Chapter 29: Starry Sky 4

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“Mmfh~~… Fiiinnn… nggghhh… ngogogogo…”

Just a few minutes after starting to drink, Aria instantly got dead drunk and fell asleep. She was even snoring now. Man, she really hadn’t changed much at all. It felt like the Aria from when we were kids had simply grown up as-is, which was very nice.

But still… Aria had probably gotten to know men somewhere I didn’t know about, and learned the pleasures of being a woman too… My chest tightened. And then I got shivery and excited.

Damn it, I met her first! I was the first one to get completely messed up by her! I was the one who got beaten to a pulp by Aria the most…!! And yet I was still a virgin! And you were already… experienced!? Same village, next-door neighbors, raised by the same master! What the hell was this gap!?

『Your face.』

My face?!?!?! T-that’s going too far… Dark Marianne…

If Marianne ever told me, “You’re ugly no matter how many times I look at you, Finn-san,” I was confident I’d collapse on the spot. Of course, that would just be my heart creaking under the dual forces of despair and joy. That kind of thing would be unbearable.

I don’t believe that destiny is decided at birth…!

“Geez. You really never grow up, do you?”

“That’s what makes her cute. More importantly, Finn, tell us about what you’ve been up to since coming to the royal capital.”

“I don’t mind, but it’s not interesting at all. Yours is probably way more entertaining.”

“Hmm… If I’m listening to a story, I think I’d rather hear Finn-kun’s.”

Huh? Suddenly I was popular. Well, I guess Dark Marianne just had bad judgment. As expected, the dark personality living in my head couldn’t compete with the real thing. Of course. There was no way Marianne would ever call me ugly or creepy.

“Oh? What’s this, Alicia? You want Finn too?”

“That’s not what I mean. As a High Elf, I need to know about this boy.”

“Wouldn’t your little sister be enough for that? Curious? Hm?”

“…………”

At Master’s annoying teasing, Alicia-san twisted her mouth in frustration.

“Hahaha, don’t make such a face. My prized disciple has grown up so well. I just want to enjoy that.”

“Honestly… Finn-kun, don’t spoil this person too much.”

Spoil her? All I’d ever done was get beaten senseless…

“So, Finn. How did you live after coming to the royal capital?”

“Ah… I stayed in a stable for two or three years.”

“Oh really, a stable… huh? A stable?”

“Yeah.”

“An actual stable? For two or three years…?”

When I nodded in confirmation, Alicia-san looked at Master as if she were seeing something unbelievable.

“N-no, that’s not right. I did try to take care of him properly, but you see, Aria kept me completely occupied… Managing flags, recreating things properly…”

“…………Finn-kun, you’re allowed to punch this one.”

“Guh!!”

Master clutched her chest and looked down. Her full, bouncy breasts swayed, and my heart soared.

“It’s only natural that Master favored Aria. I’m just an ordinary guy, and she’s a hero. Honestly, I’m nothing but grateful that she even took care of me too.”

Truly. After Aria ran me over and awakened my masochism, I desperately wanted to experience that pleasure again, so I begged Master, who had come to treat my serious injuries.

‘I want to do it too,’ I said. Master hesitated at first, but after I passionately convinced my parents, she finally gave in. When she test-broke my arm under the pretense of it being painful, it felt so good I thought I’d die but I never let it show on my face.

Well… She did look sad, though. Still, I was just glad she accepted me. Master and Aria were fighting to save the world. Me? I was doing it for myself.

“I never caught up to Aria. Even now, being together like this feels like a dream.”

I gently stroked Aria’s hair as she slept. She twitched like it tickled, but she’d spent so long living away from her parents. She probably hadn’t been spoiled much. At least I could spoil her a little. Not that she’d ever be my woman!

Still, I’m your childhood friend! So please! If you’re already seeing another guy, tell me about it! Preferably with a look of pure happiness, like I don’t even exist!!

“…Oh my. With someone like this around, no wonder Aria turned out that way.”

“Right? Finn is really an incredible boy.”

“Why are you looking so proud about that…?”

Well, she did raise me. She was kind enough that when we parted, she hugged me and said, “I’m truly sorry for abandoning you. I love you.”

『Being aroused by someone like that is the lowest thing imaginable.』

M-Ma…! Ma… Ma………… Dark Marianne, you’re right.

I was directing sexual desire toward the mentor who had taken such good care of me. Honestly, the moment I lived a masochistic fulfilling life under the name of training, I lost the right to escape that accusation. I was the worst. I knew that. That’s why I didn’t want anyone to realize it—that I was a masochist, constantly fantasizing in my head, doing whatever I wanted with people in my imagination.

『Even so… I wouldn’t mind. If it’s okay with you, Finn-san…』

Oh. Seriously, Marianne-san!? Saints really are on another level! Even fallen into darkness, she is still noble! All hail Saint Marianne! Dark Saint Marianne is the best! Insult me! Hit me! Tie me up, torment me, and kill me!!

『Disgusting.』

Uah!!!!! Aah!!!!!

“Huh… I see. Finn-kun really is Aria’s hero.”

“It’s nothing that grand. I’m just her childhood friend.”

I was just a shield role, an adventurer leeching off stronger companions. I had no special talent. I wasn’t especially exceptional. Masochism just happened to pair well with being a meat shield, I had a saint in the party, and I survived by sheer coincidence. So I was never a hero.

“…Hey. The reason he’s so messed up is definitely you two, isn’t it?”

“…Mm. Well, I won’t deny it. There were things… I just couldn’t do anything about.”

“Don’t say that right in front of him.”

I’m not messed up! Aria is Aria! She’s a special hero! Master is… She’s something incredibly special! Marianne is a saint, Carla is a Sword Saint, and Astrea is a High Elf princess! Being surrounded by people like that and still thinking you’re amazing… That would be the real miracle.

“But listen, Finn. No matter what you say, Aria fought on, supported by her memories of you. Because you didn’t give up that day, because you tried to catch up to her… There is a present now. I want you to understand that.”

“Well… If Master says so.”

Back then I was dumber than I am now. I just thought fighting Aria meant I could legally get beaten to a pulp. That aside, Aria herself was acting strange, and as her childhood friend, I couldn’t ignore it. That was all.

“…But doesn’t that make it even more sinful to leave a boy like that alone?”

“……………………This is my treasured liquor. I stole it from the Empire 200 years ago. Let’s open it together now.”

“Don’t try to buy us off!”

“Guh…”

That was the sound of defeat. Seeing Master slump in disappointment moved me deeply. She’d always been kind of unhinged. I could endure it because I was a masochist but if I weren’t, there were countless things I never could have endured. In terms of strength, there were almost no people in the world who could oppose her.

Amazing… Alicia-san could actually scold Master…! Scold me too, while you’re at it!

『Geez, you really are a hopeless boy.』

As she said that, Alicia-san picked up a whip and lashed it against my bare skin. The whip cracked faster than sound, the impact reverberating through flesh. As I gasped, Alicia-san continued with a gentle smile.

『It actually feels good, doesn’t it?』 She whispered…

“Hih!?”

“W-what is it, Alicia?”

“No… I just got a bad feeling… It’s probably nothing though?”

Looking around, nothing seemed out of place. Being called the 【Demonic Archer】, she probably sensed something. At this distance, I could become her shield if something happened.

Please feel safe.

“…Well… She’s probably right.”

As she said that, Master stared straight at me. She took a few deep breaths.

“Finn. Is there anything you want me to do for you?”

“I don’t really want to rely on you.”

“That’s not what I mean. Anything is fine. You can settle old grudges, or use me however you like in the future. You have that right.”

“…?”

………??? Uh… Was Master talking to me about something erotic? Or was this some kind of test?

…Alicia-san! Help me! Master’s eyes are scary!

Alicia-san looked at Master with exasperation.

Which is it!? What was the correct answer!? What should I wish for!? What’s right!? I—I don’t know! Help me, Dark Marianne!!

『Drop dead, you harem bastard.』

What kind of harem is it when someone with crazy eyes tells you to do whatever you want!? And it’s Master, no less! What the hell am I supposed to do!?

~*~*~*~

Ah, Finn. I’m truly glad I met you. 

That day—at that moment—when I realized that the story recorded in 〈Knowledge〉 had begun, you couldn’t possibly know how I felt, knowing my end had already been decided.

An absolutely unavoidable prophecy. Knowledge. Fate. A woman who would be sacrificed in battle. Defeated by a commander of the Demon Lord’s Army, her body toyed with, subjected to the utmost cruelty, reduced to a breeding vessel, and finally killed as a meat shield. A sacrifice meant to excite, despair, and please the player.

When I learned that someone had overturned that fate… When I learned that someone was none other than Finn… The emotions that surged within me were something words could never fully express.

You are Aria’s hero. But to me as well… You are a hero.

Three thousand years ago. A prophet suddenly appeared before me as I was laying low in the forest. No. The reincarnator spoke thus.

『Out of all things, it has to be the world of a ryona eroge doujin…』

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