Chapter 57

Rea​d o​n K​atReadi​ng​Cafe

Announcement

It’s back again! Small content warning for this chapter—which contains abuse~ Read at your own discretion and enjoy!

Whose heartbeat was echoing so loudly?

Whose saliva formed the silver strand hanging between their pink lips?

Frey decided not to think about it.

She didn’t have the mental capacity to dwell on such things.

Sweat-soaked strands of dark blue hair clung to Lucia’s flushed cheeks. Her entire face was so red that Frey wondered if she might be running a fever.

Her dreamy, unfocused eyes and melted expression stirred something deep within Frey.

This was already their third kiss.

Each time their lips touched, their body temperatures rose uncontrollably.

Not enough.

Frey took a moment to catch her breath.

Initially, this had been a gamble, an experiment unlikely to succeed. But it had worked.

The faint pulse of Alice, previously undetectable, now throbbed faintly within her.

Lucia’s absurd plan to awaken Alice through stimulation had achieved a groundbreaking result.

But it wasn’t enough.

Not by a long shot.

It needed to be stronger—enough to shock Alice out into the open.

Frey glanced down at the girl in front of her.

The blonde, whose legs had given out beneath her, fidgeted nervously on the ground. Saliva trickled down her chin as she panted, unable even to wipe it away.

Her tongue hung out like a puppy, a sight so utterly pathetic that—

…Cute.

Her chest ached.

A clinging, sticky feeling spread throughout her body, as black and viscous as tar, pumping in time with her heartbeat.

It was a familiar impulse, one she occasionally felt.

When Frey saw something small and adorable, she wanted to pet it.

And sometimes, she wanted to crush it.

To clasp a chirping chick in her hand, squeeze it, and feel its down, blood, and insides spill between her fingers.

She had never acted on the urge—Alice would have been horrified—but she had imagined it countless times.

What would it feel like if she actually did it?

Frey often grappled with such destructive and sadistic desires.

These urges were vulgar, something the pure-hearted Alice would never feel.

Supernatural abilities were influenced by the mind.

Conversely, the mind couldn’t help but be influenced by supernatural abilities.

For someone wielding a destructive power like heat rays, it wasn’t surprising—peculiar, perhaps, but not unnatural—to have such impulses.

Though the heat rays belonged to Alice, Frey was an extension of her, a personality born from her.

Alice’s near-total lack of aggression for someone with such a violent ability… perhaps that was because she had offloaded all of it onto Frey.

This isn’t the time to get caught up in trivial emotions. I need to bring Alice back.

Frey grabbed Lucia by the shoulders.

The small girl trembled at the touch, her eyes fluttering shut.

Their lips met again.

Though Lucia had initially resisted, she no longer struggled.

Was it because she was the one who had suggested this in the first place? Or was there another reason?

When Lucia had first proposed a kiss, Frey had been incredulous.

She had doubted Lucia’s sincerity and had only gone along with it because she had nothing to lose.

But it hadn’t taken long to realize that Lucia’s idea of a kiss and her own were worlds apart.

When their first kiss was nothing more than a light brushing of lips, Frey had been at a loss for words.

She had felt ridiculous for being so tense and wary.

“…Hngh…”

Lucia trembled, letting out a soft whimper as Frey’s tongue brushed against her teeth.

The sounds she made, her squirming movements—Frey didn’t miss a single detail, even while stealing her lips.

Her flushed face was as red as a ripe apple.

Her body, restrained by Frey’s grip on her shoulders, couldn’t pull away even if she wanted to.

Her soft, slightly rough tongue made Frey want to bite down on it.

The warm air from Lucia’s shallow breaths brushed against Frey’s nose.

Cute.

Not quite as cute as Alice, but still.

On impulse, Frey pinched Lucia’s nose firmly shut.

Startled, Lucia’s eyes flew open.

Her mouth was still occupied by Frey’s lips and tongue, while her nose was clamped shut by Frey’s fingers like a vice.

“Mmnh! Nghh…!”

At first, she merely blinked, her expression betraying confusion.

She seemed to think Frey would let go soon, that it was just a fleeting prank.

It was written all over her face.

As time passed without Frey loosening her grip on Lucia’s nose, the girl’s pupils began to tremble.

Her shaky hands reached up to grab Frey’s, fumbling desperately to free herself. But Frey didn’t budge an inch.

Lucia’s movements grew increasingly frantic.

Frey calmly observed the pink eyes that were filled with tears.

“Mmph… Hnngh… Hrrngh…!”

Lucia’s muffled cries were swallowed entirely by Frey’s lips.

When she realized her strength wasn’t enough, Lucia thrashed her body in a futile attempt to break free.

The pounding of her heart grew louder and louder.

She was suffering.

Her flushed face contorted with pain. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Her legs kicked wildly, and her small hands weakly pounded against Frey.

Even as Lucia’s desperate resistance escalated, Frey remained composed, her thoughts unshaken.

…Cute.

Surely I’m smaller than her, yet…

It feels like looking at a tiny, helpless creature.

A chirping chick.

A chick I want to crush.

“Pwah…! Hah… Hahhh…”

Frey finally released her grip on Lucia’s nose and ended the long kiss.

Lucia curled forward, gasping for air.

She coughed and wheezed for some time, tears and saliva dripping onto the floor.

“Wh-what… was that for?”

It was only after she managed to catch her breath that she spoke, her voice trembling.

Frey replied casually.

“It was our fourth kiss.”

“So… so what…?”

“And yet, Alice’s pulse hasn’t changed. It’s still the same. Kissing alone isn’t enough.”

She wasn’t lying.

A kiss wasn’t sufficient to wake Alice.

Having come to this conclusion, Frey decided a change in approach was necessary.

“Alice likes you. You’re her first and only friend.”

Unlike me—I’m her family, Frey thought, swallowing the words.

“When we kissed, she reacted to it, even if just a little. So if you felt uncomfortable or distressed… wouldn’t that be even more stimulating?”

Frey wasn’t acting purely out of personal desire.

She was still desperate. She couldn’t bear the thought of Alice retreating into herself forever. Frey wanted to stay by her side, always.

Alice had responded to Lucia’s kiss, but any stimulus, no matter how effective, would eventually lose its potency.

If they stayed the course, Alice might momentarily stir, only to fall back into dormancy.

They had to act while there was an opportunity.

If kissing had its limits, Frey needed to find another way to wake Alice.

That was the rational and logical part of her reasoning.

“…I see…”

Lucia muttered softly, touching her nose.

Whether she truly understood or was simply intimidated, Frey couldn’t tell. But Lucia hung her head, looking defeated.

Did I go too far? Frey wondered belatedly.

Lucia was Alice’s friend.

If this ordeal scared Lucia away from Alice, it would devastate her.

Sighing inwardly, Frey began to consider what to say.

I should start with an apology. If Lucia refused to cooperate, it would be a major setback.

“…Okay.”

Before Frey could speak, Lucia raised her head.

Slowly, she stood up, swallowing nervously as she looked at Frey.

“…?!”

Frey was taken aback.

Lucia had unzipped her indoor tracksuit top, letting it fall limply to the floor.

But she didn’t stop there. She pulled down her thin dolphin shorts as well.

In an instant, Lucia was standing in just her underwear.

Her face burned with embarrassment as her eyes darted nervously, unable to meet Frey’s gaze.

“L-Like this… wouldn’t it be more stimulating?”

She hunched her shoulders and curled inward slightly, only to take a deep breath and straighten her posture.

Lowering herself to her knees, she placed her hands on her thighs.

With tear-streaked eyes still shimmering with lingering moisture, Lucia looked up at Frey and spoke.

“I… I like Alice too. I want to help her. So… um…”

“Lucia, you…”

“Should we… keep going…?”

Her awkward smile trembled, and her lips quivered as if she was struggling to hold back fear.

Was she really that scared?

Frey couldn’t tell, and honestly, it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that it looked that way. And that was more than enough.

Frey raised her hand.

With her sweat-drenched palm, she gently patted Lucia’s head.

“Lucia.”

“Y-Yeah…?”

“Alice doesn’t like seeing you in pain. So, if you’re hurting—if I make you hurt—she’ll come out to stop me.”

“Th-that… makes sense, I guess…?”

“So, whatever I do to you now, it’s not out of malice or hatred. You understand, right?”

Lucia, though confused, nodded slowly.

“Y-Yeah, I get it.”

“Thank you.”

Frey smiled brightly.

It was a fresh, radiant smile—the kind she had never shown before.

The sight of it prompted Lucia to smile back as well.

Smack!

Until her cheek whipped to the side.

A sharp, stinging pain blossomed where Frey’s hand had struck, leaving a reddened handprint behind.

Lucia’s teary eyes grew unfocused, her expression blank.

“A-ahh…?”

Blood trickled from her nose. Her lip had split.

The coppery tang filled her mouth, leaving her dazed.

Smack!

This time, her head snapped in the opposite direction.

The force of the blow caused her whole body to jolt. She barely managed to keep herself from collapsing.

Lucia couldn’t hide the tremble in her eyes.

Something about her pitiful state lit a strange fire within Frey.

“Stay still, Lucia.”

“F-Frey…”

Smack!

This time, blood spattered from Lucia’s mouth, something white flying out with it.

It landed at Frey’s feet after bouncing across the floor.

It was a tooth.

“…Hah…”

Frey stared intently at her hand.

She could still feel the vivid sensation of striking Lucia’s cheek.

Her gaze shifted to Lucia.

The girl was clutching her swollen cheek, letting out incomprehensible noises.

“What’s wrong? Should I stop? Alice’s pulse is growing stronger, but if you don’t want to continue, I can stop.”

“…N-No… y-you can keep going…”

Lucia forced the words out through chattering teeth.

Frey suppressed a laugh that threatened to escape.

This feeling—it was new. This sense of liberation—it was intoxicating.

“Open your mouth.”

“Y-y-yeah… ah, no… mmph, okay…”

Lucia obediently opened her mouth wide.

Her injured lips and bleeding gums gave her a pitiful appearance.

Frey liked that look.

She inspected Lucia’s mouth carefully.

Sure enough, there was a gap where a tooth had just been lost.

“Can’t your super regeneration fix that?”

“Y-Yeah, it can.”

“Good.”

Frey grabbed one of Lucia’s front teeth.

Lucia’s face went pale as ice.

Relishing her reaction, Frey applied pressure with her fingers.

Crunch.

“U-u-u-uuuuugh!”

The tooth came out effortlessly.

Frey discarded it like trash, letting it fall near the first one.

“Oh, it really works.”

She pried Lucia’s mouth open again, inspecting it more thoroughly.

A new tooth was already sprouting where the old one had been removed, filling the gap as if nothing had happened.

“Super regeneration… so that’s how it works…”

No matter the injury, it heals quickly.

Even decapitation wouldn’t be fatal.

No matter what she did, no matter what she tried—

It didn’t matter.

“Lucia.”

“…Ugh… uhhh…”

Smack!

Lucia toppled over, unable to withstand the blow.

Frey straddled the trembling girl.

Her own heart was racing so fast it felt like her body couldn’t keep up.

“Answer me, Lucia.”

“Ah… ugh… y-yeah…? Why…?”

“As I said earlier, I don’t hate you. Everything I’m doing is to save Alice. You understand that, don’t you?”

No matter…

What I do…

“Right?”

“…Yeah.”

Her response was slow, but Frey didn’t care.

Frey gently stroked Lucia’s swollen cheek a few times before standing up.

Her eyes scanned the room.

After a moment, she seemed to notice something and slowly walked over.

Under the desk.

She grabbed a toolbox and dragged it out with a scraping noise.

Clunk.

The box opened, and Frey reached in to pull something out.

It was a pair of pliers, just the right size to fit in one hand.

Click. Click.

She opened and closed the tool a few times, testing its grip.

Frey smiled.

“Lucia, have all your baby teeth fallen out yet?”

“I-I think so…?”

“No, they haven’t. You still have baby teeth, Lucia. That’s why, even if they come out, they’ll grow back.”

Click.

The pliers snapped shut again, the metallic sound echoing in the room.

Lucia clamped her mouth shut.

Her gaze shifted from Frey to the teeth scattered across the floor, then back again.

“…Y-yeah. I still have baby teeth. So, they all need to come out.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Frey patted her on the head.

Then, with a deliberate motion, she waved the pliers in front of Lucia’s wide eyes before bringing them closer to her trembling, slowly parting mouth.

This was all for Alice.

That wasn’t a lie.

She had just left a few things unsaid.

The third tooth hit the floor.

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Remember in chapter 18 when Frey said:

“I’ve always wanted to try pulling out someone’s teeth one by one with my fingers, maybe keeping them all in a jar.”

She got her wish granted.

That’s great!

Lucia is happy, Frey is happy.

It’s the completion of a world where everyone is happy!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Not so innocent now, heh.