Ch.88Cannibalism (9)

As the old saying goes, if you listen to your mother, rice cakes will appear even while you’re sleeping.

I never thought someone would take that literally and come for rice cakes.

Seeing those bright blue-gray eyes shining clearly even in the darkness, I knew this wasn’t a situation where I could remain calm.

“Did you come to kill me?”

Selma, who had been approaching one step at a time, stopped. She tilted her head and smiled.

“What are you talking about?”

Even her tone of voice was chillingly similar to Isla’s.

Noticing that she wasn’t Isla was pure luck.

Everything about her was identical to Isla. Her attitude and behavior patterns were exactly what Isla would do.

What tipped me off was purely instinctual.

I sensed something different, something dangerous.

In fact, I wasn’t even certain she was Selma. I had to ask, even knowing Isla might find it offensive.

And as a result of that gamble, my dawn visitor was, fortunately, Selma.

Selma, pretending to be exactly like Isla.

Even after being discovered, she continued walking like Isla.

She seemed to know full well that this made me even more uncomfortable, and did it deliberately.

“If you’re not here to kill me, why did you come?”

As far as I could see, there weren’t many reasons for Selma to seek me out.

To cut open my stomach, eat my flesh, and receive her mother’s blessing.

At least that’s what I thought, but Selma had other ideas.

Selma made an ostentatiously disappointed expression.

If she had laughed it off or tried to reassure me, I would have been more suspicious.

But she was openly showing disappointment that I hadn’t immediately understood her intentions, which was irritating but also made me think:

Wait, am I actually wrong?

“Drop that expression and just talk.”

“I’m not good with words.”

“Stop imitating Isla.”

“I’m not imitating her.”

And then Selma approached. I retreated slowly across the wide bed, as if there was somewhere to escape to.

“So, why did you come?”

Despite my efforts, Selma sat on the bed. In the moonlight, her naked body was partially revealed.

The curve from her plump, large breasts to her slender waist, and the repeated expansion of her body’s lines was incredibly seductive, but…

I barely managed to control myself.

“That’s far enough. If you don’t state your business, I’ll scream.”

“…That’s such a womanly thing to say.”

Selma chuckled and moved closer to me. Her attitude clearly showed she didn’t give a damn about my words, but I couldn’t actually scream.

A man has his pride; I couldn’t possibly scream just because a woman got close to me.

The best I could do was maintain a blank expression and increase the distance between us.

“Do you want to know?”

Selma approached subtly, apparently interpreting my attitude in her own way.

That was the truly troubling part.

Being seduced by a woman who looked exactly like Isla, but was slightly different.

Her voluptuous body was even to my taste. Of course, that was inevitable since she was identical to Isla.

I was trying not to show any reaction, keeping my mouth firmly shut.

Selma approached me and placed her long, snow-white hand on my shoulder.

“Once you hear it, you can’t take it back.”

“…When you put it that way, I don’t really want to hear it.”

I said that, but part of me was afraid that once I heard what she wanted, I might actually give in to the temptation.

If I heard something flirtatious from those lips…

I was almost certain it would be nothing but coquetry. If she hadn’t come to kill me, there was only one thing she could want, coming here naked.

Sure enough.

“When a woman comes into your bedroom naked, isn’t there only one thing she wants?”

Selma asked with a puzzled tilt of her head.

What protected me from Selma’s seduction was the pitiful image of Isla desperately holding onto me, not wanting to lose me.

Emotional connection. Even if Selma were to pounce on me now, she and I didn’t have what Isla and I shared.

So I wasn’t attracted to her. I definitely wasn’t attracted. I desperately whispered this to myself as I shook my head.

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Then I want to force you.”

Crazy woman. But I didn’t entirely dislike it.

I don’t have a thing for being forced, but if that’s what it was, maybe even if Isla was sad, I could give in… wait, what?

I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t tell. As I struggled with this conflict, Selma sat beside me with a smile.

“Are you worried about your sister?”

“…Do I look like I wouldn’t be?”

“You don’t look like you wouldn’t, you’re so pure-hearted.”

I don’t look like I wouldn’t? I looked at her with slight annoyance, but then thought it might be better if I hadn’t.

Selma’s face was expressionless. Even that resemblance to Isla made my heart sink for a moment.

Her hair was short too.

Cutting her hair just to seduce me once. Considering such dedication, it wouldn’t be strange to give in just once, but…

“Did you cut your hair just to seduce me?”

“Huh? Oh, it grows back quickly anyway.”

Is that so? I remembered when my sister appeared with a bob cut.

I, who preferred long hair, had asked if it would take long to grow back, and she had apologized, saying it probably would.

She even apologized for it, which seemed unnecessary, but she had apologized quite sincerely.

So this was puzzling to me. Hair doesn’t grow back that quickly.

To my confusion, Selma replied:

“Because I have Mother’s blessing. If I want… I can make it grow as much as I want.”

How convenient.

At the same time, I felt a little less impressed. She hadn’t sacrificed herself to seduce me after all.

But in a way, it was also fortunate. At least I wouldn’t disappoint Isla.

I felt relieved but deliberately kept my head stiff, and Selma stared at me before reaching out to touch my face.

It was a harmless touch that I couldn’t bring myself to block. And it was quick too.

Cleverly, she caressed my skin just enough not to make me uncomfortable, and from that touch, I automatically began to imagine.

What if those hands were directed somewhere other than my face?

I closed my eyes to suppress the unbidden fantasy, but that only made her touch feel more sensitive, which was torturous.

“I have Isla. No matter what you do…”

“My sister and I look exactly the same.”

Selma interrupted, deliberately lowering her voice slightly to sound more like Isla.

“My hair is short, and I can make similar expressions. Our bodies are identical. Can’t you just pretend I’m her and enjoy it?”

“Just because you act like her doesn’t make you Isla.”

Despite my firm answer, Selma tilted her head in confusion. Instead, she said:

“Isn’t that better then?”

“…What nonsense is that?”

“It means you can comfortably do things with me that you wouldn’t dare do with my sister.”

That was a possibility I hadn’t imagined. Selma gave a seductive smile as she watched me stiffen in shock.

She took my rigid hand and guided it to her neck.

“You can treat me like a toy; I won’t die. Mother is watching over me.”

Those words conjured images in my mind.

Obscene and gloomy scenes that anyone would judge as perverse.

I couldn’t say it was my preference, but it was something that inevitably came to mind upon hearing her words.

It was enough to lead me into temptation. Though I claimed it wasn’t my preference, as someone becoming a monster under “Mother’s” influence, I couldn’t completely reject it.

A kind of dark impulse, you might say. I could feel it seething within me.

Any excuse? Anything I could use?

After a moment of internal struggle, I opened my mouth.

“Isla will hear us.”

“…Does that mean you would if she couldn’t hear?”

Oh, shit.

Now that I heard it, that’s exactly what I’d implied. I broke into a cold sweat as I tried to come up with an excuse, but Selma laughed as if she’d caught me.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“No, isn’t it natural to worry?”

“No.”

Her gentle smile reminded me of Isla. I was considering whether I should send her away, claiming I was sleepy, when—

“I’ll take my sister’s place, so you don’t need to worry.”

I paused at those words, which I couldn’t simply ignore.

“…Take her place?”

“Can’t you see?”

Selma brushed her hair and stretched out on the bed.

“Do you think even twins could be this identical?”

I unconsciously shook my head, and Selma smiled.

“…If you’re taking her place, what did Isla intend to do?”

My voice dropped involuntarily.

But it didn’t matter. If it hadn’t lowered on its own, I would have done it myself.

“Your eyes are scary. Do you want to hear? Once you do, you can’t go ba—”

“Tell me. Now.”

“Ooh, how frightening.”

Selma stared at me as she lay stretched out on the bed. A madness gradually flashed in her seductively curved blue-gray eyes.

“This is the proposal I couldn’t mention earlier because my sister was there.”

Through that madness, she revealed a kind of obsession.

“Let me eat my sister. Then, I’ll give you everything.”

My frozen muscles screamed. Joints creaked, and bones compressed within muscles, shrieking.

The recoil of strength drawn without preparation. Naturally, my body throbbed with intense pain, but…

I suppressed even that pain and clenched my fist.

The answer was predetermined.

“Get—”

“Wait a moment.”

But Selma cut through my breath and interrupted.

“Listen to everything first.”

There was a momentarily oppressive tone and a grip on my wrist, along with the fullness of her body pressing against my arm.

My mental state was already nearly at the point of mourning, so it didn’t hit me strongly, but I paused for a moment.

That moment was enough for Selma.

“There are many who serve Mother. They’re everywhere. They’ll all help you.”

A vision I had seen before came to mind.

A vision showing “Mother’s limbs” all over the world. Their numbers were countless, and they all seemed to hold high positions.

“Mother’s power is infinite. You will no longer fear loss. Your enemies will fear and envy you.”

She whispered sweetly. She whispered of the bright future that awaited me.

A bright future I could taste right now if I immersed myself in the shadows.

My heart screamed at her to get lost, wanting to crush Selma’s face.

But my reason said: let’s think about it for just a moment.

And my heart listened. Because I’m a generous person.

The benefits were certainly clear.

A transcendent being whose limits were uncertain would protect me, and countless powerful individuals, starting with Selma, would help me.

My life would truly be filled with infinite pleasure.

But.

Is that really worth it?

When reason spoke, my heart agreed and clenched its fist.

My eyes cut through the darkness toward Selma, and she grinned.

WHOOSH!

The air tore with a sound as my fist swung. The gust of wind shook the curtains, and the bed, affected by the recoil, broke with a crack.

As the curtains fluttered in all directions, the moonlight scattered light crazily everywhere. Amid the chaotic moonlight, Selma stepped back lightly.

The recoil of mourning had long since disappeared. I lowered my posture, preparing for an explosive leap, but…

“Don’t you like it?”

That’s what Selma said.

A voice that cut through time and space to pierce my ears precisely.

An application of “Mother’s” power? Though I gritted my teeth, the voice didn’t stop.

“Then, a second proposal.”

“Shut—”

“Let my sister eat me.”

I froze in the middle of exerting my strength.

In the falling moonlight, Selma was smiling.

With complete madness deep in her eyes.