“Good night then.”
“Umu, good night.” “Good night, Clarice.”
As Clarice was paying for all the inn fees that night, we rented a four-person party room with individual beds, unlike the “two-person room with only one bed” we had borrowed last night.
“She just seemed to accept it normally.”
“Ah, I was wary, expecting her to say something about wanting to join.”
“Still, the bed is narrow.”
Even so, this is the largest of the four beds.
“For me, being able to be in constant contact is delightful.”
“You do like hugging, don’t you.”
“Ah, I sleep better that way.”
“But it always reminds me of that story where a Tamer sleeps with a small familiar and crushes it in their sleep.”
“Even though Derus is small, she probably isn’t that fragile.”
Still, heavy is heavy, and tight is tight.
“Come on, Derus, quickly.”
“Yes, yes, it’s the Silent Venus magic, right? Here.”
After casting the magic without incantation, the room became silent. Nina’s lips mouthed, “I LOVE YOU,” and then, I became the prey of the Lustful Berserker.
=※Midnight Meal (Implied)※=
…After the deed was done, I took a quick shower and entered another room. Some people use the metaphor of “fighting a battle,” but for me, it was a one-sided massacre. Yes, like a cruel meal.
(But she looked so happy sleeping.)
Nina, who embraced me as she slept after it was over. I somehow managed to wriggle free from her grasp. Perhaps it was because I felt refreshed after the hot water bath, but sleepiness suddenly overwhelmed me.
(Fuuuuh, tomorrow is the third day of exploration. I’m going to test the power of the Adamantite Sword…)
I placed the magical girl Desuderica-chan doll by my pillow and slept. I meant it as a ward, but it might end up attracting strange things.
(First time sleeping alone in a while! Good niiight…)
Then, after I had fallen into a deep sleep and some time had passed, I was jolted awake by Nina’s powerful voice.
“What were you doing!”
Sensing a dire situation, I opened my eyes and saw Clarice trying to leave the room! Did something happen to me? But if someone had entered, my Hero Skill should have alerted me, even within the same Party.
“Um, well, you see…”
“You used your Skill.”
Ah, I just learned the Sage Skill “Secret Step,” didn’t I? It allows me to approach within ten steps without being detected by monsters or people. That must be why I wasn’t detected by the Hero Skill’s exploration. I turned on the magic light.
“I-I’m sorry.”
She bowed her head to both Nina in the hallway and me in bed. She was wearing a female cleric’s robe, but nothing underneath. Her skin was incredibly beautiful and white. Nina’s skin was also beautiful, but Clarice’s was a translucent white.
“Let’s hear precisely what you did.”
“W-Well, I just… I just kissed you, that’s all, truly.”
“…Does that kiss have any magical effect?”
“No, none at all. It was truly just a kiss.”
“That’s strange. I felt a killing intent from you, definitely. What’s going on?”
What, I was almost killed…?
“I stopped! I stopped, and that’s why I kissed you and tried to leave.”
“Then what were you going to do? If you don’t answer honestly, I’ll break your neck right here.”
“P-Please don’t! Um, um, I, I…”
“Shall I shave all the hair off your back?!”
They both looked at me simultaneously. The Desuderica doll I had casually touched suddenly spoke! Well, this doesn’t necessarily calm them down, but it created a good timing. I had Clarice sit down.
“You said you wanted to marry me, but why were you trying to kill me?”
“Um, if I tell you everything, it’s because of my personal Special Skill.”
“Ah, Sages have them too, don’t they? Rare job holders too.”
“Yes, all Heroes definitely have them, but Sages have them in about half of cases, and Summoners in about thirty percent.”
“So, what is Clarice’s personal Skill?”
Holding her breath, Clarice spoke.
“…My personal Skill is to transfer the Special Skill of the person I’ve been intimate with.”
“When you say ‘been intimate with,’ do you mean sexual intercourse?”
“Yes. However, at first, it was anyone with a personal Special Skill in a rare job, but it seems that various Skills themselves have levels of power, so the next Skill I can transfer must be even stronger.”
“I see. Perhaps what you were investigating with the purple crystal was…”
“Yes, the strength of the Skill. I can’t show it to you here as I don’t have it with me, but the light emanating from me now is quite strong.”
So, she was seeking something stronger than that, a stronger personal Skill? Setting up a Hero Reception would surely attract people with personal Skills, but why would I have to be killed for that?
“Is it a replacement? Then, after the transfer, the previous Skill…”
“Disappears. That’s why, that’s why I wanted a strong Skill.”
“I see. And the Skill you possess now is…”
After a moment of silence, a shocking statement followed.
“A Skill that kills the person you’ve been intimate with.”
Ugh, forced to death by intercourse!
“I see. So that’s your assassination method.”
“Yes, it’s one I received from a rare job Assassin I was once intimate with.”
“Wait, aren’t you mistaken, Clarice? People with that profession kill their partners during intimacy, right?”
“Yes, when intimately involved, it’s a 100% certainty.”
“Then wouldn’t you have died at that point, Clarice?”
Could she still be lying?
“No, the Special Skill I had before that was given to me by a Hero. It’s a Skill that reflects and returns the opponent’s aggressive Special Skill activation.”
“That’s quite complicated.”
“Therefore, the Assassin who was intimate with me died. He looked shocked, as if he couldn’t believe it.”
“You said ‘received,’ does that mean you steal the opponent’s Skill?”
“No, even though it’s a transfer, the transferred Skill remains. I checked that early on.”
This must be from when she received a Special Class with a low level.
“If that’s the case, you want to get rid of this assassination Skill you possess, don’t you?”
“Yes. Shamefully, I thought if I got married, it would be resolved as a simple death by intercourse.”
“Is what Clarice said about not being able to leave the country without getting married a lie?”
“That’s true. Once married, I would have to engage in missionary work in the country I married into, increasing the number of followers of the Church of the Goddess.”
“However, with a Skill as potent as yours, they wouldn’t just let you go.”
Certainly, any perverted man would easily fall for her, and given Clarice’s beauty, even women might be swayed. Hmm?
“Huh? You were targeting Nina at first, so you can transfer it to female targets too?”
“Yes, as long as it’s sexual intercourse, I can transfer it.”
Let’s put aside how and what happened for now.
“But Sacred Ancestor, when we spoke with Renan alone, you said that if I overwrite this Skill and bring great benefit to the Order, and finally clear one more condition, I’ll be granted freedom.”
“What is that condition?”
“I don’t know. They said they’ll tell me once I clear the previous two.”
Hmm, it sounds like a very complex condition will be imposed.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to kill anymore, and I don’t want to be killed either.”
“You’ve repeatedly said you don’t want to die. That’s your true feeling, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I apologize for the momentary impulse to kill you.”
“…What do you think, Derus? I feel like killing her right now.”
“You’ve been calling me ‘you’ all this time. Hmm, I sympathize, but…”
The moment she directed her killing intent at me, Nina had probably already written Clarice off. Moreover, Clarice is a murderer. However, this is a religious war, essentially a civil war in the Ruanko Theocracy. That doesn’t excuse me being nearly killed. If that had gone on through the night…
“I am truly sorry. Please.”
As she bowed deeply, her hood slipped off. For the first time, I really looked at Clarice’s hair, which I hadn’t paid much attention to before. It was long, silver hair, like Frau, the former Party’s cleric who betrayed me… Her chest was even larger.
“Derus, you decide. I am the Leader, but you were the one directly targeted. What happened?”
“Clarice, why did you stop trying to kill me?”
“Um, after all, your cute appearance… I didn’t feel like killing a young boy.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m a legal boy anyway!”
“And then, suddenly, I had an intuition that you, Lord Derus, might be able to save me without killing me.”
Hmm, this feels like a situation where I either have to do just that or save her in another way.
“Nina.”
“What is it?”
“If I ask you to forgive Clarice, will you forgive her?”
“For now, yes. I am Derus’s slave of love. We are not equals. My purpose in life is to do things that make Derus happy.”
“Then please don’t make her cry in bed so much, no, that’s not it! Please forgive her, Clarice.”
Clarice, who had tears streaming down her cheeks without realizing it, brightened up! Nina looked slightly displeased.
“I’ll hear the reason.”
“Yes. After all, if her situation is true, I can pity her, even if it seems naive.”
“You understand what you’re saying, don’t you?”
“She did try to kill me, after all. But more importantly, her usefulness.”
“Because she’s a valuable Sage…? Alright, fine. Clarice, will you continue to be of assistance to us?”
Clarice wiped away her tears.
“Yes! If I can be freed, I will follow your Party for the rest of my life!”
“…Whether you can be believed is another matter, but it’s Derus’s order. For this time, I’ll forgive you.”
“Thank you!”
“Still, Nina, you’re amazing. To be able to sense Clarice’s killing intent from another room.”
“I sensed something suspicious from when we checked into the inn. I was on guard. But as for the killing intent… it was a lie. A bluff.”
*Thump!*
