Chapter 81

〈 Episode 81 〉 A Memory That Shouldn’t Exist

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Whoosh.

The phenomenon of the brain, aware of death, rapidly sifting through experiences to find a way to survive, projecting itself involuntarily.

For those who make their living as adventurers, it’s something they inevitably go through at least once, often referred to as a rite of passage to becoming a respectable adventurer, and our Hero had experienced it early on as well.

Thanks to this, the Hero was subconsciously able to realize that the mysterious vision unfolding before their eyes was quite similar to that phenomenon.

However, alongside it, they felt an overwhelmingly strange discomfort that they could not put into words.

Yes, even if the essential aspect was similar, the essence was vastly different.

Inherently, what whoosh! means is a revisiting of the past. It’s an act of reflecting on one’s life.

The unfamiliar vision unfolding before the Hero now, seeing a mirage of an impossibly far future in their own memory album, left them bewildered.

”Where is this····?”

It was a strange occurrence.

The Hero vaguely remembered feeling an ecstasy, as if all the elements constituting their brain had completely vanished, right after the Priest had suddenly kissed the back of their hand.

Yet, as their vision began to regain clarity, the scenery that came into view was not the cramped room they had seen just before losing consciousness, but rather a cozy bedroom furnished with a huge bed that could easily accommodate two.

Could it be that they were dreaming?

In the dreamy sensation, as if their consciousness was being caressed by a fine feather, the Hero was trying to get an estimate of their current situation when they just were about to rise.

”Huh?”

An unfamiliar sensation felt on their wrist suddenly drew the Hero’s gaze there.

”What, what is this····?”

The source of that uncomfortable feeling turned out to be a small pair of handcuffs tightly binding their wrists.

However, they were shaped a little differently from any cuffs the Hero had seen before.

They were not the crude form used to firmly restrict a criminal’s movements, but a peculiar item that restricted the freedom of the wrists while ensuring the skin remained unharmed.

At that moment, the Hero had no idea who had placed this restraint on them, but they couldn’t tell whether it was done maliciously or gently, as the individual seemed so ambiguous, and the Hero soon easily tore the cuffs off.

Clang!

”Hmph! Even if it’s a dream! To think you would try to overpower me, the Hero, with such weak restraints! How ridiculous!”

With their hands liberated, the Hero slowly surveyed the surroundings.

No matter how dire the situation, they had been taught by the Priest on their first day as an adventurer that observing their surroundings should never be neglected.

”Hmm! Besides my wrists being restrained, I can’t find any significant injuries at all! Even in a dream, you didn’t leave any gaps! Truly, I’m impressive!”

After praising their own awesomeness, the Hero proceeded to examine their body carefully.

Endowed with superhuman strength yet never neglecting maintenance, their perfect physique had no flaws that could be picked on, making it one of the Hero’s proudest features.

Although it was somewhat troubling that they were completely naked, they thought, since it was just a dream and no one would see anyway, it wasn’t a big deal.

Thus, the only element that could be deemed a nuisance to the Hero at that moment was not something external, but rather an internal discomfort, a slight ache in their lower abdomen.

That was probably just a tummy ache, they thought dismissively.

Just then…

”Hmm····.”

”Hah!”

Spying an unfamiliar presence beside them, the Hero immediately took up a defensive stance.

When deeply asleep, their unique habit of reflexively removing anything approaching led to a mistake due to the preconceived notion that nothing alive could be near them after waking up.

And so, just as the Hero was about to raise their hand to subdue the suspicious figure rolling over right next to them, they shouted…

”Victory for the pre-emptive strike!”

Thud!

The strange man’s hand, which had darted out from the blankets, suddenly gripped the Hero’s wrist roughly.

”Huh?”

Just like a wild animal pierced by a bullet, the Hero’s expression stiffened in shock.

It was indeed surprising that they, the Hero, were subdued so easily by a stranger whose name was unknown.

However, that alone wouldn’t have caused such a panic.

The real reason the Hero was astonished was that their quick, nimble body did not respond at all to the arrow – in fact, it was so slow that it couldn’t even reach the tip of the arrow’s release.

As if there was a command engraved in this hand saying it shouldn’t resist, a feeling of powerlessness they’d never experienced began to take root, gradually stripping away all the strength they usually possessed.

”Aah! Huh? Whaa?!”

Right then, the strange man suddenly pounced on the Hero.

Immediately after this, the Hero was shocked by the weak sound that escaped their lips, sounding unbelievable in its frailty, and hastily covered their mouth with their left hand.

Smack!

Because of this, something attached to the Hero’s ring finger collided with her teeth, creating a distinct sound that echoed in their consciousness for a moment.

‘Is that a ring?’

The object adorning the Hero’s left hand was a petite ring.

Even someone as oblivious to the world as the Hero could certainly understand what a ring on a woman’s left hand signified.

‘No way!’

Surrounded by unusual circumstances obvious to even a complete fool, two men and women both sleeping naked on a wide bed, a ring on the left hand’s ring finger, and a significant pain in the lower abdomen…

The conclusion drawn by the Hero was this.

‘A terrible dream! That’s it! This must be what people refer to as a bad dream!’

If Apis, who handled the Hero’s sex education, were to see this absurd conclusion, she would undoubtedly clutch her head and scream.

However, just then, a shocking piece of information suddenly flooded the Hero’s mind, correcting that ridiculous conclusion.

”Huh, what?!”

The Hero’s thoughts halted for a moment.

Despite their impression having become notably more robust than they remembered, it was impossible for the Hero not to recognize the face, body, and essence of this individual.

”Priest! P-p-priest···!?”

As the Hero identified their assailant with trembling lips, reminiscent of a mountain survivor, her pure white body was entirely enveloped by the Priest, who had incapacitated her with one hand.

”P-priest! What on earth is this! Hmph!”

Trying to voice out a reply was easily thwarted by the Priest’s mercilessness as they covered her mouth with their remaining hand.

Though the Hero could have easily resisted if she wanted, thinking of the disparity in power between herself and the Priest, it felt akin to a little mouse tumbling beneath a giant dragon.

But…

‘I can’t move!’

It would be more apt to say that she didn’t even have the will to resist.

If the world were divided into the strong and the weak, she was the strong one, while the person before her was undeniably the weak one.

Yet now, her life and death rights were being monopolized by that very weak individual, and the Hero, instead of feeling humiliation at the contradictory situation, was feeling a peculiar thrill.

Whether this submissive attitude stemmed from her guilt toward him or her sexual tendencies, she herself did not even know.

”Hmph! Hah!”

She tried to twist her body just a little, but the man seemed to offer no leniency, firmly pressuring her down from above.

Rustle. Ruffle.

How seductive the waves produced by bare skin brushing against the bed sheets might be!

Just like a wolf showing its belly to the sky in surrender, once the Hero loosened all the strength from her body, thoroughly proving she had no intention of resisting, only then did the man carefully remove his hand covering her mouth.

”Phew! Haah… Ha, haah…”

”····”

Her breath sounded as if she was gulping sweet wine, a truly ravenous intake of air.

In such a state, one strand of her golden hair got caught in her mouth, but the Hero couldn’t even perform that simple action of spitting out the obstruction without the man’s approval.

The man had moved his lips.

However, for some reason, his voice didn’t reach her ears.

It felt as if only his voice was absent from this world.

The warmth transmitted through their touching skin, the sticky breath, and a dizzying scent flaring her nostrils.

The scenery unfolding before her was clear and vivid, yet the sound from the man’s lips was vague and opaque.

But through the series of slow movements, the Hero could easily guess the man’s intent.

He was demanding the Hero to utter some words.

Those words were something that should not be spoken carelessly by a Hero, or indeed by anyone with dignity.

Yet the entrancing gaze of the Priest looking down at her, the tantalizing smile as if offering sweet rewards depending on her attitude, ultimately led her down a path of corruption.

”Mmm···.”

Louder.

”Mu···. Uhh···.”

More clearly.

”Me, uhh!”

Her usually robust voice lacked any trace of its usual volume and sounded timid.

The pathetic whimper was a clear indication of how deeply troubled she was at that moment.

As a result, it took a significant amount of time before truly meaningful words escaped her lips.

”M-my···♡”

With shame, humiliation, and a touch of ecstasy washing over her blurred consciousness, the Hero gradually pieced together what the Priest was whispering while patting her head as if to commend her.

That’s right.

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