āIām scared. I donāt know why, but when I was with the Masterās friends, I kept hearing a voice inside of me. It told me⦠that this was the darkness and that I shouldnāt go near it.ā
Shivering, Rafilia informed me.
Thatās when I understood the curse of [Bad Luck LV3] and the true nature of the black chain.
Itās a system designed to frighten Rafilia into a⦠state of unhappiness.
This [Bad Luck LV3] has a triple curse on it.
For one thing, itās invisible.
Second, itās a locked skill, which means I canāt take it out.
The third is this black chain that is entangled in the letters of the skill.
āRafilia, try to remember when you were talking to Cecil and the others about the poem.ā
āYes, yes. Wellā¦
A dark hero with black eyes.
He reaches out his hand, which is filled with darkness, and sends a demon into the slaveās chest.
The girlās modest chest trembles, and an inescapable chain surrrounds her neck.
The silver hair trembling with pleasureā¦ā Here, Cecil clapped her hands, and was feeling very happyā¦
With a snap, the black chain moved.
I know because Iām connected by [Skill Reconstruction LV3].
I could see the black magic flowing out of the black chains.
At the same time, Rafiliaās eyes widened.
Her thin body began to tremble as if she is frightened.
I felt it too. I heard a strange voice, though it was faint.
āDonāt expect anything, youāve never lost anything, youāve never gained anything, youāre just going with the flow.ā
A dark voice, as if echoing from the depths of darkness.
So I asked Rafilia.
āCould it be that Rafilia gets scared when she is happy or joyful?
āā¦Eh!?ā
Rafiliaās face turned pale.
āā¦What, what? Noā¦wayā¦, no way, no way, no way.
Her mouth is still open. She seems to have had an idea about it.
I had a hunch.
When Rafilia feels that she is having fun and wants to be free, black magic flows out from [Bad Luck LV3]. This causes Rafilia to feel that it is ādarkā and āscaryā inside her.
It was as if this chain itself had a will of its own and was mentally attacking Rafilia.
It is also dark to have your skills adjusted in order to be free. Eating a meal together is also dark. Being free is also dark. This is what Rafilia is afraid of.
So maybe ādarknessā is really what Rafilia wants and what she wants to do.
If so, then the key to unlocking the curse must be there.
āI command my slave, Rafilia Grace.ā
I said.
āEmbrace the darkness.ā
āHuh?ā
āLook into the darkness. Tell me whatās in it. What you feel. What you see. Put it all into words. Tell me what you are afraid of.ā
āUh, uh, uhā¦huh?
Rafiliaās body shuddered.
It was because I had poured a lot of my magic power from my fingertips into it.
āNo, noā¦, no, no, no, no, no.ā
āI donāt think itās as scary as it was before, but what do you think?ā
āā¦Yes, yes. That..ā
Rafilia nodded, still looking a little pale.
āYes, yes. Itās not as scary as before. But⦠why?
āI told you, didnāt I? I have a skill that can interfere with other skills.ā
For now, Iām covering the black chain with my palm and pouring my magic power into it to contain the black chains. Of course, that magic power is also flowing into the [Bad Luck LV3] skill.
Iāll take care of the fear.
Iāve heard that whenever I ārebuildā someoneās skills, they feel fluffy, tingly, and itchy. Iāll let Rafilia focus on those sensations.
āRafiliaās skills were bugged, and a virus⦠something bad was attached to her. Iām going to kill it now.ā
Maybe I can.
I just have to make the āconceptā of the skill loose enough that I can move it even with chains wrapped around it.
āSo, Rafilia, see whatās in the dark. Tell me whatās scary.ā
āā¦Huh. Huh. Yes, Master.ā
Rafilia looked a bit dazed, but answered clearly.
āRafilia Grace, face the ā¦ā¦darkness. Go beyond it, and awaken⦠ah!
I wrapped [Bad Luck LV3] in the palm of my hand and poured more and more magic power into it.
I will make it stronger.
To drown out the black magic that the black chains spit out.
Iāll paint over my poisonous fears with āfluffy,ā ātingling,ā and ājinjin.
āā¦NO. Itās too hard. Iām scared. Iām scared of the darkness.ā
Rafilia struggled to wriggle free, her shoulders shaking.
Her large breasts swayed as she moved, and their hardened parts touched my palms.
āI can feel it. Iām ā¦scared. Mastaa⦠No!
āI canāt tell what is in the dark, Rafilia.ā
Is that black magic still flowing out?
Rafilia is puckering her fingers impatiently. She is holding the hem of her nightgown ā which is about to come undone ā at the base of her legs and wriggling her knees.
āI canāt do this, ā¦I canāt do this, I canāt be ā¦happy, I canāt be happy, I am sorry.ā
Rafilia opens and closes her mouth like a goldfish.
āTell me. What are you afraid of?
āI, I, Iā¦ā
I heard a snapping sound in my hand.
A crack appeared in the black chain that bound [Bad Luck LV3].
āIā¦I am afraid of being hugged byā¦Mastaa. I love you, so Iām ā¦afraid of being touchedā¦. Youāre warm and gentle, and⦠I love that. Itās scary because I love it. Iām afraid of losing it.ā
Rafilia declared, opening her hazy eyes.
āI can hear it. Inside me.
It will be gone anyway. It will be gone. Itās just too painful to lose it.
It said that I have always been like this.
Iāll lose it because of the darkness.
I donāt want the darkness. Itās only painful. Thatās why itās scary. Itās scary. But I like it.
I want Mastaa to touch me. I love it. I like to hear your voice. I like the people around Masutaa.
But Iām scared. Iām afraid of losing it. Thatās why itās dark. Everyone is dark. Butā¦
I like having Masutaaās hand on my chest, itās warm. I like having my fingers rubbed. I love it when you give me a squeeze. I love it. I amā¦scared to lose Masutaa.ā
With tears spilling from her purple eyesā¦
Rafilia continued to speak as if something she had been holding back had been released.
āIām⦠scared of you, Cecil, Rita, Aine and Leticia. Iām scared to be friends with you. Iām scared that I might make you and people around you unhappy,but⦠I like them. Because⦠they are Mastaaās friends.ā