“Raphne…? Can you calm down and hear out for a mont?”
“What is there to talk about? Do we have sothing to discuss right now?”
With heavy breaths, Raphne laid down on the bed and climbed on top of , pinning down.
My heart raced like a rabbit caught by a beast.
Was this the fear of death, or sothing else entirely?
Raphne’s flushed cheeks and hollow eyes looked down at .
Imdiately after returning to the tower.
After locking the door, Raphne said,
“Stay the night, Ken.”
Why would she lock the door if we were just staying the night?
There are two reasons for locking a door:
To prevent sothing from coming in or to keep sothing from going out.
In this case, it must be the latter.
“Raphne! We agreed no more imprisonnt!”
Having experienced it once before, I quickly went on high alert and shouted at her.
But Raphne shook her head, smiling.
“No, it’s not imprisonnt. I trust you, Ken. …I’m just asking you to spend the night.”
Her expression didn’t convey the aning of rely staying over.
Just a mont ago, I felt a flutter of excitent from testing my new skill.
Now, my heart raced for a different reason.
And now, as ti passed, I lay tied to the bed by Raphne’s hand.
For the record, imdiately after locking the door, Raphne had stripped down to just her form-fitting underwear.
Why was she acting so bold today?
The reason was crystal clear.
It was sothing that had happened in the mansion.
‘A kiss, at least, shouldn’t have been too much to ask for!’
I recalled Raphne’s face, brimming with tears, as she spoke to with a hint of grievance.
And now, Raphne, positioned above , seed to share that mory, looking down at with a similarly hurt expression.
Then, she leaned down, pressing her body against mine.
Squish.
The softness of her ample body pressed against , radiating an incredible elasticity and gentle touch.
As our bodies drew closer, her warm body heat and fragrance overwheld my senses.
And with flushed cheeks, Raphne carefully broke the silence.
“...Ken, …don’t you think I’m pretty?”
“Y-yeah, you’re pretty.”
What more could I say? Raphne was my ideal image of beauty. If she asked ten tis if she was pretty, I’d answer eleven tis that she was.
“Then… am I not charming?”
“No…”
To be honest, I felt she was relying too heavily on emotionally.
However, since her curse was recently lifted, that had cald down a bit.
And above all, she treated kindly, making her a truly charming woman.
Yet, it seed my honest answer didn’t satisfy Raphne, who puffed out her cheeks.
“…Then why aren’t you making a move?”
“……”
“I know. n are all driven by desire. …But you, Ken, even now, do nothing but kiss .”
Her blunt words struck .
She had said the sa thing when she had imprisoned not long ago.
That she liked as a man.
Since then, I had tried not to think about it, but every ti she asked for sothing, mories of that day resurfaced.
The heat of Raphne’s alluring presence, mingling with our passionate encounters.
I hadn’t crossed the line beyond kissing because I didn’t want to overstep.
But perhaps wishing to cross that line, Raphne often tried to tempt .
And now, she was doing the sa.
“Back at the mansion… you could have done anything you wanted if you had your mind set on it.”
“……”
“Then why didn’t you do anything?”
I found myself unable to respond.
I could only shut my mouth tightly, blushing, and avoid her gaze.
It wasn’t that I disliked Raphne. On the contrary.
Her re gaze was stimulating enough to drive to the brink of losing my composure.
Raphne was an incredibly stimulating woman.
But perhaps interpreting my silence differently, Raphne’s expression began to tremble with tears, as if she were about to cry.
“...So, I really… am I not charming?”
“W-what? Raphne?”
“Doesn’t Ken see as a woman? …I know, a botherso girl like can’t be attractive.”
“It’s not like that. It’s just…”
“If it’s not, then why aren’t you doing anything? I know you’re kind to , Ken. …So you can’t speak honestly.”
Ultimately, tears welled up in Raphne’s eyes, and drops began to fall onto my face.
Perhaps this was the mont her frustrations, long held inside, finally burst forth.
“Still… I thought you would at least see as a woman once. …I tried to muster the courage.”
“R-Raphne…”
“What should I do now? To beco the woman Ken desires, what do I need to do? I’ll do anything. I promised… so please, tell .”
“W-well…”
“…I want to be loved by you, Ken.”
Tears stread down Raphne’s face as she buried her head against my chest.
Just monts ago, the seductive atmosphere had transford into her soft sobs.
The strength drained from her hand holding mine.
Ultimately, she released my hand and clutched my clothing as she cried.
“...It’s not like that, Raphne.”
What on earth was I doing?
Why had I kept silent until the girl who liked this much ended up crying?
Wrapping my arms around her trembling shoulders, I embraced her.
“...Actually, to be honest…”
“……”
“Raphne, it’s the opposite of what you think. …It’s quite the opposite.”
At my words, the trembling of her sobs ceased, and her tear-streaked face cautiously lifted to look at .
Feeling shy under her gaze, I averted my eyes and continued.
“To , Raphne is… an incredibly attractive woman. …That’s why I didn’t want to cross any lines.”
“What do you an by that?”
Although it was surely sothing she wanted to hear, Raphne asked back, puzzled.
Did she truly not understand, or did she want to hear it more clearly?
“So… if I were to cross the line beyond just kissing…”
With my freed hand, I covered my eyes, letting out my bashful thoughts.
“…I-I was afraid I would go too far. …That’s why.”
“……”
Since I covered my eyes, I couldn’t see Raphne’s expression. I couldn’t bear to look at her.
I had just declared that if I crossed the line beyond kissing, I would take her.
As a mont of silence followed my words, I cautiously lowered my hand and looked at her.
Raphne stared at blankly.
There were still a few tears in her eyes, but she wasn’t crying anymore.
Just a quiet mont, as if she were contemplating my words.
Then Raphne cautiously spoke.
“…So, do you want to do it with ?”
Her straightforward question caught off guard.
Normally, I would have stamred, but now I couldn’t afford to do that.
I carefully nodded my head.
“…Yeah.”
“Then why aren’t you?”
That was a perfectly valid question.
If both of us wanted it, then no one would object to it.
“Because… it’s still a situation I can’t take responsibility for.”
I finally voiced the thoughts I had been hiding in my heart.
Raphne wouldn’t know.
Soday, the demon clan would wage war.
I didn’t know what would happen to in that war.
Even if I was preparing to grow my abilities to survive, the future was uncertain.
In the midst of that, taking away her purity just for my desires wasn’t sothing I could do.
If I were to die, I wouldn’t be able to take responsibility.
I couldn’t explain everything, but I summarized my thoughts and answered her as best I could.
“Well, if I can take responsibility… is that okay?”
A simple conclusion.
But it was an important question, so this ti I looked directly into Raphne’s eyes and answered.
“Yeah. If I can take responsibility… I won’t hold back.”
Could I really hold back?
I wasn’t foolish enough to miss the opportunity with such an attractive woman right in front of .
“Ken…!”
Raphne seed satisfied with my determined answer, wrapping her arms around my neck.
Though she still sniffled a bit, those tears weren’t tears of sadness.
“Thank you… then I’ll wait. …I’ll wait until you’re ready, Ken.”
Saying this, Raphne buried her face into my neck.
And I gently stroked her hair.
I had already let the words slip out.
I would have to take responsibility soday.
Now, I had even sorted out how to go about it.
“Still, are we sleeping together tonight?”
“……Just don’t be too stimulating.”
“Okay, I really like you, Ken.”
Was she ignoring my request? Raphne pulled in closer.
With her soft touch, it was going to be another difficult night, fighting against my instincts as a man.
“Adrian, I need to talk to you.”
The next day, I approached him as he prepared to leave after class.
“Hey, Ken, what’s up?”
As Emily, who was next to him, asked, I carefully replied.
“I have sothing important to discuss. I’d like to talk just the two of us for a mont.”
Noticing my serious expression, Emily seed to sense sothing was off and nodded without further questioning.
“Okay, but if sothing is wrong, you have to tell too.”
“I will. See you tomorrow.”
After gathering his things, Emily exited the classroom, leaving only Adrian and in the now-quiet space.
Sensing the importance of what I was about to say, Adrian's usual smile faded, replaced by a serious expression.
“So, what’s up, Ken? Why the secrecy?”
“You already have a good idea, don’t you?”
“...Is it about Raphne?”
There was only one important topic we needed to discuss.
It was about the Child of Prophecy.
“You may not know this, but there was another attack by the Demon King’s army recently.”
“The incident when you died?”
“You knew about it?”
“I’m not just a puppet here.”
Well, that made the conversation flow more quickly.
“From now on, the Demon King’s army may attempt to infiltrate multiple tis.”
“Right.”
“Since I lifted Raphne’s curse, she could potentially face danger from the Demon King’s army.”
“You should already know that well, right? I warned you. It would co to this.”
He seed to glare at slightly.
Perhaps he thought I was asking for help after causing trouble.
But it was different.
As I handed Raphne the pendant, I had steeled myself.
No matter what happened, I would protect her.
But resolve and reality are two different things.
Even though I had knowledge of the ga and understood the attack patterns of the Demon King’s army, a new variable had arisen: Raphne had stepped outside the tower.
That ant their responses could also differ from the ga.
I didn’t know how long I could navigate these challenges relying solely on my knowledge.
That’s why I had been contemplating this aspect lately.
About the cause of the Demon King’s army attacking the academy, and the eventual war that would erupt.
“So, I was thinking… I should erase the fact that Raphne is the Child of Prophecy.”
I revealed my plan, which I had confird through the mansion test.
I shared this with Adrian, the only one who knew Raphne’s secret.
Upon hearing my words, Adrian paused for a mont, his expression darkening.
“Erasing the fact that she’s the Child of Prophecy? What nonsense is that? …That’s impossible.”
His voice was heavy and sinking.
If it were possible, he would have done it himself.
Surely, he had pondered such a solution more than anyone else in this kingdom.
But with no answers forthcoming, he ended up locking Raphne in the tower.
However, I had found the answer.
“I’m going to challenge the Tower of Tarros.”
I would venture into another labyrinth that couldn’t be cleared.
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