"I'm back."
"Welcome back, Lusius?"
The night at our lodging had deepened. I had thought Sieri would be asleep when I opened the door. But she wasn't. She had been blinking drowsily while leaning against the table, then shot up at the sound of my footsteps. She rubbed her still-sleepy eyes, pretending she wasn't tired.
"You should have gone to sleep first."
"Hehe, well, the ball ends tomorrow. I was a little sad about that."
That was right. The ball would end tomorrow. After I spoke with the Rosalyn Family about Robin's marriage, I wouldn't be able to attend the ball tomorrow. In reality, today was our last night in the capital, and the last night we could participate in the ball. Sieri looked down at the table with a gloomy expression and muttered.
"I wanted to dance."
The moon was shining brightly. It illuminated the world with a light so brilliant it washed out the bright lights of the capital. Behind the bustling street, dark alleyways were lined up. And in a shaded corner, there was a small open space. The open space, visible through the crack in my window, glowed with a bluish-green light under the moon.
"Then we should just dance."
"Huh?"
"Follow me."
I grabbed Sieri's hand and dashed outside. I stopped the coachman from getting into the carriage with a gesture. Robin was nowhere to be seen, having seemingly gone to his room. I actually thought it was a good thing. We passed through a dark alley and entered the open space.
"W-Wait, Lusius... Where are you going..."
"We're going to dance."
As if ready for new construction, the open space had been cleared without a single piece of trash. And the moonlight was pouring down upon it. The gentle light touched the ground and shimmered, and I extended my hand to Sieri in the middle of the open space. Sieri approached me, crossing the open space with an awkward gait.
"Lusius?"
"Would you like to dance with me? No one will see us here."
"Ah... well..."
Under the faint light, Sieri's face flushed red. She fidgeted with her fingers, her fingertips trembling as if they might touch my hand at any moment, but not quite. I kept my hand outstretched and waited for her to make a decision.
"I, uh... I'm not a very good dancer. So..."
"This is my first time dancing, too. Please teach me."
Sieri grabbed my hand. Then she pressed her body close enough to touch my chest and lowered her head deeply. Sieri's voice echoed softly across the open space.
"F-First, you have to spread your legs shoulder-width apart."
"Like this?"
There was no music. With clumsy skill, Sieri was teaching me how to dance. I followed her words, taking small steps and learning the moves.
"Yes. Yes. Like that. Just match my movements and move your feet..."
"Like this?"
"Yes. Lusius. That's amazing. It took me a whole month of hard work to learn this..."
"And that's why you fell for me, Sieri."
".....Idiot."
Sieri muttered so in a very small voice. As if thinking I wouldn't hear, she casually tossed out the single word, then flinched her shoulders as if worried I had heard and looked up at me again. I pretended not to know, tilted my head, and asked Sieri.
"What's wrong?"
"I-It's nothing."
One, two. We took a step. As Sieri took a step back, I walked forward. I held Sieri's waist tightly and interlocked my fingers with her other hand. And again, one, two. I stopped my feet and faced Sieri. Sieri stared at me, her face flushed red. Her eyes, catching the moonlight, were sparkling. I lowered my head slightly and kissed her.
And again, one, two, three. I twirled around once and caught Sieri's waist. I felt good, having succeeded much more fluidly than when I practiced the individual movements. Sieri leaned her body against my palm, showing a sign of anxiety.
"A-Am I not too heavy?"
"You're as light as a feather, Sieri."
"P-Please don't say things like that."
"Why? Are you embarrassed?"
"Yes..."
"But I think you're cute, Sieri."
And then, closing my mouth, one, two, three again. After the final step, Sieri and I created some distance between us. The two of us, facing each other, exchanged a greeting under the moonlight. The world was quiet as if the music had stopped. Sieri was rubbing her bright red face with her hands, grinning from ear to ear.
"Sieri. What are you so happy about?"
"Dancing... made me happy."
"Should we dance again when we get back to the mansion?"
"Okay. We can teach Ms. Eve, and dance with Ms. Eve, and then, we can all have a ball, and, um... As for Cellu, um..."
As the conversation moved to the legless Cellu, Sieri pressed her lips together and began to ponder. At that point, I also became curious. Would inviting Cellu to a dance party be considered teasing? Since she herself had a dildo dance party, wouldn't it be fine? It was a truly subtle topic.
"Cellu could have the role of singing...?"
"Should we talk about this next time? It's getting complicated."
I stopped the increasingly confused Sieri and took her hand again. It was time to return to our lodging. But on the path we had come from, vagrants in filthy attire were waiting. They were staring at us with leering grins. Sieri was staring at them with wide eyes.
"Hey Bro, enjoyed the dance..."
Thwack!
I didn't even need to hear the rest of his words. I immediately struck the vagrant's cheek. The vagrant was sent to the Underworld in a single hit, and the other bastards started to scream.
"Hieeeeeek!"
"Hyaaaaaaaak!"
Sieri, flustered, tried to stop me. She seemed to have only been surprised by the appearance of the vagrants, not thinking they were criminals.
"L-Lusius? Why, why did you do that?"
"They're obviously robbers. I hit him before he could pull out a knife."
"But they might not be."
"Listen carefully, Sieri. Vagrants who block an alley at night and grin leeringly are all robbers or murderers. Understand?"
"I-Is that so?"
"It is."
I looked at the vagrants again and asked.
"So, what did you come here for?"
"N-No, just... We'll be on our way."
"You'll be on your way?"
"Yes, yes! We-we'll be on our way."
"Empty your pockets."
"Huh?"
"I said, empty your pockets."
As I raised my hand again, the vagrant scrambled to his feet and began to empty his pockets. A blade made from an awl and a shard of glass tied together fell to the ground. Sieri, shocked at the sight of the threatening weapon, took a step back.
"You see, Sieri?"
"Th-That... The act of robbery is wrong."
Even in that situation, Sieri began to deliver a sermon, as if to make the robbers have a change of heart. I stopped Sieri's action and said.
"Unfortunately, as an official who serves the country, I have no choice but to execute these robbers. If people like this are left alive, the innocent are bound to suffer. It's truly a regrettable thing. Sieri. Could you close your eyes and turn around? I don't want to show you such a cruel sight."
"Yes, yes."
The moment Sieri closed her eyes, I kicked one of the men who was still frozen in front of me. The man, whose ribs were completely shattered, collapsed with a sound like air escaping. The one remaining man, upon seeing me kill two men in single blows, fell to his knees and began to beg.
"I-I'm sorry! I failed to recognize a person of importance and committed this act! Please, just spare my life! I beg you!"
"Are you going to live a good life?"
"Yes! I'll live a good life! Please, just spare my life!"
"What's your name?"
"Huh? Ah, m-my name is Marco."
"Marco. For one villain to achieve reformation means to be reborn."
"Yes! Yes! I will be reborn!"
I glanced at Sieri. Sieri was turned around, her eyes squeezed shut and her ears covered. I looked at Marco again and said.
"Could you spread your legs a little? Shoulder-width."
"L-Like this, you mean?"
Marco naively spread his legs as I said. I gathered power into the tip of my foot and then kicked Marco's crotch with all my might. The egg is the world. He who would be born must first destroy an egg. But because I used too much force, I ended up shattering two eggs.
Thwack!
"Guh... euk...! Kkeuk...! Kkeueueuk...!"
Marco clutched his crotch and his eyes rolled back. He foamed at the mouth and began to convulse, then collapsed, leaking an unidentifiable liquid—urine or blood—onto the ground. I checked Marco's status window.
* The status window of the dead cannot be checked.
And so, he broke the egg and was reborn. A bird that breaks out of its egg is bound to fly toward God. I prayed that Marco would live well in the arms of God.
"Sieri. Sieri. Look up."
No matter how many times I called, Sieri stood with her ears firmly covered. I tapped her shoulder to make her turn around again. She wore a slightly gloomy expression at the horrific scene before her.
"What's wrong?"
"I know there's nothing wrong with what you do, Lusius, but still, I can't help but wonder if there wasn't a way to make them achieve reformation... um..."
"Sieri. You shouldn't worry about such problems. You trust me, don't you? Right?"
"That's..."
I kissed Sieri. I pressed our soft lips together and pushed my tongue into her mouth. Sieri closed her eyes and began to wrap her tongue around mine. Since that clumsy first kiss, Sieri had transformed into a lewd woman who actively entangled her tongue with mine.
How many minutes did we kiss over the corpses? I stopped the kiss, sucking on Sieri's lips. Sieri panted with ragged breaths, her tongue darting out to follow my lips. I swallowed her tongue once more and pulled her into a tight embrace, my arm around her waist. After kissing her one more time like that, I asked Sieri.
"Sieri. You trust me, right?"
Sieri looked at me with an ecstatic gaze and nodded.
"Yes..."
"Shall we return to our room, then?"
I went back to the room, holding Sieri's waist tightly.
And
**
**
"...S-So, what do you want me to do?"
"Yes. So, Sieri. From now on, you'll play the role of a female knight who's been kidnapped by me."
"A female knight?"
"Yes. A female knight who refuses to have sex with me with a very resistant attitude."
"...Uh, Lusius? I'm sorry, but I don't really understand what you're saying."
"I'm saying you just have to act like a typical female knight, you know? While saying lines like, 'Kk! Kill me!'..."
"D-Do female knights say lines like that?"
"Was that too difficult... Right, Bellix Karin! You know Bellix Karin, right Sieri?"
"Yes. I know Ms. Karin."
"Imagine that I'm raping Ms. Bellix Karin... no, that's not it, I mean! It's not that I actually want to rape her! I mean, a female knight who acts arrogantly with a similar tone... being raped... no... that's... I mean..."
"......"
"...I'm just going to go jerk off."