Drunken Truths #5
Drunken Truths #5
At first, Rebecca didn't understand what I meant. She just stared at me with a flabbergasted look, like I'd cracked some nonsense joke.
But as my explanation went on, Rebecca's face hardened, like a plaster cast in an art room.
I'd really done it now!
Nothing else filled my head but that single thought. Watching Rebecca's expression freeze over by the second, my mind went blank as a fresh sheet of paper.
Rebecca stared at me for a long moment, then spoke.
"So, what you're saying is... you want to date me, and date Sister Kate at the same time?"
There was a weird weight to the way Rebecca pronounced Kate's name. At the sound of it, Kate, standing beside me, flinched in startled surprise.
"Yeah."
I gulped and nodded.
"Why?"
Rebecca asked, the question directed at me. That single, short 'why?' echoed in the room, and I had no idea what answer to pull out. Where the hell was I even supposed to start? Should I begin with the fact that Kate confessed to me?
"You and Sister Kate never looked that close. How in the world did you two suddenly hit it off? All you ever did was tease her and call her your tool."
"Ugh. A tool, she says."
Kate made a sour face beside me, but Rebecca didn't seem to care.
Rebecca was looking only at me.
To get Rebecca to accept this, I had to pull out the story from our orphanage days.
"Turns out, Kate and I came from the same orphanage. We spent our childhood together at Evergreen Orphanage in the Central Continent. I didn't know her, but she remembered me."
"You're from the same orphanage?"
"Yeah. We got closer while talking about old times, and... we couldn't stay just friends anymore. Kate had feelings for me too. That's why I'm telling you honestly. I figured hiding it would be worse."
Learning the truth about us, Rebecca just stayed silent. She rested her forehead in her hand, lost in thought.
Kate and I had to stand there in the hallway until our legs ached, but we were in no position to complain.
From Rebecca's perspective, this must be completely unbelievable.
I'd left to take my promotion match and suddenly came back with Kate in tow.
And now I'm telling her that Kate and I are from the same orphanage and are close enough to want a relationship.
It's not something you can just accept at the drop of a hat.
If the answer was 'no', I intended to end things with Kate. Perhaps this question might even shatter my relationship with Rebecca.
If that happened, the guilt over what I'd done to Rebecca would probably ensure I'd never date another woman again.
I'd die a bachelor incubus, spending my twilight years in lonely solitude.
"......"
After hearing me out,
Rebecca finally broke her silence.
"First, come inside. Standing around in the hallway is a bit much. People are staring."
"Huh?"
Startled by her words, I glanced around. Just as Rebecca said, several tenants on the third floor were poking their heads out of their doorways, staring at the three of us.
The sight of one incubus and two women causing a commotion from early morning was bound to draw attention from anyone.
Rebecca gestured for us to come inside.
"Sister Kate, you come in too."
"O-Okay!"
Kate slunk into the room, shrinking like a mouse before a cat.
Of course, I'd entered before her, and my steps felt just as awkward.
*
"Both of you, sit down. I have things to ask."
Rebecca set out a pair of plush cushions on the floor. Once Kate and I had settled our butts onto them, Rebecca sat down facing us.
The cushions were soft, but it might as well have been a bed of thorns. Kate and I sat there squirming in front of Rebecca. This had to be several times more nerve-wracking than a couple asking a father-in-law for his blessing.
Rebecca hesitated, then asked me,
"You said you and Sister Kate got close?"
"Yeah."
"D-Did you two... you know. With the Sister."
Did we what? Do what?
A moment later, I realized exactly what Rebecca was asking.
She was asking if we'd done anything lewd.
My face instantly flushed hot. But being flustered didn't mean I stayed silent in the face of her question.
"We kissed."
"K-Kissed?!"
"Yeah."
"Then what about besides kissing?!"
"Just hugging each other, or lending her my shoulder to lean on. That's about it."
"Ugh."
Rebecca blushed and glared at me.
But before Rebecca could say anything more, Kate, who was beside me, slammed her forehead to the floor.
Loud enough for a 'Thud!' to echo.
"I'm sorry, Rebecca! This is all my fault! I seduced Mongma-nim with my body!"
"You seduced Luke, Sister?!"
"I just wanted him to be conscious of me, even a little bit, and I...! I'm so sorry!"
Rebecca looked dizzy and pressed a hand to her forehead. I'd expected her to curse us out, but surprisingly, Rebecca spoke in a calm voice.
"Anyway, you haven't gone into a deep relationship with Sister Kate. Even though the Sister tried to seduce you with her body."
"Th-That's right."
"Honestly, it's surprising you didn't go further. I hate to admit it, but Sister Kate is a beauty. An incubus with a strong sex drive might have made a move."
The reason I could hold myself back from touching Kate was because of Rebecca.
I'd been releasing the pent-up desires built through my relationship with her. And besides, there was something else that kept running through my head.
"Truth is, I wasn't not tempted, Rebecca."
"What?"
"I think I was able to hold back my urges thanks to you. I kept thinking about you."
"Thanks to me? I see."
Rebecca nodded silently. I couldn't tell at all from her expression whether my answer pleased her or angered her.
What was certain was that it was a relief I hadn't crossed the line past kissing with Kate.
If I'd lost control of my urges and pounced on Kate, I wouldn't have been able to lift my head in this room.
"You asked me, right? If you could officially date Sister Kate."
"Yeah."
"I'm glad you asked. At least it means the choice is mine, right? What to do about this alley-cat of a Sister."
"A-An alley-cat..."
"She is an alley-cat."
"I am!"
Bombarded by facts, Kate hung her head limply.
Rebecca spoke to the two of us.
"I'll give you exactly ten minutes to think."
Rebecca sat perfectly still, crossing her arms.
Then she closed her eyes and didn't even twitch. The ten minutes she'd mentioned slipped by relentlessly.
Kate and I had no choice but to watch Rebecca with her eyes closed, our nerves on edge. I'd only just noticed it now, but Rebecca's curved blade was lying right behind her back.
It was just the layout of the room that made her sit with her back to it, but my heart was pounding.
What if, once the ten minutes were up—!
Would Rebecca open her eyes and unleash some kind of quick-draw technique with that sword?
Had I misunderstood the 'choice' being about our lives?
I knew Rebecca wasn't that kind of cruel person, but still.
At last, the time passed.
Rebecca opened her eyes, looked at me, and spoke with a resolute expression.
"I'll allow it."
"Y-You'll allow it?!"
I was so confused I thought I'd misheard. I'd asked with a shred of desperate hope, but I was certain she'd refuse. Even Kate stared at Rebecca with a surprised look.
"A-Are you serious, Rebecca?"
"Yes."
She answered shortly and turned her gaze back to me.
"Luke. You're a capable adventurer."
"It's only natural that capable men attract women. If you can take responsibility, it's better to accept it. Even if the Sister who seduced you on a whim is irritating, it's still better than you being with some complete stranger."
She hadn't changed at all from when she'd told me stories of her homeland by the lake near city hall. Rebecca's belief that a capable man could keep women hadn't wavered.
I couldn't help but feel a deep respect for her consistency.
I always thought people were creatures that changed their minds depending on the situation. But Rebecca might just be an exception.
"I'm allowing this because of your competence! If you were some pathetic man, there'd be nothing in it for you. I'd have told you to look only at me."
"I-I see..."
I honestly couldn't tell if this was a dream or reality.
Rebecca and Kate.
The day had come when I'd be dating two beauties at the same time. And with the full agreement of both of them, to boot. Born as a lowly incubus in this other world, I had achieved a man's ultimate fantasy.
Thud! Out of nowhere, Kate threw herself prostrate before Rebecca.
Bowing so low her forehead nearly touched the floor, she spoke.
"Thank you so much for allowing this, Rebecca! I'll take good care of Mongma-nim from now on!"
"Huh?"
"I'll make sure Mongma-nim's path is strewn only with flowers! I'll build happy memories with him, just the two of us!"
"Excuse me, Sister Kate."
Rebecca opened her mouth with an odd expression.
"'Just the two of you'? I'm also dating him, you know. I'm not saying I'm conceding Luke to you entirely."
"Ah...!"
Lifting her head, Kate looked flustered.
"O-Oh, right! I misspoke! Not just the two of us, but the three of us will build happy memories!"
"That's exactly it."
Rebecca looked at a sweating Kate with an awkward smile. When the two had first met, it was Kate who'd had the upper hand. Their positions had completely reversed overnight. I couldn't even begin to guess how their relationship would progress from here.
"But hearing that puts my mind a bit at ease. The Sister must really like Luke."
"Yes."
"What parts of him did you like? His detailed, considerate nature?"
"His considerate nature is part of it, but also... his body is nice."
"Aha. His body is nice, I see."
"I-It's not just his body, of course!"
Kate stole glances at me and started listing the things she liked about me one by one. His leadership of the party, a kindness unbecoming of an incubus... On top of that, things about me that I didn't even know were my strengths poured endlessly from Kate's mouth.
"I like that pride he has, refusing to easily submit to a nun like me."
"His pride! I like that part too."
Honestly, it was getting to the point where I was downright embarrassed listening to it from the side. The fact that Rebecca was awkwardly chiming in from across us made it even more mortifying. The two women went back and forth about me for a full thirty minutes.
Watching Kate pour her heart out, Rebecca finally nodded, as if she'd been convinced.
"Alright. I understand the Sister's feelings well enough. Now, regarding our relationship, I have a favor to ask. Could you give us the room for a moment?"
"Huh? Leave the room?"
"I have something I want to say to Luke. Alone."