Master (3)
Clank—
A massive impact thundered from outside, while inside the room only heat-soaked breaths kept echoing without end.
“Haup— eub— pahah… heung… euk.”
Rubia’s tongue slipped between my parted lips as I tried to exhale the breath that had risen all the way to my chin.
And below that—
Her hand slid down from my chest, tracing the inner side of my thigh, drawing ever closer to a place far deeper.
Just one more step.
If she came even a little farther, something truly irreversible would happen—my body began thrashing in fierce resistance at the thought.
“Ru… bia, haeuk—! P-please… s-stop…!”
I finally managed to tear my lips free and shouted, gasping out the breath that had filled me to the brim.
“S-suddenly… why are you doing this all of a sudden…!”
“Hah… why am I doing this all of a sudden, you ask?”
Rubia murmured in a voice like a great beast growling, then seized my chin in a hard grip.
“Suddenly?”
“Ugh…”
“Looking like this, smiling so sweetly with those eyes, begging me to put a dog collar on you—and you think you have the right to say that?”
“I-it’s not a dog collar… this is… a token that proves the bond between you and me… and I wasn’t trying to seduce—”
“Not a ring, not a bracelet, not even an ordinary necklace. And this leather choker with a name tag on it… is a token?”
“Th-that’s…”
Of course, I had thought about a ring at first.
A ring worn on the ring finger, said to be connected to the heart.
The reason I hadn’t chosen that classic symbol of lovers was simple: it didn’t suit the path I had decided to walk from now on.
A bracelet was out too—I already had two hanging on my arm.
My ears weren’t pierced, and an anklet would have looked ridiculous.
So I settled on a necklace.
Something dangling would get in the way during a fight, so I went with a snug design.
And the leather wasn’t ordinary either—it was Tyrant’s hide, tough enough to take a beating.
But all of that was secondary.
The real reason I chose something that looked so much like a dog collar…
…was because I felt my role was similar to that of a pet dog.
Big dogs protect their masters while trusting and following them without question.
And they often die before their masters do.
Anyway… I really hadn’t meant to seduce her…
“I just… I-I wasn’t thinking anything…”
“It’s always like this with you.”
“Eh… Ru-Rubia, please calm down a lit—”
“Kissing me first when you were drunk, crawling into my arms every night to sleep, shyly asking me to wash you, looking for me before your greatsword the moment you wake up, promising to protect me for the rest of your life… and then fighting until you’re on the brink of death ‘to keep me safe’… and even when you’re exhausted and in agony, the second you see me you just grin like an idiot…”
Rubia poured the words out without taking a single breath, then finally released the air she had been holding.
“And you’re telling me every single one of those was done without thinking…?”
“…Uh.”
…Wait.
When she lists it all out like that, it really does sound like I was seducing her nonstop…?
“Did you think another woman would just brush those actions off as nothing? Or did you think that because it’s your own body, doing things like that wouldn’t make anyone feel anything?”
“…That’s…”
How does she know?
That’s… way too accurate.
“Do you honestly believe I like Noah just because we’re both women?”
“Th-that’s… not it.”
“Knowing that and still acting this way makes you even more infuriating. So when the person you like looks like this and does those things…”
Clank—
Rubia cut herself off, yanked my body closer, and pressed the greatsword into my free hand.
Only then did the scenery around us take shape.
The blanket I had wrapped around myself for cover lay crumpled on the floor. The bandages that had been binding my chest had long since come undone, barely covering my lower half.
And… my tail and ears, shrunk tight to match my mood…
Carpeng, are you actually insane…?
Why did they have to pop out right now…
Wait—then can’t I just smash these cuffs with blood qi?
I… I think I can.
Why are you just watching instead of helping? Huh?
Hey, it’s not too late even n—
“What do you think goes through my mind? Noah’s an adult, so you understand perfectly well what I’m saying right now.”
Rubia’s voice, teeth grinding, sliced through my thoughts.
“Umm… th-that is…”
For now, maybe I should just let her cool down… right?
“What? Going to claim you’re not an adult after all this? Huh? Go on. Say it. Just once.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
Mortified by my own appearance, I curled in on myself and buried my face against my knees.
One arm was still locked in the cuff, the other gripping the greatsword, leaving me in a ridiculous pose—but it was still better than being completely exposed.
“…Haa.”
Seeing that, Rubia let out a deep sigh and unlocked the cuff from my wrist.
The moment my hand dropped free to the floor, vitality began circulating through my body again.
It felt like every inch of me had been tightly bound and was finally released.
With both hands free, I hugged my knees and curled up even tighter.
In that instant—
Kwaang—!
Another shockwave from outside shook the room.
“…Shouldn’t you go check?”
“That was the last of them.”
…I already knew, actually.
I had widened my Qi Sensing and looked outside.
Roughly a dozen or so.
Sirin had finished them off with ease.
They hadn’t been particularly strong either.
Thank goodness.
“I-I see…”
Suffocating silence settled over the room.
The only sound was my fingernail scraping along the greatsword’s hilt.
Should I have just let Rubia go out?
No. That wasn’t right.
She might have gotten hurt. This was a hundred—no, a thousand times better.
Still… the heavy atmosphere was a little… hard to bear.
I stayed curled up for a while, fidgeting with my fingers as I tried to think of something to say, when—
“…I’m sorry. I just snapped all of a sudden…”
Rubia’s drained voice reached me.
“You were startled, weren’t you…?”
“Ah, no… I’m fine.”
I had been startled.
Her tongue had… gone in so strangely…
And her hand… her hand had been so… completely lewd. So much…
“Noah?”
“Y-yes?!”
“You’re not… hurt anywhere, are you? I’m sorry. You only just woke up, and I suddenly… did something like this…”
The voice that had been blazing with anger moments ago was now completely subdued.
Her emotions swinging wildly, her body restless.
A frightened expression, trembling breaths.
A face that couldn’t even look at me, staring off somewhere else instead.
Seeing Rubia so uncharacteristically shaken filled me with pity and a deep ache.
Was it because she had watched me die over and over?
Or was she afraid I would hate her for acting so violently?
If that was the case—
If she had become like this because of me alone—
Then… that actually made me a little happy.
It meant I was precious enough to her that she could tremble with anxiety like this.
Of course, forcing me with strength the way she just had wasn’t right.
But I wanted to try to understand.
And if I couldn’t understand, then I wanted to accept it.
If this shabby, worthless body of mine could ease even a little of Rubia’s unease—
If I could lift her spirits and make her smile again—
I would give it as many times as she needed.
And…
I… wanted it a little too. Just a little…
But before that—
There was something I needed to hear from her.
I already knew what the answer would be.
Still… I always wanted to confirm it.
“Um… Rubia.”
Hearing my quieter voice, Rubia flinched and looked at me.
“Do you… like me?”
“Yes.”
The answer shot out without a single second of hesitation, as if by pure reflex, and a faint smile rose to my lips.
How much, where, why—those words floated up, but I swallowed them down.
I didn’t want to test her.
I didn’t want to measure it.
I didn’t want to put that feeling on a scale.
I didn’t need to hunt for merits or set conditions.
Right now, that answer was enough.
“I like you too, Rubia.”
From the start—
I knew the feelings we held now were something words could never dare to measure.
“So… um…”
I slowly pushed myself up and moved closer to her.
“Today… do whatever you want with me.”
I pressed my lips tightly together against the breath I exhaled, then—
“Just… be a little gentle.”
—gave her a short kiss.
Clink—
I took the handcuffs from Rubia’s hand and locked them around my own wrist.
“…It’s my first time. I-I’m scared.”
My strengthless hand let the greatsword slip free.
But it didn’t matter anymore.
From here on, not being able to see would only make it less embarrassing.
I steadied my trembling breath, climbed onto the sitting Rubia, and wrapped my arms around her neck.
I couldn’t see, but the breath brushing my face,
the pounding of her heart,
the scent rising from her—
all of it told me just how close we were.
And from there, one more step.
I bent my legs and locked them tightly around her waist,
leaning even closer until our noses touched.
How long did we stay like that…?
Rubia, pressed against me, gave no reaction at all—almost to the point of awkwardness.
Is she saying she doesn’t want to, after all this…?
Really? After I went this far… for real?
Wh-what do I do? Should I actually try seducing her this time…?
That line Charlotte whispered to me last time…?
No, but that one…
It kind of… destroys human dignity…
But if I stop here—
This is going to get even more awkward.
I’ll be too embarrassed to sleep for days.
I might die of shame.
Uuuugh…
Fine! We’ve already come this far…
I’ve got nothing left to lose…
I’m doing it! Carpeng!! I’m counting on you!!
My tail and ears, swaying in time with my thoughts, tickled my thoroughly heated body.
“Hmph… huu…”
I raised both clenched fists beside my face,
leaned forward a little,
and barked sharply.
“Please… treat this insolent me… like a dog… Master.”
“Ang…!”