Three party members
Three party members
- Thump thump thump thump
-'Stachys! Open the door!'
"Ugh.."
Stachys's body felt heavy. He hadn't even managed to close his eyes for long before someone was waking him up.
He lifted just his eyelids to look out the window. Judging by the fact that the outside world was still a bluish-green, it was dawn before the sun had even risen. The voice urging him to get up continued to ring out.
-'Stachys!! Open the door already!!'
From the voice and the violent actions, it was easy to guess who was doing this.
The party's healer, Vien. Silver hair in a half-up ponytail and silver eyes.
-'Hey! We're going into the dungeon today, you know! Are you planning to be late?'
We go into the dungeon during the day... why did she have to come so early?
Thinking I might have gotten the time wrong, I looked back outside the window, but sure enough, it was dawn.
Please, let me sleep. We didn't even promise to meet early, so why are they acting like this again?
Even if I only drank low-alcohol beer, it wasn't a small amount, so sleeping this little naturally guaranteed a hangover.
I drank more thinking I'd be able to sleep late into the morning.
My plan to sleep in, wake up leisurely, cure my hangover with a piping-hot bowl of gukbap, and then head into the dungeon was completely ruined.
Stachys blocked his ears with a pillow, even while knowing he'd end up opening the door anyway.
This time, a different voice was heard.
-'Chis-ya. I'm here. Open the door for me, please.'
A gentle, sweet voice.
The knight who stands on the frontline with me, Rus. Black long hair and black eyes.
-'We're friends, right? I'm asking you a favor.'
Ssigh. I couldn't exactly turn down someone asking like that. And we were friends. Forcing my body up, I sat on the edge of the bed. I rested my elbows on my knees and propped my chin in both hands.
"Wait a minute. Let me put on some clothes."
I wasn't wearing anything except my underwear.
To think a day would come in my life when even getting dressed felt bothersome.
Could this be proof that the fatigue accumulated in my body was severe?
The two of them fell silent at my answer. And then the final voice could be heard.
-'Stachys..? You're not with a woman, are you?'
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
"What on earth are you talking about?"
The party's wizard, Lily-nuna. Red curly hair and red eyes.
As soon as her words ended, a menacing aura surged from outside the door.
Damn it. If I delay any longer now, it's just going to get annoying. Lifting my reluctant rear end, I fumbled around and picked up the clothes scattered across the floor to put them on.
-'What the... What! So that's why you weren't opening the door? You're just now getting dressed!?'
-'Chis. Open the door. You said you went to meet your hyung yesterday.'
-'Stachys? You aren't stalling for time, are you?'
-Click. Click. Click
"Will you please wait!!"
Ssigh. I let out a sigh. What kind of delusions were they having to make them snap like this? My head was throbbing a little. There was no way of knowing whether it was because of the hangover or my party members.
The advice my hyung gave me yesterday came to mind, but for some reason, it felt awkward and I was debating whether to put it into action.
'Why don't you just say you have a girlfriend?'
Even as I thought about it, I shook my head vigorously.
Because I'd have to lie.
As someone who can't lie, I didn't even know if I'd be able to pull it off properly, and if I got caught, it seemed like it would become annoying with talk about losing trust and whatnot.
Also, whether I had a girlfriend or not, they'd still call me on my days off to use me as a porter, so I didn't really see how that would help.
Would an excuse like 'I'm meeting my girlfriend, so I don't have time to meet you guys' even work?
I had to beg and plead just to successfully go meet my own older brother, didn't I?
Wouldn't I instead just hear something like, 'You met your girlfriend that day, so you should work even harder?'
Anyway, I decided to put my hyung's advice off until the absolute bitter end.
I quickly threw on my clothes and unlatched the lock.
-Click
-Slam!
"Whoa, whoa?"
The moment I unlocked it, the door swung open on its own, and three beauties came swarming and scurrying in, shoving me aside as they entered the room.
"What the hell! I didn't tell you to come in!"
The three of them didn't even pretend to listen to me.
The saintess, Vien, began searching the house from corner to corner. It looked less like a saintess and more like an inquisitor hunting for a witch. Where had the saintess's modesty gone as she even pressed flat against the floor, searching every nook and cranny. Until her delicate hands got dirty.
The knight, Rus, was calm, unlike when she had demanded I open the door quickly from outside. Acting as though she had no interest in what Vien was doing, she walked into the room, unbuckled her sword from her waist, and carefully placed it to the side. Then, looking around for a place to sit, she sat on the bed.
The wizard, Lily-nuna, sniffed the air in the room. Looking closely, she had activated her magic vision to inspect the room. Her glowing blue eyes scanned all over the place. Seriously, why use something you only use to track monsters in a dungeon right now...
"What on earth..."
Dumbfounded, I turned back to Rus, who had been the most normal of them all, only to see her lifting the blanket to inspect the sheets, even slipping her hand underneath and feeling around.
I learned this because of them, but when absurdity outweighs anger, you don't actually get mad—all your strength just drains right out of you. Just like right now.
"...Hah... What are you guys doing since dawn..."
My head was throbbing.
Their actions continued for a while.
Resigned, I flipped the switch to turn on the magic lamp attached to the ceiling.
The dim room grew bright.
I'll ask what they're doing later, but since they seem to be looking for something right now, I might as well turn on the lights.
Nothing's even visible properly since it's dawn.
After that, I stood there blankly until they finished whatever they were doing.
After doing that for a while, having apparently done everything they wanted, they calmly turned back to look at me.
My blank expression and their faces exchanged glances.
"Are you done?"
Knowing they should be embarrassed by now, everyone kept quiet.
"..."
It was the saintess Vien who broke the silence.
"...Well, I guess you weren't with a woman after all, Stachys?"
I was flabbergasted. Getting pissed off right from the start by her casually saying weird things.
"What is this all of a sudden... What business is it of yours anyway... No, and what if I was with a woman?"
My temper flared. Is this the first thing they say right after showing up at dawn?
At my words, all three of them averted their eyes at the same time.
"Well, I mean... just saying. Why are you getting so defensive?"
"...It's just that if Chis got a girlfriend and didn't tell us, we'd be upset, so yeah."
"Don't take it so sensitively."
Come on, acting like this since dawn, how am I not supposed to take it sensitively?
And why are they acting so brazen, for goodness' sake?
After just barging into my room and tearing it apart from corner to corner.
"Hah... Leaving that aside. So why on earth have you all come here?"
Silence settled over my words, and they began glancing at each other. This time, nobody spoke for a while. I read the mood.
"What is this. Is it that hard to say?"
The women's gazes bounced back and forth, even more startled. Their gazes darted from the saintess Vien to the knight Rus, and then back to the wizard Lily-nuna. As if telling one another to do something.
Seeing them react like this to my words, it doesn't seem like there's anything difficult to say? Then don't tell me...
"...Hah... What the hell. Did you guys possibly come all this way just for this?"
I spoke without hiding my displeasure. A wave of exhaustion washed over me. Seriously, just for this? To check if there was a woman in my room? Why?
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Seriously?"
My expression crumpled. It wouldn't smooth out no matter what. The three of them glanced at each other's expressions and mine once more before the saintess Vien opened her mouth.
"Ah.. No, of course not. We... obviously came to check your condition!"
"...Condition check?"
"Yeah! You said you were drinking with your hyung yesterday! Even though we're going into the dungeon today."
"Ah..."
Is that so? My mood softened slightly. Drinking the day before entering a dungeon today was definitely my fault. Since we have to entrust our lives to each other, it's a concern they're fully entitled to have.
"When I told you it was okay for you to drink yesterday, why are you getting mad...? You're scary..."
"..."
"Geez. Do you really think we came to check if you slept... sle... ahem! ...slept with a woman or something? We don't even care, you know?"
"...Really? If you don't even care, why did you ask if I was with a woman? And act like you were searching for someone the moment you walked in."
"That was just a joke, Chis-ya."
The knight Rus answered instead, smiling sweetly with a gentle voice.
"You went to meet your hyung yesterday. Why would you be with a woman, right? We naturally figured there wouldn't be any women."
It felt a little sketchy, but hearing it was just a joke drained all my anger away. My energy drained away too.
"Calm down, Chis-ya. We just came to see if you were really okay."
"...If you say so, Rus."
"Hey! Why don't you believe it right away when I say it!"
At my words, the saintess Vien snapped. The knight Rus giggled even more at that. Ignoring Vien, I lay down on the bed, avoiding the spot where Rus was sitting.
Rus shifted a bit deeper onto the bed.
"But you guys, after saying you came to check my condition, coming here this early is actually bad for my condition, you know?"
A sudden surge of emotion hit me. Maybe because things have been tough lately, I feel like I have mood swings. Getting super pissed, then instantly calming down. And then getting worked up again.
Is it just because I got exhausted so suddenly right now? Seriously, I've thought about this several times, but what the hell is this behavior of coming over since dawn?
"I'm sorry to say this, but what is the reason for checking if I have a hangover right now? Even if I have a hangover now, it might be gone later, or even if I have one now and it lasts until the afternoon, it's ultimately something that should be checked in the afternoon anyway?"
The three of them had nothing to say.
But there's no way they wouldn't have thought of that. Isn't it a lie that they came to check my condition?
Suspicion started to creep in again, but I shook my head.
....Ah, dammit, they say it's not. I gotta believe them. What would they even gain by telling a lie like that?
I have a lot I want to say, but I'm tired so I'll hold it in.
"Hoo... If you're done checking, can you all please leave? I've got no problems, so let me sleep just a little more. I'll get ready properly on my own and come over."
"...U-Uh. Okay, Stachys."
The saintess Vien answered.
"Chis-ya, sorry. I didn't think it through... Will you forgive me?"
The knight Rus answered.
"Stachys. Sleep a bit longer. Since I'm already here anyway, would it be okay if I rested here for a bit too? I'll make you some breakfast later."
Lily-nuna spoke.
For your information, Lily-nuna is good at cooking. Is there anything bad about this...? Sleepiness was rolling in by the wave.
"Do whatever you want, nuna. And if you're gonna make it, make me some gukbap. If you don't want to, go back home."
"....Eh?"
"...Chis?"
"Rus? Could you stand up for a moment?"
At my words, Lily-nuna said to Rus, who was sitting near the head of the bed before I knew it. I watched that sight with closing eyes.
"Huh...? Huh? Lily-ssi?"
Rus stood up, looking strangely flustered.
I gradually closed my eyes.
The feeling of someone lying down next to the bed came over me, and a nice scent wafted into my nose.
"Lily-ssi?!"
"Hey! What are you doing!"
Putting strength into my eyes and opening them, Lily-nuna's face was right in front of me.
"Nuna...?"
"Stachys. I'll make you whatever you want for breakfast. In place of that, I'm a bit sleepy too. Since I was going to rest and leave anyway, could I borrow just a little bit of the bed?"
A minty scent came from her mouth.
"Do whatever you want."
"Thank you. Just think of there being a magic line between me and Stachys. You mustn't cross it, okay?"
Asking for so much while borrowing a bed. If she hates touching, she shouldn't lie down in the first place—what's with setting up her own territory anyway.
I moved slightly to the side to make some space on the bed.
"I won't cross it, I won't... Yawn... I won't cross it. Don't worry..."
"Right. Then sleep well."
With nuna's words, exhausted as I was, I fell asleep in an instant.
-Whish, whish.
As Stachys fell asleep, Lily smiled sweetly and looked at the other two.
Vien was frowning with a distorted expression,
And Rus, who had always been all giggly and soft in front of Stachys, was glaring at Lily with a chilly expression.
"Well, it turned out like this, so you two should go back home."
"What? I'm going to rest here too, you know?"
"Lily-ssi. I can't find any reason to go home either, so I'll stay here."
"You two. You said you were going back. And did you even get permission to stay here?"
The two of them flinched and shuddered.
"Oh my... Surely you don't lack even basic decency and plan to keep staying here without permission, right? Are you perhaps thieves?"
"Hah... What do you mean there's no permission? Stachys opened the door for us!"
"But he also told you to go back once business was finished, didn't he? As for me, I still have work left since I have to make breakfast."
Grind
A sound came from the knight Rus's teeth. The wizard Lily didn't care in the least about that appearance.
"Well then, you two are heading back, right? See you later."
"Lily. Cast a spell on Stachys."
At Vien's words, Lily looked at her as if asking why she should do that. She naturally knew what spell Vien wanted.
"Lily, hurry up."
Vien growled at her with a face that looked ready to burst.
Lily watched that sight for a moment before placing her finger against Stachys's ear.
"Deaf"
A white membrane enveloped both of Stachys's ears.
At that moment, Vien shouted at the top of her lungs. Because through the magic, Stachys could no longer hear any sounds.
"This goes against the pact!!"
"Oh my... Which part goes against it?"
"Lily-ssi. First of all, get up from the bed."
"I refuse."
Lily calmly deflected all of their words.
Instead, Lily pressed her body close against Stachys. She crossed far over the magic line she had set herself. She even pulled Stachys's head into an embrace and buried it against her chest.
"Vien? Say that again. Which part of the treaty did I violate?"
"Grr... Ugh!!"
Vien trembled violently,
"..."
And Rus buckled the sword she had placed to the side back onto her waist.
As their party continued on, there was something they had all realized. Although the dense Stachys didn't know it, every single party member held feelings for Stachys.
Any of the three would have normally brushed aside any ordinary woman and tried to claim Stachys, but all of them were multi-talented beauties with not a single lacking trait.
They were fierce rivals to one another, to the point where they wondered where such people had even come from.
Because of that, not a single one of them could have the confidence that she alone could claim Stachys.
As Stachys was everyone's first love.
Rather than the feeling of wanting to end up well with him, the feeling of never wanting to lose him was greater.
Right now, closer than friends, but farther than lovers.
Going on dates a few times a week, running dungeons, and building trust with each other—right now was good.
Her heart was already fully satisfied just by him smiling toward her occasionally, and by the skinship and dates that were possible precisely because he had no lover.
The three of them were fully satisfied even now.
However, if someone among the three of them were to become his lover, even these trivial things would no longer be possible.
The time spent dating him would shorten.
Naturally linking arms with him would become impossible.
And he would whisper love... to someone other than herself.
The women simply could not endure this.
Because they were cowardly, they made a treaty.
A treaty stating that if I can't have him, nobody else should either.
A treaty written to prevent the catastrophe of someone among the three becoming his lover and leaving her behind.
A treaty for peace rather than winner-takes-all.
Named none other than the 'Stachys Treaty'.
The contents were as follows.
First: Do not become Stachys's lover.
Second: Do not confess to him.
Third: Do not seduce him.
Fourth: Do not secretly covet his lips or genitalia.
Fifth: Do not get caught liking him.
It was a treaty everyone signed and agreed to.
Everyone took a copied sheet of the treaty home with them.
And Lily did not think she had violated a single one of these right now.
"I haven't become his lover, I haven't confessed, since he's sleeping I haven't seduced him, I haven't stolen his first experience... And lastly, especially, I haven't been caught harboring feelings. What is the problem?"
"..."
"..."
Shiver shiver. Vien's hands were trembling and Rus's lips were shaking.
"Huhu. Now come along. Go back home. Judging by what I saw earlier, Stachys looked furious, so what do you suppose his reaction would be if you two kept staying here?"
Lily felt a thrill at their increasingly ferocious reactions. Just how long had it been since such a complete victory...
All they could do was tremble with rage.
As it was a complete victory, Lily had no time to waste on them. This time wouldn't last long either. She decided to thoroughly relish the present moment.
Lily turned her head away from them and looked down at Stachys held in her arms. Her chest felt utterly fulfilled.
"Ah..... He's mine."
And Lily squeezed Stachys tightly. Stachys's head sank deeper into Lily's chest.
Lily felt a sense of ecstasy. Her cheeks flushed red and her legs twisted together.
The saintess Vien clasped her hands together and began chanting a spell,
And the knight Rus tried to draw her sword.
But Lily was faster, placing her hand against Stachys's ear and chanting a spell.
"Deaf Dispel"
As the white membrane blocking Stachys's ears disappeared, the movements of the two women froze instantly.
Lily's expression seemed to say, 'Go ahead and wake him up if you want. But don't say I didn't warn you if he ends up hating you?'
Therefore, Vien and Rus remained frozen, unable to move any further, only letting out groans.
Seeing the two of them petrified, Lily once again sensed her absolute victory.
She waved her hand dismissively, telling them to leave. And she moved her lips silently without making a sound.
'If you're not going to wake him, go back. So my man can sleep.'
With a grin, she pulled the blanket up over her head while hugging Stachys.
Lily's dazed monologue could be heard from beneath the blanket.
-'Huh? Does this mean me and Stachys ended up sleeping under the same blanket?'
Vien and Rus suppressed the urge to blow everything up. It was the moment yet another loophole in the Stachys Treaty was discovered.
Rus could no longer endure it, walked over, opened the door, and went outside.
Even amidst that, she opened the door quietly so as not to wake him. With her hands shaking violently, it was no easy feat. Then she vanished into the distance in an instant.
Vien stood there blankly before the dazed laughter of Lily leaking out from beneath the blanket, feeling frustrated by this situation where she could do nothing, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Even as she tried to hold them back, tears flowed, and as she was about to rush out through the open door, she spoke.
"Lily. Obey the treaty."
It was said with Article 4 of the Stachys Treaty in mind—do not covet his lips or genitalia.
And then Vien also hurried outside.
Lily didn't even care to listen to Vien's words. She had no intention of breaking the treaty, but she didn't have time to worry about such petty talk either.
Lily simply wore a smile of victory. Right now, she was merely savoring this feeling of being as if they were lovers.
"Sleep well, my man."
Whisper, whisper. Lily whispered into Stachys's ear and chanted a spell.
"Deep Sleep"