The World Is Not Equal
I stared blankly at Luciana as she continued eating with refined grace.
...Where did she learn to eat like a proper noble?
Or was this the default etiquette of this world?
For a long time I simply watched her without even touching my fork.
When Luciana noticed my gaze, the corners of her mouth curved up in an instant, along with her narrowed eyes.
Y-you...
Are you scheming something again...?
As expected.
A piece of meat dipped in sauce brushed against her lips.
Whoa, she makes it look so natural?
If I hadn't been watching carefully, I wouldn't have guessed she'd done that on purpose.
But now what?
I already knew everything she was thinking.
"I did it."
"Wipe it."
Look at that.
Not even your mouth, but you suddenly say "wipe it" while staring at me the whole time.
I kept my lips stubbornly pouty and ignored Luciana's words.
Regardless, Luciana stared at me with expectant eyes as she leaned forward.
After watching me in silence for a while, she finally spoke.
"They're saying they won't feed me. And they won't wipe it."
Huh, why are her lips sticking out like that now?
Are you copying me?
"Am I really going to make you cry?"
"I... I know... I know, so just stop."
If you keep dragging things out like this, it's only going to make me suffer.
Well, I can do this much.
It's not that big of a deal, right?
I reached out with my arm and gently wiped the sauce from the corner of Luciana's mouth using my thumb.
Ignoring Luciana's playful grin, I looked around the restaurant.
...What? There's no nap time?
It's a restaurant.
"Chop-"
...Mmm.
...I had a bad feeling.
Yet no taste registered at all.
The only thing I sensed was Luciana's sweet scent.
It had been odd since the first time I came here.
There were plenty of delicious-looking dishes, but they felt more like well-crafted objects than something to eat.
I had no appetite whatsoever.
Even though I'd gone almost two days without food, and I'd been worried about stuffing myself too greedily.
...Now that the food was right in front of me, all those urges vanished.
Honestly, I hoped they wouldn't come back.
In the game, the only way for Seri to recover stamina was this one method.
......
But why is Luciana acting like this again?
"Are you done? Your face is so red."
Luciana, who had been swallowing whatever she wanted to say with her lips slightly parted, answered with a smile instead.
It was suspicious... but it wasn't important right now.
...Time to eat.
I needed to fill my stomach.
You never know.
It might not be what I expected.
I really hoped it wasn't.
#
The magic tool shop.
In the most important location in Riabet, I stared at the hand mirror for a long time.
To clear the first hidden quest, I needed this right now.
There was only one in stock.
If I just buy it, right?
...Where do I even get money?
Let's go hunt monsters instead.
I still had some time left.
I glanced at Luciana, who looked like she was having fun.
If I asked her to join me in fighting, she'd probably come along happily...
But I wouldn't say it out loud.
The reason I couldn't speak up was simple.
...She looked too happy.
It would be too guilty to interrupt.
After a while, Luciana noticed my gaze and approached with a smile.
"Mirror? Ah, it's so pretty."
Was the last bit of attachment still there? My fingertips, still holding the handle, drew Luciana's gaze.
"Ah, Unni. Will you come hunt monsters with me?"
"Eh?"
Luciana stared at my face for a moment, then suddenly picked up the hand mirror.
More precisely, she placed her hand over mine that was holding the mirror.
"It's because I'm sorry, so I'll buy it for you as a gift."
I didn't know how far Luciana had read my thoughts.
But in that short moment, she seemed to realize I needed this mirror.
Luciana smiled and led me to the display.
...It would have been polite to refuse once.
But I wanted to refuse.
Still, since she was sorry and offered to buy it, what could I do?
Hmm.
...To be honest.
I didn't want to stop Luciana from looking so happy.
My personality was one that always repaid debts.
I would definitely return the favor someday.
...Then it meant I had to stay close?
What? Luciana is high-rank, right?
...No, I was just being shortsighted.
It wasn't something a person giving a gift should think about.
4000 gold.
It was quite a lot of money for me.
Even if I sold all the magic stones I'd collected so far, I probably wouldn't have more than 500 gold.
Even so, Luciana accepted the hand mirror without hesitation and handed it to me, with an expectant expression.
...At this point, I didn't need to ask what she was hoping for.
It was the natural order?
"...Thank you, Unni."
"Fufu, then how about kissing my cheek?"
"...I don't want to."
Whoa, you get paid back for that?
No matter what, I couldn't accept it that far.
Fortunately, either because I said thank you, or because she had already figured out my personality.
Luciana simply continued walking while tightly holding my hand.
Holding hands was nothing unusual... I wasn't in any special position.
For now, don't fight it.
The warmth from Luciana's hand felt especially good.
#
Thanks to Luciana buying the hand mirror, most of the preparation process was skipped entirely.
This was truly good luck.
The hidden quests and main quests got harder the longer the game went on.
The problem was that for this particular quest, I had to somehow separate Luciana.
"Unni, will you go to the inn first?"
"Why~?"
...I couldn't possibly say "If we go together, I can't clear the hidden quest," no matter how hard I tried.
More accurately, the difficulty had increased exponentially.
Was there really no way to separate her?
"Should I go wash first?"
"...Eh?"
...What? That meaningful smile.
It seemed like she was misunderstanding in a completely different way.
"Ah, even so, it would be better to wash together."
"......"
...It didn't sound like something someone should say with such a wink.
Since it was a main street, there were plenty of people around.
...Now it really looked like we were walking as lovers.
"Haa... I'll say it honestly."
I had even considered lying like a fish out of water, but I gave up quickly.
"I'll wash a bit and wait.
I'll be expecting you tonight...
If I said it that way, she would probably lock herself in the inn.
But that would be like putting a tiger in its lair.
"I'm going to a somewhat dangerous place, Unni. I don't want you to see me hurt."
Just wait at the inn.
I was about to add that when I saw Luciana's expression and swallowed the rest.
...I messed up the order.
I should have said wait at the inn first.
No, maybe I shouldn't have said it at all.
For a moment I thought about it, but when I saw Luciana's face flush red, a soft laugh escaped.
"Why are you so embarrassed? It's cute."
Is this the feeling of always losing and then one time I land a hit and yell "You're hopeless-"?
Hmm, I didn't feel bad at all.
I pretended not to see Luciana covering her cheeks with her palms.
The hot body heat transmitted through the hand I was holding.
That alone was enough to know.
#
"...It looks much more rundown than I thought."
On the outskirts of Riabet village, I hid in front of the dilapidated church that hadn't been properly maintained and surveyed my surroundings.
The place where the boss of the 1st stage appeared.
It was also the location of a hidden event.
According to the story, the boss hadn't appeared yet.
More accurately, it hadn't awakened.
And this hidden event could only be progressed before the boss awakened.
It was also an event so rare that even speedrunners might not notice it.
Because it took a long time from when the boss awakened until it appeared on the stage, countless players had wandered around the 1st stage.
They didn't even have reason to come all the way to this old church on the outskirts.
Of course, for me right now, it wasn't a simple game.
The absence of the boss was an overwhelmingly good situation.
I took slow steps.
The destination was the hidden underground passage of the church.
I didn't have to worry about being overheard.
The few nuns of this church went to the dormitory when the sun set.
Fortunately, after entering the prayer hall without incident, I headed straight for the pulpit without hesitation.
The open Bible.
And the faintly flickering fixed candles.
The exact same scenery as the game.
With a strange sense of relief, I slowly reached my hand toward the candles.
【Would you like to extinguish the candle's flame?】
How happy I was when I first confirmed this interaction in the game.
Who would have guessed there was a hidden event starting point in this old, rundown church?
I gathered my breath and gripped the flame of the candle with my index and thumb.
The moment the faint warmth vanished.
Squeak---
From behind, the sound of an old hinge creaking came.
I slowly turned my body with anticipation.
...
I found it.
#
Unlike the crumbling church exterior, the stairs leading underground were incredibly well preserved.
From the ceiling, which was damp, drops of water fell thump, thump.
A pitch-black corridor.
The candles placed here and there barely illuminated the ground at my feet.
As I stepped forward one by one, the light visible in the distance gradually grew stronger.
At the same time, the anxiety mixed with expectation swelled in my chest.
No matter what, this wasn't a game.
If it had been a dungeon where monsters jumped out, I wouldn't have been this tense.
But for a mental-type event, it was different.
I was a player who had experienced the impossible.
Tap tap tap-
I stopped my steps, which had been steadying my mind.
Candles lined up endlessly brightly illuminated the suspicious faces.
I walked slowly in front of them.
And let out a deep sigh as I erased my hesitation.
"Huuu---"
Squeak---
A stone door began to open with a grinding sound.
The view slowly widened.
On the other side of the door, waiting for me was neither a monster nor a person.
Me.
More precisely, my reflection in the mirror.
I recalled the words engraved on the door again.
『 Overcome your desires. 』
A hidden quest I'd failed many times.
Because it was Luciana standing beside me, of all people.
The succubus's desires were simple, in a way.
Sexual desire.
Nothing seemed wrong with that.
Whether I masturbated or not, as long as I satisfied the lust and moved forward, it would be fine.
In the end, for a succubus who needed stamina, sexual desire was a desire that couldn't be completely suppressed alone.
In the game, I could clear it relatively easily just by leaving Luciana behind.
All kinds of lewd logs continued endlessly.
But the problem was...
Yeah.
When someone was next to me.
The moment the difficulty flipped completely.
The moment Luciana was beside me, the succubus's desire, losing its way, naturally turned toward her.
Luciana's desire was excessively incompatible with Seri.
At first it was just lust.
If that was all, I wouldn't have repeated failures just because I was with Luciana.
Countless reflections in the mirror.
Release.
Expression.
Ownership.
Domination.
Yearning.
And finally, the same sexual desire as Seri.
At most a few minutes.
Even if it took dozens of minutes, the event should have ended.
It turned into an infinite prison with no escape method because of Luciana's presence alone.
Until the escape function allowed by the game system was used.
Continue.
It didn't end, and it continued.
Splat---
I deliberately slapped my cheek hard.
...Pull yourself together.
This was reality.
The escape function that had saved me many times wasn't here.
If I messed up, I might be trapped here forever.
The moment I faced the mirror again-
Throb---
A sudden throbbing sensation in my lower abdomen made my vision shake for an instant.
...It's starting.
I immediately put my hand in my pocket.
What was hanging from my fingertips was the hand mirror that Luciana had bought me earlier.
『 Witch's Mirror [C Grade]
User's mental domination resistance increased by 50%.
User's magic attack power decreased by 20%.
User's magic defense decreased by 20%. 』
It was normally a trash item I wouldn't look at twice.
But now it was my lifeline.
...Even so, it was much more dizzying than I thought.
My lower abdomen still throbbed, and every time I stepped forward while prying the mirror apart, I heard voices I couldn't identify.
'If I give up, it'll be easier.'
Like a flower calling bees, sweet temptations pounded directly into my brain.
As if it were the most natural thing to do.
'Just leave your body to me.'
Again.
'Don't you feel curious?'
Once more.
At some point, a hot sensation from my crotch.
Something hot was creating a stream of liquid along my thighs.
'Did you imagine it?'
...You were expecting it.
I knew it wouldn't end easily.
I knew reality and the game were different.
So this lewd whisper-
'Women's pleasure-'
"Hueup--- pha ha..."
I gathered my breath again.
The resistance to mental attacks was only this much?
...It was dangerous.
This was truly dangerous.
My steps gradually slowed, and the frequency of my breaths increased as I rubbed my thighs together.
'Everyone does it, right?'
The single stream of water that had been there became countless sticky streams soaking my thighs.
My mind repeatedly shouted as if giving commands to my body.
Right now.
'Masturbation at least.'
To relieve the lust.
My trembling hand several times responded toward my crotch.
Even the hand holding the mirror was no different.
I forcefully grabbed my wrist and said "No" while my rationality as "me" suppressed the instinct.
The more it grew, the more the question did too.
'Why?'
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
It kept asking me why masturbation was okay.
'Ah, maybe just a finger is fine.'
My breathing became irregular, and I desperately continued breathing deeply to stop it.
'If I put it in now, it would feel really good.'
I knew it was useless, and yet I kept spitting out fluids.
But, but.
If I surrendered here, I felt like I would become something other than "me."
If I gave my body to pleasure and opened my eyes to lust, I would truly become a succubus.
Like I would forget that I was "me."
...In the game, one button press would have ended it.
But now?
Would I really be able to endure that pleasure?
Would I be able to stop in time?
Could I really erase that pleasure from my mind?
...No, I couldn't even give it a chance.
I bit my tongue hard.
Soon, a faint scent of blood filled my mouth.
...I could still hold on for now.
Even if my body didn't understand, my self was still faintly alive.
So, it was almost over if I went just a little further.
But I had to.
"......Seri."
"......"
My feet stopped.
I thought it was a hallucination.
No, it had to be a hallucination.
After all.
In this world, the only person who called me by that name was-
Only one person.
"...Unni?"
