Chapter 113
We returned, dragging our exhausted bodies along.
As we mingled with the villagers so they could feel at ease, the hour had already passed midnight and was approaching dawn.
The horrifying things we had seen today. The painful things.
We washed them all away with warm water and came out into the bedroom.
“What should we do with all this?”
Ava said.
Food and drinks that the villagers had given us as gifts were piled up on the table.
We had put them into storage as soon as we received them, and that was how things had ended up.
“Should we have an after-party?”
“An after-party?”
Had I said something strange?
Ava repeated my words, opening her eyes wide as she looked at me.
“Dekal. You haven’t forgotten, have you? Diana is in the women’s room.”
“Of course I know.”
“If you knock on their door at this hour, you’ll get stabbed.”
“Surely they wouldn’t chase out a comrade who crossed the line between life and death with them. I’ll get permission, so wait here.”
I went in front of the women’s room.
I could knock normally, but here, I might as well listen in first.
I pressed close to the door, put my ear against it, and focused on the sounds.
My sharpened hearing caught even the faintest noises.
The sound of water, and voices talking. They were Diana and Karen’s voices.
The two of them had gotten very close without me noticing.
I boldly knocked on the door.
No answer came.
Had they not heard me?
Just as I was about to knock again, a voice came from the other side of the door.
“Is that Dekal?”
It was Stia’s voice.
“Open the door.”
“It’s difficult right now…. You shouldn’t come to the women’s room at this hour, Dekal.”
What was this? She was being quite obstinate.
As Ava had said, coming here at night must have been extremely rude.
I couldn’t believe she wouldn’t even open the door.
But I had brought a bottle of liquor precisely for a situation like this. It was a fine excuse—it was a gift.
“Could you open the door for me?”
“Dekal, this is difficult…. Don’t do this. Even if everyone is in the room, opening the, the door means….”
Why was she so flustered?
“The villagers gave me some gifts. I wanted to share them with you. You girls can drink while talking together tonight….”
I spoke while pretending to be as disappointed as possible.
For some reason, I felt that if I did this, Stia would open the door while pretending she had no choice.
“There’s no other meaning behind this, right?”
“……”
She didn’t answer.
Once the door opened, I would face her and begin negotiations.
“Dekal…?”
When I remained silent, Stia apparently couldn’t overcome her curiosity and opened the door.
Like a shameless salesman, I stuck my foot in first to keep her from closing it, then grabbed the handle and pushed the door open.
“Ah…!”
Oh, what unexpected luck.
Stia had only just come out of the bath and was completely defenseless.
She had wrapped a robe around herself, barely covering her most important parts. Her damp blonde hair and moisture-filled red eyes looked especially beautiful tonight.
I liked the way she looked when she fought valiantly with her rapier, but this was different—a relaxed side of her that she did not easily show to others.
My heart naturally began to race.
“No…!”
Stia tried to close the door, but I held on to the handle and refused to let go.
“Here. You should take this.”
“…Ah.”
When I waved the bottle of liquor in front of her, Stia seemed to think she had to take it quickly in her haste, and reached out her hand.
Her bathrobe suddenly came undone and fell away.
“Ah…!”
Had I ever secretly watched her changing before?
But seeing it vividly right in front of my eyes was still the best.
Without looking away, I openly let my gaze slide over Stia’s pale skin.
Her skin was white as snow, and merely looking at it already made me imagine how soft it would feel.
I took in the shy patch of pubic hair and her beautifully extended legs….
I engraved the sight firmly into my memory.
Stia abruptly sank to the floor.
Then, behind her, I saw Diana standing there like a ghost.
Diana, too, had just come out of the bath with Karen and was wearing nothing but a robe wrapped around her naked body.
“Why are you here?”
“It’s the room right next door.”
“That’s not what I mean. Why did you come here at this hour?”
“For an after-party.”
“Are you insane? What woman would open her door at this hour? It’s only permissible when she has granted you the first night. Don’t you even know that basic etiquette?”
Ah. So that was it.
No wonder Ava had looked so displeased.
“You mean like when Diana called me over?”
Diana raised a hand toward me. Electricity crackled from her fingertips.
“I’ll listen if you have any last words.”
Diana’s incantationless Lightning Bolt shot straight at me.
I reflexively raised a barrier and blocked it.
Her aim was as accurate as one would expect from someone with a perfect score in accuracy training, but hadn’t something gone wrong here?
“You said you’d listen?!”
“I don’t want to listen anymore! Just die!”
“W-wait a minute….”
Stia’s face had turned bright red. She pulled the robe together over her chest and spoke with tearful eyes.
“I was the one who made a mistake. Dekal didn’t do anything wrong.”
“……”
She was defending me at a time like this.
I was touched.
“Tch….”
Diana seemed to lose her momentum—or rather, she seemed quite tired—and lowered her hand without showing any further hostility.
I held out my hand to Stia and helped her to her feet.
“……”
Stia took my hand and shyly lowered her eyes.
A faint, pleasant fragrance drifted over.
“I’m sorry, Stia.”
“No. In any case, I was the one who opened the door….”
I calmly observed her.
Stia’s bare skin, perilously concealed by a single robe.
As if she was conscious of my gaze, Stia began blinking faster, and her long eyelashes trembled.
“How long are you planning to keep doing that?”
Her slender white fingers slipped out of my hand.
Stia stepped backward, casually brushed the hair beside her face behind her ear, and smiled awkwardly.
“Dekal, couldn’t you come another time?
It’s just… too late right now.”
Karen spoke, sounding disappointed.
“I’d like to have an after-party with big brother….”
“This is what you get with adventurers.”
“Why not? It’d be a waste to go to sleep like this.”
Our little fucktoy. Good job.
Diana was left speechless by Karen’s innocent question.
“You can’t behave so shamelessly, Karen. You already have such breasts…. Ahem. Such an attractive body. You need to be careful about your conduct.”
“I want to have an after-party with big brother.”
“I-I never said I was opposed to it. We don’t know what the magic of the night might do. Before you know it, something frightening could happen.”
Diana’s words carried a pointed meaning.
“I’m already having trouble standing outside.
Can’t we let loose just for tonight? Everyone had a difficult day. Right?”
“…Well, a little would be fine.”
“I love you, Diana!”
Karen hugged Diana.
“That’s exactly why I’m telling you not to hug me with those breasts. Hnngh…!”
Diana let out a blissful scream and melted into Karen’s embrace.
There was nothing to be done about Karen’s breasts.
“Big brother, we’ll be there soon!”
“Stia’s okay with it too, right?”
Stia nodded.
“As long as you maintain the dignity befitting a hero candidate, I’m fine with it.”
“What could happen? Stia will be there.”
“…I’m very grateful that you trust me, but considering the way Dekal was looking at me just now, I’m worried.”
“What was wrong with the way I was looking at you?”
“……”
Stia couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud and protested through her silence.
It seemed she had caught me blatantly peeping at her.
“We also need to discuss the red soulstone, and there are things I want to hear about.
I’ll come to your room, Dekal.”
“Forget those stuffy topics.”
“……”
Stia stared at me intently.
“Dekal. If you’re thinking of doing something to the women while you have this chance, you should give up on it.
I’ll be bringing my sword.”
Karen hugged Diana and giggled.
“I wouldn’t mind big brother doing whatever he wants to me….”
“Ahem!”
Stia cut her off, flustered by Karen’s blatant declaration.
“Karen…! You shouldn’t say things that sound like you’re seducing a man.”
I wondered how the two of them would react if they found out that Karen was my fucktoy.
Karen and I met each other’s eyes and smiled.
“I’ll be waiting in the room, Stia.”
“Y-you mean you’ll be waiting for everyone, right? Don’t phrase it in a way that could cause such a misunderstanding.”
A short while later.
The women came to our room.
“How did you convince them…?”
Ava asked, looking dumbfounded.
“Actually, Diana and Karen are my women.”
“…Really? Is that true?”
I thought they would come wearing something light since it was almost time for bed, but Stia arrived dressed neatly in her uniform, as if she were about to head to school right then.
She was even wearing her blazer coat, with every button fastened. Just as she had announced, she also had her rapier strapped to her waist.
Considering that Karen and Diana had come in relatively comfortable clothes, Stia couldn’t help but stand out.
“Who exactly did you come here to fight?”
“…It’s a warning to me. My mother warned me that young men and women become undisciplined when they meet at night.”
Diana shrugged.
“I told her they’d be surprised if she barged in dressed like that, but she wouldn’t listen.”
“Dignity is something that naturally seeps out through your bearing. Just because I was invited by Dekal, do I really seem that excited?”
“Diana, you were humming while choosing your underwear.”
When Karen exposed her, the corners of Diana’s mouth twitched.
“W-Whose side are you on, anyway?”
“Oppa actually likes this sort of thing deep down.”
“……”
Diana cast a sidelong glance at me.
Somehow, I felt like I ought to be pleased.
“I’m so, so grateful that Diana went to all that trouble for me.”
“A l-lady pays attention even to the parts that can’t be seen.”
“It’d be even better if you showed them to me.”
“Not right now.”
“Because Stia would poke you?”
Diana giggled.
“That’s right. I suppose so. The terrifying head of the discipline committee is watching over us.”
“I only thought something lewd would be inappropriate. Besides, I’m wearing the underwear Dekal picked out for me in the first place……”
“……You two actually came here to seduce me, didn’t you?”
“Seduce you? I had absolutely no such intention. I merely thought you might be pleased if I wore what you picked out…!”
“I came here to seduce you!”
Karen threw her arms around me.
Whoa. Karen’s soft tits pressed firmly against me.
With the expression of a child who had just thought of a mischievous prank, Karen gently moved her upper body, rubbing her breasts against me.
Ah. It felt as though all the strength was draining from my body, with every last bit of it rushing toward my lower half.
“Karen! You can’t. No matter how close we are, that sort of thing…!”
Flustered, Stia pulled Karen and me apart.
“Oppa’s embrace feels nice. Stia, do you want to try it too?”
“No. Absolutely not. I’ll sit between you two…!”
“Aww.”
As if keeping Karen in check, Stia pressed herself tightly against me with her back to me.
“Stia’s sitting beside me?”
“Yes. I’ll keep an eye on Dekal.”
“But I want to be beside Oppa……”
Karen’s embrace, which seemed almost coquettish—like she was acting coy for a male—
must have been extremely stimulating for Stia.
Her ears had turned red, and the way she fidgeted in embarrassment was adorable.
“How long are you planning to make your guest wait standing?”
Diana said this with her arms crossed.
“Ah, everyone, sit down and make yourselves comfortable.”
I unwrapped the gifts I had received from the villagers—mostly alcohol and snacks—and placed them on the table before sitting down.
Diana sat across from me, while Stia really did sit between Karen and me.
I stole a glance at Stia, who was sitting with her back straight. As though conscious of my gaze, Stia tensed up stiffly.
“Relax. You came here for a little after-party, didn’t you?”
“What after-party? We came because there are things we want to hear from you.”
Diana spoke.
“Things you want to hear?”
“Who was that insane woman? And what on earth did she mean by another world?”
“Oh my. Is this my hearing?”
“It’s not something we can simply let slide.”
Stia continued Diana’s words.
“Dekal. We have to give a detailed account of everything that happened there.
That it wasn’t us who annihilated the bandits who had absorbed the Red Soulstone, but a mad serial killer.”
“Including my relationship with Park Seoyeon?”
“If necessary, we may have to mention it. But we still don’t know anything.
We want to hear Dekal’s story before making a judgment.”
Karen probably had a vague idea of what they were talking about.
I had told her long ago, before coming to the Hero Academy, that I had come from another world.
But the others would naturally be curious.
“Let’s have a drink first.”
I poured alcohol for everyone.
Diana and Stia both stared at their glasses with dubious expressions.
“I’m not sure drinking is a good idea.”
“……Dekal, alcohol clouds a person’s judgment.”
“It’s not exactly something we can discuss sober, is it? Aren’t the things you saw there still haunting you?”
“……”
Perhaps my words changed their minds, because everyone brought their glasses to their lips.
“You drink well. Diana, I thought you wouldn’t be able to drink because you hate showing yourself drunk……”
“What do you take me for? I don’t become a different person just because I get a little drunk.”
“Is that so?”
“……”
Diana had only taken one sip, but provoked by me, she began gulping it down.
“There. Happy?”
……She’s finishing all of that on an empty stomach, without even a snack.
It seemed she wanted to show me that it didn’t affect her at all.
I drank while snacking.
“I don’t know much about that woman either. You could say that I first met her after coming to this world.”