episode_0098

*

Two days have passed since stacking the firewood like a mountain.

I went on an exploration with Lucia for the first time in a while.

I left early in the morning, and already the sun had passed the top of my head and was beginning to lean to one side.

Perhaps it was one or two in the afternoon.

We had come quite far, to the point where the surrounding scenery felt unfamiliar.

My calves started to ache from walking for so long after a long time.

The exploration itself was already part of my daily routine, but it had been a while since I had come this far, so it was no wonder my legs were sore.

The island, and the village.

It had been almost a year since I settled down in one place, so my body seemed to have naturally rusted.

Until a few years ago, when a demon appeared, I would travel across several territories and countries, but compared to those days, life now was so easy it made me yawn.

In a way, it was a strange thing.

The world has been destroyed, monsters are swarming everywhere, and demons reside in the village, but I am actually living more comfortably than before.

Now that the shadow of corruption has spread to me, I felt the need to brace myself once again and hurried my steps.

The reason why I, who had been exploring only near the village for a while, suddenly came so far was to find a monster.

The reason why I was bothering to find a monster, when avoiding them would be enough, was to test this large crossbow I was carrying on my back.

Anna had finally finished repairing the crossbow.

“Shinbu-nim.”

Lucia, who came on the exploration with me, called me in a small voice and gestured for me to lower my body.

Unlike when we went on explorations in the past, she showed the appearance of a fairly skilled hunter.

Lucia quietly pointed somewhere with her finger.

I nodded and turned my head, following the direction her finger was pointing.

A monster was standing by a stream below a small hill.

It looked as if only its upper body was protruding from the ground.

“… I knew they could pass through walls, and I’ve seen them hiding in the rocks of cliffs and ambushing people, but this is a new look.”

I slowly gripped the crossbow with both hands.

The crossbow felt a little heavier than before.

This was because the crossbow that Anna had modified was changed to fire heavier iron balls instead of bolts.

Producing bolts of a certain quality required various devices, tools, and skills, but iron balls or steel balls could be made by mixing various scrap metals, and their power was guaranteed thanks to their unique weight, even if the quality was uneven.

Moreover, in an emergency, you could use the surrounding gravel as a substitute for bullets.

In fact, it was closer to a giant slingshot than a crossbow.

Well, scrap metal was quite precious in this world, so it couldn’t be helped.

I actually remembered being in trouble last time because I ran out of bolts.

However, it was clear that the penetrating power had decreased, aiming had become more difficult, and the weight of the bullets had become even heavier, so it was not known whether it would still be effective against monsters.

Therefore, the purpose of today’s exploration was to test this new crossbow, or rather, iron ball launcher.

I put on the gloves Anna had made for me.

They were gloves that protected my fingers when pulling the string of the crossbow, with the index and middle fingers wrapped in a material like chainmail.

Anna, who was worried that iron balls would have less penetration power than bolts, had increased the tension of the string even further, so if I pulled the string with my bare hands, my fingers might be cut off.

Thanks to this, I had quite a hard time pulling the string and loading it.

“You’re really pulling that. It didn’t budge when I pulled it…”

Lucia shook her head, as if she was dumbfounded, as she looked at me.

I didn’t answer, but slowly exhaled and lay down on the ground.

After placing the crossbow on the protruding tree root and securing it, I carefully aimed at the monster’s head.

“…”

Whoosh!

The steel string made a sound like tearing through the wind, and shot out the iron ball.

The heavy recoil of the steel crossbow resonated throughout my entire body.

The recoil was strong enough to bruise my shoulder even when I shot it before, but now I felt even greater power throughout my body.

If I had shot it while standing without supporting it on the ground, my body might have staggered greatly.

“Ugh! Lucia, did it hit?”

Because my vision was blurred by the recoil, I asked Lucia at the same time as I fired.

If the power was weak or I missed, that monster would surely run to where we were right away.

Lucia looked down at the stream below the hill with wide eyes.

“That damn Lucia…”

“It’s dead.”

“… What?”

I lowered the crossbow and looked at the spot where the monster had been.

No matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t see the head of the guy I had aimed at.

After searching for the traces of the guy for a while, I was able to find the pure white bodily fluids that had been scattered in all directions.

The monster was scattering pure white bodily fluids in all directions, with only its neck and the upper body stuck in the ground remaining.

“Even if it’s a monster, it’s dead if its head flies off. At least it doesn’t move anymore.”

“… Good heavens.”

I sighed.

Anna had successfully fulfilled her role.

That meant…

“Hehe, Shinbu-nim… you’re doing it with Anna, right? That thing we did…”

“…”

“Anna… was really looking forward to it.”

“…”

“And it’s Anna’s birthday tomorrow.”

“How did you count when there’s no calendar?”

“Anna counts every single day.”

“Good heavens. I guess she’s really looking forward to it.”

“She has reason to look forward to it. Shinbu-nim’s that…”

Lucia blushed slightly and patted my back without saying anything.

I looked at Lucia’s face and sighed softly.

“Are you okay?”

“Uh… what do you mean?”

“As far as I know, love between men and women is supposed to be a little more… personal.”

Lucia smiled brightly.

“Didn’t I tell you before? We all love Shinbu-nim so, so much…”

“Still, the world says it’s a little more like… exclusive, obsessive? They say love is like that…”

“The world says Shinbu-nim shouldn’t sleep with nuns.”

“Yeah… you’re right, I have nothing to say.”

Lucia retorted to me with uncharacteristically playful words.

Was it because we were in a relationship where we explored each other’s bodies and showed every corner of each other’s bodies?

Lucia’s playful attitude, which had given me a taste of my own medicine, didn’t feel awkward at all.

I slowly got up and put the crossbow back on my back.

“Let’s go back.”

“Ah, can’t Shinbu-nim stand it any longer?”

“… Lucia.”

“Hehe, no, I just… wanted you to remember that I’m next to Shinbu-nim if you’re in a hurry.”

“…”

Lucia lightly grabbed my sleeve with her fingertip.

Then, slowly, with very small steps, she often approached me and hugged me tightly in her arms.

Her silver hair rose and fell once, scattering her sweet scent.

“Actually… Shinbu-nim. I’m a little… just a little jealous.”

“…”

“I want to do it more too. That thing I did with Shinbu-nim… actually, I want to do it again the next day, the day after that, today, and even now.”

“You should have said something…”

Lucia shook her head from side to side, burying her face in my arms.

“Because it’s Anna’s turn.”

“…”

“So… Shinbu-nim, you know… when you do it with Anna… don’t do it too much. Leave some for me too. After you hug Anna, you have to… hug me the next day.”

“…”

I closed my mouth.

I’ve already crossed the line, and now I have to have sex with Anna.

It was still very difficult for me to readily offer or permit sexual intercourse.

In that respect, Anna and Lucia seemed to have more courage and strength than me.

My state was ridiculous.

More girly than a girl.

I squeezed out one word with difficulty, overcoming the revulsion that welled up from the depths of my heart.

“Okay.”

“Hehe…”

Lucia rubbed her cheek against my chest and smiled softly.

I didn’t say anything more, but hugged her small body, which fit perfectly in my arms like a puzzle piece, tightly.

Tightly.

I hugged Lucia so hard that it conveyed my opinion more clearly than words.

Lucia pulled my back with one hand and my butt with the other, and lifted her head.

Then, she slowly raised herself on tiptoes and kissed my lips.

Was it because I had become so used to kissing?

Although I didn’t consciously try to, my lips opened so naturally and covered her small lips.

*

On the way back to the village, the sky had already turned navy blue.

Because it was basically an exploration, I also looked around for useful things, and I also picked some winter strawberries, and I walked slowly as if I was enjoying a walk with Lucia.

At this rate, I thought I would arrive at the village close to midnight.

Someone was walking towards us from far away.

The person, who was walking hastily, discovered us approaching from the opposite side and waved his hand and ran towards us.

I was wary for a moment, but soon I was able to confirm his identity.

“… Sola?”

“No way, we’re getting closer, but there’s still a long way to go to the village…”

Lucia and I looked at each other once, and then ran towards Sola, who was running towards us from afar.

“Sola!”

“Shinbu-nim!”

Sola’s face, which was close enough to be recognizable even under the dark sky, was a mess of tears and dust.

Sola screamed urgently and hugged me.

“The village… in the village!”

“Why? What’s wrong?!”

When Lucia wiped Sola’s face, Sola cried and buried her face in Lucia’s sleeve and shouted.

“Paolo is attacking Anna!”

“… What?”

“Well, he called her a whore or something… said you seduced her… Anna threatened him with a hammer, but then he said he would kill her… so I came out to find Shinbu-nim…”

“When was that?”

“About an hour ago…”

I put down the crossbow and left Sola to Lucia, and started running straight towards the village.

Lucia also lifted Sola and the crossbow in each arm and ran after me.

Suddenly, Elena’s words belatedly came to my mind.

No matter how much God is the only one who judges sin, Paolo was originally a thief and a rapist.

When I think about it, he didn’t really attend Mass either.

When I think about it, Anna has a Succubus in her.

A rapist and a Succubus.

A damn fitting, terrible situation is drawn.

“… Anna!”

I ran mindlessly towards the village.

Ignoring my legs screaming, I ran past the entrance of the village, across the dark village, towards Anna’s blacksmith.

As I expected, Anna was in the blacksmith.

Paolo was there too.

“Anna!”

“Shinbu-nim?”

Anna rubbed the small amount of soot on her face with the back of her hand and answered in a calm voice.

Then, she smiled slyly and continued.

“You’re back now, oh, do you know where Sola went? She has to wash after dinner, but I don’t know where she went.”

“Anna, are you… okay?”

“What do you mean?”

I turned my head towards Paolo.

He was lying on the floor.

And blood was flowing from his head.

“Ah, that?”

Anna opened her mouth with a voice dripping with contempt.

“Shinbu-nim, you can still use Holy Power, right?”