“I don’t want to!!!”
clang-
The sharp sound of a breaking glass spread around.
As I looked at Lily with trembling eyes, she was breathing heavily with tears welling up.
“L-Lily…”
“I can’t do it!! Forgive this woman…? No way!!”
Her voice trembled, but her emotions felt desperately real.
“I’ve lived for three years trying to kill this woman. I couldn’t sleep more than three hours a day, swinging my sword. All because of her!”
Lily pointed at Athena and then turned sharply, grabbing her by the collar.
Athena offered no resistance and complied with her wishes quietly.
“You..! How can you do this… After tearing us apart, now you’re asking for forgiveness…? Don’t make me laugh!!”
“….Kid.”
“I’m not a kid!!”
“L-Lily!!!”
Kwahh-!!
As Lily threw Athena’s body, she flew helplessly and crashed into the wall.
Startled by the bang-, I hurried over to Athena to check her condition.
“A-Athena!”
“I’m fine, Hera. There’s no way I could be hurt this easily.”
She shook off the dust and stood up as if nothing had happened.
Before Athena could do anything, I rushed over to Lily, gripping her shoulder tightly and shouting at her.
“Lily!! What are you doing!!”
“….Why are you siding with that woman?”
Yet, even against my loud voice, Lily only stared at me with hollow, tearful eyes.
“What…?”
“That woman is evil. She’s the one who tore us apart… So why are you siding with her?”
Her words, filled with suppressed emotions, made my body flinch.
I could clearly feel how much anger Lily was holding back.
“Lily…”
“For a year, I cried tears of sorrow. For two years, I shed blood tears of self-loathing and revenge. But… how can I forgive?”
“……”
I was frozen by Lily’s words.
I couldn’t say anything.
Lily once said she loved me as a rational being.
Could I truly understand the feelings of Lily, who had lost me right before her eyes?
…Do I even have the right to tell Lily to get along with Athena?
As I stared at her with trembling eyes, Lily quickly wiped her tears and looked at me with hollow eyes.
“It seems like you like that woman more than me.”
I was startled by her words and immediately replied.
“What…? That’s not true, Lily!!”
“…..I hate you too.”
With those words, she turned her back and stormed out of the inn, slamming the door shut.
I reached out towards Lily, but since she disappeared, I was left circling in the air without a destination.
“Lily…”
I sadly called out my sister’s name.
But there was no response.
Eventually, while I stood there blankly staring at the door for a while, someone approached, shivering.
“Wh-what about the… alcohol?”
It was the barkeeper of this restaurant.
He held a bowl filled with food and drink, trembling as if he might cry at any moment.
*
Thud-!
“How much I love Lily…!! Not knowing my feelings…. sniffle…”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
Hera’s body couldn’t keep still as she spilled her sorrows.
Holding her throbbing head, I tried to calm my headache.
“Ha….”
I messed up.
I shouldn’t have given Hera alcohol.
No, even if I did, I should have made sure she didn’t go over a certain amount.
But Hera’s eyes, her face were so pitiful, like she was about to cry; I couldn’t bring myself to stop her.
Now that this mess has happened, I sat next to Hera, trying to make her comfortable.
“Lily… where are you… sniffle..”
“Hera… over time, everything will calm down.”
“You!”
Suddenly, she turned sharply and pinched my cheeks on both sides.
“H-Hera?”
As I looked at her in surprise, Hera’s cheeks were puffed out like a balloon, and she wore a sulky expression.
“Why did you kidnap me?! Why are you treating me like this?!!”
“…….Sorry.”
As I apologized, Hera puffed her cheeks even more and began to drink from her cup again.
I tried to stop her, but I couldn’t force her since I felt guilty.
“I’m sorry, Hera. I treated you recklessly.”
And I’m even more sorry.
For the time when I met you, I have no regrets.
I often think about it.
If I hadn’t taken you back then, would we be together like this now?
Could we have shared love and spent time together?
Of course, I knew how guilty I was.
I knew how much I hurt Hera with my reckless personality and how much I regretted it.
The pain of the time when Hera was dying was still a horrifying memory I never wanted to relive.
But a world without her was also… a hell too big for me to bear.
If I could go back to the past, I wouldn’t force Hera to be a slave, but I would have tried to be by her side no matter what.
“…No! I’m sorry, Athena.”
Where did the sulking and complaining go? Now she was nuzzling against me like a cat.
My heart began to race at her ridiculously cute behavior.
“By the way, Athena… how did you find me? Were you following me?”
“There’s no way I could lose you, Hera.”
As her soft skin brushed against my body, the desire to kiss her lips surged. But I resisted by giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead instead.
“Hehe…”
Seeing the mark of my lips left on her forehead, Hera started to smile shyly, as if she were happy.
“Ha…”
This was it. The reason Hera shouldn’t drink.
She was just too tempting.
While she usually captivated people effortlessly, she still felt like she maintained a boundary.
But with Hera drunk, that boundary vanished, maybe even shattered.
Just look at her now.
Like a little kitten, she kept sticking close to me.
Simply maintaining my composure without taking her here was already using all my strength.
‘…It would be easier to fight the Demon King instead.’
As I tightly closed my eyes and held back my desires, a faint glimmer of hope surfaced.
Maybe she would fall asleep from the drunkenness.
Indeed, good news came.
Whether it was from the alcohol, Hera began to lean her head on my shoulder, exhaling soft, shallow breaths.
…This meant there would be no more temptations.
With a sigh of relief, I gently picked her up on my back to ensure she wouldn’t wake up.
“This will settle the food bill and building repairs. And the food was delicious.”
I handed him a sack filled with gold coins.
Leaving behind the barkeeper, shedding tears of gratitude, I stepped out of the restaurant into the refreshing night air.
After enjoying the cool night air for a moment, I headed towards the inn where Mari was waiting.
“I’m really glad I made it.”
How lonely I was when this irresponsible owner left me behind for two years.
Hera’s warmth, her laughter, her voice. I missed every single one of them deeply.
But seeing her again like this made all those painful memories feel like they disappeared into thin air.
‘From now on, I’ll make sure to only bring smiles to Hera.’
I vowed countless times.
I would never act recklessly again without Hera’s consent.
If Hera didn’t like something, I would stop immediately, and if she wanted something, I would go to the ends of the world to bring it to her.
I would live solely for Hera’s happiness.
And… I began to change my feelings towards her.
Before, I only wanted to monopolize Hera, but now…
If that was what Hera wanted, and if it made her happy, I would allow others to stay close to her for her sake.
Even that little kid Lily… Mari too… and…
“…But I kind of dislike that woman.”
The woman with ridiculously large breasts I had encountered once at Drax’s place.
Surely she had more strength, wealth, and power than me, yet I couldn’t shake off the disillusionment.
…But whatever.
If Hera was happy, then that’s what mattered.
Of course, I would be even more delighted if she only looked at me.
Anyway, I would never act the same way again—
“Hehe… Athena…”
“Ugh.”
As I turned my head at the slight sting, I saw Hera with a playful smile, biting my neck.
When did she wake up? And why did her aura feel so much more sultry than before?
“I’m just so happy to see you again… Hehe…”
‘……I need to hurry.’
My instincts warned me, stemming from experience.
I had to rush to take Hera back to the inn before something happened.
Otherwise, I had no idea what might unfold.
I hurriedly stepped forward but felt her cat-like licks tickle my ears, making me start to feel a flutter in my gut.
“Uung… I missed you, Atlantis… Did you miss me?”
Was that even something you say?
If Hera knew how much I longed for her, she might have run away out of pressure.
But not knowing this, Hera pressed her body against me and hugged me tighter.
“Stay with me… where are you going right now?”
“….To the inn. We need to sleep, Hera.”
I tried to sound as cold as I could, but all that came back were her playful words.
“Then let’s sleep together like before… I want to sleep with you, Athena…”
“………”
For a moment, I almost lost my senses at her cute, spoiled voice, but I managed to hold it together.
I shook my head vigorously.
No way.
I had made a resolution.
I promised not to treat her recklessly again without her consent.
I wouldn’t use her for my desires.
I couldn’t break that promise after just one day of meeting.
Hera acting like this wasn’t something new.
I needed to endure it completely.
Just as I was about to take a step forward again.
Hera leaned in closely and whispered in my ear.
“In my heart, I truly love you, Athena♡ Don’t hate me…”
Frozen—
Her words made my body freeze.
“……Ha.”
‘This damn, seductive master…’
With that, I turned my footsteps away from the inn and began to follow my instincts into the deep night.
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