It was as if the pillar holding her spirit up had crumbled. Lonis froze completely.
The black-haired girl gave her a wicked smile. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to open the coffin and take a look?”
“Take a… look?”
“Mm-hmm. There’s your corpse in there, you know? Though after all these years, it’s probably just bones by now~”
“!”
Lonis was terrified. She stared at the coffin lid in front of her. She wanted to open it and see the truth for herself, but her outstretched hands were trembling, weak and helpless.
A hallucination? A dream?
So it had all been her own imagination…
She’d never been the Hero who saved the world. It had all been a dream she’d woven so that others would take care of her.
A sense of helplessness washed over her, and Lonis could barely keep herself from collapsing to the floor.
But just then, Elucia furrowed her brows.
“Hey, you. You silver-haired girl. You might be a bit of a masochist, but don’t give up hope, okay?”
“Huh…?”
“It may have been a virtual world, but you were still the one and only savior. There were so many people here, but you were the only one who succeeded.”
“W-what do you mean?”
“What I mean is…”
The black-haired girl furrowed her delicate brows and gave Lonis a look that said, ‘You’re hopeless.’ “Congratulations. At least you succeeded in the world of dreams. Now I can lead you to save the world in the real one~”
……
Was Elucia trying to comfort her?
What had happened to everyone else?
Lonis had no way of knowing. But after saying that, Elucia smiled faintly and took her hand.
“Hmph. There’s no point in staying here. If you don’t want to die and end up a corpse, come with me.”
“Huh…?”
“Or would you rather I put a collar on you and drag you away by force?”
……
……
Lonis had thought Elucia was taking her to an interrogation room or somewhere similar, so she could continue her ‘training.’
But, to her surprise, Elucia led her to a room that looked like a bar and settled comfortably onto a bench. “You’re still not fully recovered, so just this once… Want something to drink?”
“S-something to drink…”
Lonis’s cheeks flushed. Back when she was the Hero, she’d drunk plenty of alcohol.
No matter how much she drank, though, she’d only ever felt a little tipsy. She’d never gotten drunk. At the time, Lonis had thought she was naturally gifted, but now she wondered if it had just been part of the system’s settings.
So Lonis hesitated like some sheltered young lady who’d never experienced the world. She was afraid that even a little alcohol might make her completely lose control.
But Elucia blinked and said,
“Heh-heh. You really are a masochist, aren’t you? You can’t even make a decision like this yourself… In that case, I, your beautiful-girl master, will choose your drink for you… Hmph. I’m going to fill your mouth to the brim with that strange, milky-white liquid.”
“Huh? Milky-white?”
“That’s right. You can’t escape.”
“N-no, don’t… (I’m going to have that stuff poured into my mouth… N-no, please!!!!)”
Lonis was so scared she could barely think straight. She’d only ever seen that kind of XX drink in certain niche anime.
She wanted to run, but when Elucia opened the cupboard, she looked confused.
“W-what’s going on? Why is there no milk?”
“Huh? (Milk?)”
“Damn it. I finally had a chance to make you drink some… Damn it.”
Elucia furrowed her delicate brows. She looked as if she hated milk with a passion, yet desperately wanted to force this liquid into Lonis’s mouth.
After searching everywhere and finding no milk, Elucia clenched her fist and turned her anger on Lonis.
“Hey, what are you looking at? Slave maid, who gave you permission to look your master in the eye?”
“Huh?!”
“Look down, you masochistic slave. You’re only fit to gaze up at my toes.”
Elucia spoke with such arrogance, but Lonis couldn’t help noticing… Elucia’s legs really were gorgeous!
The girl was tall to begin with, and the black high heels that left her toes exposed, paired with sheer black stockings, made her look incredibly alluring.
Come to think of it, if Elucia had silver hair and a gentler, more considerate personality, she’d be exactly Lonis’s ideal partner.
With a figure like that, if she wore a wedding dress, she’d surely…
……
But perhaps Lonis had been staring at the girl’s toes for a little too long~
Elucia laughed in exasperation and mocked her. “I told you to look, and you actually did. Shameless. In that case… get down on your knees and give them a good lick.”
“Huh?!”
“Get down on all fours, you lowly maid.”
At the command, Lonis froze in place again.
She knew some masochistic boys really liked licking girls’ toes. The slightly salty, sour taste only made them more excited.
But Lonis was the Hero who’d saved the world—even if it had only been a virtual one, she was still a Hero.
Her pride and masculine ego made it impossible for her to do something like that…
But if she disobeyed, Elucia would definitely ‘train’ her.
She might tie Lonis to a chair and start flipping those switches hidden inside her clothes again. Being bullied like that would be even more humiliating than this.
(So… should I lick them…?)
Lonis swallowed hard. She stared at Elucia’s toes, seeming about to get up and kneel.
But just then…
……
……
CRASH!
A violent impact suddenly rang out nearby!
The whole floor seemed to shake. Lonis lost her balance and slumped onto the table.
“It’s a Tier Five Tail-Hammer Beast… Damn it. Did they find us because we ran out of power?”
“Huh?”
“‘Huh’?! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and come with me!”
The black-haired girl stopped teasing Lonis, grabbed her hand, and sprinted outside with her.
……
CRASH!
Another impact shook the place, sending chunks of debris raining down from the ceiling.
This underground laboratory was already in disrepair. Now it seemed ready to collapse, its steel beams groaning… Lonis was terrified that the whole tunnel might cave in at any moment and bury her inside.
But Elucia seemed to know the area like the back of her hand. She led Lonis along a winding route, always finding a safe path forward.
Then, just as things were looking up, disaster struck.
“Waaah!”
Maybe her muscles hadn’t recovered at all. Or maybe Lonis simply wasn’t used to climbing stairs in high heels. She was concentrating as hard as she could, but her left foot still missed a step, and she fell to the ground.
Thump!
Her right foot didn’t manage to support her either. Her weight came down on it, and her ankle twisted with a sharp crack.
“Y-you idiot!”
“I-I’m sorry!”
The pain was so intense that Lonis broke out in a cold sweat. Her body could heal itself, but that still took time.
If she tried to run hard now, every step would put Lonis through agonizing torment—like having a nail driven into your thigh and then being told to sprint a hundred meters.
Lonis had expected Elucia to abandon her or force her to run. But she never imagined that…
“Crawl!”
“Huh?”
“I have something important to do. Crawl up these stairs! We’ll meet at the teleport point in the upper hall in three hours! And one more thing…”
The black-haired girl drew the sword at her waist and spoke with complete seriousness. “Don’t even think about sneaking off on your own, you perverted masochist!”
