Asilia pulled Ian.
Ian, caught off guard, found himself locking eyes with her.
The expression on Asilia’s face was soft, almost melting, her features unguarded.
“Haa… Haa…”
Her labored breaths, so unreserved, ignited something within him—more than any stimulant ever could.
“Disciple.”
“…”
“…Please, give it to me.”
He had to hold himself back.
He must hold himself back…
Yet, the sight of her lips, glistening and connected by strands of saliva as they parted, was far too suggestive.
“I held you and all that before. So unfair.”
Pouting like she was sulking, Asilia’s lips jutted out slightly.
Ian’s rationality crumbled in an instant.
“Mmph—!”
By the time he came to his senses, he was already biting her lips with his own.
As if paying back her lips for biting his thumb earlier, Ian firmly, persistently pressed against them.
“Ahng—”
Her soft, muffled moans spilled out against his lips.
Asilia bit back the sounds, suppressing them, yet teasingly provoked him further.
Once more, she opened her mouth, pleading.
“…Put it in.”
Ian hesitated for a moment.
Asilia, sensing his hesitation, lightly bit his lips to spur him on.
Startled, he…
“…!”
…Acted like he meant to scold a mischievous teacher. Ian’s tongue ventured into her mouth.
The mere fact of her disciple’s tongue entering her was enough to make Asilia tremble.
An overwhelming surge of sensation covered her body, far beyond anything she had felt earlier.
But Ian didn’t seem to notice her state.
His tongue roamed aggressively, exploring every corner of her overly sensitive mouth.
— Squelch, squelch
Lewd, wet noises filled the room, impossible to believe they came from mere kissing.
Throb, Throb.
The sound sent shivers through her lower abdomen.
She couldn’t tell anymore whether it was his tongue entering her mouth—or somewhere else entirely.
No matter how much she tried to hold back, moans burst forth in waves.
“Haahhh…♥︎”
She had sworn to suppress them, but once a sound escaped, they wouldn’t stop.
Blushing furiously, Asilia let out sweet, labored breaths.
Like swirling a piece of candy, Ian’s tongue played across every corner of her mouth.
Every time it teased her, saliva spilled and dripped down.
“Gulp… ahh…”
Swallowing, kissing, gasping—they had no time to properly breathe as they devoured each other.
The lack of oxygen and waning rationality blurred the lines between them.
Their bodies, pressed close together, only heightened the tension.
Ian’s lower abdomen, firm against Asilia’s stomach, caught her attention.
She moved, straddling him as if to claim him fully.
“…”
Ian, putting his hands on Asilia’s waist, tried to push her away gently.
But Asilia stopped him, whispering softly.
“…Just over the clothes.”
The night slipped away quickly.
◆
The next morning.
After seeing my teacher off, I collapsed back onto my bed.
For days now, it felt like all my strength had been drained from me.
I was trying to recuperate, even just a little.
“Iaaaaan—!”
It was a shout so drawn out that it made me realize just how long my name could be stretched.
With a loud slam, the door flew open, and Danya burst into the room.
“Ah, you almost got taken out by an assassin! Are… are you okay?!”
Like an excited puppy reuniting with its family, Danya leaped into my arms.
“…That hurts.”
“S-sorry! Are you hurt anywhere?”
If I told her the pain was from her tackling me like a wrecking ball, she’d definitely get mad.
I chose comfort over honesty.
“No. Actually, I was joking.”
“Nyah!”
Smack!
She gave me a playful slap on the back.
When I let out a light “Ah—,” Danya quickly apologized and started rubbing my back.
A real case of causing pain and then fixing it.
Pressing her face against my back, she murmured.
“But you shouldn’t lie about being hurt.”
Her words pricked at my conscience a little.
I had a “don’t die, don’t fuss” mentality and usually hid any pain.
Danya, despite her carefree demeanor, was unexpectedly kind and caring…
Sniiiiiff—haaah—sniiiiiff—haaah.
…Except for the part where she was sniffing my back like that.
“Stop sniffing me.”
“I-it’s not sniffing!”
“Then why are you sniffing so much?”
“Th-this is, uh…”
Her eyes darted around before she answered.
“With my nose, I can tell someone’s health! Y-you’re healthy!”
Hmm.
It sounded like an excuse, but maybe it was true.
I decided to believe her—Danya was someone who would go that far for others.
—Sniff, sniff!
Her “health check” became more vigorous.
As she sniffed all over, I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.
Danya frowned at me, her face scrunched in mock anger.
“I smell another woman on you.”
She leaned in and sniffed my face before continuing.
“Don’t tell me… was Lady Asilia here yesterday?”
“Yeah. She came over last night.”
I answered, glancing at her reaction.
Danya had a knack for overreacting whenever I was with another woman.
Her eyes narrowed to slits, her expression far from ordinary.
Slowly blinking a few times, she seemed deep in thought.
“What? What are you thinking about?”
She opened her mouth a few times before finally saying,
“I believe you.”
“Huh?”
“You and Asilia are just master and disciple. There’s no way something weird happened between you two, right?”
She smiled innocently.
A pang of guilt stabbed at my chest.
“…”
“Well, at first, I was suspicious because you two were so close, but after seeing you in Richard’s Dantian, I realized nothing was going on.”
I avoided her gaze.
To say “something happened” wasn’t entirely accurate, but to claim “nothing at all” wasn’t true either…
Danya, seemingly satisfied with her conclusion, nodded. Then her gaze drifted downward, resting on my lower body.
“But your… issue is fine now? You’re not all fired up today.”
“Yeah. I think it was tied to that Blood Witch I mentioned before.”
“That crazy strong woman from the Bloodstone Cult…?”
“Yeah.”
Danya shuddered.
The Blood Witch’s strength was on par with, if not surpassing, a scenario boss.
Considering she was likely among the top three in the Bloodstone Cult’s hierarchy, it made sense. If she wasn’t that strong, she wouldn’t hold her rank.
As much as I hoped there wasn’t anyone stronger than her…
‘There’s still the cult leader.’
The leader of the Bloodstone Cult.
No one even knew their gender. With such an unknown force looming, it was impossible to declare the Blood Witch as the strongest.
“Oh? My blanket is gone!”
Danya casually sat on the bed and glanced around.
She seemed to be looking for her favorite blanket.
“That’s my blanket, not yours.”
“…Whatever, where’d it go?”
“Master borrowed it for a bit.”
“Why?”
Remembering what happened at dawn, I searched for a more delicate way to phrase it.
Master’s clothes had been soaked to the point of being unwearable outside.
Completely soaked, in fact.
“Master’s clothes were soaking wet.”
“…Did you spill water or something?”
“Something like that. It was my mistake.”
“Ian, sometimes you’re strangely clumsy in the oddest ways.”
Danya muttered as she began to slip under the blanket I had over me, attempting to join me unnoticed.
—Knock, knock!
A sharp and precise knock echoed through the room.
Who could it be?
I began to rise, but Danya stopped me in a rush.
“Stay in bed! I’ll check!” she said, scampering toward the door.
About a minute passed.
“…Is something wrong?”
Danya hadn’t returned, so I got out of bed and approached the door, where a small commotion was unfolding.
“Only members are allowed in here, nyah!”
“Where’s that written? Show me your club’s internal rules.”
“I’m the vice-president—I just made that rule right now!”
“Then I’ll join the club.”
“…Nyah! That’s not allowed!”
Danya and the guest—Silvia Laurent—were bickering back and forth.
Silvia was holding some sort of small document in her hand.
“Hmph! Just for today, nyah!”
“I don’t need your permission.”
Eventually, Danya grudgingly let Silvia in.
Since when were those two so antagonistic toward each other?
“Ian!”
Silvia stopped glaring at Danya and beamed as she ran over to me.
It was almost strange to see Silvia move with such urgency—it didn’t quite match her usual graceful demeanor.
Watching her, Danya pursed her lips and muttered, “I’m leaving, nyah—” before stepping outside.
“Danya, at least eat something…”
“It’s fine. I’ll go.”
With her head lowered, Danya quickly disappeared down the hallway.
Her retreating figure seemed small, and just as I was about to follow her—
“More importantly—!”
Silvia grabbed my arm.
Her action was uncharacteristically impulsive for someone as refined as her.
Silvia herself seemed startled, quickly releasing my arm.
“S-sorry! But this is urgent.”
She extended the document she had been holding.
Considering Silvia had come all this way to deliver it, it had to be important.
I took the paper and unfolded it.
Despite the creases, it was made of a remarkably high-quality material.
The distinct golden patterns on the edges marked it unmistakably as a papal document.
This world is upheld by two great pillars of power.
The Empire and the Vatican.
At the apex of the Vatican, the Deus Church, stood the one who had personally issued this proclamation.
——「Authorization for Inquisition」——
Permission granted to dispatch Inquisitors to the following region.
— Britannian Empire, Lichten.
— Inquisitor: Oscar Javert
——————
Thus began the episode, ‘The Witch Trials’.
