The Cross of Memories #9
The Cross of Memories #9
The territorial dispute between the Rattmen was intensifying by the moment. The clamor of skittering feet and shrieking cries was enough to deafen the ears. If we just sat around gawking, we'd be swept up in their war.
I grabbed Kate and pulled her into the stone chamber.
"You seriously mean we're sleeping here?!"
"We don't have a choice. You're not telling me you'd rather get chewed to death by those rat bastards, are you?"
"O-of course not."
Kate, who'd been dragging her feet, reluctantly followed once she saw the swelling horde of Rattmen. I'd led her to the southern stone chamber—the one where I'd smashed the totem. A secret room with its entrance cunningly concealed.
Rattmen weren't smart enough to easily find adventurers hiding inside. And since I'd bivouacked in this southern chamber before, I knew it was the safest place of all.
Rrrrrrumble!
The stone door slid open and I pushed Kate inside. The moment I entered the chamber and shut the door, the sound of rat feet erupted into a clamor on the other side.
"More Rattmen than I'd thought."
If we'd been just a little later, a swarm of Rattmen would've been all over us. My snap decision to head straight back to the chamber had been the right call. I gave the trembling Kate a reassuring pat.
"It'll all be over if we just wait. So relax. Try trusting me a little."
"Truly? I can trust you, Mongma-nim?"
"I said just... trust me, all right?"
Kate, her face gone pale, nodded. To soothe her as she slumped onto the floor, I cleared away the totem debris scattered across the stone floor.
Animal bones, flesh reduced to ash, the bones of armed skeletons. I swept it all into a corner and covered it with a skeleton's shield. The gruesome remnants were now out of sight.
"We'll move after about half a day has passed. Until then, we can just get some shut-eye."
"How do you know when time has passed?"
"I've got a tool for when you get stranded in the underground waterways."
I pulled a large hourglass out of my backpack.
In the sunless underground waterways, getting a handle on the flow of time is tricky.
I'd been stranded down here before, so now I always carried a cheap hourglass whenever I explored the waterways.
The timekeeping wasn't precise, but it was better than nothing.
"Every time I flip this hourglass over, twenty minutes have passed. Flip it three times, that means an hour's gone. Understand?"
"So if you keep flipping the hourglass, we'll know when it's time to leave."
Kate gulped before she spoke.
"So we can just rest our eyes from now until we get out?"
"Can't conk out right away. One of us has to stand night watch. Monsters might get close, and we still have to keep flipping the hourglass."
"Night watch!"
At the words "night watch," Kate's face went blank with shock. I was puzzled for a moment before I remembered—Kate was a nun. One of that blessed breed of nuns who are mysteriously exempt from night watch duty in adventuring parties.
It seemed the time for justice had finally come for Kate, who freeloaded her way through a full night's sleep.
"What, can't stand watch? You're not seriously planning to leave me awake alone and sleep with a clear conscience, are you?"
"I have no such plan. I'm a woman who can do it if she has to! In fact, staying up all night isn't something I've never done."
"You've stayed up all night? When?"
"Sometimes at the church. There are times I have to stand night duty in the confessional room. I'm saying I may never have stood night watch, but I have stood duty. Only two or three times a month, though."
"You stand duty in the confessional room?"
"Our church's confessional room operates 24 hours a day. To offer help to troubled lambs at any time. If you get the chance, you should come by once, Mongma-nim. Our church is open for good business."
What business? What is the confessional room, some kind of call center?
Kate's phrasing was absurd, but the fact that she'd stood duty before was reassuring.
It's not the same as night watch, but staying up all night is staying up all night, right? Still, I didn't trust Kate completely, so I decided I would stand the first watch.
"I'll stand night watch first. I'll wake you in four hours. You can rest starting now."
"You're going first, Mongma-nim? I don't mind going first myself."
"With Rattmen swarming thick outside right now, it's better for me to stay alert."
Right now, with the territorial fight just getting started, Rattmen were bound to be swarming all around us. If anything went wrong, it was better for me to be the one awake. Seeming to understand my reasoning, Kate nodded.
"...I see. Then I'll rest first. It's all right if I lie on that stone bed over there?"
"Go ahead and lie down."
Inside the stone chamber, a single stone bed was provided. The stone bed was a place adventurers often sought for sleep, so it was relatively clean compared to the floor. Someone had even spread an old straw mat as a makeshift sheet.
"Please wake me up properly. I'm a deep sleeper, so I can't get up easily."
Kate murmured quietly and lay down on the stone bed. Using her fluffy backpack as a pillow and covering herself with a raincoat like a blanket, Kate closed her eyes.
The racket of Rattmen feet echoed all around us.
It wasn't exactly an easy environment to fall asleep in, but Kate seemed pretty worn out from exploring the underground waterways. Was it after I'd flipped the hourglass three times? Before I knew it, Kate had her eyes shut and was breathing softly in her sleep.
'Good thing she conked out fast.'
Kate lay before me, defenseless and fast asleep. Every time she breathed, her generously curved chest rose and fell. It was a sight that would stir any man, but even looking at Kate, I could keep my urges in check.
'Seriously, this place is just too damn gloomy.'
This stone chamber in the underground waterways was just not a place conducive to releasing sexual desire. Unidentifiable filth smeared on the walls. The damp, soggy floor. The sealed space adding to the chilling atmosphere.
As a bonus, the intense cinnamon scent wafting right under my nose tormented me. Letting your libido run wild in a place like this felt like it would only leave both of us with a horrific experience.
"Still, she really is pretty."
A bit weird to say under the circumstances, but still.
I could appreciate Kate's beauty more deeply while she slept than I could at any other time. Her radiant appearance, a stark contrast to the gloomy stone chamber. The sight of her sleeping so peacefully—she looked like a truly beautiful fairy.
If only she'd keep her mouth shut like this all the time.
I can't believe she seals away that perfect beauty with her own mouth.
Is she not a loser hiding her power, but a loser hiding her looks?
Slip!
The moment I flipped the hourglass for precisely the twelfth time.
At last, four hours had passed and it was time to switch with Kate. I had to shake Kate's body rather vigorously before I could wake her.
Now I can rest easy too, right?
*
After switching night watch duty with Kate, now awake.
I lay down on the stone bed. The stone bed where Kate had been lying just moments ago still held her warmth. A bed warmed by the body of a blonde, buxom nun—it was strangely arousing.
"Rest well."
"Yeah."
As four hours passed, the sound of Rattmen quarreling outside faded into the distance. The perfect time to catch some sleep. Yet after lying on the stone bed, I couldn't easily drift off.
Because Kate, standing night watch, kept weighing on my mind.
'She's not dozing off, is she?'
Given her usual behavior, I couldn't trust that Kate was staying properly awake.
If it were Kate, somehow I felt like she was perfectly capable of sneaking in a nap right next to me.
What if a Rattman got close while we were both asleep? What if, by some stroke of bad luck, our hideout was discovered? The moment that thought popped into my head, a chill ran down my spine and sleep wouldn't come.
And so a long stretch of time passed while I lay there half-awake.
How much time had passed?
Kate, who had been steeped in silence, suddenly called out to me.
"Mongma-nim? Are you asleep?"
I didn't answer Kate. I was too drowsy to even open my mouth. Perhaps she mistook me for being completely asleep. Kate murmured softly to herself.
"H-he really is asleep."
A moment later, I heard the rustle of fabric near my ear.
It was the sound of a nun's habit brushing against itself. The sound drew closer and closer. I realized Kate was approaching me.
'What's this?'
Why is she coming closer to a sleeping person?
Just as the question formed in my mind, something soft began touching my body. From the sensation brushing my skin, I could tell it was bare flesh.
'Why is she suddenly touching me?'
I stealthily opened my eyes and scanned ahead. Through the slightly parted gap of my vision, Kate was visible. Kate, her cheeks flushed red, had her hand resting on my body.
'Is she planning to mess with me here?'
Maybe she was trying to get back at me for everything I'd put her through.
But Kate's touch was surprisingly gentle. With a slender, soft hand, Kate explored every inch of my body. It was a touch far too arousing to be written off as a mere prank.
"Mongma-nim...."
Kate called my name as if whispering. Kate's hand rubbed my thigh and calf, then gently tugged them. At this moment, Kate had no idea at all that I was awake.
'Sexual harassment? Am I being sexually harassed right now?!'
Kate, who'd been touching my lower half, gradually moved her hands upward. She was now softly kneading my firm chest with her hands. The instant her palm grazed my nipple, I felt an indescribable jolt.
Good heavens, a nun sexually harassing a dream demon!
Such a thing has probably never happened even once in the history of the continent!
Kate was now the first nun in human history to toy with a dream demon.
I was so shocked I felt like cracking her head open right then.
"S-so hard."
Kate was persistently rubbing my chest.
Thanks to her touch, pathetic as it was, I got an erection.
It was a touch stimulating enough to make me hard even in this gloomy stone chamber.
'Should I stop her?'
My reason screamed that I had to stop Kate.
But my instinct whispered to leave her be. Because I wanted to feel Kate's touch a little longer. While I was caught between the two, something astonishing happened.
"Hoo."
Kate's breath touched my cheek.
Through my slightly open eyes, I saw Kate's lips drawing closer and closer.
With her eyes squeezed shut, Kate was pushing her red lips toward me.
The moment my mind went completely blank, Kate finally pressed her lips to mine. The plump, springy sensation, the warm heat carried on her lips, sent my heart racing.
"Haaaah."
Having shyly kissed me, Kate pulled her lips away.
Kate's cheeks were dyed bright red as she gasped for breath.
At that sight, my patience detonated.
"K-Kate?"
I opened my eyes and stared at Kate.
In that instant, our eyes met.
Kate's mouth fell open in horror.
"Y-you were awake?!"
"Yeah."
"A-aauuuugh!"
Kate shuddered and stumbled backward. She bolted, then pressed herself against the wall of the stone chamber. But with the Rattmen outside, she couldn't leave. Right now, Kate was trapped in here with me.
I sat on the edge of the bed and spoke with a bewildered expression.
The warmth of her lips still lingered on mine.
"Just what were you doing?"
Kate answered in a voice that was crawling into the ground.
"Kissing..."
"That probably wasn't all you were doing, was it?"
"Eep."
At my pressing question, Kate fell silent for a moment, as if her conscience had been pricked.
After calming her ragged breathing, Kate opened her mouth.
"I-I was curious. I wanted to know what a male body feels like. I've never had any contact with men before. With Mongma-nim lying there, I just... ended up committing a discourtesy...."
Kate added, her head deeply bowed.
"And I also wanted to try kissing."
"Why do that with me?"
Kate just stood leaning against the wall, silently hanging her head.
She only stared at the floor with eyes full of guilt.
I couldn't get a handle on what the hell I was supposed to do with this wanton blonde wench.
Should I demand compensation, tell her to pay for the lips she stole?
Or should I just fondle her body the same way in return?
While I was lost in deliberation.
Incredibly, it was Kate who spoke up first.
"L-let's do this, Mongma-nim."
"Do what?"
"...The fault is mine. So please touch me until your anger is settled. Anywhere is fine. Do as you wish, Mongma-nim."
Kate whispered softly in a voice that crawled into the ground.
"But you can only touch...."