“My masochistic maid is mine to toy with!”
Elucia pushed open the door and stepped out, and a jet of pitch-black light burst from in front of her.
Lonis had no idea what was happening, but in that moment, it was as if a veil had fallen over her eyes, leaving her unable to see a thing. Her ears felt blocked, too, and she couldn’t hear a sound.
The discomfort lasted only an instant. When Lonis’s vision returned, she saw the monster that had seemed so invincible moments ago struggling as it fell.
Its cubical head was covered in black, and the current running along its tentacles seemed to have backfired, affecting its own body.
“Hmph. A pathetic little thing like that dares challenge me? Lonis, turn the wheel all the way to the left.”
“O-okay!”
……
……
And just like that, the crisis was over.
The monster that had made Lonis feel so utterly overwhelmed hadn’t even lasted five seconds.
(How is Elucia so strong…? One move, and a monster that terrifying is dead?)
She was embarrassed to admit it, but being protected felt really nice. The moment Elucia came in, Lonis felt as if she’d been saved. The tension in her heart melted away completely.
And besides…
『Who gave you permission to bully my slave maid? My masochistic maid is mine to toy with!』
……
Those words had been teasing her, but hearing them made Lonis feel unexpectedly warm inside… At least they proved that Elucia cared about her and wouldn’t hand her over to anyone else.
(Wah, what am I…?)
But Lonis also realized how embarrassing her thoughts were—as if she actually wanted Elucia to bully her.
“Lonis, straighten the wheel!”
“O-okay!”
While Lonis’s thoughts wandered, Elucia focused all her attention on their surroundings. Her sharp eyes swept over the area as if she were planning her next move.
“Just as I thought. Only the fallen demons could unleash a monster this terrifying.”
“The fallen demons…”
“You can think of them as the Trickster Demon Lord’s followers. I still don’t know whether we ran into them by chance this time, but we need to find somewhere to rest for now.”
……
……
The storm raged with gale-force winds, and the monster had hit them with electricity. The ship looked mostly unharmed, but many of its parts had actually been damaged.
In the end, Elucia guided the ship down into a clearing in the woods. The canopy overhead offered some cover, so the rain didn’t beat down on the ship quite as hard.
“Master Elucia, what should we do now?”
“We’ll stay here for today and wait for the storm to pass.”
“Oh…”
……
……
KRAK-BOOM!
It wasn’t just raining outside the window. Before long, thunder began to crack, too.
The howling evening wind swept through the treetops, making a sound like vengeful spirits wailing… The ship was dark inside, with no lights on.
It should have been a terrifying sight.
Like being trapped in a haunted, abandoned house, never knowing what might come creeping toward you from the darkness.
But with Elucia aboard the ship, Lonis felt much safer.
A scheming, sadistic girl like her must have anticipated everything, right?
Just as Lonis was thinking this…
“You masochistic maid, why are you following me? I’m going to the bathroom.”
Elucia suddenly stopped and turned to glare at Lonis.
“Ah, um…”
“Oh, I get it~~ You pervert. So you’re not just a masochist—you’re afraid of the dark, too… Hmph. You’re acting like a little girl. How embarrassing.”
“I-I’m not afraid of the dark! I’m the Hero! How could I possibly be scared of the dark?!”
“Then stop following me and go sit quietly in the living room.”
“Ugh…”
……
……
Lonis really wanted to stay by Elucia’s side, where she could see the black-haired girl at all times.
But she’d already talked big. To prove her manly spirit, Lonis had no choice but to swallow her fear and sit obediently in the living room.
The darkness around her grew thicker and thicker.
Even the starry sky was hidden behind rain clouds, not letting through a single glimmer of light.
It was strange. Back when Lonis was the Hero, she’d never felt afraid of the dark. The darker and more mysterious a place was, the more it roused her competitive spirit.
After all, places like that meant treasure—and once she returned victorious, she could proudly brag about it to the adventurers at the guild.
But now, things were completely different.
She’d been living aboard the ship for three days, but Lonis still felt hollow inside, as if she had nothing to hold on to.
The truth was, she was incredibly weak right now. Forget terrifying monsters—even an ordinary young man could pin her down and freely indulge his desires.
……
(So, in the end, all fear comes down to not having enough firepower?)
After turning it over in her mind, Lonis gloomily realized… she might not have become a masochist, but she really had grown a lot more timid.
Just imagine Elucia pointing at her and saying, “You masochistic maid, you’re free. Get off my ship!”
Lonis would rather let Elucia bully her than go out and face that pitch-black forest.
A tentacle monster with a cube for a head had already appeared. Who knew what other monsters in this world might do to torment her?
If she had to endure that kind of electricity for hours, she’d probably be reduced to an idiot, even if she survived.
……
……
Lonis kept thinking about one thing after another to ease her fear.
But she never expected…
Just as she was beginning to feel a little calmer, a woman’s icy voice came from somewhere.
“I… I hate this so much…”
“Huh?”
Lonis shuddered. At first, she thought she’d misheard. The wind and rain outside were so loud that imagining things out of fear would’ve been perfectly normal.
But then…
“I hate this so much. Why won’t it work? I hate this so much…”
The voice was mournful and shrill, hollow yet low.
“Wah!”
This time, she knew she hadn’t imagined it. Lonis jumped up in fright. “Elucia, is that you? Don’t scare me! Pretending to be a ghost to bully your own maid is way too much!”
Then Lonis pounded on the bedroom door, desperately begging the black-haired girl to let her in.
“What the hell…”
Luckily, Elucia hadn’t disappeared this time. She came out of the bedroom with her hair dripping wet. “You stupid maid, what are you yelling about? I’m washing my hair.”
“I-I wasn’t yelling for no reason… Weren’t you trying to scare me just now?”
“What? Scare you?”
“Yeah, saying things like ‘I hate this so much’ and pretending to be a ghost to scare me.”
“Oh, you mean like this… ‘I hate this so much’?”
Elucia’s mouth suddenly split open,
and, covered in blood, she smiled at Lonis.
