Chapter 30: Stranded(1)[R-18]
Chapter 30: Stranded(1)[R-18]
The combined ghoul dragged its massive body toward us. It let out a monstrous, threatening roar.
Gwoooooh—
It was still recovering from its injuries, so it wasn't as fast as before, but we were already cornered at the edge of the cliff with nowhere to run.
“Mister Mage, can’t you use that spell one more time?”
“...I can’t.”
“Then we’ll create an opening somehow! Take the young lady and escape!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Who gave you that order! I’ll be the one to—”
“You can’t, milady! It is our duty to protect you...”
“Fuck. Is this really the time to be arguing? Can’t you see that thing coming?”
The hulking combined ghoul inched closer. Its body had been torn to pieces, but it was regenerating. Isn’t that basically cheating?
Victoria and the knights were still arguing over who would fight. What a frustrating bunch.
Just then, the beast took its final step toward us. It was about to slam down a hand made of clumped-together ghouls when I noticed something.
“Wait... can’t you hear that?”
Crack—
A fissure ran through the ground. Too much weight on the edge of the cliff had caused the ground to give way.
The cliff began to crumble, starting from the very edge. The combined ghoul and all of us began to fall.
“We’re falling—!”
My last memory was of the combined ghoul reaching for us even as it fell.
“Gack! Cough! Keck!”
The moment I came to, I vomited water. Had I lost consciousness? I coughed up more water with every heave.
Barely steadying my dizzy mind, I opened my eyes. The face of a strange man looked down at me. Ah. It was one of the knights who was with us.
“Where is this...”
As I pushed my heavy body up, I heard Victoria’s voice.
“You’re awake.”
Victoria was wringing out her wet hair. It seemed she had saved me.
Then again, even though she’d been seriously injured by Furuku’s iron mace, Victoria was still a formidable warrior.
“Did you save me, Lady Victoria?”
“I did.”
“Thank you for saving me... But where are we?”
The sky was already stained red as the sun began to set. The knights were still lying beside me. I thought they were tough, but they’re weaker than me.
“I do not know where this place is either. We were swept quite a long way down the river. I managed to pull you all out, but... we were carried even farther because of it.”
The air was cold. Victoria was shivering slightly, though she seemed to be trying her best to hide it.
“Why haven’t you started a fire yet? It’s so cold. It’ll get much worse when night falls.”
Was she worried enemies would track the fire? That was better than freezing to death.
“...I do not know how to start a fire. I have never done such menial chores.”
Spoken like a true noble. For the sake of the knights who were still unconscious, we needed to get a fire going quickly.
Wait. Something was wrong with the knights. Their faces were pale blue, just like corpses.
Startled, I held a hand to their noses. Neither of them was breathing.
“Lady Victoria... these two...”
“Say nothing. I already knew.”
For the first time, Victoria’s voice trembled as if she were about to cry. I thought all nobles were insufferable pricks, but it turned out there were decent ones like Victoria.
I suppose that’s why her knights had been so genuinely loyal, even in a life-or-death situation.
“We should at least cremate them. We don’t have a shovel to make a grave...”
“...”
Victoria was silent. I had wondered why she was still sitting, but a closer look revealed that her ankle was bleeding and badly swollen. That must hurt a lot.
Kerry gathered dry branches and straw from the surrounding area.
Meanwhile, Victoria split logs with her monstrous strength.
In no time, a sizable pyre was built.
With Victoria’s permission, Kerry cremated the knights.
Victoria limped over to the pyre Kerry had made.
“...Do not forgive me. This is all my fault.”
She muttered to herself as she watched the flames, seemingly offering a eulogy to her knights. Kerry added a few words of his own.
“This is better than being eaten by beasts. You knights were cool enough. So leave the rest to me and rest in peace.”
Victoria stared at me, looking a little surprised by my promise to protect her. But of course I had to protect her.
She had already saved my life once, and she was one of Lina’s companions from her past life.
I still didn’t know exactly what Lina was planning, but I was certain Victoria had a major role to play in it.
For a long time, Victoria and Kerry couldn’t bring themselves to leave the pyre.
The red sunset faded, and night fell. Kerry had to pretend he didn’t see Victoria secretly wiping away her tears.
After the cremation, Kerry and Victoria returned to a cave. Victoria limped along but refused Kerry’s help.
She was one proud woman. She looked like she had just turned twenty.
As night fell, a strong wind began to blow. With our clothes completely soaked, it was the perfect weather to freeze to death.
Kerry started a new fire at the mouth of the cave.
Victoria huddled close to the flames. She was clearly cold. You wouldn’t be human if you weren’t.
Even with the fire, the cold wind kept seeping into the cave. The parts of our bodies facing the fire were tolerable, but our backs felt like they were freezing solid from the dampness.
Spending the night like this guaranteed we’d catch a severe cold at the very least. No, it would be a miracle to wake up alive in the morning.
With Victoria right there, Kerry hesitated for a moment before deciding he had no choice but to strip off his clothes.
“W-What are you doing! You... you just said... you’d protect me and... and now...”
“What are you misunderstanding? We’ll freeze to death like this. I’m just trying to dry my clothes before putting them back on.”
As Kerry took off his shirt, the body toned by his work as an adventurer was revealed, along with a few scars.
Most were from weaklings like goblins or kobolds, but on the surface, they looked impressive.
‘Those scars on his body... This man is no ordinary person.’
Kerry hesitated before taking off his pants, but he figured it was better than dying. Of course, he didn’t take off his underwear.
Victoria’s face turned red as she whipped her head away. Trapped by the fire, all she could do was avert her gaze.
Kerry, on the other hand, calmly wrung out his clothes and began to dry them by the fire.
“...”
An awkward silence filled the cave. Kerry was the first to break it.
“Aren’t you going to take yours off, Lady Victoria?”
“A-Are you trying to strip me? Don’t even dream of it!”
The authoritative noble lady, once outside her element, had become nothing more than an innocent maiden who knew nothing of the world.
“So you plan to freeze to death? Thankfully it’s not a blizzard, but it’s still dangerously cold. Don’t get complacent just because we have a fire. Even if you survive the night, you could get sick and die tomorrow.”
“...I am a mana user. I will not die from a chill like this.”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you not to be so sure about. Since you’re a noble, this must be your first time in a situation like this, right? As an adventurer, I’ve heard countless stories of so-called mana users dying from exposure.”
“...”
“Let’s say you make it through today. What about tomorrow? Can you even walk properly with that ankle? We don’t know how long we’ll have to stay here until your ankle heals or a search party finds us. But if you fall ill tomorrow...”
“...Hmph. So your promise to protect me was just a lie. I will not become your burden. If I die, I will die alone. Do not worry about me.”
Kerry let out a deep sigh. Yep, peel back one layer and she’s just a childish noble girl.
Kerry spoke with a serious expression.
“I’m probably older than you anyway, so I’ll speak comfortably, like you’re my little sister.”
“...A commoner dares to speak to me so informally?”
“Commoner or whatever, does that matter in this situation? I’m telling you this as the person who saved your life. Listen carefully. I’m not as strong as you think I am. And for certain reasons, I won’t be able to use the magic I showed you for a while.”
“...”
“But if you keep acting so out of touch with reality... I won’t be able to keep the promise I made to your knights. If you spend the night like that, you’re bound to get sick and won’t even be able to stand properly tomorrow. If a monster or a wild animal shows up then, I won’t be able to handle it. Don’t underestimate nature. Even mana users can die in an instant if they let their guard down.”
“I...”
“You have to live. Are you going to let the loyalty of the knights who gave their lives to save you go to waste?”
That did it. Victoria bit her lip, reminded of her knights’ sacrifice. As I thought, she’s a good noble.
As if she had made up her mind, Victoria began to remove her outer clothes. One layer after another fell away.
The fair skin hidden beneath her clothes began to show. A formidable secret weapon was hidden under her clothes.
I’d never noticed before, since Victoria usually wore clothes that weren’t form-fitting.
To exaggerate a little, it was a shock on par with discovering a secret nuclear weapon.
A slender waist, toned, straight abs carved into her midsection, and above them, a pair of voluptuous breasts.
Of course, she didn’t take off her underwear, so I couldn’t see them properly, but it was clear they were enormous.
“W-What are you staring at!”
“Sorry. I couldn’t help it. Ah. And I’ll go back to speaking formally now, Lady Victoria.”
Kerry quickly turned his head away. In truth, he’d already seen everything. He had genuinely told her to undress to protect her, but seeing Victoria’s incredible body made his lust boil over.
Yep, all men are wolves. Therefore, Kerry was also a wolf. Victoria’s bare skin was more than enough to awaken his primal instincts.
‘My dear knights... if you were men, you’d understand, right?’
To reiterate, he had no ill intentions when he told Victoria to undress. To survive, they really had no choice but to take off their wet clothes.
After undressing, Victoria nodded. The cold had indeed subsided now that she was out of her wet garments.
Thank god for the fire.
An awkward atmosphere hung in the cave. It was only natural, with a man and a woman in a small space wearing only their underwear.
‘Kerry... his face is quite pretty, but his body is no joke.’
Victoria found her eyes drawn to Kerry’s scars and lean muscles. It wasn’t like there was anything else to do.
Then, her gaze drifted down.
“Gasp!”
“What is it? Are you hurt?”
“N-Nothing.”
‘That... that heavy, massive thing, what on earth is it? Is he hiding a rock in his underwear?’
Even through his underwear, the majesty of his great member could not be hidden.
On top of that, Kerry was sitting comfortably, as if he didn’t care whether she looked or not, leaving Victoria with no choice but to stare, mesmerized.
‘Are all men’s... things... that big?’
Victoria, still a virgin, had never seen a man’s penis before. But that was beyond anything she had ever imagined!
Victoria’s face turned beet red, yet she continued to sneak glances at Kerry’s crotch.
Kerry knew, but he pretended not to notice.
‘First time seeing a man’s body? Her face is bright red.’
If I used the Goddess’s Eye to check her status, it would say ‘Aroused’ one hundred percent. It was obvious without even looking.
Kerry used the Goddess’s Eye. He wasn’t interested in her status, but in her erogenous zones.
[Erogenous Zones – Clitoris, Ears, Toes, Breasts]
The result was a bit shocking. I could understand the other parts, but I couldn’t believe one of her erogenous zones was her toes. There was a high probability that she herself didn’t even know.
‘Well, I’m not into feet. Pass.’
Then the only remaining route of attack is her ears. Kerry looked out of the cave toward the distant mountains.
It was a small courtesy for Victoria, who was stealing glances at his body with a flushed face. Time to get things started.
“Ahem... hmm. Cough!”
Kerry started to clear his throat. In truth, the cold was bearable now, but it was a ploy to get Victoria to come closer.
“It’s still pretty cold even with my clothes off. Must be an especially cold day.”
“...I will die before I take off my underwear.”
“I wasn’t asking you to take off your underwear.”
He never intended to make her take off her underwear from the start. The barrier to entry was too high. It’s always easier to start with the lower hurdles first.
The first hurdle was getting Victoria to come over to his side.
“It would be a problem if I caught a cold now, when you can’t move properly, Lady Victoria... Is there anything we can do?”
“...”
Kerry pretended to be deep in thought. In reality, he already had a method in mind.
“Are you very cold?”
“Quite.”
Kerry even started to act like he was shivering.
He couldn’t make it too obvious. A faint trembling in his fingertips would be best. Victoria would surely notice.
“...”
Victoria stared intently at Kerry. In reality, while Kerry could endure it, it wasn’t that he wasn’t cold, and his complexion wasn’t great.
Victoria stood up. Kerry flinched in surprise. She really was something else.
Victoria’s figure, clad only in her underwear, was on full display. But he forced himself to act nonchalant.
Victoria limped over to Kerry’s side. Then, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.
“...This should be a little better.”
I never thought Victoria would approach me so innocently.
“I may have saved your life... but you are also a benefactor who helped our knights rest in peace. I cannot let you die. Th-That’s all this is. Don’t get the wrong idea.”
So that was it. A reason befitting Victoria. Kerry hugged her back.
He could smell her scent. Victoria’s ample breasts pressed against his chest.
‘My dear knights... I’m sorry.’
It seemed this was going to be a rapturous night of betrayal.