Chapter 300 - 300. Battle for the Fortress and a Breath in the Hall
A soft light poured from Maila’s palm onto my forehead, and the languor in my body faded. She lifted her hand and peered at my complexion.
"It would be nice if the power of the church’s miracles could be used… But I don’t know the root cause, and it might come back, so please don’t overdo it."
"Thanks. I feel much better."
Her words made it sound like it was a kind of curse. The heat was gone. I tried to get up, and she supported my back. I seemed to be okay after standing up. My party saw how I was doing and Fam started walking towards the door. The other members also started to follow her.
"Wait. There’s something I need to say."
I called out, and they stopped and turned back.
"What is it?"
Fam tilted her head.
"It’s not what it is. It’s about Neffy. She’s a comrade. Why didn’t any of you help her when Turusa had her tied up?"
"That’s not true. We wanted to help, but Turusa wouldn’t listen to us, and it would have only escalated, so we decided to wait until Mash woke up."
Maila answered instead.
"Does everyone really listen to me more than you? Even I trust Maila’s words more than my own."
"Please trust yourself more! Turusa is originally sworn to be loyal to Marianne. Didn’t Mash help her? Turusa may be called a martial man, she is a little overbearing, but she actually has respect for Mash. And…"
Maila stopped talking. I waited, but she didn’t seem to want to say any more.
"Well, never mind. Anyway, Neffy is a comrade. You understood that from the battle just now, right?"
I looked around the party. Only Neffy, the person in question, was smiling wistfully at me. She was completely an observer. I was a little annoyed, but if I brought it up, it would become troublesome, so I decided to keep quiet.
"Was Turusa-san saying anything about that?"
Maila’s voice. I almost choked.
"That’s what he said. ‘That woman will betray you.’"
Maila sighed and avoided eye contact with Neffy. I waited, but she didn’t seem to want to explain it further.
"Well, even with that said, she’s still a comrade. She’s also an otherworldly hero brought here by the Five Great Gods, something that’s never happened before."
Neffy didn’t interrupt.
"…Then what? What should I do? Should I stop being friends with people who might betray me?"
Neffy’s expression hadn’t changed.
"What does Neffy plan to do?"
I looked at Neffy.
"I won’t ever oppose Mash, not even after we part ways in the Demon Kingdom."
I looked back at Maila, and her brow was still furrowed as expected.
"What will you do if the Empire and the Demon Kingdom declare all-out war, Neffy?"
Maila interjected.
"I’m a free citizen. I have no intention of siding with either country right now. As for what will happen in the future, it depends on the situation. I believe Mash is the same way, right?"
As Neffy spoke, Maila looked at me.
"In the end, hasn’t Mash been sensing something strange too?"
"Me?"
I didn’t think as much about world affairs as Maila did. All I was doing was continuing our journey, as Fam’s curse was lifted, in order to break the constraint of only being able to live for ten years in this world. The immediate clue was to collect the mirror, wand, and holy oil vial brought by jednać peux during the gods' war. And I was only heading towards the Demon Kingdom because Racshell told me to defeat the Demon King. I hadn’t thought about the conflict between the Empire and the Demon Kingdom afterward. Would Maila be disappointed if I told her my thoughts? I kept my mouth shut when I thought that, and she blushed and averted her gaze.
"After all this time together… you still… haven’t… touched me?"
I panicked at Maila’s unexpected words.
"Isn’t doing it properly important?"
Misuki interrupted Maila for some reason.
"You didn’t give me any preparation back then!"
Was she still talking about that first time?
"Weren’t you more excited back then?"
"That’s not the point!"
"But we’re still together properly. And we’ve been on dates too."
"Mmm… don’t act like it’s okay because we’re together."
Misuki was definitely glaring at me. Unlike the others, I wasn’t as scared of her getting angry. Because I had a baseless feeling that she would always accept me in the end, even if she was angry.
"Fine. If Misuki says that, there’s nothing I can do. Neffy, if you kiss me, she’ll recognize you as a comrade."
I turned to Neffy. Then I spread my arms.
"I was thinking of doing it somewhere where we were alone and excited, but I’ll do it now to strengthen Levante’s unity."
Neffy’s expression, which had a smile, stopped moving.
"What are you planning to do here?"
I took a step forward, and Neffy stepped back a step.
"Don’t you want to?"
"Actually, I don’t have any experience. I don’t want to do it in front of everyone."
"You’ve done it secretly, haven’t you? You’re going to become comrades, so you’re ready, aren’t you?"
Her glued-on smile slightly distorted.
"I’m ready. But being told to do it suddenly is a problem. I do have feelings of shyness and embarrassment… And, I don’t have any experience yet…"
Could it be true that she hadn’t even kissed anyone before? Her last words trailed off. I stopped, believing her because she had agreed to become my lover.
"I see. Then there’s nothing I can do."
I turned back to Misuki. I spread my arms again, but this time Misuki stepped back a step.
"Why are you running too? You’re happy, right?"
"I’d have been happy… sort of…"
Misuki averted her gaze, so I looked at Neffy.
"A-are you worried about getting dirty?"
"It’s fine. I have an anal plug. I tested it on Misuki to see if it would clean things up. I’ll make her wear it too."
I took out an anal plug from storage.
"Don’t keep using my name!"
Ignoring Misuki’s words, I raised an index finger and walked toward Neffy. She backed away, matching my pace.
"W-wait. I was wrong earlier. I actually want to kiss Mash now. I want to now."
Neffy took a breath. Then, she straightened up like she was stretching her back. Then she smiled as usual and spread her hands.
"Come on, Mash…"
"Ah…"
I stepped closer to her. Her arms reached out and wrapped around my back, hugging me tightly. Her cheek pressed against my temple. It was soft and smooth. Her warm breath caressed my cheek. Was Neffy’s face posture high because I was leaning against her? Or was it because of her shoes? As I was thinking about this, her cheek moved away slightly, and one of her hands was placed on my face. She stroked my cheek and looked at me.
"…!"
It looked more like she was forcing a kiss on me than me kissing her.
I tried to convey my discomfort, but my lips were sealed by slender fingertips.
"Mash…"
Her eyes narrowed, and her lips approached. The sound of someone gasping for breath could be heard at that moment, and a soft sensation blocked my lips.
"Mmph…!"
I didn’t know whose voice it was. Perhaps it was one of Fam’s group watching us. Then, her lips slowly parted from me. The warmth and softness lingered at the tip of my lips.
Eventually, she opened her eyes and smiled.
"Nice to meet you again, Mash."
"…"
I couldn’t say anything and just stared at her.
Thank you for reading.