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Luca and I went into our tent first, thinking it would be easier for the girls to have a heart-to-heart if it was just them.
“Zagan, shall we take our clothes off?” Luca asked as he prepared the bedding.
I didn’t mind having sex, but it was unusual for us to take our clothes off without kissing and hugging first. I wondered what was wrong.
Naked, I tilted my head at him, and Luca, who was also naked, reached his hand out toward my waist. Like that, he drew me closer into a gentle hug. Bare skin clung to bare skin.
He placed his hand on the back of my head, kissed my forehead, and slowly stroked my back.
It felt good.
“It’s ok, Zagan. I’ll always be by your side. I’ll never leave you alone. You don’t have to worry.”
My heart fluttered as I stood in Luca’s warm embrace. It was unclear why he was trying to comfort me, but those gentle words steadily seeped into my heart.
For some reason, I felt an itch at the back of my nose and a tear fell down. One by one tears slid down my cheeks.
I was crying, but Luca let out a sigh of relief. He peppered my eyes with soft kisses and stroked the back of my head.
“It’s very like the kind Zagan to try and empathise with Miranda and Cindy’s sadness, but you tend to get lonely easily so don’t overdo it, ok?”
“I’m not lonely or anything… I’m just crying because of the alcohol.”
I wasn’t happy in the slightest to be called a lonely person, but when I refuted his words, Luca just giggled.
“Zagan is being an adorable tsuntsun.”
I’m not a tsuntsun either. But I had a feeling that no matter how much I tried to deny it, Luca was just going to say that everything was cute, so I kept my mouth shut. Instead, I butted my head into his shoulder in a silent protest.
“Ah, I can’t. You’re too cute. I love you, Zagan.”
So that didn’t work either, huh? It actually made him happy instead.
Me too… I love Luca.
Unsatisfied, I raised my head while still pouting and was kissed on the lips. The lips that touched mine were soft and felt good, but they were gone after a couple of seconds.
It wasn’t enough, so I stared at the blue eyes that were close to mine and he stared back at me. Even without talking, I could feel the love from him and his overflowing desire.
“Shall we have sex?”
“…Yes.”
When I nodded my head at that husky, sensual whisper, he gave me a bewitchingly sweet smile and grabbed my butt.
The next morning, Luca and I exited the tent together. The girls were already awake.
“Ah, good morning, nii-sama, Luca.”
“Morning, Noel.”
“Morning. Good morning everyone.”
I said good morning to everyone and sat down in the spot that had been prepared for me.
“Good morning, Luca-san, Zagan-san. You drank a considerable amount yesterday so I made you some basket clam soup.”
“That would be great. Thank you for thinking about us.”
“Thanks, Bennett. I’ll have some right away.”
“There you go. I’ve decided to cook whatever Noel-san and the others want for breakfast, so please wait a bit until it’s ready.” Bennett smiled cheerfully and went back to where the magic stove was.
Standing in front of the stove was Noel, who was learning how to cook, and, strangely enough, Miranda as well. Nina was watching them work from the other side of the stove and Camilla and Cindy were also talking nearby.
The girls got along extremely well, as always. For some reason though, I got the feeling that they’d gotten even closer after yesterday.
“It looks like they talked things out last night. Miranda looks refreshed, like she got a load off her shoulders, and I feel like Bennett is a lot more reliable than she was before.” (Luca)
I see, so it felt like they’d gotten closer because that anxious atmosphere surrounding Bennett had disappeared? Now that I think about it, she didn’t stutter at all in the conversation we just had.
Maybe she got a push from Miranda last night – to be more confident.
If the friend that Miranda wanted to protect… the friend that she put her trust in kept being weak, then in the end, when it came time to say goodbye, she’d regret the fact that she wasn’t reliable enough.
The words of Miranda, who was a strong—yet at the same time sensitive—woman, must have penetrated deep into Bennett’s heart who was weak as a result of her body complex.
Well, I don’t plan on prying into the girls’ private conversation, so I don’t actually know what happened, but it was clear that they’d become a lot more reliable than before.
After looking at my friends who were having fun cooking in the morning, I took a sip of my steaming soup.
December 19th – nine days since we entered the dungeon.
It felt like we were moving along smoothly, but my main reason for joining Luca and the others this time around was to meet the middle-aged man. We still hadn’t met him though and I was starting to get impatient.
No, we’re definitely supposed to meet him. Luca and the others met glasses guy and Sophie in October and November exactly like in those scenarios. However, as I, an irregularity, was here now, it wasn’t impossible that we’d strayed from the Akashic records. If we don’t meet him though, it’ll be hard to save the people of the Dark Organization.
“What’s wrong, Zagan?” Luca looked at me with a worried expression. Perhaps because I looked down.
Even if I were to tell him it was nothing, Luca could read me just by looking into my eyes, so he’d know it was a lie. Still, I didn’t plan on saying things that would make me look crazy like – “I’m worried because, according to the game scenario, we’re supposed to meet a man here.”
Of course, the reason I improved the magic barrier was to protect the Dark Organization. However, as I explained to Luca before, I’d originally made the improvements in the hopes of protecting the capital as much as possible. My objective only changed after having that conversation with Cindy in November.
Luca stared at me when I had a hard time answering him, his brows furrowed as if he too was troubled. Afterward, he gave me a gentle smile.
“It’s ok. Zagan’s worries will definitely go away soon. So don’t worry, ok?”
He lifted our intertwined hands and pressed his lips to the back of my hand.
I was grateful that he didn’t question my unresponsive self and instead offered me encouraging words even though he didn’t know what was wrong.
Was it thanks to the power of those words that, an hour later, the middle-aged man finally appeared? It happened unexpectedly in a beautiful and austere space that almost looked like a cathedral.
It was rare to encounter people inside the spacious dungeon. Furthermore, not that many people could go into the 12th dungeon in the first place. To meet the middle-aged man despite that just goes to show how strong the compulsion of the Akashic records truly was.
As per the scenario, the man had seven companions with him, all of whom stood still, either shocked or frozen.
Perhaps because it was already the third time they’d encountered the Dark Organization, Miranda grabbed her axe lightly as if to protect us.
Now then, in the scenario, the man said some harsh and unpleasant words, and then a fight broke out, but… that didn’t look like it was going to happen.
I didn’t know what kind of change of heart he’d had, but it didn’t feel like the man was looking down at the others anymore. He didn’t make any snide remarks either.
In the game, the Dark Organization was the middle boss in the 10th to 12th dungeons. But the encounter in the 10th dungeon ended with the creepy glasses guy confessing to Cindy, and in the 11th dungeon, Miranda and Sophie had a civilised conversation.
By the way, in the game when they encounter glasses guy, if he has affection towards Cindy, he doesn’t show any hostility towards her because she’s not a dark attribute user. However, as that was actually part of the Cindy route, he does show animosity towards the protagonist who is his love rival and in the end, a battle ensues. In reality though, Luca was in love with me, so glasses guy didn’t turn violent and it all ended peacefully.
As for Sophie’s fight, it all went well because Miranda was calm about it. It was also possible that Sophie had changed, but I didn’t know about that.
And now, the middle-aged man’s face was distorted as he looked at me. His expression was filled with a sense of hopelessness, so I let go of the hand holding Luca’s and went to stand in front of Miranda.
In an instant, the seven companions drew their weapons and surrounded me. They all looked familiar. They were the ones who took off their hoods the first time I met the Dark Organization in the 6th dungeon.
I took a step closer and they only grew more wary. The man, however, only looked at me. I never took my eyes off him either.
I stopped walking when I was close enough for him to hear me.
“It’s been a while. I’m going to get straight to the point – let’s, you and I, have a face-to-face conversation.”