become a flesh-lump monster.

"…Santanu. You really are an idiot to the very end."

Federica shuddered with disgust. Her tone was ice-cold — not a trace of lingering attachment or pity in it.

"It's nothing but a lump of flesh. Don't be afraid — attack!"

Kang Myeong-jin bellowed. He hurled his spear, and the assault on Santanu began. Arrows and magic rained down on him. I scooped Federica into my arms and retreated.

Despite looking like a boss monster, Santanu was dealt with easily. Just as Kang Myeong-jin had said — nothing more than a lump of flesh.

"…It's over. I never thought it'd end this hollowly."

Federica murmured, hollowed out. I stepped in front of her.

Kang Myeong-jin pulled something from his coat and tossed it toward me. It was a bead — the moment it touched my body, it dissolved into pure white mist.

Dawn Mist was a sovereign remedy for curse removal. So Rose's Subjugation (S) fell under the curse category. First I'd heard of it.

I turned back to Federica. She smiled forlornly.

"Are you going to kill me now?"

I turned my head toward Kang Myeong-jin once more.

"Kang Myeong-jin. I'd like Federica's disposition left to me."