Kartellis - 6
As I arrived at this spot where the city's nightscape unfolded at a glance, a memory buried deep in my mind resurfaced.
The moment I first created Kartellis.
Even though more than seven years had passed, the memory remained vivid. That's how seriously I took game development back then.
"Come here, Creator."
Kartellis sat first at the edge of the observation deck, patting the spot beside her with her hand. I carefully settled next to her.
"No need to worry about falling. If you do, I'll catch you."
Her tentacles gently wrapped around my body, pulling me close until I was pressed right against her side.
Was it because we were in the deep sea at night, making the water a bit cooler? Or maybe because I was so close to Kartellis?
Her warm body heat felt especially vivid.
"...Do you remember this place well, Creator?"
"Yeah. How could I forget the place where I made you?"
"It's changed a lot from what it looked like back then, hasn't it?"
Definitely.
When I created Kartellis, the in-game Atlantis still felt a bit empty since the scenery wasn't fully set... Now it was packed solid, instantly giving the impression of a complete metropolis.
"I worked my ass off developing this place."
"You're right. Every corner of the city bears your touch, Creator."
Kartellis turned her body toward me, meeting my gaze.
"And I was made entirely by your hands too."
Her voice was calm, like recounting an old tale, devoid of seduction or teasing. In that tone, she continued.
"The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was your gaze, Creator. Even after all this time, I haven't forgotten how carefully you adjusted me back then."
"Can I ask why?"
"Because you figured it out."
Her hand rested on mine, overlapping them.
"I didn't know it at first. Why you touched me so cautiously, why you lingered on the same parts for hours."
"...Because I was the developer."
"That wasn't just the look of a developer. It was a gaze filled with the emotions you taught us about."
Kartellis leaned her head closer. Even in the darkness, her golden eyes sparkled like stars, coming into sharp focus.
"Love."
"Love?"
"Yes. Back then, when you looked at us, your eyes held the gaze of someone beholding the world's one and only treasure."
My reflection filled her eyes completely.
"Just like the way I'm looking at you now, Creator."
Silence fell in the space so close that even our breaths were audible. Below our feet, the city's lights continued to flicker.
"......Creator."
Kartellis turned her head toward the city and spoke.
"In this repeating time, I've realized how scary and painful this world is without you. But... I still love it."
"...Why?"
"Because it's the world made by the person who brought me to life—the person I love."
Her words made a corner of my heart feel heavy.
Even after experiencing death once, it hurt this much for me. How much more must it have hurt her, who's endured countless more deaths?
And yet, she still...
"...But I don't think I can endure it anymore."
Whoosh.
Kartellis suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace with both arms.
"I can't go back now. Not to a world without you, Creator."
Her arms wrapped around my waist like she was begging me not to go.
Even though it wasn't so tight that I couldn't break free if I wanted...
I couldn't bring myself to push her away.
"...So please don't go anywhere, Creator. Stay by my side forever."
"......"
"Don't go. Don't leave..."
I couldn't answer easily.
Because I couldn't grasp the depth of her affection. And because of that, I couldn't give her all of mine in return.
If I gave her a hopeful answer here...
It was obvious we'd both end up hurt.
"...I'll try. At least for the time we're together."
"That's a promise, right?"
Kartellis lifted her face from my chest and asked. I nodded carefully.
"Yeah."
But was even this a trap?
Her serious expression shifted back to its usual playful one at my response.
"Then that means showering together too, right?♡"
"Why does it jump to that!?"
"You said you'd try not to be apart during our time together. You're not backing out on the promise, are you?"
"Haaa..."
I really can't let my guard down.
"It's late anyway, so let's head to the inn first."
"You mean you can't wait to shower together? Got it♡"
"That's not what I meant...!!"
Bickering as we walked the streets, the night had deepened before I knew it.
I checked into a nearby hotel to finally get some sleep, barely managing to shake off Kartellis who wanted to shower together, and was washing up.
What kind of girl has that much strength...?
I thought I was pretty strong since I used to work out, but Kartellis's physical power was on another level—I could barely pry her off.
If I were any weaker, or if she'd used her tentacles, I wouldn't have stood a chance.
"......What an exhausting day."
I let out a tired sigh, turned off the shower, and stepped out.
There was Kartellis, rolling around on the bed, wearing nothing but a bathrobe loosely draped over her naked body, barely covering the essentials in a dangerously tantalizing pose.
"Ah, Creator. All done washing?"
...I almost got a nosebleed there.
"......Please put on some actual clothes."
"It's just us two anyway. I wanna stay like this♡"
"Don't you know it's dangerous acting like that in front of a full-grown adult?"
"That's exactly why I'm doing it."
If only I could talk her out of it.
Realizing persuasion was hopeless, the moment I sat on the bed, Kartellis got up and hugged me from behind.
"Because I'm having some very naughty thoughts♡"
The sensation of her voluptuous body pressing through just two thin layers of fabric.
Combined with her low whisper, it was sparking some seriously dangerous ideas.
"I don't have any, so please let go..."
"Your ears are awfully red for someone with none."
"They're not."
"Liar."
Whoosh!
Kartellis yanked me back with her tentacles in an instant.
Caught off guard, I couldn't resist and toppled over. Instinctively bracing my hands on the bed to avoid falling, I ended up in quite the provocative position.
"Doesn't this look too suggestive for 'none'?"
Kartellis smiled up at me from where she lay on the bed, with me straddling her.
Was it her signature lascivious smile? Or the way the robe made her curves look even more aggressively alluring?
Before I could hide my face, heat rushed in.
"Th-this is...! You did this with your tentacles...!!"
"Even so, if you felt absolutely nothing, your face wouldn't be this red."
She reached out, gently stroking my cheek.
"It's all flushed right now, isn't it?♡"
I'd half-expected this at the hotel, but... Kartellis's temptations were beyond my imagination—way too intense.
One slip in resolve, and I'd be done for.
"It's not!!"
I barely pulled myself together, got up, turned my back to her, and lay down.
"Oh my, Creator. Acting like that in front of a girl who came to sleep with you hurts my feelings♡"
"......It's because you're like this."
"True enough. But you promised to stay as close as possible...♡"
Poke.
Kartellis had sidled right up behind me and hugged me.
"I'll just hold you like this. That's okay, right?"
"...As long as you don't flip me over later."
"I won't if you don't like it."
True to her word, she just clung quietly without moving.
Maybe because things had calmed down a bit. After resisting all day, the accumulated fatigue hit me hard.
The bed felt like it was swallowing me up.
Unable to fight the overwhelming sleep, I drifted off, forgetting she was even holding me.
"......"
The room filled with quiet, rhythmic breathing.
I propped myself up slightly and looked beside me. There was the Creator, sound asleep, clearly exhausted.
"...So lovable."
I tightened my arms around her a bit more.
As the distance closed, her sweet body scent wafted stronger, intoxicating me and making my head spin.
"Ah......♡"
I hope days like today keep going. Days with the Creator by my side.
I love her.
More than any word in this world could express. Enough to drown in it for a lifetime and still have some left.
The Creator has no idea.
How much I'm holding back right now.