I Am the Main Wife
I Am the Main Wife
Ian stood still for a long time.
The Snow Blossom Sword Art that Asilia had unfurled.
He replayed it over and over in his mind—that swordsmanship which had swept through countless snow blossoms.
It was not a sword meant to cut anyone down.
It was expression. It was a path.
What Asilia had sought to convey was the road she herself had walked.
"... I think I understand."
He grasped what she had been trying to say.
And Ian acknowledged it.
"I wanted only to become stronger. I trained every day and chased growth—nothing but greater and greater growth. Because that felt like the only way I could harm my enemies."
The enemies he meant were not merely Richard Pierce.
Not just the Blood Rock Sect cultists.
He meant all the evils that would unfold across the scenario.
He meant every last one of them.
"I think my goals for growth were all rooted in anxiety and obsession about the future."
Asilia blinked.
"You're quick to self-objectify."
"I witnessed something far too precious."
"Fufu."
Ian quietly gazed at Asilia's gentle smile.
He had asked her to take him as her disciple.
Of all people, he had asked the Snow Blossom Sword Empress.
"......"
Even in the game, she was a figure cloaked entirely in mystery.
Sealed inside Richard's dantian, she had been slowly digested—there was no way her story could have come to light.
The only thing she had left behind, her swordsmanship, was famous.
The Snow Blossom Sword—a top-tier art known to have been created by the reclusive master, the Snow Blossom Sword Empress.
And that very art was simultaneously Sharon Pierce's ultimate technique.
'... To think it had this kind of backstory.'
It felt as though a missing piece of the game's narrative had just clicked into place.
Now the chance to learn that very Snow Blossom Sword had presented itself.
Except, one thing bothered him.
"......"
Ian fixed his eyes on Asilia.
The woman, who had been wearing a faint smile, let out a quiet sigh.
"... You noticed, then?"
He nodded.
Lowering his head, Ian spoke.
"Your skin was noticeably cold."
Asilia's skin was chilled.
Even when she had held him, it was in a spot where the steam from the hot spring hung warm in the air.
"I felt it when we embraced. That there's an energy inside your body that isn't yours."
Crunch.
The sound of snow underfoot.
Asilia turned around slowly, and let her upper garment slip down.
Her pure white arms and back.
On them, a black wound had carved its mark.
"It was during the fight against Richard."
The wound began at her arm, cut across her back, and stretched all the way to the opposite wrist.
"It wouldn't heal. In fact, after I was absorbed into this place, my life force began seeping out, centered on this wound. Plugging it with mana was the best I could do."
Ian silently examined the blackened injury.
The wound was violent, as if she'd been mauled by a beast.
From it, he sensed an aura similar to the corpses they had fought outside.
'So that's why Danya was suddenly so afraid.'
He recalled how Danya had grown frightened out of nowhere before he introduced the hot spring. It was a belated realization, but her sharp senses never failed to amaze him.
"Hold on."
Ian asked for Asilia's consent, then placed his hand on her back.
Cold.
He covered the wound with his palm as it was.
"...Nngh."
A small, startled sound escaped Asilia's lips.
Slowly, Ian channeled his Authority through his hand.
But the wound did not react to the Authority, to his Cleanse.
"You know how to use such a warm power."
"I thought I could purify it."
"It isn't a corruption. The life force in that area has simply been drained away, that's all."
A void that draws out vitality by its mere existence. Asilia must have resisted it with mana. But here, mana could not be gathered. All mana simply scattered and vanished.
As he channeled a little more Authority, Ian asked.
"You have almost no mana left, do you?"
The coldness of her body must signify the limit. A state where both mana and life force had nearly run dry.
Asilia's back flinched slightly.
"Being too perceptive makes women dislike you."
"... How long have you endured?"
"Time in this place flows about five times faster than outside."
Five times faster.
It was not difficult to count back the years using Sharon's age as a reference.
At least fifty years must have passed.
"Then... how much time do you have left?"
"......."
Silence sank into the cavern.
Ian's lips parted with difficulty.
"Danya could..."
Danya might be able to help.
If she used the 'Snow-Viewing Blossom' she possessed, she could recover at least a little mana.
Turning her head back, Asilia smiled faintly.
"My dantian might not match this snowfield, but it's still quite large."
She meant that whatever they tried, it likely wouldn't matter.
Ian simply kept channeling Authority into her back.
He knew it was meaningless.
He only hoped it might act as some small comfort.
At that moment.
They heard something rustling.
There's a saying: speak of the tiger, and it will appear.
Danya was standing at the entrance to the space.
But there were a couple of problems here.
One was that Asilia's top was lowered, exposing her upper body.
The other was the fact that Ian had his hand placed on her bare back.
Naturally, Danya's eyes went perfectly round.
"Wh-What are you two doing, meow!"
A silence settled in.
Because both of them were trying to figure out how to answer.
"With, With a friend's mother—!"
At Danya's shocked cry, Asilia hurriedly opened her mouth.
"Miss Danya. This is a misunderstanding."
Oh, as expected of the Snow Blossom Sword Empress.
At Asilia's quick response, Ian inwardly cheered her on.
"A-A misunderstanding?"
"Yes. The two of us have simply... formed a bond."
Won't saying it like that just deepen the misunderstanding, Snow Blossom Sword Empress?
While Ian was still flustered—
—Thud!
"A-A bond means a man and a woman, doing th-that kind of—!"
Danya stammered.
She wore a remarkably shocked expression.
"I'm disappointed!"
Her pink tail puffed up to its fullest, then vanished.
It felt as though something had swept in like a storm, then disappeared like one too.
Was it a dream? He wished it were a dream.
"......"
Silence flowed.
Asilia laughed as if trying to excuse herself.
"It's because I'm originally an introverted person. Hehe."
"It's fine. I couldn't find any words to offer, either."
"... Shouldn't you go after her?"
"I was focusing on you right now, Lady Asilia."
"Ian, you're actually quite popular, aren't you? Fufu."
Asilia covered her mouth elegantly and smiled.
Looking at her, Ian's resolve solidified into certainty.
"I'm not quite sure what you mean by that."
He paused briefly, then finished the sentence.
"Master."
Asilia spun in place.
She met him with surprised eyes.
Her top was still lowered.
Seeing Ian avert his gaze—
Slip.
Belatedly, she adjusted her clothing back into place.
"... All right."
Their eyes met.
A somewhat awkward atmosphere.
"It's a little awkward. It's my first time having a master."
"It's my first time taking a disciple, too."
"Normally, when a master and disciple form a bond, don't they perform some kind of ceremony?"
He had seen it in martial arts tales.
Something like a formal bow.
"There's no need for such things."
With a gentle smile, Asilia embraced Ian.
"You are the disciple of me, the Snow Blossom Sword Empress, Sasha Asilia."
The existence called a master was warmer than he had imagined.
◆
Danya's mind was a tangled mess.
—We've simply formed a bond.
Asilia had definitely said that.
But what did forming a bond even mean?
Why was Ian running his hand down Asilia's back when she had taken off all her clothes and was covering her chest with only one hand?
"Unyaaaang!"
Frustrated, Danya whipped her head back and forth and turned to speak to the girl sitting beside her.
"Hey, Rina."
"Hm? Danya. What is it?"
She and Rina had grown quite close recently. Rina had always treated Danya well and with affection. But at the same time, Danya knew well enough that Rina was also a rival.
But right now, she needed Rina's help.
It was necessary to counter that voluptuous woman with the lewd body.
Yergina had gone out to scout the surroundings, so she couldn't ask her for help.
"What... does forming a bond mean?"
"Usually, it's a figurative expression for a physical relationship. Why? Danya, don't tell me you...?"
"N-No, meow! Wh-What are you talking about! Ian and I are, only, still, allies...!"
Rina tilted her head.
"I know that, too. I thought for a second you'd seen the title of the book I'm reading."
Rina rummaged through her bag, then pulled out a book.
[The Duke's Daughter Puts on Her Collar at Night.]
"Wh-What is this."
"It's an incredibly popular novel in the capital these days. I borrowed it from the school to read on the train. Want to read it once?"
Danya accepted the book and opened it.
An illustration caught her eye first.
It showed a beautiful young lady in an elegant dress, wearing a collar and crawling on the floor. The edge of her dress, bunched up around her, was obscenely revealing.
Danya's face flushed instantly red.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Danya closed the book.
"N-Not this kind of thing. Th-The, the."
"Hm?"
"H-How does one usually form a bond, meow?"
Rina tilted her head.
"Who knows?"
"You don't know either, meow?"
"It's not that I don't know... I just have a clear way I'd want it done."
At the flush that began spreading across Rina's face, Danya unconsciously gulped. Just how exactly did you form a bond that made you that embarrassed?
"What is it?"
"I... like it a bit beastly."
"... Beastly?"
"Yeah."
Rina brought her hand to the handkerchief tied around her own neck.
"First, we'd lie on the bed together and meet each other's eyes. Warmth is nice, but I prefer it cold. With those cold, merciless eyes, I'd want him to stare at me as if scolding me and press down gently right here."
"...Huh?"
"With those thick hands where veins stand out, pressing firmly. Until my breathing turns rough. Until my head goes blank."
Is that what forming a bond is?
Is that how normal humans form bonds?
Or was this merely Rina's personal taste?
Danya fell into confusion.
"But wouldn't it... hurt?"
"It suffocates me and my body aches, but my heart becomes more at ease than ever?"
Rina smiled as if simply imagining it made her happy.
She didn't get it.
This was still far too advanced a realm for Danya.
"Then when you form a bond, do you stroke people's backs a lot, meow?"
"Backs?"
"Yeah."
"Should we try it?"
Rina's fingers suddenly reached out, tracing a line down Danya's back.
"Heek. I-I'm ticklish!"
"They say if it's ticklish, it feels good."
Then Asilia and Ian must have also...!
To Danya, with her tail bristling on end, Rina spoke.
"Say, Danya."
"Yeah?"
"You like Ian too, don't you?"
The question had lunged in out of nowhere.
Flustered by the all-too-direct question, Danya panicked.
As always, words that were the opposite of what she felt burst out of her mouth.
"L-Like him? Like what! He's just an ally, no more!"
"Really?"
"Uhu! Really!"
"Then would it be fine with you if I formed a bond with Ian?"
The flustered look in Danya's eyes sharpened in an instant.
"I hate that."
"Thought so. You know, Danya."
"...?"
"I can concede Ian to you. When I was wandering down a wrong path all that time, you were the one who stayed by his side and looked after him. And that girl Sylvia, too."
"Why are you bringing up her name here!"
To Danya, who was letting out a low, irritated growl, Rina gave a soft smile.
"In exchange, whoever takes first place, I'll be second. And if it isn't the two of you ahead of me, I'll press my case even more aggressively."
A calm yet shocking confession.
"Me. Without Ian, I feel like I really can't go on living."
Rina was always a girl with a bright, beaming smile.
Danya had never seen her speak so seriously before.
Danya chewed hard on her lower lip.
"Or maybe... if you think you can't do it, Danya, I could try it first and then teach you what I learn?"
Agitation filled Rina's words.
Danya shot to her feet.
Something in the corner of her heart surged up and boiled over. It felt like jealousy. It felt like rivalry.
Sylvia. Asilia. All the other women.
Whoever it was, a certainty formed inside her: she absolutely did not want to lose Ian.
'But I'm so weak at this kind of thing....'
She couldn't even begin to guess how to handle someone like Asilia, who'd been seducing Ian with her top off right in front of her.
"......."
Rina was looking up at her with an innocent face.
'... She did say she'd be satisfied even as second.'
She had heard it before. That popular people sometimes took concubines.
To win Ian, it seemed necessary to give up being overly greedy.
Having finished her calculations, Danya extended her hand to Rina.
"Work with me."
"Yeah. Good. I was thinking the same thing."
Rina smiled brightly.
The smile was so beautiful that Danya felt unsettled.
"But, the legal wife is me."
The moment Danya made the declaration in a loud voice—
"... Legal wife?"
Ian and Asilia had returned.