Forget It All
"Forget it!"
"........"
"........"
Just moments ago, a woman's ecstatic cries had echoed through the cave. There had definitely been an enormous commotion until recently.... But now, inside that cave, only a chilling silence lingered.
Yuseong, you crazy bastard....
I shot a glance at Laila, who was avoiding my gaze from afar, and tore at my hair in frustration. Even if I was out of my mind with lust, touching someone from the Magic Tower? Even if Laila's state under the succubus's influence seemed off....!!
Had I gotten too arrogant lately because everything was going my way? Thinking coldly, excuses like "I was also affected by the succubus" or "Laila seduced me first" wouldn't fly with her now that she'd forcibly lost her virginity!
And right at the moment I was about to take her virginity, Laila resisted.
If she'd been completely under the succubus's power until the end, that would be one thing. But the Laila at the instant after the blowjob, when I was about to penetrate her, had seemed pretty lucid. Ignoring her resistance and going ahead with insertion had been my choice.
Fuck. If I'd just been satisfied with the blowjob....
No use regretting it now—it was too late. I shut my mouth, stood rigidly like livestock awaiting slaughter, and waited for Laila to say something.
After some time passed like that.
Now fully recovered, Laila checked her mana flow and took a deep breath before stepping closer and speaking to me.
"...S-so, anyway!!"
Ah. Laila. You bit your tongue.
I decided not to point it out. Just stay quiet.
"...Ahem! Back to your senses now?"
"Y...yep."
Laila asked if I was back to normal, looking at me. Truth be told, I'd been fine from the start, but obviously I had no intention of admitting that, so I'd pretended to be out of it until just now.
"So... Laila, are you...."
"......!!!"
-Whoosh!!!
I cautiously gauged her mood and tried to ask if she was okay, but her face flushed bright red, veins bulging on the back of her hand gripping her staff. I worried she might smash my face in with it right then. But after a deep breath to calm herself, Laila managed to keep her expression steady and continued.
"...Y-yeah... I'm fine now too...."
"......"
"......"
And then silence dragged on again.
Finally, unable to endure it, her face now fully tomato-red, Laila shrieked.
"...A-ah, whatever! Forget it!!"
"....Pardon?"
"Forget it! I said forget it! What happened today... ahem. We didn't do any of that. Got it?"
Trembling with embarrassment, she shook her staff threateningly at me, demanding I erase what just happened from my mind.
"I-I didn't go all crazy by myself and... ah, anyway, I never seduced you like that, and you didn't do anything weird to me either... ah, nothing happened!"
She kept fumbling her words whenever she referenced the events, breaking off mid-sentence, but I got the gist.
I thought she'd be furious.
I'd expected her to lash out at me, so I stared intently at Laila, who surprisingly didn't seem that angry.
"Pretend it never happened?"
"...Y-yeah."
"No, but...."
"Never happened!! I said!!"
".....Yes."
I wanted to at least apologize, but every time I tried to bring it up, she insisted nothing had happened. Probably because recalling the shameful things she'd done while mistaking it all for a "dream" mortified her. If I kept mentioning it, she looked ready to blast me with magic, so I dropped the subject for now, saying I understood.
"And the succubus...."
"...Right. The succubus!!"
The moment I tried changing the subject, Laila's embarrassed expression hardened into a serious one. She activated detection magic and went on high alert.
"We already took it down, so no need to worry."
"What?! ...Oh, right, I think I heard something like that earlier...."
She stared at me like I'd said something insane. Leaving out the replication ability, I gave her a suitably edited version of events.
"You buried the succubus alive by collapsing the cave with that magic bomb we bought together?"
"That's the summary."
Laila was skeptical at first, but I led her to the collapsed section and convinced her.
"Hmm... Was the ground weaker than expected? A single magic bomb shouldn't have enough power to bring down a cave....?"
"......"
She had some doubts midway, but seeing the rubble convinced her, barely.
"Laila. Um...."
"...Just Laila is fine."
As I tried speaking to her again while she poked at the rubble, Laila stared at me and blurted it out.
"Pardon?"
"...What. You were calling me by name freely earlier. Can't do it now?"
"...No, but you said to pretend it never happened.... Yep. Got it."
"......"
"...Ah, okay."
I had no idea what was going through her mind, but she told me to use her name casually and drop the formal speech. Whatever her reason, I decided to go casual with her.
"Any way to clear this rubble? Or is there?"
Our original plan had gone awry, trapping us in the cave. Sure, it led to(?) that "good" thing, but we couldn't rot here forever, so I asked Laila if she had an escape method.
"Wait. By now, Master is probably...."
Rummaging in her subspace magic tool, Laila pulled out a transparent crystal orb. She tapped it, infused mana, and when it lit up, her face brightened as she spoke into it.
"Master! Can you hear me?"
[Laila, is that you? What's wrong? You left the Magic Tower saying you'd earn money on your own....]
"Master. Right now, I'm...."
[Hold on. What's this? Why is there a record of an emergency signal...? Don't tell me you went to check on Gula? Laila! Are you okay?!]
"Master. I'm fine, so first...."
[Wait there! I'm coming right now!]
[What's wrong, Erna? Why the sudden....]
"Master? Master!?"
A familiar voice came from the glowing crystal. Just as we were about to talk, there was a huge commotion on the other end.
And amid it, I swear I heard another voice very familiar to me....
"...Master says she's coming."
"Good."
Unlike before, contact had gone through. I sighed in relief at Laila's slightly awkward words. Even setting aside what happened with Laila, at least we could escape now.
"Did she say when?"
"When?"
We had food in the subspace pouch, but I wanted out ASAP, so I asked if she'd mentioned a time. Laila's expression turned vague.
"...It's about 10 miles from Palos, so probably...."
She calculated the rough distance from Palos using miles and such weird units, then opened her eyes wide.
"Probably right about now?"
"Right about now? What does that m—"
-Rrrumble!!!
Right after her cryptic "right about now," space beside Laila warped, unleashing a torrent of immense power.
"What the—!!"
The electrifying surge made my whole body tingle. Pale-faced, I drew my sword, but Laila just sighed deeply.
"Master, seriously.... I said I'm fine now...."
-Zzzing!!!
The distorted space shimmered like green haze, taking on a familiar form.
A portal?
It looked like the portals at the Magic Tower. The warp spat out two people and vanished.
"Laila!!"
The silver-haired mage with slightly pointed ears I'd met at the temple before leaving Rivil rushed out, scanned frantically, spotted Laila, and ran to her.
"Laila! You okay? Hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine, Master. So...."
"What happened that you'd need spatial transfer...? Hm?"
And another. Besides Laila's master, Erna, a black-haired woman stumbled out, dizzy from the magic, and locked eyes with me.
"...Yuseong?"
"Master?"
My swordsmanship master and former A-rank adventurer, Karen, blinked between Erna and me, scratched her head, and approached.
"Yuseong. Care to explain?"
"Ah, yes. Well...."
I didn't know why they came together, but seeing familiar faces calmed me instantly. I explained the situation to Karen.
. . .
After that, everything went smoothly. What would've been a tedious, lengthy rescue even with mages was over in one spell from Laila's master, who introduced herself as Erna.
"That portal we came through? She revived that ancient magic and installed it at Magic Tower branches."
According to Karen, Laila's master invented those portal magics at the tower. I'd heard plenty of praise from Laila, but seeing it firsthand left me slack-jawed.
As for the succubus, they'd restore the collapsed cave and search the buried corpse during that. Apparently, some demons spotted during Karen's "cleanup" near Palos matched—one that got away.
"The succubus subjugation will go on your record. But Laila will take most of the credit as the main actor...."
"Doesn't matter."
Last time, my cultist kill underground got buried to cover it up, but this succubus feat would count toward my adventurer rank. Though it'd be framed as Laila defeating it with my support.
"If you want, we could say you soloed it."
"No need. I don't crave fame, and without Laila, I couldn't have done it anyway."
Laila seemed fine outwardly but might have issues, so she'd return to the Magic Tower for treatment under her master.
...Laila.
As Karen explained the rest, I recalled our last talk before parting.
"Got it? What happened then... it was just an accident from the succubus's power. So... d-don't get any weird ideas! Understand?!"
She insisted treating it purely as an "accident." While Karen and Erna investigated succubus traces, she approached and warned me not to tell her "masters" anything unnecessary. And no "weird misconceptions."
"What misconception...."
"Th-that... y'know... that kind!"
She wouldn't spell it out, but I got it.
Even so...
"Take this."
"Wha? What's this?"
"You saw me use it earlier, right? It's a communication crystal. You can contact pre-registered ones remotely... anyway, take it."
She grabbed one from her master, who was rushing her for treatment, and handed it to me.
"Mine's already registered... so if I contact you later, pick up."
"...Looks expensive. Why give me this...."
"...D-debt! I haven't paid it all off yet. Gotta stay in touch to repay, right?!"
"The debt's already settled...."
"I didn't fulfill the full contract period! Still owe you. Plus I owe more now... ah, just take it!!"
More debt excuses, unfinished contract term due to treatment, etc. She shoved the communication crystal into my hands.
-Roll...
Playing with it in my palm, I reminisced about that dreamlike night with Laila.
She said it was an accident and to forget it....
As if I could. That night's events were etched perfectly in my mind.
An unforgettable night. Closing my eyes to relive the sensations...
Next time, once more.
Remembering Laila's hair strands stored in my subspace tool, I grinned lewdly.
"Why the sudden smile?"
"Nothing...."
"Oh, and Erna wants to meet you alone later."
"......"
My grin vanished instantly.
...The one who tore space apart the second she heard from Laila, she cares that much....
And she wants to see me alone.
Um...
...Should I write a will?
She hadn't detailed the night's events, but... recalling Erna's gaze flicking between Laila and me upon hearing "succubus encounter," I shuddered.