The Nightmare That Binds Us
Nagase Yohiko was having a dream. In that dream, Haru was dead. He had died protecting her. For her sake. His body had been torn apart. ‘This is all your fault.’ ‘You killed him.’ A wave of terror. Anxiety. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably. The night her mother had stumbled home drunk, the desperate screams aimed at her echoed once more. “If it weren’t for you, my life wouldn’t have been ruined like this! Your youth, your brilliance… everything disappeared the moment I gave birth to you!”
Nagase Yohiko!!!!!! Her mother’s despair. ‘Does it hurt?’ ‘Are you sad?’ ‘Then…’ Someone spoke. ‘I’ll show you an even deeper despair.’ I spoke to myself. A thin thread tightened around her whole body. The sensation of it digging into her flesh. Crack. The horrible pain felt like every bone in her body was snapping. Something wrapped around her neck. She couldn’t breathe. It hurt. ‘Save me.’ The moment she said that, the other her in front of her replied, ‘Impossible.’
She smiled as she said it. ‘Because you’re… human. I won’t save you! I’ll kill you! I’ll slaughter you! Humans won’t be spared. Every last one… must become a sacrifice. That is our…’ Just as he opened his mouth to continue, a massive something suddenly severed every thread connecting him and her. ‘So you’ve begun as well.’ He said. ‘Very well. Since you’ve now become a suitable vessel, I’ll spare you this once.’ As he spoke, he quietly vanished, adding, ‘To think you would abuse yourself.’ The one who said those words. ‘How amusing.’ With that, I disappeared.
Then, when she looked ahead, Haru was there. Haru had sliced through every thread that had bound her with a giant spear. Even so, the wounds those threads had carved remained all over her body. It hurt. But this pain… was proof that she was alive. This pain… was proof that Haru had saved her. Haru was… [proof that he was watching over her]. The moment she thought that, Haru and Hunya appeared before her. Seeing the two of them, she realized this was a dream and looked down at her wrist. There were deep scars, traces of where she had been bound. Scars that an idol should never have, yet they were fading at an astonishing speed. She didn’t know what it was, but something different from before now existed inside her body.
The moment she thought that, she felt Haru’s gaze on her for a brief instant. A thread. It was connected to her. ‘So Haru… was the one who saved me.’ Thinking that, she approached the grateful Haru, wanting to hear his gentle voice. She wanted to ask about the manager who had tried to make her his woman. “Where’s Manager Haru!?”
The version of her reflected in Haru’s eyes. She was staring straight into Haru’s eyes. But Haru’s expression was strange. “Who is that?” As if he truly knew nothing. “We were just fighting the manager a moment ago, why are you acting like this all of a sudden?” “Woo-kyak.” When Hunya ignored the human beside her and demanded attention, Haru looked at Hunya and stroked her head. Hunya wagged her tail furiously in delight.
“…Don’t tell me…” Had he forgotten? Despair washed over her at the thought, but then the pain from earlier came to mind and she saw an opportunity. Thinking of it as nothing more than a contract, she spoke to the [Haru who knew nothing]. She got him to sign. On the marriage registration form. And so she became Haru’s [legal] wife on paper, but Haru didn’t recognize her. “But it’s okay.” The kind Haru was still by her side. Haru hadn’t left her alone. She could just start over from the beginning. Thinking that, she took the belt he had worn from his room and clutched it to her chest. It felt like she could sense Haru’s ‘energy.’ “Haa…” It felt good.
After hesitating for a moment, she made up her mind and pulled the belt as tight as she could. The leather dug into her flesh and her body screamed, but her heart was filled with indescribable peace. Just a little more… It felt like Haru was right beside her. The more the pain spread, the more only Haru’s voice remained in her head. His kindness… She could feel it. Afraid his kindness would disappear, she unconsciously tightened the belt even more. The leather bit deeper into her flesh, a scream threatening to burst out, but she thought, ‘It’s sweet,’ so it was fine. When she stopped feeling his kindness, the marks of Haru’s gentleness stood out clearly. Those traces too disappeared in less than three minutes, and her skin returned to the perfect complexion befitting a top idol. “Haa…” Hot breath escaped her lips.
The fact that it healed this quickly was proof that Haru had saved her. It was Haru’s… kindness. Thinking that, she gripped the ‘kindness,’ wrapped it around her waist again, and pulled even harder. It felt as if Haru’s kindness was right there with her, just like when he had saved her.
Sorcia thought to herself. When she had created Rose’s ID, she had registered her race as Elf. It was partly to recruit the powerful Rose and elevate the status of the elves, and partly to add the achievement of recruiting her to make it easier for Sorcia to establish her own position in the political world later. However, her father had ignored her opinion and decided that Primrose’s race was Synapse. Then he had given her the national-treasure-level artifact [Observer’s Eye], which could trace the origin of anything in the world, and ordered her to use it to investigate without fail if anything strange occurred.
No matter how she looked at the Serena Union’s racial genealogy, it was a race name that didn’t exist. Giving a national-treasure-level artifact to an ordinary elf like her felt suspicious, but on the contrary, it was good. Now she had another card to use in negotiations. Moreover, her father had always openly despised the idea of elite elves approaching ordinary humans. He would say outright that a splendid elf like her, blessed with both beauty and ability, could have any number of fine Serena Union men as husbands, so why go to a man like that? But now he no longer said such things. On top of that, he had begun providing her with far more financial support than before. The only condition was that if any anomaly occurred, she must investigate it with the artifact and report back.
Thinking that, she sent off the recent events and looked at the stones and materials that had arrived. She let out a soft chuckle. And then. “Don’t you know? To human men, everything that comes from the body of a superior beautiful girl like us is a reward.” She had said that. In that case. The juice that Haru-nim drank. The corners of her mouth rose. She had used cleansing magic on her body several times to ensure zero impurities. ‘There must be no foreign substances in the food I make exclusively for Haru-nim. Only… only my body may enter him.’ She had even put up a barrier over the water to prevent any other foreign matter from entering. Pure 100% hot water infused with her body temperature and magical power at their strongest concentration. ‘It would be boring to keep giving him only my essence. This time I gave him something different. How is it, Haru-nim? Delicious, right? My dream infused with my magic.’
The thought that her magic was entering Haru-nim’s body filled her with ecstasy. Her whole body tingled! ‘Aaaaaah…’ The sound slipped out before she could stop it. She watched Haru-nim happily eating ‘her,’ then drank from the cup where his lips had touched and thought, “Ufufufufufu, for Haru-nim’s sake, where should I use next time?” Just thinking about it made her shiver with delight. Haru-nim, we are already connected to each other. You can no longer escape me, so please remain my toy forever. Thinking that, she spoke to Haru-nim, who was looking at Daisy.
“Haru-nim, you keep staring at Miss Daisy’s chest. Are you perhaps thinking of touching it? If it’s you, Haru-nim, I think Miss Daisy would gladly offer it to you.” “Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-you were looking at my chest!” “Sorcia. What are you saying! I’ve never looked at Daisy’s chest! Besides, there’s hardly any chest to touch in the first place—” The moment her complex was touched, Daisy’s reason snapped instantly. “You perverted bastard, die!!” Daisy charged. Haru-nim fled. ‘Haru-nim, who is so fun to play with yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I love him so much.’
The moment Primrose woke up, it felt like someone was throwing a wild dance party inside her stomach. A severe throbbing pulsed through her belly. What is this? Why all of a sudden? Could she have caught some fatal disease? She was panicking from the anxious feeling when a chilly sensation began to rise. Along with the excruciating pain of her stomach tearing apart, she felt something flowing out. She looked down. Red liquid was flowing hotly down her thighs.
She stared blankly for a moment, then was engulfed by a terrible premonition that flashed through her mind. “Th-that can’t be, right?” Even though she tried to deny reality for a second, this was a cold, harsh truth. She felt it clearly. This was… blood. “The day a woman gets cursed by magic once a month.” She had gotten it now. The difference was that, perhaps because the standard was ‘human,’ it had taken her two months after becoming a woman. A former man like her now had to suffer not only periods but period cramps too? The wave of self-loathing made her want to tear at her hair, but the pain twisting her stomach left her no room to do even that.
She finally understood with her whole heart why Hunya and Yu Daye would act so out of it on those days. But why was the blood… evaporating like dust? She didn’t know the reason, but the important thing right now was that even though the blood had evaporated, she still felt dirty, so she headed to the living room to wipe herself. There she ran into Hunya, who had come out for a snack.
Hunya looked at her, sniffed, then jumped in surprise, her ears perking up as she said, “Woo-kyak! Mating completed!?” “No it’s not!” “It is.” With that, she looked at the beef jerky—her favorite item—in her hand, pondered for a moment whether to give it to her or eat it herself, then declared, “Just ask Haru for some!” Seeing her immediately pass the responsibility to Haru, Primrose thought, As expected of Hunya.
“Oh my.” Sorcia, who had heard that, smiled brightly and said, “Is today a celebratory day?” “Huh?” When Daisy, who had just come out, asked, Sorcia continued, “Miss Rose seems a little flustered. Is this your first time?” “First time with what?” “There’s the smell of blood, isn’t there?” At Sorcia’s words, Yohiko—who had come out to check on Hunya—flinched as if she had done something wrong, then looked at the three of them before quietly disappearing while muttering, ‘They didn’t notice what I did today…’
“Y-y-y-y-you don’t mean…!! Even a monster like you gets periods… sorry… still, periods or whatever—” Daisy trailed off, then the moment she grasped Primrose’s physical condition, she ran into the Primrose who had gone to buy the sweet cocoa that Hunya and Yu Daye drank on the day women got cursed by magic. “Why the hell do you show up at exactly this timing, you erotic demon god!” She was taking her anger out on her. Primrose smiled awkwardly and said, “Ah… it’s fine, everyone just go do your own thing.”
“No, it’s a rare occasion. On a day like this, I will personally—” “Meat!” The moment someone offered to buy something, Hunya jumped in energetically. “Hunya likes meat.” “I wasn’t asking you, you stupid Kasif.” “When Hunya hurts, eating meat gives strength!” “Then would you like to go eat meat? Or should Haru-nim go buy some himself for his precious little sister?” Everyone’s eyes turned to Haru. In the end, pushed by all those gazes, Haru had no choice but to go buy meat by himself.