Prelude

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<Side : Muse Symphony>

“What…? You want me to tell you an old story?”

About three years after Lacey and I started dating, he became curious about my past. I had mostly listened to his stories until then, and now it was my turn to share. As a lover, it wasn’t right to hide my past.

I began to tell Lacey about my childhood, a story I had buried deep in my memory.

“My family has been in the royal guard for generations. Naturally, I was destined to join the guard as well, and I had been training since I was young.”

The Symphony family had been working in the royal palace for over 100 years, so I was able to join the guard without much effort, thanks to that.

But I didn’t like that privilege. Someone who worked harder than me might have been eliminated because of it. And above all, I didn’t enjoy holding a sword.

“Also, I have an older brother. Or rather, ‘had’ would be more accurate. His name is Tune Symphony, and he has light red hair. I grew up with my brother, who was three years older than me, enduring training together. And we developed another common hobby: music.”

A minstrel’s performance that we happened to see in the kingdom’s square had a big impact on us. After that, my brother started learning the lute, and I started learning the violin.

My parents allowed us to pursue music as long as it didn’t interfere with our duties. I was very grateful for that at the time.

But the happy times didn’t last long.

One day, my brother suddenly abandoned his position as the captain of the guard, which he was scheduled to take over that year, and the family, leaving only a letter saying that he was going to pursue music.

Because of that, my brother’s name was erased from the family, and I was completely cut off from music as well. After that, the training became more rigorous, and I had to fill my brother’s place.

The moment my childish indulgence ended, all my instruments and sheet music were taken away. Instead of the bow for my violin, I was given a crude and heavy sword.

Even humming was forbidden, and the harsh training and my parents’ interference became increasingly severe.

“In those days when I lost music, I resented my brother. I wanted him to take me with him. But I could understand him. I thought the oppressive family tradition had made him that way.”

Eventually, after becoming the captain of the guard in my brother’s place, I accidentally discovered a piano in the royal palace’s cathedral and regained my passion for music.

It might have been strange to be the captain of the guard and play the accompaniment in the cathedral, but that was my last bit of stubbornness. I played the piano to release my suppressed emotions, and I played the violin from time to time to soothe my heart.

But that happiness didn’t last long either. Many of my comrades died in the kingdom’s expedition, and I lost my arm as well.

The Symphony family didn’t accept me, who had lost an arm, and I was effectively expelled from the family.

The reason was that ‘a captain of the guard without two good arms is of no use to the family or the royal palace.’

“After being kicked out of the family, I entered a monastery and received priestly training, which led me to where I am now. Meeting you there must have been the Hecate Goddess’s will.”

Rumor had it that the Symphony family had adopted a daughter in my place and made her the captain of the guard. It was an absurd story, but it made my heart ache when I thought about my brother and me, who were still alive.

“Ahaha, was that a bit of a heavy story? Don’t take it too seriously, and let’s finish our drinks. Cheers!”

Lacey’s expression darkened after hearing my story. To lighten the mood, I forced myself to raise his glass and toast. Still, I was grateful that he sympathized with my story and worried about me.

“But you know what? I’m touched. You getting angry on my behalf… you worrying as if it were your own business… and the fact that you, my savior, have come back to me and become my lover again makes me so happy. I want to feel your warmth forever… Is that okay?”

“Of course. Muse.”

–

–

–

Somewhere that looks like a church. But the inside of the sacred church has been transformed into a bizarre space with dark red Tentacles surrounding the ceiling, floor, and walls. The rainbow-colored Stained Glass was faded, and the windows were stained with blood.

No one was sitting in the neatly arranged chairs, and only the red light illuminated the blasphemous space that could be called a brothel rather than a church. Among them, the most shocking thing was the statue taking a lascivious pose with a male genitals attached to a woman’s body. It was naturally present in the place where the statue of Hecate Goddess should have been located.

And the sound of an organ. A huge pipe organ under the statue. A woman occupying it. Although I could only see her back, I could grasp quite a lot from just that.

Pink skin that directly denies humanity, and a hairstyle with dark pink hair tied to one side. In a place where one should always be neat, not a single thread is worn, revealing a large butt and smooth back in an obscene back view. Also, even though it’s a view from the back, her huge breasts stand out greatly.

As a Muse Priest serving the Hecate Goddess, I must stop that woman playing in the middle of the strangely changed church, in a vulgar form. I have a duty to do so. But…

[♩♪♬♩♪♬♩♪♬♪♪♪~]

I felt like I was falling into the sound of the organ played by the woman’s slender, long right arm and the hideous demon’s left arm. I forgot to be angry at the sight and became engrossed. A gentle singing voice that seemed to kindly embrace everyone. It was the same tone as the memories I had with my brother when I was young.

Even the woman’s humming along with the organ was a heavenly voice that touched my heartstrings. If I were to approach that woman now and stop the music, I would never be able to hear this sound again. I had a feeling that would be the case. That’s why the leg I barely took a step with couldn’t move in that state. No, it didn’t move.

–Clap clap clap!!

[It’s always a great performance. Muse♥]

While concentrating on the music, a clapping sound interrupted the song while focusing on each melody. When I turned around following the sound, there was a woman… a demon. A sensuous-looking demon with blue skin and pink eyes. Moreover, the demon, like that statue, had a male genitals proudly growing even though she was a woman, and was wearing a black swimsuit, one of the luxury goods of the nobles.

The demon, who was not comparable to the woman playing the organ, but made a voice no less sweet, opened the church door and walked in slowly. Hearing that voice, the woman stopped playing.

And turning around…

[Welcome. Grace♥ My love♥]

With only a long piece of cloth wrapped around her body as if she wasn’t wearing anything, and the huge male genitals naturally lifting that cloth… a sight that could no longer be expressed with the word vulgar. And that woman’s face, and the voice that I realized now…

“That’s… me?”

–

–

–

『Month of the Cross – 27th (Morning)』

“Ugh…!!”

I kick off the blanket and get up. I gasp for breath as if I had been submerged in deep water and pulled out. A dream too vivid to dismiss as a nightmare. It wasn’t seeing a ghost, falling from a high place, or having my arms and legs cut off.

“Why… why, me…?”

Clearly, that face was mine. The voice was mine too. But it wasn’t me. I didn’t have that skin color, body, or twisted left arm.

I was a human, a Priest, and my left arm… wasn’t there. Above all, despite having a more overwhelming body than any woman I had ever seen, it was directly denied by… a huge male genitals. Perhaps bigger than Lacey’s…

“P, Priest has woken up! Someone, quickly call a healer!”

“What…?”

In the midst of that, my ears focused on a familiar voice, and soon I slowly began to realize what situation I was in now. I, who should be wearing a Clerical Robe and in the church, was lying on a bed in the infirmary wearing a patient gown.

“What… happened?”

“Muse Priest. Don’t you remember anything?”

The voice I just heard was that of a junior Priest. He was looking at me with a worried face. Not remembering… what happened that I’m here?

–Creak…!

Before I had time to sort out my confused thoughts, the door opened immediately and people came in one after another. The Lord’s direct guard, the healers of the infirmary. And the Lord…?

“You’re awake. Muse Priest.”

“Lord…? Why are you here in person?”

“I’m sorry to bother you so soon after waking up… but do you know why you’re in the infirmary?”

The Lord spoke in a worried voice. Something was about to come to mind at his words and actions, which were unlike the usual serious Lord, but…

“I don’t remember well. Did something happen to me…?”

“Hmph… That’s right. It might be helpful for you not to remember. However, now that you’ve been involved in this incident, it would be better for you to hear the whole story of what happened to you.”

What happened to me…? And being involved. If there was anything that I could be involved with the Lord…

I only went to talk about the church lecture. Ah… could it be because of that? What really happened to me?

I was very embarrassed because only things I didn’t know were coming at me without rhyme or reason, and I was also suspicious of what situation I was in now.

“Calm down and listen. Muse, you… were attacked last night.”

And the content that the Lord told me after that… was so terrible and chilling that I would have been angry and destroyed everything if I had been in good condition.

Attacked…? It can happen. Since Sea Moon Church isn’t the only religion in this world, being attacked by hostile religions is something to always keep in mind.

Even if they are not religious people, there are thugs who attack innocent people for no reason, and I might be the target.

But the attack I suffered… was not physical assault.

“Molested… you say? My body?”

I was found by a patrol guard who was suspicious of the church door being open that night, which should have been closed. There, my Clerical Robe, which I had been wearing neatly, was torn, and my underwear was disheveled. In other words, someone used me as a tool to satisfy their sexual desires and ran away.

Not only that, but there were several dark lip marks and traces of being held tightly on my body. In particular, the red marks left on my neck remained like a brand, and they would not disappear.

“Th, that’s a lie!? No, no, no, no. Wait a minute. Please wait a minute. Last night? I was in the church for the evening prayer service last night! And if there was anyone who came to see me during that time…”

I trace back my memories. I have to remember everything that happened yesterday. The same morning as usual and the way to work at the church.

At the church… I met a noble young lady with sky blue hair who said she admired me, and after that, I cleaned the church with my fellow Priests to prepare for the evening prayer service…

After the evening prayer service, everyone went home, and I offered the last prayer alone. That day… I was worrying about Lacey’s safety, who had suddenly left without saying anything to me, and I was praying to the Hecate Goddess to protect him. And…

“Lacey… Lacey came to see me! Th, that person… to me who was alone in the church…!?”

“Calm down. Muse Priest! Lacey…? That can’t be. He’s on a mission, and he’s not in this Territory right now…”

“No! I’m sure of it! He was wearing heavy armor that he doesn’t usually wear, and he spoke to me like that warm person he usually is… Huh?”

I squeezed my head and barely pulled out the memories that were in the bottom of my mind, but… the more I remembered it, the more questions intertwined and created new questions.

If… Lacey was trying to meet me one last time before going on a mission, why did he bother to wear a helmet and not take it off?

To avoid being seen by others…? No. The moment he burst into the church door, he would have attracted all the attention, and no matter how much he wanted to see me, Lacey would never have made such a basic mistake.

There are more than one or two things that come to mind. Lacey’s voice… a voice that was quite high to be said to have a cold. Fundamentally… yes, in the first place, the voice was different. Why didn’t I know that from the beginning… and gave my body to the person who called himself Lacey? I have no face to see Lacey!

My memory is limited to this point. I really didn’t remember anything after that. But according to the circumstances… I was attacked by that stranger and my body was molested… maybe even raped!

“Lord! Was there anything else wrong with my body! Th, that whatchamacallit…”

It’s an awkward sentence to say it myself… Asking if there are any traces of being raped with my own mouth… I’m too embarrassed to even open my mouth. The Lord, who couldn’t stand seeing me like that, opened his mouth first.

“Muse Priest. Nothing that you should be worried about was found on your body. For example, there was no one else’s bodily fluids left in your body. Is that enough?”

“Ah… Th, thank you.”

H, he’s quick-witted. Okay, now that I have a good understanding of what happened to me and the current situation… I should get up right away and do something too.

“If you’re thinking of getting up and returning in that state… I wouldn’t recommend it.”

The Lord said that as if he knew from the beginning that I was going to return, just as I was about to get out of bed. He recommends that I don’t go…? No, that couldn’t be.

“Thank you for your concern, but I’m not such a saint that I’ll just sit still after being beaten by someone. I’ll run myself to find out the truth. So please don’t stop me.”

“It’s not just for your sake, but I want you to know that you’re already a target. I wish I could go out and sweep them away myself, but I’m a human with more restrictions than you think.”

“A target…?”

“Do you remember when I called you out at dawn last time and asked you to detect Divinity in every corner of the alley?”

I can’t help but remember. He forcibly woke me up while I was sound asleep, and made me spend the night with my eyes open, detecting Divinity in the back alleys until the morning sun slowly rose.

Without telling me what was going on, he only confirmed that there was a Barrier intricately woven with Divinity, and then hurriedly left without looking back. I was so dumbfounded at the time…

“There have been missing persons cases. All of the missing people are residents of the back alleys, such as pickpockets and homeless people. There are too many strange things to dismiss it as a simple disappearance, and it is expected that there is a very vicious type of mastermind hiding behind it. Your attack is very likely to be related to that.”

The Lord continued to speak calmly. I could understand the true meaning contained within. Before simple concern…

“You don’t want to create more obstacles, do you? If I, who was targeted and attacked by that unidentified mastermind, get up and start working in less than a day, it’s like giving them bait.”

“I won’t deny it. But I’m sincere in my concern for you. You are also one of the residents of this Territory, and you were once a brave knight. I’m saying that it’s better to stay in the infirmary until the incident subsides. I’ve issued a gag order to prevent anyone from mentioning to others that you’ve woken up.”

“You’re quick to respond. The Lord’s words make sense, but… then I’ll just ask you one thing. Lacey… is that person involved in this incident? Could it be that Lacey’s sudden mission and disappearance were all…!”

“H… he’s fine. He’s a veteran adventurer whom I trust more than anyone else. So you can rest assured and focus on your recovery. Then I’ll be on my way. I have so much work piled up.”

The Lord and the healers left their seats and left after saying those words. Don’t worry, a strong and trusted adventurer… It was the Lord’s praise full of compliments for that person, but… I saw the very small embarrassment beyond that.

In the desolate isolation of the treatment room, feeling like an outcast, alone in my ignorance of a story everyone else knows, I picture Lacey’s face. My love, the image of my most wonderful prince… Thinking of that person’s face makes me feel like the anxiety subsides…

“Lacey… are you alright?”

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