Is This NTR?
106. Is this what they call NTR? The only sound echoing through the room was the quiet slurp of someone finishing their drink. Unable to bear the silence any longer, Arthur burst out laughing and spoke up.
“I-I’m fine, okay? Really! You two don’t have to fight like that.”
“Fight? What are you talking about?”
“Yeah. Does it look like we’re fighting?”
At Arthur’s words, Bellion and I both tilted our heads, staring at her like she’d lost her mind. Arthur gaped at us for a moment before pointing out what had just happened.
“N-no! You were both just glaring at each other without saying anything!”
“That’s just because we had nothing to say.”
“Right. It’s not like we’d get sulky over something so trivial. I’m not a girl, after all.”
Our responses left Arthur looking utterly shocked, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Even though she was cross-dressing, her true nature was still that of a woman—Arthur really did worry about the most pointless things.
I crunched on the ice left in my glass and looked at Bellion.
“So, you got everything you wanted to know?”
“Well… yeah, I suppose.”
Bellion still wore an unsatisfied expression. I didn’t know why, but he soon shook his head and flashed a grin, as if it didn’t matter. If the result was obtained, the process was irrelevant. Any lingering doubts could simply be swallowed whole. That was how an emperor should act.
“Whatever. It’s fine.”
Bellion acted exactly as he had been taught his entire life. There were still things he wanted to ask Arthur, but he chose not to dig any deeper. Arthur watched him in silence before starting to chew on her own ice. The sharp crunching sounds filled the private room.
“Shall we head out? Ah, you two go ahead. I’ll pay and catch up.”
“O-okay.”
Arthur and I left the café together, her looking uneasy. Bellion only appeared after finishing the payment a short while later.
“That’ll be 150,000 cash.”
“Here.”
“Thank you. We look forward to your next visit.”
The staff member watched Bellion, who remained standing still even after paying for just three drinks—an absurdly expensive bill. Bellion stared blankly back at the employee for a moment before quietly smiling and walking out.
‘So that was the secret.’
The fact that Arthur had a Dragon’s Heart implanted in her was something he had never known. Of course, it wasn’t shocking enough to upset him. Everyone had secrets, and he wasn’t so fragile that he’d feel hurt just because someone hid one. But there was one problem.
‘Duke Merlin gave her the Dragon’s Heart…’
He couldn’t understand the reason. The cause and effect didn’t connect. Having grown up in a position where every favor had to be repaid in kind, Bellion couldn’t fathom why Merlin would gift Arthur something so precious. A Dragon’s Heart, no less—the empire’s treasury didn’t even have one. And he’d given it away without any compensation? Not only that, but he’d successfully implanted it as well?
‘Why?’
Was Arthur Merlin’s child? Or did she have some kind of leverage over him? Or perhaps Merlin owed her a debt? Why, why, why, why. Why would Merlin show such favor?
“Hey, what took you so long?”
“—Sorry. Let’s go.”
Listening to Kyle grumble at him from outside the store, Bellion carefully studied the other man’s back. It made sense that he and Kyle would become friends. He was the imperial prince, and Kyle was an Aura Master. But at the same time—
Kyle was also close with Arthur. The two of them got along despite having nothing in common in terms of skill or ability.
‘Kyle… just why are you like this?’
How could he be so kind to others? How could he treat people warmly without expecting anything in return? Why had Bellion never had even one person like that in his life? Why?
After his meeting with Bellion ended, Kyle returned to the mansion only to hear something alarming from the butler.
“Welcome back, young master. The young lady is waiting for you.”
“The young lady?”
“Yes, Lady Yuri has arrived.”
Yuri was at his house. Only then did Kyle remember that he hadn’t seen her since returning from his mission. Heart pounding, he hurried toward his room.
Yuri was inside, reading a book under the bright glow of a magic lamp. Whether by luck or misfortune, she was so absorbed in the pages that she didn’t notice Kyle opening the door. Silently suppressing his presence, Kyle crept behind her to see what had her so captivated.
‘My lady, you mustn’t. Ah—! Th-there…’ The young master’s seductive moan spilled out, and the lady laughed in delight as she grasped his—
“Whoa.”
Thud—!
Whoosh!
The moment Kyle’s voice slipped out, Yuri slammed the book shut at lightning speed and dove onto the bed. Buried under the blanket, she poked only her face out and greeted him as if nothing had happened.
“Hello, Kyle. Welcome back.”
“Yeah. What were you doing?”
“Nothing… at all.”
She tried to play it cool, but Kyle could clearly see her ears turning bright red. Chuckling, he nodded and leaned down to plant a light kiss on her lips as she lay there. Still dazed from being caught reading an erotic novel, Yuri stared blankly at him for a moment before realizing what had just happened. She immediately started swinging her fists at him.
“……!!”
“Ah, aah—sorry, sorry, okay?”
After lightly pinning the embarrassed Yuri down, Kyle settled naturally beside her and spent a long time talking. He asked about what had happened at the academy while he was away, whether she’d been bored, how she’d been spending her time—small talk to break the ice. Eventually, Yuri cautiously reached out her hand. When Kyle tilted his head in confusion, she looked at him as if to ask why there wasn’t anything there.
“……You went all the way to the capital, and you didn’t bring back a single gift?”
“Ah. I forgot.”
“Forgot……?”
Yuri glared at him sharply, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Kyle scratched his cheek awkwardly before picking up the magic sword he’d left by the bed. The blade was perfectly sealed within its dedicated scabbard, reinforced by Merlin’s magic. Yuri didn’t realize it was a magic sword, but she could sense the extraordinary level of magic woven into the scabbard.
“This is…… Let me see it for a second.”
“Uh, sure.”
“……Where did you even get something like this? Hmm… I see. So it can be used like this……”
Unlike Sera, a self-taught mage, Yuri was a proper magician who wielded magic through innate talent and rigorous study. She immediately recognized that the sealing spell on the scabbard was something even most master-class mages couldn’t cast. The thought of being able to study such a thing up close was like a dream come true for a mage.
“Hey, Yuri?”
“……Right, if it’s used like this……”
“How long are you going to stare at the sword—”
“Be quiet.”
“……Okay.”
Kyle’s plan to enjoy a cozy time with Yuri had been completely derailed by the magic sword. Judging by her expression, this wasn’t something she’d finish in just a few hours. In other words, she was completely stolen away by the sword for the rest of the day.
‘So this is what NTR feels like.’
Having lost his lover’s attention to his own sword, Kyle smiled bitterly and pulled the blanket over his head. Since there was nothing else to do, he figured he might as well sleep and recover from his fatigue. Even after he fell asleep, Yuri continued fiddling with the magic sword for a long time. And after quite a while had passed—
“Like this…… is it?”
Her mana shattered the sword’s seal.
He dreamed. It was a dream of 21st-century Earth, a place he could never return to. Before him lay a feast of hamburgers, pizza, pork cutlets, and cola—mountains of delicacies. Beside them stood rows of celebrities who only existed in games, movies, computers, and television. He knew that if he so much as wished for it, all of it would fall into his hands. Not only that, but he could enjoy this pleasure for eternity.
If he wanted, delicious food would pile up like mountains, waiting to rot. If he wanted, he could indulge in unlimited games, movies, and comics. If he wanted, celebrities would crawl naked before him. All he had to do was desire it.
“What the hell is this?”
The realization made him frown. This was nothing but a peaceful utopia. The old him, back on Earth, might have wanted it. But Kyle Meyer, now accustomed to swords and war, was different. He didn’t need comfort or an easy life. Endless struggle. Unceasing growth. Only those things brought him true exhilaration.
“Get rid of all this.”
With that thought, he drew a sword. The blade that always resided within his heart. An Aura Blade. Then he swung it.
Crack—!
Leaving behind the shattered remnants of those illusions, a demon with bright red horns appeared before him.
—Aaaagh! What a waste! What do you think you’re doing!?
“……Yuri?”
—You! If someone gives you something, just eat it! What kind of human has zero greed like this!?
And the demon wore the face of Yuri Grace.