66. Morning Wake-Up and What Rakushel Left Behind

I woke up. The ceiling loomed low, pressing down oppressively.

Last night, I'd collapsed naked on the floor from sheer exhaustion—or so I thought. But here I was, on the bed. The lower bunk of a bunk bed, no less. And fully dressed, too.

Sunlight streamed through the window. Judging by the short beam slicing in, it had to be around noon.

Next to me, Mizuki slept with her back turned to me, dressed in just a T-shirt and panties. Couldn't pass up the chance, so I gave her ass a feel.

"Mm... nnn..."

Mizuki let out a little moan. She sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes and glancing around.

"Mash, it's already noon. What are you doing?"

It was Cecily who spoke up. She sat on a chair, shooting me a cold look. On the desk where Rakushel had descended last night sat some bread.

I sat up and leaned in for a kiss from Cecily, but she turned her face away.

Oh well. I grabbed two pieces of bread instead and handed one to Mizuki.

"Where's everyone else?"

I chomped into the bread. It was hard. Dry as hell.

"Like you said yesterday, Mash, we went out to check on the monster fluids scattered around town."

Cecily answered.

"...What was that last night?"

"That was Rakushel."

No other way to put it.

"So I lost to that? Fine, I get it now—summoning her just makes you happy, and that's all it's good for."

Cecily must've thought I was summoning Rakushel just for the lewd stuff. Spot on, but this time, I figured we'd gotten the bare minimum of info.

"Nah, it's not like that. When Mizuki and I got summoned, we were first called to her room. We were supposed to get some footage there. Let's watch it."

Mizuki sat up and scooted closer too. When I went in for a kiss, she obliged without a fuss.

After a light brush of our ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lips, I turned to the screen, and the video started playing.

There I was, on a packed train, smirking faintly while fiddling with my smartphone.

"...Rakushel. No, that's not it."

I quietly stopped the footage.

Mizuki and I got washed up by Cecily and changed clothes.

We decided to head out and check on the town. Ideally, grab something to eat from a street stall. The town was prepping for the monster assault—windows boarded up with wood planks, streets cleared of clutter. Stalls were packed away, most shops shuttered. The few open ones were sold out. No vibe of residents fleeing the city. They weren't opting to evacuate temporarily and return after the Big Hoppers passed.

"Y'know, back when we met, you were the type to initiate conversations, Mizuki. Lately, that side of you's faded."

Maybe because of the video, it reminded me of our early days. She'd been more proactive than me.

"You've changed too, Mash. You don't hole up inside as much anymore."

"I'd still rather use you as a shield to avoid people if I could."

I hated the emptiness from our old world, but part of me wanted to cut ties with society and shut myself away. Not an option in this world, though.

"...Yeah, that's not happening. But I think you've gotten more approachable."

"That's thanks to you taking the lead and talking to people."

Not just Mizuki. Fam too, and everyone in this world.

"In that sense... maybe I owe it to you too, Mash."

Mizuki's tone dipped unusually low.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Not sure if I should say it, but... after you forced that kiss on me and especially after the assault, I got scared of guys."

"..."

I was at a loss for words. Of course she was hurt. She'd declared herself my girlfriend and stuck with me, so I'd assumed everything was fine. No clue what her headspace was really like.

Cecily, who'd been listening, sighed heavily.

"Mash, how much of a monster are you? Mizuki, why stick with a guy like that?"

"It's... yeah. But I'm really glad it was you, Mash."

Mizuki threw in some baffling follow-up.

"That's not good at all! Are you an idiot?"

Cecily let out another huge sigh.

From now on, I'd be gentler with Mizuki. And listen to her more.

"About last night's Rakushel,"

Mizuki said.

"What about her?" I replied.

"She's different from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when we first got called. Back then, we could say whatever we wanted to her. But last night, we couldn't ask anything we wanted."

In the end, all we'd gotten was another "defeat the Demon King" and that she'd given Karupana a revelation to seek the words of the gods.

"Myra's charm effect, right?"

"Yeah, that was some irresistible power."

Cecily chimed in with her take.

"Doesn't it seem off? She said she couldn't control her power, but I don't buy it."

"You mean we weren't charmed the first time."

Mizuki nodded.

"It's subtle. Myra's words let us recognize the charm she puts on us. But back then, we didn't notice our sense of self being warped, so maybe that's why it feels that way now? We kissed right in front of her that time."

"Th-that wasn't forced by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you, Mash!"

Back then, my head was full of lewd thoughts 24/7 just like now, but I lacked the guts to act. No point arguing; no one'd believe me.

"Plus, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when we were first summoned, we all three—Rakushel, you, and me—agreed the explanation was lacking. Even if she charmed us, she'd still explain to us, right?"

"True. She's the one who summoned us. She wants us to do something, so she'd explain if we asked. But we don't, so she doesn't bother."

Come to think of it, Momoka and Chihiro were in the same boat. Mizuki's point made it seem less like coincidence.

"One more thing. Rakushel said your... y'know, acts with her don't count since she has no form. Except when you exchanged vows. Taking that at face value, maybe she wanted to confirm something through doing it with you?"

"..."

I tried recalling our pre- and post-sex talk, but it was fuzzy. Didn't think we'd exchanged anything.

"Can we trust Rakushel?"

Mizuki murmured, her words lacking conviction.

"I don't have the answer. She has her own agenda, and it might not be for our sake."

Cecily'd probably call me an idiot, but I wanted to believe the girl who'd called herself my lover.

We arrived at the spot with the pink Big Hopper corpse.

No corpse. All cleaned up. The stake holes repaired, ground smoothed perfectly.

Spotted Momoka. Chihiro was with her. She saw us and headed over.

"Oh, the big shots finally showin' up, eh?"

She raised a hand in greeting.

"Yeah. I'm the leader of Levante, after all. Pretty important guy."

I puffed out my chest for no reason.

"We moved the monsters outside town, to the west. Soldiers'll attack from the walls, looks like."

Probably stone bows from the walls or something.

"Sounds solid."

Couldn't picture their tactics, but I nodded along.

"Got someone I want you two to meet. Mind coming with?"

"...This ain't some shady spot, right?"

She said that, but followed when I started walking.

"How's the city defense holding?"

The walled area was maybe a bit over a kilometer north-south and east-west. How to cover that huge expanse?

"A hundred soldiers on wall duty. Fifty guarding the palace. Rest patrol the streets. Guild adventurers too."

"Not enough to hold everything."

Yeah, those numbers couldn't cover the whole town.

"Total war. Citizens join in. Gotta protect yourself."

Wonder what kinda force that made. Outside the walls were monster-filled wilds, after all. They'd have chances to fight armed, basic training at least.

"Blood tax, huh..."

"Always been that way. The mercenaries we usually rely on sensed war and headed east. Can't count on 'em."

Makes sense—this town defended with hired mercs. Other towns too. Too small for a standing army on taxes alone; hire when needed.

"But we got a shot," Momoka continued.

"Yeah?"

"The wandering folk. They offered to help defend this morning."

Karupana made her move.

"They strong?"

"You don't know? Wanderers cursed by gods, driven from home. Rumor is they train nonstop for revenge."

"You don't know either, huh."

"Nah."

Momoka laughed.

We reached Karupana's inn. Told the usual duo in the tavern downstairs I wanted to talk to her.

"Mash, you're sneaky. Knew the wanderers already?"

Momoka clocked their getup too.

"Nah, we met first time together, remember?"

"Thought it was coincidence."

I gave her the quick rundown on meeting the wanderers.

While waiting for the duo, Fam, Myra, and Ira entered the tavern.

"Saw you headin' in, Shu-sama."

"Perfect timing. Wanted to talk with everyone."

I nodded to Fam, then eyed Myra. Last night, she'd failed to resist Rakushel's charm and slept soundly alone.

"Myra... you okay?"

"I-I'm truly sorry. I'm fine now."

Myra bowed deeply.

Then the two guys returned.

"Lady Karupana says to come to her room."

Thank you for reading.

Thanks to everyone who hit like, bookmarked, or rated.

It motivates me. I'll keep at it.

Really appreciate the typo reports.