NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 95
EP.95 Caught!
If you look back, you die.
A catchphrase often seen in outdated Japanese horror movies.
That cheesy line, which is ridiculously old-fashioned, is somehow penetrating my bones today.
The reason is all too clear.
”Hero···. Just asking, but are you completely naked right now···?”
”Yes!”
Yes! freeze!
I almost fainted at the bold declaration, but I bit my lip to regain my focus.
The fact that the Hero behind me is wearing nothing at all—I could tell simply from the soft sensation pressing against my back.
Had she just finished bathing moments ago?
The warm skin, sticking to me with light moisture, transmitted the rhythm of her heartbeat.
To top it off, the sweet aroma wafting from her golden hair, every time it brushed against me, was so intense it eradicated any trace of the aroma filling the sealed room.
I’m going insane. Really.
Crunch.
The blanket haphazardly wrapped around my lower half tightened in response.
In this moment, thrown into the den of a starving beast, this was the only way to protect my body.
”H-Hero! Ugh!”
Just as I was forcing my stiff lips to ask the Hero for an explanation, she shifted her body cautiously, burying her face near my shoulder blade and giving it a gentle bite.
”Hmph···.”
”Ugh! Ah, ugh!”
Caught off guard by the unexpected stimulation, my knee buckled, and in this precarious state, I couldn’t stop the Hero’s relentless assault on my shoulder.
”Hmph. Hmph. Slurp. Bloop. Slurp.”
”Hero! Ah! Ugh, aah···.”
Lick, bite, lick, bite, and repeat.
The Hero’s offensive showed no signs of letting up, not even giving me a moment to gather my thoughts.
I remember swinging my arm, trying to unconsciously push her away, but that feeble resistance was easily dispelled by the Hero’s overpowering grip solidly pinning me down.
Thunk.
Like a tough detective capturing a pickpocket on the scene, the Hero had now completely pinned me to the ground, pausing for a moment to wipe the drool from her lips.
”Phew! Ah, sorry! Priest! I couldn’t help but smell you up close! And your sexy body was right in front of me! I just—couldn’t control myself!”
”Haa, ah···.”
Debating whether this kind of action while forcefully pinning an innocent person was a casual mistake could wait; I had to get her off me as soon as possible.
◈◈◈
”So, this is what happened!”
”····”
The Hero, explaining everything earnestly, was appearing before me exactly as she was born.
Her enthusiasm came across, but even with my eyes tightly shut, I could sense her careless movements painting unsettling images in my mind.
The sequence of events just wouldn’t settle into my head.
As the commotion at the church gradually calmed down, I vaguely understood that the Hero, who had suddenly supported my unconscious body, had carried me into her room.
However, the chaotic sentences that spilled forth afterward offered little I could grasp.
I lost my first kiss. I was robbed of the first ring exchange. I will never forgive this. Marriage? Who gives you the right? I cannot recognize that person as a Saint. Since it’s come to this, I’ll take the sympathy. The Priest is mine. No one can interfere.
It seemed like those kinds of statements were swirling around like a storm, but if someone corrected them as having completely different meanings, I might just comply without question; the form of such words was utterly incomplete.
”Phew···. Could I at least get a sip of cold water···? Hero···.”
”Yes! I’ll bring it right away!”
However, it was clear that suffering alone wouldn’t help me, so I decided to wet my throat first.
If only I could nag the naked Hero to put on some clothes right now!
But trying to wear clothes or insist she put some on was impossible due to her fierce resistance.
”Here it is!”
”Yes. Thank···.”
The liquid the Hero handed me was certainly cold, but it wasn’t water.
The suspicious pink drink in an expensive crystal container was a high-quality potion.
Only, this wasn’t for healing wounds—no, it was crafted to unleash sinister energy. An aphrodisiac.
I remembered receiving a few during a meeting with high-ranking nobles, so I recognized it right away.
Didn’t they say it could make even a dying old man dance for three days and nights with just a drop?
It felt completely irrelevant to me and was a gift I had previously sent to a senior who was lamenting the end of her newlywed life, drowning in children.
And a few days later, an ominous letter from her vowing to kill me was one of my few happy memories.
”Now that I think about it, I’m not really thirsty. I’m sorry for making you go through the trouble, Hero.”
”Ah! Is that so! It’s alright!”
With an awkward smile, she carefuly set the potion down on the floor.
What to do?
With my hand resting over my eyes as a makeshift blindfold, I slightly parted my fingers to peek at the Hero sitting across from me.
Kneeling demurely, her body occasionally writhing like it was dancing, it was clear what she was expecting from me.
I didn’t want to accept it, I desperately wanted to deny it, but it seemed undeniable—the Hero was eager to have a physical relationship with me.
Surely, the intense affection for me that erupted due to the Saint’s sudden actions must have spiraled out of control, leading to this disaster.
I could hardly blame anyone haphazardly.
Both the Saint’s unexpected behavior and the Hero developing these twisted desires toward me were seeds of the disaster I planted myself.
”Ahem! Where are Apis and Dawna right now? Since the ceremony is underway, they must all be here, right?”
To change the subject, in hopes of seeking some unexpected assistance, I asked about my comrades.
Among the few people I knew, those two were the only ones who could potentially stop the Hero.
I had long given up on the hope that Bigtim could hold back his sister’s rampage.
Bigtim was a true younger brother who wouldn’t hesitate to dirty his hands for his sister’s happiness.
Perhaps even this situation was influenced, to some extent, by his intervention.
”Apis went out to check nearby vacant wedding venues on a dragon! Dawna heard my story and suddenly collapsed frothing at the mouth! So I left her with Bigtim for a moment!”
”Oh···. I see···.”
The faint glimmer of hope still lingering within me was snuffed out in that moment.
Bigtim was passive. Apis was missing in action. Dawna was incapacitated.
The comrades who had been so reliable on the battlefield were now reduced to mere scarecrows, and the sense of helplessness shadowing my thoughts was indescribable.
”Please hold on tight! Priest! I’ve perfectly stored all the necessary knowledge in my head! No matter what special sexual preference you might have! I’ve already run simulations in my brain to cover it all! Moreover, I’ve come to realize how vast this world really is! Huh huh! I have no weaknesses right now!”
While avoiding that boisterous voice, my gaze inadvertently landed on some inappropriate books scattered haphazardly across the floor.
From innocent romance novels to shocking degradation stories. Among them were a few books dealing with interracial subjects.
”Even if you have some sadistic hobby that you can’t share with others, I’m totally okay with it! My body is as tough as seasoned steel! You can do whatever you want! But! If you have a tendency to like being tormented by women, please give me a little time to train my resolve! Hurting your beautiful body on purpose! Huh! Just imagining it tears my heart! It feels like it will leave a hole in my heart! But! If you desire it, I promise to overcome it quickly! Just leave it to me!”
Just as I was about to randomly blurt out some words to calm the Hero, who suddenly shot up from the bed and began her impassioned speech…
”Hero···. Like I said before···, at your age, it’s perfectly natural to be interested in the bodies of the opposite gender···, but, that sort of behavior should be saved until you’re more··· matured, in body and mind···”
”But you kissed the Saint─!”
That plaintive voice was as cold and sharp as ice, freezing my thoughts in an instant.
”Or! Do you prefer bad women like the Saint! I can do bad things too! Just recently, I left some trash on the street for a whole 30 seconds! I crossed a busy road without signaling! I even didn’t manage to find the owner of valuables I picked up on the street, and I recklessly donated them to a nearby orphanage!”
”H-Hero···.”
”When you kissed me, I was so overjoyed! I felt like I had the whole world! But after seeing the Saint and the Priest exchanging kisses and rings, I‒it hurt····. It just hurt····. I felt unbearably miserable····. For the first time in my life, I thought about genuinely killing someone····. How could I have aimed a knife at the Saint····? As a Hero, I can never be forgiven for this outrageous act····.”
”····”
With that whimpering rant, my hand that had been covering my eyes quietly fell.
Only then did the Hero’s expression enter my line of sight.
Despite her eyes still red from crying, her forced smile was just pitiful to behold.
When did she start crying?
That foolish question flickered briefly in my mind, but the subsequent realization of that guilty thought vanished in an instant.
Her tears hadn’t stopped for a moment since she witnessed me sharing love with the Saint.
”H-Hero! I have no words to defend my failure as a Hero! B-but! Even if it’s the Saint, the Priest is off-limits! Wah! I-I’m serious! I hate her! I hate her so much! Ugh! I can’t stand those trying to take the Priest away from me! Ugh! Ugh!”
Desperately trying to contain the sobs, she appeared just like a child.
A child whose mind stayed the same while their body grew bigger.
My hand, which had intended to push her away mercilessly, unconsciously pulled her into a hug—all driven by a twisted impulse originating from my heart.