A Night with the Heroine...? (3)
About Unia, there are a few more things to say. She's a country girl. She'll tell the story herself later, but she grew up in the countryside with her grandmother, the "witch." According to mentions in the original game, the number of people she'd seen in her entire life was fewer than the number she encountered just leaving her hometown to enroll in the academy. She had almost no contact with the outside world. Even within the countryside, it was the same. Her grandmother doted on her endlessly and kept all men at bay. And yet, she made sure to educate her thoroughly about men, so Unia has a solid grasp of the theory when it comes to guys. Theory only. Has she ever actually seen a man's body? Probably. Like a corpse or something. But in the pure sense—has she ever laid eyes on a naked man? No.
Unia's first event upon arriving at the academy is exactly this. The "reverse lucky sukebe." In light novels, it's common to see the male protagonist with bangs down to his eyes accidentally open a door while the heroine is changing, leading to her scream of "Kyaa! Get out!" while hurling objects at him. Unia is different. The developers flipped the script: she bursts in while the protagonist is showering naked. And right now, that event scene is playing out in this very situation.
Fate's prank? "Lucky me."
I'd deliberately left the door unlocked, but the knock opening it was unexpected even for me. In the end, the event unfolded exactly as scripted.
"S-Sorry!!"
Unia whips around in a panic. Her hair trembles finely, her dangling hands fidget, her toes wiggle, and she has no idea what to do.
"Eh, whatever. Accidents happen."
"Th-The door!!"
"It's fine. Not like I'm gonna keep staring, right?"
I calmly shake out my towel and grab my clothes, leaving the door wide open.
"Besides, it's not like it'll wear out from looking."
"Ugh, seriously...!"
"Everyone makes mistakes. Really, it's okay."
At my words, Unia's trembling eases. A normal person might sneak a peek back, but Unia stays stock-still, staring straight ahead.
However, one thing.
I know.
She's holding her ground without turning her head, but there's a different reason she's enduring like that.
The angle where just a slight shift of her eyes catches my reflection softly in the entrance mirror.
Unia herself probably had no idea. She likely didn't even know there was a mirror in a position visible if she glanced aside, or that its angle peeked just through the open bathroom door. And she definitely saw it now.
I saw it clearly. Unia's gaze unmistakably fixed on my lower half.
She's getting a crystal-clear view of me through the door crack.
Pretending not to notice, I slowly start dressing.
"Sorry, protagonist dude, but Unia's first man is gonna be me."
No. Not sorry at all.
"I took on this Golden Sun look for a reason. No need to apologize."
I didn't possess Regiph—the first body in this world—just to mimic a 20-something vibe as Golden Sun Red Sol Phoenix. As the real Golden Sun and mid-boss, I'm actively planning to steal the heroines.
Correction. Precisely, to make them my harem.
"Claim 'em before they become heroines."
Those who were the protagonist's heroines in the original are already becoming Golden Sun Phoenix's harem members thanks to my swift moves. That's why contacting Unia before academy enrollment was such good luck. She's the first one to join the protagonist as a companion.
"Miss Unia. I'm about ready to head out. You okay?"
"Y-Yes! I'm fine. ...Sorry."
Creeeak.
As I chat while dressing, I step out. Only then does Unia sneak a glance at me.
"It's fine. I'm dressed now."
"...You're not hoping I meant naked, are you?"
"Really?"
"......Hey."
Unia looks at me with sunken eyes for a moment, then lets out a deep sigh.
"B-Be careful."
"Got it. I'll lock the door properly."
"That's one thing, but Phoenix... um, well..."
Unia hesitates for a second.
"Miss Unia. If you've got a long story, how about you wash up first and we talk after?"
I mime tapping my wrist.
"It's late. We need some shut-eye before heading out at dawn."
"Oh, right...."
Unia quietly opens the door and enters.
Click.
The door locks.
I could peek inside using mana, but—
"That'd make me not a perv, but a psycho."
As a law-abiding citizen, I don't do anything that'd get me arrested.
Shhh.
Water runs, and I close my eyes, meditating quietly while waiting for Unia to finish. About 30 minutes later.
"Phoenix."
Unia, hair dried with magic and changed into pajamas, sits cross-legged on the bed, looking at me seriously.
"This might sound harsh to you, Phoenix, but... you have to hide the fact that you're... this impressive."
Unia earnestly grips the middle of her right arm with her left hand.
"If it gets out, groups like Binyu Group will definitely try to forcibly drain your mana."
"......?"
"Be careful. Women might get away with it once, but... men lose all their mana in the process."
"......."
Hold up.
"You're not talking about [Mana Drain], are you?"
"You know it well."
"......."
A chill runs down my spine for a moment.
"Mana Drain. Succubus sex magic. Doesn't seem common where you lived, Phoenix, but it's a secret art that forcibly absorbs others' mana, and it's spread across the continent."
That's succubus tech, sure.
"Men might feel it's unfair, but what can you do? It's succubus-originated sex magic. So be careful. Just as men love women with lots of mana... women really like men overflowing with mana."
"Hmm, so Miss Unia, you—"
"Don't joke."
I tried lightening the mood with a tease, but Unia's voice sharpens.
"Be serious. Binyu Group's already eyeing you, Phoenix. If they learn your potential..."
"What happens?"
"...You could get kidnapped and locked underground forever, milked dry until you can't anymore."
If the mood had lightened even a bit, I could've probed further, but.
"Lots of men have been "killed" that way. Even the empire's Second Imperial Prince. You know?"
"......."
Unia eyes me curiously, and I quietly stroke my chin.
"I wasn't big on outside news, but I heard some famous guy got kidnapped and killed. That was the empire's Second Prince?"
"...No. Sorry. I misspoke. It was the First Prince."
Phew. Good thing. Seemed like a probing question, but it passed.
"Especially those women—they target guys who puff up their pride around women. So be careful, Phoenix. Well..."
Unia glances at me with a hint of relief, hand on her chest.
"You're not like those prideful types, so I'm not too worried..."
She mutters like to herself, but her eyes flick to my lower half where I'm lying.
"Dodged a bullet."
I'd considered straightening up and opening the door, but thankfully, I'd gone in fully composed.
"Miss Unia. Don't worry. I like women a bit too much, sure, but I have my standards."
"...Like what?"
"First off."
I slice my hand firmly.
"I don't like Binyu Group types."
Unia sighs in relief at my answer.
"And I don't go around puffing up my pride recklessly."
"...I see."
Unia rolls her eyes side to side a bit.
Wait, is this the glance?
"So... when do you get all prideful? Around someone like Instructor Esta?"
"Kinda, but if I had to say..."
I trail off deliberately, locking eyes with Unia on purpose.
"...Ahem. It's late. How about we sleep?"
"How about staying up all night instead?"
"What?"
"Hehe, kidding."
Unia grins at me and lies down on the bed.
"Good night. We'll wake early tomorrow... and head to the academy."
"Yeah."
The conversation ends with Unia somehow coming out on top, and no more words pass.
"She's hooked."
Unia's probably smiling. Seeing me flustered at the end boosted her confidence; her heart's gotta be pounding.
"Can she even sleep properly?"
She'll probably toss and turn with thoughts racing. I'm fine—I've already "stepped back one," but Unia?
Right now, I'm composed. Unia doesn't know. From the moment I said I'd shower first, my mana started surging uncontrollably, full of vigor.
When I entered the shower, my mana was already rampaging beyond control.
So at the start, I used a certain spell. Not some hand trick—I meditated, locking myself in my mental world to suppress the boiling desire.
Esdinas of the Blue Sky. A visual novel game, but rated 15+. No 19+ scenes, not even a kiss.
"Well, it was more RPG than pure VN anyway."
Still, as a guy, you can't help imagining. Unia at 20. Can I hold out until her graduation?
So before climbing out of hell, I prepared one countermeasure. For heroines I'd meet ahead, especially academy students. To avoid slip-ups.
During the shower.
Do you need my help?
I decided to hold a self-imposed mental training session.
Guess I'll have to bring you back to reality~
* * *
"Welcome, you."
A dark room. A stone chamber lit by blue flames.
"This is your consciousness world."
Atop a stone bed like a white altar.
"A place for sage time when you can't hold back."
A blue-haired woman in a white dress awaited me.
"Omake Room, No.00. Welcome to the Cumming Dream Room, my slave."
Chang Yeom.
"I can't interfere physically, but this narrow space allows mental connection... like a motel room. What do you desire?"
"...Wasn't it you who set the safe word, Master?"
"Puhuhu."
Chang Yeom crosses her legs and laughs.
"True. Let's cut to the chase."
Chang Yeom pats the stone bed with a smirk.
"Adults gonna adult. Know how hard it's been waiting? This place keeps throbbing... puhuhu."
Chang Yeom toys with her lower abdomen, licking her lips lewdly.
"It's grown-up time."