༺ The Sun, the Moon, and the Sword (5) ༻
“…”
“…”
Hippolyte and I closed our mouths simultaneously; as if we had made a silent agreement on this matter. Then, we listened carefully for any signs of someone coming down from the second floor.
Tension started to build between us, and my heartbeat became so loud it felt deafening in this situation.
When was the last time I felt this nervous?
Was it back in elementary school when I got caught sneaking into an internet cafe instead of going to my cram school?
Or was it in middle school when I secretly made small payments on the house phone, resulting in a hefty phone bill the following month?
I couldn’t remember.
I mean, I was nervous back then, but it wasn’t to this extent.
I felt a chilling sensation coursing through my entire body.
“…”
I held my breath, completely motionless, forgetting to even breathe for a few minutes. Fortunately, there were no signs of someone moving or any form of sound coming from upstairs.
“Whew.”
I exhaled the breath I had been holding. My heart was pounding heavily, and cold sweat broke out all over my body as if it knew I was about to do something wrong.
“… How dare you, how dare you scream like that. I told you to be quiet.”
Anger towards Hippolyte, who was trying to trap me in this situation, pierced through me like a knife.
She was attempting to destroy a beaver’s diligently constructed dam.
No beaver keeper would openly try to destroy what so many beavers spent their all on.
“I-It’s not like I did it on purpose… You, you, hit me, didn’t you? That’s… ”
“Quiet, be quiet!”
I raised my hand to silence Hippolyte’s rambling.
Thump—
As I did, her plump breasts, which had been concealed and pressed against her elastic clothes, bounced up as if they were about to burst. Even though she was lying on the floor, they had a gravity-resisting elasticity to them.
“Ugh, huff…”
“… I’ll bite then.”
I pressed my face between Hippolyte’s soft, squishy yet firm breasts.
The sweaty, slightly musky scent of her hefty bosom spread through my nostrils. And intoxicated by the lewd female scent, I impulsively bit down on her surprisingly pink nipple with my lips.
“Ah, ahh…! Mmm—”
Hippolyte, who seemed like she was about to scream in response to the unfamiliar stimulation, quickly closed her mouth shut, perhaps thinking of Luna who was sleeping upstairs.
“Ugh, euuh—”
Even though Hippolyte was a confident woman, it could damage her reputation and she could lose quite a lot if rumors of some scandalous behavior wildly spread.
Knowing that, she was probably doing her best to keep quiet right now.
I continued caressing the chest of the woman who suppressed her breath and sound with my lips, gently nibbling on them with my teeth.
As Hippolyte’s nipple was slightly submerged and soft, I rolled it around with my tongue and lips, gradually making it harder, which honestly felt quite amusing.
“Ung, huff, ahh, Has, haah, ah…”
And every time I gently tickled the erect nipple with my tongue, the raw unfiltered reactions of her squirming and trembling body, made me even more excited than before.
Breasts.
Such large breasts.
Luna’s weren’t this big.
Why was Luna not burdened with such an audacious chest, but instead they were attached to this naughty Hippolyte? That Bitchfriede had quite a sizable chest too.
Perhaps kindness of character and chest size were inversely proportional or something?
Such a naughty chest.
This, this chest that seduces men left and right.
In order to vent my anger, I forcefully grabbed that large chest with my palms. A woman’s chest was a sensitive area, with many nerves concentrated there. To grab such a place so roughly.
I would never do such a thing to Luna.
But now I was in a position to punish the wicked Hippolyte, and Hippolyte was a strong warrior as well, so I thought she would be able to endure this roughandling.
“Ugh, ah-!”
Hippolyte stifled her cries, her body slightly raising in the air, her hips and thighs trembling and quivering.
“Hippolyte, did you just… try to avoid me?”
“W-Who, y-your touch… it doesn’t bother me at all…”
“… You’re trying to protect your pride in such a strange situation, you who are obsessed with masturbation. Do you behave like this with other men too?”
“I, I, how dare you…! I’ve never done such a thing. I swear it on River Styx.”
Hippolyte flared up like she was truly angry at the mention of other men. I thought I had the upper hand just a moment ago there…
However, seeing her growling, I realized once again that this woman was not a cat, but a tigress. Damn, I thought I was going to die.
“Ahem, um, I see. So you only do this to me. Why, why are you making my life so miserable?”
“W-What, I, I’m making your life miserable…?”
“You keep touching me when I’m asleep. It’s ruining my relationship with Luna.”
“I, men, don’t they have thoughts of violating women…? The more women, the better…”
The male perspective in Hippolyte’s mind seemed a bit off to me. Maybe she only learned about men through rumors?
It was clear that as the leader of the Sword Maidens, she had developed distorted gender biases by only associating with women.
Just because someone was a man didn’t really mean that they would only think about using women for their needs.
… Or did they?
Come to think of it, it seemed to me that most of the time men only thought about using women. But still, there were times when they didn’t too.
Men were also living beings, and they had the right to establish their own preferences and rights in choosing their intimate partners.
Because when a man and a woman get into a relationship, it isn’t just about relieving sexual desires, but also about their lives intersecting with each other.
That was why it was called a relationship in the first place.
Of course, there were still those who didn’t think that way. But at least I did. Once you enter into a relationship, you can’t go back to the way things were before.
“Not all men like any woman.”
“That, that’s…”
Hippolyte took a deep breath as if she were shocked by my words. Then, she started puffing up her cheeks and swelling her face like she was infuriated.
A person puffing up their cheeks.
I had never seen such a sight since I was born.
What the hell was this? Was she Kirby or what?
I was so taken aback that such foolish thoughts began to flood my mind.
Drip—
Tears begane to fall from the creases of Hippolyte’s crumpled eyes and she eventually burst into tears.
“Why, why can’t I do it?”
“W-What, what’s wrong?”
“Why do I have to feel this sense of defeat? I-I am a Gold-tier adventurer. I should be able to do whatever I want.”
“W-Why, all of a sudden…”
“But why, why do I have to lose as a warrior, and even as a woman, to that ridiculous pink-haired girl? I don’t understand. I really don’t get it.”
Hippolyte, who usually maintained a stern tone, now had a voice tainted with emotions that I couldn’t have imagined coming from her— even her tone seemed to have changed a bit somehow.
“Ha, really… It’s so unfair. This is the most unfair fight I’ve ever had. Especially against someone like her. That I have to feel this way…”
“Um…”
I couldn’t believe that Hippolyte was saying these things to me. Being in this crazy world was already extraordinary to me but far more unbelievable things were happening to me lately.
So, with a somewhat hopeful heart, I tried to ask.
“Um, do you… like me?”
Fuck, what the hell was I even asking her right now?
There was a common misconception among naive men. That was when a woman approached them to ask something…
If by chance their bodies came into contact, they would start imagining things along the lines of, “Does this woman perhaps have feelings for me?” I, too, used to think that way in the past.
But since I found out that a girl who I thought liked me in college was dating another guy, I realized that it was just my usual misconception.
I realized in despair that just because she talked to me didn’t mean she liked me. After that, I could confidently say that I stopped having such misunderstandings.
Hippolyte was not just talking to me, what she was doing was truly excessive.
Well, wasn’t it reasonable to be a little suspicious then?
So, once again, I gathered my courage and asked her.
“Um, do you have feelings for me…?”
Swoosh—
Hippolyte looked at me with teary eyes.
“… You’re just a savage without even citizenship. A bronze-tier struggling in the depths of society. I, I am the hero— Hippolyte. Do you think it makes sense for me to like you?”
“… Uh, hearing that, I see.”
It really didn’t make any sense.
As Hippolyte said, there was an enormous difference between me and a person like Hippolyte in terms of status or class, whatever you would call it.
I was a stray cat rummaging through trash in the back alley.
And she was a tigress reigning supreme in the jungle.
That was the kind of feeling we gave off. Our species were just fundamentally different.
Perhaps it was just my misconception again.
While I was thinking that…
“But, but, I don’t understand why I’m getting so flustered around you. It hasn’t even been a month since we met. What the hell is it? Why are you making my life so miserable?”
Hippolyte questioned me instead, her eyes filled with tears.
“A-Am I making your life miserable?”
“Yeah, just apologize already.”
“Um…”
What the hell, why was I suddenly being asked to apologize? But since I had a beautiful woman with tears streaming down her face in front of me, I felt like I had done something terribly wrong.
“Well, I’m sorry…”
“Forget it. I was being childish. Just go. Don’t pretend to know me anymore. I’ll erase you from my memory, so you should pretend to not know me as well.”
Hippolyte stood up from her seat. And she slowly moved her hand to grab the door handle on the first floor. But she was practically naked, with her pants and top completely stripped.
Wouldn’t it be a big problem if she went outside like this? Of course, she was crazy strong, so she wouldn’t get overwhelmed by thugs or anything.
But rumors would spread uncontrollably throughout Sodomora.
So, just as I was thinking if I should stay silent or say anything to her.
Swoosh—
Hippolyte let go of the doorknob.
She turned her head towards me. Her expression hardened as if she was extremely angry.
What the hell? Did her anger suddenly surge? I thought I was going to get slapped or something.
Swoosh—
However, she suddenly knelt in front of me.
And then, she politely clasped her palms together and bowed her head, as if she was about to prostrate herself in submission. What the fuck was going on!? I was genuinely fucking bewildered.
Hippolyte spoke up in the midst of my spiraling confusion.
“… That, um, forget what I just said. It’s not going to work after all… It’s my mistake. Just pretend you don’t know anything….”
Hippolyte kept babbling. I had no fucking clue how to react to that.
“You, you Samaritans bow like this when you make a request, right? I’m also… I’m also going to make a request…”
Was this some kind of naked dogeza that I had only seen in manga or something? It was fucking amazing to be facing it like this. It was magnificent in so many ways.
I felt tense, wondering what kind of request would come from this woman, as she lay prostrated, having abandoned all sense of dignity.
“If it’s a request, what is it…?”
“You and Knoxdotty have a strong bond. It’s difficult for me to come between you two. So, I’m not asking for much. Just one night, even just one night, so that I can remain as the victor….”
“You mean one night…?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Knoxdotty took a vow of chastity. So she hasn’t… you know, engaged in any sexual… activities with you yet. If I could be the first, before her… wouldn’t that be my victory…?”
Even considering it from that perspective, it seemed like I was fucking doomed to lose in so many ways. However, Hippolyte seemed so serious right now that I decided to hold back my words.
“Well, um….”
“Just for today… If, if you need money, I’ll give you all my possessions.”
Hippolyte was going to give me all her possessions? The possessions of a Gold-tier adventurer… I was taken aback by the fucking astronomical amount.
“You mean all your possessions?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I lost a lot in stocks, so I don’t have much left. But it’s still a significant amount, like 5 gold at least. I have to pay off my debts, so I don’t have more than that….”
“Wait, stocks… and debts….”
I felt like I just heard something shocking in so many ways.
I felt like I knew why Hippolyte’s house was so cramped for a high-ranking adventurer, and why she didn’t carry a wallet with her.
“How about this…? If, if I provide collateral and a guarantee, I could add another 5 gold to make it up to 10 gold….”
“Whoo—”
“Money is a bit difficult, huh? You’re not a prostitute from an illegal brothel. So, how about something else? I can teach you swordsmanship… or give you personalized training on using aura….”
Hippolyte’s rambling got even more excessive.
Was this woman always like this?
No, today’s Hippolyte had a slightly frenzied side to her that was different from usual.
With a suspicious feeling, I approached Hippolyte and grabbed her wrist. Then, with a ringing sound, several characters appeared before my eyes.
And they were showing a lot more than before.
[Stats] Name: Hippolyte Heavensinger
Level: 44 → 3
Strength: 15 → 1
Agility: 15 → 1
Endurance: 14 → 1
Quirks: Financial Misfortune 》Tsundere 》Unlucky Love Life
Condition: Blood Curse 》Moonlight Enervation 》Sensitive Skin 》Panic Attack
