Chapter 44. Are You Ready to Take My First Time?
Chapter 44. Are You Ready to Take My First Time?
The outing had taken the better part of a day.
During that time, Ymir experienced things she had never known before.
Most of those experiences were trivial. Buying street food, going to the theater, strolling by the fountain, browsing this shop and that... Looking back, none of it was particularly special.
And yet, even that resonated deeply within Ymir's heart.
Because her life had been so terribly lonely, so achingly hollow.
She had lived without the leisure to savor such small things, so perhaps the respite granted by the one who stayed by her side had struck her all the more powerfully.
"It is about time we headed back."
She realized, for the first time, that a day she had always let slip by could end so quickly—and feel so regretful, so bittersweet.
Soon, Berdia and Serika would return as well.
There was no telling when a day like this—just the two of them together—would ever come again.
"Did you enjoy yourself today, Ymir?"
"......"
"...Ymir?"
"You. Be honest with me."
Was that why?
Ymir decided to bring up something she could have let slide.
"You didn't actually have any reward in mind, did you?"
After all, what had been the reason for her going out, when she had kept the world at arm's length all this time?
It had been to go out with him and find a suitable reward for herself.
But somewhere along the way, that purpose had utterly vanished, and in the end they'd done nothing but wander the streets enjoying themselves, hadn't they?
"...So I've been found out?"
"Did you think I was such a pushover I wouldn't notice? I wondered how far you'd take it—and you went the whole way, for real."
"I-I'm sorry. But you've been through so much, Ymir—I thought you needed a break..."
"Oh my, you came into the party as a gofer, and now you're even volunteering to be a playmate for the party members. Just how much of a doormat are you trying to become?"
The overt sarcasm was nothing more than a defense to hide her true feelings.
Even so, in the end, she had no choice but to admit it.
If she had truly considered their time together unpleasant, she would have quit long ago.
"Still... if you enjoyed yourself, Ymir, that's enough for me."
Even now, as this foolishly kind-hearted man stirred her heart, she found herself surprised by her own transformation—she was simply accepting it as it was.
"...Are you really okay with just that?"
"Yes. If I were to hope for anything more... I suppose I'd like you to try and get along better with the other party members. Of course, starting right away would be too much, so I'd be satisfied if you just made an effort, little by little."
"Ah, I see. 'Friendship among party members'?"
Letting the words slip past with a faint chuckle, Ymir quietly turned her back.
"Fine. If that's the reward you want, then I'll gladly grant it."
"That's a relief. I'm glad you accepted so readily, Ymir..."
"But before that, there's one last place I'd like to stop by. Would you follow me?"
Good timing. Thinking that, Ymir prepared to set off toward the place she had in mind, and quietly beckoned him with a crook of her finger.
Just as she expected, Dave immediately indicated his agreement and followed. The confidence in his stride was probably because he had no idea where she was heading.
'What a cute guy.'
Letting out a soft laugh, she walked on until they arrived at the most luxurious inn in the city, one that boasted the grandest scale.
A place that could be called a hotel, and for a commoner like Dave, it would certainly feel utterly unfamiliar and intimidating.
"The most expensive room you have. And the one with the best soundproofing."
To Ymir, of course, it was quite familiar.
She was someone who rented entire mansions for research. Borrowing a room in an establishment like this was well within her means.
"Do not even think about coming in until we come out. Understood?"
"Yes, understood."
A generous tip ensured the hotel staff member obeyed Ymir without a fuss.
After parting ways with him and entering the room, Ymir confirmed that Dave was following her and immediately telekinetically slid the door's latch into place.
With that, the room became a completely sealed chamber. Unless someone physically broke in from outside, there would be no interruptions.
"U-Um, Ymir? Why have you rented such an expensive room... Eh? Wha—?"
Having secured the closed space, the very first thing Ymir did was undo the buttons of the school uniform she wore.
Beneath the peeled-away fabric, black lace undergarments made a striking impression, but despite covering a great deal of surface area, they were far from hiding everything.
The crucial parts would be exposed the moment she made even the slightest sway.
"Y-Ymir? What on earth..."
"What? Just a moment ago I was a woman in a school uniform, and now that I'm on the verge of being naked, you're suddenly all hot and bothered?"
Dave flustered at the sight, but if she stopped here, things would obviously fizzle out as vaguely as they always had.
With a faint, soft smile, Ymir began to slowly slide down the lingerie that concealed her body.
"P-Put your clothes back on! I don't know what you're thinking, but please calm down first...!"
"Save it and just come here."
"Wah!"
The nape of his neck was seized by telekinesis as he tried to turn away, and he was yanked onto the bed beside her.
Even his struggling movements were stopped once she climbed on top and pinned him down.
"Dave."
From that position, Ymir spoke.
His name—each syllable carefully, clearly enunciated—was spoken aloud for the first time, the name she had hesitated to voice until now.
"You said earlier, didn't you? That the reward you want for helping me is for me to make an effort to blend into the party."
The gaze she cast down at him was unwavering, firm as steel.
The opinions of others, which she had always considered irrelevant, were now being made an exception—only for the man before her.
Which was why revealing her body like this had taken so much resolve, and why she could not have been more desperate.
"In that case... doing something like this with you, who've been accepted as a member of our party... could that not be considered a form of 'friendship'? A way of closing the distance between us?"
There might be a choice left for him, but Ymir resolved to force his hand.
This was the tiny sliver of time when they could be alone.
And she did not want to let slip an opportunity that might never come again.
"...Hold on."
Faced with such a selfish, sinful woman, the man averted his eyes and spoke in a stiff voice.
"Hold on... may I go wash up first?"
In the end, he was a man who folded under pressure.
What he needed was simply a moment to collect his feelings.
***
-Shhhhh.
Cold water rinsed through her hair, wetting the disheveled, roughened strands so that they began to hang limply downward.
The moment her feverish excitement had cooled considerably.
Soon, with a mind that had regained its composure, she took the time to go over what was about to happen.
'With a man...'
This body had always been the object of desire, and the moment had finally come for it to be used as they had wished.
'With Dave. We're going to do it.'
Until this time arrived, she had never permitted anyone to lay a hand on her body.
Not in the Academy, not when she entered the slums to find Madoka, not even with the Academy dean who later tried to win over the version of her that had aimed for the top...
Yes. Until now, she simply hadn't found meaning in it.
The ones who wanted to achieve something with this body were them, not herself.
She might do it someday, but she had thought time and again that if she was going to use it, she wanted it to be for something that held meaning to her.
'Is this really okay?'
If so, did her current act hold meaning?
To a man who merely caught her attention.
To a man she had not even known for very long—was it acceptable to give him a once-in-a-lifetime chance, the thing the world called "chastity"?
'Even after seeing what happened to your friend... can you truly say you won't regret this?'
Madoka.
The friend who had guided her. And now, a pitiable child she would never see again.
Swept along by her environment, Madoka had ultimately broken mentally, losing her virginity in the most miserable, worthless way, and then even her very dignity as a human being.
Even after seeing her like that, when she ought to have found the act itself revolting...
'...I suppose I'm not much of a decent person myself.'
She had realized, over and over, that this pounding in her chest was not born purely of fear.
'To think that at this point, I'd be placing expectations on something like that.'
She had already lived a life distanced from ordinary people, so she had assumed that her own virginity meant nothing.
And yet now, she found herself wishing that this first moment would hold meaning in her life.
Because the unfamiliar emotions she had felt while being with him—
Because she could feel that the initial intensity he had sparked in her was going beyond a mere afterglow, etching itself into her heart.
'Yes, if the first time truly matters.'
-Shhhhh.
With the dwindling stream of water behind her, Ymir pulled her damp body along, leaving the bathroom and returning to the room.
'Then at the very least, it's best to begin without any regrets.'
Dave.
The man waiting in the bedroom at this moment would be able to fulfill that wish of hers.
If everything he had shown her so far was sincere, and if that consideration manifested itself in this act as well—
"I'm done washing."
"Ah, yes... I left a towel over there."
But was he nervous after all?
Dave sat with his gaze averted, unable to bring himself to look at her.
As Ymir dried herself with the towel provided, she stole glances at his expression, now and then.
"...Dave."
"Y-Yes. Go ahead."
"When someone calls you, shouldn't you look them in the eye when you answer?"
"......"
He flinched, slowly turned his head, and at last his hardened gaze settled squarely on her.
A body that still held the warmth and moisture of one who had just finished a shower.
The water streaming across her skin ran along the gentle curves, and the moment a droplet began to fall, her throat constricted, and she began to swallow hard.
With no adornment at all...
No—precisely because there was no adornment, a body that captivated a man's gaze utterly.
Even with such a body exposed, far from feeling shame, the woman merely let a knowing smile play at her lips.
"You're staring a lot longer than last time. Don't tell me I'm the first naked person you've seen—other than myself?"
"Oh, n-no. You're not the first, but..."
"Hoh~ So unlike me, you do have some experience?"
Ymir let out a slight nasal hum at the unexpected revelation.
The thought crossed her mind that it might have been with that novice who brought him into the party, but she decided not to press that particular point.
Whatever the case, what mattered was that in this relationship, she was the only one who was still chaste.
"...Are you disappointed I'm not your first?"
"I wonder. Am I?"
It would be a lie to say she felt no sense of betrayal at all.
To think that a man who seemed so pure and foolish would have one up on her.
"Ah well. A man's first time and a woman's first time are quite different, after all."
But her inexperience made her anxious.
The thought also flickered through her mind: if it had to happen, wouldn't it be better to leave the lead to someone with experience?
"Dave."
As if seeking comfort in that notion, Ymir closed the distance without resistance.
Soon, having sat down side by side with him on the bed, she placed a hand on his chest and whispered into his ear.
"Are you ready... to take my first time?"
-Thump, thump.
The sound of his heartbeat.
Traveling through the tips of her fingers pressed to his chest, it began to resonate in unison with her own.