Chapter 108. I'm Going to Bang You Now.
Chapter 108. I'm Going to Bang You Now.
It wasn't unexpected.
No matter how extreme her tendencies, a direct assault by an officer of the Demon King's army — even if the news was suppressed — would inevitably reach the ears of other officers and the major powers of humanity. And that meant the friction surrounding the Hero was about to intensify.
Heira possessed the ability to weather such upheaval, but no one could expect the same of Dave, who had joined as a handyman and porter.
"...It is true that anything beyond this would be unreasonable."
And that was something Dave himself was most keenly aware of.
"Compared to Serika, of course, but also to Lady Berdia, Lady Yumir, or Heira — I am sorely lacking."
He could have stubbornly refused, of course, but Dave's face, upon hearing the counsel, looked almost relieved on some level.
That was only natural.
He had always kept in mind that he would leave someday; the timing had simply been moved up to now.
A faint sense of regret lingered, but that emotion wouldn't undo what was being discussed.
"...No. Dave."
The one who interjected just as things were wrapping up was none other than Yumir.
Yumir, who had been listening to the conversation in silence, let out a deep sigh and fixed her gaze on Dave.
"We've done well together up to now. You can't just end it like this."
"...Lady Yumir."
"If it's because you're bothered by that woman, there's no need for that. Why should a woman who's done nothing but look after herself and contributed nothing to the party get to decide whether you leave or not?"
"Yumir. I know my presence is unwelcome, but separate the personal from the official. The hero party is an organization established for the sake of humanity... It is not a gathering that can stay together simply because its members get along, like an ordinary adventurer party."
It was for everyone's own good. Or so she said.
At Berdia's argument, pressed as righteous doctrine, Yumir let out a scornful scoff and asked:
"Then let me ask you just one thing. Do you know how to cook?"
"...Why bring that up now?"
"Cooking, equipment repair, cleaning, laundry, and so on... Once you actually start adventuring, there's an absurd number of tasks that require hands. Don't you think it looks a little undignified for the heroes to be handling all of that one by one?"
"That is a problem which can be resolved through support once full-scale operations begin."
"Then we need to keep at least one fixed party member for when such support isn't available. Or what — are you worried that a member who moves with us on a permanent basis can't even protect himself?"
A smirk touched Yumir's lips as she walked straight up to Dave and patted him on the shoulder.
"If that's the case, don't worry. If he didn't have the ability to protect himself, he wouldn't have survived there in the first place. At the very least, you could say he possesses the qualifications of a traveling companion in that we don't need to protect him one by one, don't you think?"
"That is true, but..."
"And more than anything, my research on Dave isn't finished yet."
The moment that unexpected fact was uttered,
Berdia's eyes sharpened as she glared at Yumir.
"Yumir, hadn't the research you were conducting already concluded?"
"Do you think research is something that's over once you do it once? There's no such concept as perfection in this world — there is only the process of advancing toward perfection. To achieve further progress, ongoing research is necessary."
And it was Dave who assisted in that research.
The training he'd undergone so far hadn't been solely to develop his own abilities; it had also run in parallel with efforts to reinforce Yumir's research.
"If you send a guy like that away now, all the progress in the research we've painstakingly done could go completely to waste. Surely someone who serves humanity can endure at least that much, wouldn't you agree?"
"......Yumir."
The moment strength began to gradually gather in the hand resting on the table.
It wasn't a reaction born from resistance to Yumir's proposal, but rather because she sensed a dissonance in her actions.
The Yumir she knew was self-righteous, a person who only looked after her own interests.
Even that so-called research had been undertaken out of personal obstinacy, not for the sake of humanity.
"I... as well."
And there was one more person in this place who shared that attitude.
"I, too, would like it if Dave... could continue to stay with us."
Heira, the young elf who had lived a hundred years.
In her case, Dave could be said to be the very reason she was in this party at all.
Serika and Yumir had now become precious bonds, but it was none other than Dave who had connected those bonds.
So if the party was to continue, she thought it ideal for everyone to be together.
Even if she was an elf who lived for eternity, all those who would be with her lived for only a limited time.
Seeking to leave her own existence a little longer within their brief time — that was something absolutely necessary for her life, as she wanted to move forward while cherishing those moments.
"......It seems a great deal has happened in my absence."
Having dimly read those feelings, Berdia soon realized just how heedlessly she had been about to proceed with the conversation.
To the point where she hesitated to utter the words, "It's still unreasonable."
"I would like to say... it's still unreasonable. But."
After such internal conflict, Berdia sought to hold firm to her convictions, but even that failed to crystallize into a definitive pronouncement.
"...It so happens that as long as we cannot know when Serika will return to her original state, resuming our adventures is impossible."
Yes, now that friction had arisen, what was needed wasn't a decision but a grace period in which each could make the right judgment.
"For now, Serika in her current state is also heavily dependent on you, Dave. Would you lend us your strength until her condition improves?"
"Yes, then the discussion will be after that..."
Putting off the decision for later.
Having thus reached a consensus, Berdia quietly rose from her seat, as if to close the discussion.
"Then, Heira. It's a bit late, but may I take some time to test your skills? I would also like to hear about what activities you've been engaged in up until now..."
"Yes, that's fine."
Heira nodded easily, preparing to follow Berdia as she left the room.
Then she paused her steps for a moment, turned back to Dave, and gave him a faint smile.
"I'll be back, Dave."
Everything will surely work out.
Almost as if she were saying that.
"...Yeah, take care."
After bidding Heira farewell like that, left alone with Yumir, Dave turned to her and voiced a pitiful sentiment.
"Um, Lady Yumir. I'm grateful that you spoke up on my behalf, but..."
"......."
"...Lady Yumir?"
She stood there with her arms crossed.
Her stiffened face was still staring in the direction Berdia had departed.
What that gaze meant.
"...Then we can't just sit still either."
Before I could even grasp it, Yumir gestured to Dave and prepared to leave the room.
"Dave, brace yourself. Mentally."
"Huh? Brace myself..."
"We're going to need to come up with a way to crush that woman's pride, aren't we?"
A bitter smile began to spread across her lips as she looked back at Dave.
As if she were thinking of something thoroughly suspicious.
***
Did I want to leave the party or not?
If I had to speak honestly, I didn't want to leave.
It was just that I'd realized it late — only now had I become aware that feelings for them had begun to grow.
While I was with them, I would give them memories that weren't unpleasant, and I would offer them everything I was capable of.
Yes, and it was precisely for that reason that I had to leave.
My revenge had, against all intention, ended in futility, and so slipping away before my true identity was uncovered was the most ideal course of action.
Right. So the so-called special training Yumir was talking about — I had to play along for now.
-Click.
The moment I entered the room, the sound of Yumir, who had followed in behind me, locking the door echoed at my back.
"Um, Lady Yumir?"
"Take them off."
"...Excuse me?"
"Shut up and take them off. We don't have time to waste."
No sooner had we entered the room than Yumir crossed her arms and began to stare me down.
In the overbearing gaze glimpsed beyond her glasses, I began to sense a certain ferocity for reasons unknown.
As if it wouldn't be strange for my body to go flying if I didn't obey.
"Ah, understood."
Fine. I don't know what she's thinking, but I'd better follow along for now.
Quietly, I peeled off what I was wearing, layer by layer, baring my naked body before her.
"I-I've taken them off..."
"You have to take off your underwear too."
......Damn it.
Just like last time — is this really necessary for training?
"Oh, for goodness' sake. You've got a nice body, too."
Yumir swept her eyes up and down my now entirely naked form as if appraising me.
Then she closed the distance between us, seized my chin, and began to scrutinize my face, feature by feature, with those eyes of hers.
"And seeing your face up close like this, it's really quite delicate... You've probably made quite a few women cry in your life, haven't you?"
"Ngh!"
Placing her hand directly on my lower body, she began to whisper low into my ear.
"This. This thing right here."
The moment blood began to rush into the member, stimulated by her rough yet smooth touch.
As if the feel of it were ridiculous to her, she chuckled softly and let her mockery toward me spill out.
"So this is the thing that punched through my 'first,' is it? Shoving in this nasty, huge thing."
"L-Lady Yumir. Let's stop this..."
"Heh heh, right. That's enough playing around."
Letting out a faint laugh, Yumir immediately withdrew her hand, then turned away and extended a hand toward the bed in the room.
"Now, lie down here on the bed. I'm going to make the necessary preparations for your special training."
"...Right. Special training, you said?"
"Don't worry. Just do as I say, and I'll make sure to help you so you can stay in this party."
......A statement full of questionable points in more ways than one.
But since that bizarre act from last time had, in the end, proved helpful for mana manipulation, I decided to obey without complaint for now.
After all, it was hard to imagine that she, who had so seriously opposed Berdia, would resort to jokes at this point.
-Click. Clack.
And so, when I had resigned myself to the humiliation and laid my naked body down on the bed, she shackled my limbs and began to remove the things she herself was wearing, one by one.
Was she steeling her resolve as well?
As I imprinted the gradual revelation of her bare skin into my eyes, I felt an irrational unease and directed a question at her.
"Um, what exactly are you planning to do now?"
"Oh, nothing much. I'm going to have my way with you now."
"Ah, yes. That's... Huh?"
"I said I'm going to rape you now."
Smoothly.
Now completely nude, Yumir began to approach me.
Only then did I realize that this was no ordinary training, and I urgently glared at her.
"Yumir, you... don't tell me... Mmph!"
With that, Yumir seized my face and pressed her lips to mine.
Right after, as I felt heat building from the tongue that pried my lips apart and slipped inside, she pulled her face away, drew a sleek smile, and tilted my chin up.
"What, did you really think you could do something that awful to me and then just walk away?"
The moment she fully restrained my body and occupied the space above me.
As if unable to bear the sense of superiority born from that, she spilled out a whisper that couldn't hide her excitement toward me.
"You took the Grand Archmage way too lightly, for a Demon King's army grunt."
Damn it.
That goddamn whore went and dropped a massive bomb on her way out.