It Was Supposed to Be an Easy Quest

"Hah… hngh…"

As if it weren't already hard enough to form a coherent thought — the worst-case scenario I'd imagined had become reality, and of course my brain refused to make a single sound decision. All I could do was stumble backward, retreating from Luciana like I was fleeing for my life. That was everything. That was all I had.

That was what I was supposed to do.

…That was what I should have been doing.

And yet the sight of Luciana filling my vision planted a seed of doubt. Memories of the time we'd spent together. The woman who'd clung to me relentlessly for what couldn't have been more than a few days. The one who grabbed my hand at every opportunity, whispered into my ear, and closed the distance the instant I let my guard down even a fraction.

It had been embarrassing. It had felt strange. I'd told myself that wasn't my type. Luciana had been nothing but a nuisance, over and over again.

So why?

Why was I already filing away the smiling Luciana as nothing more than a memory?

Why did the thought keep surfacing — just once — that it might be okay if her hand caught mine?

Thud—

A jolt against the back of my head snapped the reverie clean in two. A wall. I'd backed into a wall.

…No. No, that wasn't right. What was I even saying, questioning whether I actually wanted to run? It was clearly the mental assault. This place had scrambled my head into a mess. More than the fact that I had nowhere left to retreat, what truly rattled me was what I'd just been thinking.

"Seri…"

Luciana's voice slipped out like a murmured chant. It was no longer the soft, gentle tone I knew. And the moment I heard it, my body reacted before fear could even register — insisting that the Luciana in my memories wasn't like this.

"Unni—!!"

…The bright, refreshing smile she'd always shown me wasn't this. Snap out of it. The person in front of me was unmistakably Luciana — just not in her right mind. And neither was I. So whatever I was thinking right now, all of it was fake. Every last shred of this hesitation.

I steadied my breathing once more. I slapped away the hand Luciana stretched toward me, forced my body around with difficulty, and started moving again. It hadn't been a large space to begin with. A few corners and it would all be over. So why — why did it feel so impossibly far?

Arousal dripped from between my thighs with every step, spattering onto the floor. Barely able to keep myself upright, I still had to dodge Luciana as she pursued me. …But was that really as easy as it sounded?

"…Why? Why are you running awaay~?"

Luciana's honey-sweet voice drew steadily closer. No — melted would have been the better word. I needed to run right now. If the worst came to pass, there was no telling what would happen. …My head felt like it was about to split open.

That corner. If I just rounded that one corner, it would all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be over.

…My legs wouldn't move.

Fear?

No. I almost wished it were fear holding me in place. I wasn't afraid of Luciana. If anything, it might have been the opposite. The approaching footsteps. That honey-sweet, melting voice. The familiar scent teasing at the tip of my nose. My body was listening to all of it of its own accord — not because I needed to escape, but because of a quiet hope that if I just waited a little longer… she might bring all of this to an end for me.

That couldn't be right. I'd watched myself fail over and over. So why did I keep wanting to turn my head?

…

Just accept it.

…If I accepted it.

What would change?

…

My feet stopped completely.

It's not like you're the one at fault, right?

…I supposed not. The words themselves weren't wrong. The words themselves.

"……This isn't right."

At least right now — this wasn't something I had chosen.

I clenched my trembling hands into tight fists. Nails bit into my palms. Something hot seeped out — blood, maybe. I could do this. I knew I could. No. I had to.

The hand mirror I'd been gripping so hard —

"Unni, catch—!!"

—I threw it at her.

"…—Ah?"

…Thank god. She caught it cleanly.

Fwing——

At the same instant, I clutched my head. In a mind gone suddenly blank white, every sensation I'd been forcibly holding back came flooding in at once — and with them, her scent, teasing at the tip of my nose.

Ah… aah……

"Hnnnngh——"

Go. Crawl if you have to, just go. Luciana wasn't chasing me right now. This was my only chance. Just a little further. Forward — just a little more—

Throb—

"Nngh…♡"

Hot. There wasn't a single place on my body that didn't feel like it was burning. I wanted to bury my fingers in myself so badly I thought I'd lose my mind. I wanted to throw myself at her right then and claim every inch of her bare skin as mine. I wanted to bury my face in the hollow of that alluring collarbone and taste her flesh again and again.

"Haaah… haah……♡"

I wanted my breath to touch her, wanted to drink in every last one of her sultry sighs. I wanted to trade saliva, wanted to suck everything she had out of her. Forward — just a little more.

"Haah… haaagh……-"

If I just stretched out my arm… it would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really be ov——

Over…?

…

The faintly burning flame.

At last.

Went out.

My head was still throbbing.

Maybe it was thanks to the hand mirror Seri had thrown me. Reason, blooming late, began to peel away the haze clouding my thoughts little by little. And yet. Even though my mind had clearly returned — the scene before my eyes kept stoking my desire.

A voice echoed again and again inside my skull. Take Seri. Make her yours. I wanted to leave my mark on those ears right then and there. I wanted to claim those adorable lips that always snapped at me and yet, every so often, drove me completely insane.

……Aah.

I knew. I'd been the same way just moments ago. I knew the strange energy saturating this place clouded sound judgment. I knew Seri wasn't in her right mind right now. All of it. I knew all of it.

So why. Why on earth—

"Unnii…♡"

…

Was my mind telling me to hold her right this second?

"Lucy Unnii……♡"

"Hngh—?!"

My heart plummeted. That was a nickname. She'd always hated it so much whenever I asked her to call me that. So why now? Why at a moment like this? …If you go and call me that way, what the hell am I supposed to do…?

Before I knew it, Seri had closed the distance until she was right in front of me. …I had to stop her. I knew that, and still my body wouldn't move. Close enough that a slight dip of the head would bring us together. Close enough that our breaths tangled. And then—

"……I like youuu—♡"

Zing——

Whatever reason still clung to my mind reeled hard once more.

"…Seri, w-waiit…"

"I likee, I likee…♡"

Ah. ……She was adorable. So this was what it felt like…. Your voice, whispering to me as you looked at me. I'd wanted to hear it so badly. Words I'd never managed to hear no matter how many times I tried. Words I'd longed for all along.

And yet. I'd been so sure.

……

……Ah.

A thought ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠struck me out of nowhere. Was this scene I'd wanted so desperately… really supposed to look like this? Standing before a version of you that wasn't yourself. Holding onto you when you couldn't even think straight. Reaching out to take the thing I'd wanted for so long — was this really what I'd wanted?

"Ugh— Seri?!"

"Unnii… look at thiiis…?"

My gaze wavered helplessly at the sound of your voice. Sticky threads of wetness kept stoking my desire. …This was different from usual. This wasn't me acting out of necessity to replenish your drained essence. This wasn't facing the you who'd been left with nothing but instinct in an unconscious haze.

"My pussy… it's this wet because of you, Unnii…♡"

Right now. Seri wanted me first. Not me. Seri. That single fact washed over me with a sweetness I could barely endure. Eyes curved like crescent moons. Hot breath right against my face. Saliva trailing down in a lewd thread. Just a little closer and we'd touch. Through every loop, I'd never once touched your lips. The moment I'd wanted so badly was close enough that tipping my face forward would close the gap.

And yet, strangely. Even with the moment I'd longed for right in front of me — the desire flooding my mind was yielding its place to something else entirely.

…

"Hahp……-"

……No.

No.

At the very least. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠At least this much. Those words you whispered to me — I don't want to hear them like this. I want you looking straight at me. I want you choosing it yourself. I want you saying it with your own heart. When you're clear-headed. I want you to tell me again then.

……Me too.

My pupils flew wide open.

The first thing that filled my vision was Luciana's face. …Close. So close that her flushed cheeks and her thoroughly ragged breathing were pressed right against mine. And a warm sensation against my lips.

"……."

It was Luciana's palm. She'd put her hand between us, blocking the kiss that had almost landed. Belatedly, I looked down. In her other hand was a familiar hand mirror — the one I'd thrown to her. And now, Luciana was laying her hand over mine, pressing the mirror back into my grip.

Only then did the situation start filtering into my head. I clutched my throbbing skull. My body, still burning with residual heat, kept pleading with instinct again and again — but I wasn't getting swept under the way I had moments before.

I caught my breath and looked ahead. Luciana was still right there in front of me. Looking every bit as wrecked as I was.

Pfft. What a sight we must have been….

Her darting pupils finally settled on me. And the first thing out of her mouth was:

"…Hi?"

"Pfft-"

A laugh slipped out before I could stop it. Hi? In a situation like this? With her face that bright red?

"What kind of greeting is that?"

……So very Luciana. The original Luciana. The one I knew. The real Luciana. Everything that had been packing my head full just moments ago seemed to drift a little further away at that single idiotic greeting. I was still dizzy. My body was still hot. And yet, strangely, I felt clear. Maybe it was because of that greeting.

And only then did it come into sharp focus in my vision. ……The altar. And resting carefully atop it, a single small ring.

Just that. I'd gone through all of this for one little ring? Seriously? All that chaos over a single ring. Good grief.

Cold metal touched my fingertips. I'd actually made it. Just a little further and it would have been over. Why had that short stretch felt so impossibly far?

I glanced sideways. Her disheveled hair was plastered to her face with sweat, her cheeks scarlet. Where had she pawned off that usual elegant look of hers? …She was a complete mess. But, well… seeing her like that, I did feel a little bad. She wasn't quite as strong as I'd thought, either.

So I'd apologize properly later. And collect an apology of my own while I was at it. This one was mutual. Yeah.

Crack—

Somewhere, the sound of glass shattering. Clink——! Another. Then two more, one after another. The mirrors packing the space shattered one by one. At the same time, the hazy fog lingering in my mind cleared away, and the scorching heat in my senses gradually faded.

And at last—

Silence settled over everything.

"Haaah……."

…It was over. For real. It had been so much harder than I'd expected. Belatedly, the strength drained from my whole body and I sank down where I stood. …Right next to Luciana. Well, what choice did I have? I was still holding the hand mirror. And it was warm. …Luciana's hand was.

"……Mm."

This time, I didn't pull my hand away first. Instead I looked sideways. Luciana seemed lost in thought, staring blankly at the shattered mirrors. This was usually the moment she'd throw some teasing remark my way. …She was strangely quiet today.

"Unni."

"……Ah, yeah?"

The face that turned toward me a beat late. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about her — well… she looked a little unsettled, maybe? …Really didn't suit her.

I put some deliberate energy into my voice. A little brighter than usual. And, well— just once.

"…Lucy Unni!"

Luciana's eyes went a little wide. The corners of my mouth tugged upward of their own accord. It didn't mean anything. Just a simple whim. Not gratitude for what had just happened. Not exactly an attempt to comfort her, either. …Probably.

Luciana. No. The two of us—

Smiling like this just suited us better.