HPV 80

Only one day left until departure for the Black Dragon’s Nest.

I still couldn’t believe that the story would finally reach its conclusion tomorrow.

“The foundation for Banwes’ berserk state is set, and all the characters have roughly grown their powers as in the original.”

I had achieved my goal. There was nothing more for me to interfere with, and I shouldn’t interfere either.

My chest felt clear and unburdened. I had no more responsibilities now. If there was one thing I regretted—

“I won’t get to see it with my own eyes.”

The battle where everyone would give everything they had would surely be a sight I’d never forget.

I recalled the scenes I had seen in the game. How the usual relaxed expressions would vanish, replaced by a fierce resolve to burn their souls if needed to stop the enemy before them.

Thinking that far, my feelings differed a little from when I had thought of it as just a game.

“It must be so hard for them.”

The night before the final expedition was the calm before the storm. Everyone must have been tense, but none of it showed outwardly.

The High Priest knelt in prayer. Penzey idly flipped through books on magic. Bzhan kept crafting arrows. Paronai wordlessly swung his sword in the training yard.

Only Banwes did nothing.

“Bad attitude.”

He merely sat idly within my sight, wasting time. Taking advantage of a moment when he wasn’t looking at me, I placed a hand over my heart.

No pain. I was fine. The demon had detached cleanly from me and moved to him.

While they were subjugating the Black Dragon, I would be loafing around Gerenique Castle, well-rested and refreshed.

Banwes, on the other hand, would be shouldering the demon.

Everyone went to bed earlier than usual to be in the best condition for tomorrow. I caught his arm as he was spreading out his bedding.

“Can I sleep in the same bed with you?”

I felt his gaze drop heavily onto the back of my head. Suddenly, my palms got sweaty and my mouth dried up.

“We’ll be apart for a while… Just one last time, help me correct my sleeping posture.”

The brief silence was unbearably awkward. I simply pulled him toward me more forcefully.

The large man let himself be led without resistance.

I hastily yanked the blanket up to cover both of us.

Half-crouched over the bed, Banwes froze stiff under the blanket.

“……”

A silence filled the space under the covers.

Before my eyes could adjust to the dark and catch a glimpse of his expression, I lay down and shut my eyes.

A long while later, I felt him settle beside me.

A wall of heat approached, touching my shoulder and side.

‘…It’s uncomfortable.’

With his heart pounding like that against me, how was I supposed to sleep without noticing it?

At dawn, I cautiously opened my eyes. I hadn’t really fallen into a deep sleep, so I didn’t move.

Right before me was the nape of a man’s neck, lying on his side.

Success.

‘Approaching Banwes while he’s asleep.’

It had been impossible when we were in separate beds.

I didn’t know how to get off a bed without making a noise. Only Banwes and Bzhan could pull off that miracle.

That’s why I made sure we fell asleep in the same bed. It was my best chance, and now it had become reality.

I stealthily moved closer.

His jawline and forehead drew nearer.

The moment he abruptly opened his eyes—It was already too late. I was faster.

“Mmgh…!”

His voice was muffled against my lips.

I straddled him, sitting on his abdomen, and pressed down.

I sucked on his lips and pushed my tongue inside.

His jaw flinched violently, his wide eyes showing he had barely woken.

He tried to push himself up with his elbows, but I pressed down harder with my lips, pinning him.

The wet sounds echoed starkly in the dark.

I wound my legs around his body and cupped his cheeks in both hands.

My long hair spilled over his shoulders and neck.

Before long, I pulled away.

A thin string of saliva stretched between our lips after the rather rough kiss ended.

“I have something to say.”

He stared at me blankly, completely dazed.

A flurry of emotions flickered across his face.

First came disbelief: Is that really how you say something important—by rubbing your lips on someone sleeping at dawn?

Then realization and shock.

“You just…”

He mumbled vacantly, needing a few more seconds to fully process the situation.

I had transferred the demon to myself.

No—in this case, it was more accurate to call it stealing it.

Before the still-drowsy Banwes could react, it was already over.

“When you said you wanted to sleep together…”

His cheeks, which had been slightly flushed, instantly went cold.

His voice turned dry, as if he realized he had been tricked.

I saw his crimson eyes, glinting ominously for the first time in a while.

Even so, I had no intention of changing my mind.

“Leave the demon with me.”

I spoke slowly and clearly, enunciating every word so he wouldn’t misunderstand.

I climbed off him and sat down on the bed.

Before, we had discussed where I would stay during the Black Dragon subjugation.

Now, we were discussing something different—who would carry the demon.

“No, you’ll die too quickly.”

“The person who kills the Black Dragon is more important. I’ll endure somehow. If you’re worried about me, don’t get hurt and come back quickly.”

He didn’t look even slightly persuaded. His coercive gaze pinned me.

It wasn’t his fault exactly, but this was why I had decided to just steal it first.

On this matter, no logic or reasoning would ever work. No matter what I said, he clearly wouldn’t give in.

“Hand it over.”

“No.”

Taking the demon back from Banwes had been easy — it had only taken a light brush of our lips for it to shift over.

But doing the reverse would never be easy. Banwes would soon realize it too.

He would remember just what we had to do to peel the demon off me back then.

The red pattern in his irises wavered by the second.

The strong chest that had drawn a deep breath froze, unable to relax.

“I don’t want to have sex with you right now.”

I said it out loud, watching his irises distort completely.

“You won’t be able to force me.”

A motionless silence fell, so still it was as if not even a fingertip could move.

I was hammering home my opinion in the most underhanded way possible, even going so far as to prod at his deep trauma related to his father.

I wouldn’t even apologize.

If before I had been someone who wanted to treat him kindly, now I wanted him to realize—Just how shameless and ruthlessly cruel a person I could be. He shouldn’t ever forget the kind of person I was: someone willing to use him for my own gain.

His stiff arms moved toward me.

His palm brushed against my cheek, then slid down my neck.

When his fingers touched the back of my neck and collarbone, I flinched slightly.

“Do you know why I could force you right now if I wanted to?”

His hand grabbed my collar tightly.

One button popped open under his fingers.

“Because saving you is what matters most. Even if it means I have to become a monster.”

The pressure he exerted was heavy and firm.

I wouldn’t be able to break free from his grasp.

One after another, the buttons on my shirt came undone under his hand, exposing my pale bare chest.

He let go of me briefly to cross his arms and pull off his own shirt.

Then his hands went to his waistband, as if to undo his pants.

I did not tremble.

Not because I naively believed he wouldn’t actually do it.

But because now, nothing Banwes did could make me feel fear anymore.

“I know how much you want to save me.”

I didn’t even try to stop his hands.

Even if I were stripped naked from head to toe right this instant, nothing was more important than looking up at him at this moment.

“Whatever choice you make here, I’ll only be grateful.”

What exactly were we to each other?

Even without understanding each other’s innermost hearts, why was I able to accept sharing bodies?

“I don’t just want to keep you physically safe. That’s why you need to stop.”

As my voice continued, the pressure in his hands gradually weakened.

It was almost astonishing how my words could influence him now.

That now, somehow, we listened to each other.

You’re not going to be able to break my will.

“I will not die. I won’t die and leave you behind.”

I won’t die without seeing the ending.

I refuse to die as some extra who leaves only pain and sorrow for the protagonists.

His hands… fell away.

Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he backed away from me.

I rebuttoned my shirt.

While I haphazardly pulled up my fallen pants, I could feel the heavy silence beside me.

I had just been nearly raped, and he had just tried to force himself on me.

But I was the one feeling calm, while he couldn’t hide his turmoil.

Whether he left the demon with me or tried to take it back, either choice would hurt him.

We sat on the edge of the bed, facing each other, spending the rest of the night in silence.

“Shouldn’t you try to sleep?”

“…You too.”

Neither of us looked at the other.

We just stared at the floor for a long, long time.

***

By the time dawn broke the next day, it was clear.

Banwes was completely sulking.

He didn’t even come to see me off, acting as if I didn’t exist.

‘Honestly, if you just cussed at me or hit me once, I’d feel better.’

It was strange—he wasn’t a kid, but he had started to act like one.