Hardcore Difficulty in the Silent Underground Waterway

The underground waterway was steeped in a silence so thick it felt like hardcore difficulty. I’d expected nothing but the endless sound of flowing water all the way to Leticia’s room, but surprisingly she responded to my words far better than at the start. We walked while exchanging pointless, trivial chatter for a short while.

When we finally reached the end, Leticia strode straight toward a wall densely packed with stones and placed her hand on it with practiced familiarity. I watched quietly from behind, and that’s when the anomaly occurred.

The stone pile collapsed with a clattering rush like a door opening, revealing a passage wide enough for a fully grown adult to pass through.

“This is…”

“A simple trick even a novice could pull off.”

“…That’s not a spell a novice could cast so easily. Did you mix perception-inhibiting magic with spatial magic?”

“Something like that. But why do you look like you’re seeing it for the first time?”

Leticia sounded genuinely surprised, as if asking whether a demon like me had never seen perception-inhibiting magic before—something any decent mage could use. I shook my head.

“It’s not that I’ve never seen it.”

No matter how lacking my knowledge of magic was, my memory wasn’t so poor that I’d forget spells commonly used by allies and enemies on the battlefield. I’d suffered plenty because of this kind of magic when I was trapped in the Apostle’s dungeon. But if I had any sense, I couldn’t say I’d seen it countless times on the battlefield as Damian Radius.

Revealing that in front of a woman who was obsessively fixated on Damian Radius would be the same as shouting, “Please notice me.” Unfortunately, I had no taste for being loved while locked up. Besides, she wouldn’t believe me anyway. Damian was a man, and I was a woman. With different genders from the start, there was no way she’d buy it. Even if I tried later when the chance came, the odds of her believing me were low. It would be better to speak after building some trust first.

So I mixed in Charlotte’s memories and spoke just enough to avoid suspicion.

“Even if I’m half-demon, I’m still half-demon. I have no connection to magic, but I’ve seen the old man at the top use something similar from afar.”

Unlike other demons, I had no particular talent for magic, so I never used it myself. I put on a wistful expression, lowered my eyes slightly, and lied with a shamelessly pitiful attitude.

“As you know, half-demons aren’t exactly welcomed in the demon world.”

Fortunately, Leticia seemed to believe me.

“They say half-demons receive worse treatment than how humans treat demons.”

Leticia deliberately emphasized the words half-demon. Apart from probing my insides, she probably wanted to scratch at them a little. She did have a subtly mischievous side, after all. Since I seemed unusually sensitive to the term half-demon, she must have been testing me. Of course, I had no intention of falling for her bait.

In situations like this, the best response was to stay calm and not rise to provocation.

“You know a lot. That’s right. Trash abandoned on the street was treated better than me.”

“…So you’re asking me to pity you, even if it’s cheap?”

“Not at all. If I wanted your pity, I would’ve shown you this first and explained my situation in painful detail.”

With a calm face, I rattled the iron chains still connected to both wrists.

Unfortunately, the summoning magic had affected them and they’d been severed, but not completely removed. The chains now looked as if they’d been cut by a blade as sharp as a knife. That was why they hadn’t come off and I’d simply brought them along. I wanted to break them too, but what could I do? They wouldn’t break.

I had no idea what kind of coincidence it was, but even when I tried to destroy them with force, the chains didn’t budge, as if they were connected to something. In that sense, I held out my wrists so Leticia could see better, the cut chains dangling from the handcuffs.

Her gaze asked what the hell I was doing, but I didn’t care. Seeing her flustered made the corners of my mouth rise. When Leticia made that face, unlike hiding my identity, I felt the urge to tease her instead.

Let’s be honest. She was a villainess, and I was no less of a villainess than her.

Grinning, I pushed my wrists forward, then stretched my neck out so she could see clearly and showed her the iron collar fastened around it. I added a ridiculous reason on top.

“I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was summoned looking like this. Maybe this is your taste? Dog collar and handcuff play, I mean.”

“…”

“If you make a contract with me, I could play along… but you already have someone you’re secretly in love with—don’t make that rotten face. It was a light joke.”

I hurriedly cut myself off. Since she had summoned me while I was still sealed, this was unavoidable. I hadn’t known either. Who could have guessed I’d be summoned with the handcuffs still attached? In novels and anime, the chains binding the body usually all come off at once when someone awakens from a long seal, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they say, “Are you my master?” So why was it only me who ended up like this? As expected, the gods really did hate me. If they didn’t, there’d be no reason to force me into possession twice.

At her intense gaze demanding a proper explanation, I shrugged.

“It’s a joke, just a joke. This has personal circumstances behind it.”

Leticia frowned with one eyebrow, clearly displeased. It was a habit of hers when something didn’t sit right with her. At that reaction, I narrowed my eyes. I wondered what she was thinking inside that head. I wanted to take a peek. But apart from that, there was one thing I had overlooked.

Leticia’s personality was different from when we had parted before.

“So that means someone else put that on your neck? That person has terrible taste too.”

I should have kept in mind that her personality wasn’t the same as before. Seeing interest flicker across her previously expressionless face, I realized my mistake. There had been no need to provoke her just because she provoked me. This damn mouth of mine was always causing trouble.

When it looked like the same thing as before was about to happen again, I quickly cleared my throat to change the subject, but it was too late. Leticia was faster as she grabbed the chain around my neck and yanked.

Pulled forward before I knew it, we became close enough to kiss again. We stared into each other’s eyes in silence. My throat bobbed. Anything I said now would only backfire. In that case, the best option was to wait quietly.

I simply gazed into her eyes until Leticia opened her mouth. Her clear violet pupils blinked several times before she released the chain as if tossing aside a toy that had lost its interest.

“Even if handcuffs go on you, I’ll be the one to put them there. If that’s your taste, I’ll let you enjoy it to your heart’s content later.”

She added casually,

“And I’ve already dispelled the magic on the chains. Take care of the rest with your own strength.”

What? I doubted my ears and stared at Leticia, but her expression was as serene as always. Just in case, I put strength into the chains on my wrists, and they crumbled into powder and vanished far too easily.

In that short time, she had not only analyzed the magic but even found a way to dispel it? Even though the seal had weakened its effects, it wasn’t at a level that could be ignored. As proof, even after being summoned, those chains had held onto me tightly without letting go. It was a talent truly worthy of the word genius.

“This is impressive too.”

I let out a genuine sigh of admiration. Even so, Leticia’s expression remained indifferent. She glanced at my face, then turned her back on me as if she had lost interest.

“The room’s a bit messy, but it’ll be fine for the two of us to stay in.”

Leticia said. With an unconcerned face, she lit the lights in the room and introduced her laboratory-slash-bedroom. I looked around and could only stare in blank amazement. Just as she said, the mess was secondary—the room was far more than enough for one person; it was practically excessive.

“I’m going to wash up, so sit on the bed and wait quietly.”

I couldn’t hide my sour expression at Leticia’s commanding tone. I really felt like I’d become a dog. With a crooked face, I nodded and plopped down on the bed. Then I waved my hand at Leticia, who was standing in front of the bathroom.

“Do as you like.”

I had a lot to do too. I needed to check the cash shop I’d been putting off since the summoning, and I still had to finish looking at my status window and skills.

Watching me lazily rest my chin on my hand and wave at the air, Leticia wrinkled her face, but soon her lips curved into a smile as she spoke.

“Don’t look.”

“…I wasn’t planning to look, so wash comfortably.”

“Your answer’s a bit slow? You’re a girl too, right? What’s wrong with girls seeing each other? Want to wash together?”

“I’m good.”

I answered while hiding my slightly reddened ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ear tips. Leticia let out a small laugh and went into the bathroom. Soon the sound of water began to flow, and I let out a sigh of relief before focusing on my status window.

“Where should I put the six ability points I got from the quest… Huh? It increased to ten. I don’t remember clearing any quest with a reward.”

Well, good things are good things. But where should I use them? Should I dump everything into strength? My luck was also terrible, but there didn’t seem to be much difference between F and E. Still, raising mana felt less efficient than raising strength one more level.

“I’ll just make strength D.”

I finally reached ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a compromise.

After dumping all ten points into strength, I smiled with satisfaction. Even though my strength had only just reached D, I was happy. Thinking that things were flowing smoothly for the early stage, I decided to finish the trait draw as well and pressed the random gacha.

Games are all about gacha, after all. Even if this world was reality, it was ultimately built on a game foundation. Therefore, gacha was the domain of the gods. What kind of nonsense is that? Yeah, I don’t really know either. As long as it’s not shit, it’s fine.

“Please, just not shit.”

I prayed with my hands clasped together as hard as I could. If the gods were going to force me into a game twice, they should at least spare me from getting shit. Oh God, if You can hear this poor lamb’s voice, please embrace me. I searched for a god that didn’t even exist.

Whether it listened or not, a gift box in front of me began to tremble, then burst with a pop! I stared at it blankly as rainbows exploded and golden fireworks lit up the surroundings. My eyes widened. Anyone could tell this was the signal for a jackpot. The trait was calling out. It was shouting that it was a winner.

And then the system window appeared.

“You fucking bastard.”

It was a trait that made me want to curse out loud.

“What the hell is this.”

Was confinement really someone’s dog’s name? Everything led to confinement with this crazy system. At this point, it seemed the system had no intention of sending me home. And it applied to every single woman who felt favor toward me? Wasn’t this actually insane?

In an instant, the game had switched itself into hardcore mode. This game really needed to change its title, including the genre. Surviving a Yuri Visual Novel, the end.