episode_0006

000

“Haaa~~~.”

The guild’s rest area, a place where idle adventurers gather as always.

Today, just like yesterday, people who couldn’t find work suited for them were sitting there from the morning, tilting their liquor glasses.

In the corner, there was a girl making strange noises.

Her name is Sasha.

A rookie adventurer.

And she lost her virginity just yesterday.

`Me. Why did I open my heart so much to Mr. Cleon?`

Looking back, yesterday I was a bit strange.

From the moment Cleon stole my first kiss, it felt like my sense of reality became ambiguous.

A haze where my whole body was immersed in sweet alcohol, unable to reject everything coming at me.

And yet, I clearly remember Cleon’s touch, stimulation.

And pleasure.

“Agh.”

She slammed her head on the desk and messed up her orange hair.

The adventurers around her watched Sasha, who was behaving strangely, and were silent for a moment.

Well, most adventurers are strange anyway.

That’s the kind of look on their faces.

Was Sasha unable to notice the gazes of those adventurers as well?

She was regretting the lightness of her buttocks and trying to soothe her shame.

Cleon. A man she hadn’t known for long.

Black hair, black eyes.

The person that Albein said you should never trust in the world.

A guy who talks to his sword when he’s alone.

A burden. An enemy of women. A sly guy.

I thought, would he go so far as to talk about his former colleague like that, even though they fought?

But certainly the last two might be right.

That’s what I thought a little.

`Still.`

Sasha felt a small bud of faith in Cleon sprouting in her complicated feelings.

She puts her hand on her left chest.

She recalled her action yesterday of asking Cleon to make a wound there with his canine tooth.

When I checked this morning, there was a faint pattern there that wasn’t there yesterday.

It doesn’t seem to be a type of poison, could it be Cleon’s influence?

But. I didn’t feel any particular revulsion.

Rather, from this pattern I received from Cleon, it felt like his affection was being conveyed.

“Ah.”

Then Sasha felt a heat rising from below her belly.

With her upper body buried in the desk, Sasha’s hand slowly went down.

Fortunately, the people around her had completely turned their attention away from Sasha.

At the moment when Sasha, with her breathing becoming rough, was about to let go of the string of reason and try to soothe herself─

“Oh my, Sasha. Good morning.”

“Eek!? G, G-Gala-ssi!?”

She was forcibly brought back to reality by Gala, who suddenly sat in front of her and started talking to her.

What was I just about to do?

Sasha gasped as if waking up from a nightmare and looked at her hand.

`I, I must be crazy.`

“What’s wrong? Your face is red.”

“Ah, it’s nothing! More than that! Why didn’t you tell me!”

Sasha quickly rose up as if protesting to Gala to change the subject.

“The medicine needed to remove magic parasites is… C, Cleon-ssi’s j… bodily fluids!”

“Well, you left before I could explain in detail.”

Gala gives a troubled smile.

Then Sasha said, `Ugh.` and had nothing to say, and sat down again.

Seeing her bowing her head and fidgeting, Gala asked her as if her playful spirit had been stirred.

“Seeing that reaction. It looks like you took the medicine properly?”

“Well… th, that’s right. He, hehe…”

Gala leans her face towards Sasha, who is giving a dry laugh as if embarrassed.

“…How was it? His thing. Was it big as expected?”

“Yes? I’ve never seen anyone else’s before… but it was bigger than a large potion bottle… No, what are you asking me!?”

“Sorry, sorry~ Bigger than a large potion bottle. Hohoho.”

Gala roughly measures the size with her hand, then hums. Hum. And nods as if she understands something.

The more Sasha looked at Gala, the more vividly the memories of yesterday came back to life, and she ended up closing her mouth.

“Then, the hero party is reviving now. Congratulations.”

Gala smiled as if she was being playful, and conveyed her congratulations to Sasha.

However, contrary to her expectations, it seemed that Albein’s party would not be complete until a little later.

“It was good that you were feeling better after taking the medicine, but it seems like there were aftereffects from praying for about a week without drinking or eating anything.”

“Oh my, that’s.”

“Yes. It seems like it will take a little more time to fully recover. But, they said it won’t be a problem in about two to three days.”

Early in the morning, when I visited Kuon’s room. I remembered her bowing her head repeatedly and apologizing.

When I thought of her desperately trying to return to the party, my heart ached.

“Sasha, you were here. Laila says Kuon’s healing power has returned.”

Then, a voice calling Sasha was heard. It was Albein, the leader of the party.

Did he spend time at the tavern until late last night?

Sasha frowned a little at the dark circles under his eyes and the smell of alcohol, but tried not to show it.

But, Albein’s gaze, made Sasha’s consideration meaningless, was directed at Gala, who was sitting in front of Sasha.

Sasha didn’t miss the fact that the end of that gaze was slowly moving up and down.

“Who are you?”

“Gala. As you can see, I’m an adventurer like you.”

The same phrase she used to introduce herself to Sasha before.

I wonder if it’s a fixed introduction phrase.

Albein swallowed unknowingly at the sight of Gala giving a kind smile.

“I’m Albein. A hero who adventures with Sasha.”

“I know. You’re quite famous, after all.”

Albein introducing himself and asking for a handshake.

And Gala accepting it.

The moment their hands met, Gala’s eyes curved like a crescent moon.

It was a bewitching gaze that stimulated a younger man.

A dark desire to make this woman his own began to sprout little by little in Albein’s heart.

“A, Albein-ssi. Ms. Kuon should be okay now. Her stamina hasn’t fully returned yet, so you’ll have to wait a little longer for her to return to the party, but you don’t have to worry about her healing power.”

“Huh? Ah, really? That’s good.”

Sasha was a little tired of the attitude of seemingly ignoring the answer to her question.

Is this man only interested in what he’s interested in to this extent?

He’s worlds apart from someone somewhere.

“But then is the request impossible today too?”

After a moment of silence, Albein scratched his head and sighed as if embarrassed.

It’s been several days since he’s done a request, so if things go wrong, the party’s reputation might decline.

Thinking about it like that, he couldn’t help but get impatient.

“Did you hear! That mansion request. It seems like Cleon got it?”

“That guy’s doing well these days. Well, he’s a magic swordsman, so it’s probably more comfortable for him to move alone than with a party.”

And the unlucky voice that comes.

Albein clicked his tongue and slammed his fist on the table.

“Oh my, you seem impatient. Hero.”

“Who!? …No, sorry. You’re right, Gala-ssi. This isn’t the time to be stuck here.”

Albein was about to lose his temper for a moment.

The moment he looked into Gala’s purple eyes, he suppressed his anger and looked down at his hand.

He had entrusted the recovery entirely to Kuon and it was his fault that he hadn’t learned the healing spells that a hero could have learned─

Even so, Albein was too immune to the fact that their smooth adventure was being frustrated like this.

“Albein-ssi…”

No matter how hot-tempered and selfish he is, Sasha felt sympathy for Albein when she saw him discouraged.

Did Gala feel something from Albein too?

After hesitating for a moment, she took out a scroll from her arms.

Parchment with a blue seal. A request form created through the guild.

“Then, shall we form a temporary party?”

“”Huh?””

At Gala’s suggestion.

Sasha and Albein looked at her at the same time.

The request she took out was an A-class request.

The difficulty was a bit high, but if the party was complete, there would be no problem clearing it.

“Originally, I was going to find a party separately, but it seems like you guys need a healer.”

Gala gives a bitter smile and looks at Albein.

Albein looked back and forth between the request form and Gala and began to calculate in his head.

“Gala-ssi. You, you have healing spells─”

“I can use them. Well, I’m not as good as a priest. You see, I’m a `shaman`, so I’m a class that can do both attack and recovery to some extent.”

“Sh, shaman. A rare class.”

Sasha swallowed as well.

Although not as much as a magic swordsman or a hero, a shaman is also one of the jobs that is difficult to find because the difficulty of controlling magic is high, as they can handle several roles at the same time.

In fact, neither Albein nor Sasha had ever seen a shaman in person.

If Gala joins the party, she will fill in the lacking recovery power and increase the party’s attack power, so they will be able to easily complete this request.

But shouldn’t we at least talk to everyone?

The moment Sasha was about to say that to Albein.

“Okay! Haha, Gala-ssi. Please take care of me!”

It was impossible to stop Albein.

001

Dawn.

Kuon, who had been kneeling in the temple for so long that she was sweating all over her body, lost consciousness for a while, with Sasha’s face running to her as the last thing she saw.

When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in her room with her clothes changed.

Next to her, Sasha was crying and scolding her, saying, `Please take care of your body!~`

─That’s what she said. But if I don’t recover my healing power and return to the party as soon as possible….

Sasha handed Kuon a vial.

A colorless, odorless liquid. Kuon couldn’t know what was inside.

When she asked what it was, she said it was a medicine she got with the help of someone she met at the guild.

Kuon heard that magic parasites were living in her body, and that a big surgery would be needed to remove them.

But if she drinks this medicine she received now, she can remove the magic parasites without surgery.

`Ah… that bug back then.`

Kuon recalled the feeling of being bitten by a bug she felt in the living forest, and rubbed the back of her neck.

I should have been more careful.

Something you shouldn’t forget while adventuring. Always check your condition.

If that man, who used to nag her to death, had been there.

Could she have avoided the current situation?

Kuon, who was instructed not to drink it all at once but to divide it into several times, drank about one-fifth of the liquid in her hand.

Unlike its water-like appearance, it felt a little sticky, which made her feel strange.

Somehow, she succeeded in getting it down her throat.

After a little time, perhaps due to the effect of the medicine, her body was enveloped in a slightly cozy sensation and her mind became hazy.

However, if she temporarily cast a healing spell on her body with the sense of magic returning to her fingertips, she could see the places that had been scratched by hitting her knees on the ground repeatedly returning to their original state.

In the end, she was embraced by Sasha, and she shed tears and fell asleep exhausted.

How many hours had passed?

Kuon was slowly regaining her senses, feeling that her body had a fever due to the slightly elevated body temperature.

She felt a pleasant coolness on the wet towel placed on her forehead. In her blurry vision, she muttered, reaching out her hand toward the falling hand.

“Sasha…? Laila…?”

Which one is it?

But the hand was thicker than she thought, and she soon realized that the person sitting next to her was not a woman but a man.

“Albein…?”

Twitch. His hand stops.

Soon, Kuon’s eyes opened completely, and the moment she checked the nurse, Kuon’s face turned pale.

“C, Cleon…”

There was Cleon there.

Looking at her silently with a surprisingly expressionless face.

In his hand was the wet towel he had just taken off her head.

Kuon was startled and leaned back, forgetting that she had a fever.

Cleon sighed at the sight.

He seemed tired of Kuon’s reaction.

“Why is Cleon here….”

I couldn’t understand.

Sasha or Laila, I don’t know. Why is Cleon here…?

According to Albein, her condition should never have been known to Cleon.

Cleon was silent for a while and then answered while looking at Kuon.

“It’s Sasha’s request. Originally, she was going to come, but she said something came up.”

“S, Sasha… that child. What on earth is she thinking….”

“It’s probably pure good will. She even thinks I can reunite with you guys.”

Kuon put her hand on her forehead where the towel had fallen.

A slightly hot sensation was conveyed through her fingers.

But the headache that was coming was bigger than that.

If Albein finds out that Cleon has come here─

“Don’t worry about Albein. He’s not in the city right now. I’ll be leaving soon too.”

Seeing Kuon’s eyes, did he read her thoughts? Cleon spoke as if trying to calm Kuon down.

But the story she heard made Kuon’s condition even worse.

“Albein…. Is he not in the city?”

“Yeah. He went on a request with Sasha. Of course, Laila too.”

It was an incomprehensible word.

Then, did they go on a request without a healer in the party?

…With only a hero who can’t use healing spells?

“Y, you’re too dangerous. If I don’t follow….”

“Are you stupid, where are you going with that body.”

Cleon forcibly grabs Kuon, who is trying to get up.

She tried to get Cleon off, but it was impossible with her body not in good condition.

─Above all, it would have been impossible to physically remove Cleon even if she was in normal physical condition.

But Kuon looked at Cleon as if she was resentful.

Cleon continued the story as if he couldn’t help it.

“Don’t worry. I heard that there’s a woman `shaman` named `Gala` attached to those guys’ party right now. Then I’m sure it’ll be okay?”

“…What?”

Relief.

Relief, you said?

Kuon’s whole body lost strength at Cleon’s words.

She received a feeling of her stomach turning upside down.

Albein has another healer in the party─

A woman too.

Following Laila and Sasha, again─

Albein’s smile came to mind.

And that smile is directed at the two of them─

And she sees a hallucination of it heading towards another woman she doesn’t know.

“Ugh…!”

“H, hey!”

Kuon had to change her blankets and clothes.

002

In the end, Cleon, who had Kuon’s clothes changed and the bed sheets replaced with the help of the inn’s helper, sighed and looked at Kuon.

To think that Kuon would throw up in front of him.

It was beyond imagination.

The good thing is, perhaps because she hadn’t eaten anything for several days, she didn’t throw up much.

Perhaps the person in question was cold and stiff, having exceeded the limits of expression due to a mixture of various emotions such as shame, anger, humiliation, and injustice.

She was sitting on the back of the bed with a frozen expression.

“…Well, there’s no need to be here any longer. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Albein that I came.”

Cleon said that much and stood up. After looking at Kuon, who didn’t say anything for a while, he opened the door to the room and was about to leave.

“Wait. Cleon. Wait a moment. Please don’t go.”

Quietly to Cleon.

And Kuon called out in a low voice.

“What is it. Do you have anything else to say?”

Cleon also frowned as if he was uncomfortable being with Kuon for a long time and looked at her.

But he needed to correct his perception for a moment with Kuon’s surprisingly cold face.

That Kuon was expressing anger.

Maybe the target isn’t him.

`The medicine is working.`

“On the premise that you don’t talk to Albein. I’d like you to listen to me for a bit.”

Kuon said while looking at Cleon.

Then Cleon shrugged and expressed his question.

“Why should I do that? You guys didn’t listen to my story.”

“That’s…”

Kuon bit her lip as if she remembered what had happened recently.

Then, Cleon took his hand off the doorknob as he looked at the sight.

“If it’s a continuation of the previous consultation…. I’m willing to listen.”

“Huh?”

Cleon closes and opens his eyes for a moment.

What Cleon’s story refers to for Kuon.

If she thought about it for a moment, she would quickly come up with it.

Then, Kuon widened her eyes for a moment.

She was speaking again with a face that had regained her composure.

“Cleon. Can I ask you for a consultation?”

“I can’t help it…. Romance counseling, it’s meaningless even if you ask me.”

Like sometime 3 years ago.

Cleon sat in front of Kuon with a bored face.