Creatures Lurking in the Dark

In the bustling store of one of the most renowned lingerie stores in Lutenburg, there was a catkin woman named Rika. With hands on her desk propping her head, she was the definition of the word absentminded. Her mind had been a constant whirlpool of embarrassment.

 

Without noticing her boss was standing right behind her, Rika groaned, hid her face in her hands, shook her head violently, rinsed, and repeated.

 

"Rika, Earth to Rika."

 

Her voice simply brushed past Rika's ears.

 

Seeing that Rika was still in her own world, blood veins appeared on the woman's face. Slightly exasperated, she rolled up her sleeves and pinched Rika's ear, bringing her back to reality with a jolt.

 

"Ouch ouch ouch ouch!"  Rubbing her ear, Rika grinned awkwardly and apologized.

 

It wasn't just that one instance. In fact, Rika had been absentmindedly all the way until the end of her shift. And she was scolded several times.

 

The culprit was none other than the twins neighbor, who had highly likely heard her shameful moans throughout the night.

 

Leaving the store dejectedly, Rika made her way to the castle. She had been absent yesterday, so she knew the amount of paperwork that was due. She just hoped that they could at least keep her mind occupied and stop thinking about it.

 

"Lena~ I'm here."  Entering the cafe-like office, Rika called out.

 

"Ohh! Perfect timing!"  A woman who was reading a book looked up and greeted Rika.

 

"Hm? Lena, why are you so happy today?"  Rika asked.

 

"Hehehe, of course, I'm happy. And you should, too. No, you should be happier than I am."  Lena waited for a few seconds to create suspension and continued. "First of all, congratulations, Rika. After that last mission, you are promoted to the captain of your own squad by the recommendation from Lady Jenna."  Lena clapped her hands.

 

"Eh!"  A radiant smile painted across her face, illuminating the room with pure joy.

 

"Hold your horse! There is one more good news. Remember when I kept petitioning to increase the member? It finally paid off, and we got two of them! They are hella smart, too, so I put their training on you. Consider it your training to be the captain, too. Actually, they are training with the equipment in the back. I told them to wait and show their faces to you. So go have a look at them for yourself. Their training is officially tomorrow."  (Lena)

 

"Eeeehhh!!!"  Rika yelped.

 

"By the way, this is the amount of paperwork you owe. These are the books and catalogs to help you train them and also books on how to lead people for you to read. They are my gifts. I'm sleepy. So I'm going home now. Good luck!"  Leaving a stack of books and papers for Rika, Lena waved goodbye. But just before she left the room, she turned back and said, "By the way, the two newbies are twins. Take care of them, alright?"

 

"E...h...!?"  The word twins hit Rika like lightning.

 

Her day had been filled with thoughts about certain twins knowing her shameful side.

 

Rika shook her head and gave her cheeks a good slap.

 

"No good. Let's stop thinking about them. The world is big. There's no way they would be here. Yeah, it's just a coincidence. I mean, why would they be here. Alright, let's go see them. And I still have to deal with this amount of paperwork."  (Rika)

 

Holding the tall stack, Rika made her way to the back to acquaintance with her soon-to-be-surbodinates.

 

*Knock* *Knock*

 

"I'm sorry, my hands are full. Could someone open the door for me, please?"  Rika knocked on the door with her foot.

 

"Coming~" 

 

A faint voice from the other side replied. Soon, she heard footsteps getting closer and the sound of the door being opened.

 

"Nice to... meet... yo...u?"

 

*Pak*

 

The stack of paper hit the ground, yet time seemed to stop for the two of them.

 

Rika stood still with eyes full of awkwardness.

 

On the other side, Mino, whose hands were still holding the doorknob, stared back at Rika as if she couldn't believe who she was seeing.

 

"Mino, What's ... wr...ong?"  Mina, who walked toward the door and saw Rika, also widened her eyes in surprise and gasped.

 

As Rika said, the world was a big place, yet it was not big enough to allow her to escape this meeting.

 

...

 

After calming down, the twins suggested discussing their future plans at the front counter, so they moved back to the front.

 

Mino and Rika were sitting awkwardly opposite each other. Mina was at the counter, making them something to drink.

 

The long silence was finally broken when Mina returned with a tray of their drinks.

 

"Here you go."  (Mina)

 

"T-Thanks."  Rika awkwardly accepted the glass. And the silence continued.

 

"Ahaha... what a surprise. I'd never thought that you would be the soldier type, Miss Rika."  Mino decided to break the silence.

 

"Well, since you girls are here. You must have known the true nature of this unit, right? It would be trouble for me if you could easily discern my identity. I should be the one to be surprised. I never thought you girls were elected to join this unit. Well, If I think about it, the apartment complex where we are staying has a connection with the army, after all."  (Rika)

 

"Well, today is actually our first day in the uniform. We thought we would be assigned to the mage squad, but then Lady Jenna led us here and introduced us to this department."  (Mina)

 

"What? Normally, you have to be active for at least three years and with at least five notable achievements before being nominated to this unit."  Surprised, Rika searched for the files about the twins from the stack of paper they had helped her pick up.

 

"I see..."  Rika nodded knowingly after finishing reading their files. "I have heard about two new rookies that managed to lead other trainees and fought against a monster stampede. But to think that it was you two, huh."

 

"Ehehehe..."  (Mino)

 

"We were just lucky."  (Mina)

 

"Luck is also a part of your strength if you manage to win the gamble. Well, it is true that we are in dire need of personnel. After all, it hasn't been long after the war was over. In fact, other departments are scrambling for recruits. But I see, you girls' abilities are what make you special. I know. You officially start tomorrow, but how about we have about today? I want to see your abilities for myself. After all, reading and seeing about it are two different things."  (Rika)

 

Without letting the twins have a chance to respond, Rika stood up and led them back to the training field above the ground.

 

After picking their weapons, they took a distance of 15 meters between Rika and the twins.

 

"Heh, so Mino is the melee fighter, and Mina is the range support."  Rika analyzed the twins' formation and their equipment.

 

Mino stood at the front and was equipped with a pair of gauntlets, whereas Mina was slightly behind and was equipped with a magic tome as a catalyst to cast magic.

 

Just like Rika, they also studied their opponent. Rika didn't wear much armor on her. Her weapons of choice were the two daggers that she held in reverse, along with a few smaller throwing knives equipped on her belt.

 

"Mino, be careful. She looks like the type to fight with her speed. Don't fight her head-on and aim for the counter."  Mina whispered.

 

"Got it."  Mino replied.

 

At first, they thought it would be unfair to have a 2 vs 1, so they proposed to do a 1 vs 1. But Rika told them to just fight at the same time.

 

However, they weren't dumb. They quickly caught on to the underlying message that Rika had sent them. Whether going one at a time or teaming up on her wouldn't make a difference. They knew Rika had that much confidence in her skill to say that.

 

"Ready when you are. Give me your best shot, and don't hold back. We have a magic field that will cancel out fatal attacks before they hit. So hit me with your best shot because I will."  (Rika)

 

"Alright, Here I come!"  Mino shouted and made a dash straight toward Rika.

 

"Fortress! Enhance edge! Swift! Ice bind!"  From behind, Mina quickly constructed enhancement spells on Mino and also shot a magic spell at Rika.

 

"*Whistle* Such casting speed, and she even combo with a restraint spell. These girls have potential. Guess I should get a little serious."  (Rika)

 

As the small magic circle formed under Rika, she took a side-step before it activated. Immediately, a punch was sent right at the spot she just landed.

 

"Rocket punch!"  (Mino)

 

"Not so fast!"  Rika twisted her body and deflected the punch with her right elbow to the side, and at the same time, she slashed at Mino's neck with her left dagger.

 

Mino barely dodged it in time, but a few strains of hair were cut. She jumped back to keep her distance from Rika. At the same time, she sent another punch to Rika's abdomen, which Rika blocked with her iron kneepad.

 

"Do it, sis!"  (Mino)

 

"Gravity field!"  (Mina)

 

"Oh wow!"  Rika wobbled and fell to her knees from the sudden increase in gravity.

 

"This is it! Take our combination attack, explosive punch!"  (Mino)

 

"Lightning strike!"  As soon as Mino rushed in to attack, Mina also cast a spell from above Rika.

 

"That's brutal, but too naive!"  Making an X slashed at the ground to destroy the binding magic circle, Rika threw one of her daggers up, as well as two throwing knives.

 

"What!?"  Mina shouted in surprise.

 

Her lightning strike was redirected by the iron dagger. Furthermore, it was relayed to the first throwing knife, which was then further relayed to the second dagger. At this point, the target of her lightning strike was none other than herself. She was forced to put up a barrier to guard, but it was a shortened spell, so she couldn't fully mitigate the damage.

 

"Kyaah!!"  (Mina)

 

"Sis!"  Mino looked behind when she heard Mina's scream.

 

"Don't look away from your opponent!"  Rika stepped forward and bent her knee. She then quickly grabbed Mino's outstretched hand and threw her to the ground. In the next moment, the thrown dagger landed perfectly back in her palm, and with two daggers in her hands, she stabbed it to the ground, and on each side, millimeters away from Mino's head.

 

"I-I give up."  (Mino)

 

"One down."  Rika said and stood up. She drew another throwing knife and turned back.

 

Mina, who was propping herself up from the ground, gulped when a knife suddenly stabbed right in front of her face.

 

"Still want to go?"  Rika snickered.

 

"I surrender..."  (Mina)

 

Rika put out her hand, which Mino grabbed to pull herself up. Then they walked toward Mina, who vexingly pushed herself up.

 

"Now now, don't be too down. Let's head back."  (Rika)

 

The three made their way back to their base. While Rika cheerfully walked in front while humming with light steps, the twins looked downcast. The fact that they couldn't even land a hit on Rika must have hit them hard.

 

"Miss Rika is too strong..."  Mino said while bawling on the table.

 

"Yeah... I couldn't even land a single hit, and I even got hit by my own spell..."  (Mina)

 

"If you ask me, you girls are pretty good too."  (Rika)

 

"It's hard to believe it when it comes from someone who kicked our butts without breaking a single sweat."  (Mina)

 

"Fufufu. It's just a difference in our experience. You girls can still grow as long as you don't neglect your training. Well, I know it's gonna be downhearted for you girls to hear this, but I'm actually on the lower end in terms of combat in this unit. After all, I can't even use attack spells. So, instead of fighting head-on against strong foes, I would use tricks and underhanded methods to my advantage."  (Rika)

 

"Ehh... and yet, you didn't even use tricks to fight against us."  (Mina)

 

"Well, the whole point is to see your abilities after all. There's no point in fighting seriously, right?"  (Rika)

 

"But I was serious, though..."  (Mino)

 

"Let's put that aside. I see with my own eyes now about your abilities. No wonder you were assigned under me. Mino, you are good at unarmed combat. Which meant that you could take care of yourself without a weapon. Suitable to infiltration and assassination. And Mina, I see that you are good with magic and casting time. I couldn't test it without bout just now, but I read that you are also good at detecting magic and tracking. Right, you can also use summon magic, huh? Very versatile. Honestly, I'm impressed, you girls' abilities are excellent. I’m lucky to have you girls. But are you sure about that? If you want to change your post, I can talk to Lena."  (Rika)

 

"Hm? Why? What do you mean?"  (Mino)

 

"Um... Haven't you heard from Lena about me and what kind of missions I undertake?"  (Rika)

 

"She told us that you specialize in infiltration and assassination, but what about it?"  (Mina)

 

"Well, infiltration isn't just entering from the backdoor. You know that, right? Sometimes, we have to infiltrate with unconventional ways. For example, becoming a product."  (Rika)

 

"You mean we're sneaking in while hiding inside containers that hold illegal products?"  (Mino)

 

"That too, but I mean it more literally. We become the product. Sexual slavery, human trafficking and the like, we infiltrate those crime spots by becoming the victim."  Rika said slowly and looked at each of them in their eyes.

 

"That..."  Mina's words got stuck. She looked at Mino and found her sister making the same expression.

 

They hadn't thought about it that far. But now that it was pointed out to them, they finally realized it.

 

That they were women.

 

They were smart enough to know what would likely happen if they were caught.

 

The disadvantage of being a woman. What awaited them would be a hellish experience if they got caught. Being sexually assaulted was an experience that no sane woman would want to happen to them. And the woman in front of them had to take dangerous missions like that.

 

But it was also their advantage. Like Rika had hinted to them. Their body, sexual attractiveness, and appeal could be used as weapons. But to utilize that, they first must have the experience that neither of them currently possessed. The most they knew about this topic was that it was only at the surface level of male organs put inside female organs to reproduce.

 

Sensing their hesitation, Rika opened her mouth.

 

"This is your homework. Think about it long and hard; I'll hear your answer tomorrow. You are dismissed for today."

 

""Yes...""

 

The twins left the base with a heavy heart. Whatever answer they arrived at would change their future forever.

 

......

 

...

 

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