―18― Eek!
"Oh, there's a hideout here."
At the end of a narrow passage, there was a hidden retreat that seemed suitable for lodging. It had beds, sofas, tables, chairs, and more.
"Shall we stay here for the night?"
Certainly, we had been exploring for a long time, and I had no objections.
"Why would there be a place like this inside the dungeon?"
"Most likely, it was prepared by a vampire for themselves."
"A vampire?"
"Yes, Vampire Yudith. She's the monster who uses this dungeon as her lair."
"There's someone like that here? Is it okay to use this place without angering the vampire...?"
"It's probably fine."
Saying that, she sat on one of the beds.
Well, if Ageha says so, then I'll trust her judgment.
"Hey, Kiska. Come over here. I want to talk to you more."
"Uh, sure... I don't mind."
I sat down next to her as she requested.
"Hey, Ageha, don't you find me creepy?"
Suddenly, I voiced a concern that had been bothering me.
"Why would I?"
"Well, you know, my hair is silver."
Ever since I was young, I had been persecuted by villagers because of my hair color.
Silver hair was the distinctive feature of the despised and hated race, the Alcians. Anyone who saw my hair would react with disgust.
"Do you really think so? I think you look cool."
"Cool...?"
"Yeah, silver hair has a certain mystique and beauty to it."
"Is that so..."
Ageha was the second person, after Namia, to compliment my hair.
"But then again, maybe I only think that way because I'm from another world."
"Another world...?"
"Yes, I came from a different world."
She came from another world. I had never heard of such a thing before.
"You find that hard to believe?"
"No, I believe you."
"Hehe, I thought you would say that, Kiska."
Saying that, Ageha leaned against me as if to rely on me.
Perhaps this closeness was normal in her world. Maybe in her world, this kind of distance was commonplace.
"Shall we have a meal?"
Saying that, she took out some monster meat from her "Item Box."
Afterward, Ageha served a homemade meal.
Since we were inside the dungeon, she couldn't make anything elaborate, but the food was still very delicious.
Once we finished eating, it was decided that we should rest early since we were tired.
However, there was only one bed available for sleeping.
"Ageha, you can use the bed. I'll sleep on the sofa."
"There's no need for that. You can sleep in the bed with me."
"Doing that would be a bit... inappropriate."
So, as a result, Ageha ended up sleeping on the bed, and I slept on the sofa.
For now, if I could continue to rely on her assistance, it seemed possible to escape this dungeon.
Although it felt somewhat embarrassing to rely solely on the girl's strength, compared to her, I was almost powerless.
Therefore, it seemed that I had no choice but to continue relying on her from now on.
"Hmm...?"
As I closed my eyes to sleep, I became aware of a weight on my waist.
Opening my eyes, I found Ageha sitting on top of me.
She had an innocent expression on her face.
"Hey, what are you...?"
Before I could finish my sentence, Ageha interrupted me.
She leaned in and kissed me.
"Hey, Kiska. Touch me and feel my heartbeat. It's racing, isn't it?"
While saying this, she took my hand and placed it against her chest.
Although her soft touch reached my hand, I couldn't really savor the sensation.
"I love you, Kiska."
"...Huh?"
"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you!"
"Wait, I never did anything to make you like me that much."
"What are you saying? You saved me."
"Saved...?"
"Yeah, I was sealed in the depths of the dungeon. I waited all alone for hundreds of years, hoping that a prince would come to rescue me. That's why I gave my skills to those who ventured into the depths of the dungeon."
I see, she gave me skills because she wanted me to save her.
"But it didn't work. I gave my skills to countless people. But they all gave up along the way and never made it this far, except you. No matter how many times you died, you still made it to me."
...Is that so?
So, she had given "Save & Reset" to people other than me before.
And I was the only one who had managed to make it this far.
"I've been waiting for so long. Hoping that a prince who would awaken me would come."
Saying this, Ageha had a dreamy expression on her face, looking like a maiden in love.
"Yes, Kiska. You're the prince for me."
Saying that, she kissed me again.
"Kiska, I love you."
Then she began to undress.
I could already guess what she intended to do.
"Stop...!"
I instinctively shouted.
"Why...?"
"I don't see you in that way."
It was a difficult thing to say, but I felt I needed to make it clear.
"I see. Well, that's unfortunate. But even so, it's okay. Because I love you."
"But I can't... I can't be that way with you."
"Why...?"
"Because I love someone else."
"I see. But that's not a problem. If you can love me as the second one, I'll be satisfied with that."
Saying that, she tried to get closer to me.
And then, it happened.
A flashback.
Thoughts of Namia, my beloved, and the men who had harmed her.
Ugly. Ageha, like those men, started to appear ugly to me.
"Stop!"
When I realized it, I had forcefully pushed her away, causing her to fall off the sofa.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
Feeling a chill, I quickly apologized.
I should have handled that better, even if I was rejecting her advances.
Although it was awkward, we both returned to our respective sleeping spots and lay down.
I suppose it could be considered a peaceful resolution for now.
Despite the awkwardness, I needed to change my mindset before tomorrow.
◆
I woke up.
"...Huh?"
I was in a daze.
It took me several seconds to process what I was seeing in front of me.
The reason was—
When I woke up, Ageha's lifeless body was right in front of me.
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