Chapter 66 - Waking Up and What Racshell Left Behind
I opened my eyes. The low ceiling gave the space a cramped feeling. I was supposed to have collapsed naked on the floor last night, but I was in a bed. The bottom bunk of a bunk bed. I was dressed, too. Sunlight streamed through the window. Judging by the short angle of the light, it was probably around noon. Beside me, Mizuki was asleep with her back to me, wearing a t-shirt and panties. I took the opportunity to touch her butt.
"Nn… mmm…"
Mizuki let out a soft sound and slowly sat up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around.
"Mash, it's already noon. What are you doing?"
The voice belonged to Cecily. She was sitting on a chair, giving me a cool look. On the table where Racshell had descended last night, there was some bread.
I sat up and tried to kiss Cecily, but she turned her head away. Giving up, I grabbed two pieces of bread and handed one to Mizuki.
"Where is everyone else?"
I bit into the bread. It was hard and dry.
"They went to check on the monster fluids that were scattered around the city, just as you said yesterday," Cecily answered.
"…What was that last night?"
"That was Racshell."
There was no other way to put it.
"So I lost to… that. I see now. Summoning her would only make you happy, Mash. It was a waste of time, that much is clear."
Did Cecily think I was just summoning Racshell to do perverted things to her? She was completely right, but I felt I had at least gotten some minimal information this time.
"No, not entirely. When Mizuki and I were summoned, we were first brought to her room. We received the video we were supposed to see then. Let's watch it."
A screen materialized in front of me. Mizuki got up and came closer. When I leaned in to kiss her, she willingly accepted. After a light touch of our lips, I turned my gaze to the screen, and the video began to play. It showed me on a packed train, fiddling with my smartphone with a faint, creepy smile on my face.
"…Racshell. No, that's not it."
I quietly ended the video.
Cecily washed our bodies for us, and we got changed. We decided to leave the inn to check on the city. I was hoping to buy something to eat from a street stall, if possible. The city was preparing for the monster assault—windows were boarded up with wooden planks, and objects were being cleared from the streets. The stalls were packed away, and most shops were closed. The ones that were open were already sold out. There was no sense of panic among the residents, no sign of them trying to flee. It seemed they wouldn't take the option of temporarily leaving the city and returning after the Big Hoppers had passed.
"You know, when we first met, Mizuki, you were the type to take the initiative in conversations, but you haven't been like that lately."
Perhaps because of the video, I was reminiscing about when I first met Mizuki. She used to be more assertive than me.
"You've changed too, Mash. You don't try to shut yourself away anymore."
"Even now, I'd still rather use you as a shield and avoid interacting with people if I could."
I hated the sense of emptiness I felt in my old world, but the desire to cut off all ties with society and become a shut-in was still there. But this wasn't a world that would allow that.
"…That's not possible. But I do think you've gotten better with people, Mash."
"I think that's thanks to you being so willing to talk to me."
It wasn't just Mizuki. Fam was the same, and so were all the residents of this world.
"If you put it that way, maybe I owe you thanks too, Mash…"
For once, the tone of Mizuki's voice dropped.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. I don't know if I should say this but… after you forcibly kissed me and, well, especially after you assaulted me, I became scared of men."
"…"
I was at a loss for words. Of course Mizuki had been hurt. Since she'd declared herself my girlfriend and started following me, I hadn't given it a second thought. What was her mental state? I had no idea.
Cecily, who had been listening, sighed.
"Mash. Just how much of a monster are you? And Mizuki, why are you with a man like that?"
"Well… yeah. But, I'm truly glad that it was you, Mash."
Mizuki offered a baffling attempt at defending me.
"How is that good? Are you an idiot?"
Cecily let out another heavy sigh. From now on, I would be kinder to Mizuki. And I'd try to listen to what she says as much as possible.
"About Racshell last night," Mizuki said.
"What about her?" I replied.
"She's different from when we were first summoned, too. When we first met her, we could say whatever we wanted. But with the one who appeared last night, I couldn't ask any of the questions I had."
In the end, all we learned was that we were told to defeat the Demon Lord again, and she gave Karpana a revelation to seek the words of a god.
"It's the effect of her charm that Maira mentioned."
"That was certainly an irresistible power," Cecily added her own thoughts to my reply.
"Isn't it strange? She said something about not being able to control her power, but I don't think that's true."
"You're saying that the first time we met, we weren't under her charm."
Mizuki nodded.
"It's hard to say. Maira's words made us aware that she was using her charm on us. But the first time, we didn't perceive our own minds being warped, so maybe it just seems that way now? We kissed in front of Racshell back then, remember?"
"Th-That was because you forced me!"
The old me was just as obsessed with lewd thoughts as I am now, but I never had the guts to act on them. She probably wouldn't believe me, so I kept my mouth shut.
"Besides, it should have been a mutual understanding between Racshell, you, and me that the explanation was insufficient at our first meeting. Even if you and I were captivated by her charm, she should have been able to explain things to us, right?"
"That's true. She's the one who summoned us. She should want to explain what she wants us to do, yet she won't talk unless we ask."
Come to think of it, Hyakka and Chihiro are in the same situation. Mizuki's words made me think it was no coincidence.
"One more thing. Racshell said she has no form for… that, for the act with you. And she said it was different when a covenant is made. If we take her words at face value, doesn't it seem like she wanted to confirm something by… doing that… with you, Mash?"
"…"
I tried to recall the conversation we had before and after we had sex, but I couldn't remember it clearly. I didn't think we had exchanged anything like that.
"Can we really trust Racshell?"
Mizuki murmured, her words lacking conviction.
"I don't have the answer to that, either. But she has her own agenda. And it might not be for our sake."
Cecily would probably mock me for it, but I wanted to believe the woman who said she would be my lover.
We arrived at the spot where the pink Big Hopper's carcass had been. The body was gone. The area had been cleaned up perfectly. Even the marks where the stakes had been were repaired and smoothed over. I spotted Hyakka. Chihiro was with her. It seemed she'd spotted me too, because she started walking toward us.
"Well, look at the big shot gracing us with his presence."
She raised a hand in greeting.
"Damn right. I'm the leader of Levante. I'm a big deal."
I puffed out my chest for no reason.
"They moved the monster outside the city, to the west. Looks like the soldiers are gonna attack from the walls."
Were they going to attack with crossbows from the ramparts?
"Is that so? That's reassuring."
I couldn't imagine what tactics they'd use, but I nodded along.
"There's someone I want you and Chihiro to meet. Could you come with me for a bit?"
"…This ain't some shady place you're takin' us to, is it?"
Despite her words, when I started walking, she and Chihiro followed.
"How's the defense within the city looking?"
The walled-off area was probably a little over a kilometer north-to-south and east-to-west. How were they planning to defend such a vast area?
"A hundred soldiers are on the walls. Fifty are guarding the palace. The rest are patrolling the city. The guild's adventurers are with 'em."
"Doesn't sound like enough to defend it all."
As I thought, that number of people couldn't possibly cover the entire city.
"It's an all-out battle. The citizens are joining in, too. Gotta protect yourself."
How much of a fighting force would that be? Come to think of it, this was a world with monsters right outside the walls. They must have opportunities to fight with weapons, and they've probably received some basic combat training.
"Paying in blood, huh…"
"That's how it's always been. The mercenaries we usually rely on sensed war in the air and headed east, so we can't count on 'em."
So this city did rely on mercenaries for defense. It was probably the same for other cities. A city this size likely couldn't collect enough taxes to maintain its own army, so they hired mercenaries when needed.
"But we've got a chance of winning," Hyakka continued.
"Really?"
"The Wandering People. They came this morning and offered to help defend the city."
So Karpana made her move.
"Are they strong?"
"You don't know? The Wandering People are a bunch who were cursed by a god and driven from their homes. Rumor is they do nothing but combat training day and night, all for revenge."
"Sounds like you don't really know either, Hyakka."
"Well, yeah."
Hyakka laughed. We arrived at the inn where Karpana was staying. The usual pair was in the first-floor tavern, so I told them I wanted to speak with her.
"You're a sly one, Mash. You were already acquainted with the Wandering People."
Hyakka must have realized who they were from their appearance.
"No, you were with us when we first met, right?"
"I just thought we happened to be there at the same time."
Hyakka said. I briefly explained to her how we met the Wandering People. While we were waiting for the pair to return, Fam, Maira, and Aira entered the tavern.
"We saw you go inside, Master."
"Perfect timing. I was hoping to talk with all of you."
I nodded at Fam, then shifted my gaze to Maira. Last night, she had failed to resist Racshell's charm and had slept soundly through the entire thing.
"Maira… are you okay?"
"Um, I'm truly sorry about that. I'm fine now."
Maira bowed her head with a little dip. Just then, the two men returned.
"Lady Karpana asks that you come to her room."
Thank you for reading. To everyone who has liked, bookmarked, and rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me to keep going. I'll do my best. And thank you so much for pointing out typos.