Your Mom Was Amazing
Around dusk, as the sun sank and the sky turned a dull, heavy gray, I ducked into a tavern tucked away in a quiet corner of the neighborhood.
I wasn't much of a drinker by nature, but the situation being what it was, I needed the alcohol's help badly.
Creak!
The moment I pushed the door open and stepped inside, a woman shot me a look. She was one of the waitresses who worked the place.
"You're here again? Aren't we seeing each other a little too often?"
"So what? I'm buying plenty—isn't that good for you?"
"Ahaha. Fair enough."
The place was packed. Rough-faced men with dangerous weapons hanging off them. They fixed me with those sharp, predatory stares unique to their kind.
But the hard looks lasted only a second. The instant they recognized me, their faces broke into easy, friendly smiles.
"Oh? Evan. We hadn't seen you in a while—figured something must've happened."
"Just been busy running around."
"Heh heh. Gadel especially missed you. Lately it feels like he waits for you more than he does his own wife."
Kind-hearted Evan had always helped people. Because of that, everyone here owed him some favor, big or small. We'd started off on good terms, so getting close to them hadn't been hard.
And back when I was Maier, I'd spent long years living among mercenaries. That experience let me click with these guys almost immediately.
Even if I call it experience, there's nothing special about it.
Getting friendly with mercenaries is easier than approaching a stray cat. Buy them a few rounds, trade a few words, and you're done. Handle the conversation right and you can even end up sworn brothers. And there's no downside to it. Whether it's just the culture of this trade or not, mercenaries take loyalty seriously. The day you need a hand, they'll reach out without a second thought.
"Everyone looks like they're having a good time."
"Of course! How could anyone be miserable with booze in hand?"
"Evan, what brings you here? Drinks, obviously—hah!"
Gilbert lifted a wooden mug. Gadel, sitting beside him, raised his own and gave me a smiling look. I answered with a short laugh of my own.
Phew. This is healing.
I'd been worn thin all day dealing with those crazy bitches, but sitting here trading drinks with these men made the fatigue melt right off. Of course, not everything was perfect—like the snickering drifting over from the back table.
That laughter belonged to Amir's crew. The bastards who'd NTR'd Evan's heroines. Real low-life scum.
"Ahem. Those guys are loud every damn time I see them. What the hell's so funny, tsk tsk."
"Ignore them, Gadel. You don't avoid shit because you're scared of it. You avoid it because it's filthy."
"That Amir's been getting under my skin lately."
Amir had a nasty hobby of stealing what belonged to other people, and he got off on watching them break. A full-blown psycho. Pointing this way and laughing was just more of the same.
"Huh? Isn't that Evan~?"
Our eyes met and Amir beamed, waving like we were old friends. Anyone watching would think we were best buddies. I gave him a half-hearted glance, ignored him completely, and turned back to my table.
No point dealing with him one by one.
NTR Evan's heroines? Knock yourselves out. I'm not Evan, and none of it has anything to do with me. Getting pissed and throwing a fit would just look weirder.
"Hm?"
Right then a mug of ale appeared in front of me.
"I didn't order this."
The waitress jerked her chin toward the back and answered,
"Those gentlemen are treating. It's free—go ahead and drink."
"…"
"Those gentlemen" meant Amir's gang. I flicked a sidelong glance their way. Amir was watching me again with that same greasy smile of his.
…Amir.
Heh. You little shit? Turns out you were a decent guy after all.
My father once told me something: never turn down free booze. Taking that advice to heart, I downed the ale without a second's hesitation.
Gulp, gulp!
The cold slide down my throat was pure joy.
"Khhh!"
A satisfied sound escaped me on its own. I kept going until the mug was empty. Tsk. Shame. Not buying another round?
Judging by Amir's face, that wasn't happening. His smile had gone stiff—he clearly hated what I'd just done. Unfair. You bought it for me to drink, didn't you?
"Strange. Why are those bastards suddenly being nice to you?"
"Who cares. Free booze."
"Heh heh. True enough. Let's clink already."
I knocked mugs with Gadel and went back to drinking. Time slipped by without me noticing until the tavern door opened again. I barely registered a new customer and kept my focus on the drink.
"Evan."
A voice that felt oddly familiar called my name. The newcomers were Evan's old party members.
Atmosphere's weird, though.
They were all putting on serious faces, like they had something heavy to say. Urgent business? Well, that would explain why they'd come all the way out here.
"…Looks like there's a story. We'll clear out so you can talk properly."
"Heh heh, Evan. We'll step outside—chat nice and easy with your girlfriends."
Gadel left with a dark look. Gilbert beside him gave my shoulder a playful punch and grinned as he followed.
"…"
Once they were gone I was alone. What a pain. I rubbed my forehead like the annoyance was already giving me a headache.
Judy, who'd been standing silent, finally got to the point.
"You know you've been acting weird lately, right?"
"That again?"
"What? Just look at yourself. Clicking your tongue like we're a bother, not even interested in talking."
Well yeah—because you keep bugging me. Always nagging me to do this, do that. You expect me to just smile and go along with it?
Evan had never been able to understand what these women wanted. And they couldn't understand him either. Judy didn't bother hiding how she felt.
"I don't know why you're like this, but we put up with it. We know you're not the type to throw tantrums and get angry for no reason."
When Judy finished, Chloe beside her nodded hard. Cecilia and Illinet standing behind looked awkwardly anywhere but at me.
"But it's not just a week anymore—this is too much. We're already dealing with our own crap, so why do you keep acting like this all by yourself?"
"Right! Why do we have to walk on eggshells around you—!"
"Oh? What's going on here?"
A man cut in and sliced Chloe's sentence short. The party members flinched the second they heard the voice.
"Hmm~ What's with everyone? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Amir made a show of it. Gale wore a sly smile as he eyed Evan.
"Hey, Evan. Face looks a lot better since last time."
Gale tried the usual provocation. But today's Evan was unusually relaxed.
"Yeah? Maybe because something good happened today."
"Heh heh. Curious what that good thing was. Spill."
"You saw it yourself—I just drank free booze. If that isn't a good thing, what is?"
"Huh?"
The smile vanished from Gale's face. He turned the words over for a second, then got the meaning.
"Ah—ahaha. Right. Nothing better than free booze."
"No need to thank us too much. We've eaten plenty thanks to Evan ourselves."
Gale forced an awkward laugh; Amir handled it smoothly. The man himself didn't care in the slightest. Only the women beside him reacted like they'd been pricked with needles.
Huh? Again today?
Amir studied Evan carefully. At first it looked like an act of nonchalance—but it wasn't an act. Amir knew it on instinct.
"Strange."
It was both puzzling and unpleasant. Amir lifted the corners of his mouth even higher.
"Like last time… lately Evan seems a little… off, somehow."
"That an insult or a compliment?"
"Ahaha, depends how you take it. If it bothered you, shall I apologize?"
"No need. I was taking it as a compliment anyway."
The party members fretted on the sidelines. Judy finally spoke up carefully.
"Ah, Amir? We need to talk among ourselves—could you give us a little space?"
"…I wanted to join the conversation too. That's alright, isn't it?"
"W-we're fine, but Evan's a bit…"
"No? Evan looks perfectly fine. So we'll join in."
Judy snuck a glance at Evan. His eyes never left the mug.
Ha, fuck. I just wish they'd all disappear.
That was Evan's honest feeling. He just wanted to drink.
"Ah, look at me. Come to think of it, I have something to show everyone. Gale, take it out, would you?"
"Huh? Ah, okay."
At Amir's order Gale dug through his pocket. What came out was a pebble. Nothing special to look at—except the magical energy rolling off it made it clear this was no ordinary stone.
"Evan? Do you know what this is?"
Evan had changed in a short time. Ordinary provocations no longer worked—Amir had learned that last time—so he'd prepared a trump card.
"Hmm~ I wonder if the rest of you know what this is."
Amir targeted the others as well: Evan's companions. Just as planned, the party members started taking interest in the pebble.
"What the hell is this rock?"
"Wow, I can feel magic. Definitely not ordinary."
"…Haa. How did things end up like this."
Illinet, Cecilia, and Judy, in that order. Either way they had to play along. Getting on Amir's bad side never helped, and he wasn't the type to leave just because you ignored him.
"This is a kind of test. I was curious how Evan's party members would turn out."
The women looked uncomfortable. Gale twisted his mouth into a grin at their uneasy faces.
"No need to worry. It's not an artifact that harms the body. Want to touch it one by one?"
They hesitated, then reached out one after another—and the stone changed.
When Illinet touched it, the color turned ashen gray. Cecilia's turned red. Chloe's orange. When Judy finally laid her hand on it, the whole thing went pitch black.
"Hmm. The color changed. What does that mean?"
"Ah! I know. This is that, right? Magic density measurement. Looking at it, that's definitely it."
"…Black feels ominous somehow."
Each of them voiced their doubts according to the color. No reason to hide it—Amir cleared it up at once.
"This is an artifact that judges purity. The color deepens with the number of times you've had relations."
"…!"
"Ahaha. Unexpected, right? Isn't it, Evan? So who exactly have these women been sleeping with to get colors like this?"
None of them had ever shared a bed with Evan. He knew that too, so the women froze for a second. They scrambled for excuses, but Amir struck first.
"I suspect Evan might be the culprit. Come on—put your hand on it."
"…"
Amir grinned and jerked his chin toward Evan. Gale watched the whole thing with open amusement.
"Th-there's something, Evan!"
"Amir must be mistaken!"
"Th-that's right! What purity-proving pebble!"
"Hm."
Evan let out a short hum. Even now he looked completely unbothered. Just as Amir opened his mouth for another jab—
Swoosh—
Evan reached out and closed his hand around the pebble. The stone reacted at once. Its color changed.
"…Huh?"
Pitch black. Far blacker than Judy's had been a moment ago. What that proved was obvious.
"C-crazy! What the hell kind of color is that!"
"Th-this is…?"
It should have stayed completely unchanged. The situation had veered so far from expectation that Amir lost his words. The party members were no different—they stared at Evan with eyes blown wide.
Under those heavy stares, Evan spoke as if simply explaining.
"I've been hitting the brothel for the past month."
As a hero, Maier had been required to keep his body pure. For a full fifteen years he had never once had relations. So on the very first day of possession, the first place Evan went was the brothel. He paid the working girls extra and slept with them.
"B-brothel…? E-Evan. Why with those dirty bitches…"
Judy's question only left Evan more baffled. Avoid them because they're dirty? Not even close. No real difference between brothel girls and these party members. If anything the whores were better—at least they got paid. Raised on South Korean capitalism, that was how Evan saw it.
"Heh… heh heh! Today really is a strange day."
Among the flustered women, only Amir managed to keep his composure. He put on the most relaxed face he could. Inside, of course, everything was chaos. The soft expression he'd worn all along sank into something cold. That was how massive the unpleasantness he felt right now truly was.
"You shouldn't do that, Evan. Leaving pretty women like these right next to you just to roll around with whores."
"Looking down on whores? Looks alone, they're about the same."
"Hmm. Even so I can't understand it. Don't tell me you confessed to these women and got rejected? So you threw yourself into a whore's arms for comfort?"
"What are you talking about. I was the one who got confessed to. And I was the one who dumped them."
"Yes? What does that mean? Perhaps Judy?"
Amir turned toward Judy. She floundered, then slowly shook her head.
"I don't know who you're talking about."
"Ah~ there is one. A week ago I had a thoroughly good time with an amazing whore. She must've fallen for my technique—she started courting me."
"Haha. A woman who likes a man who plays with whores? Whoever she is, that woman's quite the strange one."
At Amir's words Evan tilted his head. Pure eyes, pure tone—everything about him was pure.
"Huh? You don't know who? You know her best."
"…Yes?"
"Her name was Amy, I think? Amy talked about you so much."
Amir's mouth fell slightly open. Time seemed to freeze; he just sat there with his lips parted, no words coming out.
"You know Amy, right? You know—that one?"
Evan took a step closer to the dazed Amir. At a distance where their noses nearly touched, he spoke.
"Your mom was fucking amazing."
Evan gave him a thumbs-up.