Vally's Help
What the hell did this woman just say? Was she telling me to take on both of them at once?
Obviously that was out of the question. She was talking pure insanity.
Maybe she was joking? That was possible. Sloan did spout nonsense from time to time.
There was no way she'd said it seriously….
"Excuse me?"
"Hmm. I figured you'd heard me just fine. Was I wrong?"
"Uh…. That was a joke, right? Using me at the same time? That's…. weird."
Weird was putting it mildly.
It was so grotesque and horrifying I could barely believe the Hero had actually said it.
"Haha. That was a funny joke. Really. I almost believed you for a secon—"
"You know it's not a joke."
"What?"
"It's not a joke, Vally. I need your help. For real."
Sloan framed it as needing help, but the way she murmured it was closer to coercion.
This wasn't a request. It was an order. But that didn't mean I had to obey it.
Even if I refused, would Sloan actually throw a punch at me?
That wasn't her style. She had her share of aggressive, hard-ass tendencies, but she wasn't the type to beat someone up just for not listening to her.
"You wouldn't get this, being a man, but women are…. sad creatures. We're born with a womb, so we're always driven half-mad by lust."
"And that has something to do with being sad?"
"Of course it does. You saw Elisa and Camilla fighting, right? That wasn't just some ordinary scrap."
Seemed like a pretty ordinary scrap to me. Nothing was more noble and petty at the same time as a lovers' quarrel.
"A female dies if her womb stays empty. You can call it a fight for survival. That's why those two went at each other so hard over you."
"What a wonderful piece of anatomy."
"Hmm? I've never thought of it as wonderful…. Isn't it more of a curse? They act like their brains are wired straight into the thing."
This woman still hadn't sobered up. The nonsense coming out of her mouth was proof enough.
I looked that brown face—the one currently spewing this garbage at me—square in the eye and answered firmly.
"It is a curse. Because I have absolutely no intention of offering up my body."
"Why?"
"Why are you even asking me that…? Isn't it obvious? My body is mine. And I don't want to give it away."
"Why do you think that body is yours? Doesn't seem that way to me at all."
My mouth snapped shut. What kind of logic was that? Why the hell was this crazy bitch spouting this absolute garbage?
I tried to form a reply, but the words just tumbled around inside my mouth and fell apart. This fucking bitch, I swear.
"Sorry, but you're a man, Vally. So…. when a woman says she wants it, you're supposed to put out. Of course, I didn't expect you'd have to handle two at once."
"No…."
"No matter what you say, it won't change a thing. From now on, you're going to take Camilla and Elisa's lust with your whole body. Don't worry! Nobody else is going to touch you besides those two."
No answer made it past my lips. Did she think that meant her logic had left me with nothing to say?
Sloan smiled faintly. For a moment, that brown face looked so benevolent it was almost beautiful.
"Lylie's a Saintess, so she has a reason to stay a virgin. And I won't touch you either. Ah, don't take that personally! I'm the Hero, right? I have to marry whoever the Goddess picks for me."
"…No, hold on. Why is the premise that I'm going to do this at all?"
"Hmm? Weren't you just sitting there in silent agreement? I thought my logic had shut you up!"
I'd been struck dumb by the sheer absurdity of it. What logic? This was the kind of reasoning a child would come up with. Maybe it was because she'd grown up in the countryside—her whole way of thinking was incredibly crude.
"I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say. There's zero reason for me to listen to you. Keep making these weird proposals and I'll leave the party."
"That… probably won't work either. If you leave, I'll kill you. Or cut off your arms and legs and drag you along."
"What?"
What did she just say? She'd spoken so fast I hadn't quite caught the end of it.
Either way, I had no reason to entertain this nonsense, so I resolved to dig in harder than usual.
"If I give you a reason, will you sit still?"
"Yes."
"A reason, huh…. Hahahahat. Hoo, ah…. The booze is hitting me all over again. I'm getting sleepy, so I'll keep it short."
Sloan rubbed her eyes as she spoke. That goddamn attitude made my anger flare for a second, but I had no choice but to endure it.
"I didn't expect you to dig in this hard. Well, this was only ever a suggestion. Do whatever you want."
…What? Now she was talking like she'd given up?
"But this wasn't me asking for your consent. I was just informing you so you'd know."
"What kind of bullshit…."
"It's not bullshit! Anyway, resist as hard as you can if you're able. It would've been nice if you could enjoy it too. Shame."
Was it just me, or did the word "shame" sound dripping with mischief?
With that, Sloan lay back down and fell asleep. It was utterly absurd, but I had to chew over what she'd said, so I couldn't bring myself to say anything more.
And for a whole week after that, I got to spend my time in bliss.
Finally feels like I'm living like a human being. Really….
The two of them didn't speak to me about anything outside of work.
Which meant no sexual harassment and no sexual assault.
Ah…. Things had finally gone back to normal. How much sexual abuse had I endured up until now? My self-esteem, which had been scraping the bottom of the barrel, was starting to recover.
Nothing was better for the body than restored self-worth. Thanks to that, I threw myself into my duties in better condition than I'd ever been.
"Five Hellbeasts up ahead."
"Okay."
The routine went like this: I'd use my dramatically improved vision to track the monsters' movements, call out how many there were, and Sloan would charge forward and cut them down.
"Grr! Grr-grr! Grr!"
"Shut up!"
Sloan, whose strength had grown far greater than before—just like mine—stretched out her arm and smashed a Hellbeast's face in with her gauntlet.
Its hide was thick enough to bounce ordinary arrows, but the moment her fist connected, it burst open like wet clay.
"Look at this, Camilla. I can cast magic too. Magic Arrow!"
Apparently raw power could produce something that looked like magic. Sloan flicked a drop of blood off her hand, and it punched straight through a Hellbeast's skull and blew it apart.
"That's not magic…."
If that horrifying spectacle wasn't magic, then what the hell was?
At any rate, it seemed monsters like Hellbeasts could no longer stop Sloan. And those things were pretty tough in their own right.
"Hoo…. Still, the deeper we go into the Interior, the more monsters there are. How many have we killed today?"
"Thirty-two. Mostly Hellbeasts, though we did take down one ogre."
But could we keep clearing monsters this fast?
Everything Sloan had faced so far had been lower-ranked Demon Kings—the ones who'd set out on wars of conquest.
The farther west we went, the stronger our kin would become, and with them would come more powerful monsters.
The land inhabited by the upper thirty-two Demon Kings was what we called the Interior. We'd held dominion over it for hundreds of years. Expanding that Interior across the entire human realm was, you could say, our ultimate goal.
"Who's the Demon King around here?"
"The 55th Seat, Budalin."
"Even the name sounds like shit. You know his innate ability?"
Budalin, huh. That one's innate ability was fairly well known.
He was an oddball. He genuinely loved raising his own army, so he'd developed himself around military force rather than personal combat power.
"Nothing special. He can freely manipulate the form of iron."
"I heard he used that to make flying blades."
"His combat ability is decently strong, but not so strong we can't take him."
"That so? Then we'll kill him on the way."
Budalin's true use of his innate ability was converting worthless weapons into high-quality metal and forging them into swords and armor.
If it were me, I'd have found some way to turn that ability into a personal combat tool. He'd chosen an army instead. He'd decided his innate ability was better suited to military application.
"Anyway. We're about to reach his territory. Seems like someone's got something they want to say before we go in."
"Something I want to say?"
"Not you. I'm talking to Camilla. Elisa, you speak up too if you've got something."
The mage tilted her head slightly. Unnaturally so. What was she doing?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, the corner of her mouth curled up. And she smiled.
"I've been thinking. Females are supposed to protect their males, right?"
"Right? It used to be the other way around, but these days this is normal."
"So the one who contributes the most to killing a Demon King is the real female, right? It's only natural that the stronger one gets the better prize."
"Mmmhmm. Camilla, I think I know what you're getting at."
"Then let's start a wager from now on. Elisa, you agree?"
"Yeah."
"Great! Then let's begin!"
Sloan quietly turned to look at me and muttered under her breath.
…What? What the hell was she staring at me for?